Advocates Demand Senate Post Bill Text Online Before Votes
A crosspartisan group urges leadership to close the gap between when lawmakers see legislation and when the public can review it.
By Marco Ortega ·
The Senate is not required to post the full text of bills and amendments online before members vote on them.
A crosspartisan group of open governance advocates sent a letter to Senate leadership on Wednesday. The letter asks the chamber to publish legislative text as soon as it is available to members. It also urges the Senate to release the text before floor votes occur.
Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute, argued that the current process leaves the public and press without access to key documents. He stated that problems often sneak through without proper review. Schuman pointed to 2013 as an example. In that year, Congress quietly repealed provisions of a financial disclosure and insider trading law.
The Congressional Record, which serves as the official record of legislative proceedings, is published after the legislative day ends. This timing means that if a bill is offered and considered on the same day, the public may not see the text until after the vote has taken place.
Luke Hogg, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, noted that Senate staffers now have reliable access to the documents. He argued that the same information should be given to the American public. The Foundation for American Innovation joined the American Governance Institute on the letter.
The letter highlights a disparity in access to information. It states that staff and interest groups with connections to Senate offices often understand what is being debated. In contrast, legislative support agencies, the press, and the general public are frequently left without that knowledge. The document calls for minimizing privileged access to public business during floor debates.
The House of Representatives already publishes draft legislative text and proposed amendments online before consideration, with rare exceptions. The advocates hope to see the Senate adopt a similar transparency measure when the new Congress convenes in January.
