Sunlight has just sent out the following press release, announcing the launch of the Open Senate Project.

As Ellen blogged this morning, we’re delighted to have Majority Leader Reid’s endorsement of the effort, so we can apply the same public discussion and analysis to Senate reform priorities as we’ve applied to the House.

We have created a separate blog site to track discussion and developments, and to collect resources, but we’ll be using the same google group for Senate discussion, since duplicating the collection of people following this list would be impossible, and much of the discussion here already applies to both chambers (and often the executive).

I’m also happy to announce that Jon Henke and Josh Tauberer have agreed to help coordinate the discussion and preparation of the recommendations report; the effort will certainly benefit from the expertise they can offer.

Finally, I’d like to offer my gratitude to everyone for contributing and following along as we work our way through Congress’s public face — this project’s strength comes from the (sometimes heated) dialog and debate on this list.  This email list is all the evidence we need that public interaction can bring substance and weight to even the most obscure or administrative of policy issues, and that a shared stake in policy outcomes can coalesce disparate communities into something forceful.

Thanks also to Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has acknowledged the value of public dialog by taking a proactive step in welcoming a conversation outside the comfortable boundaries of political party, the institutions of Congress, and the world of familiar advisers and trusted staff.  Even though nothing in the report is binding in any way, Reid’s embrace of such an open forum will help encourage technological advances, and demonstrate how even a traditional and collegial institution such as the US Senate can take advantage of new communities forming online.

I’m looking forward to working with Senate leaders and staff from both parties, and kicking off the conversation soon about what the Senate might do differently.

This meant that the outdated old restrictions that control how Members of Congress use the Internet had to be updated. Both the House and Senate have recently succeeded in passing new rules governing Internet use, as I recently wrote:

The revisions should cause a renaissance in official political Web-use, with eager new media staff and savvy Members now able to confidently engage with their constituents. We can’t wait to see what they come up with, and can only hope that all government reform arguments have such happy endings.

In celebration of congressional staffers’ newfound online leeway, Sunlight released a new widget that shows all of the recent tweets from Members of Congress, whose twittering population has increased enormously over the last 6 months. You can see the widget below:

For this introductory post, I’d like to do two things: explain a bit about what I do, and explain what I’m doing here.

One: My job.

I work for the Sunlight Foundation, advocating for transparent government, and helping to create the tools that enable increased public access. Through the technological expertise of the Sunlight Labs, we build databases, Web sites and tools that make government information easier to program and easier to understand.

Since disclosure is ultimately government’s responsibility, we also work with Congress on transparency reforms. That’s where I come in. Part policy analyst, part lobbyist, part blogger, part director, I write at theopenhouseproject.com, and on the Sunlight Foundation blog, and try to keep as much of my work as public as possible.

I’ve spent the day today, for example, obtaining, helping process, and writing about the proposed bailout legislation, which we posted earlier today, and posted for public commentary about an hour ago. (It’s been a busy Sunday!)

Two: Why I’m here.

I chose to participate in this group blog because I want to cultivate my writing on advocacy. The government reform community often talks about “empowered citizens” or “civic engagement” as a sort of abstract end, and that’s great. There is, however, a very real world of professional advocates, organizers, and analysts, all representing constituencies, for better or worse. If our work can be relevant to the professional advocate, just like it’s relevant to the congressional staffer or the public citizen, then I think that means I’m doing my job.

I also have something of an unusual perspective on advocacy, since I’m a sort of meta-advocate, being both a traditional (registered) lobbyist while also trying to alter the structures of influence and advocacy. This dual role lets me engage with legislation, walk around reading CRS reports and legislation, while at the same time reading tech-blogs and pontificating about social media. To me, that’s the best of both worlds.