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 […]
Continue reading... February 8, 2016
Seven years ago today, WikiLeaks published 6,700 CRS reports…and nobody was hurt
Feb. 8, 2009 began like any other Sunday for me. I was up early taking care of a young child, gulping coffee and scanning the news. The New York Times turned my stomach with its report that a Polish engineer had been beheaded by the Taliban. The Grey Lady also gleefully described the tribulations of […]
Continue reading... February 2, 2016
Will the needless secrecy surrounding CRS reports end this year?
Not quite a year back, Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., sought to do a little good for the American public. He offered an amendment to an appropriations bill that would require the Congressional Research Service to post publicly a list of the titles of its reports. Advocates for taxpayers and proponents for government transparency were delighted. […]
Continue reading... December 22, 2015
What America needs in the next House Chief Administrative Officer
The Chief Administrative Officer is one of the most important but low profile staffers that makes the House of Representatives work. The CAO runs an office with a huge mandate. It manages critical technology services, oversees and coordinates the financial reporting system, ensures that the press have smooth access to legislative proceedings, handles physical resources […]
Continue reading... December 16, 2015
Open Government Data Aids Congressional Oversight
According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress is supposed to maintain watchful eye over the executive branch. These days, there is just no way that Congress can do that. The executive branch has 4.1 million employees, 180 agencies, and spends $3.9 trillion each year. The people’s branch needs help, and open government data enables individuals outside […]
Continue reading... December 8, 2015
Congress Poised for Leap to Open Up Legislative Data
Following bills in Congress requires three major pieces of information: the text of the bill, a summary of what the bill is about, and the status information associated with the bill. For the last few years, Congress has been publishing the text and summaries for all legislation moving in Congress, but has not published bill […]
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