Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Steve Austria asked the constituents of Ohio’s 7^th Congressional District to join him in an online discussion to help increase dialogue between the people and Congress.

“When I’m out in the district, one of the things I hear most is that there is a feeling that Congress is not listening to the people,” Austria said. “America Speaking Out is an online community where people can share and debate their ideas for a national agenda.”

AmericaSpeakingOut.com is a state of the art Web site that allows individuals to suggest ideas of their own, or weigh in on ideas offered by others. Everyone can see the ideas that are on the table, make comments on them and register their approval or disapproval. This Web site brings the halls of Congress into American homes and uses the best of social media to allow America’s many voices to be heard.

“Through this effort we’ve seen a lot of people calling for increased transparency in government,” Austria said. “This is a key issue and as the president of the Republican Freshmen Class, my classmates and I have continued to call for additional accountability from the leadership in Congress.”

In regards to the healthcare reform bill, the Freshmen Republicans called on House Democrats to provide time for members of Congress to actually read the bill prior to a vote.  Then, as the bill came to the floor, the freshmen once again urged for transparency when House Democrats tried to manipulate House rules to force the bill’s passage.

AmericaSpeakingOut.com is an open forum and all are urged to participate in this public, online discussion.

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