Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) will introduce an amendment to create a publicly accessible online database containing all unclassified reports to Congress.  It will be offered during today’s vote-o-rama, where unlimited amendments to the budget resolution being debated in the Senate are permissible.

Coburn Amendment #442 is the Senate equivalent of the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, which was re-introduced in the House earlier this week by Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

This idea is not new. We’ve been talking about it since 2008 and have advocated for it through its subsequent introduction and consideration. It is widely-support by transparency organizations from across the political spectrum.  Senator Coburn has long understood its importance, acting as a cosponsor of the Senate version of the ACMRA introduced in the 112th Congress.

Providing online access to all Congressionally mandated reports would allow watchdogs, the public and even members of Congress to more easily understand and conduct oversight on the operations of the federal government.

We hope that the amendment is successful today and that Senator Coburn continues to work towards this important goal by introducing a Senate version of the ACMRA to the 113th Congress.