Roll Call

Tip O'Neill once said, "It's easier to run for office than to run the office." Running a campaign and creating a congressional office are vastly different tasks. Setting up a House or Senate office includes all the challenges of starting a small business with all the red tape of a bureaucracy. During the past 37 years the Congressional Management Foundation has helped thousands of new members of Congress and their staffs set up freshman offices. Here are seven mistakes to avoid.

I was giving a speech to a group of citizens visiting Washington for a fly-in, and was asked this question: "What's the most frustrating obstacle to enhancing the democratic dialog between citizens and Congress?" I surprised myself by responding quickly: "Bad writing."

I did not know Chip Kennett, but I knew him. Chip's story is of a dedicated staffer who found love in the halls of Congress and married his wife, Sheila. It was a perfectly normal story — many staffers have found their life-mates down the hall in a Senate or House office building — until three years ago, when Chip was diagnosed with lung cancer. His story reminds us that Capitol Hill is a community, and there are real lives making up the broader congressional family.

Washington and Hollywood have had an uneven love affair over the years, but currently it's enjoying a smoking hot revival! Capitol Hill staffers joined millions outside the Beltway in binge-watching the frothy "House of Cards." But even as we collectively obsess over these fictional accounts of D.C., it's worth considering how the show impacts or even drives our deepening cynicism about American politics. "House of Cards" lead actor Kevin Spacey further blurred the lines between perception and reality when he said in an interview, "Some people feel that 99 percent of the show is accurate."

Fly-in season is almost upon us again! The annual Capitol Hill ritual mostly runs from January to about June, with thousands of associations, nonprofits and corporations flying supporters in to meet with members of Congress and their staffs. Groups invest enormous resources in these events and the meetings dominate the schedules of congressional offices.

Now that summer is here, legislators are increasing their scheduling of town hall meetings back in their districts. Recently some myths have emerged about this time honored aspect of our democracy. Some groups are claiming (usually tied to a fundraising pitch), "Congress isn't listening to citizens" and is holding fewer town hall meetings. This is false.

CMF's report, "Life in Congress: The Member Perspective," finds that Members of Congress and their staff work extremely hard and long hours, and value their contribution to society. This raises the question, if Member's of Congress are working so hard why is Congress falling short of getting things done and boosting public approval?

A huge amount of resources are invested in organized fly-in days, though they don't get as much media coverage. This article discusses some of the common mistakes that happen in these constituent-Congress meetings.

For citizens aiming to get Congress to understand their views, congressional staff report the best way is to invite their boss to attend an event or visit a group in the district or state. August recess is an excellent time to do this, but many staff also report significant variance in the acumen, skills and practices of groups requesting meetings. In this commentary, Brad Fitch offers some clear guidance based on a recent CMF survey of House District Directors.