Our work / Recommendations

Recommendations to strengthen casework

★ Recommendations to Congress ★

Strengthening casework in the House and Senate

Since 2022, CSI and its team have recommended ways for Congressional institutions to support caseworkers, improve agency responsiveness, and connect constituent service to oversight. Here is where each recommendation stands. Filter by status, chamber, topic, or our role, and open any recommendation for details and sources.

Progress

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Institutional support

Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateLed by CSIPOPVOX FoundationSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Data and oversight

Create a unified House system for tracking casework In progressHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022The House, with opt-in data sharing through Member offices’ constituent relationship management (CRM) systems
In progress

The House Digital Service built CaseCompass, a House-wide casework data aggregation system with a standard taxonomy, voluntary office participation, and constituent privacy protections. It is nearing launch.

Measured and monitored, casework can be the canary in the coal mine for problems in federal programs. A unified system of casework tags across House offices, with a way for offices to opt in to sharing anonymized casework statistics, would open up an unprecedented body of data on gaps in federal customer service and policy implementation, helping offices and committees decide when a recurring problem warrants oversight or legislative action.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate
  • OpenPublish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset
  • OpenBuild CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans
Launch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate In progressHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026House Digital Service and the CAO, with work toward a Senate equivalent
In progress

CaseCompass is nearing launch in the House. The Senate version is still to come.

CaseCompass, the casework data aggregation system built by the House Digital Service, should be funded to move from pilot to general availability across the House, and work should begin on a Senate version. This data infrastructure underpins nearly every other recommendation here.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedFund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot
  • In progressCreate a unified House system for tracking casework
Publish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026House Digital Service
Open

Aggregate, anonymized CaseCompass data would serve researchers studying administrative burden, journalists covering agency failures, civic technologists building tools, and Congressional staff who now have to dig for it on HouseNet. Because the data reflects taxpayer-funded staff work on taxpayer-funded programs, aggregate performance information has a legitimate claim to public transparency.

Source

Build CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans OpenHouseLed by CSISince November 2026House standing committees with jurisdiction over high-volume casework agencies
Open

House Rule X requires every standing committee to adopt an oversight plan by March 1 of the first session. Committees with jurisdiction over the agencies that generate the most casework should include CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness to Congressional inquiries in those plans, making casework a standing oversight input rather than something raised only in a crisis.

Source

Hold “Constituent Service Day” hearings OpenHouseSenateLed by CSISince November 2026Committees in both chambers
Open

Modeled on Member Day hearings, a Constituent Service Day would invite casework teams to submit trends, persistent problems, and specific stories through a secure form the committee circulates widely to casework offices. Committee staff would review the submissions and invite a bipartisan panel of caseworkers and Members to testify on systemic issues.

Source

Fund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, with the Committee on House Administration
Implemented

The House invested in the pilot through its Modernization Initiatives Account. It became CaseCompass.

Fund the House Digital Service’s pilot of a national casework data aggregator, scoped at the recommendation of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, to give Congress a real-time view of the problems constituents face with federal agencies and to support casework teams and oversight.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate

Agency responsiveness

Partner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory OpenHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022Congress and federal agencies
Open

Agencies still have no reliable, current directory of caseworkers. A Casework Liaison Office would maintain one.

Congressional district offices act as a front office for the entire federal government, especially in a crisis and in communities agencies struggle to reach. Agencies often miss the chance to work with district staff on the ground, partly because caseworker turnover makes it hard to keep track of who to contact. An up-to-date caseworker and outreach liaison directory, accessible to federal agency liaisons, would make that partnership routine.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenExpand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Codify minimum agency responsiveness standards In progressHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024Congress, by statute, setting obligations for federal agencies
In progress

The groundwork is done: GAO completed a study of agency responsiveness to Congressional casework inquiries and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026. Statutory standards have not yet been set.

Building on the Government Accountability Office’s ongoing study, Congress should set statutory requirements for how agencies handle Member inquiries, covering response times, what information agencies can share, and escalation pathways.

Where we have made this recommendation

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedCommission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework
Build agency-side infrastructure for the inter-branch feedback loop OpenHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026Federal agencies, especially high-volume casework agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Open

Agencies should treat Congressional inquiries as a legitimate input to their customer experience and service delivery work, and establish independent, statutorily empowered constituent advocate teams modeled on the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Source

Commission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince April 2024Government Accountability Office (GAO), through Legislative branch appropriations
Implemented

GAO completed the study and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026.

Congress has never set standards for how agencies respond to casework, so practices vary widely, from web forms with limited tracking to DC legislative affairs offices, processing-center liaisons, and local customer service teams. A GAO study would document current agency practices and their effect on casework staff time, and lay the groundwork for minimum response standards.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressCodify minimum agency responsiveness standards
Expand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons OpenHousePOPVOX FoundationSince April 2024Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Open

The expanded directory has not been completed.

The CRS directory lists agencies’ primary DC casework liaisons but not the regional, processing-center, and local contacts caseworkers actually rely on. Offices end up sending sensitive inquiries to the wrong or departed contacts and building their own lists, which is especially hard for new offices. Expanding the directory was also Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 150.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenPartner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office

Caseworker training and capacity

Give district staff ways to connect and share best practices ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022The House, for district office staff
Implemented

The House has built new channels for sharing and innovation, including the Caseworker Working Group and the CAO Coach program’s outreach ideas bank.

Individual offices are hotbeds of innovation, but their tools, case studies, and processes rarely travel beyond word of mouth, so offices duplicate each other’s work. District staff should have the same chances as DC staff to connect, collaborate, and share advanced expertise, including in person.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Authorize Member-to-Member staff details for casework surges OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026House Committee on Ethics, in collaboration with the Committee on House Administration
Open

When a natural disaster or a crisis like the Afghanistan withdrawal swamps an office, colleagues already lend experienced caseworkers informally, an arrangement that sits uneasily with Ethics rules limiting Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) use to a Member’s own constituents. Amending the House Ethics Manual would formally permit these details at each Member’s discretion, keeping control with Members rather than a central pool. The proposal responds to Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 151.

Source

Create certification for high-sensitivity casework OpenHouseSenateLed by CSIPOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026Congressional Staff Academy, with the Congressional Research Service, the CAO Coach program, and the Casework Liaison Office; voluntary for Member offices
Open

Mistakes in cases involving military sexual trauma, deportation, or complex Social Security and VA disability appeals can do lasting harm, and many of these constituents are trauma survivors. Opt-in baseline competence standards and certification would give staff handling high-stakes cases a clear training pathway while respecting each Member’s authority over hiring and training.

Where we have made this recommendation

Provide mental health support for caseworkers OpenHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, directing the appropriate institutional offices
Open

Casework exposes staff to constituents’ trauma, as the Afghanistan withdrawal made painfully clear. Building on the House and Senate Employee Assistance Programs, the chambers should expand trauma-informed resources designed for the specific challenges of casework.

Source

Outreach and access

Study the barriers to proactive casework outreach OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026A House pilot study, including how House Ethics and franking rules apply
Open

Casework is mostly reactive, so caseloads reflect who knows to ask for help rather than who needs it. A pilot study would examine what keeps offices from proactive outreach: limited staff capacity, resourcing, and Ethics and franking rules on contacting constituents who have not reached out first. State legislative pilots studied in Dr. Megan Rickman Blackwood’s 2026 research on proactive casework produced large increases in validated casework, especially from constituents facing housing insecurity and benefits disruptions.

Source

Strengthening the House

Invest in House staff capacity OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Competitive pay and benefits so the House can retain staff expertise, enough staff to share the workload, and institutional support for caucuses and other Member organizations.

Source

Create more opportunities to legislate OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Clearer, more predictable paths for bills and amendments with broad support to receive committee or floor consideration and votes, including in the budget and appropriations process.

Source

Strengthen House ethics OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Tighter standards on Members’ personal financial interests, including individual stock trading and participation in prediction markets, and the resources, authority, and continuity the House’s independent ethics processes need.

Source

Make an ongoing commitment to House reform OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

A bipartisan select committee on House reform with broad jurisdiction, legislative authority, significant staff, a membership reflecting the range of views in the House, and regular opportunities to bring its recommendations to the floor for a vote.

Source

Connecting Casework and Oversight

November 2026

Led by CSIRecommendations for the 120th Congress, with model oversight plan language, a guide to resources in each chamber, and a map of committee jurisdiction over the agencies that generate the most casework.

Build CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans OpenHouseSince November 2026House standing committees with jurisdiction over high-volume casework agencies
Open

House Rule X requires every standing committee to adopt an oversight plan by March 1 of the first session. Committees with jurisdiction over the agencies that generate the most casework should include CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness to Congressional inquiries in those plans, making casework a standing oversight input rather than something raised only in a crisis.

Source

Hold “Constituent Service Day” hearings OpenHouseSenateSince November 2026Committees in both chambers
Open

Modeled on Member Day hearings, a Constituent Service Day would invite casework teams to submit trends, persistent problems, and specific stories through a secure form the committee circulates widely to casework offices. Committee staff would review the submissions and invite a bipartisan panel of caseworkers and Members to testify on systemic issues.

Source

An Open Letter to the House of Representatives on Reforms to Strengthen the House

November 2026

Co-signedAddressed to Members of the House ahead of the 120th Congress. CSI signed alongside eleven other organizations and three scholars.

Invest in House staff capacity OpenHouseSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Competitive pay and benefits so the House can retain staff expertise, enough staff to share the workload, and institutional support for caucuses and other Member organizations.

Source

Create more opportunities to legislate OpenHouseSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Clearer, more predictable paths for bills and amendments with broad support to receive committee or floor consideration and votes, including in the budget and appropriations process.

Source

Strengthen House ethics OpenHouseSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Tighter standards on Members’ personal financial interests, including individual stock trading and participation in prediction markets, and the resources, authority, and continuity the House’s independent ethics processes need.

Source

Make an ongoing commitment to House reform OpenHouseSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

A bipartisan select committee on House reform with broad jurisdiction, legislative authority, significant staff, a membership reflecting the range of views in the House, and regular opportunities to bring its recommendations to the floor for a vote.

Source

Modernizing Casework: Recommendations to CHA’s Modernization and Innovation Subcommittee

September 2026

Led by CSISubmitted through the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation’s public recommendations portal.

Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Authorize Member-to-Member staff details for casework surges OpenHouseSince September 2026House Committee on Ethics, in collaboration with the Committee on House Administration
Open

When a natural disaster or a crisis like the Afghanistan withdrawal swamps an office, colleagues already lend experienced caseworkers informally, an arrangement that sits uneasily with Ethics rules limiting Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) use to a Member’s own constituents. Amending the House Ethics Manual would formally permit these details at each Member’s discretion, keeping control with Members rather than a central pool. The proposal responds to Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 151.

Source

Create certification for high-sensitivity casework OpenHouseSenateSince August 2026Congressional Staff Academy, with the Congressional Research Service, the CAO Coach program, and the Casework Liaison Office; voluntary for Member offices
Open

Mistakes in cases involving military sexual trauma, deportation, or complex Social Security and VA disability appeals can do lasting harm, and many of these constituents are trauma survivors. Opt-in baseline competence standards and certification would give staff handling high-stakes cases a clear training pathway while respecting each Member’s authority over hiring and training.

Where we have made this recommendation

Publish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset OpenHouseSince September 2026House Digital Service
Open

Aggregate, anonymized CaseCompass data would serve researchers studying administrative burden, journalists covering agency failures, civic technologists building tools, and Congressional staff who now have to dig for it on HouseNet. Because the data reflects taxpayer-funded staff work on taxpayer-funded programs, aggregate performance information has a legitimate claim to public transparency.

Source

Study the barriers to proactive casework outreach OpenHouseSince September 2026A House pilot study, including how House Ethics and franking rules apply
Open

Casework is mostly reactive, so caseloads reflect who knows to ask for help rather than who needs it. A pilot study would examine what keeps offices from proactive outreach: limited staff capacity, resourcing, and Ethics and franking rules on contacting constituents who have not reached out first. State legislative pilots studied in Dr. Megan Rickman Blackwood’s 2026 research on proactive casework produced large increases in validated casework, especially from constituents facing housing insecurity and benefits disruptions.

Source

The State of Congressional Casework: A Landscape Analysis

August 2026

POPVOX FoundationWritten by CSI Executive Director Anne Meeker; published by POPVOX Foundation.

Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Create certification for high-sensitivity casework OpenHouseSenateSince August 2026Congressional Staff Academy, with the Congressional Research Service, the CAO Coach program, and the Casework Liaison Office; voluntary for Member offices
Open

Mistakes in cases involving military sexual trauma, deportation, or complex Social Security and VA disability appeals can do lasting harm, and many of these constituents are trauma survivors. Opt-in baseline competence standards and certification would give staff handling high-stakes cases a clear training pathway while respecting each Member’s authority over hiring and training.

Where we have made this recommendation

Launch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate In progressHouseSenateSince August 2026House Digital Service and the CAO, with work toward a Senate equivalent
In progress

CaseCompass is nearing launch in the House. The Senate version is still to come.

CaseCompass, the casework data aggregation system built by the House Digital Service, should be funded to move from pilot to general availability across the House, and work should begin on a Senate version. This data infrastructure underpins nearly every other recommendation here.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedFund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot
  • In progressCreate a unified House system for tracking casework
Codify minimum agency responsiveness standards In progressHouseSenateSince 2024Congress, by statute, setting obligations for federal agencies
In progress

The groundwork is done: GAO completed a study of agency responsiveness to Congressional casework inquiries and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026. Statutory standards have not yet been set.

Building on the Government Accountability Office’s ongoing study, Congress should set statutory requirements for how agencies handle Member inquiries, covering response times, what information agencies can share, and escalation pathways.

Where we have made this recommendation

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedCommission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework
Build agency-side infrastructure for the inter-branch feedback loop OpenHouseSenateSince August 2026Federal agencies, especially high-volume casework agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Open

Agencies should treat Congressional inquiries as a legitimate input to their customer experience and service delivery work, and establish independent, statutorily empowered constituent advocate teams modeled on the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Source

Testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, FY2025

April 2024

POPVOX FoundationWritten testimony from Anne Meeker requesting a GAO study, an expanded CRS directory of casework liaisons, and a CAO study of a House casework office.

Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Commission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework ImplementedHouseSince April 2024Government Accountability Office (GAO), through Legislative branch appropriations
Implemented

GAO completed the study and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026.

Congress has never set standards for how agencies respond to casework, so practices vary widely, from web forms with limited tracking to DC legislative affairs offices, processing-center liaisons, and local customer service teams. A GAO study would document current agency practices and their effect on casework staff time, and lay the groundwork for minimum response standards.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressCodify minimum agency responsiveness standards
Expand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons OpenHouseSince April 2024Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Open

The expanded directory has not been completed.

The CRS directory lists agencies’ primary DC casework liaisons but not the regional, processing-center, and local contacts caseworkers actually rely on. Offices end up sending sensitive inquiries to the wrong or departed contacts and building their own lists, which is especially hard for new offices. Expanding the directory was also Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 150.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenPartner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office

American Ingenuity: Congressional Casework in the Afghanistan Withdrawal

2024

POPVOX FoundationPOPVOX Foundation research on how Congressional caseworkers responded to the Afghanistan withdrawal, based on interviews from 2023 to 2024.

Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Codify minimum agency responsiveness standards In progressHouseSenateSince 2024Congress, by statute, setting obligations for federal agencies
In progress

The groundwork is done: GAO completed a study of agency responsiveness to Congressional casework inquiries and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026. Statutory standards have not yet been set.

Building on the Government Accountability Office’s ongoing study, Congress should set statutory requirements for how agencies handle Member inquiries, covering response times, what information agencies can share, and escalation pathways.

Where we have made this recommendation

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedCommission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework
Fund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot ImplementedHouseSince 2024House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, with the Committee on House Administration
Implemented

The House invested in the pilot through its Modernization Initiatives Account. It became CaseCompass.

Fund the House Digital Service’s pilot of a national casework data aggregator, scoped at the recommendation of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, to give Congress a real-time view of the problems constituents face with federal agencies and to support casework teams and oversight.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate
Provide mental health support for caseworkers OpenHouseSenateSince 2024Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, directing the appropriate institutional offices
Open

Casework exposes staff to constituents’ trauma, as the Afghanistan withdrawal made painfully clear. Building on the House and Senate Employee Assistance Programs, the chambers should expand trauma-informed resources designed for the specific challenges of casework.

Source

Statement for the Record: “Congress Back Home: Modernizing District Office Operations”

February 2022

POPVOX FoundationSubmitted by Anne Meeker, then POPVOX Foundation’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress for its February 16, 2022 hearing.

Create a unified House system for tracking casework In progressHouseSince February 2022The House, with opt-in data sharing through Member offices’ constituent relationship management (CRM) systems
In progress

The House Digital Service built CaseCompass, a House-wide casework data aggregation system with a standard taxonomy, voluntary office participation, and constituent privacy protections. It is nearing launch.

Measured and monitored, casework can be the canary in the coal mine for problems in federal programs. A unified system of casework tags across House offices, with a way for offices to opt in to sharing anonymized casework statistics, would open up an unprecedented body of data on gaps in federal customer service and policy implementation, helping offices and committees decide when a recurring problem warrants oversight or legislative action.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate
  • OpenPublish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset
  • OpenBuild CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans
Partner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory OpenHouseSince February 2022Congress and federal agencies
Open

Agencies still have no reliable, current directory of caseworkers. A Casework Liaison Office would maintain one.

Congressional district offices act as a front office for the entire federal government, especially in a crisis and in communities agencies struggle to reach. Agencies often miss the chance to work with district staff on the ground, partly because caseworker turnover makes it hard to keep track of who to contact. An up-to-date caseworker and outreach liaison directory, accessible to federal agency liaisons, would make that partnership routine.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenExpand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Give district staff ways to connect and share best practices ImplementedHouseSince February 2022The House, for district office staff
Implemented

The House has built new channels for sharing and innovation, including the Caseworker Working Group and the CAO Coach program’s outreach ideas bank.

Individual offices are hotbeds of innovation, but their tools, case studies, and processes rarely travel beyond word of mouth, so offices duplicate each other’s work. District staff should have the same chances as DC staff to connect, collaborate, and share advanced expertise, including in person.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office

Implemented

Give district staff ways to connect and share best practices ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022The House, for district office staff
Implemented

The House has built new channels for sharing and innovation, including the Caseworker Working Group and the CAO Coach program’s outreach ideas bank.

Individual offices are hotbeds of innovation, but their tools, case studies, and processes rarely travel beyond word of mouth, so offices duplicate each other’s work. District staff should have the same chances as DC staff to connect, collaborate, and share advanced expertise, including in person.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Fund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, with the Committee on House Administration
Implemented

The House invested in the pilot through its Modernization Initiatives Account. It became CaseCompass.

Fund the House Digital Service’s pilot of a national casework data aggregator, scoped at the recommendation of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, to give Congress a real-time view of the problems constituents face with federal agencies and to support casework teams and oversight.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate
Commission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework ImplementedHousePOPVOX FoundationSince April 2024Government Accountability Office (GAO), through Legislative branch appropriations
Implemented

GAO completed the study and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026.

Congress has never set standards for how agencies respond to casework, so practices vary widely, from web forms with limited tracking to DC legislative affairs offices, processing-center liaisons, and local customer service teams. A GAO study would document current agency practices and their effect on casework staff time, and lay the groundwork for minimum response standards.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressCodify minimum agency responsiveness standards

In progress

Create a unified House system for tracking casework In progressHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022The House, with opt-in data sharing through Member offices’ constituent relationship management (CRM) systems
In progress

The House Digital Service built CaseCompass, a House-wide casework data aggregation system with a standard taxonomy, voluntary office participation, and constituent privacy protections. It is nearing launch.

Measured and monitored, casework can be the canary in the coal mine for problems in federal programs. A unified system of casework tags across House offices, with a way for offices to opt in to sharing anonymized casework statistics, would open up an unprecedented body of data on gaps in federal customer service and policy implementation, helping offices and committees decide when a recurring problem warrants oversight or legislative action.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • In progressLaunch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate
  • OpenPublish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset
  • OpenBuild CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans
Launch CaseCompass and scale it to the Senate In progressHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026House Digital Service and the CAO, with work toward a Senate equivalent
In progress

CaseCompass is nearing launch in the House. The Senate version is still to come.

CaseCompass, the casework data aggregation system built by the House Digital Service, should be funded to move from pilot to general availability across the House, and work should begin on a Senate version. This data infrastructure underpins nearly every other recommendation here.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedFund the House Digital Service’s casework data aggregator pilot
  • In progressCreate a unified House system for tracking casework
Codify minimum agency responsiveness standards In progressHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024Congress, by statute, setting obligations for federal agencies
In progress

The groundwork is done: GAO completed a study of agency responsiveness to Congressional casework inquiries and delivered it to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in 2026. Statutory standards have not yet been set.

Building on the Government Accountability Office’s ongoing study, Congress should set statutory requirements for how agencies handle Member inquiries, covering response times, what information agencies can share, and escalation pathways.

Where we have made this recommendation

Connected recommendations

  • ImplementedCommission a GAO study of agency responsiveness to casework

Open

Partner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory OpenHousePOPVOX FoundationSince February 2022Congress and federal agencies
Open

Agencies still have no reliable, current directory of caseworkers. A Casework Liaison Office would maintain one.

Congressional district offices act as a front office for the entire federal government, especially in a crisis and in communities agencies struggle to reach. Agencies often miss the chance to work with district staff on the ground, partly because caseworker turnover makes it hard to keep track of who to contact. An up-to-date caseworker and outreach liaison directory, accessible to federal agency liaisons, would make that partnership routine.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenExpand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Establish a Casework Liaison Office OpenHouseSenateLed by CSIPOPVOX FoundationSince 2024A permanent office serving both chambers, housed in the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Senate Sergeant at Arms
Open

Caseworkers have no central point of coordination, so every office rebuilds its own agency contacts, processes, and training. A permanent Casework Liaison Office would act as a two-way hub between agencies and caseworkers, steward CaseCompass and its taxonomy, host peer communities and searchable knowledge repositories, represent caseworkers in customer relationship management (CRM) vendor decisions, and produce nonpartisan casework trend data for oversight, modeled on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s reports to Congress.

Where we have made this recommendation

Authorize Member-to-Member staff details for casework surges OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026House Committee on Ethics, in collaboration with the Committee on House Administration
Open

When a natural disaster or a crisis like the Afghanistan withdrawal swamps an office, colleagues already lend experienced caseworkers informally, an arrangement that sits uneasily with Ethics rules limiting Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) use to a Member’s own constituents. Amending the House Ethics Manual would formally permit these details at each Member’s discretion, keeping control with Members rather than a central pool. The proposal responds to Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 151.

Source

Create certification for high-sensitivity casework OpenHouseSenateLed by CSIPOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026Congressional Staff Academy, with the Congressional Research Service, the CAO Coach program, and the Casework Liaison Office; voluntary for Member offices
Open

Mistakes in cases involving military sexual trauma, deportation, or complex Social Security and VA disability appeals can do lasting harm, and many of these constituents are trauma survivors. Opt-in baseline competence standards and certification would give staff handling high-stakes cases a clear training pathway while respecting each Member’s authority over hiring and training.

Where we have made this recommendation

Publish an anonymized CaseCompass dataset OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026House Digital Service
Open

Aggregate, anonymized CaseCompass data would serve researchers studying administrative burden, journalists covering agency failures, civic technologists building tools, and Congressional staff who now have to dig for it on HouseNet. Because the data reflects taxpayer-funded staff work on taxpayer-funded programs, aggregate performance information has a legitimate claim to public transparency.

Source

Build CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness into committee oversight plans OpenHouseLed by CSISince November 2026House standing committees with jurisdiction over high-volume casework agencies
Open

House Rule X requires every standing committee to adopt an oversight plan by March 1 of the first session. Committees with jurisdiction over the agencies that generate the most casework should include CaseCompass data and agency responsiveness to Congressional inquiries in those plans, making casework a standing oversight input rather than something raised only in a crisis.

Source

Hold “Constituent Service Day” hearings OpenHouseSenateLed by CSISince November 2026Committees in both chambers
Open

Modeled on Member Day hearings, a Constituent Service Day would invite casework teams to submit trends, persistent problems, and specific stories through a secure form the committee circulates widely to casework offices. Committee staff would review the submissions and invite a bipartisan panel of caseworkers and Members to testify on systemic issues.

Source

Study the barriers to proactive casework outreach OpenHouseLed by CSISince September 2026A House pilot study, including how House Ethics and franking rules apply
Open

Casework is mostly reactive, so caseloads reflect who knows to ask for help rather than who needs it. A pilot study would examine what keeps offices from proactive outreach: limited staff capacity, resourcing, and Ethics and franking rules on contacting constituents who have not reached out first. State legislative pilots studied in Dr. Megan Rickman Blackwood’s 2026 research on proactive casework produced large increases in validated casework, especially from constituents facing housing insecurity and benefits disruptions.

Source

Build agency-side infrastructure for the inter-branch feedback loop OpenHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince August 2026Federal agencies, especially high-volume casework agencies such as the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Open

Agencies should treat Congressional inquiries as a legitimate input to their customer experience and service delivery work, and establish independent, statutorily empowered constituent advocate teams modeled on the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Source

Invest in House staff capacity OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Competitive pay and benefits so the House can retain staff expertise, enough staff to share the workload, and institutional support for caucuses and other Member organizations.

Source

Create more opportunities to legislate OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Clearer, more predictable paths for bills and amendments with broad support to receive committee or floor consideration and votes, including in the budget and appropriations process.

Source

Strengthen House ethics OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

Tighter standards on Members’ personal financial interests, including individual stock trading and participation in prediction markets, and the resources, authority, and continuity the House’s independent ethics processes need.

Source

Make an ongoing commitment to House reform OpenHouseCo-signedSince November 2026Members of the House, ahead of the 120th Congress
Open

A bipartisan select committee on House reform with broad jurisdiction, legislative authority, significant staff, a membership reflecting the range of views in the House, and regular opportunities to bring its recommendations to the floor for a vote.

Source

Expand the CRS directory of agency casework liaisons OpenHousePOPVOX FoundationSince April 2024Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Open

The expanded directory has not been completed.

The CRS directory lists agencies’ primary DC casework liaisons but not the regional, processing-center, and local contacts caseworkers actually rely on. Offices end up sending sensitive inquiries to the wrong or departed contacts and building their own lists, which is especially hard for new offices. Expanding the directory was also Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress recommendation 150.

Source

Connected recommendations

  • OpenPartner with agencies on community outreach, backed by a caseworker liaison directory
  • OpenEstablish a Casework Liaison Office
Provide mental health support for caseworkers OpenHouseSenatePOPVOX FoundationSince 2024Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, directing the appropriate institutional offices
Open

Casework exposes staff to constituents’ trauma, as the Afghanistan withdrawal made painfully clear. Building on the House and Senate Employee Assistance Programs, the chambers should expand trauma-informed resources designed for the specific challenges of casework.

Source

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