[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 727 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 727

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2012

   Mr. Lance (for himself, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. 
 Cooper, and Mr. Schiff) submitted the following resolution; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


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

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Public Access to 
Congressional Research Service Reports Resolution of 2012'' or the 
``Congressional Research Service Electronic Accessibility Resolution of 
2012''.
    (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 Congress 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, 
        in consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research 
        Service, shall establish and maintain a centralized, 
        searchable, bulk downloadable, 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 through the 
                Congressional Research Service Web site; and
                    (B) in accordance with subsection (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.
                    (D) Materials intended or available for general 
                congressional distribution that are the same or 
                substantially similar in content to CRS Reports, Issue 
                Briefs, and Appropriations Products.
            (3) Specific information for materials included.--With 
        respect to each issue brief, product, or report included in the 
        database under this subsection, the Clerk shall include--
                    (A) the name and identification number;
                    (B) the dates of initial release and updates (if 
                any); and
                    (C) the Congressional Research Service division or 
                divisions that were responsible for its production.
            (4) Updates.--The Clerk, in consultation with the Director, 
        shall ensure that the information in the database under this 
        subsection is updated automatically and electronically to 
        reflect the availability of new information and updates to 
        existing information described in paragraph (2).
            (5) Initial information.--The initial establishment of the 
        database under this subsection shall include all of the 
        contents described in paragraph (1) as of the date on which 
        this resolution is agreed to.
    (b) Index of Database Information.--In addition to the database 
under subsection (a), the Clerk, in consultation with the Director, 
shall establish and maintain contemporaneously a Web site containing a 
searchable, sortable index of all of the information in the database in 
both human-readable and machine-readable formats (such as XML) that 
includes for each issue brief, product, or report in the database--
            (1) the name and identification number;
            (2) the dates of initial release and updates (if any); and
            (3) the Congressional Research Service division or 
        divisions that were responsible for its production.
    (c) Limitations.--
            (1) Confidential information.--Subsections (a) and (b) do 
        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--
                            (i) is the product of a confidential 
                        research request made by a Member, officer, 
                        employee, or office of the House of 
                        Representatives;
                            (ii) has not been distributed to any 
                        individual or office other than the individual 
                        or office making the request; and
                            (iii) is not intended for distribution to 
                        any person other than the individual or office 
                        making the request
            (2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section, 
        the Clerk, on the basis of information provided by the 
        Director, may--
                    (A) remove from the information included in the 
                database (including from the issue brief, product, or 
                report itself) the name and contact information 
                regarding an employee of the Congressional Research 
                Service;
                    (B) remove from the information included in the 
                database (including from the issue brief, product, or 
                report itself) 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 (including from the issue brief, product, 
                or report itself) that the Director determines 
                necessary to ensure that the information is accurate 
                and current, except that if the Clerk makes any such 
                change with respect to any material in the database, 
                the Clerk shall indicate in the database (with such 
                notation as the Clerk considers appropriate) that more 
                current information is available with respect to the 
                material than the information provided in the database.
            (3) Method of redaction.--The Clerk shall carry out any 
        redaction under paragraph (2)(C) in a manner which removes the 
        least amount of material necessary to carry out the purposes of 
        the redaction.
            (4) Assistance from director for automatic redaction.--The 
        Clerk shall consult with the Director to ensure the 
        availability and implementation of such technology as may be 
        necessary to facilitate the automatic redaction of information 
        under this subsection.
    (d) Furnishing of Necessary Information.--The Clerk shall consult 
with the Director to ensure that the Clerk is provided with all of the 
information necessary to carry out this section in such format as the 
Clerk considers appropriate.

SEC. 3. OTHER METHODS OF PUBLIC ACCESS.

    (a) Access Through Web Sites of Members and Committees.--Each 
official public Web site of a Member of the House of Representatives, a 
committee of the House of Representatives, or a joint committee of the 
Congress shall permit members of the public to use the Web site 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 may 
obtain such information through the Congressional Research Service Web 
site.
    (b) Regulations.--Subsection (a) shall be carried out in accordance 
with regulations promulgated by the Committee on House Administration 
of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. 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; and
            (3) the term ``Member of the House of Representatives'' 
        includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This resolution shall take effect upon the expiration of the 6-
month period which begins on the date on which the resolution is agreed 
to, without regard to whether the regulations described in section 3(b) 
or any other regulations have been promulgated prior to the expiration 
of such period.
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