I am probably not breaking news here, but I rely on C-SPAN for a lot of my access to the workings — or more often dysfunctionings — of Congress.

That means I rely on cable operators around the country who fund the channel — make that channels and website.

It is, in a word, indispensable.

It is also often taken for granted, for which C-SPAN has only itself to blame. Because it is so pervasive and so professionally run, the access it provides to our sausage-makers has come to feel like an entitlement, or at least a constitutional right.

Last week, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) introduced what he called a “simple change” to House rules that would ensure the next congressional sit-in does not have to rely on Periscope or Facebook video streams to get out.

Actually, many were still relying on C-SPAN during the House sit-in last month, when the cameras were turned off, but social media lit up and the network was there to tap into it.

Bera said he figured most viewers assumed C-SPAN was part of the “public domain,” adding: “We ought to give control of those cameras back over to the media and the public, and have independent control.”

C-SPAN has long sought to be able to use its own cameras rather than have to take the feed from House cameras controlled by the Speaker. I agree, and this seems a good time for Congress to consider it.

Members of Congress will be going off to campaign for re-election in a week or so. When they get back, perhaps they can make that a parting gift to the nation.

But also noteworthy was Bera’s comment that most people probably thought C-SPAN was the public’s domain. Of course, that is just what it has become, thanks to the investment of the cable industry.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said Thursday (July 7) that he has been meeting with the House Rules Committee, parliamentarians and others about possible sanctions over Democrats' sit-in protest on the House floor two weeks ago over gun violence legislation.

Meanwhile, House Democrats continued to talk on the floor about gun violence after the House recessed following morning business Thursday.

Ryan called the protest a troubling trend and said that if the House floor became a partisan war zone there would be no chance of bipartisanship. Some House Democrats had live streamed the June 22-23 sit-in via Facebook and Periscope after Ryan ordered the House cameras turned off, a violation of House floor rules. C-SPAN aired the live streams throughout the protest.

Ryan signaled he would not allow the rule of law to be "thrown out the window," and opined that the House floor had become virtually the only place that he could get to know members of the other party.

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) has introduced what he calls a "simple change" to House rules that would insure the next House sit-in does not have to rely on Periscope or Facebook video streams to get out.

Bera told C-SPAN in a radio interview with C-SPAN that some of his colleagues did not know that it was the Speaker of the House (in this case Paul Ryan of Wisconsin), not C-SPAN, who controlled the cameras in the House.

Bera said democracy was about transparency and that shutting off the cameras during the sit-in over gun legislation was a wakeup call. In addition to introducing a bill, he has sent a dear colleague letter to drum up support for the move.

He said that C-SPAN and other media should have the ability to cover members when they are speaking from the floor, as they did during the 24-plus hour sit in--currently the rules say the cameras shut off when the House recesses or adjourns.

C-SPAN kept covering, however, relying on social media video feeds from tech-savvy Democrats participating in the protest.

Bera said the change, a "simple rule fix," would make sure the public has full access.

C-SPAN has long sought to have its own cameras in the House chamber, but to no avail.

Bera said the public should be outraged that the cameras should be cut off. "The people deserve to see what's going on."

He told C-SPAN he figured most viewers assumed C-SPAN was part of the "public domain," adding: "We ought to give control of those cameras back over to the media and the public and have independent control."

C-SPAN is indeed a public service, but it is provided thanks to the financial support of the cable industry.