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Chair Bice's full opening statement as prepared for delivery:
At the beginning of the 119th Congress, we decided to update the Subcommittee’s name to the Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation.
The behind-the-scenes work of closing out recommendations made by the Select Committee on Modernization continues, but we also need to look forward and determine how we can ensure that the House’s technologies and systems continue to evolve instead of getting stuck in time.
This is where innovation comes into play.
Bringing Microsoft Copilot to the House community is a great example of how the Subcommittee is leaning into this work. For the past couple of months, we’ve worked closely with the CAO on a comprehensive plan to provide Copilot licenses and targeted training to House staff.
As of today, 150 Member offices have licenses and in January, licenses will be available to every Member, Committee, Leadership, and House support office. Integrating AI technologies into House operations is a game-changing first step in making the House a more efficient and effective institution.
Constituent engagement, the topic of today’s hearing, is another area that’s ripe for innovation. There are all kinds of innovative tools and technologies that we could be using now, rather than scrambling to play catch-up later.
Communicating with our constituents is absolutely essential for doing the jobs we were elected to do. Assisting with casework, responding to questions, and explaining our positions on the issues of the day requires interacting with our constituents in effective and meaningful ways.
But as we all know, the communications landscape is evolving at a rapid pace and there are now many different ways to engage and share information.
Our constituents are exposed to new technologies daily, whether they’re scheduling appointments, ordering food, or using AI tools at work. The forms of communication they encounter outside of Congress are much less common inside of Congress.
Rather than assume they’ll read our letters and emails, we should figure out how to meet our constituents where they’re at - today, tomorrow, and in the future.
If we don’t begin incorporating new and emerging technologies and platforms into our constituent outreach strategies, we risk losing the ability to effectively connect with the people we need to hear from most.
For decades, the House has relied on a small number of Constituent Management Systems, or CMS, for handling Members’ constituent engagement and outreach needs. While these systems have added different features and upgrades over time, I don’t think any of us would call them “cutting edge.”
That’s not a criticism as much as it’s a reflection of the fact that the market here is very limited and lacks the kind of competition that’s typically needed to spark innovation.
All of this presents us with a real opportunity to reimagine constituent engagement. Members represent vastly different districts and constituencies so maybe a “build-your-own” system makes more sense than a “one-size-fits-all” system. That way, Members could choose technologies and platforms that best meet the needs of their districts and constituents.
More options could encourage real innovation and that’s really what we want.
I’m looking forward to learning more about public views on the current and future states of constituent engagement, as well as what other countries and states are doing that is innovative and effective. The discussion today will help inform the Subcommittee’s exploration of how the House can innovate to improve how we connect with all of the people we represent.
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