New Rules Let Congress Use Third-Party Websites

Posted on October 7, 2008

CNET reports that new House rules allow members of Congress to post content on third-party websites such as YouTube or Twitter. This is good because without this rule it made it difficult for members of Congress to take advantage of some of the newer web publishing tools. Of course, some members were using sites like Twitter anyway.

"In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites," the new House rules read. They also allow members to provide links to or embed outside content on their official sites, provided they include an exit notice indicating the visitor is leaving the House.
The Senate rules also allow for links to be added to official sites. They allow senators to use any third-party site of their choice, but the senators will have an "approved list" of sites for reference.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the change "a significant step forward toward bringing House rules into the multimedia age and allowing for members to effectively communicate with their constituents online."

FCW.com has quotes from a couple other Members of Congress including Twitter user Rep. John Culberson, (R-Texas). Culberson said the new rules are "Truly a victory for all those seeking increased transparency in our government, the use of online video and other online technologies." The new rules were announced on October 2nd. PolicyBeta also has a post about the new rules abtly titled, "Yes... Our Congress CAN Tweet."

CNET's Politics and Law blog also notes that there is now a Capitol Tweets widget that lets you keep up on the latest tweets from members of Congress who use Twitter. You might also be interested in this list of Members of Congress who Twitter.