400 lines
22 KiB
Markdown
400 lines
22 KiB
Markdown
U.S. Government Publishing Office Federal Digital System (FDsys) User Guide Document
|
||
================================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
## Bill Summaries XML Bulk Data
|
||
|
||
Prepared by: Programs, Strategy, and Technology
|
||
|
||
U.S. Government Publishing Office
|
||
|
||
January 2015
|
||
|
||
|
||
## Revision
|
||
|
||
- 1.0 January 2014 Version 1.0
|
||
House Bill Summaries
|
||
- 2.0 January 2015 Version 2.0
|
||
House and Senate Bill Summaries
|
||
|
||
|
||
## 1. Introduction
|
||
|
||
At the direction of the Appropriations Committee within the United States House of
|
||
Representatives, in support of the Legislative Branch Bulk Data Task Force, the Government
|
||
Publishing Office (GPO), the Library of Congress (LOC), the Clerk of the House, and the Secretary
|
||
of the Senate are making Bill Summaries in XML format available through the GPO’s Federal
|
||
Digital System (FDsys) Bulk Data repository starting with the 113th Congress. The FDsys Bulk
|
||
Data repository for Bill Summaries is available at
|
||
<http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/bulkdata/BILLSUM>.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 1.1 Types of Bill Summaries
|
||
|
||
Bill summaries are summaries of bills or resolutions, as well as other document types associated
|
||
with the legislative history of a measure such as amendments, committee reports, conference
|
||
reports, or public laws (enacted bills or joint resolutions). A bill summary describes the most
|
||
significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on
|
||
current law and Federal programs. Bill summaries are written as a result of a Congressional action
|
||
and may not always map to a printed bill version. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional
|
||
Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166
|
||
(d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a
|
||
public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives.”
|
||
|
||
|
||
#### Bills
|
||
|
||
- House Bill (HR)
|
||
- Senate Bill (S)
|
||
|
||
A bill is a legislative proposal before Congress. Bills from each house are assigned a number in
|
||
the order in which they are introduced, starting at the beginning of each Congress (first and
|
||
second sessions). Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of
|
||
citizens, while private bills pertain to individual matters that affect individuals and organizations,
|
||
such as claims against the Government.
|
||
|
||
|
||
#### Joint Resolutions
|
||
|
||
- House Joint Resolution (HJRES)
|
||
- Senate Joint Resolution (SJRES)
|
||
|
||
A joint resolution is a legislative proposal that requires the approval of both houses and the
|
||
signature of the President, just as a bill does. Resolutions from each house are assigned a number
|
||
in the order in which they are introduced, starting at the beginning of each Congress (first and
|
||
second sessions). There is no real difference between a bill and a joint resolution. Joint
|
||
resolutions generally are used for limited matters, such as a single appropriation for a specific
|
||
purpose. They are also used to propose amendments to the Constitution.
|
||
1A joint resolution has the force of law, if approved. Joint resolutions become a part of the
|
||
Constitution when three-quarters of the states have ratified them; they do not require the
|
||
President's signature.
|
||
|
||
|
||
#### Concurrent Resolutions
|
||
|
||
- House Concurrent Resolution (HCONRES)
|
||
- Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCONRES)
|
||
|
||
A concurrent resolution is a legislative proposal that requires the approval of both houses but
|
||
does not require the signature of the President and does not have the force of law. Concurrent
|
||
resolutions generally are used to make or amend rules that apply to both houses. They are also
|
||
used to express the sentiments of both of the houses. For example, a concurrent resolution is used
|
||
to set the time of Congress' adjournment. It may also be used by Congress to convey
|
||
congratulations to another country on the anniversary of its independence.
|
||
|
||
|
||
#### Simple Resolutions
|
||
|
||
- House Simple Resolution (HRES)
|
||
- Senate Simple Resolution (SRES)
|
||
|
||
A simple resolution is a legislative proposal that addresses matters entirely within the prerogative
|
||
of one house or the other. It requires neither the approval of the other house nor the signature of
|
||
the President, and it does not have the force of law. Most simple resolutions concern the rules of
|
||
one house. They are also used to express the sentiments of a single house. For example, a simple
|
||
resolution may offer condolences to the family of a deceased member of Congress, or it may
|
||
express the sense of the Senate or House on foreign policy or other executive business.
|
||
|
||
Additional information about bill types can be found at
|
||
<http://www.gpo.gov/help/index.html#about_congressional_bills.htm>.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 1.2 Scope of Bulk Data
|
||
|
||
The Bill Summaries bulk data collection on FDsys includes XML bills summaries from the 113 th
|
||
Congress forward.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 1.3 Bulk Data Downloads
|
||
|
||
The Bulk Data repository is organized by Congress and bill type. A ZIP file is available for each
|
||
bill type and contains Bill Summaries XML files for that bill type within a specific Congress.
|
||
Each Bill Summaries XML file contains summaries of legislation under consideration for a
|
||
specific measure.
|
||
|
||
|
||
## 2. XML Descriptions
|
||
|
||
The following conventions are used in this document:
|
||
|
||
- XML element names are denoted with angled brackets and in courier. For example,
|
||
`<title>` is an XML element.
|
||
- XML attribute names are denoted with a “@” prefix and in courier. For example, @href
|
||
is an XML attribute.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 2.1 Elements
|
||
|
||
- `<BillSummaries>`
|
||
|
||
Root element.
|
||
|
||
- `<item>`
|
||
|
||
Parent container for a single legislative measure.
|
||
- `<title>`
|
||
|
||
The latest title for the measure. It may be the official title or the short
|
||
title. It is contained within `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
- `<summary>`
|
||
|
||
Parent container for a single summary. It may appear one or more times in
|
||
the file. It is contained within `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
- `<action-date>`
|
||
|
||
The date on which a particular action occurred. The format is YYYY‐MM‐DD. It
|
||
is contained within `<summary>`.
|
||
|
||
- `<action-desc>`
|
||
|
||
The description of the action that took place to prompt the bill summary to
|
||
be written. It is contained within `<summary>`. This value is added by CRS.
|
||
|
||
See Section 3 of this document for a list of possible values.
|
||
|
||
- `<summary-text>`
|
||
|
||
This is the text of the summary written by the Congressional Research Service
|
||
of the Library of Congress. It is contained within `<summary>`. Values are
|
||
enclosed in a CDATA tag and contain HTML elements.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 2.2 Attributes
|
||
|
||
- `@congress`
|
||
|
||
The number of the Congress. This is an attribute of `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
- `@measure-type`
|
||
|
||
The type of measure. This is an attribute of `<item>`. The measure type
|
||
abbreviations that can be found in bill summaries are hr, hjres, hconres,
|
||
hres, s, sconres, sres, and sjres.
|
||
|
||
See Section 1.1 of this document for a description of each measure type.
|
||
|
||
- `@measure-number`
|
||
|
||
The number associated with the measure. This is commonly referred to as the
|
||
bill number. This is an attribute of `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
- `@measure-id`
|
||
|
||
An ID assigned to the measure. This is an attribute of `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
Convention: “id” + Congress number + measure type abbreviation + measure
|
||
number
|
||
|
||
Example: id113hr910
|
||
|
||
The measure type abbreviations that can be found in bill summaries are
|
||
hr, hjres, hconres, hres, s, sconres, sres, and sjres.
|
||
|
||
See Section 1.1 of this document for a description of each measure type.
|
||
|
||
- `@originChamber`
|
||
|
||
The chamber in which the measure originated. This is an attribute of
|
||
`<item>`. Value will be HOUSE or SENATE.
|
||
|
||
- `@orig-publish-date`
|
||
|
||
The first date in which the bill summary file was published. The format is
|
||
YYYY‐MM‐DD. This is an attribute of `<item>`.
|
||
|
||
- `@update-date`
|
||
|
||
The date in which the material in the container element was last updated. The
|
||
format is YYYY‐MM‐DD. This is an attribute of `<item>` and `<summary>`.
|
||
|
||
- `@summary-id`
|
||
|
||
An ID assigned to the individual summary. This is an attribute of `<summary>`.
|
||
|
||
Convention: “id” + Congress number + measure type abbreviation + measure
|
||
cumber + the letter “v” for version + LOC action code for summaries
|
||
|
||
Example: id113hr910v28
|
||
|
||
The measure type abbreviations that can be found in bill summaries are hr,
|
||
hjres, hconres, hres, s, sconres, sres, and sjres.
|
||
|
||
See Section 3 of this document for a list of LOC action codes for summaries.
|
||
|
||
- `@currentChamber`
|
||
|
||
The chamber in which the action described in the `<action-desc>` element
|
||
occurred. This is an attribute of `<summary>`. Value will be HOUSE, SENATE,
|
||
or BOTH.
|
||
|
||
|
||
### 2.3. Sample Bill Summaries XML File
|
||
|
||
```
|
||
<BillSummaries>
|
||
<item congress="113" measure-type="hr" measure-number="910" measure-
|
||
id="id113hr910" originChamber="HOUSE" orig-publish-date="2013-02-28"
|
||
update-date="2013-09-03">
|
||
<title>Sikes Act Reauthorization Act of 2013</title>
|
||
<summary summary-id="id113hr910v28" currentChamber="HOUSE" update-
|
||
date="2013-09-03">
|
||
<action-date>2013-06-24</action-date>
|
||
<action-desc>Reported to House without amendment, Part I</action-desc>
|
||
<summary-text><![CDATA[ <p><b>Sikes Act Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Reauthorizes title I
|
||
of the Sikes Act (conservation programs on military installations) for FY2015-
|
||
FY2019.</b></p>]]></summary-text>
|
||
</summary>
|
||
<summary summary-id="id113hr910v00" currentChamber="HOUSE" update-
|
||
date="2013-02-28">
|
||
<action-date>2013-02-28</action-date>
|
||
<action-desc>Introduced in House</action-desc>
|
||
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced.
|
||
The summary of that version is repeated here.)</b></p> <p>Sikes Act Reauthorization Act of 2013 -
|
||
Reauthorizes title I of the Sikes Act (conservation programs on military installations) for FY2015-
|
||
FY2019.</p>]]></summary-text>
|
||
</summary>
|
||
</item>
|
||
<dublinCore xmlns:dc=”http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/”>
|
||
<dc:format>text/xml</dc:format>
|
||
<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
|
||
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to
|
||
copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
|
||
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
|
||
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes
|
||
the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may
|
||
have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research
|
||
Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the
|
||
duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature
|
||
introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that
|
||
accompanies this file.</dc:description>
|
||
</dublinCore>
|
||
</BillSummaries>
|
||
```
|
||
|
||
|
||
## 3. Mapping of LOC Action Codes, Action Description Text, and Version Codes
|
||
|
||
LOC Action Code for Summaries| Chamber | Text in the `<action‐desc>` Element | LOC Version Code
|
||
-----------------------------|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------
|
||
00 | HOUSE | Introduced in House | IH
|
||
00 | SENATE | Introduced in Senate | IS
|
||
01 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended | RS
|
||
02 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 1st committee reporting | RS
|
||
03 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 2nd committee reporting | RS
|
||
04 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 3rd committee reporting | RS
|
||
05 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 4th committee reporting | RS
|
||
06 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 5th committee reporting | RS
|
||
07 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 6th committee reporting | RS
|
||
08 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 7th committee reporting | RS
|
||
09 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 8th committee reporting | RS
|
||
10 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 9th committee reporting | RS
|
||
11 | SENATE | Reported to Senate amended, 10th committee reporting | RS
|
||
12 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment, 1st committee reporting | RS
|
||
13 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment, 2nd committee reporting | RS
|
||
14 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment, 3rd committee reporting | RS
|
||
15 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment, 4th committee reporting | RS
|
||
16 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment, 5th committee reporting | RS
|
||
17 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended | RH
|
||
18 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part I | RH
|
||
19 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part II | RH
|
||
20 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part III | RH
|
||
21 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part IV | RH
|
||
22 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part V | RH
|
||
23 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part VI | RH
|
||
24 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part VII | RH
|
||
25 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part VIII | RH
|
||
26 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part IX | RH
|
||
27 | HOUSE | Reported to House amended, Part X | RH
|
||
28 | HOUSE | Reported to House without amendment, Part I | RH
|
||
29 | HOUSE | Reported to House without amendment, Part II | RH
|
||
30 | HOUSE | Reported to House without amendment, Part III | RH
|
||
31 | HOUSE | Reported to House without amendment, Part IV | RH
|
||
32 | HOUSE | Reported to House without amendment, Part V | RH
|
||
33 | HOUSE | Laid on table in House | LTH
|
||
34 | SENATE | Indefinitely postponed in Senate | IPS
|
||
35 | SENATE | Passed Senate amended | ES
|
||
36 | HOUSE | Passed House amended | EH
|
||
37 | SENATE | Failed of passage in Senate | FPS
|
||
38 | HOUSE | Failed of passage in House | FPH
|
||
39 | HOUSE | Senate agreed to House amendment with amendment | ATS
|
||
40 | SENATE | House agreed to Senate amendment with amendment | ATH
|
||
41 | HOUSE | Senate disagreed to House amendment with amendment | NAT
|
||
42 | SENATE | House disagreed to Senate amendment with amendment | NAT
|
||
43 | HOUSE | Senate disagreed to House amendment | NAT
|
||
44 | SENATE | House disagreed to Senate amendment | NAT
|
||
45 | SENATE | Senate receded and concurred with amendment | AES
|
||
46 | HOUSE | House receded and concurred with amendment | EAH
|
||
47 | SENATE | Conference report filed in Senate | CONF-S
|
||
48 | HOUSE | Conference report filed in House | CONF-H
|
||
49 | BOTH | Public Law | LAW
|
||
50 | BOTH | Private Law | LAW
|
||
51 | BOTH | Line item veto by President | LINEITEMVETO
|
||
52 | SENATE | Passed Senate amended, 2nd occurrence | ES
|
||
53 | SENATE | Passed Senate amended, 3rd occurrence | ES
|
||
54 | HOUSE | Passed House amended, 2nd occurrence | EH
|
||
55 | HOUSE | Passed House amended, 3rd occurrence | EH
|
||
56 | SENATE | Senate vitiated passage of bill after amendment | PAV
|
||
57 | HOUSE | House vitiated passage of bill after amendment | PAV
|
||
58 | SENATE | Motion to recommit bill as amended in Senate | MOTION_R-S
|
||
59 | HOUSE | Motion to recommit bill as amended in House | MOTION_R-H
|
||
60 | SENATE | Senate agreed to House amendment with amendment, 2nd occurrence | ATS
|
||
61 | SENATE | Senate agreed to House amendment with amendment, 3rd occurrence | ATS
|
||
62 | HOUSE | House agreed to Senate amendment with amendment, 2nd occurrence | ATH
|
||
63 | HOUSE | House agreed to Senate amendment with amendment, 3rd occurrence | ATH
|
||
64 | SENATE | Senate receded and concurred with amendment, 2nd occurrence | AES
|
||
65 | SENATE | Senate receded and concurred with amendment, 3rd occurrence | AES
|
||
66 | HOUSE | House receded and concurred with amendment, 2nd occurrence | EAH
|
||
67 | HOUSE | House receded and concurred with amendment, 3rd occurrence | EAH
|
||
70 | HOUSE | Hearing scheduled in House | HRG-SCD-H
|
||
71 | SENATE | Hearing scheduled in Senate | HRG-SCD-S
|
||
72 | HOUSE | Hearing held in House | HRG-H
|
||
73 | SENATE | Hearing held in Senate | HRG-S
|
||
74 | HOUSE | Markup in House | MKUP-H
|
||
75 | SENATE | Markup in Senate | MKUP-S
|
||
76 | HOUSE | Rule reported to House | RULE-H
|
||
77 | HOUSE | Discharged from House committee | CDH
|
||
78 | SENATE | Discharged from Senate committee | CDS
|
||
79 | HOUSE | Reported to House, without amendment | RH
|
||
80 | SENATE | Reported to Senate without amendment | RS
|
||
81 | HOUSE | Passed House, without amendment | EH
|
||
82 | SENATE | Passed Senate, without amendment | ES
|
||
83 | SENATE | Conference report filed in Senate, 2nd conference report | CONF-S
|
||
84 | SENATE | Conference report filed in Senate, 3rd conference report | CONF-S
|
||
85 | SENATE | Conference report filed in Senate, 4th conference report | CONF-S
|
||
86 | HOUSE | Conference report filed in House, 2nd conference report | CONF-H
|
||
87 | HOUSE | Conference report filed in House, 3rd conference report | CONF-H
|
||
88 | HOUSE | Conference report filed in House, 4th conference report | CONF-H
|
||
|
||
|
||
## 4. Data Set
|
||
|
||
Bill Summaries data is provided to GPO by the Library of Congress, and XML files are available
|
||
for bulk data download on the FDsys Bulk Data repository starting with the 113th Congress
|
||
(2013-2014). Bill Summaries XML files are not available through FDsys search or browse; they
|
||
are only available in the FDsys Bulk Data repository.
|
||
|
||
In general, there are no restrictions on re-use of information in the Bill Summaries data set
|
||
because U.S. Government works are not subject to copyright protection and are in the public
|
||
domain. GPO and its legislative branch data partners do not restrict downstream uses of Bill
|
||
Summaries data, except that independent providers should be aware that only GPO and its
|
||
legislative branch data partners are entitled to represent that they are the providers of official Bill
|
||
Summaries data.
|
||
|
||
Bill Summaries XML files can be manipulated and enriched to operate in the various
|
||
applications that users may devise. GPO and its legislative branch data partners cannot vouch for
|
||
the authenticity of data that is not under GPO’s control. GPO is providing free access to Bill
|
||
Summaries XML files for display in various applications and mash-ups outside the FDsys
|
||
domain. GPO does not endorse third party applications, and does not evaluate how the original
|
||
legal content is displayed on other sites. Consumers should form their own conclusions as to
|
||
whether the downloaded data can be relied upon within an application or mash-up.
|
||
|
||
|
||
## 5. Resources Directory
|
||
|
||
The resources directory at <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/bulkdata/BILLSUM/resources>
|
||
contains the *User Guide for Bill Summaries XML Bulk Data* in PDF form.
|