Money & Politics | Daily Report

A few days ago, California Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, announced that alongside Illinois Democrat Mike Quigley, he would be forming the Congressional Transparency Caucus, designed, in their words, to examine the "sweeping changes in law, regulation and culture" that are necessary to open up the federal government to public scrutiny.

San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat, also signed on to the caucus. Here's the letter Quigley and Issa sent to their congressional colleagues and a statement of their goals and principles.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista

It might sound serious, but forming a caucus doesn't require lawmakers to actually do much more than file a few forms. Beyond the ones you hear about – the Blue Dog Coalition, the Congressional Black Caucus, etc. – rosters kept by the House's administrative committee are littered with obscure groups that rarely make headlines.

Bet you've never heard of the Congressional Baby Caucus. And admit it: You're least a little curious about the parties the Congressional Bourbon Caucus and House Small Brewers Caucus must throw.

Whether or not they produce meaningful policy, caucuses are convenient window dressing for the resumes and letterhead of their members. Congressional rules may not allow caucuses to use their members' franking powers to send mail at taxpayer expense, but they do allow members to promote their cause – and themselves – freely. From House rules:

• A member may use official resources for communications related to the purpose of a CMO. Any such communications must comply with the Franking Regulations.
• Members may devote a section of their official Web site to CMO issues, but CMOs may not have independent Web pages.
• A member may use inside mail to communicate information related to a CMO.
• Members may prepare material related to CMO issues for dissemination.
• Members may refer to their membership in a CMO on their official stationery.

Of course, a lot of good can come out of caucuses as well, and whether the same will one day be said of the Transparency Caucus remains to be seen. Quigley recently introduced the Transparency in Government Act, which calls for the creation of an earmarks database, changes to lobbying rules, and other reforms.

If you want to keep an eye on the transparency legislation coming out of your California transparency caucus members, drop in periodically on Issa's and Speier's OpenCongress pages to see what legislation they introduce and support.