111Th Congress Gold Mouse Project Overview

111th Congress G old Mouse Proje c t Overview The State of Congressional Web Sites

Since 1998, the Congressional Management Foundation has assessed the quality of congressional Web sites to determine how Members of Congress can use the Internet to more effectively communicate with and serve citizens.

The Gold Mouse Project seeks to improve these sites by identifying best and innovative practices that can be more widely adopted by House & Senate offices.

In the 111th Congress evaluations, we found that there is a digital divide in Congress: the most common letter grades earned were “A” and “F”.

In 2009, CMF, with the assistance of our research partners at Harvard Kennedy School, Northeastern University, University of California–Riverside, and the Ohio State University, conducted an extensive evaluation of all congressional Web sites in the 111th Congress.

439 House Member Web sites1 99 Senate Member Web sites2 68 House & Senate Committee Web sites (majority and minority) +14 House & Senate Leadership Web sites 620

1 Includes 433 Representatives (there were two vacancies at the time of our evaluations), 5 delegates, and 1 resident commissioner. 2 There was one vacancy in the Senate at the time of our evaluations.

Member Web sites were judged on 93 criteria in the following broad categories. The 61 committee criteria and 49 leadership criteria fell into most of these categories as well, but were adjusted to reflect their unique roles.

media timeliness* communication district/state information constituent information services and on issues* floor proceedings casework* legislative process accountability communication

technology usability*

*Denotes categories that were eligible for extra credit

Prior to each evaluation year, the criteria are updated and refined to reflect current and evolving technology and practice standards.

All evaluators went through several rounds of training to ensure that each criterion was applied the same way regardless of the evaluator, within a reasonable margin of error.

“To what extent does the “Does the site have site provide information about a THOMAS search box?” major national issues?”

Member sites were evaluated June–August 2009; committee and leadership sites were evaluated September–December 2009.

How We Scored The Web Sites

• Criteria were weighted according to importance and Mouse Award Letter Grade factored into a formula that resulted in an overall numerical score for the site. platinum #1 site

• Scores were sorted within each category — Senate gold Member, House Member, Committee, and Leadership — A+ standardized, and translated into letter grades. silver A • A Mouse Award was given to the 135 sites that scored an A- or higher. There was no pre-set number of awards. The bronze A- top-ranked site in each category was recognized with the first-ever Platinum Mouse Award. B

The #1 Web Sites in the 111th Congress Are...

Senate Member House Member Committee Leadership Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Steve Israel (D-NY) House Committee on Science and House Republican Conference Technology Chairman Mike Pence Chairman Bart Gordon

Senate Members House MemberS Committees Leadership

Evan Bayh (D-IN) Howard L. Berman (D-CA) House Budget House Republican Leader Chairman John Spratt John Boehner Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Geoff Davis (R-KY) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) John D. Dingell (D-MI) House Education and Labor House Republican Policy Committee Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) Sam Farr (D-CA) Chairman George Miller Thaddeus McCotter Ben Nelson (D-NE) Virginia Foxx (R-NC) House Education and Labor Mark Udall (D-CO) Phil Hare (D-IL) (Minority) Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) Ranking Member John Kline Sandy Levin (D-MI) Senate Energy and Natural Resources Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) Chairman Jeff Bingaman Mike Michaud (D-ME) House Select on Energy Independence Patrick J. Murphy (D-PA) and Global Warming Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) Chairman Edward J. Markey Erik Paulsen (R-MN) House Foreign Affairs George Radanovich (R-CA) Chairman Howard L. Berman Mike Ross (D-AR) Senate Judiciary Ed Royce (R-CA) Chairman Patrick Leahy Steve Scalise (R-LA) Adam Schiff (D-CA) House Natural Resources (Minority) Ranking Member Doc Hastings Robert Wexler (D-FL) Charlie Wilson (D-OH) Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Daniel Akaka Don Young (R-AK)

Senate Members House Members Committees Leadership Sam Brownback (R-KS) Jason Altmire (D-PA) Joint Economic Speaker of the House Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Chair Carolyn B. Maloney Nancy Pelosi Bob Corker (R-TN) Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC) Senate Environment and Public Works House Majority Leader John Cornyn (R-TX) Dan Burton (R-IN) (Minority) Steny Hoyer Mike Crapo (R-ID) Christopher P. Carney (D-PA) Ranking Member James M. Inhofe Chris Dodd (D-CT) Mike Conaway (R-TX) Byron Dorgan (D-ND) J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) House Financial Services James M. Inhofe (R-OK) Bart Gordon (D-TN) Chairman Barney Frank Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) House Homeland Security James E. Risch (R-ID) Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) Chairman Bennie G. Thompson David Vitter (R-LA) Mike Honda (D-CA) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) Senate Indian Affairs Roger Wicker (R-MS) Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) Chairman Byron Dorgan Mark Kirk (R-IL) House Oversight and Government Reform Chris Lee (R-NY) Chairman Edolphus Towns Nita Lowey (D-NY) Frank Lucas (R-OK) House Oversight and Government Reform Michael E. McMahon (D-NY) (Minority) Charlie Melancon (D-LA) Ranking Member Darrell Issa Jerry Moran (R-KS) Senate Small Business and Jim Moran (D-VA) Entrepreneurship Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) Chair Mary Landrieu Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) House Transportation and Infrastructure Paul Ryan (R-WI) (Minority) Pete Sessions (R-TX) Ranking Member John L. Mica Frank R. Wolf (R-VA)

Senate Members House Members Committees Leadership Bob Bennett (R-UT) Brian Baird (D-WA) House Administration House Majority Whip Kit Bond (R-MO) Xavier Becerra (D-CA) Chairman Robert Brady James E. Clyburn Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) Senate Environment and Public Works Dick Durbin (D-IL) John Boozman (R-AR) Chair Barbara Boxer John Ensign (R-NV) Robert Brady (D-PA) Russ Feingold (D-WI) Paul C. Broun (R-GA) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) Dave Camp (R-MI) Mel Martinez (R-FL) John Campbell (R-CA) Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Anh “Joseph’’ Cao (R-LA) Harry Reid (D-NV) John Carter (R-TX) Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) Mike Castle (R-DE) Arlen Specter (D-PA) Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) John Thune (R-SD) John Culberson (R-TX) Rush Holt (D-NJ) Steny Hoyer (D-MD) Ron Kind (D-WI) Buck McKeon (R-CA) Bill Posey (R-FL) Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) Dave Reichert (R-WA) Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) David Scott (D-GA) Henry A. Waxman (D-CA)

CONGRESSIONAL WEB SITE GRADES IN 2009 Since CMF began conducting 25% evaluations of congressional Web n = 620 sites in 2001, the results have continued to skew towards the top 20% 22% 22% and bottom grades. An almost equal percentage of sites 20% 18% were substandard (“D”s and “F”s) as 15% 17% were above average (“A”s and “B”s). Additionally, by analyzing past 10% data, we found that “B”s were trending toward “A”s, and “D”s were trending towards “F”s. 5% AWARD WINNERS AWARD (135) (113) (108) (127) (137) 0%

A B C D F *% may not = 100 due to rounding

democratic and republican web site grades in 2009 Democratic Web sites outnumber Republican Web 25% n = 372, 248 sites by a ratio of 3:2. 24% 24% 22% Republican sites scored better 20% 21% 20% 20% overall with 62% of Republican 19% and 54% of Democratic Web 18% s sites scoring a “C” or higher. 15% 16% 16% er However, Democrats won more total nn awards (75) than Republicans (60), i

10% W earning more than twice as many d

Gold Awards. r a 5% Aw *% may not = 100 due to rounding

(75) (60) (59) (54) (69) (39) (78) (49) (91) (46) 0% A B C D F

Democrat Republican

house and senate WEB SITE GRADES IN 2009 For Senate Member, committee, 35% n = 491, 129 and leadership sites, the most common letter grade was an “A,” 30% 32% compared to an “F” in the House. The Senate’s performance 25% 25% 25% is not surprising, given that 23% 23% Senate offices generally 20% have more financial and staff 19% resources than House offices. 15% 16% 16% House Member sites under- performed in some of the most 10% 10% 10% crucial areas, including Issue Content, Timeliness, and Usability. 5%

0% A B C D F *% may not = 100 due to rounding House Senate

© Congressional Management Foundation • www.pmpu.org 12 of 17 111th Congress G old Mouse Proje c t Overview The Number of Award-Winning Senate Member Sites Increased Significantly senate member web site grades in 2007 and 2009 The most common letter grade for 35% n = 99, 99 Senators rose from a “B” to an “A”. 34%

Almost 60% scored an “A” 30% 31% or “B”. However, the number of 25% 24% “F”s remained the same. 24% 20% 19% 17% 15% 16% *% may not = 100 due to rounding

10% 11% 11% 11%

0% A B C D F

2007 2009

house and senate WEB SITE GRADES IN 2007 and 2009 With 439 of the 620 total sites, 30% n = 438, 439 House Members comprise 28% the largest segment of 25% 26% sites evaluated by CMF. 24% They scored lower when 22% 20% 21% compared to Senate Members, committees, and leadership sites. 18% 17% More than half (54%) of House 15% 15% 15% 15% Member Web sites scored a “D” or “F”. 10% At the same time, the number of award-winning sites 5% (“A”s) slightly increased.

0% A B C D F

*% may not = 100 due to rounding 2007 2009

leadership web site grades IN 2007 AND 2009 House and Senate leadership 50% Web sites have improved n = 13, 14 since the last Congress. 43% 40% Six of the 14 leadership sites won awards in 2009, compared to 3 of 13 in 2007. 30% 31% 31%

*% may not = 100 due to rounding 23% 20% 21% 21%

15% 10%

7% 7%

0% 0% A B C D F

2007 2009

© Congressional Management Foundation • www.pmpu.org 15 of 17 111th Congress G old Mouse Proje c t Overview Committee Web Sites Showed The Most Dramatic Improvement committee web site grades in 2007 and 2009

The vast majority of 35% n = 68, 68 committee Web sites in the

House and Senate (93%) 30% 31% 31% 31% scored a “C” or better. The proportion of “D”s and “F”s 25% 25% dropped from 36% to 7%. 24% 22% This is primarily due to the 20% improvement of minority 18% (Republican) Web sites, whose 15% scores of “D” or “F” dropped from 12% 63% in 2007 to 8% in 2009. 10%

5% *% may not = 100 due to rounding 4% 3% 0% A B C D F

2007 2009

Want To Know More?

A dd i t i onal S l i d e sho w s A bout T h e P a r tn e r sh i p & I NFO R MAT I ON The Partnership For A More Perfect Union envisions a United States where • Methodology Members of Congress and citizens have a vibrant, active, and engaged relationship characterized by mutual respect, a sense of shared purpose, and a • Findings dedication to the tenets of representative democracy. We seek to further our nation’s progress toward “a more perfect union” by • Mouse Award Winners fostering the genuine and effective exchange of ideas between Members of Congress and citizens. The Partnership seeks to accomplish this mission by conducting research and education, promoting best practices, and creating innovative tools for everyone with a stake in our government.

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