“The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will, be recalled.”

~ George Washington (1787)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

A new means of communicating with Congress?

POPVOX.com seems to be that.  From their "About Page":
 POPVOX bridges the gap between the input the public wants to provide and the information Members of Congress want and need to receive.

Constituent communications are flooding and overwhelming Congressional offices. POPVOX verifies, aggregates, and simplifies communication with Congress on an open and trusted (and nonpartisan) common ground. Advocacy organizations, trade associations, unions and other groups send their members to POPVOX to take action on bills pending before Congress. Congressional staff and lawmakers log into POPVOX to measure the pulse of their district. POPVOX provides a curating interface for anyone — including Congressional staff, the public and the media — to access and understand the voice of the people.
Registration is required, and any opinions offered to Congress must include your contact information, which is consistent with Congressional policy and protocol on their own web sites. 

POPVOX is different in that it tracks legislation, and allows you to directly contact your Congressional delegation for a given bill.  In addition, there's an informal voting mechanism for "support" or "oppose", and links to the various organizations and lobbies that support or oppose a bill. 

But POPVOX is a business -- make no mistake about that.  They make their revenue through advertising and other services.  But they do pledge to protect your privacy.

Please check it out, and see how it works for you.  If nothing else, you can get a summary of legislation in one location, without having to scroll through Thomas.gov