[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3762 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3762
To provide members of the public with Internet access to certain
Congressional Research Service publications, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2009
Mr. Kratovil (for himself and Mr. Lance) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide members of the public with Internet access to certain
Congressional Research Service publications, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional
Research Service Electronic Accessibility Act of 2009''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Congressional Research Service, a special reference
unit within the Library of Congress, offers invaluable research
and analysis to Members of Congress on all current and emerging
issues of national policy.
(2) The Congressional Research Service staff of
approximately 700 employees, including lawyers, economists,
reference librarians, and social, natural, and physical
scientists, are governed by requirements for accuracy,
objectivity, balance, and nonpartisanship.
(3) The Congressional Research Service has a responsibility
to ensure that Members of the House and Senate have available
the best possible information and analysis on which to base the
policy decisions the American people have elected them to make.
(4) It is often burdensome, difficult, and time-consuming
for citizens to obtain access to objective and nonpartisan
policy analysis on issues affecting their interests.
(5) It will enhance our democracy to provide citizens with
access to unbiased and accurate CRS documents on legislation
and other critical issues before Congress.
(6) Allowing public access to CRS will empower citizens and
enable Members of Congress to become even more effective
``representatives'' of the public's concerns and goals.
SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
INFORMATION.
(a) Establishment and Maintenance of Database of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives
and the Secretary of Senate, working jointly and in
consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research
Service, shall establish and maintain a centralized,
searchable, electronic database consisting of--
(A) all of the information described in paragraph
(2) that is available to Members, officers, employees,
and offices of the House of Representatives or Senate
through the Congressional Research Service website; and
(B) an index of the information described in
subparagraph (A).
(2) Information described.--The information described in
this paragraph is as follows:
(A) Congressional Research Service Issue Briefs.
(B) Congressional Research Service Reports.
(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 document that is the product of a
confidential research request made by a Member,
officer, employee, or office of the House of
Representatives or Senate.
(2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section,
the Clerk and the Secretary, on the basis of information
provided by the Director, may--
(A) remove from the information included in the
database the name and phone number of, and any other
information regarding, an employee of the Congressional
Research Service;
(B) remove from the information included in the
database any material for which the Director determines
that including the information on the database may
infringe the copyright of a work protected under title
17, United States Code; and
(C) make any changes in the information included in
the database that the Director determines necessary to
ensure that the information is accurate and current.
(c) Prior Approval Not Required.--Notwithstanding any provision of
law to the contrary, the Director may take such actions as may be
necessary to enable the Clerk and Secretary to establish and maintain
the database under this section, including providing the information
described in subsection (a)(2), without obtaining the prior approval of
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the Committee
on House Administration of the House of Representatives, or the Joint
Committee on Printing.
SEC. 3. METHOD OF PUBLIC ACCESS.
(a) Access Through Websites of Members and Committees.--Each
official public website of a Member of the House of Representatives or
Senate, a committee of the House of Representatives or Senate, or a
joint committee of the Congress shall permit members of the public to
use the website to obtain the information contained in the database
established under section 2, in the same manner and to the same extent
as Members, officers, employees, and offices of the House of
Representatives and Senate may obtain such information through the
Congressional Research Service website.
(b) Regulations.--Subsection (a) shall be carried out--
(1) in the case of websites of Members and committees of
the House of Representatives, in accordance with regulations
promulgated by the Committee on House Administration of the
House of Representatives;
(2) in the case of websites of Members and committees of
the Senate, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate; and
(3) in the case of any other website to which subsection
(a) applies, in accordance with regulations promulgated jointly
by the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration
of the Senate.
SEC. 4. NO RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES REQUIRED.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the Director to
respond to any inquiry made by a member of the public with respect to
any of the information contained in the database established and
maintained under section 2 or made available the public on the Internet
pursuant to section 3.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``Clerk'' means the Clerk of the House of
Representatives;
(2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the
Congressional Research Service;
(3) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives''
includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress;
and
(4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Senate.
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