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Open CRS: Free Government Research Reports

Posted by samzenpus on from the 4-out-of-5-politicians dept.

securitas writes "Ted Bridis of the Associated Press reports that more than 8000 Congressional Research Service reports produced exclusively for legislators are now available to the public for free. The Center for Democracy & Technology's Open CRS project is a Web-based central clearinghouse that features several collections of government reports. The research service has '... a staff of more than 700 and a nearly $100 million budget ...' but 'CRS Reports do not become public until a member of Congress releases the report.' The Open CRS project wants your help in obtaining and adding reports to the database."

13 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Ok by KaptNKrunchy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not like anything important won't get black inked anyway though.

  2. A nit worth picking ... by timothy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Ted Bridis of the Associated Press reports that more than 8000 Congressional Research Service reports produced exclusively for legislators are now available to the public for free."

    Shouldn't that read something more like "Ted Bridis of the Associated Press reports that more than 8000 Congressional Research Service reports produced exclusively for legislators are now available to the public, who already paid for it, and whose children will keep paying thanks to reckless spending and cavalier taxation, at no additional charge"?

    That complaint aside, kudos to the people who helped liberate some of the knowledge (and probably some of the fluff) that tax dollars have paid for.

    Ahem.

    timothy

    --
    jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
    1. Re:A nit worth picking ... by joeljkp · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Having had experience dealing with CRS in the past, I'm of the opinion that they are far from a fluff service.

      They provide comprehensive non-partisan reports on any subject imaginable at the request of the major decision-makers in this country. The public sees this in the short, clearly-worded descriptions that accompany every bill and resolution in the THOMAS system. They don't see the massive stacks of policy and historical reports intended to brief legislators on complex areas they may not have time to explore fully (or want a place to start).

      --
      WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
    2. Re:A nit worth picking ... by BlightThePower · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You think its reckless to spend money on a research service to inform democratically elected representatives with regard to the issues they are debating and making decisions upon?

      I think you take this libertarian notion of not paying taxes for anything superfluous too far, or would you rather politicians legislated on the basis of dog-eared back issues of Time magazine and National Geographic?

      --
      Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
    3. Re:A nit worth picking ... by securitas · · Score: 3, Insightful


      timothy,

      I thought about adding text to the write-up that pointed out the taxpaying public have already paid for those reports (and thousands more).

      I decided against it for a few reasons:

      1. Brevity
      2. The Open CRS site discusses that point
      3. I assumed that the 'staff of more than 700 and a nearly $100 million budget' quotation made it clear enough to Slashdot readers that the reports are funded by tax dollars
      4. 'Free' is much more economical than 'no additional charge'
      5. I didn't want to editorialize so I left that to the comments section.

      But point taken.

  3. If the government were truly free by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the government were truly representative of the People, you wouldn't have trouble with openness. As it stands, though, the People care more about their Big Macs and SUVs than voting.

    This project is doomed to stagnate. The People are satisfied with their little flag bumper stickers and patriotic country music. They have little interest in the minutiae of government.

    And who blames them? That's the reason we have representatives in the first place.

    1. Re:If the government were truly free by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If the government were truly representative of the People, you wouldn't have trouble with openness. As it stands, though, the People care more about their Big Macs and SUVs than voting.

      The government *is* representative of the people: as you say yourself, the people doesn't give a fuck about the government, so it's no surprise the government doesn't give a fuck about the people either.

      People have the government they deserve: if all they can do is groan a little during tax time, but otherwise trust the administration to run things, what do you expect? The government will (and does) run amok eventually.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    2. Re:If the government were truly free by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "As it stands, though, the People care more about their Big Macs and SUVs than voting."

      I'd find this more insightful if not for the fact that nearly all politicians are self-serving asses. The problem isn't with the voters, it's who's running.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  4. Re:seems like too much money by Parham · · Score: 2, Insightful

    100,000,000 / 700 = 142,857.14

    that's just for the staff costs... now take out their paper expenses, mail, telephone services, and all the other office stuff that comes with it. I've heard that paper costs an arm and a leg in some places, so I wouldn't put it past these people. Some of the top people probably do get paid a lot, but a majority probably wouldn't make more than the average person after all the expenses of running the place.

  5. Authenticity by hobotron · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is a great step for authenticity, Lord only knows how many bad/misrepresented/outright made up reports have graced the committees' of our government.

    Hopefully this quasi peer review will help eliminate erroneous research.

    --
    There is truth in humor.
  6. The government they deserve? by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Surely you mean that the people get the government that the majority deserves. I don't think we can say that any of the people voting for Gore or McCain in 2000 or Kerry in 2004 deserve the current U.S. administration.

    So what is the giving-a-fuck minority to do when they are overwhelmed in numbers by Joe Sixpack?

  7. The deep-rooted problem by parasonic · · Score: 1, Insightful

    There's an inherent problem that lies in politically-sponsored research. Having "research" done on political ideas is a tactic that politions (e.g. Reagan) use to justify their point. If there is a group with sufficient grounds to cause any *possible* roadblock, the politician will have a committee research the issue, and then he is able to freely push his agenda once more because he has "disproven" the group. The bias may be so great that the work is worthless to all but the politicians themselves.

  8. Re:Well, duh... by Hartree · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So I grasp what you're saying, We don't want CRS to become some politically-correct-don't-write-anything-really-us eful-the- public-might-see-it organization, but I really don't imagine that happening.

    I can.

    In the late 70s when there was congressional investigation over windfall profits by the oil companies. There were also trials resulting from it. The lawyers of those companies tried to subpeona the files of the CRS to try to use in their cases. (Likely it was a tactic to create a chilling effect).

    Now, multiply that by everly pressure group and lobbyist you can think of on any side of any issue. It's hard to write a balanced and neutral report when you're worried about being called to testify, or going to have your phone overflow with angry (insert-special-interest).