[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 112 (Thursday, July 17, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4626-S4627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH 
                                SERVICE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 508.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 508) commemorating the centennial 
     anniversary of the establishment of the Congressional 
     Research Service.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this Wednesday--July 16, 2014--marks the 
centennial of the Congressional Research Service, CRS. On this exact 
date 100 years ago, our oldest legislative support agency was created. 
But the idea for such an organization to provide objective information 
and analysis to legislators goes back to the start of our Republic. As 
Thomas Jefferson said 200 years ago, ``There is, in fact, no subject to 
which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer.'' 
Jefferson's view gained adherents over time, especially at the State 
level first and then during the progressive era. Two Members of 
Congress during that early 1900s era--Senator Robert

[[Page S4627]]

LaFollette and Representative John Nelson, both of Wisconsin--both 
championed legislation that authorized the Librarian of Congress to 
establish a legislative reference service composed of ``competent 
persons to prepare such indexes, digests and compilations of law as may 
be required for Congress and other official use.'' President Woodrow 
Wilson signed the legislation--the fiscal year 1915 appropriations bill 
for the Library of Congress--into law on July 16, 1914. Librarian of 
Congress Herbert Putnam established the Legislative Reference Service, 
LRS, in the Library of Congress by administrative order on July 18, 
1914. The reference service's location in the Library of Congress--the 
library both of Congress and the American people--provided researchers 
then and now with a treasure trove of books, materials, and collections 
of various sorts to answer and address the questions and inquiries that 
emanate from the legislative branch. The LRS was renamed the CRS in 
1970.
  Today, the responsibilities and roles of CRS have grown enormously. 
To meet the hundreds of thousands of requests made annually by Members 
and staff of the legislative branch, CRS employs over 600 total staff. 
Among the occupations represented at CRS are reference librarians, 
lawyers, political scientists, economists, budget analysts, scientists, 
engineers, and public administrators. The titles of its five 
interdisciplinary research divisions underscore the wide range of 
expertise housed in CRS: American Law; Domestic Social Policy; Foreign 
Affairs, Defense & Trade; Government & Finance; and Resources, Science 
& Industry. In addition, CRS has a Knowledge Services Group made up of 
research and information specialists who provide support services to 
CRS analysts and attorneys. In fiscal year 2013, Members and committees 
received information and analysis from CRS in more than 636,000 
responses that took the form of 67,000 requests for custom analysis and 
research, 9,000 congressional participations in 350 seminars, and over 
half a million instances of Web site services.
  At the heart of CRS's charter is that it serves both the majority and 
minority parties and Members of Congress elected as Independents or 
with a third-party affiliation. This bedrock nonpartisan principle 
suffuses all of CRS's endeavors, which makes it unlike the many 
partisan interest groups and ``think tanks'' that populate the Nation's 
capital. CRS's straightforward mission statement says it all: ``The 
Congressional Research Service serves the Congress throughout the 
legislative process by providing comprehensive and reliable legislative 
research and analysis that are timely, objective, authoritative, and 
confidential, thereby contributing to an informed national 
legislature.''
  Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said: ``People are entitled to 
their own opinions, but not their own facts.'' CRS provides the facts. 
Providing unbiased, objective facts is an invaluable service not just 
to Congress but to the Nation. In my considered judgment, CRS has 
served Congress exceptionally well during the past 100 years and I am 
confident that it will continue to perform at the highest level in the 
years and decades ahead. No one can fully predict the challenges we 
will face. But I am confident that the in-depth knowledge and expertise 
housed in CRS will enable Members of Congress and their staff to better 
understand and address an increasingly complex array of domestic and 
global issues. I congratulate CRS and its outstanding and dedicated 
staff on the occasion of its 100th birthday.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I was honored today to join my colleague, 
Senator Cardin, in submitting a resolution to commemorate the 100th 
anniversary of the Congressional Research Service, CRS. This is a 
historic milestone for CRS and I ask unanimous consent that a copy of a 
letter I recently wrote to Dr. James Billington, the Librarian of 
Congress, and Dr. Mary Mazanec, the Director of the Congressional 
Research Service, be printed the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                    July 16, 2014.
     Hon. James H. Billington,
     Librarian of Congress,
     Dr. Mary B. Mazanec,
     Director of the Congressional Research Service.
       Dear Drs. Billington and Mazanec: On behalf of the Joint 
     Committee on the Library and a grateful Congress, I'd like to 
     congratulate you, the dedicated public servants of the 
     Congressional Research Service (CRS), and the entire extended 
     CRS family on this historic 100th Anniversary. You have a 
     great deal to celebrate today at your ``The First Branch: 
     Challenges of Governance in a Global Era'' symposium.
       For a century now, CRS professionals have made enormous 
     contributions to our public discourse and provided invaluable 
     expertise to lawmakers challenged with developing legislation 
     and policies to guide our nation in times of increasing 
     complexity and rapid change.
       We owe a profound debt of gratitude to all of you and to 
     those legislators, led by Senator Robert M. La Follette and 
     Representative John M. Nelson, who foresaw a need for your 
     skills at the beginning of the 20th Century. As a New Yorker, 
     I'm also proud that the legislation to create CRS was partly 
     inspired by efforts in the Empire State undertaken by the New 
     York State Library in addition to reforms carried out in 
     Wisconsin, the home of Senator La Follette and Representative 
     Nelson.
       In 1914, no one could have envisioned the breadth of the 
     challenges that would confront Congress over the following 
     100 years--issues of war and peace, profound social change 
     and challenge, and revolutionary scientific and technological 
     advancement. Yet through it all, CRS helped Congress make 
     more informed decisions to the benefit of the American people 
     and libraries all over the world.
       We may have little idea today what Congress will be facing 
     in the decades to come, but we know beyond any doubt that the 
     Congressional Research Service will be there, providing 
     Congress with the very best information possible on 
     legislative, policy, and oversight matters, every step of the 
     way.
       Congratulations on this historic milestone, and we're 
     looking forward to the next 100 years.
           Sincerely,
                                               Charles E. Schumer.

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, as ranking member of the Committee on 
Rules and Administration with oversight of the Congressional Research 
Service, I offer my congratulations on the occasion of its centennial.
  While it began in 1914 as a modest reference service, today it is an 
organization of nearly 600 analysts, attorneys, information 
professionals, and support staff with the core mission of providing 
timely and authoritative research and analysis on legislative issues of 
interest to Congress.
  These highly trained and professional experts are dedicated to 
supporting the work of the Congress in an objective, unbiased, and 
nonpartisan manner.
  Congratulations to the Congressional Research Service for 100 years 
of excellent service to the Congress.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider 
be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 508) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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