[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1974 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1974

   To require the Public Printer to establish and maintain a website 
 accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic 
 copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 24, 2011

   Mr. Quigley (for himself, Mr. Clay, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Towns, Ms. 
Norton, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Lynch) introduced the following bill; which 
 was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and 
 in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Public Printer to establish and maintain a website 
 accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic 
 copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Congressionally Mandated 
Reports Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WEBSITE FOR CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS.

    (a) Requirement To Establish Website.--Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Public Printer shall 
establish and maintain a website accessible by the public that allows 
the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated 
reports in one place. The Public Printer may publish other reports on 
such website.
    (b) Content and Function.--The Public Printer shall ensure that the 
website required under subsection (a) includes the following:
            (1) With respect to each congressionally mandated report, 
        each of the following:
                    (A) A citation to the statute or conference report 
                requiring the report.
                    (B) An electronic copy of the report, including any 
                transmittal letter associated with the report, in an 
                open format that is platform independent and that is 
                available to the public without restrictions, including 
                restrictions that would impede the re-use of the 
                information in the report.
                    (C) The ability to retrieve a report, to the extent 
                practicable, through searches based on each, and any 
                combination, of the following:
                            (i) The title of the report.
                            (ii) The reporting Federal agency.
                            (iii) The date of publication.
                            (iv) Each congressional committee receiving 
                        the report, if applicable.
                            (v) Subject tags.
                            (vi) The serial number, Superintendent of 
                        Documents number, or other identification 
                        number for the report, if applicable.
                            (vii) The statute or conference report 
                        requiring the report.
                            (viii) Key words.
                            (ix) Full text search.
                            (x) Any other relevant information 
                        specified by the Public Printer.
                    (D) The time and date when the report was required 
                to be submitted, and when the report was submitted, to 
                the website.
                    (E) Access to the report not later than 30 calendar 
                days after its submission to Congress.
                    (F) To the extent practicable, a permanent means of 
                accessing the report electronically.
            (2) A means for bulk download of all congressionally 
        mandated reports or a selection of reports retrieved using a 
        search.
            (3) A means for the head of each Federal agency to publish 
        on the website each congressionally mandated report of the 
        agency, as required by section 3.
            (4) A list form for all congressionally mandated reports 
        that can be searched, sorted, and downloaded by--
                    (A) reports submitted within the required time;
                    (B) reports submitted after the date on which such 
                reports were required to be submitted; and
                    (C) reports not submitted.
    (c) Free Access.--The Public Printer may not charge a fee, require 
registration, or impose any other limitation in exchange for access to 
the website required under subsection (a).
    (d) Upgrade Capability.--The website required under subsection (a) 
shall be enhanced and updated as necessary to carry out the purposes of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.

    (a) Submission of Electronic Copies of Reports.--The head of each 
Federal agency shall publish congressionally mandated reports of the 
agency on the website required under section 2(a)--
            (1) in an open format that is platform independent, machine 
        readable, and available to the public without restrictions 
        (except the redaction of information described under section 
        5), including restrictions that would impede the re-use of the 
        information in the reports; and
            (2) in accordance with the guidance issued under subsection 
        (c).
    (b) Submission of Additional Information.--The head of each Federal 
agency shall submit to the Public Printer the information required 
under subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 2(b)(1) with respect to 
each congressionally mandated report published pursuant to subsection 
(a).
    (c) Guidance.--Not later than eight months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, in consultation with the Public Printer, shall issue guidance 
to agencies on the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 4. RELATIONSHIP TO REQUIREMENTS TO SUBMIT REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Compliance With Statutory Requirement To Submit Reports.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Federal agency is deemed 
to have complied with a statutory requirement to submit a report to 
Congress if the agency completes each of the following, with respect to 
such report:
            (1) Publishes a complete and unredacted copy on the website 
        required under section 2(a).
            (2) Notifies the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the 
        Secretary of the Senate, and each congressional committee to 
        which a report must be submitted of the report's availability 
        on the website.
    (b) Removing and Altering Reports.--A report submitted to be 
published to the website required under section 2(a) may only be 
changed or removed by the Federal agency with the express, written 
consent of each congressional committee to which the report must be 
submitted.

SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the disclosure of 
information or records that are exempt from public disclosure under 
section 552 of title 5, United States Code. If any information in a 
congressionally mandated report may not be publicly released under 
section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, the Federal agency 
concerned shall redact from the report submitted to be published on the 
website established under section 2 only such information, shall 
indicate where such redactions were made in the report, and shall 
identify the exemption under which each such redaction is made.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Congressionally mandated report.--The term 
        ``congressionally mandated report'' means a report that is 
        required to be submitted to either House of Congress or any 
        committee of Congress by statute or by a conference report that 
        accompanies legislation enacted into law.
            (2) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the 
        meaning given that term under section 102 of title 40, United 
        States Code, but does not include the Government Accountability 
        Office.

SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION.

    Except as provided in section 3(c), this Act shall be implemented 
not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
shall apply with respect to congressionally mandated reports submitted 
to Congress on or after the date occurring one year after such date of 
enactment.
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