NEWS RELEASE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE DEMOCRATS
Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member

Committee on Energy and Commerce Minority Web Site
Named "Best" on Capitol Hill

Site Receives One of First Congress Online Gold Mouse Awards

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman John D. Dingell, D-Mich., Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce today announced that the Committee’s Minority Web site was named as one of the best sites in Congress. The site, www.house.gov/energycommerce, received a Congress Online Gold Mouse Award from the Congress Online Project, a joint, non-partisan, research project of the Congressional Management Foundation and the George Washington University, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

"It is always a challenge in the Minority to effectively disseminate one’s message, which is just one of the reasons I’m so pleased our site received this honor," Dingell said. "We designed the site with the user in mind and continually strive to meet their information and access needs, and by doing so have created a truly valuable source of usable information."

The Committee’s Minority site was one of a select few sites to be recognized by the study, "Congress Online: Assessing and Improving Capitol Hill Web Sites." According to the report: "Of the 36 standing committees in the Senate and House of Representatives, only 18 have minority Web sites. This is, in part, due to the fact that minority offices face greater obstacles in creating their Web sites and attracting visitors than do their majority counterparts. Minority Web sites usually exist as sub-sections of the majority Web site. In addition, minority offices do not control the activities of the committee, nor do they control the procedures that drive committee business. This makes it difficult for minority offices to provide much of the official information that the committee’s principal Web audiences are seeking."

The report goes on to note that "the [Committee on Energy and Commerce] minority Web site provides substantive content, access to important resources, and detailed opinion statements that explain the minority’s views on key issues and legislation without seeming hostile or overtly partisan. Through timely content provided in a non-confrontational and user-friendly way, the minority Web site proves itself to be an effective counterpoint and complement to the majority Web site."

"I hope the Gold and Silver Mouse Awards encourage more members and committees to develop quality Web sites. As this study shows, sites can be effective when properly constructed and contribute greatly to the growing trend of e-democracy," Dingell said.

The complete list of the Congress Online Gold and Silver Mouse Award winners is available in the report: www.congressonlineproject.org/webstudy2002.html.