[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BUSINESS MEETING
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BUSINESS MEETING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MODERNIZATION
of the
COMMITTE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MARCH 9, 2023
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
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www.govinfo.gov
www.cha.house.gov
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-984 WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
BRYAN STEIL, WISCONSIN, Chairman
BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia JOSEPH MORELLE, New York,
H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia Ranking Member
GREG MURPHY, North Carolina TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
STEPHANIE BICE, Oklahoma DEREK KILMER, Washington
MIKE CAREY, Ohio NORMA TORRES, California
ANTHONY D'ESPOSITO, New York
LAUREL LEE, Florida
Tim Monahan, Staff Director
Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON MODERNIZATION
STEPHANIE BICE, OKLAHOMA, Chair
MIKE CAREY, Ohio DEREK KILMER, Washington,
Ranking Member
JOSEPH MORELLE, New York
Derek Harley, Subcommittee Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Opening Statements
The Honorable Stephanie Bice, Representative from the state of
Oklahoma....................................................... 1
The Honorable Derek Kilmer, Representative from the state of
Washington..................................................... 2
Submission for the Record
Subcommittee RES. 118-01......................................... 4
BUSINESS MEETING
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THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Modernization,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in
room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Stephanie Bice
[Chair of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Bice, Carey, Kilmer, and Morelle.
Also present: Representative Steil.
Staff present: Tim Monahan, Staff Director; Caleb Hays,
Deputy Staff Director, General Counsel, Acting Parliamentarian;
Hillary Lassiter, Chief Clerk; Cade Alcock, Assistant Clerk;
Derek Harley, Subcommittee Staff Director; Jamie Fleet,
Minority Staff Director; Khalil Abboud, Minority Chief Counsel;
Matthew Schlesinger, Minority Oversight Counsel; Owen Reilly,
Minority Legislative Assistant; Eddie Flaherty, Minority Chief
Clerk; and Andrew Garcia, Minority Staff Assistant.
OPENING STATEMEMT OF CHAIRWOMAN STEPHANIE BICE, A U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVE FROM OKLAHOMA
Chairwoman Bice. The Subcommittee on Modernization will
come to order.
I note that a quorum is present.
Without objection, the Chair may declare a recess at any
time.
As a Member who sits on four different committees, I am
particularly excited for the work of this subcommittee. Not
only do we have the opportunity to make operations more
efficient so we can better utilize the time we have when we are
here in D.C., but also back in our districts.
I am also excited to have a fresh hearing format compared
to other committees. This will include several components:
First, by keeping with the tradition of the Select Committee
from the last Congress, we will, as you can see, be utilizing a
roundtable-style setup, as we have it today; and, second, we
will have staggered seating in order not to be divided by
party. This is because modernization should not be partisan.
Our goal is to make the House work better for every Member,
staffer, and the American people. That starts with making sure
this Subcommittee is more of a conversation, where new ideas
are welcome. That extends to the discussion with our witnesses
as well.
To that end, the resolution before us today adopts more
flexible rules for our subcommittee hearings, following the
model of the Select Committee, to encourage discussion and a
more open exchange of ideas. Specifically, we will utilize
extended questioning to give members and our witnesses more of
an opportunity to thoughtfully engage. After all, a good
conversation gets you thinking, and I want to make sure we have
the flexibility to go back and forth and really talk through
some of the issues before us.
Moving forward, I believe that utilizing this alternative
format will lead to better dialogue, increased engagement, and
tangible results. However, it will only be successful if each
of us is committed to engaging in the process. I look forward
to working together to make the People's House more effective
and efficient for the American people.
I want to say a huge thank you to the CAO for helping
create this roundtable format. I know in this particular room
it was not easy, so thank you to your team for organizing this
format for us today.
I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Kilmer, for 5
minutes for the purpose of offering an opening statement.
OPENING STATEMEMT OF RANKING MEMBER DEREK KILMER, A U.S. HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVE FROM WASHINGTON
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Really excited to be serving with all of you on this
subcommittee. Really grateful that the work of the Select
Committee on Modernization of Congress continues. Thank you to
Ranking Member Morelle for inviting me to participate in this.
I also want to express my gratitude to Chairwoman Bice and
to Chairman Steil for continuing the traditions that were
established by the Select Committee on Modernization. The idea
of actually sitting around a roundtable and actually having a
conversation with each other and with our witnesses, rather
than 5-minute speechifying, I think is actually really
refreshing. I wish we did that more in this place.
Actually allowing Members to jump in and actually pull a
thread on a conversation, rather than, again, having it be
something that you are trying to throw up on Facebook or on
Twitter but not necessarily to have a conversation, I think
this subcommittee will benefit from that.
You know, listen, the Modernization Committee that existed
in the last two Congresses was dedicated to a pretty simple
proposition, and that is: make Congress work better for the
American people. In that regard, we passed 202 recommendations.
132 of them have seen some progress; 45 have been fully
implemented; 87 have been partially implemented.
I know we are going to hear from one of the folks who have
been responsible for the progress that we have made today, the
Chief Administrative Officer.
Thank you to you for appearing today and for the work that
you and your team have done to help us move forward on some of
these priorities.
There is a lot that has already happened over the last few
years as a consequence of the CAO's leadership and partnership.
There is still a lot of work that we have to do as well.
The Select Committee held more hearings on one topic than
on anything else, and that was staff capacity, because this
institution and its ability to actually accomplish anything
really depends on staff.
The CAO's work to create the House Human Resources Hub, to
expand the Staff Academy through the CAO Coach Program, to form
the House Digital Service, to improve staff benefits, all of
this goes a long way to helping this institution attract and
retain diverse talent, and that helps us get things done for
the American people. Thank you for that.
I also just want to recognize and thank the CAO for your
work to reform the onboarding process and providing additional
continuing education opportunities for Members so that we can
get better at our jobs too.
I know you are probably going to get asked about the
scheduling tool, since I had to bail on some constituents who
were testifying on another committee to be here, so this is one
of our challenges in this place.
Some of the recommendations focused on helping us engage
with our constituents better too.
A lot has been accomplished, and a lot remains, and I think
that is why this subcommittee's existence is exciting.
I thank the Chairwoman for her leadership and partnership,
and I am excited about the adventure ahead.
With that, I yield back.
Chairwoman Bice. Thank you, Ranking Member Kilmer and
Members of the Subcommittee, for meeting today to adopt
Subcommittee Resolution 118-01.
This resolution has been distributed to Members in advance,
and it adopts a more flexible rule for the Subcommittee on
Modernization to encourage discussion and the open exchange of
ideas.
Without objection, the resolution is considered as read and
open for amendment at any time.
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Chairwoman Bice. Does any Member wish to be recognized to
discuss the resolution?
Are there any amendments?
Seeing none, I move that Committee Resolution 118-01 be
adopted.
All those in favor, say aye.
All those opposed, say no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the
resolution is adopted.
Without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the
table.
This concludes the order of business for today's meeting,
and the subcommittee stands adjourned for the working portion.
[Whereupon, at 3:08 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]