text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Congressional Openness Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
  
      (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
              (1) it is often burdensome, difficult, and time-consuming 
          for citizens to obtain timely access to public records of the 
          United States Congress;
              (2) congressional documents that are placed in the 
          Congressional Record are made available to the public 
          electronically by the Superintendent of Documents under the 
          direction of the Public Printer;
              (3) other congressional documents are also made available 
          electronically on websites maintained by Members of Congress 
          and committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives;
              (4) a wide range of public records of the Congress remain 
          inaccessible to the public;
              (5) the public should have easy and timely access, 
          including electronic access, to public records of the Congress;
              (6) the Congress should use new technologies to enhance 
          public access to public records of the Congress; and
              (7) an informed electorate is the most precious asset of 
          any democracy.
      (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are--
              (1) to foster democracy by ensuring public access to public 
          records of the Congress;
              (2) to improve public access to public records of the 
          Congress; and
              (3) to enhance the electronic public access, including 
          access via the Internet, to public records of the Congress.
  
  SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN CRS INFORMATION.
  
      (a) Availability of Information.--
              (1) In general.--The Director of the Congressional Research 
          Service shall make available through a centralized electronic 
          database, for purposes of access and retrieval by the public 
          under section 5 of this Act, all information described in 
          paragraph (2) that is available through the Congressional 
          Research Service website.
              (2) Information to be made available.--The information to 
          be made available under paragraph (1) is:
                      (A) Congressional Research Service Issue Briefs.
                      (B) Congressional Research Service Reports that are 
                  available to Members of Congress through the 
                  Congressional Research Service website.
                      (C) Congressional Research Service Authorization of 
                  Appropriations Products and Appropriations Products.
      (b) Limitations.--
              (1) Confidential information.--Subsection (a) does 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 documents that are the product of an 
                  individual, office, or Committee research request 
                  (other than a document described in section 3(a)(2)).
              (2) Redaction and revision.--In carrying out this section, 
          the Director of the Congressional Research Service may--
                      (A) remove from the information required to be made 
                  available under subsection (a) the name and phone 
                  number of, and any other information regarding, an 
                  employee of the Congressional Research Service;
                      (B) remove from the information required to be made 
                  available under subsection (a) any material for which 
                  the Director determines that making it available under 
                  subsection (a) may infringe the copyright of a work 
                  protected under title 17, United States Code; and
                      (C) make any changes in the information required to 
                  be made available under subsection (a) that the 
                  Director determines necessary to ensure that the 
                  information is accurate and current.
      (c) Time.--The Director of the Congressional Research Service shall 
  make available all information required under this section no earlier 
  than 30 days and no later than 40 days after the date on which the 
  information is first made available to Members of Congress through the 
  Congressional Research Service web site.
      (d) Manner.--The Director of the Congressional Research Service 
  shall make information required to be made available under this section 
  in a manner that--
              (1) is practical and reasonable; and
              (2) does not permit the submission of comments from the 
          public.
  
  SEC. 4. PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE CONGRESS.
  
      (a) Senate.--The Secretary of the Senate, through the Office of 
  Public Records and in accordance with such standards as the Secretary 
  may prescribe, shall make available on the Internet for purposes of 
  access and retrieval by the public:
              (1) Lobbyist disclosure reports.--Lobbyist disclosure 
          reports required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 
          U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) within 90 days (Saturdays, Sundays, and 
          holidays excepted) after they are received.
              (2) Gift rule disclosure reports.--Senate gift rule 
          disclosure reports required under paragraph 2 and paragraph 
          4(b) of rule XXXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate within 5 
          days (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excepted) after they are 
          received.
      (b) Directory.--The Superintendent of Documents, under the 
  direction of the Public Printer in the Government Printing Office, 
  shall include information about the documents made available on the 
  Internet under this section in the electronic directory of Federal 
  electronic information required by section 4101(a)(1) of title 44, 
  United States Code.
  
  SEC. 5. METHOD OF ACCESS.
  
      (a) In General.--The information required to be made available to 
  the public on the Internet under this Act shall be made available as 
  follows:
              (1) CRS information.--Public access to information made 
          available under section 3 shall be provided through the 
          websites maintained by members and committees of the Senate. 
          The Director of the Congressional Research Service shall work 
          with the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate to carry out this 
          paragraph.
              (2) Public records.--Public access to information made 
          available under section 4 by the Secretary of the Senate's 
          Office of Public Records shall be provided through the United 
          States Senate website.
      (b) Editorial Responsibility for CRS Reports Online.--The Director 
  of the Congressional Research Service is responsible for maintaining 
  and updating the information made available on the Internet under 
  section 3, and shall have sole discretion to edit that information 
  under this Act.
      (c) Further Approval Not Required.--Notwithstanding any other 
  provision of law to the contrary, the Director of the Congressional 
  Research Service shall make the information required to be made 
  available under section 3 of this Act without the prior approval of the 
  Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the Committee on House 
  Oversight of the House of Representatives, or the Joint Committee on 
  Printing.
  
  SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE MATERIALS.
  
      It is the sense of the Senate that each standing and special 
  committee of the Senate and each Joint Committee of the Congress, in 
  accordance with such rules as the committee may adopt, should provide 
  access via the Internet to publicly-available committee information, 
  documents, and proceedings, including bills, reports, and transcripts 
  of committee meetings that are open to the public.
target: Congressional Openness Act - Requires the Director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to make accessible to the public via a centralized electronic database all information available through the CRS web site that is not confidential nor the product of an individual, office, or committee research request, including all CRS issue briefs, reports, and authorization or appropriations products. 
  Requires the information to be made accessible between 30 and 40 days after it is first available to Members of Congress through the CRS web site. 
  Directs the Secretary of the Senate, through the Office of Public Records, to make the following information available on the Internet for purposes of access and retrieval by the public: (1) lobbyist disclosure reports, within 90 days (Saturdays, Sundays, holidays excepted) after they are received; and (2) gift rule disclosure reports, within five days (Saturdays, Sundays, holidays excepted) after they are received. 
  Requires the Superintendent of Documents, under the direction of the Public Printer in the Government Printing Office, to include information about such available documents in the electronic directory of Federal electronic information. 
  Requires public access to: (1) the CRS information through the websites maintained by members and committees of the Senate; and (2) the lobbyist and gift rule disclosure reports through the U.S. Senate website. 
  Makes the CRS Director responsible for maintaining, updating, and editing the information made available on the Internet under this Act. 
  Allows the Director to make such information available without the prior approval of specified congressional committees. 
  Expresses the sense of the Senate that each standing and special committee of the Senate and each Joint Committee of the Congress should provide access via the Internet to publicly available committee information, documents, and proceedings, including bills, reports, and transcripts of committee meetings that are open to the public.
feat_title: Congressional Openness Act