Open CRS Network
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James Joyner | Wednesday, June 29, 2005 |
Amanda Butler passes on word “Via Josh at OxBlog, the Open_CRS Network, which seeks to compile a database of all Congressional Research Service reports that are in the public domain.”
While at first blush this sounds like a fantastic idea, she worries about a possible chilling effect on honest discourse:
Nifty as it would be to have all of these reports easily accessible, I have not yet decided whether or not I think this would be a good idea. Currently, CRS reports only enter the public domain once a senator or representative releases them, and even then, they’re difficult to find (perhaps analogous to courthouse records in the back filing cabinet behind the “beware of the leopard” sign).
I’m inclined not to believe that making CRS reports generally available to the public would not cause a burden upon the CRS itself: as it stands, these are internal memos designed to be frank and honest and nonpartisan. They are not intended to be used as ammunition. They are not peer-reviewed. They are simply designed to be useful to members of Congress. If they must also be safe for public consumption, will they be able to fill that role?
Interesting questions. One presumes that, initially at least, it would still require a Member’s approval to release a report. Once the expectation grows that the reports will be available, though, the pressure to release all of them may be difficult to resist.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Since when did fodder for public debate depend on peer review?
Wouldn't it be valuable to know what info our Congresscritters were using to make decisions?
Wouldn't it be a good idea to open the info to analysis and fact checking?
What's the big deal here. Let me demonstrate how easy it is to get a CRS report:
Ring, ring,
Office of Represtative Elijah Cummings...
Hello, may I speak to the staffer handling social security...
Hello, this lowly legislative assistant Jones, how are you...
Fine, can you e-mail me a CRS report reviewing the use of private accounts in the Chilaen public retirement system?
Yes, sure right away, what's your e-mail.
Dumdumdumdeedumdum... Zip
Ah, there it is.
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