HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Congress Comes to YouTube (again)…But it Almost Didn’t Happen

Today marks the launch of a new collaborative effort between The U.S. Congress and YouTube.com.  The House Hub and Senate Hub have been developed to make it easier for visitors to find their elected officials and their YouTube channels.  YouTube and other popular technologies continue to empower American citizens with real-time information about the policy debates and actions being undertaken by Congress.

As we see more and more members from both sides of the aisle embrace web video and social media, it’s easy to forget that only a few months ago Democrats on the House Administration Committee were proposing rules that would have brought this free flow of information to a screeching halt.  The proposed rules, including an “approved list” of websites that could be used by members of Congress, would have amounted to new government censorship of the Internet by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral or independent.

Using the very tools Democrats proposed to restrict, citizens spoke out in the thousands.  Thankfully, House Republicans, led by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Tom Price (R-GA), and supported strongly by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Leader Boehner, expressed their strong opposition to this attack on Internet freedom and proposed an alternative solution that would allow Members of Congress to continue posting content at sites of their choosing.  House Republicans’ recommendations were eventually adopted by the Committee on House Administration.

House Republicans will continue fight to increase transparency and openness in government using technology and any other means at our disposal.  If you have any thoughts on how we can better achieve these goals, let us know in the comments or as a video response to Leader Boehner’s welcome video below.

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New Government Censorship? We’re Not Laughing

An article in today’s edition of Congress Daily AM (Capuano: Boehner’s Charges On Rule `Laughably Inaccurate’), looks at Rep. Michael Capuano’s (D-MA) lengthy three-page statement explaining his proposed new restrictions on communications technology within Congress.  House Republicans, respected transparency advocates, technology experts, and concerned citizens around the nation have carefully reviewed his proposal and they’re not laughing.

In his statement, Rep. Capuano explains that his proposed rule, which includes creating a list of “approved” technologies

…allows the American public to have full access to information from Members while ensuring that taxpayer dollars do not support commercial or political advertising on the web.

Interesting point.  Wouldn’t it also then stand to reason that the common practice of Members of Congress submitting op-eds to local and national publications that are published online aside paid advertisements would also be banned?  Op-eds such as these in the Boston Globe or RollCall (screencaps below)? Coincidently the Rollcall article is also linked to on Rep. Capuano’s official website.

Do readers of the Boston Globe and RollCall now think that Rep. Capuano endorses cheaptickets.com, Bernardi Honda, and the new KC-45 tanker?  The answer is no.  Just like the readers of the Boston Globe online, Americans who regularly visit YouTube and other video sharing sites understand that advertisements and content are completely unrelated.  As John Wonderlich, program director for the Sunlight Foundation states:

If the potential for conflict of interest or political advertising is so low (in) the context of the traditional press, then why are we treating the Internet differently?

The web is not “a necessary evil…like cellphones” as Rep. Capuano recently stated in the Washington Post.  The Internet is a powerful tool.  House Republicans understand that embracing technology is essential in improving communicating with their constituents and increasing transparency in government, and they will continue fighting to ensure this new form of government censorship is not enacted.

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A Qik Alternative To House Democrats’ Restrictive New Rules

In the video below Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) discuss an alternative to House Democrats’ proposed rules that would restrict the use of new technology by Members of Congress. Rep. Culberson was able to publish this video live via his mobile phone using Qik, one of the cutting-edge tools that House Democrats are threatening to ban.

House Republicans understand that technologies such as Qik, Twitter, and YouTube can help members better communicate with their constituents and increase transparency in government.  This is why Leader Boehner has asked Speaker Pelosi to join Republicans in opposing this new government censorship of the Internet.

If you’re currently using Twitter, make sure to follow @GOPLeader and @johnculberson for regular updates on their efforts to keep the Internet free.

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Keeping the Internet Free

Following yesterday’s Internet Freedom Alert we’ve received an overwhelmingly supportive reaction online, in print, and from citizens across the country. People are rightly alarmed that House Democrats are considering the adoption of new rules that would tightly restrict members’ ability to use technology in communicating with their constituents.

Leader Boehner and Republicans’ views on the matter are simple: Congress should be leading the way by encouraging elected officials to utilize whichever tools they believe will best assist them in bringing free and unfiltered information to their constituents about the actions being taken by their government.  Congress should not be forcing them to use only technology that has been “approved” by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral nor independent.

Here are a few excerpts from the coverage this issue has received so far:

Member Web Use Reconsidered (The Sunlight Foundation)

Boehner’s letter today rightly sounds the alarm about Capuano’s newly proposed Franking commission guidelines…While reconsidering or reforming these antiquated restrictions is a laudable goal, the proposed guideline reforms are only a half-measure toward modernized engagement online, and don’t address the underlying problems with these unnecessary restrictions.

Why won’t House Democrats let Congressmen use technology? (The Next Right)

Who gets technology? Either, as Capuano noted to the Post, “”To me, the Web is a necessary evil like cellphones,” or House Democrats are trying to make it harder for the opposition to get their message out.

Congressional Democrats Aim to Censor Twitter and Qik (Mashable.com)

The upshot is that Michael Capuano for some reason is uneasy or afraid of the shift towards openness in access to our nations legislators made possible by social media, and rather than encourage the change, he aims to have it cut off at the head.

Why do Congressional Democrats fear free speech? (Hot Air)

Efforts in both chambers of Congress have Republicans wondering why Democrats seem to fear free speech.  Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) has proposed limitations on how Representatives can post information to the Internet in a time when we should be demanding more transparency, not less.

Committee on House Administration Threatens Constituent Access to Members of Congress (TechRepublican)

This Rule is extremely troubling on several fronts. First and foremost, limiting constituent access to an “approved list of third-party websites” threatens the openness and access provided only through the Internet to constituents, limiting constituents to use a handful of “currently hot”/approved sites and force Members of Congress to ignore emerging websites that could quickly become the next outlet for conversation with their constituents.

Boehner Seeks To Stir Net Roots About Proposed Rule (Congress Daily AM)

Video Postings Create a Ruckus (RollCall)

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