The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) announced the finalists for the sixth annual Democracy Awards, CMF’s program recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices and by Members of Congress.
“Americans usually only hear about Congress when something goes wrong. The Democracy Awards shines a light on Congress when it does something right,” said Bradford Fitch, CMF’s President and CEO. “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.”
The 2023 Democracy Awards finalists announced on May 16, 2023 by category are:
Constituent Service
Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) – who created a “Business Crawl” listening tour to visit and support local businesses during pandemic shutdowns; conducted opioid roundtables; facilitated the Rural Business Summit; and convened an annual Conservative Climate Summit.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) – who conducts town halls with constituents, both in-person and virtually, including "Drive-Thru Dusty Town Halls,” with the congressman addressing constituents on the back of a pick-up truck, answering constituent questions as a safe alternative to meet with constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) – who established a casework metrics system that are shared in a memo each week with office staff and the senator. Since 2009 35 percent of case opened are constituents who contacted the office multiple times for assistance.
Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) – who in less than four years in office has closed nearly 5,000 constituent cases, recovered millions of dollars on behalf of constituents, and hosted almost 20 virtual workshops on a variety of topics for solving problems in working with executive branch agencies.
“Life in Congress” Workplace Environment
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) – who, among other novel practices, limits his after-hours calls and emails to staff to only the most time sensitive matters.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) – who created a robust time-off policy. Staff receive 30 days of total paid leave per year - 15 days of vacation + 15 days of sick leave which can be used for Mental Health Days at any point during the year, in addition to 1-2 weeks of office closure in the last 2 weeks of December.
Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) – who, having been sworn in at the height of the pandemic in 2021, created a telework policy that empowers staff to coordinate schedules so that the office remains staffed, and every staffer can periodically work from home. The office also immediately provided lightweight laptops, iPads and iPhones, so every staffer can easily continue working outside of the office, whether from home or other locations.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) – whose office rewrites manuals and documents and revisits goals often. They created a continuity of operations plan at the beginning of the pandemic and update it quarterly. The office conducts staff retreats both virtually and in-person, and does performance reviews annually, as well as weekly check-ins between managers and their staff.”
Constituent Accountability and Accessibility
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) – who regularly holds in-person and telephone town hall meetings on general issues and specific topics including: the Senate filibuster, inflation, gun reform, infrastructure funding in Illinois, and a meeting on his decision to vote in favor of impeaching President Trump.
Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) – who has held more than 300 constituent service or town hall-style events since coming to Congress in 2017.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) – who instituted a policy of never leaving a town hall meeting until the last constituent attending has had an opportunity to ask a question.
Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) – who holds regular themed small meetings with constituents over meals, naming them "Breakfast with Barry," "Burgers with Barry," and "Buffet with Barry."
Methodology:
CMF created a detailed process to identify and recognize the best congressional offices. House and Senate personal offices self-nominated in late 2022/early 2023 using an online questionnaire. In early 2023, CMF followed up with offices to conduct interviews and assess the office's adherence to the established criteria using a detailed checklist to determine a list of nominees that would advance to the Selection Committee phase of the process.
In July, a Selection Committee comprised primarily of former Members of Congress and former congressional staffers will select two winners (one Democrat and one Republican) for each category using the nomination forms, interview notes, and supporting material provided by the office.
Details on the finalists’ accomplishments can be found here. Winners for the staff and Member Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award will be announced at a later date.
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 100 organizations committed to revitalizing democratic practice in America.
The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1977 dedicated to strengthening Congress and building trust in its work with and for the American people. CMF works to revitalize Congress as an institution; promotes best practices in congressional offices; and helps Congress and the people they represent engage in a constructive and inclusive dialogue toward a thriving American democracy.
Old engraved illustration of Ulysses defying the Cyclops.
Odysseus Reimagined: Nolan’s Epic Explores What Makes a True Hero
Who is a hero? More importantly: what is a hero? What attributes are universally admired, inspiring glorious stories, ballads and songs, memorials and movies, all chronicling the hero’s bold adventures?
The Odyssey, a new release written and directed by Christopher Nolan, attempts to answer that question. Based on the ancient tales The Iliad and The Odyssey, written by Homer around 800 BC, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and Anne Hathaway as Penelope, his loyal wife.
Historians have puzzled over the “Homeric question,” that is, who was Homer? We know very little about him, not even when or where he was born; seven Greek cities lay claim to him as their native son. Yet, he is considered the “godfather” of national Greek culture, and his stories are among the earliest masterpieces of literature.
Homer is sometimes romanticized as a blind poet who wandered from town to town reciting his stories. But he, who could express so poignantly the tribulations of Odysseus, was not blind to human nature. He keenly wrote of the attributes as well as the paltriness in his characters and the flaws of his great hero, Odysseus.
The Iliad is the story of the final years of the Trojan War, sparked when Helen, the beautiful wife of Sparta’s King Menelaus, was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. Because the kings had initiated a pact to defend one another, Odysseus was drawn into the fray.
After spending ten years fighting the Trojan War and finally achieving victory, The Odyssey tells of Odysseus’s struggle to return to his kingdom, Ithaca. On his way home, he encounters many dangers and delays. He is pursued by the sea-god Poseidon, must surmount Circe’s spell, and overcome the seductive charms of the enchantress Calypso, and his journey takes him another ten years.
Odysseus’s desires and struggles are universal: his longing for home, yearning for an end to his troubles, for rest after a long and difficult journey. His difficulties reflect the immemorial questions of what it means to be loyal, to belong, what it means “to be” at all. Despite his hubris, which manifests in his propensity to court catastrophe without regard for consequences, Odysseus is an authentic hero, noble and admirable, brave and dedicated.
According to the Greek ideal, a true hero must possess physical excellence and moral virtue. He must, as well, embrace his civic duty. Achieving such status requires “paideia,” a good education; “sophrosyne,” moderation in maintaining physical and emotional balance; and “arete,” an allegiance to the state.
Fictional or real, heroes’ deeds resonate through the centuries and shine a light on what is best in humanity, what matters, what will live on despite our mortality.
Is our digital age really so different from Homer’s Bronze Age? Physical beauty is still adulated, as it was then with Helen of Troy, “the face that launched a thousand ships.” (Marlowe) Power is still king, and wealth is still power.
The years of the Trojan War were harsh and violent. But were they more brutal than the times we live in? Although millenniums have passed and we now have different battlefields, Palestine, Ukraine, Iran, etc., the ravages and the wages of war remain the same: death and suffering. Humanity’s currency is the same, and so, too, is our quest for heroes.
Social scientists claim that after three generations most people are forgotten by even their direct progeny, and after four, remembered only by historical records. So, what then does last? What makes a difference? What is truly beautiful and worthwhile in life?
The universal themes embodied and emboldened by our heroes throughout the ages, the faithfulness of their hearts and the courage of their deeds, these last.
The essential qualities of a hero are manifested in Homer’s Odysseus. Steadfast integrity: “Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.” His deep compassion: “Yet, taught by time, my heart has learned to glow for others’ good, and to melt at others’ woes.” (Both quotes from The Odyssey.)
Nolan’s movie may have created a more virtuous hero than Homer’s works, but the core of the nearly 3,000-year-old-story is intact and as crucially relevant today as it was then. It is the stuff of life: trauma, survival, relationships with others, finding oneself, deciding what is right, choosing a path forward, sometimes, ultimately leading to the honing of a hero.
Just as Odysseus braved storms, temptations, and trials in search of home, we too face a modern sea of civic turbulence, polarization, mistrust, and the fraying of our shared story.
As we live, we too will write our defining stories. How then might we become modern heroes?
By instigating the third Greek ideal of “arete”; embracing our civic duty. By becoming citizens who are open to reflection and debate, who are willing to act with purpose for the betterment of our nation.
In this journey, the work of renewing our democracy can be its own Odyssey, a voyage calling for integrity, courage, and steadfast commitment. Not to return home as Odysseus so desired, but to preserve our home, for the grand and worthwhile purpose of working toward an ever-better future for our country.
With others, we can shape the next chapter of our nation’s collective story.
Amy Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."