Credit To The People
www.credittothepeople.org
info@credittothepeople.org
(413) 329-3200​

~ Helping people understand and take responsibility 
for using credit and money for the benefit of all ~
SURVEY of MEMBERS of CONGRESS and CANDIDATES for CONGRESS

REPRESENTATION

1. Do you always vote as a majority of voters in your district would want you to? [as revealed by polls or surveys of all voters, a statistically valid random sample of voters in your district, in light of records of calls & mail received, or according to your gut instincts or best judgment] 
YES _____ NO _____ 
Does it make any difference to you how the size or extent of the majority is revealed? 
YES ____ NO ____

2. Under what circumstances would you vote contrary to the preferences of majorities of voters in your district? [Check all that pertain.]

For reasons of: (a) conscience ___; (b) life and death issues___; (c) war & peace___;   
(d) Other (please specify) ___________________________________ 

3. How do you take the pulse of those you are elected to represent?/How frequently?

Instant polling_____ / Daily _______
Issues polling_____ / Weekly______
Surveys _________ /Monthly______ 
Other (specify) __________________________________________________

EMPOWERMENT

1. What does the phrase “people’s empowerment” mean to you? _____________________
____________________________________________________

2. If you think that the voters or, more generally, the people of your district should be empowered; how so? [Check all that pertain.]

More & better information to be supplied by your Congressional Office(s) ____
Frequent opinion polls of both voters and non-voters _____
Issues polling and/or surveys _____  
Enabling informal constituent voting on bills, questions or issues _____
Assisting constituents’ self-organization around questions or issues._____
Helping constituents to rally, demonstrate or protest on questions or issues._____  
Promoting the organization of independent citizens’ committees to advise you on bills and  
     questions regarding major issues. ____  

LEADERSHIP

1. How do you define leadership?_____________________________________________

2. What role does leadership play in your view of how to best serve your constituents as a Member of Congress (MoC)?_______________________________________________

3. On what issues do you think it is imperative to speak and try to take a leadership role as a MoC? [Specify.] _________________________________________________________

CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE

1. What would be the major functions or activities of the congressional office(s) in your district? [Rank them, below, entering 1 = most important, to 7 = least important]

[ ] Providing information to constituents on issues from non-partisan sources.  
[ ] Providing information from partisan sources.
[ ] Helping self-organized constituents to mount their own political initiatives on their own, most heartfelt issues, including but not limited to: petitions, letters to other members of Congress, rallies, demonstrations, protests, sit-ins and occupations [provided that their opinions on such issues also reflected the views of at least a significant minority of others in the C.D., not just those of a marginal group].
[ ] Helping folks to access and obtain federal program benefits [e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Head Start].
[ ] Enabling and assisting constituents to express and press their views on the writing of regulations or related matters of administrative law under consideration by government agencies (“bureaucratic” procedures). 
[ ] Working closely with independent (non-partisan) committees of constituents to help them influence proceedings to determine both statutory and administrative law outcomes. 
[ ] Communication, cooperation and collaboration with private, non-governmental organizations regarding issues and legislation of concern to constituents in your district. 
[ ] Other [Please specify] _________________________________________________

2. How would you staff your Congressional Office(s)? [Indicate your priorities, as above, from high to low.] With…?…

[ ] Politically ambitious young people who see being a member of your staff as important to their own political (and perhaps other) career possibilities.
[ ] Applicants who have prior experience working on Capitol Hill, whatever their age.
[ ] Applicants who are long-term residents of your C.D.
[ ] Young to middle-aged professionals who would like to serve as interns in your offices while taking advantage of programs that provide stipends or other funding for internships (e.g., the AAAS program).
[ ] Retired veterans or senior citizens from your District who are willing to work for your Office on a volunteer or honorarium basis because they see an opportunity to again serve their country, and/or who are otherwise qualified.
[ ] Veteran and/or disabled constituents who are able to carry out needful office tasks for pay commensurate with the nature of the tasks.
[ ] Other [Please specify] _____________________________________________

3. Communication, Cooperation and Collaboration (3C’s) with Private, Non-governmental organizations (PNO‘s). [Again, rank the specified activities.]

[ ] Deliberate, consistent outreach to PNO’s in your district seeking 3C’s on issues and/ or legislation of mutual concern.
[ ] Assistance to PNO’s to help them with information, research, public relations or other actions on selective pieces of legislation.
[ ] Joint efforts to do research on issues and/or follow-up initiatives to promote shared views or legislative action(s).
[ ] Not germane to my view of how a Congressional Office should function.
[ ] Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

HELPING CONSTITUENTS [As before, rank options according to their priority or importance to you.]

[ ] Helping citizens in your district to access and obtain benefits from any governmental programs -- federal, state or local.
[ ] Providing information to constituents on issues from non-partisan sources.  
[ ] Providing information from partisan sources.
[ ] Helping constituents to obtain “right to know” information they are having difficulty obtaining from any sources, whether they be state or local, not just federal.
[ ] Helping self-organized constituents to mount their own political initiatives on their own, most heart- and mind-felt issues, including but not limited to: petitions, letters to other members of Congress, rallies, demonstrations, protests and occupations [provided that their opinions on such issues also reflected the views of at least a significant minority of others in the C.D., not just those of a marginal minority].
[ ] Enabling and assisting constituents to express and press their views on the writing of regulations or related matters of administrative law under consideration by government agencies (“bureaucratic” procedures).  
[ ] Helping constituents to get fair treatment, assistance and justice from privatized governmental agencies that are supposed to be helping them but are not, or which are helping themselves more than your constituents. 
[ ] Other (Please specify) _____________________________________________ 

OUTREACH, INFORMATION and OPENNESS to CONSTITUENTS [rank as earlier]

[ ] Information to constituents as to where and how they can obtain additional information on issues, congressional committee deliberations, and bills regarding matters of their greatest concern.
[ ] A periodic, joint newsletter with your state’s U.S. Senators as to how you and they are collaborating on legislation and on how best to help constituents. 
[ ] A congressional newsletter provided at least monthly, one that provides information on how and why decisions are being made in the Congress, information truly informative and not free political advertising for the MoC. 
[ ] Urging and helping constituents to form independent citizens committees, each of which would be focused on a high-priority area of concern, to assist and advise you on issues and legislation in those areas. 
[ ] Valuing information provided by your Citizens Committees over that provided by lobbyists. 
[ ] Opening doors for constituents [other than large corporations quite capable of opening doors for themselves] who wish to intervene in executive agency proceedings to draft regulations or other features of administrative law. 
[ ] Make information resources available to constituents that are available to Members (e.g., CRS and CBO reports).
[ ] Other (Please specify) ______________________________________________

REFORM of the CONGRESS [Rank responses as before. The list of reforms below is exemplary, not comprehensive or complete.]

[ ] Support the aims of the People’s Congress [as set forth in: www.peoplescongress.org & www.politicalcommunity.us ] 
[ ] Work to reduce the influence of both parties and party leadership in the Congress.
[ ] Change the rules of the House and Senate so that committee chairmanships and other positions are determined, first, on the basis of merit and, second, by majority vote of the members of each committee or of the broader memberships to which other positions (e.g., Majority Leader, Whips) apply.
[ ] Revamp and consolidate the congressional committee system, and require new committees to be established if a substantial majority demands them via petition.  
[ ] Members seating to be randomly mixed, not by political party.
[ ] No budget/No Pay.
[ ] Congressional salary increases neither automatic, nor by approval of the Congress; rather, keyed to increases in Congress’ approval rating or by vote of national referenda.
[ ] A national Constitutional Convention to increase the size of the House and power of the legislative branch relative to that of the President, enable national I&R, and a constitutional basis for other reforms. 
[ ] As Toffler suggested in THE THIRD WAVE, allow MoC’s “to cast only 50% of the votes on any issue, while turning the other 50% of the votes over to a random sample of the public.” (p.442) 
[ ] Other (Please specify) __________________________________________________

INTERNET TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY [Rank responses] 

[ ] Support a public Internet (a counterpart to public TV and radio).
[ ] Support net neutrality.
[ ] The Congressional Research Service should be commissioned and funded to evaluate, every 5 years, every federal government program requiring expenditure of at least 1% of the federal budget. Such evaluations should be conducted not only as audits but on the basis of real-time program utilization and performance data gathered through electronic media.
[ ] Enable electronic voting by MoCs so that they do not have to be present in Congress to vote.
[ ] Other [Please specify]______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________


PLEASE RETURN completed survey to peterjamesbearse@yahoo.com (if completed online) or to Peter Bearse, P.O. Box 70, Danville, NH 03819 (if completed on paper).