Congressional Record: February 11, 2003 (Senate)
Page S2222-S2226
STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
SENATE RESOLUTION 54--TO PROVIDE INTERNET ACCESS TO CERTAIN
CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH
SERVICE PUBLICATIONS, CERTAIN SENATE GIFT REPORTS, AND SENATE AND JOINT
COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS
Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Harkin)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Rules and Administration:
S. Res. 54
Whereas it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) it is often burdensome, difficult, and time-consuming
for citizens to obtain access to public records of the United
States Congress;
(2) congressional documents that are placed in the
Congressional Record are made available to the public
electronically by the Superintendent of Documents under the
direction of the Public Printer;
(3) other congressional documents are also made available
electronically on websites maintained by Members of Congress
and Committees of the Senate and the House of
Representatives;
(4) a wide range of public records of the Congress remain
inaccessible to the public;
(5) the public should have easy and timely access,
including electronic access, to public records of the
Congress;
(6) the Congress should use new technologies to enhance
public access to public records of the Congress; and
(7) an informed electorate is the most precious asset of
any democracy; and
Whereas it is the sense of the Senate that it will foster
democracy--
(1) to ensure public access to public records of the
Congress;
(2) to improve public access to public records of the
Congress; and
(3) to enhance the electronic public access, including
access via the Internet, to public records of the Congress:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate shall
make information available to the public in accordance with
the provisions of this resolution.
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CRS INFORMATION.
(a) Availability of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, in
consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research
Service, shall make available through a centralized
electronic system, for purposes of access and retrieval by
the public under section 4 of this resolution, all
information described in paragraph (2) that is available
through the Congressional Research Service website.
(2) Information to be made available.--The information to
be made available under paragraph (1) is:
(A) Congressional Research Service Issue Briefs.
(B) Congressional Research Service Reports that are
available to Members of Congress through the Congressional
Research Service website.
(C) Congressional Research Service Authorization of
Appropriations Products and Appropriations Products.
(b) Limitations.--
(1) Confidential information.--Subsection (a) does not
apply to--
(A) any information that is confidential, as determined
by--
(i) the Director; or
(ii) the head of a Federal department or agency that
provided the information to the Congressional Research
Service; or
(B) any documents that are the product of an individual,
office, or committee research request (other than a document
described in subsection (a)(2)).
(2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section,
the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, in consultation with the
Director of the Congressional Research Service, may--
(A) remove from the information required to be made
available under subsection (a) the name and phone number of,
and any other information regarding, an employee of the
Congressional Research Service;
(B) remove from the information required to be made
available under subsection (a) any material for which the
Director determines that making it available under subsection
(a) may infringe the copyright of a work protected under
title 17, United States Code; and
(C) make any changes in the information required to be made
available under subsection (a) that the Director determines
necessary to ensure that the information is accurate and
current.
(c) Manner.--The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, in
consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research
Service, shall make the information required under this
section available in a manner that is practical and
reasonable.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE SENATE.
(a) In general.--The Secretary of the Senate, through the
Office of Public Records and in accordance with such
standards as the Secretary may prescribe, shall make reports
required under paragraph 2(a)(1)(B) and paragraph 4(b) of
Rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate available on
the Internet for purposes of access and retrieval by the
public within 10 days (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
excepted) after they are received.
(b) Directory.--The Superintendent of Documents, under the
Direction of the Public Printer in the Government Printing
Office, shall include information about the documents made
available on the Internet under this section in the
electronic directory of Federal electronic information
required by section 4101(a)(1) of title 44, United States
Code.
SEC. 4. METHOD OF ACCESS.
(a) In General.--The information required to be made
available to the public on the Internet under this resolution
shall be made available as follows:
(1) CRS information.--Public access to information made
available under section 2 shall be provided through the
websites maintained by Members and Committees of the Senate.
(2) Public records.--Public access to information made
available under section 3 by the Secretary of the Senate's
Office of Public Records shall be provided through the United
States Senate website.
(b) Editorial Responsibility for CRS Reports Online.--The
Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate is responsible for maintaining
and updating the information made available on the Internet
under section 2.
SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE MATERIALS.
It is the sense of the Senate that each standing and
special Committee of the Senate and each Joint Committee of
the Congress, in accordance with such rules as the committee
may adopt, should provide access via the Internet to
publicly-available committee information, documents, and
proceedings, including bills, reports, and official
transcripts of committee meetings that are open to the
public.
SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION.
The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate shall establish the
database described in section 2(a) within 6 months after the
date of adoption of this resolution.
SEC. 7. GAO STUDY.
(a) In General.--Beginning 1 year after the date on which
the database described in section 2(a) is established, the
Sergeant-at-Arms shall request the Comptroller General to
examine the cost of implementing this resolution, other than
this section, with particular attention to the cost of
establishing and maintaining the database and submit a report
within 6 months thereafter. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall ask
the Comptroller General to include in the report
recommendations on how to make operations under this
resolution more cost-effective, and such other
recommendations for administrative changes or changes in law,
as the Comptroller General may determine to be appropriate.
(b) Delivery.--The Sergeant-at-Arms shall transmit a copy
of the Comptroller General's report under subsection (a) to--
(1) the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration;
(2) the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation;
(3) the Senate Committee on the Judiciary; and
(4) the Joint Committee of the Congress on the Library of
Congress.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today by
Senators Leahy, Lieberman, and Harkin in submitting a resolution to
make Congressional Research Service, CRS, reports, and other Senate
documents, accessible over the Internet to the American people.
CRS is well-known for producing high quality reports and issue briefs
that are concise, factual, and unbiased--a rarity in Washington. Many
of us rely on the work of CRS to make decisions on a wide variety of
diverse legislative proposals, such as formulating policies on homeland
security, determining the implications of war with Iraq, contemplating
the future of the Internet, developing health care reform, and
analyzing tax policy. Also, we routinely send CRS reports to our
constituents in order to help them understand the important issues of
our time.
The sponsors of this resolution believe that it is important for the
public
[[Page S2225]]
to have access to these CRS reports. The American public paid over $81
million to fund CRS's operations in fiscal year 2002 alone. The
informational reports covered by this resolution are not confidential
or classified, and the public deserves to have access to them.
By making these reports publicly available, the Senate will better
serve an important function in helping to inform their constituents.
Members of the public will be able to read these CRS products and
receive a concise summary of issues that concern them. These reports
also will help voters make decisions and petition their legislators on
how to best represent them.
Currently, corporations, universities, and other well-heeled entities
often hire former Members of Congress as lobbyists to get access to
these reports. However, the general public does not have access to
these reports. Instead, the public has to obtain these reports through
independent companies, such as Penny Hill Press, which charges almost
$30 for each report. Otherwise, they must search through a variety of
government and non-government web sites for outdated reports or get
them from their Members of Congress through the mail. It is not fair
for the American people to have to pay a third party or search all over
the web for products for which they have already footed the bill.
This resolution is drafted to set up a system for distributing CRS
Reports that is similar to a pilot program ongoing in the House of
Representatives. Under our resolution, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms
would establish and maintain a system for distribution of CRS
documents. The public would only be able to access these documents
through Senators' or Senate Committees' web pages. This system would
allow Senators and Committee Chairmen to be able to choose which
documents are made available to the public through their web page.
This resolution also includes other safeguards to ensure that CRS is
able to carry out its mission. Confidential information and reports
done for confidential research requests would not be made available to
the public. The resolution provides authorization for the Senate
Sergeant-at-Arms to remove the names of CRS employees from these
products to prevent the public from distracting CRS employees. In
addition, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms would be authorized to remove
copyrighted information from the publicly-available reports. This
resolution would ensure that the CRS' mission is not altered in any
way, and that it cannot be open to liability suits.
Finally, we recognize that cost concerns had been raised about prior
versions of this legislation introduced in past Congresses. Yet, our
understanding is that the House system of distribution has been
achieved at a relatively low cost. We have designed this resolution to
eliminate the cost burden to CRS by shifting the operation and
maintenance of the system over to the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. In
addition, the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms is directed to ask the General
Accounting Office, GAO, to evaluate the program after one year to
explore how to make the operations more cost-effective.
The resolution also would require the Senate Office of Public Records
to put other selected documents related to Members' receipt of
honoraria and travel reimbursement on the Internet. We have already
voted to make this information available to the public. Unfortunately,
the public can only get access to this information by personally
visiting an office in the Hart building. This resolution would allow
our constituents throughout the country to access this information more
readily.
This resolution has been endorsed by many groups, including the
Project on Government Oversight, the Congressional Accountability
Project, Intel, Computer & Communications Industry Association, the
Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Library Association,
SeeBeyond Technology Corporation, and others. I ask unanimous consent
that these letters of support be printed in the Record.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. The Internet offers
a unique opportunity to allow the American people to have everyday
access to important information about their government.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
SeeBeyond,
Reston, VA, February 11, 2003.
Senator John McCain,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman McCain: We are writing to express our support
for the Congressional Openness Act that allows constituents
easier and faster access to information through the Internet,
and to urge quick Senate passage of the bill.
SeeBeyond is a software technology company that enables
Government agencies to communicate and share vital
information in real time to other federal agencies, state and
local Governments and most importantly constituents.
The bill allows better ways for the Government to share
information, documents and proceedings, including bills,
reports and transcripts of committee meetings that educate
the public, and we commend your efforts to further the
Federal Government's work in this area.
We are pleased to offer you our support of this legislation
and to encourage its swift passage by the full Senate.
Sincerely,
Sam Maccherola,
Vice President, Public Sector,
SeeBeyond Technology Corp.
____
Congressional Accountability
Project,
Portland, OR, February 11, 2003.
Senator John McCain,
U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Senator Patrick Leahy,
U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senators McCain and Leahy: We heartily endorse your
resolution to place useful congressional documents on the
Internet, including Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Reports and Issue Briefs, CRS Authorization and Appropriation
products, and Senate gift disclosure reports. This resolution
is a simple and inexpensive way to improve our democracy.
Citizens need access to congressional documents to
discharge their civic duties. Regrettable, the 20th Century
has come and gone, and yet Congress still has not put many of
its most important documents on the Internet. Your resolution
will help fix this problem.
The Congressional Research Service is a taxpayer-funded
research arm of Congress. Their research materials are among
the best produced by the federal government. They explain,
with fairness and clarity, the controversies and complexities
surrounding the most pressing issues of our day. This
research belongs on the Internet. Taxpayers deserve easy
access to the documents we pay for.
We applaud the resolution's directive that Senate
committees should ``provide access via the Internet to
publicly-available committee information, documents and
proceedings, including bills, reports, and official
transcripts of committee meetings that are open to the
public.''
In 1822, James Madison explained why citizens need such
information: ``A popular government,'' he wrote, ``without
popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a
Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge
will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be
their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which
knowledge gives.''
Sincerely,
American Association of Law Libraries; American Library
Association; American Society of Newspaper Editors;
Association of Research Libraries; Center for Democracy
and Technology; Center for Digital Democracy; Center
for Responsive Politics, Common Cause; Computer &
Communications Industry Association; Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility; Congressional
Accountability Project; Consumer Federation of America;
Consumer Project on Technology; Electronic Frontier
Foundation; Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Federation of American Scientists; Friends of the Earth;
Green Party of the United States; Medical Library
Association; National Federation of Press Women;
National Security Archive; National Taxpayers Union;
National Newspaper Association; OMB Watch; Project on
Government Oversight; Public Citizen; Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press; Society of
Professional Journalists; Taxpayers for Common Sense;
Union of Concerned Scientists; U.S. Public Interest
Research Group (USPIRG).
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join today with Senator
McCaine to submit our bipartisan resolution to make Congressional
Research Service products available over the Internet to the American
people. I also want to thank the Project on Government Oversight for
its excellent report on the need for access to CRS information.
The Congressional Research Service 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
millions of dollars a year to fund the CRS, deserve
[[Page S2226]]
speedy access to these public resources and have a right to see that
their money is being spent well.
The goal of our bipartisan 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
have direct access to these wonderful resources.
Our legislation 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.
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 of these reports are ``public'' for only those who can afford to
hire a lawyer or lobbyist, or who can afford to physically travel to
Washington to visit the Office of Public Records in the Hart Building
and read them. Indeed, the Project on Government Oversight reports that
over 150 registered lobbyists are former Members of Congress who have
automatic access to CRS documents. That is not very ``public,'' and
does almost nothing for the average voter in Vermont or the rest of
this country who does not have easy access to Washington.
We can do better, and this resolution does better. Under our
resolution, any citizen in any corner of this country with access to a
computer at home, at 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 this
and similar issues. 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 coming days to let the information age open
up the Halls of Congress to all our citizens.
As Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``Information is the currency of
democracy.'' Our democracy is stronger if all citizens have equal
access to at least the ``congressional-type'' of currency, and that is
something in which Members on both sides of the aisle can celebrate and
join.
______
