WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of 41 organizations and 15 individual experts from across the political spectrum is asking the Senate to put the text of bills and amendments online as soon as senators receive it, so the public can read legislation before it comes up for a vote.
The request came in a letter to the Senate Rules Committee and chamber leadership. Signers include open government and watchdog groups such as Issue One, the American Governance Institute, the Foundation for American Innovation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Right now, the official Congressional Record that documents Senate proceedings does not come out until the legislative day has ended. When a measure or amendment is introduced and voted on the same day, its text may not be public until after senators have already acted on it. The House, by contrast, generally posts draft bills and proposed amendments online ahead of floor consideration.
The letter argues the Senate system gives an edge to staff and interest groups with ties to Senate offices, while the press, the public and support agencies of Congress, among them the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service, can be left without the text. It calls for that privileged access to floor business to be kept as small as practical.
The groups want the change adopted when the new Congress convenes in January. Sen. Alex Padilla of California is expected to take over as chairman of the Rules Committee under the incoming Democratic majority.
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