Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sen. DeMint Pushes For XML Format

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is circulating a draft letter that asks Senate Rules Chairman Charles Schumer and ranking member Bob Bennett to modernize the way the chamber provides information about roll call votes, thus increasing Senate transparency. For a number of years, the House has provided roll call votes to the public in a format that allows them to be easily read, processed, and shared but the Senate continues to make available its votes in what government watchdogs have complained is an antiquated fashion that prevents easy analysis and dissemination.

Utilizing an XML format would allow the public to use computers to search, sort, and visualize voting records in new ways, the letter states, noting that the costs associated with the transition would be negligible but the impact would be profound. "As Americans increasingly turn to Internet to stay informed, the Senate as a body has a duty to promote timely and accurate reporting of our actions through the most current and effective technologies," DeMint wrote. He noted that the Secretary of the Senate and Sergeant at Arms have already made high-tech strides with the development of the Senate Web site and the lobbying disclosure database but it's time to go a step further.

In the letter, DeMint states the policy was initially implemented because "senators want to provide their voting records to their constituents themselves." "The idea that the Senate would intentionally hamstring the distribution of roll call votes so Senators could put a better spin on them is concerning," he wrote. "The public is capable of interpreting our votes on its own." Across Capitol Hill, Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill., introduced a resolution last month directing the Clerk of the House to create an online record -- organized by member name -- of recorded votes taken in the House and to direct each member to link to the registry on their Web sites.