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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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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