Congressional research service scandal
Some time ago, I asked about the disappearance of the Congressional Research Service reports. An anonymous person sent me these articles explaining the fate of these reports. It's scandalous, but with so many scandals I'm not sure where to rank it on the scandal meter. By the way, who is a ranking Democratic member collaborating with this crap? Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) December 16, 2003 Ney says nay The Ohio House member wants the public kept in the dark The Congressional Research Service spends about $73 million a year preparing highly regarded reports for lawmakers. The service, a division of the Library of Congress, employs some 700 to dig up the facts on everything from electronic voting to stem-cell research. It has developed a fine reputation for presenting the information in a distinctly detached and objective fashion. Members of Congress often use the information to make important decisions. The material is great stuff. The trouble is, the public cannot gain access. Essentially, the decision was made by Bob Ney, a Republican from St. Clairsville who chairs the House Administration Committee, which oversees the research service. The ranking Democrat on the committee agreed with Ney, ending a two-year pilot program that made indexes of the reports and the full texts available on the Web. Ney's reasoning? There are times when the facts requested by a member might not fit the position he or she has already staked out in public. ''Let's say that I'm working on an issue and I'm trying to look for some research that helps me to get my point across... and all of a sudden, the Congressional Research Service sends me over something and I read it and I say, 'Oh, no, it's not going to help,' '' Ney told the Associated Press. Just imagine the horror if the facts got in the way. Actually, Ney's principal objection appears to be giving opponents access to free research. Those citizens who paid for the research in the first place? The Ney response seems to be: Who cares? Under a compromise of sorts, it will now be up to the individual member of Congress who asked for a particular report to determine whether to post it on a Web site. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Democrat, and Jay Inslee, a Democrat from Washington, are backing a bill to again make the reports fully available on the Web. But Ney, describing the reports as confidential staff research, is saying nay. Another brave stand from the congressman who ordered ''Freedom fries'' and ''Freedom toast'' to be served in the House cafeteria after the French objected to the military intervention in Iraq. Copley News Service December 11, 2003 Ney draws line at public access to research by Paul M. Krawzak Copley News Service WASHINGTON Year after year, the Congressional Research Service produces thousands of exclusive, coveted reports and analyses that help lawmakers make sense of complex issues and legislation. Yet taxpayers, who finance the service to the tune of $80 million a year, have no guaranteed access to the publications. Critics of the limited availability say as long as taxpayers are footing the bill, they ought to have access to the reports, which are noted for their balance and thoroughness. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, has played a decisive role in the argument by potentially expanding access to some degree while leaving the basic restrictive policy unchanged. As chairman of the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over the CRS, Ney launched a new service that allows lawmakers to make reports of their choosing available via a link in their congressional Web sites. It used to be nothing went up online for the public to see, Ney said. Now we're telling members if you want to do a work product and put it on-line, that's fine. At the same time, Ney called a halt to efforts to provide greater public access to the research. He ended a two-year pilot project, which allowed the public to search through the otherwise inaccessible CRS database via links on the Web sites of participating congressmen. Some lawmakers believe the public is entitled to all or most of the reports. It seems to me that (CRS) work ought to be available to whoever might find it to be helpful or useful, said Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, who favors complete disclosure. This work is being done at taxpayers' expense. What we're talking about is just research. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Jay Inslee, D-Wash., have introduced legislation that would make most of the reports available on congressional Web sites, while excluding research requested by individual lawmakers. Defenders of limited access point out that while CRS, an arm of the Library of Congress, is publicly financed, its role is to provide research to Congress, not the public. If we use the argument that everything the public pays for is released, then maybe we ought to do the CIA budget publicly, Ney said. We don't because
Re: Congressional research service scandal
- Original Message - From: michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] Some time ago, I asked about the disappearance of the Congressional Research Service reports. An anonymous person sent me these articles explaining the fate of these reports. It's scandalous, but with so many scandals I'm not sure where to rank it on the scandal meter. By the way, who is a ranking Democratic member collaborating with this crap? State government officials now need a security clearance with full background check to look at USTR documents. Welcome to the new transparency. Ian
Re: congressional research service
I think any Member has access to all the reports, so you could try writing your Congressperson. If you know the author's name, try emailing them for a copy. They are allowed to circulate them. max -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Perelman Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 12:12 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: congressional research service I had found this before, but it is a partial listing. I think Ian pointed out what happened. The reports become the property of the congress critter who orgers them. On Fri, Oct 24, 2003 at 11:46:01PM -0400, Max B. Sawicky wrote: http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/index.cfm?CFID=10670887CFTOKEN=25180443 -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: congressional research service
A few years ago I was trying to find a CRS report cited in a newpaper article and discovered that CRS reports are not publicly available. They are commissioned by individual legislators and when completed are given to the legislator who requested the research. Sometimes the legislators make the research public, sometimes they don't. Or so I was told. Ellen Frank PEN-L list [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Apparently even Penny Hill does not have a comprehensive listing. I found a number of sites that index various CRS reports. You might try here (http://docs.unh.edu/Links/crs.htm) or here (http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm). You also might consult with a librarian specializing in government documents. Any university library worthy of the name ought to allow a competent G.D. librarian to track down the report quickly. Frederick Emrich, Editor commons-blog (http://info-commons.org/blog/) RSS Feed: http://www.info-commons.org/blog/index.rdf info-commons.org (http://info-commons.org/index.shtml) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Eubulides [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 10:42 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] congressional research service - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'? == Looks like you can still find some free stuff: http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm
Re: congressional research service
Apparently even Penny Hill does not have a comprehensive listing. I found a number of sites that index various CRS reports. You might try here (http://docs.unh.edu/Links/crs.htm) or here (http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm). You also might consult with a librarian specializing in government documents. Any university library worthy of the name ought to allow a competent G.D. librarian to track down the report quickly. Frederick Emrich, Editor Also, assistance in obtaining government documents such as Congressional Research Service reports is offered by Congresspersons as part of constituent services. Maybe it's worth making a request, just to test whether constituent services live up to how they are advertised. -- Yoshie * Bring Them Home Now! http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/ * Calendars of Events in Columbus: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html, http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php, http://www.cpanews.org/ * Student International Forum: http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/ * Committee for Justice in Palestine: http://www.osudivest.org/ * Al-Awda-Ohio: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio * Solidarity: http://www.solidarity-us.org/
Re: congressional research service
Apparently even Penny Hill does not have a comprehensive listing. I found a number of sites that index various CRS reports. You might try here (http://docs.unh.edu/Links/crs.htm) or here (http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm). You also might consult with a librarian specializing in government documents. Any university library worthy of the name ought to allow a competent G.D. librarian to track down the report quickly. Frederick Emrich, Editor commons-blog (http://info-commons.org/blog/) RSS Feed: http://www.info-commons.org/blog/index.rdf info-commons.org (http://info-commons.org/index.shtml) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Eubulides [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 10:42 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] congressional research service - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'? == Looks like you can still find some free stuff: http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm
Re: congressional research service
This would fit with the mission of the CRS as exclusively a research arm for Congress. In the case of this report (mentioned in a news story), I suspect it is available. If the librarian can't do it (tell him/her to look for reports related to pension issues), my next step would be to try to track down Patrick J. Purcell, who surely has a copy of the report and perhaps would be forthcoming with additional insights and information. Frederick Emrich, Editor commons-blog (http://info-commons.org/blog/) RSS Feed: http://www.info-commons.org/blog/index.rdf info-commons.org (http://info-commons.org/index.shtml) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Ellen Frank [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 9:50 AM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] congressional research service A few years ago I was trying to find a CRS report cited in a newpaper article and discovered that CRS reports are not publicly available. They are commissioned by individual legislators and when completed are given to the legislator who requested the research. Sometimes the legislators make the research public, sometimes they don't. Or so I was told. Ellen Frank PEN-L list [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Apparently even Penny Hill does not have a comprehensive listing. I found a number of sites that index various CRS reports. You might try here (http://docs.unh.edu/Links/crs.htm) or here (http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm). You also might consult with a librarian specializing in government documents. Any university library worthy of the name ought to allow a competent G.D. librarian to track down the report quickly. Frederick Emrich, Editor commons-blog (http://info-commons.org/blog/) RSS Feed: http://www.info-commons.org/blog/index.rdf info-commons.org (http://info-commons.org/index.shtml) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Eubulides [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 10:42 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] congressional research service - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'? == Looks like you can still find some free stuff: http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm
Re: congressional research service
http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/index.cfm?CFID=10670887CFTOKEN=25180443 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Perelman Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 9:46 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: congressional research service Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: congressional research service
I had found this before, but it is a partial listing. I think Ian pointed out what happened. The reports become the property of the congress critter who orgers them. On Fri, Oct 24, 2003 at 11:46:01PM -0400, Max B. Sawicky wrote: http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/index.cfm?CFID=10670887CFTOKEN=25180443 -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
congressional research service
Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: congressional research service
- Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 6:45 PM Subject: [PEN-L] congressional research service Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'?
Re: congressional research service
- Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'? == Looks like you can still find some free stuff: http://www.freepint.com/gary/crs.htm
Re: congressional research service
unbelievable! I was looking for the source of this story. http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/7079437.htm On Thu, Oct 23, 2003 at 07:37:06PM -0700, Eubulides wrote: - Original Message - From: Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 6:45 PM Subject: [PEN-L] congressional research service Does anyone have any idea why I might be having trouble locating the Congressional Research Service web site? -- = http://www.pennyhill.com/ The reports used to be up on the web, free. Now the f#$%#$%# er's double charge US citizens. How soon before they're 'privatized'? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
