Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) are preparing to introduce a resolution to make Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports and products publicly available on the Internet. The CRS is a research arm of the U.S. Congress, which authors numerous reports and products on issues ranging from the environment to budget.

While taxpayer dollars support CRS’s operations and it’s organizational website, the public is currently unable to access most CRS reports. Access through the CRS website is restricted to Congressional offices and as a Congressional entity, CRS is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Citizens can request CRS reports from their Members of Congress, attempt to find them online at other sites, or pay for them. The resolution would direct that Internet access be provided to “CRS publications, Senatorial gift report filings, and Senate and Joint Committee documents.” The resolution is an inexpensive and simple way to improve our democracy. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) newly released a report "Congressional Research Service Products:Taxpayers Should Have Easy Access" that clearly lays out the complete case for establishing online public access to the CRS reports.

CRS has prepared approximately 3,000 reports and products for Congress, but only about 750 of these are on the Internet, via the website of Rep. Chris Shays. The National Council for Science and the Environment has also placed 1,210 CRS reports (mostly about the environment, and many are old) online.