Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Surprise: Some great public servants are actually members of Congress

Woman speaking at a microphone

Rep. Lucy McBath is the first lawmaker from Georgia to win a Democracy Awarrd.

Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Fitch is the president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and a former congressional staffer.

The  Congressional Management Foundation today announced the winners of the seventh annual Democracy Awards, CMF’s program recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices and by members of Congress. Two members of Congress, one Democrat and one Republican, are recognized in four categories related to their work in Congress.

Americans usually only hear about Congress when something goes wrong. The Democracy Awards shines a light on Congress when it does something right. These members of Congress and their staff deserve recognition for their work to improve accountability in government, modernize their work environments and serve their constituents.


In the Constituent Service category, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) was recognized for mandating a 24-hour response time to constituent requests for assistance. The office has separate intake and casework manuals and utilizes a shared intake drive that is checked by five staff members throughout the day to expedite processing. The Democratic winner, Rep. Lucy McBath, the first member of Congress from Georgia to win an award, was cited for having a “living casework intake guide” that’s altered quarterly as federal agency processes change and constituent needs fluctuate. The guide includes every step of creating a new case and all questions that need to be asked at intake for each agency with which the office interacts.

Bilirakis also won in the Constituent Accountability and Accessibility category. CMF staff noted the congressman’s vote record is displayed on his website and the rationale for each vote is explained in his weekly newsletter. Also, Bilirakis held approximately 100 in-person or tele-town hall meetings in 2023. The Democrat winner, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), was recognized for offering diverse language options for constituents to understand services available, and providing child care services at town hall meetings so single parents can attend.

The Republican winner for the Workplace Environment category (known as the “Life in Congress” award), Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), was cited for his creative workplace policies, including offering a flexible telework policy, compensatory time off, and three office- sanctioned fitness breaks per week. The Bacon office also has the lowest staff turnover in the Nebraska delegation. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), the Democratic winner, was noted for a year-long staff mentorship program, which includes matching senior staff with new hires for confidential advice and guidance as well as providing formal training and monthly group check-ins.

For the fourth category, Innovation and Modernization, Rep. Don Davis (N.C.) was the Democratic winner and the only first-term member of Congress to win an award. Davis’ office has increased feedback from meeting with constituents by offering participants a QR code to link directly to feedback forms. Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the Republican winner, was noted for a novel Senior Fellows Program designed to meet the specific needs of older adults. This program offers a specially tailored orientation and extensive training to accommodate two longer service, six-month terms per year.

The process for selecting the winners was conducted over a six-month period in 2024. House and Senate personal offices self-nominated in early 2024 using an online questionnaire. CMF then followed up with offices to conduct interviews and assess each office's adherence to the established criteria, using a detailed checklist to determine a list of finalists who would advance to the selection committee phase. In June, the committee, composed of former congressional staffers and former members of Congress, selected two winners (one Democrat and one Republican) for each category using the nomination forms, interview notes and supporting material provided by the office.

The founding partner for the Democracy Awards is the Bridge Alliance, which provided a generous grant to launch the program. Bridge Alliance is a diverse coalition of more than 90 organizations committed to revitalizing democratic practice in America. (The Bridge Alliance publishes The Fulcrum.)

The ceremony honoring all finalists and winners will be held on Sept 26.

Read More

When Democracy’s Symbols Get Hijacked: How the Far Right Co-Opted Classical Imagery
brown concrete building under blue sky during daytime
Photo by Darryl Low on Unsplash

When Democracy’s Symbols Get Hijacked: How the Far Right Co-Opted Classical Imagery

For generations, Americans have surrounded themselves with the symbols of ancient Greece and Rome: marble columns, laurel wreaths, Roman eagles, and the fasces. These icons, carved into our government buildings and featured on our currency, were intended to embody democracy, civic virtue, and republican ideals.

But in recent years, far-right movements in the U.S. and abroad have hijacked these classical images, repackaging them into symbols of exclusion, militarism, and authoritarian nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

The B-2 "Spirit" Stealth Bomber flys over the 136th Rose Parade Presented By Honda on Jan. 1, 2025, in Pasadena, California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Jerod Harris/Getty Images/TNS)

Is Bombing Iran Deja Vu All Over Again?

After a short and successful war with Iraq, President George H.W. Bush claimed in 1991 that “the ghosts of Vietnam have been laid to rest beneath the sands of the Arabian desert.” Bush was referring to what was commonly called the “Vietnam syndrome.” The idea was that the Vietnam War had so scarred the American psyche that we forever lost confidence in American power.

The elder President Bush was partially right. The first Iraq war was certainly popular. And his successor, President Clinton, used American power — in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere — with the general approval of the media and the public.

Keep ReadingShow less
Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are
a close up of a typewriter with the word conspiracy on it

Conspiratorial Thinking Isn’t Growing–Its Consequences Are

The Comet Ping Pong Pizzagate shooting, the plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and a man’s livestreamed beheading of his father last year were all fueled by conspiracy theories. But while the headlines suggest that conspiratorial thinking is on the rise, this is not the case. Research points to no increase in conspiratorial thinking. Still, to a more dangerous reality: the conspiracies taking hold and being amplified by political ideologues are increasingly correlated with violence against particular groups. Fortunately, promising new research points to actions we can take to reduce conspiratorial thinking in communities across the US.

Some journalists claim that this is “a golden age of conspiracy theories,” and the public agrees. As of 2022, 59% of Americans think that people are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories today than 25 years ago, and 73% of Americans think conspiracy theories are “out of control.” Most blame this perceived increase on the role of social media and the internet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Give Me Liberty or a Tinpot Dictator

Peggy Noonan has been a voice of conservative reflection for The Wall Street Journal since leaving the Ronald Reagan administration as his primary speechwriter. Five of Noonan’s books have been New York Times bestsellers. Consuming every word of her weekly column keeps me politically balanced.

In her June 14-15 column titled “America is losing sight of its political culture,” she referred to and elaborated on our 47th president being America’s Mr. Tinpot Dictator. This phrase, often used to describe a leader who acts like a dictator, with delusions of grandeur and authoritarian tendencies, struck a chord. Following the title about Mr. Trump, I pursued investigative research on the topic.

Keep ReadingShow less