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CRS report on ACTA
CRS Report Withheld By USTR Confirms That ACTA Language Is Quite Questionable, by Mike Masnick, TechDirt, April 26, 2011.
We're happy to announce that we've been able to get our hands on the -- until now -- secret Congressional Research Service analysis of ACTA.... [I]t shows that the language used by the USTR in ACTA has lots of weasel words that let them claim it doesn't impact US law, but the interpretations of the language could very much impact US law. "...The Committee concludes that Congress intended to retain control over this document and that it is not an agency record subject to FOIA.""Potential Implications For Federal Law Raised By The October 2010 Draft Of The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - ACTA" CRS Memorandum To Honorable Ron Wyden From Brian T. Yeh, Legislative Attorney, American Law Division, 7-5182 October 29, 2010 7-5700 Redacted. Continue reading
Librarian of Congress Gets CRS Wrong, But In A Good Way
Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington said, "The public has unfettered access to the full inventory of CRS Reports for the Congress at no cost through the office of any Member or committee.” As Steven Aftergood points out, "that assertion is quite wrong.... There is not even a public index of CRS reports that would enable people to request specific reports by title." And yet, Aftergood continues, the Librarian's statement "tends to confirm that providing such access to non-confidential CRS Reports is a sensible and achievable goal. Indeed, otherwise well-informed people like the Librarian of Congress assume that it must already be true."
- In Search of "Unfettered Access" to CRS Reports, by Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News (April 7th, 2011).
Future of CRS Panel Meeting, April 11 UPDATE: postponed
UPDATE: The "Future of CRS" panel discussion originally set for this Monday, April 11th, is postponed because of the possible government shutdown. Check http://transparencycaucus.org/ for the latest news. This is an open meeting in D.C. "Future Of CRS" Panel Discussion Set For 4-11
Congressional Research Service director Dan Mulhollan's retirement on April 2 -- after running Congress' think tank for 17 years -- raises questions about the agency's policies and future. Is CRS meeting the needs of Congress? Has its analytical expertise eroded? Are CRS Reports as relevant, accurate, and understandable as they need to be, and should they be available to the general public? What does a 21st century research service look like? The Advisory Committee on Transparency will host a panel of experts to discuss the future of CRS on April 11th at 2pm in Rayburn 2203.Continue reading
38 groups ask LoC for free public access to CRS reports
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports are incredibly rich sources for budget-related information, and analyses of domestic social policy, foreign Affairs, defense and trade, and science and industry. But for many years, CRS has not provided direct public access to its reports, requiring citizens to request them from their Members of Congress -- and libraries to purchase them from Penny Hill Press, LexisNexis and other private publishers. With CRS Director Daniel Mulhollan retiring in April, 2011, this was an opportune time for 38 open government groups -- including FGI! -- to send a letter to Librarian of Congress James Billington asking him to appoint a new CRS Director who will facilitate free public online access to CRS reports. Here's the letter (PDF also available from OpenTheGovernment):
February 25, 2010 James H. BillingtonContinue reading
Librarian of Congress
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20540 Dear Dr. Billington: We the undersigned organizations concerned with government openness and accountability are writing to urge you to appoint a Director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) who will work with Congress to provide online free public access to the unclassified, non-confidential, taxpayer-funded reports produced by CRS. The public needs access to these non-confidential CRS reports in order to discharge their civic duties. American taxpayers spend over $100 million a year to fund the CRS, which generates detailed reports relevant to current political events for lawmakers. But while the reports are non-classified, and play a critical role in our legislative process, they have never been made available in a consistent and official way to members of the public. Predictably, to fill the public void left by the CRS, several private companies now sell copies of these reports at a price. This means that non-confidential CRS reports are readily available to lobbyists, executives and others who can afford to pay. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people lack the information necessary to even request reports from their Members of Congress. In 1822, James Madison explained why citizens must have government information: "A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." In the spirit of Madison, we ask you to appoint a Director of CRS who will help advance the goal of online free public access to CRS reports. Representatives from the undersigned organizations would be happy to meet with you or your staff at any time to discuss this important issue. Please contact Amy Bennett, Program Associate, OpenTheGovernment.org (afuller@openthegovernment.org or 202-332-6736), at your convenience. Sincerely, AhEeCOSH
American Association of Law Libraries
American Library Association
American Society of News Editors
Association of Research Libraries
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
CAUS
Center for Democracy and Technology
Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Responsive Politics
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Defending Dissent Foundation
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
Essential Information
Federation of American Scientists
Free Government Information
Government Accountability Project (GAP)
iSolon.org
Knowledge Ecology International
Liberty Coalition
MapLight.org
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Freedom of Information Coalition
National Security Counselors
No More Guantanamos
OMB Watch
OpenTheGovernment.org
Point of Order
Project On Government Oversight (POGO)
Public Citizen
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
RS&S INTERNATIONAL, LLC
Society of Academic Law Library Directors
Society of Professional Journalists
Special Libraries Association
Sunlight Foundation
University of Missouri Freedom of Information Center
Washington Coalition for Open Government
CRS may be harmed by blocked access to Wikileaks
Blocking Access to Wikileaks May Harm CRS, Analysts Say, by Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News(December 6, 2010).
“It’s a difficult situation,” said one CRS analyst. “The information was released illegally, and it’s not right for government agencies to be aiding and abetting this illegal dissemination. But the information is out there. Presumably, any Library of Congress researcher who wants to access the information that Wikileaks illegally released will simply use their home computers or cellphones to do so. Will they be able to refer directly to the information in their writings for the Library? Apparently not, unless a secondary source, like a newspaper, happens to have already cited it.”Continue reading
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