Quigley, Cummings Introduce Bill to Make All Congressional Reports Public

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Elijah Cummings (MD-7) introduced a bill to make all reports written for Congress by federal agencies available to the public. The Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act--also co-sponsored by Reps. William Lacy Clay (MO-1), Stephen Lynch (MA-9), Edolphus Towns (NY-10), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC), and Jim Cooper (TN-5)--creates a single website where the public can easily search, sort and download all congressional reports from agencies ranging from the Food and Drug Administration to the Department of Justice.

"Each year federal agencies submit thousands of reports containing vital information to Congress, but many simply sit collecting dust in the Committees to which they are delivered," said Quigley. "This bill ensures government's business is done transparently and is accountable to the people it serves."

"One of our most important jobs as a Congress is to ensure that every American knows what is happening in Washington, DC; that every American has the ability to read the same information about their nation that we do; and that every American knows that we are making efforts towards transparency that can help encourage trust in our government," said Cummings. "I am very proud to help make that happen by joining Rep. Quigley in introducing legislation that will help our government provide this crucial service to every American."

Congressionally mandated reports contain a wealth of information that enable the public to better understand how well federal agencies are (or are not) fulfilling their respective missions, from ensuring the safety of our drugs and food supply, to protecting the environment, and monitoring the soundness of our financial institutions.

The Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act calls for any report required by statute to be issued to Congress and releasable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to be posted on a website managed by the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The reports would be available no later than 30 days after their transmission to Congress.

Congressman Quigley has been committed to good government reform in his two terms in Congress. He founded the bipartisan Transparency Caucus, and introduced a bill to provide every taxpayer with a receipt detailing how their tax dollars are spent. He recently released Reinventing Government: The Federal Budget Parts I and II to establish transparency in the budget process and offered 60 recommendations to save $2 trillion over the next 10 years.

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