U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) is calling for thousands of non-confidential reports compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to be made available to the public, and legislation he introduced on Tuesday seeks to put that change into effect.
“Let’s end the era of secrecy and open these reports,” said Lance, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Equal Access to Congressional Research Service Reports Act would direct CRS to publish non-classified reports at govinfo.gov, a public website managed by the Government Printing Office (GPO).
“The CRS needs to be updated on how it conducts business,” Lance said. “It’s 2017, and there are over 30,000 CRS reports the public cannot immediately access. Any student, reporter, taxpayer or interested citizen should be allowed to log online and view these reports.”
Since 1914, the only way for the public to access CRS reports has been to request them from a House or Senate office. That process was established because CRS reports were too long and expensive to send via mail.
“These reports are paid for by taxpayer funds, the taxpayers should be able to read them,” Lance said. “And our national discourse could use as much factual, non-partisan information as possible.”
The legislation, which Lance introduced with U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), would also curb the CRS report “black market” in which lobbyists and other government insiders can access reports through their connections on Capitol Hill while everyday taxpayers cannot.