Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the work of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. As chair, I am extremely proud of what the select committee has accomplished in the past year. I am also proud of how we have accomplished our work. In addition to unanimously passing 45 recommendations to improve the way Congress works, the select committee is establishing a new and meaningful precedent for bipartisan collaboration. For those watching on C-SPAN, your television is not broken. We are actually proving that it is possible for Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to sit down together, engage in tough discussions, listen and learn from one another, and reach consensus. And I am fortunate and grateful to serve on this committee with such thoughtful and dedicated Members, including Vice Chair Tom Graves, whom we will hear from later this evening. The select committee's guiding principle is to make Congress work better so that the institution and its Members can better serve the American people. That simple but profound goal guides all of our work. It helps us identify institutional problems and develop helpful solutions. Last year, we held hearings on important topics like improving transparency in Congress, bettering constituent engagement, cultivating staff diversity and retention, developing next-generation leadership, technology best practices used in the States, the congressional schedule and calendar, and rules and procedures.…”