The Congressional Management Foundation enthusiastically celebrates the latest recommendations adopted this week by the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. This round builds on the amazing work by the Select Committee, which has served as a model for bipartisanship and productivity during its tenure. We are especially excited by those recommendations regarding district offices, which are often overlooked yet are often the first point of contact with Congress for millions of Americans.
CMF also honored that several of the recommendations are based on CMF research and proposals, including:
- Creating opportunities for district staff to interact and share best practices
- Expanding authority of Members-elect to work with local businesses to ensure district offices are operational "day one," like their Washington offices
- Expanding district-based transition support for Members-elect, including a single point of contact for district office set-up
- Exploring options for enhancing district staff retention
- Enabling Members and district staff more flexibility to collaborate with community organizations to enhance constituent services and events
- Improving technology in district offices
- Exempting student loan repayments from maximum compensation
We encourage the House of Representatives to quickly adopt and implement these recommendations, as it has so many of the Committee's previous recommendations. We also urge the Senate to create a joint or complementary structure to expand modernization efforts to that chamber and the joint functions of the House and Senate. We believe a modern Congress will foster greater trust between Senators and Representatives and their constituents and a stronger, more dynamic, and responsive American democracy.
