CORRECTION! the US house and senate do have research or briefs published, they can be found on: CRS Reports (congress.gov) so the following is work done due to poorly trained staffers... to be fair it was just a bit of pondering, that came from a thought related to the lack of information that candidates provide on their campaign path.. do a quick cache search of your least favorite candidates and see how much actual research they provide, 90% or more of the several hundred I have viewed (compiling the list and pictures is low on the list of things to do) have any data or writings on why the ideas and goals they want you to support are the best thing for our community, there is no plan or proof of concept to show that a path is even attainable.. but anyway here is the article anyway.. may just need to be rewritten as a requirement of office candidates?
It started with a request
The following is a request of the Loc.Gov ask a librarian service, The reason is.. reason. When our elected legislators in US and State government propose legislation and make decisions, How much info do you get, before they make the decision? Do you feel they have informed you properly? Do they get good info? Is it issue encompassing detailed, unbiased info that includes documentation of the reactions that will take place, such as fixed roads may lead to speeding, subsidizing certain industry may result in similar issues that can be corrected or planned for. You would think they are making rational, well formed decisions (legislation) to fix the problem.. (But most have little more than a paragraph written about the issues they say they want to fix and then they say and do some of the most insane things.. Making derogatory remarks, threats and insults against opponents, party members and opposing ideas that only distract from the issues and the goal of being in office.. Which is to find a solution until you run out of ideas and get out!
So I asked if Library of congress could direct me to the research..(which I dont believe is made public, either by media or the government) Because I don't believe enough is done to show the people their legislators have done thorough reviews of the issues and clearly stated enough reason for the public to determine if the elected (body) is doing a good job. A replaceable example is: Candidate or Elected person says: "I am going to work to restrict 'that liberty' and 'comfort' and 'raise taxes in this way'... Because our country (state) is in debt or crisis"... This is the sum of the information that is usually presented by the candidates, their websites and their parties.. What they don't show is detailed reasons why, they might offer a bullet point that bubbles, but rarely is any issue of community as simple as a bullet point and it doesn't explain how it will impact other portions of the issues or our lives.
When it comes to (Tv) news coverage and the debates (and topics) shown by them, the issues aren't reviewed.. nobody is showing statistics or research when they are up on stage (or on camera) , they don't do much at all.. Unless you count their less than explanatory opinions and angry rants, some of which are as bias as a water fountain signs..
So below is the question I asked of the Loc.Gov , the reply (will be posted) and below that, is what I believe would be a great tool for the busy public of our country.. something I would like to offer on this site and if it works (common sense prevails), propose as a requirement of US legislators when they propose legislation.. An Amendment to the constitution. The addition of "short brief explanations" or the "reasons" for proposed legislation and the accompanying research... a bit of a "minimum" that legislators (civil servants) will be required to provide to the public during the legislative process.
To the LOC.GOV Librarian general question:
If this is a specialist question, please forward it to the proper party for reply.. I am looking for materials and documents of a specific focus.. I want the data used and the printed explanations given when a member of the legislative body creates a bill text.. I am aware of where the bill text and vote recordings are (at congress.gov).. But the info I specifically need is that data and materials used to make the initial decision to draft legislation, "their reason for creating the law".. Such as the drafting member was told several people complained, staffer research verified and found an amount of $10,000,000.00 would ensure that the roads would be repaired.. The number was obtained from the public records, (here is the data) stating the number of fixes needed and an estimated cost based on xyz.... etc..
Thank you for your assistance and if the materials and info requested are recorded and made available, I would like to know where I can get those materials for H.R.7691 which Latest Action: 05/21/2022 Became Public Law No: 117-128. ... Specifically, I want to know how the figures for spending were determined.. Such as estimates based on research and I want to view the research. I also want to know if the research was submitted with the bill text..
Last and leastly, I would like to review the debate which happened on "05/10/2022-8:36pm House DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 7691." congress.gov has a record of the debate, but the debate is not available there, where can I find it.
Again thanks
--------This is the end of the request, the reply will be listed below---------
Check the bottom of the page for the reply.. SPOILER ALERT.. they dont have the inf
This is what I would like to see required of our legislators
Twenty- Eight Amendment:
" All US legislative members and the President shall include with all proposed legislation, A text explaining the reasons, research, evidence and conclusions that resulted in the creation of legislation they propose to congress." It shall be detailed enough to show that proposed legislation will solve the issue it is written for and when applicable, include an acknowledgment to the persons who bring forward issues". It shall not apply to "non public" "confidential" or "top secret" info or operations. It shall be available for the public to review at the same time as the bill text."
I say the last part because we should know who is influencing legislation in our nation.. grandpa down the street with his military buddys, grandma and her cooking group, some lobbyist organization.. or a business with unknown ties.....
Simply said and considered, now for the hard part, An example of how the "text" should form.. The complaint: citizens ( Nicky ) have complained that not offering criminal laws in translations of languages other than English limits the justice available to both those who can and cant read English and asked research be done. The research
(which should look like a business proposal, which I will post later), <which is not yet done, due to several reason$ time>,
(should) shows, that not only does lack of translations result in the deprivation of justice, it also violates simple ideals of human rights that are encouraged in the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution and simple concepts of human rights ( click this link for an explanation of Natural law) .. The conclusion, Because a person not aware of the laws that govern the land is less likely to respect them, the people or the land, and because an American (human being) (should be) is entitled to a more inclusive level of access to the laws that govern over them, translations should be made to ensure that a more just measure of due process is provided when possible.
I feel the same should be required of state legislators..
So now for the easy part. If you agree this should be reviewed, proposed and debated. Share this article, share another article on this site, offer a suggestion, idea or issue to write about..
Nicky
The reply... its a long one...
Dear Nicholas Woodall,
Thank you for using the Library of Congress Ask a Librarian service to submit your question about finding legislative materials and research data created during the legislative process; your question is assigned to a legal reference librarian in the Law Library. Please be advised that legal reference librarians are unable to provide advice on specific legal issues and problems, or to conduct legal research for correspondents. We can provide assistance by directing you to resources that may help you find the answer to your question.
Regarding your first inquiry, related to "data and materials used to make the initial decision to draft legislation," that information is generally limited to typical legislative history materials. These documents include the bill text/amendments, hearings transcripts, reports from committees, floor debates, and voting records. You can learn more about researching these materials on the Law Library's research guide on this topic. In terms of recording data from lobbyists, constituents, and other interested parties, these records are likely kept at congressional staff offices, which become part of a member's personal papers. You can read more about this subject through the Office of the House Historian. Additionally, even if these sorts of records were kept as official records of Congress, they would be housed at the National Archives, which has a 20-to-30-year embargo preventing members of the public from reviewing these items; a longer embargo is in place for items of national security.
Turning to your question about H.R. 7691, you may find some relevant data that has been compiled by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. Here is a report that the CBO drafted regarding H.R. 7691. For the debate on this bill, we recommend consulting the Congressional Record, which is linked through Congress.gov. To navigate to specific dates of the Congressional Record, go to its landing page on the site.
We hope you find this information helpful and wish you the best in your research.
********************************* Public Services Division Law Library of Congress Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/law