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House of Reps eyeing ways to use smartphone, tablet technology

The US House of Representatives is considering a number of ways to use technology to modernize how Congress shares and delivers information, including increasing the use of smartphones and tablets such as iPhones and iPads “to handle the mountains of paperwork that lawmakers deal with every day,” reports “InformationWeek Government” (http://macte.ch/LcoRS).

Last week during a hearing, the Committee on House Administration’s subcommittee on oversight polled a number of stakeholders about ways it can improve how it shares information, the article adds. With all the technology available to lawmakers, it’s high time Congress considers better ways to leverage IT to streamline collaboration and cut costs by reducing the amount of paper it produces, among other things, said Phil Gingrey ( R-Ga.), chairman of the oversight subcommittee.

Congress members are already using smartphones and tablets to do more of their work on the chamber floors, something one of the hearing’s witnesses, Morgan Reed, executive director for the Association for Competitive Technology, said at last week’s hearing. He suggested several collaboration options for Congress, including the use of smart XML-based word processing, better document management and status tracking, and leveraging smart tools that allow lawmakers to see summary views of legislation through an online dashboard, notes “InformationWeek Government.”

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