Our Standards
We believe government reform is the root fix. When government is transparent, efficient, and affordable, every policy area improves. These aren’t campaign promises. They’re examples of the standards we’ll apply when grading every elected official.
Every policy debate in America comes back to the same question: does our government work for the people it serves?
We think the answer starts with structural reform. Not left or right. Not more government or less government. Better government, measured against three standards: can you see what it does, does it deliver results, and does it make a decent life accessible?
These are examples of the standards we’ll apply when evaluating elected officials on the TEA Scorecard. They show how the TEA lens applies to every policy area.
Transparency
Mandatory town halls. Ban on congressional stock trading. Public dashboards tracking legislative promises. Plain-language bill summaries. Campaign finance reform.
Efficiency
Legislation with measurable outcomes and sunset provisions. Regulatory performance review. Modernized permitting. Evidence-based policymaking.
Affordability
Housing supply expansion. Workforce development tied to real employers. Healthcare cost transparency. Policies that make essentials accessible to everyone.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Healthcare
Transparency: See what healthcare costs before you get the bill. Efficiency: Cut the administrative bloat that makes care expensive. Affordability: A public option so nobody goes without care because they can’t afford it.
Cost of Living
Transparency: See why your bills keep rising. Efficiency: Build more housing and expand clean energy faster. Affordability: Measure policy success by what families actually pay for essentials.
Immigration
Transparency: Clear case status and published processing times. Efficiency: Fix the backlog with modern systems and adequate staffing. Affordability: A broken system costs everyone more than a functional one.
Jobs & Economy
Transparency: See where job dollars go and how AI is being deployed. Efficiency: Training that actually leads to employment. Affordability: Technology should help workers, not just replace them.
Education
Transparency: Public funds require public standards and accountability. Efficiency: Adapt to AI and workforce changes now, not later. Affordability: Quality public education should be free and accessible.
Public Safety
Transparency: Communities should know what’s happening and why. Efficiency: Prevention and mental health response save more lives than over-policing. Affordability: Invest in foundations that reduce crime at the root.
Foreign Policy
Transparency: The public should know what’s being done in their name abroad. Efficiency: Diplomacy costs less than war. Affordability: Tariffs are taxes that families pay at the register.
From Standards to Action
These standards are not just a grading rubric. They guide our policy research. The Democratic TEA Party produces real policy papers on reforms that would increase transparency, efficiency, or affordability in government. We take those papers to Congress members, state lawmakers, and candidates to push for adoption.
When our research is published, it will be available here for everyone to read.
These are the standards we use to grade every elected official and guide our policy research. Sign up to see the scorecard and our first policy papers when they launch.
Sign Up for Updates