Here are the reponses so far:

Signed! Committed to Transparency!

Transparency is not a priority

Yet to be contacted

The Sunlight Network, the 501 c(4) partner to the Sunlight Foundation, was founded in January 2006 to create a networked community of citizens interested in taking action to demand greater government transparency.

The Sunlight Network, like the Sunlight Foundation, believes that the revolutionary power of the Internet can enable people to become active citizens and can create a government that is transparent and accountable. Its goal is to create a more responsive Congress, where elected officials deliberate openly and are genuinely responsive to the needs of the people they represent. .

People use the Internet to gather and share information efficiently and effectively. Harnessing the power of this new medium, the Sunlight Network and Foundation put government data online–at the fingertips of every person who wants it. With this in mind, the Sunlight Network actively spreads the word about new tools for accessing government data and also enables elected officials to find new ways to interact with their constituents, thereby making them better lawmakers.

We are constantly experimenting with tools to make it easier for people to meaningfully and positively affect their representatives’ behavior. For instance, the Sunlight Network ran the Punch Clock Campaign, to encourage members of Congress to post their daily schedules online and keep their constituents better informed of what they are doing everyday. The Sunlight Network also gives out mini-grants to help people start projects that extend our mission.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Sunlight Network please contact Nisha Thompson here.

Feedback, thoughts, suggestions on the Punch Clock Campaign (or the Sunlight Network)? We’d love to hear it. Please email info (at) sunlightfoundation.com (which usually goes to Nisha Thompson, our outreach coordinator).

General Address:

Sunlight Network
1818 N Street, NW, Suite 410

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202-742-1520

Fax:202-742-1524

For questions about the Punch Clock Campaign, contact:

Nisha Thompson, Outreach & Organizing Coordinator
nthompson [at] sunlightfoundation.com
202-742-1520 x231

You can reach Ellen Miller, Executive Director, at 202-742-1520.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Punch Clock Campaign?

The Punch Clock Campaign started with an aggressive grassroots effort during the 2006 election season. It called for members of Congress and their opponents to sign an agreement to post their daily schedules on the Internet for their time in office.

Sunlight continued to promote this form of transparency after the 2006 elections. Members of Congress work for us, and we need to know what they do with their time.

What did the original Punch Clock Agreement say?

The Agreement read:

I believe citizens have a right to know what their Member of Congress does every day.

Starting with the next Congress, I promise to publish my daily official work schedule on the Internet, within 24 hours of the end of every work day. I will include all matters relating to my role as a member of Congress. I will include all meetings with constituents, other members, and lobbyists, listed by name. (In rare cases I will withhold the names of constituents whose privacy must be protected.) I will also include all fundraising events. Events will be listed whether Congress is in session or not, and whether I am in Washington, traveling, or in my district.

Aren’t there security concerns here? Should members of Congress let dangerous people know where they’ll be at any second of the day?

We took that into account. That’s why the Agreement provides that schedules be posted one day after they happen. That way, no one can use the schedule to figure out where they can go to harm a lawmaker.

Why should members of Congress post their schedules? Shouldn’t they be private?

Of course not. Every Member of Congress works for the American people, yet we don’t know how they spend their time. Imagine if you told your boss that you couldn’t punch in and out of work, because your time was “too private.”

Over sixty percent of American workers work hourly, and almost all workers have to account for their time. Custodial workers and chain store workers punch a clock, and lawyers keep time sheets – everyone knows that they are accountable to their bosses and clients.

The most remarkable fact of our democracy is our commitment to having those who govern us be governed by us. This can only work where there is basic trust, openness, and transparency. It’s our job, as citizens, to ask them to do better on all these fronts.

A few decades ago, Members of Congress resisted disclosing who was financing their campaigns. They claimed it would violate the privacy of their donors, and made up other excuses for refusing to be open with the public. Yet reformers persisted, and today everyone takes for granted the value of public disclosure of campaign contributions. The same will be true for Members’ work schedules.

So you want them to tell us when they get their haircut or when they have dinner with their wife?

No, the pledge only asks that Members post their work schedule, not time off the clock. That said, we include fundraisers, junkets – serious or frivolous – and lunch meetings with other lawmakers or lobbyists or constituents.

What if I miss a day, or something on the schedule is missing?

The Punch Clock Agreement is a contract with the public to make your best efforts to fulfill the terms of it, and we take a common sense approach to the terms of it. We know that if a staffer is sick (or if there is a turnover of staffers, and a few days go by without publishing the calendar), if events are changed, or if it just gets missed once in a while, this does not undermine the basic commitment. The commitment is to make a good faith effort to share your daily schedule with the public, and shows that a candidate is a leader in the effort to bring democracy into the 21st century, which means bringing people and politicians closer together.

Why do you think any member would sign this?

They will, if their constituents demand it. Change only happens when the people get involved.

To get this to happen, we’ll need lots of people pressing their own members of Congress in their own districts or states. This campaign is a way of distributing the work among the people who care the most about it, and rewarding them for their efforts.

How do you think members of Congress spend their time when they’re not voting on legislation?

We simply don’t know. Maybe members of Congress are spending most of their time meeting with their constituents, overseeing government agencies, developing legislation and going on fact-finding missions. If so, they should have nothing to hide. They could also be meeting with lobbyists and donors, or making campaign fundraising phone calls. But again, that’s a guess – we simply do not know for certain.

Unfortunately, that lack of disclosure has led people to think negatively about how their lawmakers spend their time. For those members who devote most of their time to doing the people’s work, opening up their schedule should increase public confidence in them.

Who is the Sunlight Network? How is it related to the Sunlight Foundation?

The Sunlight Network, a 501 c(4) affiliated with the Sunlight Foundation, was founded in 2006 to foster a more positive relationship between lawmakers and their constituents, using technology, transparency, and local communities.

The Sunlight Foundation is a 501 c(3).

When did the challenge end?

The challenge ended December 31, 2006.

Statements and Quotes by Members on Open Government and Transparency

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT):
“Access to public information in a timely and effective manner is a vital piece of our democratic system of checks and balances that promotes accountability and imbues trust.”

“I have devoted a considerable portion of my work in the Senate to improving government oversight, government openness and citizen ‘right-to-know’ laws to make government work better for the American people, and at times it has been a lonely battle.” (Feb. 16, 2005)

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX):
“Open government is one of the most basic requirements of any healthy democracy. It allows for taxpayers to see where their money is going; it permits the honest exchange of information that ensures government accountability; and it upholds the ideal that government never rules without the consent of the governed.” (Feb. 16, 2005)

“The default position of our government must be one of openness. If records can be open, they should be open. If good reason exists to keep something closed, it is the government that should bear the burden – not the other way around.” (Jun. 24, 2005)

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK):
“The founding fathers believed in transparency for government spending because even back when budgets were much smaller the possibility of abuse was just as real – but, with transparency comes accountability.” (Jul. 18, 2006 [pdf])

“There are real problems in our government. Sunshine cures almost every one of them - sunshine in the agencies, sunshine in Congress and knowing that the American people, if they have the information, will help us solve the problems that we’re dealing with and will put policy ahead of politics foremost in our mind so that we address the real issues.” (Hearing on Nomination of Rob Portman, May 17, 2006)

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL):
“Whether you believe the government ought to spend more money or spend less, you should certainly be able to agree that the government ought to spend every penny efficiently and transparently. … Transparency is a prerequisite to oversight and financial control. Transparency is essential if we are to do something about the billions of taxpayer dollars being spent with no assurances that the funds are going where they are needed. We can’t reduce waste, fraud and abuse without knowing how, where, and why Federal money is flowing out the door.” (Jul. 18, 2006 [pdf])

Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME):
“A lot depends on your view of government in the first place. In America, openness is a virtue, and I think the more the public knows, the better off we will all be.” (July 8, 2006)

Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME):
“I think transparency in government is essential, but you have to go further than not only the contractors - you need to get to the subcontractors.” (July 8, 2006)

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY):
“Openness, not secrecy, is simply the best way to make good decisions for the country’s future.” (Nov. 22, 2002)

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT):
“There’s one thing that really helps government and that is transparency.” (Jan. 11, 2006)

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC):
“In years past, we’ve had some spending items that have been embarrassing and some that just haven’t passed the smell test. At the end of the day, knowledge is power and we’re giving the American people knowledge about what we’re doing with their money.” (Feb. 9, 2006)

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-SD):
“The best government is an open government in which the American people are able to see what policy makers are doing and have the opportunity to participate in their decision making.” (Aug. 25, 2003)

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) on Sunshine in Iraqi Reconstruction Act:
“I think it is imperative, not only for the integrity of our procurement process, for the integrity of the congressional appropriation and oversight process, but for the integrity of the entire operation that has been undertaken in Iraq, to be transparent and open before the world.” (May 1, 2003)

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA):
“Open and accountable government is a bedrock principle of our democracy. Secrecy breeds arrogance and abuse of power; sunshine fosters scrutiny and responsible government.” (May 11, 2005 [pdf])

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA):
“Sometimes, more than one silent objector makes it virtually impossible to figure out who is stalling the people’s business and for what reasons. This lack of transparency and accountability denigrates open government. While I don’t object to the use of a hold as a means to an end, I do find objection with its secrecy. Keeping things in the open ought to build greater confidence in our system of representative government.” (CQ, April 3, 2006)

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA):
“We must do more to ensure that government is open to all the people, and that reporters and others who request information get timely responses. News organizations and ordinary citizens still face far too many bureaucratic backlogs and administrative hurdles to obtain information.” (July 26, 2006)

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX):
“Every American citizen should be able to quickly and easily obtain public information from the federal government. This promotes a responsive democracy, but unfortunately it isn’t always so easy. … As Thomas Jefferson noted, ‘Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.’ The foundation of a strong democracy is an informed public.” (Mar. 2, 2006)

Senate Candidate State Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT):
“The American public is sick and tired of politicians making back-room deals and secret agreements on issues that affect their daily lives. In Montana we have a constitutional right to know. It’s time we take this to the federal level so that American citizens and the press can shine a light on government.” (Mar. 14, 2006)

House candidate Tammy Duckworth (D-IL):
“We need to bring all this hidden spending out into the open, so the taxpayers who pay the freight know how their dollars are being spent – or wasted.” (July 25, 2006)

Sample Letter to the Editor

This letter is just to spur your imagination – a short letter, even 4-5 sentences long, that is personal, connects with local issues (has there been a secret meeting or scandal in your district recently?), and expresses your own voice is ideal.

To the editor:

I live in ______ and I have worked _____ jobs over the past ___ years. In every job, I’ve had to either punch a clock, or at least tell my boss where I am at all times.

Now, with the Internet, it’s time that members of Congress started doing the same thing for us, their bosses. All they have to do is put their daily schedule online every day, so we can all check up on what our representatives are doing. I know I, for one, wouldn’t look every day, or even every week, but at least I’d like to know that I could look – it would make me feel better that they were doing our public work on our public dime.

It is especially important now, when we know they spend 20 weeks a year out of session – and have no idea what they are doing!

There’s a national effort to ask all Members of Congress (and candidates running for Congress) to take the “Punch Clock Challenge” and agrees to put their daily schedules on the Internet. I hope ___________ takes the challenge, and we all encourage him to do so, and bring our democracy into the 21st century.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

For Tips for getting your letter published, click here.

For a list of mailing addresses for newspapers, searchable by state, click here.

Why This Matters/Talking Points for Organizers and Bloggers

If you’re a local blogger or citizen trying to tell others why this is important, it can be a little intimidating, especially if you’re talking to the press. Use your own voice and your own ideas, but here are some ideas that motivate us at Sunlight, and we hope you use and expand upon them – and then let us know what you are saying:

• Members of Congress work for us. Every worker knows they have to share their time with their bosses. Imagine if you told your boss that you couldn’t punch in and out of work, because your time was “too private.”
• Technology has transformed the possibilities for democracy – even in a mass society, if we use technology well, we can have strong, productive relationships with our representatives.
• Democratic change only happens when lots of grassroots people get involved, and we want to be part of that change. We’d like to be part of a more active culture of citizenship.
• Over sixty percent of American workers work hourly, and almost all workers have to account for their time. Custodial workers and chain store workers punch a clock, and lawyers keep time sheets – everyone knows that they are accountable to their bosses and clients.
• This Congress has put in less work days than any other Congress since 1948. There are over 20 weeks a year where we don’t know what they do.
• For those members of Congress who are spending the strong majority of time doing the people’s work, opening up their schedule should increase public confidence in them.

(Please add your own suggestions in the comments section!)

Friends of Punch Clock

The following groups support the effort to ask members of Congress to put their daily schedules on the Internet:

• Campaign for America’s Future
• OMB Watch
• Public Campaign
• Public Citizen
• POGO
• The Washington D.C. Examiner

If your group also supports this effort, please email nthompson (at) sunlightfoundation.com. Thank you.

Punch Clock on the Web
GOP Progress
Boing Boing
Talking Points Memo
OMB Watch
Tapscott’s Copy Desk
Smart Mobs
Nancy Scola
Joho the Blog
Newsbreaks
Gandolph23
Schloky
Barking-Moonbat
Cut to the Chase
Left in Aboite
Vote Gibbons Out
Gil the Jenius
PR Watch

Check out Punch Clock in the news

Punch Clocking for Dummies

Thoughts for People Seeking Congressional Openness

Want to Punch your Lawmaker’s (or Candidate’s) Clock? Here are some ideas for creating a powerful network of citizens in your community to persuade politicians to open up their schedule to the public.

Create a Network

Create a call sheet for yourself of people who might know people who would be interested in working with you. Put aside two hours and start calling. When you reach someone, ask them (a) if they’d be interested in being involved and (b) if they can come to an evening planning meeting (at your house, with pizza).

You can do this alone, or with one other person, but once you’ve found ten people who are interested, and five who will come to a meeting, you’ve got a very strong core. If five of you together persuade your candidate, that’s $200 a person for very valuable work!

Work out amongst yourselves the ground rules for sharing credit for getting a candidate or legislator to sign the pledge.

Get endorsements

Make a list of prominent people or groups in town that will be interested in supporting your effort. Make a call sheet, and call them, asking something along the lines of

“Hi, I’m Jodi, I live in x. I’m calling because I want your advice and help. Do you believe that it would be good if lawmakers put their daily schedule online? We have a grassroots effort to persuade [member of Congress X] to do that, and it would be great if when we called him, we could tell him that you’re supportive.”

Contact your Member of Congress/Candidate

Call your the local office of your member of Congress, and ask to speak to the Chief of Staff. If you are trying to reach a candidate, ask for the campaign manager. (If you know the names of the people you are trying to reach, it’s much easier to get through). Whether or not you reach her or someone else, proceed with confidence and enthusiasm. Tell her that you are a representative of a grassroots effort (supported by x and x if you have endorsements) to use technology to improve citizen-representative relationships, and you have a proposal you’d like lawmaker X/candidate X to support. She will want to keep the call short, so tell her that you’ve got some materials on the proposal that you’ll fax to her office, and then tell her you’ll call again to discuss them.

Remember, while this a novel idea that may meet with some resistance, it will actually help members of Congress better communicate with their constituents, and a forward-thinking representative or candidate should be supportive – don’t assume they will be antagonistic, and provide them with encouragement and support.

Reach the press

If your lawmaker/candidate agrees, call your local TV station and newspaper and let them know! (Also call Sunlight and we’ll help you get a good press release and story).

If your member of Congress or a congressional candidate directly refuses, prepare a press release and call members of the press to let them know what you were asking for and why the refusal is disappointing: it calls into question his understanding of his role as a representative of the people he works for.

If your member of Congress or a candidate does not return phone calls or otherwise evades the question, find the phone numbers of some local reporters and call them to ask for their help in determining where the lawmaker or candidate stands. Write letters to the editor, and prepare a press release on the politician’s non-responsiveness to a request for responsiveness. Be sure that you let the lawmaker’s office or the candidate’s campaign know that you are disappointed and genuinely hoping for their support, but don’t let them stonewall you.

You can also perform stunts, ask your lawmaker in public places about the Punch Clock Agreement, videotape a candidate’s nonresponsiveness, put up signs and flyers, and come up with your own creative ideas to reach a larger audience.

Become your own Media

If one of your group has a blog, or there is a local political blog that you can contribute to, tell the stories of your efforts on that blog (and send a link to Sunlight!).

You can also easily start your own blog, using the free software that is available.

Use the word “PunchClocker” to tag your blog posts on the topic, to make it easier for other interested people to find you.

Take pictures of your grassroots group (even if it’s only you!), take pictures of your trip to the office of the Member of Congress, take pictures of the telephone before you call – engage your readership in the drama of trying to push politics into the future.

Talk about the calls you make that DON’T work out as well as those that do – its important to share the difficulties as well as the successes.

Then you can take your blog, and send a link around to anyone who might be interested, and have creative ideas about how to help you out.

Show the benefits

America is a leader in democracy and technology, but lags far behind in the use of technology to strengthen democracy. A lawmaker or candidate who agrees to share her schedule shows that she is forward-thinking, responsive, open, transparent, and accountable. A lawmaker will have a much easier time communicating with constituents when her schedule is public, and will learn things she didn’t expect to learn – she will also gain the support of an active, engaged, innovative group of grassroots supporters!

Show the downside of not signing

Be very clear that this matters to your group, and you’re going to let people know – this is not a typical partisan issue, but a means of ensuring more openness in government. A refusal to sign something like this indicates that a lawmaker has something to hide, or is simply not interested in performing his core duty of openness with the people he works for.

Make a commitment to keep the issue alive even after the campaign season, and if someone refuses – in a polite but firm way – let his constituents know, let other local grassroots groups know, let local nonprofits know.

Conclusion

Have fun! Remember, these are only ideas, and you may come up with more creative ones of your own. The Sunlight Network is not telling you to engage in any of these activities, and is not responsible for anything you do. While you may get ideas from The Sunlight Network, you alone are responsible deciding whether or not to engage in certain activities. Under no circumstances are you authorized to act as (or represent yourself as) an agent of The Sunlight Network.

And if you have more ideas, include them in comments to this webpage!

Some Friendly Suggestions

Do:

• Comply with the law
• If you are the first person to get a particular legislator or candidate to sign, let us know so you can collect your bounty. (See the Punch Clock Agreement Rules and Conditions of Winning the Bounty.)</li>
• Speak on your own behalf — while we encourage you to participate in this project, we do not authorize you to speak on behalf of The Sunlight Network and you should not do so.
• If you as an individual decide to exercise your right to support or oppose the candidate of your choice, understand and be clear that you are acting on your own and not as a representative of The Sunlight Network.
• Be aware that if you spend any money making your own candidate endorsements or engaging in certain other types of election activity, you may have some reporting or other legal obligations under the federal election law. Other types of activity that could trigger legal obligations include, but are not limited to, discussing with a candidate or candidate’s representative the specifics of public communications you may decide to make about the candidate’s pledge.

Do NOT

• Suggest or state the The Sunlight Network has or will endorse candidates that sign the pledge. The Sunlight Network’s goal is to get congressional calendars published, not to elect or defeat particular candidates. Further, The Sunlight Network does not endorse candidates and you may not do anything that suggests otherwise.
  1. For your own protection, do not break any laws or engage in any illegal conduct while seeking a pledge, such as harassment, assault, invasion of privacy, bribery or any other law.
  2. For your own protection, do not agree to do anything for a candidate or legislator in exchange for their signing of the pledge.

  www.sunlightnetwork.com/punchclock

The Sunlight Network is encouraging citizens to ask their Members of Congress to sign the following agreement:

The Punch Clock Agreement*

I believe citizens have a right to know what their Member of Congress does every day.

Starting with the next Congress, I promise to publish my daily official work schedule on the Internet, within 24 hours of the end of every work day. I will include all matters relating to my role as a Member of Congress. I will include all meetings with constituents, other Members, and lobbyists, listed by name. (In rare cases I will withhold the names of constituents whose privacy must be protected.) I will also include all fundraising events. Events will be listed whether Congress is in session or not, and whether I am in Washington, traveling, or in my district.

(Download The Punch Clock Agreement)

*Disclaimer: The Bounty Contest ended December 31st 2006.

Members of Congress work for us, and we should know what they do every day.

Beginning in the election season of 2006, the Sunlight Network asked candidates and current members of Congress to pledge to post their daily schedules on their official Web site. 92 Candidates from the 2006 election signed the Punch Clock Agreement. Kirsten Gillibrand was the only Punch Clocker to be elected to Congress.

For an updated list of members of Congress who post schedules and to see their archived schedules see their page on the Open Congress Wiki.

Read the Washington Examiner Editorial about Punch Clocking.

Click on the links below to find out more about the Punch Clock Campaign.