Congressman Boehner has been on the leading edge of the fight for more transparency and accountability in Congress – an effort that includes making better use of new and existing technologies to open the legislative process up to the American people.
That’s why Boehner is working to change the rules of the House of Representatives to allow lawmakers to use popular internet-based communications tools like Skype.
Boehner made innovative use of Skype in March when he addressed the Miami County Republican Convention. The Troy Daily News reported that “Boehner, in Washington Sunday in preparation for a scheduled vote on health care, made comments via Skype, an Internet-based video program.” The Milton News Daily said Boehner “attended” via “a live Skype feed and delivered a speech which called the Health Care Bill an ‘unconstitutional train wreck.’”
Tools like Skype would help Americans better connect, engage, and converse with their representatives in real-time, whether a lawmaker is at home or in Washington. Read more:
>> Boehner backs latest request for Skype: “On Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) backed another request by lawmakers for permission to use Skype.” (The Hill, 7/2/10)
>> GOP hypes Skype for Congress: “The party hopes to capitalize on a recent FCC post on Twitter, which urged consumers to try the free video service to save money and minutes each month. The GOP’s new-media leaders say that mentality should also apply to the House, where a chamberwide block on access to Skype means lawmakers must rely on expensive teleconferencing services to chat with constituents over Web video.” (Politico, 7/1/10)
>> GOP Lawmakers: Let Us Use Skype! “House Republicans are pushing this week for Democrats to remove blocks on their ability to use the Internet-based phone and video service Skype.” (CBS News, 7/1/10)
>> Skype: Opening Up the Dialogue Between Politicians and Their Constituents: “That’s why Skype was quite pleased this past spring when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner began discussions with us about making Skype software available for official use by Members of Congress and their staffs. The use of Skype and other broadband-enabled applications represent an interesting opportunity to help open up new channels of communications between government officials and the people they represent – for free. Simply put, our users do better when there is more transparency and accountability in government.” (Skype “Big Blog,” 7/2/10)
If you want to help John in his fight to make Congress more open, transparent, and accountable, become a Boehner Campaigner today!
READ MORE:
- Boehner, GOP Push Better Solutions As Democrats Lose Credibility (5/19/10)
- Boehner Says a New GOP Majority Will Do Things Differently (2/19/10)
- Boehner, C-SPAN Call on Democrats to Open Health Care Negotiations to the Public (1/5/10)
- Boehner: “Americans Have Had It with ‘Business as Usual’ in Congress” (11/18/09)
- Boehner Talks Government Transparency on 55KRC (10/27/09)
Tags: transparency
