Congress Comes to YouTube (again)…But it Almost Didn’t Happen

January 13, 2009 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Corruption, Inernet, News, Publius Contributor, Technology, Warner Todd Huston, YouTube |

John Boehner, GOP Minority leader, reports on a new venture…

Today marks the launch of a new collaborative effort between The U.S. Congress and YouTube.com. The House Hub and Senate Hub have been developed to make it easier for visitors to find their elected officials and their YouTube channels. YouTube and other popular technologies continue to empower American citizens with real-time information about the policy debates and actions being undertaken by Congress.

As we see more and more members from both sides of the aisle embrace web video and social media, it’s easy to forget that only a few months ago Democrats on the House Administration Committee were proposing rules that would have brought this free flow of information to a screeching halt. The proposed rules, including an “approved list” of websites that could be used by members of Congress, would have amounted to new government censorship of the Internet by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral or independent.

Using the very tools Democrats proposed to restrict, citizens spoke out in the thousands. Thankfully, House Republicans, led by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Tom Price (R-GA), and supported strongly by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Leader Boehner, expressed their strong opposition to this attack on Internet freedom and proposed an alternative solution that would allow Members of Congress to continue posting content at sites of their choosing. House Republicans’ recommendations were eventually adopted by the Committee on House Administration.

House Republicans will continue fight to increase transparency and openness in government using technology and any other means at our disposal. If you have any thoughts on how we can better achieve these goals, let us know in the comments or as a video response to Leader Boehner’s welcome video below.