Joint Center Signs Letter In Support of Extending the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress’s Mandate for One Additional Year

The Joint Center joined over 20 organizations in signing a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Members of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress urging them to extend the Select Committee’s mandate for one additional year.

Last June, the Select Committee held a hearing on “best practices and ways to foster diversity among congressional staff.” Moving forward, the Select Committee could play a key role in encouraging congressional members to consider diversity as they hire new staff. A part of the Select Committee’s authority is to streamline and reorganize staff recruitment, diversity, retention, compensation, and benefits. Additionally, one of the Select Committee’s 29 unanimous and bipartisan recommendations is to make the Office of Diversity and Inclusion a permanent office in the House. If the Select Committee’s extension is approved, we look forward to their work on congressional staff diversity.

Other signers of the letter include American Library Association, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, College to Congress, Congressional Management Foundation, Data Coalition, Demand Progress, Democracy Fund Voice, Lee Drutman (Senior Fellow, New America*), FreedomWorks, GovTrack.us, Government Accountability Project, Marci Harris (CEO and Cofounder, POPVOX*), Issue One, Lorelei Kelly (Fellow, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University*), Leadership Now Project, Lincoln Network, NALEO Educational Fund, Partnership for Public Service, Protect Democracy, Public Citizen, R Street Institute, Rebuild Congress Initiative, Senior Executives Association, and Mark Strand (President, Congressional Institute*).

*Affiliation listed for identification purposes only.

Read the letter here.