After Schock scandal, House curtails wasteful spending with disclosure and open data - Sunlight Foundation Blog

"This morning, the House Committee on Administration moved forward with new rules on how members of Congress spend taxpayer dollars on auto mileage, air travel, office decoration and more. The resolution requires more detailed disclosure on travel spending and makes it more difficult for members to spend lavishly on office decor or chartered travel. The changes emerged from a task force led by Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., set up by the committee in response to excesses by former Rep. Aaron Schock. Perhaps most importantly, the committee has committed to releasing house expenditure reports as open data. This represents a huge leap forward from the current system of difficult to parse PDF documents that should make it easier for journalists, watchdogs and lawmakers themselves to identify potentially inappropriate spending patterns ..."