Family-Focused Activities
Building a modern, representative, and adaptive Legislative branch workforce
Background
POPVOX Foundation is helping to lead the conversation around building a modern, representative, and adaptive Legislative branch workforce. The 118th Congress saw a record number of women serving in the US House, while the membership of Congress overall is trending younger. The last three years have seen the establishment of the Congressional Dads Caucus and Congressional Mamas Caucus, groups focused on working parents and supporting families. These changes throughout the Legislative branch are welcomed and reflective of the American landscape, which is seeing a record-high number of moms in the workforce. With these changing demographics comes changing needs throughout Congress.
Supporting Voting Options for New Parents
Through public awareness campaigns, meetings with key Hill offices, and coordination with other supportive groups, the team has championed the bipartisan effort to allow voting options in the House for new parents. Providing Members the opportunity to vote and represent their constituents, even when they are unable to be physically present due to physical or family limitations, ensures that the American people are truly being served by the people they have elected to represent them and their families.
Supporting Congressional Kids
Written by the POPVOX Foundation team, “Welcome to Washington” gives Congressional kids an opportunity to learn and explore what makes our nation’s capital — and their parents’ new job — so special, including how Congress works and what their parent’s new role will be.
Welcoming Member Families to Washington
With the start of a new Congress comes a tremendous opportunity to introduce our nation’s capital and the US Capitol complex to dozens of families and children in a way that welcomes them and is tailored to their needs. The POPVOX Foundation team is looking to the 120th Congress to develop family-focused programming, tailored specifically to families. This would allow children of Members to form friendships and explore their parents' new workplace while helping spouses connect with other families new to DC. By fostering these connections and enhancing the family experience, the initiative aims to support Members as they assume their new roles.
Additional Resources
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Public Witness Testimony on Strengthen Congressional Capacity and Constituent Service
POPVOX Foundation submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch for FY26 requesting the subcommittee's consideration of three initiatives to improve Congressional capacity.
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What is Congressional Proxy Voting and Why is it Important Now?
To make Congress more family-friendly and reflective of a modern workforce, allowing for a limited proxy voting option would ensure all Members could fully participate in the legislative process.
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POPVOX Foundation Creates Children’s Book for New Members with Kids
To support Congressional families as they approach this big life change together, POPVOX Foundation created “Welcome to Washington,” a children’s book designed to enhance their experience in Washington, DC.
Additional Resources
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P20 Leaders Emphasize Parliamentary Cooperation and Gender Equality
The 10th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in Brasília emphasized parliamentary cooperation, sustainable development, gender equality, and combating hunger.
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149th IPU Assembly Highlights Technological Inequality Among Parliaments
The 149th IPU Assembly in Geneva emphasized the widening technological gap among parliaments, urging wealthier nations to share technological resources with less-resourced counterparts.
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The Impact of Political Fragmentation on Legislative Institution Workflow: A Global Perspective
Recent elections and political shifts across the globe have frequently led to increasingly fragmented parliaments, presenting both challenges and opportunities for democratic processes.
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Lawmakers Convene in Miami to Discuss Transforming Digital Economies in the Caribbean
On September 7-8, 2024, legislators from across the Caribbean convened at Florida International University's Steven J. Green School for International and Public Affairs in Miami for a groundbreaking forum on "The Role of Parliaments in Transforming Digital Economies in the Caribbean."
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Brazil's Senate: Navigating Procedural Rules with AI
As most parliaments grapple with how to incorporate AI into their legislative processes, Brazil’s Senate is leading the development of a new tool to help staffers consult and apply legislative procedures in committees and on the floor.
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Reimagining Parliamentary Procedures: Insights from a Veteran Clerk of the UK House of Commons
Paul Evans, who served as Clerk of the British House of Commons from 1981 to 2019, offers a wealth of insights on reforming legislative procedures in his recent chapter "Reimagining Parliamentary Procedure."
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Paul Evans: Legislative Procedures as Living Institutions
Paul Evans reflects on his latest chapter “Reimagining Parliamentary Procedure,” part of the book Reimagining Parliament, in which he identifies the problems with procedures in the British parliament, such as their complexity, illegitimacy, and capture by the Executive.
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Reimagining Parliament(s)
How would one go about reimagining the UK Parliament? Reimagining Parliament, edited by David Judge and Cristina Leston-Bandeira, presents a surprising list of reform possibilities inspires us all to think bigger about our institutions — and not only in the British context.
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Senate Mashinani: Bringing Senators to Kenya’s Counties
In Kenya, during a “Senate Mashinani,” the entire Kenyan Senate relocates from the capitol in Nairobi to legislate from one of the country’s 47 counties, a reminder that often the most effective way for lawmakers to connect with the people they serve is to meet them — literally — where they are.
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Bússola Tech Webinar on AI in Portuguese-Speaking Parliaments
In April 2024, Bússola Tech hosted a webinar on Artificial Intelligence in Portuguese-speaking Parliaments, featuring speakers from Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, and Portugal.
