If I invested $2 million in a business, I’d want to know what it was doing for its customers.
So I have a question about Congress: What are we getting for our money?
A typical U.S. representative earns a salary of $174,000. Add the average authorized budget to run the office, and the annual figure is about $2.1 million. For a senator, it is about $4.8 million. Most of that money pays for staff and official operations. It does not go into the member’s pocket. (everycrsreport.com)
That is a substantial public investment. What return should we expect?
To me, the first responsibility is clear: represent the people back home. Constituents are the people who live in the district or state, including those who voted for someone else. They deserve an office that listens, responds, helps them navigate federal agencies, and brings their concerns into decisions in Washington.
Members also have national responsibilities. They vote on legislation, serve on committees, and oversee federal agencies. Those duties can have a direct effect on the people they represent.
But how does a member divide the day among all of it?
Turn on the television and you may see a familiar face discussing the latest fight in Washington. Turn to another channel, and there’s another interview. Meanwhile, there are committee meetings, votes, constituent requests, and the continuing effort to raise money for the next election.
I’m not suggesting an interview is automatically a waste of time. Explaining a vote or an issue can be part of the job. I am asking a question we cannot answer by counting the days Congress is in session:
How much of a member’s time goes toward serving constituents, and how much goes toward building a national profile and getting reelected?
There are two money systems here. Taxpayers fund the congressional office. Donors fund campaigns and political committees. Individuals and PACs can contribute to candidates within legal limits; Super PACs can raise unlimited amounts for independent political spending. That campaign money is separate from the office budget, but fundraising still makes a claim on a politician’s time. (fec.gov, fec.gov, fec.gov)
Representatives face reelection every two years. Senators serve six-year terms. Winning an election tells us who voters chose. It does not tell us whether someone who called the office got a response, whether a federal-agency problem was followed through, or whether local concerns were heard. (uscode.house.gov)
In business, I couldn’t tell my clients, “You’ll get a chance to review my performance in two years.” They’d tell me what was going wrong long before then.
Why not ask constituents?
I’d like each congressional office to publish an annual report on its work and invite independent feedback in years when its member is not on the ballot. Ask constituents straightforward questions:
- Did the office respond when you contacted it?
- If you asked for help with a federal agency, was the follow-up useful?
- Does the member explain how national issues affect this district or state?
- What local concern needs more attention?
Publish the questions, how the survey was conducted, how many people responded, and the results. An open online poll could be a place to hear comments, but it shouldn’t be presented as the opinion of everyone in the district or state.
Then tell us what the office intends to do with the answers.
That seems like a reasonable request when we are investing millions of dollars a year in each office. We should be able to see the work, hear from the people it serves, and ask whether our representatives are giving those people enough of their time.
After all, we’re the constituents. We’re also paying the bill.
