U.S. House Democrats are making it easier for a key committee’s lawyers to question corporate executives and administration officials who might face the glare of an investigation, removing a procedural hurdle that had long required a lawmaker to sit in on a deposition.

For the past decade, that requirement has complicated congressional investigations, forcing House lawyers to coordinate with various offices to ensure that at least one lawmaker would be present for every second of a deposition. Without a member of Congress present, depositions could not proceed unless the target of an investigation waived the attendance rule.