Hoyer Releases New Digital Privacy Form For Constituent Services
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released a new digital privacy form on his website today, an idea that came out of the last Congressional Hackathon that Hoyer co-hosted. The form, the first of its kind within Congress, enables constituents to start cases with Hoyer's district staff caseworkers electronically, without the need of a printer and a scanner or fax machine.
"I'm pleased to eliminate this significant bottleneck that has frustrated my constituents and my district staff for years," said Congressman Hoyer. "Helping my constituents address issues they have with the federal government is a responsibility that I take very seriously. Casework, like all government functions, should take advantage of the latest digital tools to make government more open and transparent, allowing our constituents to more easily interact with their representatives and see their issues addressed. I hope other Members of Congress will adopt this process and join me in modernizing Congressional casework."
A digital privacy release form for Congressional casework was a major recommendation resulting from the 2015 Congressional Hackathon that was co-hosted by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (another Congressional Hackathon was announced last week). While a relatively simple idea that is common in the private sector, e-signature digital forms are still rare in government, creating major bottlenecks for the public to obtain government services or help.
All Congressional offices are required by law to receive signed privacy release forms from constituents prior to helping them with any federal government agencies. All across the country, this requires either physically visiting a Congressional district office or printing a PDF, signing it, and then either faxing or scanning the form in order to return it to the Congressional office. The new digital form released today by Congressman Hoyer's office allows residents of Maryland's 5th Congressional District to sign and submit the privacy release form within minutes through any web browser.