[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 654 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 654

To make available on the Internet, for purposes of access and retrieval 
by the public, certain information available through the Congressional 
                       Research Service web site.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 1999

Mr. Shays (for himself, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. 
  Salmon, and Mr. Campbell) introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To make available on the Internet, for purposes of access and retrieval 
by the public, certain information available through the Congressional 
                       Research Service web site.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Research Accessibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CRS INFORMATION.

    (a) Availability of Information.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Congressional Research 
        Service shall make available through a centralized electronic 
        database, for purposes of access and retrieval by the public as 
        described in section 2, all information described in paragraph 
        (2) that is available through the Congressional Research 
        Service website.
            (2) Information to be made available.--The information to 
        be made available under paragraph (1) is:
                    (A) Congressional Research Service Issue Briefs.
                    (B) Congressional Research Service Reports that are 
                available to Members of Congress through the 
                Congressional Research Service website.
                    (C) Congressional Research Service Authorization of 
                Appropriations Products and Appropriations Products.
    (b) Limitations.--
            (1) Confidential information.--Subsection (a) does not 
        apply to--
                    (A) any information that is confidential, as 
                determined by--
                            (i) the Director, or
                            (ii) the head of a Federal department or 
                        agency that provided the information to the 
                        Congressional Research Service; or
                    (B) any document that is the product of an 
                individual, office, or committee research request, 
                other than any document described in subsection (a)(2).
            (2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section, 
        the Director of the Congressional Research Service may--
                    (A) remove from the information required to be made 
                available under subsection (a) the name and phone 
                number of, and any other information regarding, an 
                employee of the Congressional Research Service;
                    (B) remove from the information required to be made 
                available under subsection (a) any material for which 
                the Director determines that making it available under 
                subsection (a) may infringe the copyright of a work 
                protected under title 17, United States Code; and
                    (C) make any changes in the information required to 
                be made available under subsection (a) that the 
                Director determines necessary to ensure that the 
                information is accurate and current.
    (c) Time.--The Director of the Congressional Research Service shall 
make available all information required under this section no earlier 
than 30 days and no later than 40 days after the date on which the 
information is first made available to Members of Congress through the 
Congressional Research Service website.
    (d) Manner.--The Director of the Congressional Research Service 
shall make information required to be made available under this section 
in a manner that--
            (1) is practical and reasonable; and
            (2) does not permit the submission of comments from the 
        public.

SEC. 3. METHOD OF ACCESS.

    (a) In General.--Public access to information made available under 
this Act shall be provided through the websites maintained by Members 
and committees of the House of Representatives. The Director of the 
Congressional Research Service and the Chief Administrative Officer of 
the House of Representatives shall work together to carry out this 
subsection.
    (b) Editorial Responsibility for CRS Reports Online.--The Director 
of the Congressional Research Service is responsible for maintaining 
and updating the information made available on the Internet under 
section 1, and shall have sole discretion to edit that information 
under this Act.
    (c) Further Approval Not Required.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law to the contrary, the Director of the Congressional 
Research Service shall make the information required to be made 
available under section 1 without the prior approval of the Committee 
on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Representatives, or the Joint Committee 
on Printing.
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