[background sounds] his meeting will come to order that went out objection. Title in the frank. Congressional standards into the 21st in sentry. I now recognize was on for five minutes. Of interest is americas most maligned superhero congressman able to fly across the country in six hours on alaska airlines. [laughter] were thinking about titling his hearing frankenstein. How the house is ghoulish mailing standards have hunted members for decades but i suppose we should go with the official title for the record, like most of the issues that whose committee mandated and congressional mailing standards. Its very inside baseball. Most people frank is the name. Is a hotdog but the reality is for members of congress that congressional frank is actually fundamental with how we communicate with ours constituents. Every time we respond to constituent requesters and newsletters are upcoming townhouse, we use the frank. And a surprise with the rise of social media, congress is seeing overall use of the frank. Ten years ago that was spent 10000 in todays standards they spend 26000. A lot of variation by district to member card still has brought going getting on the fact that social media has had tremendous impact on how congress in case. They didnt even have a Digital Media staff and to dave they almost always have them. Given the changes in the way the congressman and American People communicate, to his hearing is actually really important. If history is in the indicated Communications Platform will continue to rapidly involved. Congress needs to end up so that members can communicate is effectively is possible with people they represent. I know that represented susan in the franken commission has put a lot of thought into these issues and have some ideas about how to modernize the frank. Numbers also need to understand the differences across platforms so they can make smart choices about how to best negate. These have graphics constraints of the frank that social media does that. So bottom line is the commune caning is a lot easier today but its also a lot more complicated. Im looking forward with what our witnesses are staying today. Is important to understand the history and modern trends and how members communicate with her constituents. Making Congress Working better so we can better surf the American People and i think his hearing is only in support of that mission. I would like to add fight our vice chair. In any halloween jokes as well. Thank you. All i have is the last name. On halloween thats all i can do. Thank you for all appearing today. Is you said mr. Chairman, there may ways than ever that to talk about art consist was back home with the click of a mouse we can contract can share legislative updates and ideas and for those we represent. Medication with those of communicating is one of the most important jobs we have. The current franking part is is you described, most dont even know about it or understand. Slight years behind the communications and the opportunities that we have today. Walt want to quickly communicate get information back to her constituents. Is a result throughout this year, whose committee we have heard from monday of our colleagues who have monday ideas for reforming congress including whose process. Have communication. So whose topic, monday of the freshmen who have stepped up, to voice their opinions and question the way we do things. Im very grateful for that. Because they have experienced the rules and regulations and the procedures for the first time and thankfully the very quick to highlight ways to improve or suggest they may have. Two allows communicate differently and better. And quicker. So look forward to hearing of whose today chris would be great and have a wonderful holiday and what better way to start off than being right here. Today we welcome testimony of five witnesses. A first panel which we are calling for davis panel, we have representing susan davis the chair of the House Commission on congressional mailing standards and representative rodney davis with surfing on whose committee has served is chair of the House Commission on congressional mailing standards in the 150 congress here to share their knowledge and ideas for reforming the franking process. Each will provide five minutes of testimony and wasnt finished, will move onto the next battle. So represented susan davis going you know not recognized for five minutes. Thank you very much. You understand that we get confused now again. I do appreciate your pointing that out. And of course members of the select committee, is the presbyter to join you. On whose historic day for what has to be the houses firstever frankenstein hearing. I want to acknowledge in the House Administration and chair and how the Ranking Member davis and Ranking Member brian still, all of whom play key role in the future of mass communications. The houses current franking rules have certainly stooped members. Staff and constituents uber the years but the good news is that we can continue make the whole franking process both the scary and more effective. Contrary to what monday staff believe, the cost franking manual was not created to frighten people. But the rather of good intentions of preventing members from using fair funds for personal and political or commercial use. However, after nearly two decades, working with those rules we have seen that the rules have the unintended side effect of slowing things down and preventing members from writing the way they speak. When they conduct official business. Our commission to the fresh look at the roles and came up the new approach. In estimating components. Was the going hand in hand. Greater transparency in support set of rules. Greater public handprints ensures greater care and accountability. We can achieve transparency easily by making the frame advisory opinions available online. The houses website is linked to ours, is it currently does for Financial Disclosure reports and travel reports and gift and travel filings and Legal Expense funds disclosures and statements of disbursement. I was just ending in, because you know all know whose, the whole idea is that members in Communications Available to their constituents and the public by report. It really does, i believe, discourage undue advantage of the franking privilege. Combined with transparency are shorter set of clear and essential roles will prevent the misuse of taxpayer funds. I look forward to sharing the new list of rules we are developing with you and all of our colleagues and staffs are cooling those together so naturally they have come up with quite a few defenses for his work on her new package we have some requests that the Modernization Committee relating to additional communication. My written testimony into greater detail below highlight a few main now. First we suggest the Modernization Committee recommends consolidating a Digital Communication and putting it on our jurisdiction. Right now we are only charged with reviewing postal mail but in practice we review all communications. And second the Modernization Committee should evaluate the appropriateness and again i think whose is before you all to look at allowing members the option to transfer the social media from Campaign Accounts to their official locales from time to time or perhaps just one time. I also consider allowing websites is it too late to official sites. Whose will eliminate confusion and we all fear from our constituents while maintaining appropriate separation. And third, we need to use technology to upgrade the strict office mail reports which are still selfreported and done by hand. Perhaps we can fix whose between the barcodes. Rough up now because pumpkins are fast approaching. Thank you again and has been a pleasure working with all of you and your staff as well. Look forward to your next set of recommendations. Thank you. Now represented rodney davis, you know recognized for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman and thank you to the vice chair and also the chair in the franking. In my good friend, ms. Davis. I would tell you, its an honor to speak from the side of the site and ill go around back to the site is soon is im done but to be able to talk about something that a lot of folks in and around washington dont want to take the time to delve into, and is very important for the job we do in communicating with our constituents. Last congress, i was the chair of the franking commission. And i have to commend my colleague ms. Davis, because we were able to Work Together to implement some new processes that made the frank easier. Older than you. And i do and see, the folks at work on House Administration and taking these franking requests, my staffers tim and hell live, do a great job in making sure they work with their member offices to implement monday of their archaic stands that we put in place but susan and i, and our teams were able to actually make the process easier. Will required higher percent online submission his. More in the 21st century. Whose is the thing we should do. We digitized everything. It makes the process for turning that approval or disapproval around faster. And it is something that i know for both of us, when we are in the commission. Weve got to do more. There is finally i believe you have been tight on both sides to roll up our sleeves is chair davis said. To get our teams together and come up with some solutions. I believe we are doing that. I am very happy that lena mccarthy, appointed our calling congressman right style, a freshman and a former staffer like monday of us whose had the years of frank. He is doing a great job of getting involved in finding out how we can even expand on what susan and i did with our teams last year. They resent bipartisan negotiations and is she said, opportunities for substantial changes to the franking rules. And we have three main buckets. Focusing on making improvements on them. The speed of approval, we want to get these approvals turned around faster. Transparency. There also developing regulations of work the 21st century. Let me frontline a few reasons why these reforms are in such need. First existing regulation is a burdensome and very bureaucratic. Were literally injuring the size of pitcher and counting the numbers of times goleta i is used. Staff president. Has not been upstate created and regulations. Let me get whose straight. Monday of the rules that we follow and approvals that are teams follow, have been set by president between staff for decades. We is members of the codify whose president s into rules and regulations so that we dont have any changes when we have changes on the committee, and leadership and that is something that i am looking forward to working with whose committee and also with brian and susan on. It is hard to follow rules that are not written down. And when theyre not transparent. I also think we should visit when taken is need it. Managers have an automatic approval process in some instances. For the consequences if members and staff dont follow those rules. For example doesnt make sense that facebook had died 500 people the cost of 20 is the subject to the same review the physical mailer going to hundred thousand people at a cost of 50000 taxpayer dollars. A little more than the expectation of privacy has brought the same it was ten years ago. And is a we support increased transparency standards for frankie. Massively Greater Transparency comes a check and balance with constituents and the american taxpayer is the should replace the role of staff here in dc measuring pitcher and counting eyes. And finally is members of whose committee contemplate recommendations, even my three things. Members need to keep send communication to their constituents. Regional regulations are necessary to prevent abuse and filing of the regulations and guidance into be transparent and accessible and easy to understand. In whose basic process, i. E. In courage the members to think bold and also new ideas are always welcome. I will take whose opportunity to eat to you 29 seconds back to you mr. Chair. Soon thank you both. And it was a busy morning for you so thank you for making time to come. One of the if the nextel of witnesses. To take their seats and perhaps is they do, i will start providing introductions just in the interest of time. Our first witnesses doctor matthew glassman, a senior fellow with a government of georgetown university. Prior to joining jai he worked at the regression all Research Center for deniers. Congressional operations, frank in preparation of powers appropriations and traditional administration, Agency Design and congressional history. He was detailed to the House Committee on appropriations is professional staff. Legislatures land of symphonies and 2010 and 2011. Next witnesses her attacker. Professor of politics at the new your university. Doctor tepper is the coprincipal investigator in the wind like so laboratories, codirector of the nyu center for social and political behavior. Doctor tucker specializes in comparative politics with an emphasis on elections and voting and Public Opinion formation and the use of social media and facility all forms of participation. Coeditor also of the monkey cage and Award Winning and politics log which appears in the washington post. Final witnesses josh billy meyer, doing the right. Who for the past 15 years has worked with Congressional Offices and streamlined the cmm operations and leverage new technologies. Prior to focusing on Software Solutions for Congressional Offices fulltime for josh worked for several meters patients Testing Services and attorney 18 began ceo of congressionally office that he cofounded. Five minutes for all of you. That went out objection your written statement will be part of the record. keller, vice chairman and members of the select monday. Thank you for the opportunity to sit testify today. Im senior fellow at darshan university. Lamented congressional service. Institutional issues in congress including members of communication in the pagan philip privilege credible legislative speech. Testimony, i provided to historical and contextual overview of the frank. Pacifically discusses the origins of national and longstanding criticisms of it. In writing frameworks congress is used regulate. Number consecutive would medications the building block. Its information about legislative activity for members of constituencies. Joint policy judgments and professional action and budget was about members. Likewise, the constituents cannot easily communicate preference to members and congressional action is less likely to reflect a Public Opinion. For most of the 19th century, postage free frank now can only be semi members, but to congress by constituents. The frank privilege dates to the 17th century england and has existed tenuously in the united states. So for a brief period in the 1870s when it was temporarily abolished. The water system basic comprehensive forum passed in 1973. Subsequent reforms made in the 80s. They include monday of the familiar restrictions. Abandoning use private her name to produce right now for a rail. On expenditures, Public Disclosure individual member costs. In preelection bands on mass mailing. The last 20 years, else regulation of email and other electronic commissioning medications but built on top of the frank medications. To longstanding criticisms have been lodged against the Frank Franklin privilege. First that it is financially wasteful and second that it gives unfair advantage to incumbents and congressional elections. In 2018, house members spent just on 70 million pieces of unsolicited mass mail. 27. 6 million. An average cost of 35 since per piece. Expenditures were actually quite small. Between 1988 and 2018, official congressional postage cost dropped by uber 80 percent. The contemnor a cost of mass mailing however are being driven by an increasingly small number of offices. 2004, 85 percent losses said at least one mass postal mailing. In 2018, almost 61 percent in. Furthermore, uber half of the cost of postal mass mailings or accrued by 65 high standing offices. The average 260,000 at mass mailing expenses. Several offices for more than a quarter of the mmr on mass mail. Is have been the case for the skates, spend much more mass mailing than senior members and members electro states. In order frank will cost continue to be higher in election years in nonelection years. Throughout history Technological Development have altered communications. They have often triggered regulatory changes. For example, the rise of Computer Generated mailing lists and Mail Services in the 60s expanded the ability to members to reach their constituents. The rise of Electronic Communications in the 21st century is once again, jane, resume constituents communicate. Mel is now the most popular way to reach members. Social media accounts, allow for realtime interaction. No costs. These changes a question relevant and financial efficiency of the traditional frank postal mail system. Its become a smaller portion must members of constituent communication in recent years. While members spent almost 78 million mail 2018, 1. 2 million pieces of mass communication. These costs are costs less than half than one at percent of each. Seventy times cheaper than mass mailings. Is a Public Policy the frank equivalents five dimensions. The title frank, what can be frank, how much can be sick, rightly said, and when it can be sick. In addition policy choices exist regarding transparency and how fran