Coalition urges Senate to publish bills, amendments online while still under consideration

This article features Government Accountability Project and was originally published here.

A coalition of about 40 national organizations sent a letter to Senate leadership on Thursday calling for more transparency and access to bills and amendments that are being considered on the Senate floor.

In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the groups acknowledged that while information on legislation is made available online, it is often provided after action has already been taken on the bill.

“The Congressional Record provides the most complete public source for information for bill text and amendments. However, it is published each day after the conclusion of legislative proceedings and thereby provides a retrospective look at what happened,” the groups wrote.

“In circumstances where bills or amendments were offered on the same day they were considered, there is no systematic concurrent public availability of the text with the deliberations. This issue arises most frequently with respect to amendments and, to a lesser degree, Senate resolutions,” they added.

The groups pointed out that texts for Senate floor amendments can often take days or weeks to be published on Congress’ website, while the House publishes the text of legislation being considered and all amendments prior to their consideration.

They argued that the Senate’s current system for access to legislation creates “unequal access to information, whereby those with connections to Senate offices can at times gain access to information far more easily than those who do not.”

“It is our view that congressional offices, the public, and the press need greater assistance with tracking and accessing bills and amendments set for debate on the Senate floor,” they wrote. “We need more transparency. In our modern era, this suggests contemporaneous online availability of the text of legislation and amendments and improved archival access.”

Organizations who signed the bill included Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Government Accountability Project and Open Secrets.

The Hill has reached out to Senate leadership for comment.