Making Congress Work Better for the People It Serves
Written by Betsy Wright Hawkings, Fellow, Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, iLegis Panelist, Nov. 4, 2022
The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress was not widely known, but those who heard of its work over the last four years tended to feel better about Congress and how it could work together for the American people.
Among the committee’s greatest accomplishments was not only what it accomplished, but how it worked to achieve those accomplishments.
First, it was genuinely bipartisan, made up of six Republicans and six Democrats. Only the Ethics Committee can also say that.
It was co-led, at the initiative of Chair Derek Kilmer (D-WA), with Vice-chairs Tom Graves (R-GA in the 116th Congress and William Timmons (R-SC) in the 117th Congress. They shared one budget rather than splitting it between the majority and minority. Two staff directors co-led that staff. And from the beginning, the Committee met together as one group to receive briefings, set priorities and refine recommendations before voting. There were not “majority” and “minority” meetings and priorities; there were only Committee priorities, and the Committee worked together to agree on a common understanding of problems.
The Committee found that having a common understanding of the challenges made it easier to develop common ground around solutions. As the Chair liked to say, “We are all on the same team; we don’t wear red jerseys and blue jerseys, we wear ‘Fix Congress’ jerseys.” (Here is a photo that underscores the point):
The Committee held retreats early in 2019 and 2021 to set shared goals and priorities. Commitments made in those retreats included conducting hearings at a roundtable rather than the usual tiered dais, and alternating seating between Republicans and Democrats rather than segregating Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. This meant that when members turned to their right or left, they were speaking to and getting to know a member of the other party with whom they might not otherwise interact (as the Chair likes to say, “I’ve never had a great conversation with the back of someone’s head”). The Chair also replaced the customary “Five Minute Rule” with open Q& A time. This allowed members to pursue more thoughtful questions and encouraged them to stay at hearings since their time was not limited and they could intercede during another member’s time if it led to more thoughtful inquiry.
Another important factor contributing to the Committee’s success: Because it had no legislative authority, its recommendations had to have broad support from those with responsibility for their implementation. Working from the beginning with implementation partners such as the House Chief Administrative Officer, Committee on House Administration, House Rules Committee, Government Printing Office, House Clerk and others, and soliciting and receiving their input and support on the front end, was essential. The Committee by statute also included members of House Rules and House Administration; and with Chair Kilmer and Vice Chair Graves members of Appropriations, implementers on all three committees were solicited and educated to have buy-in early on both sides of the aisle.
Finally, reporting a recommendation required a ¾ supermajority. Chair Kilmer’s goal was unanimity whenever possible and almost all 202 recommendations met that threshold. This again reflected the approach of the Committee to start from a common understanding of each problem rather than with individual policy goals. The Chair and Vice-chair found that if they could agree on the same definition of a problem – such as the fact that they spent 66 days traveling last year, but only 65 days voting, for example – finding a common solution became much easier.
Brief History
Congress has historically taken a look at its own operations and how they can be improved about once in a generation. There were efforts to reorganize Congress to varying degrees, for example, in the 1940s, 1974, and 1993, with varying success.
The 2019 Modernization Committee was the result of a bipartisan effort begun in 2015 by former leadership staff concerned about the loss of agency by the Legislative Branch. It was taken up in 2017 by two sophomore members, Reps. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), whose fathers had served in the House. They developed a bill to establish a joint committee on congressional reform, which then was advocated by a bipartisan coalition of nonprofit organizations who support Congress, known as the “Fix Congress Cohort.
Set up initially for one year – 2019 -- the Modernization Committee posted some early wins, but it was clear there was more to do, so with the active support of the Fix Congress Cohort, the Committee was given a one-year extension.
At the end of 2020 -- with a growing to-do list, a mandate from freshmen to take on some bigger issues and still more vocal support from the Cohort - the Committee was given a full two-year extension for the entire 117th Congress, enabling it to make a full two-year strategic plan.
Implementation From the Outset
From the beginning of 2019, the Committee focused on implementation, not just making recommendations. The 1993 congressional reorganization and modernization effort saw no implementation, and neither did the Budget & Appropriations Joint Committee, which Kilmer also chaired in 2018. So, from the outset, the Select Modernization Committee charted a course for a different outcome. It initially took aim at “low hanging fruit” to post early wins; as mentioned previously, members and staff sat down with partners to see how the Committee could be helpful in addressing issues that its partners were seeking to advance; it focused on making changes through rules and Member Handbook changes; and prioritized increasing the House Modernization Appropriations Account to see recommendations through.
Key Recommendations
Making Congress work better for the people it serves starts by making it work better for the people who work there -- so their expertise and dedication can continue to be put to good use on behalf of the American people and the first branch of government – Article One of our Constitution – the Legislative Branch – can continue to lead as the greatest power within the three branches of our government.
Early recommendations that have been implemented include strengthening staff training and support through the onboarding process, providing rubrics for key competencies for most staff positions, standing up a staff coaching office, and developing a website with training for each staff position. A new House Digital Service is building products to create tools specifically for the House, rather than adapting private sector tools that don’t reflect the unique needs of Congress.
A 2020 recommendation that received a good deal of attention when it was made was to re-establish congressionally- directed spending through community-focused grants. The thinking was that while members have policy concerns, they also have local parochial interests and a mechanism to address these can help bridge differences in national policy issues and allow Members to “get to yes.” While there was some initial concern that conservatives might not support them, the safeguards recommended by the Modernization Committee and put in place by the Appropriations Committee, combined with conservatives’ desire to reassert their Article One authority, led the Republican Conference to defeat a proposed rule change banning them in the 118th Congress.
The launch in fall 2022 of the House Clerk’s Comparative Print Suite marked the implementation of one of the Committee’s first recommendations (recommendation #2). The new platform allows lawmakers and staff to see how a proposed bill would alter current law as well as how different versions of bills compare. This is critical for bolstering staff capacity, staff and member comprehension and public transparency.
A change to the Member Handbook by the Committee on House Administration implemented another recommendation to increase staff capacity. The changes will allow staff to be reimbursed for expenses associated with professional development and continuing education programs related to their job duties (recommendation #102).
All these changes help ensure that staff are equipped to work productively and collaboratively on behalf of the American people. By drafting targeted recommendations and working closely with implementation partners, the Committee helped ensure its recommendations would be carried out.
As of the end of 2022, as the Committee sunset, 43 of the Committee recommendations had been fully implemented, and another 88 had been partially implemented or seen meaningful progress towards implementation. That’s 68 percent!
This takes us full circle to the mission of the Committee to make Congress work better for the American people. Some of the most potentially impactful recommendations yet to be implemented, I believe, relate to constituent engagement. District office WIFI is being improved, yes, but also ease of engagement with district groups, removing barriers to meetings with district groups imposed by overly restrictive House rules, aggregation of anonymized constituent data to track types of cases, ease of transition of cases from an outgoing to an incoming Member, etc. Other ideas still to advance include the ability to share innovative software developed by nonprofit groups to enable members of Congress to interact with constituents in meaningful and productive ways, protecting the “Right to Petition” and a public-centered grievance process, which is, I will note, just about as conservative an idea as there is. (See recs 142-179).
Future of Modernization?
What comes next? It would be exciting to see a similar effort on the Senate side, as some recommendations require collaboration. Bulk purchasing for example would be even more impactful if utilized by both chambers; the House Digital Service might be able to develop apps for both chambers; Senate offices might even be able to collaborate on casework.
It would be wonderful to have a way to institutionalize a culture of self-improvement going forward rather than just revisit this need every couple of decades; we are looking forward to seeing how the House Administration Committee will institutionalize this work in the future.
Finally, it is essential to emphasize the role the outside coalition has played from the very beginning, from the inception of the committee to passage of its final recommendations. The Fix Congress Cohort will continue to play a key role. It has not only been a great source of ideas, suggestions, and very real expertise, but has been a promoter and amplifier of the work. Because this coalition is bipartisan -- really nonpartisan – puts the institution first, and has been from the very inception, the Cohort can continue to carry the work forward, even in a changing environment.
Link to 202 recommendations:
https://modernizecongress.house.gov/116th-recommendations
https://modernizecongress.house.gov/117th-recommendations
Link to 116th Congress report: https://modernizecongress.house.gov/final-report-116th
Link to 117th Congress final report: https://modernizecongress.house.gov/final-report-117th