[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CRS PRODUCTS OVER THE INTERNET

   Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise to offer my support to 
legislation introduced by Senator McCain, S. 1578, to make 
Congressional Research Service Reports, Issue Briefs, and Authorization 
and Appropriations products available over the Internet to the general 
public.
  I applaud the goal of this legislation to allow every citizen the 
same access to the wealth of information at the Congressional Research 
Service (CRS) as a Member of Congress enjoys today. CRS performs 
invaluable research and produces first-rate reports on hundreds of 
topics. The taxpayers of this country, who pay CRS's annual budget of 
$60 million, deserve speedy access to these wonderful resources.
  I understand that the staff at CRS has raised some questions about 
how this bill may affect their charter mandate to provide 
``confidential analysis and information exclusively for Congressional 
clients.'' I want to work with Senator McCain, the other cosponsors of 
this bill and the Senate Rules Committee to ensure that Members who 
request confidential research have control over the release of that 
research. But we can do both--protect truly confidential research and 
give our citizens electronic access to non-confidential CRS products.
  I want to commend the Senior Senator from Arizona for his leadership 
on opening public access to Congressional documents. I share his desire 
for the American people to have electronic access to many more 
Congressional resources. I look forward to working with him in the days 
to come on harnessing the power of the information age to open up the 
halls of Congress to all our citizens.

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