Rep. Houlahan Wins Rare Recognition for Freshman

Photo by Evan Brandt

Among the things U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan was recognized for was the number of town halls she held for constituents, like this on in Phoneixville in Jaauary.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th Dist. 

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th Dist., recently became the first freshman to ever win the prestigious Democracy Award in the category of ‘Transparency and Accountability.’ 

The Democracy Awards are the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-partisan foundation aimed at better management practices in Congress. 

It gives out two awards annually, one to a Republican and one to a Democrat in four categories -- constituent service; 'Life in Congress' workplace environment; innovation and modernization and transparency and accountability.

Houlahan has been selected for her accomplishments in a category recognizing offices that go above and beyond to provide clear and relevant information on their work and publicly acknowledge metrics for that performance.

“As a Democracy Award winner, Rep. Houlahan’s office is clearly one of the best in Congress,”  Bradford Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, said in a press release regarding the honor. 

"This designation demonstrates that Rep. Houlahan has made a significant commitment to being the best public servant for her constituents in Pennsylvania. Rep. Houlahan and her staff are to be congratulated for not only being a model for her colleagues in Congress, but for helping to restore trust and faith that our democratic institutions can work,” said Fitch.

“Since being sworn into office, my team and I have worked hard to build an office that answers directly to the people of my community in Pennsylvania,” said Houlahan. “During this time in our nation’s history, transparency is more important than ever – Pennsylvanians deserve public servants who rise above politics and place service to community as their number one priority. I am grateful for this recognition and even more grateful for the honor and privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania’s Sixth Congressional District.”

In assessing and awarding the office of Rep. Chrissy Houlahan a Democracy Award for Transparency and Accountability, CMF identified the following:

“Hitting the ground running in their first year, the office of Rep. Chrissy Houlahan has made transparency and accountability an office priority," according to the analysis: 

• "Every member of staff in the office answers the phones, including the member. 
• The office conducts in-person and telephone town halls at least once a month, advertises them widely (across email, social media platforms, and through robocalls), posts the schedule to the website, records the content and posts recordings online after the events. 
• Any constituent with unanswered questions receives a callback from the office. 
• Rep. Houlahan also hosts ‘Coffee with Chrissy,’ which are smaller, informal get-togethers in the district. 
• And, with a Hispanic-majority city in their district, the office ensures the website has a Spanish language page, materials are printed in Spanish, and Spanish speakers are located in every district office. 
• The district offices all have evening office hours to make them more accessible to constituents, and the Member records a video at the end of most weeks in DC recapping significant votes and other work.
• Lastly, the office surveys constituents quarterly to assess their performance toward meeting office goals and sends out regular e-newsletters to constituents which include upcoming events, legislative highlights, recent constituent meetings, constituent successes and articles the member recommends.”

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She’s in her first term representing Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Small Business Committee.