Steven Rothman Gets Lazy With Constituent Communications
U.S. Representative Steven Rothman has been in Congress for 12 years. He’s had plenty of time to learn the ropes, and to assemble an effective staff.
So, why is it that Representative Rothman can’t seem to keep up an effective routine of communication with his constituents?
Constituents searching Rothman’s official congressional web site for news of his recent activities on their behalf will come up short. They’ll find some recent press releases, but those represent just a small portion of Rothman’s activities.
Rothman’s review of his involvement in specific legislation is updated only through the 110th Congress. It doesn’t include information of Rothman’s legislation for the current session of Congress. Rothman’s photo gallery was last updated a year ago.
Steve Rothman’s issue statements are particularly out of date. His statement on the economy seems to have crafted in the spring of 2008 – half a year before the beginning of the current economic meltdown. Although he sits on the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, Rothman still doesn’t have a comprehensive foreign policy statement online. Neither does Rothman have a specific statement on health care reform, although the Democrats have made that issue the top legislative item for this year.
On the issue of the military occupation of Iraq, Congressman has a special responsibility, because he was among the Democrats who supported George W. Bush’s decision to rush an invasion of Iraq back in 2003. Yet, Rothman has not updated his policy statement in three and a half years.
As a member of the majority party in the House of Representatives, Steven Rothman has a great deal of power. It is inexcusable for him to fail to keep his constituents adequately informed of his use of that power.
