Research Essay ( 16 pages with MLA citations )
For my research paper, I plan to research the functions of a congressional office in constituent services specifically through community engagement, and legislative support. My research paper will examine the role of a congressional office in directly engaging with constituents, how they address their constituents’ concerns, and supporting legislative initiatives. I will further research how casework services, community outreach, and policy lead to both the effectiveness of a congressional office and the broader democratic process. Additionally, I will draw from my internship experiences, using real-world examples to illustrate how legislative representation and responsiveness function in practice.
- As part of my internship experience:
- I write the newsletter each week which is aimed to keep citizens informed on what is occurring on the legislative aspect of things and what meetings the congressman is having, and to update them on what news channel the congressman has been on and what bills have been passed
- I also write letter to continents to respond to their concerns in regards to a bill and what the congressman stance is on it
- Logged in call in regards to constituents concerns and would later batch these call and sort them in regards to if its in regards to a particular bill etc
- I’ve seen first hand how they assign cases to case worker when constituent call with a problem/ need help to help aid them
- I have aided in writing speeches that the congressman has read or people from his team have read at events that ultimately are for events supporting a greater cause
What I see
- I see the congressman meet with other key people to help with legislative initiatives
- Meet with people to help his constituents ( advocate for local interest)
- Work with services/ foundations
-As an intern in the U.S. House of Representatives, I play a key role in supporting both legislative initiatives and constituent services. My responsibilities vary which include contributing to the office’s everyday operations as well as its public outreach efforts.
-Constituent services, which entails assisting with handling phone calls, addressing constituent inquiries, and welcoming visitors to the office. Additionally, I lead Capitol tours for constituents, providing them with an informative and engaging experience during their visit to Washington, D.C.
-Legislative support, I conduct daily news monitoring and compile a news roundup on key developments in the district to keep the congressman up to date and the rest of the staff
– This process requires thorough research and analytical skills to interpret complex political events and distill them into clear, concise updates for the office
-Policy support, I assist in tracking and analyzing legislative developments relevant to Congressman Carlos Giménez’s priorities. This includes attending briefings, summarizing hearings, and drafting memos on key policy issues.
– This also includes being informed on bills, etc – such as The U.S. House of Representatives Unanimously Advanced Rep. Gimenez’s bill, HR 1166 The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act
Here are some readings to start with, and you can expand from there:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_Electoral_Systems/YhBQDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=congressional+constituent+services&pg=PA345&printsec=frontcover
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajps.12443
https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/hjlpp40&div=25&g_sent=1&casa_token=&collection=journals
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1532673X15620838
Political Culture & Congressional Constituency Service on JSTOR