About this Report
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Between April 2023 and January 2024, the POPVOX Foundation team interviewed caseworkers from both sides of the aisle and both chambers who handled casework related to the Afghanistan withdrawal. Interviewees were recruited through the author’s existing network of casework relationships and referrals. Interviewees were granted anonymity to share their experiences with candor, and are identified in this report only by chamber and party, with some exceptions where the interviewee had been previously quoted in the media. Additional materials, including hearing transcripts and journalistic accounts of the Afghanistan withdrawal, are cited where relevant. While no report can capture the full breadth of experiences of caseworkers handling the Afghanistan withdrawal, research for the report aimed for a balanced group of experienced caseworkers who could speak to the specific challenges of this crisis in a broader context.
POPVOX Foundation has been at the forefront of research and modernization efforts around Congressional casework since its founding in 2021. POPVOX Foundation’s Casework Navigator program¹ provides resources to support caseworkers and elevate casework expertise as a vital component of Congress’s oversight responsibility. POPVOX Foundation Deputy Director Anne Meeker also previously testified to the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress on constituent services,² and has written extensively on Congressional casework and pathways for modernization.
This report is a product of the POPVOX Foundation. Its contents and recommendations are not endorsed by any Congressional office or entity.
The author would like to thank multiple people who provided feedback and input on previous drafts and recommendations, including staff from the Committee on House Administration, House Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds, House Chief Administrative Officer, Senate Sergeant at Arms, Project on Government Oversight, The Levin Center for Legislative Oversight and Democracy, and colleagues at POPVOX Foundation.
About the Author
Anne Meeker is Deputy Director of POPVOX Foundation, and a former House caseworker. She was a founding member of the POPVOX Foundation team as Director of Special Initiatives. She previously served as Director of Constituent Services for Congressman Seth Moulton, where she worked to use data and technology to deliver smarter casework services to residents of the MA06.
¹ Accessible at popvox.org/casework
² House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (hearing), “Constituent Services: Building a More Customer-Friendly Congress” (July 14, 2022)
