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.
Americans across the political spectrum have continued to ask about the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s connections among the political elite. (Angela Weiss/AFP)
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.