More CRS Reports Available Online!
According to washingtonpost.com, Wikileaks has posted “thousands of previously unreleased [Congressional Research Service] reports” on their Web site. The icing on the cake is that “the group says it is on track to receive a steady stream of new reports.”
This is great news, and looks like great complement to the already large Open CRS c
ollection. But it’s still not enough.
With the official CRS Web site only available from government computers, the great work of this Library of Congress agency continues to not be fully available to the public.
The CRS receives approximately $100 million of taxpayer money each fiscal year, according to the Post and Open CRS. While it is understandable for classified work to remain shielded from the public, there is no excuse for regular reports and their well-researched information to be kept from the American people’s eyes.
The work of Open CRS and Wikileaks, among other sources, is perfectly legal. Plus, as a work of the federal government, CRS reports are in the public domain.
According to the CRS, the legislation that authorizes the service strictly prohibits public access to the reports through official sources.
“One of the concerns is that publication directly to the public has the potential to impair communications between members of Congress and their constituents,” CRS spokeswoman Janine D’Addario told Brian Krebs of washingtonpost.com.
Nevertheless, this is a start. If the Government Accountability Office can put their somewhat similar reports online, then the CRS should be able to as well. Write your your senators and congressman/congresswoman!
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