上周，在历史性的众议院议长15票系列中，美国人看到了他们在电视和电脑屏幕上很少看到的当选议员。
通常情况下，所看到的是由执政党严格控制的，众议院的摄像头只显示了一些不同的外观，仅限于那些发表讲话的人，以及众议院的讲台和水井。
但是，由于新的国会和没有选定的发言人，共和党领导的众议院尚未通过如何运作的规则。
这使得多个额外的C-SPAN摄像机可以捕捉整个房间的场景，包括一个加热的对抗共和党众议员迈克·罗杰斯和马特·盖兹，谁是破坏凯文·麦卡锡赢得议长木槌的出价。
然后，盖兹和麦卡锡在他又一次失去选票后交换了意见。
美国人还看到了共和党众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)与前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)通话的特写镜头。
他们还可以目睹共和党和民主党通常决斗的煽动者保罗·戈萨和亚历山大·奥卡西奥·科尔特斯之间不太可能的聊天——一些旁观者说这堪比真人秀。
现在，一些立法者和公共事务频道的首席执行官正在呼吁新当选的议长麦卡锡做他的两党前任几十年来一直反对做的事情:允许继续在众议院使用独立摄像头，扩大共和党人承诺的增加“透明度”。
「我们不建议更换现有的内部录音系统或其输出。相反，我们要求在众议院会议厅安装一些额外的摄像头，”C-SPAN首席执行官苏珊·斯温在信中写道周二，当麦卡锡请求允许她“代表我们的网络和所有国会认可的新闻机构报道会场活动”时，她写给了麦卡锡。
“当与现有的室内制作混合时，我们相机的镜头将允许我们创造第二个新闻产品，就像我们上周做的那样，”她说。
这一访问获得了民主党和共和党的支持，其中一些人表示，他们将采取措施扩大C-SPAN的能力，以展示更多的众议院席位。
“上周，美国实时观察了我们的政府是如何运作的，”盖兹周二发了推文在他宣布计划引入一项对共和党一揽子规则的修正案，允许C-SPAN摄像机继续存在之后。
“国会更广泛的透明度是一个净积极因素，我们需要更多的透明度，”Gaetz说，他是众议院自由核心小组成员，领导共和党人阻止麦卡锡的议长竞选，也是大部分扩大报道的焦点。
在盖兹宣布他的提议之前，进步的威斯康辛州民主党人马克·波坎提出了他对扩大覆盖面的设想。
“上周的@CSPAN报道值得奥斯卡奖，”波坎周一在推特上写道。“这就是为什么我提出立法，要求室内摄像机持续拍摄整个会议厅不仅仅是说话者想要的。"
波坎的提议得到了佛罗里达州民主党众议员马克斯韦尔·弗罗斯特的支持，他是第一位Z世代裔国会议员。
“很荣幸能够共同发起@RepMarkPocan的立法，解放室内摄像头，让我们的人民能够看到民主的行动。这是我们政府向透明度和问责制迈出的一小步，但却很重要。#FreeCSPAN，"他周一在推特上说。
波坎的立法也由加利福尼亚州的民主党众议员马克·高野、纽约州的尼迪亚·贝拉斯克斯和新泽西州的唐纳德·佩恩共同发起。
麦卡锡还没有回应他的成员的要求。
然而，扩大地板覆盖面的斗争已经持续了几十年，被最近的发言人民主党人南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)及其共和党前任保罗·瑞安(Paul Ryan)、约翰·博纳(John Boehner)和丹尼斯·哈斯泰特(Dennis Hastert)否决。
前共和党议长纽特·金里奇在1995年订购当众议院议员发言时，C-SPAN摄像机开始切换到更广泛的会议厅镜头，这遇到了30名共和党人签署的一封信，敦促他们的领导人反对除标准视频馈送之外的任何东西。
自金里奇任职以来，C-SPAN一直要求扩大覆盖范围:“我们C-SPAN是那些长期以来对扩大接触国会感兴趣的人之一，”该频道当时的首席执行官布莱恩·兰姆说在信中写道在第104届国会之前。“允许C-SPAN摄像机进入历史上被排除在外的地方——最重要的是，进入美国众议院的会议厅。”
C-SPAN, House lawmakers call for expanded TV coverage
Last week, during the historic series of 15 votes for House speaker, Americans had a view of their elected lawmakers rarely seen on their TV and computer screens.
Normally, what's seen is tightly controlled by the party in power, with House cameras showing only a few different looks limited to those making speeches -- and to the dais and well of the House.
But with the new Congress and no speaker chosen, the Republican-led House had yet to pass rules on how things would be run.
That allowed multiple extra C-SPAN cameras to capture scenes from all over the chamber, including a heated confrontation between GOP Reps. Mike Rogers and Matt Gaetz, who was spoiling Kevin McCarthy's bid to win the speaker's gavel.
Then, Gaetz and McCarthy exchanging words after he lost yet another vote.
Americans also got to see close-up shots of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene extending her phone with former President Donald Trump on the line.
They could witness, too, an unlikely chat between the normally dueling Republican and Democratic firebrands Paul Gosar and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez -- moments some onlookers said rivaled something out of a reality show.
Now, a few lawmakers and the CEO of the public affairs channel are among those calling upon newly-elected Speaker McCarthy to do what his bipartisan predecessors have for decades decided against doing: grant permission to continue using independent cameras in the House chamber, broadening the increased "transparency" Republicans promised.
"We do not propose replacing the existing House Recording System or its output. Instead, we request to install a few additional cameras in the House chamber," C-SPAN CEO Susan Swain wrote in a letter addressed to McCarthy on Tuesday when she requested permission to "cover floor proceedings on behalf of our network and all Congressionally-accredited news organizations."
"When mixed with the existing House production, shots from our cameras would allow us to create a second, journalistic product, just as we did last week," she argued.
The access spurred support from both Democrats and Republicans, some of whom have said they'll introduce measures to expand C-SPAN's ability to show more of the House floor.
"Last week, America watched in real time how our government is functioning," Gaetz tweeted Tuesday, following an announcement on his plans to introduce an amendment to the Republican rules package that would always allow C-SPAN cameras to stay.
"Broader transparency in Congress is a net positive, and we need more of it," said Gaetz -- the House Freedom Caucus member who led the faction of Republicans blocking McCarthy's speaker bid and the focus of much of the expanded coverage.
Before Gaetz announced his proposal, progressive Wisconsin Democrat Mark Pocan laid out his vision for broadened floor coverage.
"Last week's @CSPAN coverage was worthy of an Oscar," Pocan tweeted Monday. "That's why I'm introducing legislation requiring House cameras to continue to capture the full Chamber & not just what the Speaker wants."
Pocan's proposal was signed onto by Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, the first Generation Z member of Congress.
"Proud to be co-sponsoring @RepMarkPocan's legislation to free the House cameras so our people can see democracy in action. This is a small but important step towards transparency and accountability in our government. #FreeCSPAN," he said Monday on Twitter.
Pocan's legislation is also co-sponsored by Democratic Reps. Mark Takano of California, Nydia Velazquez of New York and Donald Payne of New Jersey.
McCarthy has yet to respond to his members' requests.
The fight for expanded floor coverage has spanned decades, however, and was shot down by the most recent speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, along with her GOP predecessors Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Dennis Hastert.
Former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1995 ordered the C-SPAN cameras start cutting to shots of the broader chamber while House members spoke, which was met with a letter signed on by 30 Republicans urging their leader against anything but the standard video feed.
C-SPAN has been requesting expanded coverage since Gingrich's tenure: "We at C-SPAN are among those who have long been interested in expanded access to Congress," the channel's then-CEO Brian Lamb wrote in a letter ahead of the 104th Congress. "Allow C-SPAN cameras into places where they've historically been excluded -- most importantly, into the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives."
