Bipartisan Data Transparency Bill Clears Key Senate Committee
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a key Senate committee cleared bipartisan, bicameral legislation to open up government data to improve services and support new discoveries in the private sector. It was originally introduced in the House by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06) and Blake Farenthold (R-TX-27). Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary (OPEN) Government Data Act requires that public data be accessible at Data.gov so individuals, organizations and other government offices can utilize it. The legislation was approved today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs on a voice vote.
“Today, we cleared another hurdle so data can be more open to the public and more efficiently used by government agencies,” said Kilmer. “Our bipartisan bill would make the government more responsive and helpful to everyday Americans by making open data standard practice. It saves taxpayer money and gives innovators new tools to help fuel breakthroughs. I’m proud to join my colleagues in working to empower positive change for our government, citizens, and businesses.”
“I’m very encouraged to see the Senate committee pass this bipartisan legislation, and I’m excited to see all the benefits open government data will have for Americans,” Congressman Farenthold said. “This is the taxpayer's data, they bought and paid for it and they should have easy access to it.”
The OPEN Government Data Act would require, by default, the data included at Data.gov to be machine-readable format to make it accessible to anyone and easily searchable. It also protects privacy and national security information when making federal government data available to the public while requiring federal agencies use it to improve decision making.
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