

GOP lawmaker seeks 'virtual Congress' with telecommuting plan - pwg
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/289947-republican-proposes-letting-lawmakers-work-from-home

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whbk
Not a fan. I've seen legislators past and present comment that the recent
inability of the two sides to get along is due, at least in part, to the fact
that they don't interact socially. Whereas in the past most of them lived in
DC and would go out together socially after the business of the day was done,
now many return to their home districts at any opportunity and as a result
don't have the bias towards cooperation/empathy that you'd have with people
you count as friends.

If anything, I'd like to see the opposite shift, where legislators are
required to be in DC and maybe, just maybe, sit down with each other over
beers and get something done. Right now the biggest problem isn't a lack of
connection to constituents, it's an inability to work with colleagues.

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jinushaun
This comment needs repeating. Telecommuting will make the current situation
worse.

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rohern
This is a terrific idea if it means that people become more open to expanding
the size of Congress, an idea which is currently met with objections like 'Oh,
but then we would need to build a bigger building'.

The Congress of the United States is absurdly small in relation to our
population and absurdly unrepresentative as a result. The British House of
Commons, which represents a country of 63 million persons, has 650 seats. The
Canadian House of commons has 308 members (rising to 338 next election)
representing 33 million persons. The entire US Congress, including the Senate,
is only 538 seats, representing over 315 million persons. The House of
Representatives has not been expanded since 1911 and the population of the
United States has increased by 200 million since then.

Anything that makes this more achievable is worth having. The bonus of giving
Congressmen the ability to work from their district in direct communication
with the electorate is also worth having.

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chanced
I'm generally a pretty big fan of remote work. I think it reduces overhead,
can increase productivity for the right person/teams, and ultimately frees up
time for the employee which they return in kind to their employer.

Congress is _not_ an industry I would trust to be away from video monitoring,
however lame it may very well be.

Here is 2013 House Calendar: <http://i.imgur.com/oxkekO2.png> The dark days,
126 in total, are when they are supposed to be working. Catch CSPAN on a lame
bill and see how many of them show up. Now imagine what it would be like if
those pesky cameras weren't there and/or an aid could dial in.

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jolie311
So now the lobbyist can sit behind the teleprompter.

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1337biz
I always thought the teleprompter was already run by lobbyists?

