{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4631-115/featured_access-to-congressionally-mandated-reports-act-1531690980.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4631-115/featured_large_access-to-congressionally-mandated-reports-act-1531690980.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr4631-115.png"},"introduced_on":"2017-12-12","title_override":"Should Reports Sent to Congress be Publicly Available in a Searchable Database?","summary_override":"

This bill would require the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to establish and maintain a publicly available website containing copies of all congressionally mandated reports. The website would be required feature the following, along with certain descriptive information related to such reports: 1) the ability to retrieve a report through specified types of searches; 2) a means for downloading reports individually or in bulk; 3) an electronic means for federal agencies to submit reports to the GPO, as required by the bill; and 4) a list of all reports that can be searched and sorted by time frame or submission status (in a tabular form).

To bring this bill into effect, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would issue guidance to federal agencies on the bill’s requirement that agencies submit copies of congressionally mandated reports and related information to the GPO. Within reports’ bodies, agencies would retain discretion over redaction or withholding of certain information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other applicable laws. Once appropriately redacted, all public-facing reports would be published to the website within 30 days of submission to Congress.

Finally, by April 1 of each year, the Library of Congress would be required to submit a list of all congressionally mandated reports from the previous year. This list would be provided in an open format, and would include specified identifying and descriptive information. It’d also be used by GPO to compare against the list of reports received from agencies, helping check whether agencies are complying with their responsibilities in a timely manner.

","official_title":"To require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain a website accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act\n\nThis bill requires the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to establish and maintain a publicly available website containing copies of all congressionally mandated reports. The website must feature, in addition to certain descriptive information related to such reports: (1) the ability to retrieve a report through specified types of searches; (2) a means for downloading reports individually or in bulk; (3) an electronic means for federal agencies to submit reports to the GPO, as required by the bill; and (4) in tabular form, a list of all reports that can be searched and sorted by time frame or submission status.\n\nThe Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance to federal agencies on the bill's requirement for agencies to submit copies of congressionally mandated reports and related information to the GPO. With respect to each report, the relevant federal agency may redact or withhold certain information in accordance with the Freed...","summarized":true,"cost":2000000,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost about $2 million from 2019-2023. 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","page_title":"Congress Shenanigans Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/black_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/grey_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/white_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"transparency","name":"Transparency","slug":"transparency","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Transparency. 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Should Reports Sent to Congress be Publicly Available in a Searchable Database?