[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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