Thread: Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress
Reflects on First Virtual Discussion
The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress is a committee in the US House of Representatives which studies Congress’s internal procedures and provides recommendations for how legislative operations can be made more effective, efficient, and transparent.
The following Twitter thread documents the Committee’s first Virtual Member Discussion, which covered committee continuity and remote operations.
May 7th: The Committee held our FIRST Virtual Member Discussion.
We invited guests @marcidale & @bethnoveck to discuss the importance of committee continuity, especially during times of crisis, and how Congress can keep working effectively on behalf of the American people.
During Chair @RepDerekKilmer opening remarks, he stated: “It seems appropriate and important to talk about how we can continue working as a committee” on behalf of the American people.
During Vice Chair @RepTomGraves’s opening remarks, he stated: “Our work on behalf of the American people cannot, and I think we all know, should not stop as a result of this pandemic.”
Throughout our discussion, Ms. Noveck shared how countries like Argentina, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, and others are continuing with business as usual — but using virtual platforms to carry out legislative work.
Ms. Harris shared she hosted mock remote hearings to test various virtual platforms’ capabilities & found it’s “not a question of technology, but culture, process and will.”
Underscoring that it takes some time for people to adapt & familiarize themselves with 21st-century tech.
The #COVID19 pandemic has fast-tracked Congress to tech-driven operations and as we’re currently seeing in real-time, Members are thinking big and using state-of-the-art technology to get results for their constituents.
The Twitter thread above was posted by the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (@ModernizeCmte) on June 25th, 2020. Find the original thread on Twitter or on the Thread Reader App.
This post is part of a series on the Continuity of Legislatures. Find the whole series here.
