Let Me Google That For You" Act Goes Before Congress..!


Let Me Google That For You...!

A pair of Senators from Texas have introduced the "Let Me Google That For You" Act of 2014 to help reduce the cost of acquiring information from official government sources.




The National Technical Information Service, according to Bill S.2206, the "Let Me Google That For You Act" (seriously), "is tasked with collecting and distributing government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related information and reports." But it was also established in 1950, decades before the advent of the internet, and according to a 2012 report by the Government Accountability Office, 74 percent of the reports added to its collection between 1990 and 2011 were "readily available" from other public sources. Furthermore, it lost an average of $1.3 million per year over each of the preceding 11 years, leading to questions of whether its "basic statutory function of acting as a self-financing repository and disseminator of scientific and technical information is still viable."

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) named the “Let Me Google That For You Act" after the sarcastic website that teaches users how to use Google's search engine.
According to the legislation, "No Federal agency should use taxpayer dollars to purchase a report from the National Technical Information Service that is available through the Internet for free."
The NTIS, run by the Department of Commerce, is a repository of 3 million documents related to science, technology, engineering, and business.

A 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on NTIS operations found that, “Of the reports added to NTIS's repository during fiscal years 1990 through 2011, GAO estimates that approximately 74 percent were readily available from other public sources.” Such sources included either the issuing organization’s website, the federal Internet portal (www.USA.gov), or another online resource.

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