Ask Your Lawmaker
You ask. Our Journalists Get Answers.
If you could ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid any question, what would it be? What would you ask Sen. McCain? Speaker Pelosi? If you had a microphone and a media pass at the U.S. Capitol, what would you ask your lawmaker? Now you can help hold your elected representatives to account: where do they stand on the important issues? What do they do all day?
Capitol News Connection is the ONLY news organization that gets your questions answered. Our reporter trawl the corridors and committee rooms of Congress, microphone in hand, asking Senators and Representatives what YOU want to ask. We want to make sure lawmakers know what issues matter most to you, your family, your community.
You vote
It’s hard for a lawmaker to dodge a question asked by, say, 13,462 people in 29 states! That’s why we want you to vote for the questions you most want answered. Our reporters pick the questions with the most votes – because they will likely be the best. But we also look out for 'breaking news' questions that have not yet accumulated a lot of votes but are time sensitive. Every day we get as many of your questions answered as possible, but we want to make sure we are asking the best questions. So we need your help! We think 10,000 people asking one question has more impact than asking 10,000 questions, so we’re going to make it easy for you to see if someone else has already asked your question or something similar.
How does Ask Your Lawmaker work?
Ask Your Lawmaker is all about transparency, so we want to make our process transparent to you - and make sure you get the most out of it. We want to make it easy for you to use the site for maximum impact, whether you want to use your question to find out more about a specific policy or legislation, get to know your lawmakers better, or draw attention to a specific problem or controversy. Right now we'e making some improvements to the site - and we want your feedback on how to make your experience both rewarding and fun. So don't hold back - let us know what you want and how we can improve. And in the meantime, here are some tips on how to use Ask Your Lawmaker.
How do I ask a question that will be answered?
The more votes your question gets, the more likely Capitol News Connection journalists will make sure your question gets answered. Big controversies or breaking news developments on any given day will grab the most attention, but so will original, thought-provoking and even quirky questions. Put it this way: if your question is about something that matters to a lot of people, something relevant, important or even amusing, you will increase your likelihood of getting lots of votes. But getting many votes doesn’t necessarily guarantee an answer. CNC journalists will be looking for interesting questions that we think could spur an answer that could be big news the next day, as well as breaking news questions that haven’t had enough time on the Web site to accumulate as many votes as less time sensitive questions. We cannot guarantee your question will be answered, but you can increase your chances by asking good questions and voting for questions that are similar to yours.
What makes a good question?
Capitol News Connection reporters interview senators and representatives every day, and the art of good reporting is getting the question right, listening to the answer, and asking a good follow-up (or three)! The best questions are well-informed and thoughtful, relevant to an important issue, concern or constituency, newsworthy, contextual and open-ended. Asking an open-ended question is easy: start with “what”, “how”, “why”, not “are you?” or “do you?” The latter often can inspire yes or no answers that offer little in the way of illumination. At CNC, we also try to think of ways to get lawmakers “off script” – these days they spend so much time honing their message that the challenge has become to find a way to make them think on their feet. It’s tricky, but it can be done. Sometimes the most compelling answers come from questions that relate on a human level, or find some connection; other times from asking a really tough, well researched question. As "Ask Your Lawmaker" receives your questions and votes, clear patterns will also begin to emerge as to what type of questions are proving most popular (i.e. getting the most votes) and what questions are prompting the best, most newsworthy and listenable answers.
Will my question be answered? Which questions will be answered?
CNC journalists want to ask as many of your questions as possible, but we cannot guarantee all questions will be answered. We promise to ask the most popular (the questions that get the most votes), and the questions CNC journalists think are the most compelling.
How long will it take to get an answer?
If your question is about a breaking news development, turnaround could be same day. If it is not a time sensitive question, we will wait to see how many others vote your question up the rankings. There are also other factors: CNC has accredited access to lawmakers in the Capitol, but that doesn’t always guarantee they will show up for a vote – or give us more than a terse “no comment." But we’re good at this, we’ve won awards for it, so most of the time we’ll get an answer from the lawmaker you want us to question. And we’ll ask a follow-up – especially if the lawmaker doesn’t directly answer your question!
How many votes does a question need to get asked?
Generally if a question has more than 100 votes we will do our very best to get it answered; if it has 10,000 you know we’ll get it answered! But sometimes a question with no votes might be worth asking. You increase your chances if you can come up with something that other people want asked. That’s why we encourage you to vote for questions that are similar to your own, rather than asking the same question as someone else.
Who decides if a question gets answered?
The CNC editorial team retains editorial control over what questions get asked and when.
What happens when Congress is in recess?
It will be much harder to get your questions answered quickly, but we’ll try – you’ll just have to make due with phone tape.
What happens if a lawmaker refuses to answer a question?
We’ll keep trying, and if we cannot get them past a “no comment,” we’ll upload that!
Can I ask follow up questions?
Yes, please! If you ask a question that gets answered, ask a follow-up on the page by clicking "Ask Another" or "Ask a Follow Up Question."
Can I use questions and answers in my blog?
Yes! Just make sure you credit Capitol News Connection and "Ask Your Lawmaker."
Why do I need to register to use the site?
The integrity of this site is critical to its success. We want it to be a reliable and trustworthy tool for everyone and using the site in good faith. That means we have to take steps to ensure the site is not being gamed, spammed or manipulated by anyone.
What prevents people or groups from voting more than once?
We have a database that recognizes your email and IP address to prevent multiple votes.
Are there any restrictions on using the audio on the Web site?
Ask Your Lawmaker is a viral tool, and we encourage you to make use of audio content. You can post it on your blog, Digg it, tell folks how del.icio.us it is, or post it on your Facebook or MySpace page. But you cannot broadcast it, sell it, profit from it, or alter it – and you must credit CNC and/or Ask Your Lawmaker.
Who pays for Ask Your Lawmaker?
Ask Your Lawmaker is a non-profit service operated by Pundit Productions, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) organization named after founder Melinda Wittstock’s amiable but opinionated golden retriever Pundit. Pundit (not the dog) also operates Capitol News Connection, the award-winning news service which supplies public radio stations with localized reports on Congress. Ask Your Lawmaker and CNC are funded by foundations, member public radio stations, corporate underwriting and donations from people like you!
Is Ask Your Lawmaker associated with any political party or interest group?
No, Ask Your Lawmaker is not in any way affiliated with any political party or interest group. Capitol News Connection, which operates this Web site, prides itself on its balanced journalism; it has no dog in any political fight.
Who are the reporters in the field, asking the questions?
CNC reporters! They are working very hard every day to make sure your questions get answered! They want to know what’s on your mind, what is important to you – and why. They’ll do their very best every day to track down lawmakers – whether in the House lobby during a vote, outside the Senate chambers, in the corridors and committee rooms of Congress, on the campaign trail, even coming out of the bathroom. (no kidding, it’s happened before!)
Who or what is Capitol News Connection?
Capitol News Connection (CNC) brings politics home to public radio listeners nationwide with coverage of Congress made relevant to local listening audiences. Former Speaker Tip O’Neill was right when he said “all politics is local." CNC was founded on the basis that people would take more of an interest in their democracy if we could find a way to tell the political story in a way that was relevant to people’s daily lives. What does it mean to me? Why should I care? The CNC mission is to ensure voters are engaged and lawmakers are accountable toward an informed democracy. It launched in July 2003 with a small grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that funded three reporters, three microphones and three laptops. It has grown to serve 200+ stations with exclusive news reports, features and live interviews, all custom-crafted for local audiences. It has won several prestigious national awards including the Joan S. Barone Award for Public Policy Journalism and an Edward R. Murrow award. It continues to innovate with new interactive content such as "Ask Your Lawmaker," as well as new program modules such as Power Breakfast.
Who owns and operates Ask Your Lawmaker?
Capitol News Connection reporters troll the corridors and committee rooms of Capitol Hill every day interviewing lawmakers for stories they produce for our public radio stations, newspapers and local TV stations.
Pundit Productions, Inc. is a non-profit multimedia organization dedicated to producing innovative and interactive Web and broadcast news and information content of the highest caliber, custom-crafted for specific subscribers – whether your local newspaper, public radio or TV station, Web sites and blogs, international broadcasters, or individual subscribers. Pundit is the nonprofit 501 (c) (3) that owns and operates both Capitol News Connection and Ask Your Lawmaker.
