Ground Game

Congress is considering implementing new rules that would require lawmakers to receive prior approval before posting video, or other forms of communications, to websites like Facebook and YouTube.

The change is being considered in the House by the Committee on House Administration, which is chaired by Pennsylvania Democrat Robert Brady. Last month, Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano sent a letter to Brady proposing that a list of approved websites be established where lawmakers could post videos of discussions of ongoing legislation. Currently, members can post to any website, and have already employed social networking sites like Facebook to push for and against legislative efforts. However, both sides agree the current practice is in violation of House rules.

Mr. Brady's office says the rule changes only apply to websites that are operated on a commercial basis. A response letter from House Republican Leader John Boehner to members of the online community argues against the proposal, saying it would in effect censor members of Congress and block citizens from rightfully obtaining information about their government:

If the proposed rule is adopted, the free flow of information over the Internet between Americans and their representatives will be significantly curtailed. Americans who currently use free websites like YouTube to obtain uncensored daily information about congressional policy debates will instead be forced to go to websites "approved" by the House Administration Committee in order to continue getting such information. This would amount to new government censorship of the Internet, by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral nor independent. 

Boehner also today sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi, arguing many of the same points. A House Republican aide said the initial response has been "pretty overwhelming," and will leave Pelosi "in a box" dealing with angry constituents from both sides of the ideological spectrum. The initial online response has been an angry reaction to the proposed changes. Opponents have created a Facebook group and some conservative bloggers have picked up on the issue.

A response from Rep. Capuano describing the Republican complaints as "laughably inaccurate was provided to CQ Politics. In the statement, Capuano says:

"First the ONLY item we seek to address is LOOSENING existing rules to allow Members to post videos as a first step toward making the rules meet our constituents' expectations regarding how they communicate with us in the 21^st century. This was completely ignored during the years that Republicans controlled Congress while the internet grew exponentially. It is currently against House rules to post video on any site with commercial or political advertising or to use taxpayer-funded resources to post outside of the House.gov domain."

"We are not currently seeking to address anything other than video - not blog postings, online chats or any other written form of communication anywhere on the internet. Any assertion to the contrary is a lie."