Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California) is chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As such, issues of openness and transparency are high on his agenda. One of his interests is making the markup of legislation (hearings were bills are debated, amended and approved before the full House or Senate votes) available for public comment.
Issa recently introduced a markup platform called MADISON (scroll down), and this week put it to the test. As part of the marathon, 2-day markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Issa set up Keep The Web Open. Visiting that site you can review the SOPA bill, as well as an alternative Issa prefers, called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN). If you set up an account, you can submit edits and comments on either bill.
(A note of warning. The SOPA markup went for 12 hours today – December 15 – and will continue on the 16th. Visiting Keep The Web Open during business hours on the 16th will open video of the hearing.)
