Rep. Gus Bilirakis receives two national awards from the Congressional Management Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of Florida Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis announced Tuesday he’s been given two national democracy awards by the Congressional Management Foundation for Constituent Service, Accessibility and Communication.
“As a Democracy Award winner, the Rep. Bilirakis office is clearly one of the best in Congress. This designation demonstrates that Rep. Bilirakis and his staff are working hard to provide the best public service possible for his constituents,” Congressional Management Foundation President and CEO Bradford Fitch said in a release.
According to the Congressional Management Foundation, or CMF, Bilirakis earned an award for Outstanding Achievement in Constituent Service, as well as one in Constituent Accountability & Accessibility. The winners also are selected by an external committee comprised of former Members of Congress and congressional staff.
“I’m humbled to once again be recognized for outstanding constituent service, communication and accessibility as one of the top performers in Congress. I’m blessed with a top-notch team of professionals who share my passion for public service and work together to ensure continuous improvement,” Bilirakis said. “I’m proud of the work we are continuing to do to help individual constituents and I’m confident we will continue going the extra mile to boost constituent engagement.”
In the Constituent Service category, CMF specified Bilirakis and his office “cultivates a culture of excellence and continuous improvement supported by formal procedures.”
In examples, CMF noted the office’s effort to separate intake and casework manuals that outline constituent response time of 24 hours and utilizing a shared intake drive checked by staff members to expedite processing.
Furthermore, CMF added the office holds weekly meetings with district staff to identify trends and track feedback by phone, letters, emails, outreach contact and satisfaction survey results.
CMF also specified reasons for Bilirakis earning an award for Constituent Accountability and Accessibility. According to the release, Bilirakis held approximately 100 in-person or tele-townhall meetings in 2023.
In addition, the release noted Bilirakis hosts a tele-townhall each month in which he calls 100,000 district constituents. Furthermore, Bilirakis’ voting record and rationale is outlined to 205,000 subscribers in a weekly newsletter to constituents.
“The office has cultivated a culture of excellence and continuous improvement that is supported by formal procedures. The team actively seeks opportunities to find solutions through legislative action on issues that stem from constituent trends, often resulting in Dear Colleague letters, testimony at legislative hearings, and formal legislation,” CMF said.
