Earlier today, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee made a major move towards improving public access to legislative information. In layman’s terms, the committee said that by the beginning of the next Congress information about the disposition of bills—where they are in the legislative process and who authored or co-sponsored the legislation—will be published in […]

Daniel Schuman and I have a new op-ed on legislative data in The Hill: Nearly two decades ago, Congress began publishing some of its activities online, revolutionizing access to essential public information. The system was called THOMAS, after our third president. Managed by the Library of Congress, it aimed to serve as a central hub […]

The Congressional Data Coalition is hosting a panel and happy hour on April 4 (“4/04 Day”) sponsored by the R Street Institute and CREW, and organized with help from other CDC members. Register for the panel here: http://404day.eventbrite.com. And for the happy hour here: http://404reception.eventbrite.com. Here’s the event description and list of participants: Two decades ago Congress began publishing […]

In a new letter to the House this month, we joined 18 other organizations and individuals in calling for access to the legislative data on bill status that Congress has but won’t share. The letter was sent by the new Congressional Data Coalition, formed this month of citizens, public interest groups, trade associations, and businesses […]

When the legislative branch started publishing bills and resolutions online in 1995, it was heralded as a revolution in government transparency. The public at last had easy and immediate access to the text of legislation and citizens could better hold their elected officials accountable. But technology has progressed quite a distance since then, and the […]