Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) today announced the reintroduction of legislation to boost transparency in Congress by giving the American people more visibility into how elected officials use their time. 

“Members of Congress are supposed to come to Washington to represent their communities, not special interests,” said Rep. Porter. “Americans deserve transparency when it comes to how the people they elect spend their official time. I’m proud to reintroduce my legislation that enables voters to hold their representatives accountable and helps restore the people’s trust in Congress.”

Rep. Porter’s Congress at Work Act would require that all Congressmembers publish the names of groups and people they’ve met with in their official capacity and link to committee attendance and voting logs, their voting record on legislation that comes to the House floor, and bills they’ve sponsored or cosponsored. Members would have to post this information to their public websites within 60 days of the end of the month. 

“Congresswoman Porter leads by example by being one of the most transparent Members of Congress and her Congress at Work Act would require every Member to be open and accountable to their constituents,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United / Let America Vote Action Fund. “We thank Congresswoman Porter for her continued leadership in trying to bring much-needed sunshine into the halls of Congress.”

“There are many reasons why Congress has a dismal 17% approval rating from the American public and a lack of transparency is just one of them,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Senior Government Affairs Manager at the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight. “Constituents want to know what their members of Congress are doing to represent them and who they are advocating for. Rep. Porter clearly takes this notion seriously and requiring members of Congress to publicly post essential information on their website, such as what votes they have taken, what committee hearings they have participated in, and which stakeholders they are meeting with, is an excellent step toward bringing about a more effective and responsive legislative branch. The Congresswoman should be commended for her leadership in this effort.”

Congresswoman Porter has been a consistent advocate for government transparency. On a monthly basis, she releases her own calendar publicly on her website. She previously authored legislation to expose Congressmembers who abuse official funds when traveling and introduced a bill that would prohibit Congressmembers from trading individual stocks and require that they disclose when they receive federal benefits. Rep. Porter recently reintroduced her bill that works to modernize how federal agencies and the government serve the American people. She also led a successful effort to implement a new rule to shed light on conflicts of interest in Congressional hearings.

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