MATT GOURAS Associated Press Writer HELENA
Montana's congressional delegation has become the first in the nation to post their schedules on the Internet, earning praise from advocates of open government. Last week, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus started posting an online schedule detailing his meetings the prior day, following similar postings by U. S. Sen. Jon Tester and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg. Tester was one of the first members of Congress to post his schedule on the Internet when he took office in January. Rehberg has been doing the same since June. A government watchdog group that has been pushing all members of Congress to post their schedules says Montana is now leading the way on the issue. "It's a tribute to Senator Tester. He is a populist, and he seized on this idea early," said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation. The Washington, D.C.-based group has said the issue is about accountability, knowing w h o c o n g r e s s i o n a l representatives met with on a given day as opposed to obtaining schedules in advance. Baucus, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, started posting his s c h e d u l e Tu e s d a y. Hi s spokesman said it took longer to work out a plan due to the senator's many obligations as committee chair. "Max thinks that providing this schedule is an important way for Montana to keep up with it and for Montanans to know what Max is doing for them," said spokesman Barrett Kai ser. " I t i s great that Montana is setting an example across the nation." The issue has also trickled d o w n t o s t a t e w i d e officeholders. Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson announced Friday that he will start posting his schedule on the Internet next week. He also said he will make archives of the schedule available going back to the start of the year. Miller with the Sunlight Foundation said Johnson was the first state-level official she k n ows o f to fo l l ow t h e congressional mold. "We had not seen this pop up at the state level before," she said. Johnson said all his fellow s tatewide o f f i c e h o l d e rs, i n c l u d i n g Gov. B r i a n Schweitzer, should follow the example set by the state's congressional delegation. "I'm glad we are kind of on the cutting edge," Johnson said. "We ought to be leading by example." On the Net: http://tester.senate.gov/ http://baucus.senate.gov http://www.house.gov/rehberg/ http://www.sos.state.mt.us/
