Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.COMMENT: The House Journal Clause requires each house to keep a journal of its proceedings. A journal is a book that records the actions and ideas of a person or group. This was to "ensure publicity" and "responsibility...to their...constituents" as stated by Justice Joseph Story.
To be sure, the requirement to keep a journal was not controversial; however, the provision
allowing certain matters to be kept secret did cause concern. For example, Patrick Henry stated, "The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." Others were concerned that publishing only "from time to time" would further conceal their actions. However, Madison argued that it was only to allow for flexibility, accuracy, and convenience.
In any event, the journal did not publish all that useful of information; it usually published lists of bills and resolutions, etc., not word for word debates and testimony. As a result, the secrecy matter really applied to whether the proceedings would be open to the public.
Although both houses have complete discretion over what proceedings will be secret,
Congress has not used its privilege of keeping information secret all that much (the Senate has used it more than the House) - keeping such matters private as to impeachment, classified information, and national defense as a general rule.
While not required to do so, in 1873
Congress implemented the Congressional Record, which
includes debates and undelivered remarks and documents. In addition, journals,
newspapers, radio, and television (like C-SPAN) have made most of the actions of Congress
open to the public as a whole.
Primary Source - The Heritage Guide to the Constitution
