Today, YouTube announced the creation of two channels made specifically to accomodate videos posted by congressional lawmakers. The channels have been in the works for some time as Congress finally freed themselves of cumbersome regulations governing the use of outside web sites. As one of the authors of the Open House Project section calling for the restrictions to be lifted, it is great to see this success and what the future of a connected Congress looks like.

There are few differences in the channels from the rest of YouTube. The main difference is the lack of advertising and the removal of the watermark (the little YouTube logo on every video) from each video. These changes were necessary to ensure compliance with long standing congressional rules. The most notable difference is the launch page for each channel. Each launch page contains a Google Map interface allowing users to click on a given state to see a listing of lawmakers with YouTube accounts.

The YouTube channels are accessible at youtube.com/senatehub and youtube.com/househub. And here’s a video announcing the channel launch from the congressional party leaders: