Increases
transparency and access to Congressional data
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Rules Committee made
available text of the House Rules and Manual in XML format on the Government
Printing Office (GPO) GitHub account, allowing for greater functionality,
transparency and better usability. Additionally made available are the
Constitution and other support pages that will allow greater functionality with
regard to referencing, analysis and indexing:
“House Republicans have taken pride in
increased transparency since gaining the majority in 2010, and such advances
have gone hand-in-hand with access to Congressional data online,” said House
Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions. “Technology plays an important role
in our daily lives, and it is necessary that the House keep up with the most
efficient and effective ways to provide information about Congressional
activities. As Chairman of the House Rules Committee, I am committed to the
advancement of sharing legislative data online and am confident that our
efforts will result in a better informed public.”
“This
is a positive step toward a more transparent Congress. The House Rules
Committee plays an essential role in how Congress functions, and publishing the
Rules of the House in XML will empower the public to more easily access and
analyze the House Rules,” said John Wonderlich, executive director of the
Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit that advocates for transparency
in government.
“Chairman Sessions’ decision to publish the Rules as searchable,
open XML data is a leap forward - not just for public transparency, but also
for the conduct of House business,” said Hudson Hollister, executive
director of the Data Coalition, which represents technology companies
supporting open data in government. “As Congressional information is
increasingly standardized in open formats, technology companies are building
new tools that make it easier to work on bills, amendments, and, today, the
Rules of the House.”
Chairman Sessions and staff worked with
House Parliamentarian Tom Wickham, Clerk of the House Karen Lehman Haas, House
Rules Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House Chairman Steve
Stivers (R-OH) and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) to implement
these important changes to the formatting of the House Rules and Manual. The
Committee plans to continue implementing XML formatting to documents posted on
its website throughout the year.
To access the House Rules and Manual for
the 114th Congress and supporting documents on GPO’s GitHub account,
click here.
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