Mission for the 109th Congress

The primary mission of the Parliamentary Outreach Program (POP) is to educate and advise Members, committees and staff on the rules and precedents of the House and the effective use of procedural planning to advance legislative goals. A secondary purpose of the program is to make the legislative process understandable to the general public.
The significant turnovers of Members and staff of both parties in recent years, has left a substantially new House membership lacking the procedural knowledge traditionally learned through years of service. Although limited instruction in House rules and procedures has been available through various sources, easy to understand and readily accessible information has often been hard to find. In part to address these concerns and because a knowledge of House rules and procedures is essential to advancing a successful legislative agenda, the Parliamentary Outreach Program has been established to provide:

• Practical, use-oriented training for Members, and staff on House parliamentary practice and procedures;

• Professionally and reliably written explanations and fact sheets on various procedural issues and parliamentary questions, all available in hard copy or electronic form;
  
  
• Extensive resources for procedural counsel and strategic planning for Members, committees and staff in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentarian and other noted experts; and
  
  
• Convenient sources of parliamentary and legislative information for educational studies, political science programs and the general public.
  
  

Should you have any questions regarding the Parliamentary Outreach Program, please contact Alison Orologio at 202-225-9191 or alison.orologio@mail.house.gov.