Georgetown University Study Cites Moulton's Office as National Example for Next-Generation Constituent Service
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation recently released a report called Modernizing Congress: Bringing Democracy into the 21st Century. It singled out Congressman Seth Moulton and his team’s use of technology to collaborate and serve constituents. The office was one of just three examples cited in lead researcher Lorelei Kelly’s national study, which offers a plan to modernize how Congress operates so the American people have a louder voice in their republic and so congressional offices can serve them better.
“Americans should look to Congress for leadership to move the country forward. It is almost comical to say that, because we know how much Congress is behind the times. Remember when the Senate couldn’t understand how Facebook works?” Moulton said. “I’m proud that we’re doing things differently on our team. We try to set an example every day for how we can better serve the people we represent by embracing technology. And we always look for ways we can do things a little bit better than before.”
The study is available here. It cites Team Moulton’s use of collaborative technology like Slack and video conferencing to better deliver for constituents, spot patterns in constituent casework and shape policy that addresses the root causes of the difficulty people are experiencing with the government.
For example, Moulton’s team recently partnered with Code for Boston to create an app that helps people understand how their retirement benefits will be affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision, making Social Security more transparent and easy to use.
These methods have helped the office return more than $2.2 million to constituents in owed benefits and tax refunds since Moulton took office. The office has served over 4,000 people with constituent casework.
The report comes as Congress’s Select Committee on Modernization considers ways Congress can evolve. The House’s leadership established the committee in January, after Moulton and a bipartisan group of members pushed for changes to the House’s rules so it worked in a more modern way. The temporary, bipartisan committee offered its first recommendations May and will continue turning out proposals over the course of the year.
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