[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5047-H5049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MODERNIZING THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE'S ACCESS TO DATA ACT

  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 7593) to enhance the authority of the Director of the 
Congressional Research Service to obtain information directly from 
agencies of the Federal government.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7593

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Modernizing the 
     Congressional Research Service's Access to Data Act''.

     SEC. 2. ACCESS OF CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE TO 
                   GOVERNMENT INFORMATION.

       (a) Direct Access to Information.--Section 203 of the 
     Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 166) is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(j)(1) In carrying out the duties and functions of the 
     Congressional Research Service

[[Page H5048]]

     under subsection (d), the Director is authorized to secure 
     books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, 
     secure information, and other data in all forms directly from 
     the various departments, agencies, and establishments of the 
     executive branch of the Government and the regulatory 
     agencies and commissions of the Government as the Director 
     determines to be necessary to carry out the request, and all 
     such departments, agencies, establishments, and regulatory 
     agencies and commissions shall furnish the Director with all 
     such available material in a timely manner.
       ``(2) With respect to books, records, correspondence, 
     memoranda, papers, documents, secure information, and other 
     data in all forms obtained under paragraph (1), the Director 
     shall maintain the same level of confidentiality as is 
     required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or 
     regulatory agency or commission from which it is obtained. 
     Officers and employees of the Congressional Research Service 
     shall be subject to the same statutory penalties for 
     unauthorized disclosure or use as officers or employees of 
     the department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency 
     or commission from which it is obtained.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 203(d)(1) of such Act (2 
     U.S.C. 166(d)(1)) is amended in the matter following 
     subparagraph (C) by striking ``and in the performance of this 
     duty'' and all that follows through ``comply with such 
     request;''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 7593, the Modernizing the 
Congressional Research Service's Access to Data Act.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7593, the Modernizing the 
Congressional Research Service's Access to Data Act.
  Congress is a dynamic institution. The way it operates today is 
different from how it operated 50 years ago. It is probably safe to say 
that 50 years from now, Congress will look quite different than it does 
once again today.
  The Committee on House Administration is working to modernize 
Congress. The Subcommittee on Modernization's mandate is to improve and 
update how Congress works on behalf of the American people. There is no 
expiration date on this work. Because society evolves, Congress must do 
the same.
  Congress must be capable of continually adapting to address both the 
issues of the day and Americans' needs. As Congress evolves, its 
support agencies must do the same. They must be capable of working in a 
way that reflects how Congress works.
  It has been over 50 years since Congress updated CRS' authorizing 
statute, and much has changed since then in terms of how Congress 
operates. The Federal policy landscape has grown more and more complex, 
and back home Americans are confronting a vast range of challenges and 
are increasingly seeking our help.
  As a result, Members are relying on CRS more than ever for supporting 
their legislative and representational duties. In order for CRS to meet 
the growing demand, it needs quick access to current and reliable data 
and information.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7593 fulfills this need. It updates CRS' statute to 
ensure that the agency can request data and information from Federal 
agencies to support its work on behalf of Congress. To be clear, we are 
talking about information and data that Congress and its support 
agencies have an established right to access.
  This change to the statute reflects how Congress has changed over the 
past five decades and will greatly improve CRS' ability to support how 
we work today. I have advocated for a more modern CRS, and this measure 
fits into those efforts.
  I thank the Modernization Subcommittee chairwoman Stephanie Bice for 
her leadership in bringing H.R. 7593 forward and more generally for her 
efforts to improve and modernize CRS. I also thank the Modernization 
Subcommittee ranking member, Derek Kilmer, as well as Representatives 
Carey and Morelle for their bipartisan support of this measure.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in strengthening CRS by supporting 
H.R. 7593, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The second bill we are considering today from the Modernization 
Subcommittee is H.R. 7593, the Modernizing the Congressional Research 
Service's Access to Data Act, which aims to address issues regarding 
CRS' access to Federal data.
  As with the first bill, CRS itself has asked for this change, and it 
is a change that will again help the agency keep up with the times. 
When CRS' statute was developed in the 1970s, it stated that Federal 
agencies need to comply with data requests from Congress to serve 
congressional committees, and it mentions that CRS is responsible for 
otherwise assisting offices with informational requests, too. This 
stems from the committee-centric nature of Congress at the time.
  However, given the lack of explicit reference to personal offices, 
CRS indicated to the Modernization Subcommittee that they, at times, 
have struggled to access necessary information from Federal agencies to 
execute their mission of serving committees and individual personal 
offices alike.
  CRS should be able to update reports on nationally significant issues 
proactively and simultaneously respond to specific Member office 
requests. Additionally, their access should be on par with that 
provided to other legislative branch support agencies, like the 
Congressional Budget Office, for example.
  Accordingly, this bill updates the material CRS can request from 
Federal agencies to cover CRS' broad mission without the existing 
committee-specific limitation. The bill requires CRS to maintain the 
broad confidentiality protections for data as required by law of the 
agency providing the information. It also ensures the CRS director 
themself would oversee the process of these Member-specific requests to 
ensure they align with CRS' long-standing objective, nonpartisan 
mission, and that they would not create additional burdens for Federal 
agencies.
  It matters to me, to our Modernization Subcommittee, and hopefully to 
all my colleagues here that CRS has the Federal data resources it needs 
to do its job, to serve Congress as we serve the people we represent.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice) to speak on this bill.
  Mrs. BICE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7593, the 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's Access to Data Act.
  In order for Congress to fulfill its Article I obligations and act as 
the first among coequal branches of government as the Framers intended, 
its support agencies need to be fully equipped to assist Congress in 
all of its legislative and representative duties.

  When our support agencies falter, we falter, and it is incumbent upon 
us to fix what is not working. CRS is a case in point. The agency is 
bound by statute to outdated rules that do not reflect how Congress 
works today.
  CRS' statute was last updated in 1970, and back then committees were 
very much at the center of the policymaking process. The agency's 
authority to request data and information from Federal agencies 
reflected that reality. Requests for data and information could only be 
made to support the work of committees.
  More than five decades later, CRS continues to operate under this 
narrow and outdated request authority. Congress has evolved as an 
institution, but in many ways CRS has not. Its ability to fully support 
today's Congress is hindered by a statute drafted to support 
yesterday's Congress.
  Committees continue to play an important role in the legislative 
process, but so do Members. Members today are doing more work on behalf 
of their constituents and relying more heavily on CRS for support. 
Whether they need data and information to better understand and address 
a problem in their

[[Page H5049]]

district or in anticipation of an emerging policy debate, Members rely 
on CRS for its nonpartisan expertise.
  All of this work, for committees and for Members, depends on CRS 
having access to current and reliable data. It is the basis of the 
objective and informed analysis on which Congress depends to fulfill 
its Article I obligations.
  When Federal agencies are compelled to share data and information 
with CRS only when it is requested on behalf of a committee, CRS is 
unable to fulfill its statutory obligation to support Congress in all 
of its duties.
  H.R. 7593 fixes this limitation by granting CRS the authority to 
secure information and data from Federal agencies, as necessary, to 
carry out congressional requests; not committee requests, but 
congressional requests.
  This fix is neither groundbreaking nor controversial. There is a 
nearly century-long chain of Supreme Court precedents that recognize 
the authority of Congress and, by extension, the legislative support 
agencies, to gather information from the executive branch.
  In fact, GAO and CBO, CRS' sister support agencies, already enjoy 
greater access authorities because, as Congress has added to their 
responsibilities, it has also provided them with the additional tools 
and authorities needed to carry out that additional work.
  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for CRS. The agency's work has 
expanded tremendously since the 1970s, but Congress has failed to pair 
its extra responsibilities with extra support.
  In granting CRS greater access, this bill requires CRS to maintain 
the same level of confidentiality for the data and information it 
receives, as is required by law of the agency from which it obtained. 
Any CRS employee who violates this requirement will be subject to the 
same statutory penalties that an employee of a providing agency would 
face. These provisions, it should be noted, mirror CBO's rigorous 
confidentiality authorities.
  CRS has a long-established record of not making inappropriate or 
overly expansive information and data requests. Nothing about this 
resolution changes that. The agency routinely engages in an internal 
consultation process to ensure that requests are properly scoped and 
tailored. Maintaining these guardrails around its requests helps CRS 
properly evaluate the potential ways that data and information may be 
used.
  The agency's strict adherence to its statutory mandate to advise and 
assist Congress without partisan bias has and will continue to guide 
its requests.
  Updating CRS' statute to better reflect how Congress works today is 
an Article I strengthening endeavor. It does not concern politics or 
partisanship. It concerns institutions, plain and simple.
  When CRS is unable to fully support Congress, Congress cannot fully 
act as a coequal branch of government, and when CRS is unable to fully 
support us as Members in our legislative and representational duties, 
we are unable to fully support our constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that both of these scenarios 
are unacceptable. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
7593.
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any additional speakers. If the 
chairman is prepared to close, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the Modernization Subcommittee 
chairwoman, Stephanie Bice, for her leadership on this measure. I also 
thank Ranking Member Kilmer, as well as Representatives Carey and 
Morelle.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7593, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weber of Texas). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7593.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________