What Congress Sees on POPVOX
As of January 5, 2011, new rules in the House of Representatives allow electronic devices such as iPads on the House Floor ( wireless access pendin g).
We at POPVOX think this is a great idea .
Given this new world of Congressional connectivity, we thought you might like to see for yourself the kind of information that legislators and staff can access on POPVOX. From bill status information, to real-time constituent input, we are providing the tools to help Congress do its job better. So, here's a quick overview of what Congress sees on POPVOX:
CUSTOMIZED DOCKET
A Customized Bill Tracking Docket helps staffers and Members manage the myriad issues and bills they need to follow on a daily basis, based on their unique profile, including issue areas, committees, and district; and shows real-time constituent sentiment from POPVOX.
What's in the legislative docket?
- Bill lists by hot issues in the state or district, and by issue areas
- Bookmarked key bills for quick access
- Bill status, sponsor information and co-sponsor tallies
- Pie charts illustrating constituent sentiment
- Comments from constituents
- Lists of endorsing/opposing organizations
Constituent comments are displayed in two ways: A running “feed” of recent comments, sortable by state and Congressional district; and on bill reports, tied to specific bills. The only information displayed with these comment is a user’s screen name and Congressional district EXCEPT when the staffer or Member views Comments from the home district. In that case, the full name and city of the commenter is displayed, in order to help those in Congress better respond directly to constituents’ concerns. (The comments are also forwarded to the Congressional office.)
Bill Reports
Bill reports were designed to provide all of the information a legislative staffer needs to make a vote recommendation - in one place. That includes bill status and co-sponsors, constituent sentiment pie chart and cumulative support graph, endorsing and opposing organizations, constituent comments (searchable for all of POPVOX, or by state or Congressional district), and a map of support. One staffer told us, "this will do my job fo me!" And that is exactly the point. (These reports are also available to the public, for free, on POPVOX.)
Organization Profiles & Contact Info
Staffers have the same access to the POPVOX Organization Directory as other users, with the ability to search organizations by issue area or name. In addition, staffers and Members see emails and phone numbers of organization contacts. This is to facilitate the ability for Congress to easily contact an expert on any issue.
