On Wednesday, http://www.wittman.house.gov/ went live and it includes a lot of great features that will be very helpful to constituents of the First District.

I understand the role of the internet in most people's daily lives so we went about building our website with our constituents in mind. We took a number of steps to ensure that it was easy to navigate and provided as much information as possible.

On the home page, you can find out the latest news from the office. This is important because I believe that constituents have a right to know what I have been doing and where I stand on various pieces of legislation. Of course we only have room for the latest news on the home page, so we created a news section that allows you to view all the news from the office over the previous several months. There is also a link that you can click on the home page that allows to sign-up to receive our news releases on a regular basis so that you can stay plugged in to our activities up here in Washington and back home in the District. I would encourage you to sign up next time you visit the site so I can stay in touch with you.

Also on the home page is a link to request a meeting with me or to request that I attend an event. The scheduling request form is a great feature that makes it simple and easy to ask for a meeting or to invite me to your event. I really enjoy meeting with constituents and I love having the opportunity to participate in local community events so if you want to come by for a visit or would like for me to join your group back home, please, take a moment to fill out the scheduling request form.

Another great feature of the new website is the Constituent Services section. I know that it can be difficult to determine what services my staff and I can provide, so we added this section to help constituents find information on topics ranging from homeownership assistance to obtaining help with a federal agency. We also provide information about internships in the office and appointments to our nation's outstanding military academies. You can even find a helpful D.C. visitor's guide (I wish I had one of those when I first got here! These streets can be confusing!). There are a lot of valuable tools in the Constituent Services portion of the website and I hope that you'll find it useful.

One of the best things about my online office is that it allows you find out where I stand on various issues and how I have voted on legislation. In the issues section, you can learn about my stance on several key topics like energy policy and taxes. In the Legislative Action page, you see exactly how I've voted, what bills I've sponsored or co-sponsored and more generally, what bills are currently being voted on and what's going on in the committees. This was very important to me because I want to open and honest with constituents about my legislative record. I think you have the right to know where I stand on the issues that matter to you and I wanted to be as transparent as possible. If you are interested in my voting record or my positions please, take a moment to look over the Issues page and the Legislative Action page.

I'm very excited to be able to introduce this new website. I hope that it will be a helpful tool for constituents. We will be updating the website on a regular basis so I would encourage you to visit often so that you can stay current on what were doing for you and what can do for you. I hope that you will stop by online office soon, and when you're there, drop us a note and let us know what you think.