Time for Telecommuting in Congress
The news that Obama's going to make it to all 50 states made me wonder how Illinois is doing without his paying attention to senatorial duties—or at least not giving them as much attention as the voters expected when they elected Obama.
I've long had this as an idea for votes and such, but I think the time has come to change whatever rules need to be changed and let Senators and Representatives telecommute to sessions. These people have been elected to represent states or districts that they're greatly out of touch with when Congress is in session.
Conversely, when Congress is on its breaks, pretty much all business stops. Most members go home (or at least that's the theory), even when urgent matters are hanging.
The time for the integration of technology into Congress is now. Things move too fast today to wait for everyone to assemble in one room. Fuel costs' rising will only add more expense to how the Congress currently accomplishes its job. And if the airlines cut back flights' frequency and number, the result will be less flexibility for a member to get to a chamber or hearing when needed.
This can happen now. All of the procedures the House and Senate go through to be recognized, speak, schedule, and vote can be done with a laptop offsite and a large screen in each chamber.
The worry that telecommuting members will have divided attention during hearings and debates becomes pretty moot after watching just an hour of C-SPAN. They're talking to other people, reading, and walking in and out all the time. Telecommuting members might actually pay more attention to what's going on.
The big thing will be that they will never have to miss a vote again. It frustrated me when the primary candidates missed votes because they were out of DC campaigning. Maybe Obama wouldn't be able to devote much time to his senatorial duties during the campaign, but by being able to telecommute, he'd be able to give more time than he does now.
I've long had this as an idea for votes and such, but I think the time has come to change whatever rules need to be changed and let Senators and Representatives telecommute to sessions. These people have been elected to represent states or districts that they're greatly out of touch with when Congress is in session.
Conversely, when Congress is on its breaks, pretty much all business stops. Most members go home (or at least that's the theory), even when urgent matters are hanging.
The time for the integration of technology into Congress is now. Things move too fast today to wait for everyone to assemble in one room. Fuel costs' rising will only add more expense to how the Congress currently accomplishes its job. And if the airlines cut back flights' frequency and number, the result will be less flexibility for a member to get to a chamber or hearing when needed.
This can happen now. All of the procedures the House and Senate go through to be recognized, speak, schedule, and vote can be done with a laptop offsite and a large screen in each chamber.
The worry that telecommuting members will have divided attention during hearings and debates becomes pretty moot after watching just an hour of C-SPAN. They're talking to other people, reading, and walking in and out all the time. Telecommuting members might actually pay more attention to what's going on.
The big thing will be that they will never have to miss a vote again. It frustrated me when the primary candidates missed votes because they were out of DC campaigning. Maybe Obama wouldn't be able to devote much time to his senatorial duties during the campaign, but by being able to telecommute, he'd be able to give more time than he does now.
