In the first seven months of the 111th Congress, 251 organizations in the House of Representatives registered formally with the Committee on House Administration as Congressional Member Organizations. Known informally as CMOs or caucuses, these organizations serve various purposes — to bring together members of Congress to work on legislation together, to hold informal hearings over lunch on subjects, or to simply create the appearance for constituent groups that members of Congress care about a subject. Some caucuses are self-organized by dogged members of Congress; others, like the Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus created in October, appear to be created due to the impetus of outside organizations with vested interests. From the third week of July 2009 to the last week of November 2009, 25 more CMOs have followed suit, bringing the current count of caucuses in the House of Representatives to 276.

To share information about the development of House caucuses over time, I note below the names of these 25 newly registered CMOs below, providing links to caucus websites and lists of members where they are available. Where caucus information is not made available to the public, I’ve made note of that, too. Which caucuses leave themselves cloaked to the public? Which caucuses are more open and transparent to the American people they represent? The answers to these questions may tell you something. For broader reference purpose, these caucuses have been added to our accumulated list of websites for caucuses in the House of Representatives.

Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus: no primary website; secondary website with list of members maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges

Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Caucus on Colombia: no website; no list of members

Congressional Caucus on Literacy: no website; no list of members

Congressional Caucus on Long Range Strike: no website; no list of members

Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports: no website; list of members maintained by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance

Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus: no website; list of members reported by Brownfield Ag News for America

Congressional Friends of Thailand Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Gateway Communities Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Integrative Medicine Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional JOBS NOW! Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Military Families Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus: website; list of members

Congressional Natural Gas Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Pro Sports Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus: no primary website; secondary website maintained by New America Foundation; no list of members

Congressional Scouting Caucus: no website; no list of members

Congressional Soils Caucus: no primary website; secondary website with list of members maintained by the Soil Science Society of America

Home Health Caucus: no website; no list of members; referenced by National Association for Home Care and Hospice

House Special Operations Forces Caucus: no website; no list of members

Midwest High Speed Rail Congressional Caucus: no website; no list of members

Ohio River Basin Congressional Caucus: no website; no list of members

SOS Group: no website; no list of members

Upper Mississippi River Basin Congressional Task Force: no primary website; secondary website with list of members maintained by Northeast-Midwest Institute