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Lieberman Introduces Bill to Open Up Congressional Reports

BY Nick Judd | Friday, July 29 2011

While everyone is going nuts over an impending end to the United States' credit line, Sen. Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Republican Senators Susan Collins and Tom Coburn, have introduced a bill that would require that reports to Congress that are mandated by statute to become public record:

“In the digital age, Congress should be sharing as much information as possible with our constituents through available information technologies, so taxpayers can judge for themselves how well their government is performing,” Lieberman said. “This bill represents one more step toward maximizing government accountability and transparency, as well as the participation and collaboration of taxpayers with their government.”

The bill calls for the creation of a Government Printing Office website that would publish all reports within 30 days of being submitted to Congress, according to a press release from Lieberman's office.

Of note: The bill text calls for reports to be published in an open format and to be machine readable.

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