Eric Cantor addresses the crowd at his annual Republican Roundup.
In an effort to make it easier for Americans to be more involved in the legislative process,
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-7th) launched a new website on Tuesday called
cosponsor.gov.
This latest addition to the Citizen Cosponsor Project provides the opportunity to be citizen legislators by cosponsoring bills they support and track them in a user-friendly way, lessening the bureaucratic maze of Washington, D.C. By using social media, Citizen Cosponsors are updated on the
status of their bills through a Facebook app
as they move through the various stages of the legislative process.
Anne Sorock at
Legal Insurrection praised the
Majority Leader's presence in social media:
Noticed the trend of legislators going beyond issuing press releases and
fully embracing social media to distribute and market their
point-of-view?
Rep. Darrell Issa has been especially active in marketing himself and his committee’s activities, including design-heavy graphics and an active twitter account.
Today Rep. Eric Cantor’s office launched a new website, Cosponsor.gov, which allows anyone to show their support for bills by clicking a link to “cosponsor” a given bill.
Dana Perino commented on Tuesday's Fox News Channel's "The Five" about the new user-friendly tool, noting it was a good way to connect citizens with government. Perino was White House press secretary during George W. Bush's administration.
Marking the launch of the new site,
Congressman Cantor noted:
“We
live in a digital world. As House Majority Leader, I am committed to
exploring new and innovative ways to foster a national conversation and
improve communication between the American people and their elected
officials.
“The launch of Cosponsor.Gov is a sweeping
expansion of our Citizen Cosponsor Project. The new website will now
feature every bill and resolution introduced in the House, from
Republicans and Democrats. I’m excited that any engaged citizen can
voice their support, and track the status of legislation in the House.
“The
best part of this new website is it’s accessibility and simplicity. You
can search by title, sponsor or bill number or browse issue areas and
the tracker shows you exactly where the bill stands.
“Whether
you want to support new legislation like the Kids First Research Act or
show support for legislation that has already passed the House, like
the Working Families Flexibility Act, you can do so here.
“Transparency,
open government and engagement should be a key goal of all elected
leaders in Washington, and Cosponsor.Gov is one step in that direction.
Please visit Cosponsor.Gov and tell us what you care about. We are
listening.”
The
Citizen Cosponsor Project was developed by the Office of the House
Majority Leader and is built on Facebook's Open Graph platform. It uses
House #OpenData sets released through the House
Majority's #OpenGov initiative.
