The Congressional Management Foundation has been grading congressional websites since 2001 and issues biannual awards for the best websites for each Congress.
Some findings from its report for the 112th Congress include:
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The overall quality of congressional websites has improved since 2009. In 2011, the most common grade was B, and 63% of sites earned grades of C or better.
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A significant number of member websites lack basic educational and transparency features and content, including links to bills sponsored or co-sponsored (40%), voting records (44%), information on how a bill becomes a law (47%), and guidance for communicating with their office (67%).
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In contrast, the vast majority of committee websites include such key information as committee reports and publications (87%), a hearing archive (90%), a hearing schedule (85%), and a video webcast feature (78%).
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The use of social media tools has risen exponentially. The proportion of member websites linking to official Facebook and Twitter pages now represent a vast majority (79% and 82%, respectively), with committee websites showing similar growth (40% and 49% linkage, respectively).
Click here for a list of award winners and here for the full report.
Hat tip to beSpacific.
