House Officer Priorities for 2019 and Beyond

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

1310 Longworth House Office Building

10:00 A.M.

Hearing: House Officer Priorities for 2019 and Beyond

Please Contact Sean Jones at sean.jones@mail.house.gov or 202-225-2061 if you have questions or need additional information.  For media inquiries please contact Peter Whippy, Communications Director, at peter.whippy@mail.house.gov or 202-225-3244.

Opening Statements

Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) - Opening Remarks As Delivered

"The Committee on House Administration will come to order.  I would like to thank the Members of the Committee, our witnesses, and all those in the audience for being here today.

"I’m pleased to have our House Officers and Inspector General with us this morning. The work you perform enables us to keep focused on our work – delivering for our constituents and we are grateful for it.

"House operations face many challenges: physical and cyber security, both here and in our districts, attracting and retaining a highly-skilled, diverse workforce and helping Member offices adopt new technologies that allow all of us to communicate better with our constituents. These challenges – and many more – require us to be constantly re-evaluating what works and what doesn’t and to be always planning and prioritizing based on the highest value for the taxpayer and the greatest service for the Member office.

"It is my intention to continue the tradition of this Committee with bipartisan work on overseeing our House Officers. I know Mr. Davis’ staff and mine meet regularly with each of you on ongoing projects and initiatives, and I believe the House works better when more opinions are heard about how it should work.

"Our hearing this morning is the first of many to make sure we are meeting our responsibilities as stewards of this great institution.

"Before we begin I’d like to make a couple of comments about the men and women who work for the House Officers and Inspector General. From the tally clerks, to the security engineers, the protocol officials and the financial statement auditors, this Committee will focus on making sure that every institutional office of the House is a good place to work - where people are treated fairly and with respect.

"In the near future, we will restart our workplace rights training. I’ve reviewed every page of the curriculum incorporating feedback from Members and staff alike, to make sure it works with our new House Rules.

"We are also working with our vendor to find ways we can make the training more meaningful for managers and supervisors who are on the front lines of creating a welcoming workplace.

"I’d like now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Davis, for any opening remarks that he may wish to make."