Sens. McCaskill, Booker appeal for access to innovative IT

Two senators wrote a letter to the Rules and Administration Committee highlighting several changes to policy needed to promote access and use of modern technolo...

Two senators are pressing the upper chamber to come into the 21st century when it comes to buying and using technology.

Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) wrote to the leadership of the Rules and Administration Committee outlining seven areas where the legislative

body is behind the times and where rule changes would save money and make members more responsive to citizens.

“These opportunities include proposals developed to allow for innovation, consistent with best practices in the private sector,” McCaskill and Booker wrote on April 1. “Our aim is to remove unnecessary barriers to technological creativity while best serving constituents and saving taxpayer resources.”

McCaskill and Booker requested changes that are common among nearly every agency and private sector organization.

For example, email newsletters to constituents remain governed by the rules developed for newsletter delivered by the Postal Service.

“We recommend simplifying and streamlining the process for new technology product vendors to become approved for use by Senate offices,” the letter stated.

McCaskill and Booker recommended revising the definition of valid uses of surveys and petitions, and revisit the rules governing the use of images and language.

Another example is the use of cloud computing for Senate data, specifically constituent information. Booker and McCaskill said the legislative body is wasting money by

requiring offices to maintain individual servers for this information.

The two lawmakers pointed to the use of similar secure cloud technology by the departments of Defense, State and Treasury as examples of why the Senate could and should move in the same direction.

In that same vein, the senators said new platforms such as WordPress, needed to be made available for members to use.

“We recommend the committee review and approve the most widely-used, stable and secure Web-based content management solutions with deliberate haste,” the letter stated.

McCaskill and Booker also highlighted the need to evaluate social media impact through statistics.

“We recommend that the Senate classify collection and evaluation of social media statistics as a communications tool, similar to how the Senate classifies the collection

and analysis of website visit statistics” the letter stated. “The current guidelines prohibit Senate offices from collecting information that will allow them to evaluate the effectiveness of their communications programs.”

Throughout the letter, the two senators pushed for easier access to new vendors. One way they asked the Rules Committee to do that is by opening up the contracting

practice by simplifying the steps vendors need to take to be considered an “approved” contractor.

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