Would you believe that many of the official web sites maintained by the 535 senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress lack even basic information about how to contact them, what committees they serve on and what bills they are sponsoring?
In fact, only four Members post their daily schedules on their official web sites and only a couple post the earmarks they have requested.
These facts were discovered by citizen journalists participating in a survey hosted by the Sunlight Foundation in which participants were asked to evaluate official sites and then post the results. You can view all of the results here.
You can view the results by individual Member, by states and by a lengthy list of factors evaluated such as whether or not a site includes such pertinent information as how much a senator or congressman charged to his or her official accounts (Hint: None do). Neither do any of the Members post their financial disclosure documents on their official sites.
Other factors turned up somewhat more encouraging results. A total of 429 sites include information on the Members’ committee assignments, but fewer than half, 240, include information on floor statements by the Member for the Congressional Record.
Sunlight is among the pioneers in developing ways in which the Internet can be used as a transparency and accountability tool for citizens and their government at all levels.
