Since determining the online transparency of the committees in the House I figured it would be worthwhile to compile a similar list for the Senate. The Senate committees turned out to be very similar to their counterparts on the House side. Around one-third of the Senate committees provided no access to printed transcripts or audio/video for each committee meeting and only one committee was fully transparent in its access to committee meetings.

Senate Rules (XXVI) require that committee meetings be open to the public and that committees should keep a verbatim account of these meetings:

(b) Each meeting of a committee, or any subcommittee thereof, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public …

5. (e) Each committee shall prepare and keep a complete transcript or electronic recording adequate to fully record the proceeding of each meeting or conference whether or not such meeting or any part thereof is closed under this paragraph, unless a majority of its members vote to forgo such a record.

In following with these Rules one would hope to find some kind of account, electronic recording or printed transcript, of each committee proceeding on the Internet. As I showed for the House this isn’t the case. The following is a list of Senate committees and their respective transparency in regards to committee meeting proceedings for the 109^th Congress.

Note: According to the General Printing Office (GPO) it takes 30-90 days to create a printed transcript of a committee meeting. The numbers for each committee include both full and subcommittee meetings.

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee: The Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee put 79% of its committee meetings online. For 2005 the Committee provides audio links for 18 out of 26 meetings and video links for five out of 26 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides an audio link for 19 out of 27 meetings.

Appropriations Committee: Just like in the House the Senate Appropriations Committee does not provide any kind of transcription or electronic recording of its meetings. Earmarks enter here.

Armed Services Committee: The Senate Armed Services Committee also does not provide any record of its proceedings.

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee: The Banking, House, and Urban Affairs Committee provides a transcript or electronic recording for 67.5% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for 37 out of 53 meetings, a printed transcript for 18 out of 53 meetings, and an audio link for 1 out of 53 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 33 out of 55 meetings and a printed transcript for 2 out of 55 meetings.

Budget Committee: The Senate Budget Committee is the only fully transparent committee. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for all 13 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for all 12 meetings.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee: The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is in the top tier of transparent committees providing a printed transcript or electronic recording for 85% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for 55 out of 80 meetings and an audio link for 10 out of 80 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 78 out of 88 meetings.

Energy and Natural Resources Committee: The Energy and Natural Resources Committee provides a video link for 71% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provided a video link for 52 out of 79 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 52 out of 68 meetings. The Committee website also provides a link to the General Printing Office’s list of Committee meetings.

Environment and Public Works Committee: The Environment and Public Works Committee provides an audio or video link for 78% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for 34 out of 44 meetings and an audio link for 3 out of 44 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 24 out of 37 meetings and an audio link for 2 out of 37 meetings.

Finance Committee: The Finance Committee provides a printed transcript or electronic recording for 79% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a printed transcript for 30 out of 44 meetings and a video link for 20 out of 44 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 40 out of 48 meetings and a printed transcript for 3 out of 48 meetings.

Foreign Relations Committee: The Foreign Relations Committee doesn’t provide any transcript or recording of its meetings.

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee: The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee provides a printed transcript or electronic recording for 69% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a printed transcript for 34 out of 45 meetings and a video link for 6 out of 45 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a printed transcript for 15 out of 34 meetings, a video link for 8 out of 34 meetings, and an audio link for 2 out of 34 meetings.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee provides an electronic recording for 58% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for 44 out of 85 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 60 out of 97 meetings and an audio link for 2 out of 97 meetings. There are also a number of broken links on this website.

Judiciary Committee: The Judiciary Committee contains no links to printed transcripts or electronic recordings for each individual meeting. The Committee does however contain one single link to the General Printing Office and its list of Committee transcripts.

Rules and Administration Committee: The Rules and Administration Committee does not provide any transcripts or recording of its meetings nor does it seem that it even lists all of the Committee’s meetings.

Select Committee on Intelligence: Almost all of the meetings held by the Select Committee on Intelligence are not open to the public. Those that are open do not provide any transcript or recording.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee: The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee provides accounts of 77% of its meetings. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link to 4 out of 5 of its meetings and a printed transcript for 1 out of its 5 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video link for 6 out of 8 meetings.

Veterans Affairs Committee: The Veterans Affairs Committee provides electronic recordings of its meetings 77% of the time. For 2005 the Committee provides a video link for 20 out of 28 meetings. For 2006 the Committee provides a video links for 20 out of 24 meetings. The Committee also provides one link to the General Printing Offices list of printed transcript for Committee meetings. The most recent meeting on this list a February 2, 2006 Committee meeting.

The total percentage for meetings to include a printed transcript or an electronic recording in Senate Committees is identical to the total percentage in the House: 49%.