[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




 
                            BUSINESS MEETING

=======================================================================

                            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
      
      
      
      
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    
    


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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

                                 ------                                

                     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

                              ----------                              


                        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.]