Does Congress Need a Congressional Capacity and Technology Office? (with Aubrey Wilson)

About this episode

The episode discusses the need for a Congressional Capacity and Technology Office to help Congress keep up with technological advancements.

The topic of this episode is, “Does Congress need a Congressional Capacity and Technology Office?” Congress has a reputation for being behind the times when it comes to technology. Legislators often do not understand new technological developments, and the Hill itself has lagged in adopting technology. I recall being employed at a legislative branch support agency, and we were handed Blackberries while the rest of the country was using iPhones and Androids. So what can be done to help Congress catch up? A solution has been suggested by the POPVOX Foundation , a nonprofit organization that tries to “help democratic institutions keep pace with a rapidly changing world.” It has proposed that Congress create a Congressional Capacity and Technology Office. Here to talk with me about this idea is Aubrey Wilson , POPVOX's Director of Governmental Innovation and Global Initiatives. Aubrey has been working on congressional reform for a long time. She previously served as Deputy Staff Director for the Committee on House Administration. In this role, she coordinated efforts to make the House work more effectively. Prior to that, Aubrey and I worked together on governance reform at the R…

People in this episode

Guest: Aubrey Wilson

Topics covered

• Congress
• technology
• legislative reform
• government innovation
• capacity building

Keywords

• Congress
• technology
• legislative reform
• POPVOX
• Aubrey Wilson

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: POPVOX Foundation, R Street Institute, Future-Proofing Congress

Products: Blackberries, iPhones, Androids

Places: Congress

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