Press releases

Modernizing committee unanimously passes first transparency reform measures


Media Contact

Cory Combs

Director of Media Relations

As the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress voted out its first series of reforms today, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee released the following statement:

“At a time when politics is so divisive, it is refreshing to see bipartisanship in action. It is also heartening that the modernizing committee is already moving to increase transparency and help make Congress more efficient. We look forward to broader, bolder reforms in the coming months.”

The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress requires at least two-thirds of its members to agree on recommendations – and today they passed their first tranche of reforms unanimously. 

Modernizing committee chairman Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) noted at today’s meeting that he planned to introduce the reforms as legislation that would also be referred to the House Rules Committee. 

The package of reforms the Select Committee supported includes: 

  1. Adopting one standardized format for drafting, viewing, and publishing legislation to improve transparency and efficiency throughout the lawmaking process. 
  2. Providing resources to finish legislation comparison project on schedule and train staff to vastly improve the American public’s ability to understand how amendments change legislation, and the impact of proposed legislation to current law.
  3. Modernizing the lobbying disclosure system to improve the filing process and more easily find and track individual disclosures.
  4. Developing a centralized, electronic HUB that would list all federal agency and program reauthorization expiration dates, by committee.
  5. Developing a centralized, electronic HUB of committee votes that would be accessible via House.gov and in machine readable format.

For more, visit https://modernizecongress.house.gov/