12 Years of IB5k — Communicating with Congress
12 years ago today, IB5k was founded in an Omaha apartment with no heat as we approached the Inauguration of Barack Obama. It was a time of Hope and Change and terrible economic uncertainty.
We drove out in the Volvo wagon to see Obama get inaugurated — and as the myth goes, our name IB5k represented the $5k in profits we used from selling extra inaugural ball tickets (mostly sold for the Biden/Delaware Ball) that we used as seed funding. The truth is, we actually had the name IB5k much earlier than that and it stands for something else.
By our estimates, IB5k has paid over 1,000 people during this time and we are thankful for all of those who worked with us and supported us during this time. As of today, I have worked at IB5k longer than any other place, the prior record was the Ottawa Hills Local School System.
I’m incredibly proud of all the interesting work we’ve all been able to accomplish over the last 12 years — but one project stands out more than any other — it’s called the “Communicating with Congress” project and we have never told anyone about it.
While we’ve been fortunate to have done various projects and been invited to counsel the US House of Representatives over the last 12 years, this project in particular is one that has had the most impact. Before this project was enabled, the websites of the US House would crash every single time a controversial bill was up for a vote.
Working with stakeholders, vendors, politicians, bureaucrats and basically just about everyone involved in advocacy, we were able to create a solution that continues to serve the American people to this day. To put it simply, it allows batches of electronic communications to be delivered into the US House, allowing those of us who rely on the websites to have a free and clear path to our elected officials.
While technically, this may not have been the most significant project of our 12 years in business, as we know, getting anything passed in Congress these days, let alone something that lasts, is often the real challenge.
We have not spoken publicly or widely about our involvement in this project because as we’ve done a lot of other work in the US House, it became to clear to us that those who were doing things for attention in Congress came and went. The quiet ones who believed in the institution and what it represents tended to stay on no matter who was in power. That’s who we wanted to be.
When IB5k was formed, out of Obama’s 2008 campaign, I took our mission to bring change to Washington to heart. I was inspired by the diverse coalition that voted for Obama — but I also grew up in Ohio, a swing state, where you didn’t know who your neighbor voted for. I saw the moment as an opportunity to build something for the place I came from, Toledo, Ohio — which at the time was the 4th largest city in a flyover state, no matter who they voted for.
After the inauguration, I immediately went to the Congress, hoping that we could use the mandate to improve how the people’s house functioned. I met with Nancy Pelosi’s staff- at the time, I was actually one of her constituents — and after some long fought battles, we were met with staffers that frankly did not believe change to their institution was possible. They tried hard and valiantly, but the bureaucracy was even too much for their power.
We learned so much from what they tried to accomplish, and while many of the visions they had, have still not been realized, we appreciate their help in pushing things forward and their openness to try again.
We didn’t know any better , we still thought we could get things done— and my next action was to do something people thought was incredibly stupid. I reached out to Matt Lira, who at the time was working for Minority Leader Eric Cantor of the Republican party. Not only had Matt fought against us weeks earlier on the McCain campaign, the Republicans had absolutely no power at the time, and many speculated then that they never would.
I didn’t know any better — I wanted to meet with the other side. Obama said he was going to include everyone in bringing change to Washington, I was inspired.
While in our first meeting in the Speaker’s hallway in the US Capitol, I felt that Matt was suspect of our intentions, I could tell from the very first moment we met how much he cared about the long term stability of the institution. Further, even though he had no power, he was willing to try things anyway and like us, he had ideas on what he wanted to do.
I ended up meeting with Matt about every other month for the next 2 or so years — each time, Matt explained to me that while we had some ideas here, there was absolutely nothing he could do about them.
I still liked talking about them anyway and having important meetings in the Capitol ;). And as we know, by 2010, the Republicans had taken back the House. Matt then followed through & worked in a bipartisan manner with the Democrats to get reforms through — one of which was Communicating with Congress.
Matt & I may not have agreed on policies and were adversaries on the political battle field, we both cared about the long term stability of our country, its institutions and everyone’s ability to interact with their Congress. Through all of that, we have become good friends.
Every time, for the last 12 years that I have had a meeting anywhere in the Capitol complex, no matter how frustrating they could have been, I have felt the spirit of those halls. I don’t know how spiritual anyone is, but it’s my belief that when that many people focus their attention on one single place, their spirits are all present.
The US Congress, but particularly the US House, is where a nation so diverse as ours, is supposed to work out our differences without violence. I appreciate the perspective that those who work in Congress are elitist and are there for their own personal interests, not yours or mine. I have that perspective from where I grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Columbus often forgot about us — I still don’t think they have a full interstate from Toledo to Columbus, while every other major city in the state does.
But, I also interned at Representative Marcy Kaptur’s office in Toledo — she was open & accessible to me even as a teenager. Now the longest serving woman in the US House. One thing that has remained true throughout all of this is while people may hate the Congress, they love their representative. There are also hundreds of people that are elected officials who believe in our country who try their best to not only keep the US Congress functioning despite all of the dangers and they are not elitist whatsoever. They are true public servants.
While Wednesday was the biggest incursion since the War of 1812, it is not the first dangerous situation to come to the US Congress in recent times. There is an intention that the US Capitol, unlike the White House or other parts of government, needs to remain accessible to the public, without appointment — yes you can just drop by. It’s not apparent that these public servants, many of whom are simply there to preserve this centuries old building, have been risking their lives to make sure we all have a place that’s open and welcoming to our thoughts and ideas.
If you think about it — we don’t all have a representative at corporations, in the executive or judiciary branches — and while it may often be a joke to write your congressperson (we’ve been working to make it not one by the way) — the truth is they do represent who we are as a country. They are hyper focused on representing their constituents views.
When put together, we may just not like what we see. Who has the power, how they use it — and who we are as a country. But its US. I’m certain of that.
Until last Wednesday, we all knew that our system was not perfect. We have over 330M people here — and we are the most diverse country in the world. The only way to agree on things is to compromise — we can’t all get our way. The experiment is, can we work things out together?
I’m with President Obama when he’s said the long arc of history bends towards justice. The US Capitol stands between us and our differences, but most specifically, our tendency for violence. Whether you chose to come here, were forced to or your land was taken from you, now that we are all here, without a peaceful place to work out our differences, what’s next?
So I’ll be honest. It’s been a long 12 years working with the US Congress. There were a lot of things that we wanted to get done there and we even had all the support to do it — and then it still didn’t happen — it’s that kind of place. As someone who is incredibly impatient, its frustrated me to no end how hard it is to get anything accomplished there.
Yet, whenever they call, I put on my best, brightest suit, and show up hoping that we can get closer to a more perfect union. I’ve always been lucky to have the opportunity.
NO matter what happens in the next couple of weeks, or years, I hope our Capitol Dome continues to stand as a symbol for all of us. A place we are welcome to work out our various differences peacefully, realizing the work is hard and long — and never finished.
When you argue with your neighbor, or you unfriend them on Facebook — all I can offer here, is try to preserve the structures we have, literally and figuratively. Whether your realize it or not, we all need them. We need to work within them.
Thank you all for your support over the last 12 years.
-Dr. Daniel P. Beckmann, 1/9/21 -Livingston, MT
