Cost of living
Food, housing, and household bills.
How will you help people afford everyday life?
The public record opens October 31, 2026
Your vote is your choice.
Want our vote?
Put it in writing.
We know what people are concerned about. Will you put in writing what you’ll do, when you’ll do it, and answer to the public for the results?
For everyone running for any public office, and everyone already in office. Every party.
People: Ask for specific written commitments before deciding whom to support. You can raise concerns and follow the work whether or not you can vote.
Candidates: Tell the people which demands you’ll work on, what you’ll do, and by when. If you disagree—or have a better plan—explain it in writing.
Already in office? Tell us what you’ll do next—and by when. Put it in writing.
The Covenant is a written promise to work on people’s priorities and answer for the results. These buttons open our Civic Action Center.
The people's problems don't stop on Election Day.
And neither should we.
Groceries are too expensive. Healthcare costs too much. Families are struggling. We already know what people want fixed.
So why wait until after the election to start getting things done?
PHIERS asks candidates and elected officials to put their promises in writing, show us their plans, and answer for what they actually deliver.
Even if an election gets tied up in court or the transfer of power is challenged, our work doesn't stop.
We still have the people's priorities, our signatures, and the promises politicians made.
The more people who stand together, the stronger our demand for solutions becomes.
Want our votes? Put it in writing. Have a better plan? Show us. Make a promise? Keep it.
Step 2: What did they promise? Did they do it?
Candidates and elected officials put their promises in writing. We publish the commitments we’ve checked so you can see what they said they’d do—and whether they followed through.
Read their promise.
What will they do about your priorities—and by when?
Check the results.
What did they do? What changed for the people they represent?
Ask for answers.
If they disagree or fall short, we ask them to explain. Got a better plan? Show how it meets the same need.
How we keep track: the five PAM questions
PAM stands for PHIERS Accountability Model. We keep track of the promises and the results.
- PromisedWhat was promised?
- FundedWhat was funded?
- SpentWhat was spent?
- DoneWhat was done?
- ChangedWhat changed?
Ask your representatives to put it in writing.
Send the Candidate Covenant to your representatives and the candidates asking for your vote. Ask whether they will sign—and let them answer for themselves.
Read the Covenant and copy an invitation →Prefer to call? Call 202-224-3121 and ask for your representative’s or senator’s office.
“I’m a constituent. Will you sign the PHIERS Public Trust Candidate Covenant? Where can I send the link, and when can I expect your answer?”
The concerns are real. What will they do about them?
What do people want fixed?
National polls show what people are worried about. Local polls and your ideas help show what matters where you live.
Affordable healthcare
Getting the care you need at a price you can afford.
How will you make care more affordable and accessible?
Democracy and elections
People having a voice, votes counted fairly, and lawful results respected.
How will you protect people’s votes and make government answer to them?
Education and children
Strong schools and support for children’s health, learning, and well-being.
How will you help children succeed and support the families caring for them?
Immigration
Immigration rules that work and a fair legal process.
How will you make immigration rules work fairly and protect people’s legal rights?
War and peace
Preventing war, pursuing peace, and answering for military decisions.
What will you do now to stop further escalation in the Middle East and pursue peace? Congress: how will you use your war powers, funding authority, and oversight?
Fuel and energy
Affordable, reliable energy.
How will you make energy affordable and dependable?
Community safety
Preventing violence and helping people feel safe.
How will you prevent harm and strengthen public safety?
Government and public trust
Leaders who listen, spend public money responsibly, and do what they promised.
What will you do—and how can the public check your work?
Jobs and opportunity
Dependable jobs, training, and chances for local businesses.
How will you help people earn a living and build a future?
These ten topics come from public research. They are not one poll’s top-ten list. People can agree that a problem matters and disagree about how to fix it. PHIERS wrote these questions to ask leaders what they will do.
The survey now starts with questions about the House and its Speaker. We still need to check whether it lets you add every kind of concern.
Read the research and sources
- Cost of living: Cost concerns · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Affordable healthcare: Voting issues · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Democracy and elections: Voting issues · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Education and children: Voting issues · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Immigration: Voting issues · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- War and peace: Election issues · AP-NORC, Oct 15 ↗
- Fuel and energy: Cost concerns · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Community safety: Voting issues · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Government and public trust: Government scope · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
- Jobs and opportunity: Job-market concerns · Pew, Oct 8 ↗
Pew’s October 8 reports ask voters which issues matter and adults which costs worry them. AP-NORC’s October 15 report looks at election concerns. We do not mix those answers into a single ranking.
Pew asks about the size and role of government. PHIERS also asks leaders to explain their spending and follow-through. The polls do not endorse the answers or solutions we ask leaders to consider.
Gallup research may be added after the team checks which findings support each topic.
Real solutions. The same questions for everyone.
Got a better plan? Show us.
PHIERS offers plans for affordable care, lower costs, paid work, stronger local businesses, and community support. Take a look. If you have a better way to meet those needs, put it in writing so people can compare.
Explore the PHIERS solutions →
Step 3: They need to hear from you.
Join your neighbors in asking for an answer before you decide whom to support.
People add their names to the request. Candidates and officials sign the Covenant. Adding your name does not endorse a candidate.
Survey = DirectionTell us what matters.
Petition = StrengthStand together behind a stated request.
Covenant = CommitmentLeaders put commitments in writing.
PAM = AccountabilityWe keep the receipts and push for follow-through.
Each action is a separate choice. The People’s Covenant Request asks leaders to commit. The general Public Trust Petition remains separate. Taking a survey is optional. Your earlier signature is not used to sign you up for something new.
Go deeper: how PHIERS works
You don’t have to learn the whole system before taking part. When you want more, explore the existing START explanation, practical solutions, and the work behind PHIERS.