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Cybersecurity & Standards, Free Expression

New Website Makes Thousands of CRS Reports Accessible

Twenty years ago, CDT listed accessible Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports at the top of its “10 Most Wanted Government Documents” list.  In the years since, CDT and others have continued to ask Congress to make these reports more available to the public.

The Congressional Research Service is the institution responsible for keeping Congress informed about any issue in which it is interested. With thorough, nonpartisan fact-finding and analysis, CRS produces reports with sufficient scope and depth to give a reader with no previous knowledge of an issue a solid background for understanding it. Unfortunately, these helpful reports historically have been made available only to Congress and the well-connected. CDT encourages Congress to pass legislation that would make all non-confidential CRS reports public.

Earlier this week, Demand Progress and the Congressional Data Coalition launched a website, everycrsreport.com, that allows users to search and review a growing archive of more than 8,000 CRS reports, free of charge. Until Congress decides to officially share this ever-expanding archive of relevant, issue-based information, CDT welcomes this new site as vision of what open government could look like. We encourage everyone to take advantage of this important new resource.