Representative Katie Porter (D-CA)

Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

Representative Katie Porter (D-CA)

As Rep. Katie Porter's (D-CA) office implemented a system of remote work, they have been consistently thinking about how they can work more innovatively. For example, they created issue area pods to streamline constituent correspondence, casework, and legislation related to certain policy areas. Additionally, Rep. Porter thinks about how the institution of Congress can modernize. For example, she sent a letter to Majority Leader Hoyer on behalf of 59 Members about a new congressional schedule of working two weeks in Washington, D.C., and two weeks in the district to minimize the amount of travel for Members with long travel times to D.C. Rep. Porter was also one of the Members spearheading remote voting when the pandemic first started.

As the office transitioned to remote work during the pandemic, they implemented changes to make their work better. They actively use Slack channels to ensure their staff can stay in constant communication with each other. The office also transitioned to more digital communication for inter-office work, including setting up an office Google Drive to share internal documents and putting together daily information to send to the Member through this Google platform. Rep. Porter also leads a monthly all-staff meeting during which she awards a staff member with the "Truth to Power" Award for great work that month.

Rep. Porter held multiple virtual town hall meetings to answer questions and address constituent concerns about the pandemic. The office also maintained a 99% constituent correspondence response rate even as calls were routed to work cell phones during remote work, and new employees were onboarded during the pandemic. They also implemented a system for constituents to get calls back from members of the staff when they went to voicemail to ensure each constituent was able to hear from the team directly and ask questions.

Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)

Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) has a very robust communication strategy that allows for targeted follow-up communications on issues constituents care about most. In addition to traditional social media, earned media content, and telephone town hall meetings, the Congressman sends out a weekly newsletter and a weekly survey to all those who do not currently subscribe to his newsletter. Following the survey, there is a disclosure acknowledging that participation in the survey constitutes agreement to receive follow-up communication from the Congressman.

Results of the survey are organized into lists that are then used for follow-up information catered to the constituent's interests to ensure optimal engagement. For example, one survey asked if the constituent owned a business and if his/her business had suffered financial loss during the pandemic. The more than 10,000 respondents who answered yes were organized accordingly for follow-up information that would be helpful for their circumstance. When information regarding small business relief was available, these individuals were sent information about how to access the relief.

While most offices do surveys and newsletters, Congressman Bilirakis is different in how often he does it (weekly), and how he utilizes the data collected from the surveys. By being consistent with targeted follow-ups to those who have responded, he has been able to increase his read/open rates well beyond the industry average. Through the Congressman's surveys: over 5,000 constituents were helped with unemployment casework; over 100 small businesses were connected with a lender who provided them with a PPP loan; and over 2,000 constituents who did not receive their stimulus check in a timely manner were helped with tracking/receiving their EIP payment during the pandemic.