Those of us who have been working to goad Congress to reform itself got some bad news recently. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) lost in his primary, thanks to Illinois’ Democrats redistricting him. Davis is the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration (CHA) and also served on the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (SCMC). In short, he is a person who has had a key role in the various efforts to upgrade Congress to meet the demands of the 21st century. But come January 2023, Davis will no longer be there. Who will take his place is unclear. Davis was one of only three GOP members on the nine-member CHA. Presumably, Republicans will have the majority and more seats, but it remains to be seen whether any of them will be institutionalists willing to lean into the hard work of improving the House’s dated structures, processes and technology for serving the people.
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[The] select committee is due to expire at the end of this year. For the past three years, it has been grinding out bipartisan proposals and partnering with the CHA to get them enacted. To date, the SCMC has passed 142 recommendations, 33 of which have been fully implemented and 24 of which are nearly completed. Admirably, many of these reforms aim to reduce the gratuitous hyperpartisanship among members and to further professionalize staffing. Nonetheless, there are no signs the House leadership will call a vote to extend the life of the SCMC.