[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3762 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3762

   To provide members of the public with Internet access to certain 
  Congressional Research Service publications, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2009

Mr. Kratovil (for himself and Mr. Lance) introduced the following bill; 
      which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide members of the public with Internet access to certain 
  Congressional Research Service publications, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional 
Research Service Electronic Accessibility Act of 2009''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Congressional Research Service, a special reference 
        unit within the Library of Congress, offers invaluable research 
        and analysis to Members of Congress on all current and emerging 
        issues of national policy.
            (2) The Congressional Research Service staff of 
        approximately 700 employees, including lawyers, economists, 
        reference librarians, and social, natural, and physical 
        scientists, are governed by requirements for accuracy, 
        objectivity, balance, and nonpartisanship.
            (3) The Congressional Research Service has a responsibility 
        to ensure that Members of the House and Senate have available 
        the best possible information and analysis on which to base the 
        policy decisions the American people have elected them to make.
            (4) It is often burdensome, difficult, and time-consuming 
        for citizens to obtain access to objective and nonpartisan 
        policy analysis on issues affecting their interests.
            (5) It will enhance our democracy to provide citizens with 
        access to unbiased and accurate CRS documents on legislation 
        and other critical issues before Congress.
            (6) Allowing public access to CRS will empower citizens and 
        enable Members of Congress to become even more effective 
        ``representatives'' of the public's concerns and goals.

SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE 
              INFORMATION.

    (a) Establishment and Maintenance of Database of Information.--
            (1) In general.--The Clerk of the House of Representatives 
        and the Secretary of Senate, working jointly and in 
        consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research 
        Service, shall establish and maintain a centralized, 
        searchable, electronic database consisting of--
                    (A) all of the information described in paragraph 
                (2) that is available to Members, officers, employees, 
                and offices of the House of Representatives or Senate 
                through the Congressional Research Service website; and
                    (B) an index of the information described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Information described.--The information described in 
        this paragraph is as follows:
                    (A) Congressional Research Service Issue Briefs.
                    (B) Congressional Research Service Reports.
                    (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 a 
                confidential research request made by a Member, 
                officer, employee, or office of the House of 
                Representatives or Senate.
            (2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section, 
        the Clerk and the Secretary, on the basis of information 
        provided by the Director, may--
                    (A) remove from the information included in the 
                database the name and phone number of, and any other 
                information regarding, an employee of the Congressional 
                Research Service;
                    (B) remove from the information included in the 
                database any material for which the Director determines 
                that including the information on the database may 
                infringe the copyright of a work protected under title 
                17, United States Code; and
                    (C) make any changes in the information included in 
                the database that the Director determines necessary to 
                ensure that the information is accurate and current.
    (c) Prior Approval Not Required.--Notwithstanding any provision of 
law to the contrary, the Director may take such actions as may be 
necessary to enable the Clerk and Secretary to establish and maintain 
the database under this section, including providing the information 
described in subsection (a)(2), without obtaining 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.

SEC. 3. METHOD OF PUBLIC ACCESS.

    (a) Access Through Websites of Members and Committees.--Each 
official public website of a Member of the House of Representatives or 
Senate, a committee of the House of Representatives or Senate, or a 
joint committee of the Congress shall permit members of the public to 
use the website to obtain the information contained in the database 
established under section 2, in the same manner and to the same extent 
as Members, officers, employees, and offices of the House of 
Representatives and Senate may obtain such information through the 
Congressional Research Service website.
    (b) Regulations.--Subsection (a) shall be carried out--
            (1) in the case of websites of Members and committees of 
        the House of Representatives, in accordance with regulations 
        promulgated by the Committee on House Administration of the 
        House of Representatives;
            (2) in the case of websites of Members and committees of 
        the Senate, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the 
        Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate; and
            (3) in the case of any other website to which subsection 
        (a) applies, in accordance with regulations promulgated jointly 
        by the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration 
        of the Senate.

SEC. 4. NO RESPONSE TO PUBLIC INQUIRIES REQUIRED.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the Director to 
respond to any inquiry made by a member of the public with respect to 
any of the information contained in the database established and 
maintained under section 2 or made available the public on the Internet 
pursuant to section 3.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Clerk'' means the Clerk of the House of 
        Representatives;
            (2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the 
        Congressional Research Service;
            (3) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' 
        includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress; 
        and
            (4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Senate.
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