Congressional Record: February 6, 2001 (Senate)
Page S1058-S1059ONLINE ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join today with Senator McCain to introduce a Senate resolution to provide Internet Access to important Congressional documents. Our bipartisan resolution makes certain Congressional Research Service products, lobbyist disclosure reports and Senate gift disclosure reports available over the Internet to the American people. The Congressional Research Service, CRS, has a well-known reputation for producing high-quality reports and information briefs that are unbiased, concise, and accurate. The taxpayers of this country, who pay $67 million a year to fund the CRS, deserve speedy access to these public resources and have a right to see that their money is being spent well. The goal of our legislation is to allow every citizen the same access to the wealth of CRS information as a Member of Congress enjoys today. CRS performs invaluable research and produces first-rate reports on hundreds of topics. American taxpayers have every right to direct access to these wonderful resources. Online CRS reports will serve an important role in informing the public. Members of the public will be able to read these CRS products and receive a concise, accurate summary of the issues before the Congress. As elected representatives, we should do what we can to promote an informed, educated public. The educated voter is best able to make decisions and petition us to do the right things here in Congress. Our legislation follows the model online CRS program in the House of Representatives and ensures that private CRS products will remain protected by giving the CRS Director the authority to hold back any products that are deemed confidential. Moreover, the Director may protect the identity of CRS researchers and any copyrighted material. We can do both--protect confidential material and empower our citizens through electronic access to invaluable CRS products. In addition, the bipartisan resolution would provide public online access to lobbyist reports and gift disclosure forms. At present, these public records are available in the Senate Office of Public Records in Room 232 of the Hart Building. As a practical matter, these public records are accessible only to those inside the Beltway. I applaud the Office of Public Records for recently making technological history in the Senate by providing for lobbying registrations through the Internet. The next step is to provide the completed lobbyist disclosure reports on the Internet for all Americans to see. The Internet offers us a unique opportunity to allow the American people to have everyday access to this public information. Our bipartisan legislation would harness the power of the Information Age to allow average citizens to see these public records of the Senate in their official form, in context and without editorial comment. All Americans should have timely access to the information that we already have voted to give them. And all of these reports are indeed ``public'' for those who can afford to hire a lawyer or lobbyist or who can afford to travel to Washington to come to the Office of Public Records in the Hart Building and read them. That is not very public. That does not do very much for the average voter in Vermont or the rest of this country outside of easy reach of Washington. That does not meet the spirit in which we voted to make these materials public, when we voted ``disclosure'' laws. We can do better, and this resolution does better. Any citizen in any corner of this country with access to a computer at home or the office or at the public library will be able to get on the Internet and get these important Congressional documents under our resolution. It allows individual citizens to check the facts, to make comparisons, and to make up their own minds. I commend the Senior Senator from Arizona for his leadership on opening public access to Congressional documents. I share his desire for the American people to have electronic access to many more Congressional resources. I look forward to working with him in the days to let the information age open up the halls of Congress to all our citizens. [[Page S1059]] As Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``Information is the currency of democracy.'' Our democracy is stronger if all citizens have equal access to at least that type of currency, and that is something which Members on both sides of the aisle can celebrate and join in. This bipartisan resolution is an important step in informing and empowering American citizens. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation to make available useful Congressional information to the American people. ____________________