By JOSEPH B. WHITE

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday directed that “statement of disbursement” records detailing spending by the offices of members of the House be published online “at the earliest date.”

The quarterly spending records have until now been available only in paper form at a Congressional office building or for purchase from the U.S. Government Printing Office.

“However, this means for publishing material does not allow all interested parties to review the information contained in the reports,” Ms. Pelosi’s letter states. Ms. Pelosi directed the House Chief Administrator, Dan Beard, to “take all steps necessary” to ensure that the quarterly statements are made available for free, online on a “suitable House website.”

Ms. Pelosi’s letter comes at a time when President Barack Obama and other government officials have been calling for greater transparency and disclosure. The Wall Street Journal published stories within the past week examining spending by Congressional offices, and calling attention to the fact that the records were not available online.

Ms. Pelosi wrote that “the House is making every effort to operate in a transparent manner and online publication of these reports will expand accountability to taxpayers and the press.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal