Senator Murray’s Website Awarded for Excellence

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) has been honored by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) for having one of the best Web sites in Congress. CMF is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C. 

Murray’s site, http://murray.senate.gov was one of only 104 Web sites commended.  CMF analyzed all congressional Web sites, including those of all Senate and House Members, committees (both majority and minority sites), and official leadership sites.

"My website is a critically important tool I use to close the 2,500 mile gap between my constituents and Washington D.C.," said Senator Murray. "By providing information, pictures, video, and access to services my website provides an always open door to my office."

"I appreciate this wonderful recognition, but I know that there are always ways to improve my website. That’s why I welcome visitors to the site to provide feedback on ways they believe it can be improved."

The newest feature on Senator Murray’s site "Wednesdays with Murray" allows constituents to access weekly video clips of Murray discussing the most important issues in Congress and Washington state. Murray’s website also includes an extensive database of news releases which can be sorted by date, issue, or geographic location. The CMF graded web sites on how well they incorporate five basic building blocks: audience, content, usability, interactivity, and innovation.

"One of the key reasons for the awards is to highlight best practices so offices can improve their sites by learning from those doing a good job,” said Beverly Bell, CMF’s Executive Director. “Web sites like Senator Murray’s provide a template for other congressional offices to follow.”

A full copy of the report, the 2007 Gold Mouse Report: Lessons from the Best Web Sites on Capitol Hill, is available on the Congressional Management Foundation’s Web site at http://cmfweb.org.