Johnson wants to help end the ‘public trust problem’ hindering Congress

Members of Congress, as well as any candidates for a congressional seat, would be required to electronically file their public financial disclosures under a bipartisan bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD).

“Congress has a public trust problem, and we should do all we can to ensure our constituents have faith in their elected officials,” Rep. Johnson said on Tuesday, calling the bill “yet another effort to ensure members are held to the highest ethical standard during their time in office.”

Currently, according to the congressman’s office, United States representatives and senators have the option to complete their public financial disclosures either by hand or electronically. However, the current disclosure system has led to hard-to-decipher paper filings, the lawmakers said, citing a May 14 article in Business Insider India that characterized some paper filings as “comically illegible.”

Rep. Johnson on Sept. 20 cosponsored the Easy to Read Electronic and Accessible Disclosures (READ) Act, H.R. 8927, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA). The bill would amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the electronic filing of all public financial disclosure forms, for sitting members and candidates, according to the text of the bill.

“This bill is common sense,” said Rep. Johnson. “Requiring these disclosures to be made electronically will not only modernize Congress but increase transparency and accountability of members to the American people.” 

H.R. 8927 also would require that the interface for the new system be fully compliant with the Rehabilitation Act and the most recent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines so that disclosures are accessible for Americans with disabilities, the bill says.

“Poor penmanship shouldn’t be the enemy of transparency,” said Rep. Spanberger. “Our Easy to READ Act… would allow the American people to search, sort, and download data for every member of Congress — not just those who chose to use a computer to submit these documents.”

The Project On Government Oversight and the National Taxpayers Union endorsed the bill, which has been referred to the U.S. House Committee on House Administration for consideration.