Citizen Journalists Find Majority of Congressional Web Sites are not Tools for Transparency

March 26, 2007

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202-742-1520 ext 236

WASHINGTON – The average Congressional website falls far below a “passing grade” in terms of information they provide, and all Congressional websites could be improved, according to the results of a distributive research project launched by the Sunlight Foundation. Using a 100 point scale, 300 citizen journalists evaluated congressional Web sites to determine whether they provided three kinds of information: Access to basic information on what they do in Congress (the bills they sponsor, the committees they serve on); information from or access to any of the legally-required disclosures they have to file (on personal finances or junkets they take); and any additional information that furthers transparency (their daily schedule, lists of earmarks they've asked for or gotten). A passing grade was 40. The average score was just 29. Full findings can be found at: http://www.sunlightlabs.com/research/sites/results “Some Members’ websites are better than others, but it is clear that there is room for improvement on every single Congressional website,” said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation. “Providing basic information to citizens about what a Member is doing is a very basic responsibility to ensure a strong democracy. Improving access to information is one easy way each Member can move Congress towards greater transparency.” Some of the findings about websites included: • Just four Members (Senators Bill Nelson and Jon Tester, and Reps. Kirsten Gillibrand and John Doolittle) post their daily schedules—including who they're meeting with—on their official, taxpayer-supported Web sites. • Only Rep. Jim Cooper and Rep. John Culberson offer lists of the earmarks they’ve requested. • Meanwhile, 499 congressional Web sites failed to provide basic information on what the member does in Washington, from providing the name or names of committees served on to the bills they sponsor, citizen journalists found. • Citizen journalists found that 124 members failed to link to any kind of official source of information—the Library of Congress or a committee Web site—giving information on their activities in Congress. • Just 239 members provided statements or links to statements they made on the House or Senate floor, which are published in the Congressional Record and online at Thomas, the Library of Congress site providing congressional information. • Two members—Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., and Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill.—provide no email address or other means of contacting them electronically. Some House members that do provide an email contact use “Write your Rep,” a form that requires emailers to first provide a nine-digit zip codes; if a zip code doesn’t fall within the member’s district, the emailer can’t contact the member. • No member provided or linked to any of the legally required disclosures on personal finances, junkets taken sponsored by third parties, or expenses charged to taxpayers for official purposes. Such disclosures are intended to allow voters to determine whether a member has a conflict of interest; the more difficult it is for voters to obtain such information, the less effective such disclosures are. Complete data from the investigation, including information on specific members and breakdowns for specific questions, are available at http://www.sunlightlabs.com/research/sites/results/. Complete information on each member’s will also be available at Congresspedia.org, the citizen’s encyclopedia on Congress. Founded in January, 2006, the mission of the Sunlight Foundation is to strengthen the relationship between lawmakers and their constituents. Sunlight puts information and tools in citizens' hands so they can learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing. Its ultimate goal is full transparency by Congress, its Members and staff will help reduce corruption, ensure greater accountability, and foster public trust in this vital institution of democracy. Since its founding, the Sunlight Foundation has issued $1.6 million in grants to groups to digitize existing information about Congress and to others that use Internet technology to further Sunlight's goals. Additionally, the Sunlight Foundation has fostered its own projects such as Congresspedia, OpenCongress.org and Congress as a Family Business. ###