On Friday, the House of Representatives passed the best legislative branch appropriations bill since Republicans took power in 2010. Unlike many prior appropriations bills, which often undermined the House’s capacity to govern through deep budget cuts, this legislation contained provisions to strengthen the House and set the stage for further improvements. In addition, it was created […]
Continue reading... January 18, 2018
Save the Date: Bulk Data Task Force Meeting February 8
The House of Representatives will hold its next Bulk Data Task Force meeting February 8 from 10:30-12. More information to come.
Continue reading... December 8, 2017
What should be included in a GPO (Title 44) Reform Bill
The Committee on House Administration is working on legislation to reauthorize and reform the Government Publishing Office, holding four hearing on “Transforming the GPO for the 21st Century” over the past year. (1, 2, 3, 4). It would not be surprising if a reform bill were to be introduced soon. The Congressional Data Coalition has […]
Continue reading... December 4, 2017
Recap of the Third Congressional Hackathon
On Thursday the House held its third Congressional hackathon–and it was an even bigger success than last time. (See our recap of #1 and #2.) The hackathon cemented the bipartisan nature of using technology to open up Congress (with opening speeches by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer); included the participation of […]
Continue reading... November 24, 2017
Congressional Hackathon Set for Nov. 30
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer are hosting the Third Congressional Hackathon on Thursday, Nov. 30 from 2-6 pm in the U.S. Capitol Building. RSVP here. The event will bring together a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, Congressional staff, Legislative Branch agency staff, open government and transparency advocates, civic […]
Continue reading... July 13, 2017
What’s in the FY2018 House legislative branch appropriation?
By: Casey Burgat The House Appropriations Committee approved Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations via a June 29 voice vote. The bill calls for $3.58 billion of funding for House and joint-chamber operations (Senate-specific items are not included), a full $100 million more than the enacted FY2017 funding levels. It should, however, be noted that the FY2018 appropriation is much lower than the […]
Continue reading... July 6, 2017
New Madison Prizes to Honor Compromise in Congress
Rep. David Skaggs and his wife Laura established a new award for legislators who advance the public interest through compromise. More details (press release) below.
Continue reading... June 21, 2017
Join/Watch the House of Representatives 2017 Legislative Data and Transparency Conference
On Tuesday, June 27, the House of Representatives will host the 2017 Legislative Data and Transparency Conference. The all-day conference focuses on making Congress more efficient, transparent, and effective, and brings together people from inside the Legislative branch with member of the public to discuss how technology can help ensure Congress works for everyone. The conference is […]
Continue reading... May 19, 2017
OPEN Government Data Act moves to Senate floor after markup
By: Jonathan Haggerty Legislation requiring federal agencies to publish their data online in a searchable, nonproprietary, machine-readable format has been cleared for the Senate following a May 17 markup by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, S. 760, the Open Public Electronic and Necessary Government Data Act […]
Continue reading... May 9, 2017
Three years in, what does the DATA Act tell us about agency spending?
By: C. Jarrett Dieterle Trying to figure out exactly how much money the federal government spends long has been an exercise in futility for those few brave souls who endeavor to try it. Though the U.S. Treasury has published financial data since the beginning of the republic, the government has an uneven history, to say […]
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