Does Congress Need to Electronically Publish its Documents in a Searchable Format? (H.R. 5143)

What is H.R. 5143?

(Updated July 28, 2020)

This bill would require that Congress ensure that all congressional documents and votes both in Congress and in committees are published in searchable electronic formats. The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate would work together in establishing a Congressional Data Task Force that would act as an advisory board for creating, transmitting, and publishing congressional documents.

Argument in favor

It’s the 21st century — there’s no reason that Congress shouldn’t be legally obligated to publish all of its documents in a way that allows the public to easily search them electronically.

Argument opposed

Congress already publishes a lot of these documents online in some form, it’s incumbent on citizens to do the legwork themselves to track down what they’re looking for.

Impact

People who want to search congressional documents; the Congressional Data Task Force; and Congress.

Cost of H.R. 5143

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Much of what is required by this legislation was enacted by the House of Representatives when it adopted its rules for this Congress, though they could be abandoned or modified when a future Congress convenes. Sponsoring Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) introduced this bill to ensure that bills are published in searchable format in both chambers of Congress permanently by codifying that rule into law.

This legislation has the support of 19 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, including 13 Republicans and six Democrats.