[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 33 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL MANAGEMENT 
                               FOUNDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2008

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and the 
Republican Leader Mr. Boehner to congratulate the Congressional 
Management Foundation on its 30th anniversary. CMF has had a widespread 
and positive impact on this institution, and we are proud to applaud 
its efforts over the decades in applying its motto, ``Good government 
through good management.''
  Founded in 1977, the Congressional Management Foundation is a non-
profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to serving the Members of 
the House and Senate, as well as the institutional offices of the 
Congress, through staff management training, office facilitation 
services, publications on best practices, and technology research.
  The idea for CMF was born out of the rapid growth of congressional 
offices in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Offices no longer were 
comprised of a single Member with a few support staff. Citizens had 
come to rely on Congress for a vast array of constituent services and 
expected rapid responses to questions and opinions on pending 
legislation.
  Tom Bedell came to Washington to work in Congress in the 1970's to 
work for his father, Congressman Berkley Bedell from Iowa. He saw that, 
while Members of Congress could be brilliant legislators and great 
communicators, they were often overwhelmed by the management challenges 
of running up to four offices and a staff of twenty. Along with Dr. Len 
Hirsch, an organizational development consultant, Tom founded CMF and 
they began offering programs on enhancing efficiencies in office 
budgeting, managing constituent correspondence, and hiring staff.
  Working with staff organizations such as the House Chiefs of Staff 
Association, CMF expanded its programs in the 1980's and 1990's, 
training hundreds of senior managers on everything from how to perform 
high quality personnel reviews to how to conduct difficult 
conversations with their staff and their bosses. With the help of CMF's 
strategic planning services, scores of Members of Congress have 
clarified their goals, enhanced their effectiveness at serving 
constituents and improved staff morale.
  CMF strives to help congressional offices get off on the right foot 
even before the swearing-in ceremony. In 1984, CMF wrote the first 
edition of Setting Course: A Congressional Management Guide. This book, 
which is revised for every Congress and distributed within days of the 
election, is now a staple for freshmen Members and veterans alike. They 
also produced a companion, Frontline Management: A Guide for Running 
Congressional District/State Offices. Additionally, for 20 years CMF 
has been offering an orientation program to introduce new senior staff 
to the basics of hiring staff, creating a budget and setting up an 
office while their bosses are struggling to learn the nuances of 
parliamentary procedure and committee assignments.

  CMF was also the first organization to create salary and employment 
studies for Capitol Hill, providing Members and senior managers with 
useful benchmarks to aid in the office budgeting process.
  In the last few years CMF has been an invaluable resource as Congress 
has adopted new technology to respond to the dramatic increase in 
communications and citizen advocacy as a result of the Internet. It 
partnered with distinguished universities, such as George Washington 
University, Harvard University, Ohio State University and the 
University of California-Riverside, to offer guidance on how to design 
congressional Web sites and be more responsive to constituents online. 
Their Gold Mouse Awards for superior Web sites have become coveted 
commodities on Capitol Hill.
  Also in the last few years CMF has helped respond to a House request 
for perhaps one of its most important projects in its 30-year history: 
helping to design a 10-year information technology roadmap for the 
House of Representatives.
  Thanks in part to CMF, Congress has a more professionalized workforce 
with better morale and performance. And the American people get a 
better government when our democratic institutions are more efficient 
and effective.
  We thank all of the current and past supporters, leaders, and staff 
of the Congressional Management Foundation who believe in the Congress 
and the people who work here, and who feel that we truly can achieve 
``good government through good management.'' We congratulate them on 3 
decades of outstanding service to the Congress and the Nation. And we 
wish them success in the decades to come.

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