CDT Endorses Senate Resolution to Make CRS Documents Available Online
Contact:
Brock N Meeks, CDT
(202) 637-9800 ex. 114
(703) 989-3547 (mob)
WASHINGTON-CDT heartily endorses the Senate Resolution sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) requiring the U.S. Senate to put key Congressional Research Service (CRS) documents online and made freely accessible.
The resolution is a simple way to support the public’s right to know. CRS reports are some of the best research conducted by the federal government. This resolution would provide citizens free access to nearly 3,000 of these useful reports via the Internet.
"This resolution would put the Congress on the right side of government transparency and accountability,� said CDT Executive Director Leslie Harris. “It puts to an end the baseless policy that kept these reports out of public view,� Harris said. "In the Internet age, it is unconscionable that these important, non-confidential and unclassified documents aren’t readily available to the public.�
American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the CRS, which generates detailed reports relevant to current political events for lawmakers. Although the reports are non-classified, and play a critical role in our political process, they have never been made available in a consistent way to members of the public. CRS already maintains a fully searchable, password-protected Web site for members of Congress. Increasing capacity and providing public access to that site would constitute a trivial expense.
Contact:
Brock N Meeks, CDT
(202) 637-9800 ex. 114
(703) 989-3547 (mob)
WASHINGTON – CDT heartily endorses the Senate Resolution sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) requiring the U.S. Senate to put key Congressional Research Service (CRS) documents online and made freely accessible.
The resolution is a simple way to support the public’s right to know. CRS reports are some of the best research conducted by the federal government. This resolution would provide citizens free access to nearly 3,000 of these useful reports via the Internet.
"This resolution would put the Congress on the right side of government transparency and accountability,â€? said CDT Executive Director Leslie Harris. “It puts to an end the baseless policy that kept these reports out of public view,â€? Harris said. "In the Internet age, it is unconscionable that these important, non-confidential and unclassified documents aren’t readily available to the public.â€?
American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the CRS, which generates detailed reports relevant to current political events for lawmakers. Although the reports are non-classified, and play a critical role in our political process, they have never been made available in a consistent way to members of the public. CRS already maintains a fully searchable, password-protected Web site for members of Congress. Increasing capacity and providing public access to that site would constitute a trivial expense.
Currently, to fill the public void left by the CRS, several private companies now sell copies of the reports at a price. This means that for lobbyists, executives and others who can afford to pay, CRS reports are readily available.
“CDT has worked with a range of other groups to help fill this void by aggregating as many CRS reports as possible through the Web site OpenCRS.com,� said CDT Deputy Director Ari Schwartz. “In this role, CDT can testify to the popularity of these important reports as over 6 million have been downloaded on OpenCRS.com in its two-year existence.�
About CDT: The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media. For more information, visit http://www.cdt.org.