Pelosi at e-Parliament Conference: 'Let Us Come Together to Foster Transparency and Openness'

Pelosi at e-Parliament Conference: 'Let Us Come Together to Foster
Transparency and Openness'

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Pelosi delivered remarks
this afternoon at the Capitol during the opening session of the World
e-Parliament Conference. The World e-Parliament Conference is addressing how
the use of information and communication technology can help improve
representation, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of parliaments
around the world. Below are the Speaker's remarks, as prepared:

"Thank you, Madam Clerk. As Clerk of the United States House of
Representatives, Lorraine Miller has led the way in Congress for increased
transparency and civic interaction. Lorraine's tenure has been marked by
innovative thinking and progress on citizen engagement. The information
available on the Clerk's web site - including all roll call votes, financial
disclosures, and details of the legislative process - strengthens our
democracy.

"I would like to thank this week's co-organizers, UN Under Secretary General
for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Sha Zukang, and the Secretary General of
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr. Anders Johnsson. And the two co-Chairs of
the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, Speaker of the People's Assembly of
Egypt, Speaker Sorour and the Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National
Assembly, Deputy Speaker Pelcz. I thank all the leaders from the 88 countries
represented here today for engaging in e-Parliament's dialogue about how we
can better communicate with our citizens.

"In the history of American democracy, there was a time when a message could
travel only as fast as a horse could gallop or a ship could sail. Today, a
message from the American people to their representatives in Congress travels
as fast as a citizen can twitter, blog, or post to Facebook.

"Leading the way in this regard are the young people of the world. In my
travels as Speaker, I have met with presidents, prime ministers, and kings.
But what impressed and inspired me the most were my encounters with young
people. Young people are engaged in their own international dialogue through
the most current forms of technology.

"In Iran following the election, hundreds of thousands participated in
protests organized over Twitter. In America, students joined in solidarity on
Facebook and Twitter by turning their profile pictures green - the color of
the opposition party. Young people are disruptive thinkers - unsatisfied by
the status quo. And so too must we be. E-Parliament gives us an opportunity to
break with old ways of thinking and engage in dialogue just as the young
people of the world are.

"When it comes to governance, technology provides opportunities for discussion
and engagement; it strengthens accountability; ultimately it makes democracies
more democratic. Or as President John F. Kennedy said, 'A nation that is
afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a
nation that is afraid of its people.'

"When I became Speaker, I pledged we would have the most open Congress in
history. Led by the innovation and enthusiasm of young people, Americans and
Members of Congress are holding a running conversation - in real time. There
is no greater tool to increase transparency than the internet. Now, Americans
can watch committee hearings, check votes, read bills, and review financial
disclosures--all online. Next month, they will be able to see exactly how
Members of Congress are spending their office funds, and at the start of next
year, they will be able to watch and search our House floor proceedings in
real time.

"The internet provides citizens with new ways of obtaining and digesting the
work of government. For example, in February, when we passed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act to jumpstart our economy, we required the
creation of recovery.gov to disclose how funds are spent, all announcements of
contracts, grant competitions and awards, and the posting of certifications by
governors, mayors, or others making funding decisions that the investment has
been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

"Members of Congress who want to communicate with their constituents are using
web video conferencing to talk to students about the environment, Tweeting
what's happening in Congress, blogging their positions, Facebooking and text
messaging; they are posting YouTube videos, holding tele-town halls, and using
Google maps to show how Recovery Act projects are progressing in their
districts.

"The countries represented at the World e-Parliament Conference face different
challenges in bringing technology to your citizens. The United States faces
its own challenges. To allow all Americans to benefit from the economic
opportunities that innovation creates, we need an infrastructure that is wired
for the future. In the last year alone, home broadband adoption has increased
by 15 percent; but we must do more. The United States lags in broadband
penetration behind many of the countries represented here.

"Broadband access was a priority of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. We provided more than $7 billion to expand broadband access in this
country, and $350 million dollars to develop a national broadband map to
ensure that every American has access to broadband capability and the jobs
this creates. We are looking at access, affordability and also larger
questions of how to use broadband to advance civic participation, consumer
welfare and other national purposes.

"In this regard, we are also informed by the disruptive thinking of young
people. When I suggested to Google co-founder Larry Page that one of our goals
was universal broadband in ten years, he said, 'Ten? Why not two?'

"Today, as you discuss the future of information and communication
technologies in parliaments around the world, the health care debate rages in
this very building. As Members of Congress engage in one of the most
significant issues of our time, so too do the American people, through
technology. Last week, a document we produced on the Top 14 provisions in our
health bill was downloaded three times a minute. Searches for health reform on
Google have increased more than threefold. Our Facebook group for health
reform has been visited by Americans from all across the country - with 54
percent under 34 years of age. And in the last week alone, I have received
more than 30,000 emails on the importance of health care reform.

"President Obama was launched into office, in part, by his innovative approach
to new media and the enthusiasm of young people. As President, he's also using
technology to communicate in new ways. We now have a President who harnesses
the power of social networks, YouTubes his weekly radio address, and
encourages his Cabinet Secretaries to answer questions on Facebook. President
Obama has correctly called the information maintained by the federal
government a 'national asset.' And he created two new positions to ensure this
information is widely available to our citizens: a Chief Information Officer
and Chief Technology Officer.

"As the new Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, has stated: '[m]aking the
information and operation of government more open and accessible will drive
accountability, performance, and engagement...Democratizing government data
will engage citizens and fundamentally change how government operates.'

"This morning, Congress heard an inspirational speech from the Chancellor of
Germany, Angela Merkel. In her address, the Chancellor reminded us that it was
20 years ago that the Berlin Wall came down and freedom was brought to all the
people of Germany. Today the citizens of East Germany enjoy democracy. But
there are still people around the world living behind walls of despotism.
There are people are who exist without what the United Nations Charter calls,
'fundamental human rights...the dignity and worth of the human person...the
equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small...'

"No tyrant can forever hold back the force of technology. Because technology
makes holes through walls erected to keep information out; technology builds
bridges; technology promotes freedom. This week, let us come together to
foster transparency and openness for our citizens and for all people of the
world."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

Brendan Daly, Nadeam Elshami or Drew Hammill of the Office of the Speaker of
the House, +1-202-226-7616