Good news: The Congressional Research Service is making progress to expand public access to its reports
Two years ago, Congress took action to expand public access to the super-useful reports of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). For decades the agency’s leadership had fought expanding their public release.
But elected officials from both parties saw the iniquity of a policy that enabled lobbyists and various DC insiders to get the reports while leaving the average American citizen —to say nothing of libraries — without easy access. Many CRS employees, it should be added, also found the policy silly and a hassle.
So far, CRS has made great strides in implementing the law’s provisions. Crsreports.congress.gov is online and has posted 80 percent of its “active” reports.[3] The agency also has committed to posting its very useful In Focusand Insights publications on this public website. CRS and the Library of Congress deserve credit for their work.
Yet, there remains work to do….(Read more)
