Members of Congress can freely share urgent updates and resources with their constituents during emergencies.
Why This Matters
Any communication sent by a Member of Congress to constituents must comply with the Communications Standards Manual, maintained and updated by the Communications Standards Commission. Within the manual, regulations restrict how Members are able to send mass messages to constituents and require that any message sent to 500+ individuals must go through an approval process to ensure it complies to set standards. An unintended consequence is the hampering of urgent constituent communication during times of crisis, such as natural disaster, delaying Members’ ability to help those in their district. Members recognized the need to fix this, and solutions where discussed by ModCom, resulting in recommendation #49 to establish crisis constituent communications guidelines.
How It Happened
Members of the Communications Standards Commission heard feedback from their peers and undertook revisions to the manual, allowing offices to disseminate mass communications related to crises without the need for commission approval. This expedites vital information getting to constituents when they need it most.
The Impact
In a time of crisis or emergency, Members of Congress and their casework teams are often on the front lines of receiving vital information regarding emergency aid resources and assistance. With the new ability to send this information to constituents as soon as possible without any red tape, Members and staff can start helping those back home immediately and continuously throughout the recovery process.
Next Steps
Communicating to constituents in a time of crisis is an undertaking that nearly every Congressional office will have to face at some point or another. The institution’s work to streamline these communications channels is worth celebrating. There are many similar improvements that can be made, many of which have already been explored and recommended by ModCom (see recommendations #26 and #44).
Additionally, ModCom recommendation #65 suggests eliminating the costs of constituent communications from individual Member office budgets and proposes the establishment of a centralized fund for these expenses. This fund would be managed by the CAO, with each office being allocated a specific amount from this central pool. Offices would have the flexibility to use this allocation for their constituent communications, though they are not obligated to do so; they may continue to cover mass communication expenses through their Member Representational Allowance. Implementing this recommendation will require policy change from CHA and buy-in from the House Appropriations Committee to create a separate account for constituent communications costs.
Glossary
ADA = Americans with Disabilities Act
AOC = Architect of the Capitol
CHA = Committee on House Administration
CAO = House Chief Administrative Officer
CDTF = Congressional Data Task Force
COLA = Cost-of-Living Adjustment
CPF = Community Project Funding
CR = Continuing Resolution
GAO = Government Accountability Office
GAO STAA = The Government Accountability Office’s Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team
GenAI = Generative Artificial Intelligence
HIRO = House Intern Resource Office
HDS = House Digital Service
LIS = Legislative Information Service
LLM = Large Language Model
MIA = Modernization Initiatives Account
ModCom = The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress
ModSub = Subcommittee on Modernization (ModSub) within the Committee on House Administration
MOU = Memorandum of Understanding
NMO = New Member Orientation
OCWR = Office of Congressional Workplace Rights
