The Library of Congress announced that the legislative information website THOMAS is scheduled to stop functioning on July 5, with Congress.gov to replace its functionality. This will allow the Library to focus all its energy on Congress.gov instead of having also to maintain a very awkward, 21-year-old website.
Continue reading... April 27, 2016
Bulk Data Task Force Meets Wednesday 4/27 at 10:30
The Congressional Bulk Data Task Force will meet this Wednesday at 10:30 am in the Legislative Resource Center in the Cannon Building near room 133. The Library of Congress graciously has offered to host the event online– go here after 10:15ish for a live feed. On the agenda: Opening comments Discussion — Bill Status XML […]
Continue reading... April 13, 2016
3 Cheers for the Door Stop Awards
The OpenGov Foundation hosted the Door Stop Awards yesterday, which recognized the largely (but not entirely) unsung efforts to open the doors of Congress to the American people. Last night, at the first ever Door Stop Awards last night, six Members of Congress and congressional staff were honored by the open government community for their […]
Continue reading... April 5, 2016
Join us for the first Door Stop Awards for Transparency!
In a time of ad hoc victories, partisanship and short-term thinking, The OpenGov Foundation is excited to announce an award for those who created structural changes inside public institutions that result in long-term transparency. They didn’t just open the door to the public, they installed a door stop to ensure that it never closes again. […]
Continue reading... April 5, 2016
Now you can see what reports have been published by the Congressional Research Service
Did you know the Congressional Research Service has published reports on the federal defense budget, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp) benefits, changes to hemp-growing restrictions and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus? Now you do, thanks to the R Street Institute’s Governance Project. Using the Scribd digital library service, we have published 20 years of CRS […]
Continue reading... March 23, 2016
House Publishes Its Rules, Jefferson’s Manual, & More Online as Structured Data
Today the Government Publishing Office published the House Manual — which contains Rules of the House of Representatives, Jefferson’s Manual, and other important legislative documents — online in a structured data format on GitHub. GPO did so pursuant to direction from the House Rules Committee, which was acting in accordance with the rules package passed at the beginning of […]
Continue reading... March 23, 2016
2016 Legislative Data & Transparency Conference Set for June 21
The Committee on House Administration will host its fifth annual Legislative Data and Transparency Conference on June 21, from 9-4 in the U.S. Capitol. Free registration is now open.
Continue reading... March 22, 2016
A Guide for Appropriators on Opening Up Congressional Information and Making Congress Work Better
For the fifth year in a row, today members of the Congressional Data Coalition submitted testimony to House Appropriators on ways to open up legislative information. The bipartisan coalition focused on tweaking congressional procedures and releasing datasets that, in the hands of third parties, will strengthen Congress’ capacity to govern.
Continue reading... February 24, 2016
Congress open up the tap for Legislative Data!
Today the Government Publishing Office and Library of Congress completed a full revolution in public access to legislative information. Information about legislative actions in congress–the bills, summaries of the bills, and their status–is now available online, in bulk, in a structured data format. As I wrote in December, this has great significance: It marks the […]
Continue reading... February 9, 2016
Why Congressional Technology Spending Matters and How to Improve the Situation
(Architect rendering via Library of Congress) Crossposted from The OpenGov Foundation blog. Read The OpenGov Foundation’s prior analysis of Senate and House tech spending. As our analyses have shown, without complete, accurate and timely spending data, the public is effectively guessing at where their tax dollars go and what value is returned. It is reasonable to […]
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