fwd- better public access to Congressional info online
Elisabeth Roche
ace at Opus1.COM
Sun Jul 21 19:30:05 EDT 1996
Apologies if this is a cross-post.
Elisabeth Roche ace at opus1.com
serendipity RULES!
---------------fwd------------------
>Return-path: <owner-tpr-ne at MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
>Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 10:56:54 -0800 (PST)
>From: Curtiss Priest <cpriest at JUNO.COM>
>Subject: better public access to Congressional info online
>Sender: Telecomm Policy Roundtable - Northeast <TPR-NE at MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
>To: Multiple recipients of list TPR-NE <TPR-NE at MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
>Reply-to: Telecomm Policy Roundtable - Northeast <TPR-NE at MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
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>Comments: To: cyber-soc at LISTSERV.READADP.COM
>
>Date: Thu, 18 Jul 1996 22:24:03 -0400 (EDT)
>From: James Love <love at tap.org>
>To: roundtable <roundtable at cni.org>
>Subject: Congressional Info, New Development
>Message-ID:
><Pine.SUN.3.91.960718222143.14498E-100000 at essential.essential.org>
>
>
>Gary Ruskin's report on an impressive proposal by Rick White regarding
>better public access to Congressional info online. jamie
>
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Congressional Reform Briefings July 18, 1996
>
>to subscribe to Congressional reform briefings send the message:
>subscribe cong-reform your name
>to listproc at essential.org
>
>SUMMARY:
> Representative Rick White (R-WA) has introduced an excellent
>resolution (H. Res. 478) in the U. S. House of Representatives
>that would provide citizens with access to many important House
>documents via the Internet. The House resolution would provide
>citizens with the same access to many House documents that is
>currently enjoyed by Washington lobbyists. Currently, there is a
>long list of key Congressional documents not available on THOMAS
>or GPO ACCESS.
>
> House Resolution 478 needs your support.
>
> Please encourage your House member to co-sponsor this
>resolution. We need as many co-sponsors as possible. The
>resolution has only 5 co-sponsors so far.
>
>WHAT HOUSE RESOLUTION 478 DOES:
> House Resolution 478 would provide citizens with online
>access to these House documents:
>* committee hearing transcripts within five days of that
> hearing;
>* committee prints of bills or chairman's marks generally
> available to members of a Committee;
>* committee amendments;
>* committee votes;
>* committee mark-up transcripts within five days of that
> mark-up;
>* committee rules;
>* travel expense reports;
>* oversight plans; and
>* committee membership and staff lists.
>
> Some of these House documents are very important to the
>legislative process, yet extremely difficult to obtain quickly --
>if you're not a Washington lobbyist. For example, committee
>hearing records are often available to lobbyists within 24-48
>hours, but citizens sometimes have to wait for a year or more for
>transcripts.
>
>WHAT YOU CAN DO:
> E-mail, call, write, or fax your House member -- urge them
>to co-sponsor House Resolution 478. Tell them that you want a
>response regarding whether they will co-sponsor H. Res. 478. The
>Congressional switchboard phone number is (202) 224-3121. Please
>e-mail information regarding contacts with House members or staff
>to Gary Ruskin <gary at essential.org>. You may also want to send a
>note of thanks to Rep. White for his good efforts. His e-mail
>address is <repwhite at hr.house.gov>.
>
> The bottom line is that this resolution will pass the House
>if we can generate enough political pressure. If many House
>members decide to co-sponsor H. Res. 478, that will help
>immensely. So far, the bill only has five cosponsors: Reps.
>White (R-WA), Dreier (R-CA), Bass (R-NH), Brownback (R-KS), and
>Frisa (R-NY).
>
> For more information about citizen efforts to win online
>access to Congressional documents, or to find out more about how
>you can help, send e-mail to <gary at essential.org>.
>
> Brock Meeks of HotWired has written two excellent articles
>about online access to Congressional documents. You can read
>them at <http://www.netizen.com/netizen/96/29/index3a.html> and
><http://www.hotwired.com/muckraker/96/10/index3a.html>.
>
> Following is a copy of Rep. White's resolution:
>_________________________________________________________________
>104th CONGRESS
> 2d Session
>H. RES. 478
>
> To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide
>public access to committee documents over the Internet, and for
>other purposes.
>_________________________________________________________________
>
> IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
>
> July 16, 1996
>
> Mr. White (for himself, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Bass, Mr. Brownback, and
>Mr. Frisa) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
>to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on
>House Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by
>the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
>fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
>_________________________________________________________________
>
> RESOLUTION
>
> To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide
>public access to committee documents over the Internet, and for
>other purposes.
>
> Resolved,
>
>SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF
>ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT REFORM.
>
> (a) The Committee on House Oversight is authorized and
>directed to establish standards to provide guidance to the Clerk
>and committees respecting electronic data bases which may be
>accessed by committees to effectuate the electronic document
>reform necessary to enable committees to carry out the amendments
>to the Rules of the House of Representatives made by section 3.
> (b) In the establishment of standards under subsection (a),
>the Committee on House Oversight is encouraged to develop those
>standards in consultation with the Senate so that identical
>standards can be implemented in the House of Representatives and
>in the Senate.
>
>SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ELECTRONIC DATA BASE BY THE CLERK.
>
> The Clerk shall--
> (1) establish a central electronic data base of
>official documents to which committees may have access to carry
>out the amendments made by section 3;
> (2) establish universal data elements respecting such
>official documents; and
> (3) implement standards established by the Committee
>on House Oversight with respect to the content of electronic data
>bases which may be accessed to carry out paragraph (1).
>
>SEC. 3. ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY: COMMITTEE REPORTS.
>
> Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is
>amended by adding at the end the following new clause:
> ``7. (a) Upon the filing of a report by any committee under
>clause 2(l)(1)(B) or by the Committee on Rules, that committee
>shall make that report available electronically on the Internet.
> ``(b) Whenever any committee approves any measure, that
>committee shall make that measure available electronically on the
>Internet.
> ``(c) Each committee shall make its rules available
>electronically on the Internet not later than the date such rules
>are published in the Congressional Record pursuant to clause 2(a)
>and whenever they are subsequently amended.
> ``(d) Each committee shall simultaneously make available
>electronically on the Internet all information respecting any
>rollcall vote otherwise made available for public inspection
>under clause 2(e)(1).
> ``(e) Whenever any committee authorizes the payment or
>reimbursement of expenses to be incurred by a member or staff of
>that committee for travel, it shall make a copy of that
>authorization available electronically on the Internet.
> ``(f) Whenever any member of a committee offers an amendment
>to any measure being considered by that committee, the committee
>shall make that amendment available electronically on the
>Internet.
> ``(g) Whenever a committee print of any measure or a
>chairman's mark is generally made available to members of the
>committee, the committee shall make it available electronically
>on the Internet.
> ``(h) Whenever a committee submits its oversight plans to the
>Committee on Government Reform and Oversight and to the Committee
>on House Oversight pursuant to clause 2(d) of rule X, it shall
>make a copy available electronically on the Internet.
> ``(i) Each committee shall make electronically available on
>the Internet the following:
> ``(1) An up-to-date directory of its membership and
>staff.
> ``(2) Any schedule or notice of committee activity.
> ``(3) Any advance written statement submitted to the
>committee of proposed testimony unless it is to be presented in
>executive session.
> ``(4) The transcript of a meeting or hearing within 5
>calendar days of that meeting or hearing, except transcripts of
>executive sessions.
> ``(j) This clause shall not apply to the Committee on
>Standards of Official Conduct or the Permanent Select Committee
>on Intelligence.''.
>
>SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
>
> This resolution shall take effect upon the date of its
>adoption, except that the amendments made by section 3 shall take
>effect immediately prior to noon January 3, 1997.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>
> The Congressional Accountability Project is a Ralph Nader
>Congressional reform group. For more information about
>Congressional reform issues, send e-mail to gary at essential.org or
>call (202) 296-2787.
>
>to subscribe to Congressional reform briefings send the message:
>subscribe cong-reform your name
>to listproc at essential.org
>
>PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
>
>
>Gary Ruskin
>Congressional Accountability Project |
>Internet: gary at essential.org
>P.O. Box 19446
>Washington, DC 20036
>Phone: (202) 296-2787 Fax: (202) 833-2406
>
>
>W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
> Center for Information, Technology & Society
> 466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
> Voice: 617-662-4044 BMSLIB at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Fax: 617-662-6882 WWW: http://www.eff.org/pub/Groups/CITS
>
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