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Internet Info 1994 March
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Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso
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n-1-3-020.65a
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N-1-3-Love, "GPO Gateway/WINDO Legislation to provide
one-stop-shopping online access to federal databases", by James Love*,
<love@essential.org>
Congress is considering two bills that would vastly expand public
access to federal government databases. Senator Gore's S. 2813, the
GPO Gateway to Government, and Representative Rose's HR 2772, the GPO
Wide Information Network for Data Online (WINDO), would both provide
one-stop-shopping online access to hundreds of federal databases.
The two bills are nearly identical. The service would be available
free through 1,400 federal depository libraries, and would also be
available for subscriptions in homes and offices. Subscriptions would
be priced at the government's incremental costs of providing access to
the public. Both bills would require GPO to provide access through
the Internet.
Databases
The databases and documents offered through the GATEWAY/WINDO would
initially consist of the Federal Register, the Congressional Record,
and other core databases, which will be determined after a period of
planning and public comment. Examples of the types of databases that
could be available through the Gateway/WINDO include:
Federal Register White House press releases
Congressional Record CENDATA (Bureau of Census
FDA Bulletin Board online)
National Trade Data Bank DOE Energy
MEDLINE AGRICOLA
Department of State Dispatch FEC Campaign Contributions
Department of Justice JURIS NTIS Research Abstracts
SEC EDGAR system House and Senate LEGIS
Library of Congress SCORPIO
Choices of databases would be based on a combination of technical
feasibility, costs, and user interest. The GPO would start with the
least costly and the technologically simplest services, making
incremental expansions as the program matures. The long-term goal is
to provide online access to as many federal databases as possible,
limited only by technological and costs constraints.
Status of Legislation
The Senate bill is referred to the Senate Rules Committee, which is
chaired by Senator Ford (a co-sponsor of the bill), and the House bill
is in the House Administration Committee, which is chaired by Rep.
Rose (the prime sponsor of the house bill). A joint Senate/House
hearing on the bills was held on July 23, 1992. Senator Ford has
indicated that we may schedule a mark up on the Senate bill in early
September. In order to pass this year it is essential that Congress
act as soon as possible.
What You Can Do
The most important thing you can do is to write your Senators and
members of the House of Representatives to express your support for
the bills. The address for all members of Congress are as follows:
Senator John Doe Representative Jane Doe
U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
voice: 202/224-3121 voice: 202/225-3121
Specifically ask that they become co-sponsors of the legislation.
For more information, contact the American Library Association at
202/547-4440, or the Taxpayer Assets Project at 202/387-8030. For
email copies of the legislation or a fact sheet send a note to
love@essential.org
*Director, Taxpayer Assets Project