That looks like a fascinating paper. I'll be sure to give it a good read.

I've mentioned on the list some of the steps my boss (Congressman Honda) has
been taking, with counsel from many folks on this list, to guide
Congressional policies on the path towards effectively leveraging technology
to open up access to the public. There are actually quite a few other
staffers who also follow this list, and we've certainly learned quite a bit
from the conversations posted here, so I wanted to throw out a quick note of
appreciation to everyone who has been contributing to the discussions.

With guidance from the conversations on this list (and the OHP report),
Congressman Honda recently submitted the following sections into the House
Legislative Branch Appropriations Report. The following (or possibly very
similar versions) were included in the Leg Branch Subcommittee markup of the
bill:

*Public Access to Legislative Data (as submitted)*

The Committee believes that the public should have improved access to
legislative information through more advanced search capabilities such as
those available through the Library of Congress' Legislative Information
System. The Committee also supports enhancing public access to legislative
documents, bill status, summary information, and other legislative data,
through more direct methods such as bulk data downloads and other means of
no-charge digital access to legislative databases. The Committee requests
that the Library and Government Printing Office report on the progress
towards these goals within 90 days of enactment of this Act.

*Congressional Technology Coordination (as submitted)***

The Committee recognizes the need for the House of Representatives to
develop a strategic and coordinated plan that will prepare for the future
technology needs of the institution.  A 2006 report commissioned by the
Chief Administrative Officer and the Committee on House Administration,
entitled *Strategic Technology Road Map for the Ten Year Vision of
Technology in the House of Representatives* provided a suggested structure
for an IT evaluation and decision-making process.  No later than 90
days after the enactment of this Act, the Committee requests that the Chief
Administrative Officer, the Clerk, and the Sergeant at Arms report to the
Committee of their efforts to develop House-wide data-sharing standards;
implement standard legislative document formats; address the increasing
resource challenges of Member offices; and identify disparate systems
throughout the institution, which prevent it from taking advantage of
economies of scale.
- Rob

On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 10:59 AM, John Wonderlich <johnwonderl...@gmail.com>
wrote:

Thanks to Congressman Honda for his efforts and initiative here!

Josh

Thanks Rob, and agreed that this is excellent news.  Can't wait to see
whatever final version comes out of the committee.

For how this lines up with OHP recommendations, the first:

*Public Access to Legislative Data (as submitted)*

The Committee believes that the public should have improved access to
legislative information through more advanced search capabilities such as
those available through the Library of Congress' Legislative Information
System. The Committee also supports enhancing public access to legislative
documents, bill status, summary information, and other legislative data,
through more direct methods such as bulk data downloads and other means of
no-charge digital access to legislative databases. The Committee requests
that the Library and Government Printing Office report on the progress
towards these goals within 90 days of enactment of this Act.

...lines up with the
chapter<http://www.theopenhouseproject.com/the-open-house-project-report/3-le...>on
legislative databases (as prepared by Josh Tauberer), and the second:

*Congressional Technology Coordination (as submitted)***

The Committee recognizes the need for the House of Representatives to
develop a strategic and coordinated plan that will prepare for the future
technology needs of the institution.  A 2006 report commissioned by the
Chief Administrative Officer and the Committee on House Administration,
entitled *Strategic Technology Road Map for the Ten Year Vision of
Technology in the House of Representatives* provided a suggested structure
for an IT evaluation and decision-making process.  No later than 90
days after the enactment of this Act, the Committee requests that the Chief
Administrative Officer, the Clerk, and the Sergeant at Arms report to the
Committee of their efforts to develop House-wide data-sharing standards;
implement standard legislative document formats; address the increasing
resource challenges of Member offices; and identify disparate systems
throughout the institution, which prevent it from taking advantage of
economies of scale.

...corresponds to the
chapter<http://www.theopenhouseproject.com/the-open-house-project-report/12-c...>on
coorindating web standards.

We haven't been alone in articulating these reform efforts; but I do want to
note how closely they correspond to the concerns we've raised here.

Program Director
The Sunlight Foundation
(202) 742-1520 ext. 234