As soon as I hit “publish” on the ongoing destruction of federal agencies, someone sent this to me. Check out this recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on federal data availability.
Availability of Federal Data: Policy Considerations for Disclosure, Preservation, and Governance. CRS Report R48889. March 31, 2026.
Throughout 2025, media reports have suggested that the availability of federal data has been reduced. Some observers are also tracking the removal of specific datasets, variables, and tools. In parallel, changing public perspectives on data availability may demand new levels of data access, such as making data available for predictable periods of time, in a variety of software-compatible formats, and with appropriate descriptive metadata for easing findability and usability of the information. While statute discusses when and how information is to be added to Data.gov, it does not explain whether and how information may be removed. Although researchers and the public may derive value from being able to trace data over time to determine changes in trends or collection methods, the statute does not explicitly consider versioning requirements for agency data. However, requiring these attributes for Data.gov may help address or clarify difficulties in measuring data availability. Congress may be interested in determining whether there are trends to certain data becoming available or to when data is altered and removed. Such trends may provide insight and direction for Congress to further examine agency activities or make decisions to support new data use cases.
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