Press Releases
With Congress in Disarray, Phillips Brings Reforming Spirit to Select Committee on ModernizationPhillips: “I have never encountered an organization so utterly dysfunctional and in need of reformation as our Congress.”
Washington, DC,
March 15, 2021
Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) announced that he will join the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. As a new member of the Select Committee, Phillips will draw upon his extensive entrepreneurial experience to advance ideas, processes, and technologies that foster cooperation and restore Americans’ faith in government. “Over my 30-year career in business and philanthropy, I observed hundreds of organizations, institutions, and enterprises throughout the world. I have never encountered one so utterly dysfunctional and in need of reformation as our Congress. A system that elevates dividers and ignores uniters, that promotes those who raise the most money for their party and sidelines those who raise the best ideas for their country, and that over appreciates tenure and under appreciates talent, makes a mockery of our Founders’ greatest contributions. It’s time for Congress to value winning policies over winning elections,” said Phillips. The bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress was created in 2019 and tasked with making recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Congress. After months of hearings, the Select Committee released 29 recommendations, including one inspired by Rep. Phillips to overhaul the onboarding process for freshmen members so that newly-elected Republicans and Democrats – who are normally separated by political party – spend more time together. The Select Committee was initially set to expire at the end of 2019, but after Rep. Phillips led a bipartisan letter with his freshman colleagues, House leadership reauthorized the Select Committee through the 117th Congress. Phillips is eager to work with Chair Kilmer (D-WA) and Vice-Chair Timmons (R-SC) on the Select Committee, and he is thankful for the opportunity to make Congress more responsive to the American people. Membership of the Select Committee on Modernization for the 117th Congress:
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