[House Report 118-631]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                            {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                            {     118-631

======================================================================



 
  MODERNIZING THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE'S ACCESS TO DATA ACT

                                _______
                                

August 16, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Steil, from the Committee on House Administration, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7593]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred 
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, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Committee Action.................................................    10
Committee Consideration..........................................    11
Committee Votes..................................................    12
Statement of Constitutional Authority............................    12
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................    12
Statement of Budget Authority and Related Items..................    12
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................    12
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................    13
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................    13
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................    13
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................    14
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................    14
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................    14
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................    14
Changes in Existing Law as Reported..............................    14

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 7593, Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's 
Access to Data Act, introduced by Representative Stephanie Bice 
(OK-05) and co-sponsored by Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-
06), Representative Mike Carey (OH-15), and Representative 
Joseph Morelle (NY-25), grants CRS the authority to secure all 
forms of records, information, and data directly from the 
various departments, agencies, and establishments of the 
executive branch, regulatory agencies, and commissions, as 
necessary to carry out congressional requests. Consistent with 
the Congressional Budget Office's statutory authority, the bill 
requires CRS to maintain the same level of confidentiality for 
such material as is required by law of the government entity 
from which it is obtained and subjects CRS officers and 
employees to the same statutory penalties for unauthorized 
disclosure or use of such material as officers or employees of 
the government entity from which it is obtained. H.R. 7593 
updates CRS's statute to better reflect how Congress works 
today and to ensure that CRS has timely access to the data and 
information it needs to support Congress in its legislative and 
representational duties.

                  Background and Need for Legislation


                               BACKGROUND

    In 1914, Congress created the Legislative Reference Service 
(LRS) to assist Members with their legislative duties. The 
services provided by the LRS, which was established within the 
Library of Congress, drew heavily from the emerging field of 
library sciences and emphasized the collection and 
dissemination of information.\1\ The LRS was renamed the 
Congressional Research Service (CRS) in 1970 when Congress 
passed the Legislative Reorganization Act (LRA).\2\ The LRA 
aimed to reform a range of institutional procedures and to 
strengthen Congress's analytical capacity. As such, the law 
significantly expanded CRS's statutory obligations, updating 
the agency's functions and objectives, and clarifying its 
services and duties in support of Congress.\3\ While CRS's 
mission to provide Congress with research, analysis, 
information, and confidential consultation has remained 
consistent since 1970, Congress has experienced significant 
institutional change.
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    \1\Brudnick, Ida A., The Congressional Research Service and the 
American Legislative Process, Cong. Research Service (April 12, 2011), 
RL33471.
    \2\Stathis, Stephen W., CRS at 100: Informing the Legislative 
Debate Since 1914, Cong. Research Serv. (2014) https://crs.gov/
products/Documents/crs100-book/pdf.
    \3\Oleszek, Walter J., Congressional Reform: A Perspective, Cong. 
Research Serv. (October 6, 2021) https://crs.gov/Reports/
R46933?source=search.
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    When the LRA became law, the House was still very much a 
committee-centered institution and the expanded authorities 
granted to CRS reflect that time-specific context.\4\ One of 
the LRA's primary objectives was to boost Congress's research 
and analytical capacity and expanding CRS's authorities was key 
to this effort.\5\ In order to fully support Congress in all 
its legislative activities--including analysis, drafting, and 
oversight--CRS would need access to federal data and 
information. And because Congress's legislative activities were 
centralized in committees, CRS's use of federal data and 
information would be in service to the committees. The statute 
was therefore drafted to establish that CRS's access to 
``books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and 
documents as the Service considers necessary'' from federal 
departments and agencies is limited to its work on behalf of 
congressional committees.\6\ The statute sets forth additional 
responsibilities for CRS, including assisting individual 
Members and preparing information, reports, and research in 
anticipation of requests from committees and Members, but it 
only expressly authorizes CRS to request, and requires federal 
departments and agencies to provide, data when a request is 
authorized by a committee or when CRS acts as an agent of a 
committee.\7\
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    \4\See Glassman Testimony, Legislative Proposals to Support 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of Federal 
Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization Subcommittee, 
118th Cong. (2024).
    \5\Oleszek, Walter J., Congressional Reform: A Perspective.
    \6\2 U.S.C. 166(d)(1).
    \7\Id.
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    Not long after passing the LRA, Congress took additional 
steps to boost its analytical capabilities, this time in the 
budgetary realm. With the passage of the Congressional Budget 
Act in 1974, Congress reasserted its Article I ``power of the 
purse'' authority and established procedures to prevent the 
president, as well as other government officials, from ignoring 
or replacing Congress's funding decisions with their own. The 
Act also created the House and Senate Budget Committees, as 
well as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to support the 
work of the new budget committees and to provide Congress with 
objective, nonpartisan information and analysis.\8\ Prior to 
creating the CBO as its own budgetary resource, Congress had 
relied on data provided by the president's Office of Management 
and Budget.\9\
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    \8\Glass, Andrew, Budget and Impoundment Control Act becomes law, 
July 12, 1974, Politico (July 12, 2017) https://www.politico.com/story/
2017/07/12/budget-and-impoundment-control-act-becomes-law-july-12-1974-
240372.
    \9\See Congressional Budget Office, History (last visited April 30, 
2024) https://www.cbo.gov/about/history.
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    Congress has experienced significant institutional changes 
in the 54 years since CRS's statute, with its heavy emphasis on 
supporting committees, was last substantively updated. While 
committees remain essential in that they provide forums for 
Members to learn, ask questions, and debate policy, individual 
Members have appreciably stepped up their legislative and 
representative activities. As the federal policy realm has 
expanded and become more complex, Members are doing more work 
on behalf of their constituents and relying more heavily on CRS 
for information and support. It is as important today as it was 
in 1970 that CRS has access to the federal data and information 
it needs to service congressional committees. It is, however, 
equally important that CRS has access to the federal data and 
information it needs to carry out all of its duties and 
functions, including on behalf of Members and in anticipation 
of requests from committees and Members.
    While each of the three legislative support agencies (CBO, 
CRS, and GAO) have distinct missions, they are equally 
important and necessary sources of expertise for Congress. CRS 
assists Congress with every aspect of the legislative process, 
CBO provides support with budgetary and economic policy, and 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) serves as Congress's 
``watchdog,'' providing Congress with important oversight 
capabilities as well as information and reports on improving 
government operations and saving taxpayer dollars. Each agency 
relies on access to federal data and information to support 
Congress across its many activities, yet CRS's access 
authorities are more limited in scope than those of its two 
sister agencies.
    Shortly after establishing the LRS in 1914, Congress 
created GAO as part of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to 
examine the use of federal funds and to conduct investigations 
as ordered by Congress. Notably, the Act directed federal 
agencies to provide GAO with access to the information it 
needed to conduct its work on behalf of Congress. Since 1921, 
GAO's statutory authorities and responsibilities have been 
expanded several times\10\ and today include:
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    \10\GAO's powers have been expanded and affirmed primarily through 
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, the General Accounting 
Office Act of 1980, and the GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017. See 
GAO's Agency Protocols (as of January 23, 2019) https://www.gao.gov/
assets/gao-19-55g.pdf.
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           authority to investigate all matters related 
        to the receipt, disbursement, and use of federal 
        funds;\11\
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    \11\31 U.S.C. Sec. 712.
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           authority to evaluate the results of a 
        program or activity the government carries out under 
        existing law when requested by a committee of 
        jurisdiction, when mandated by either house of the 
        Congress, or on the initiative of the Comptroller 
        General;\12\ and
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    \12\31 U.S.C. Sec. 717.
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           authority to obtain access to a wide range 
        of agency records and information (including all 
        information GAO requires about an agencies' duties, 
        powers, activities, organization, and financial 
        transactions) and to enforce its access rights in 
        court.\13\
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    \13\31 U.S.C. Sec. 716.
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    CBO's organic statute, like GAO's, grants the agency 
comprehensive data and information access authority, albeit 
more limited than GAO's. In establishing CBO's relationship to 
the executive branch, the statute states that ``(t)he Director 
is authorized to secure information, data, estimates, and 
statistics directly from the various departments, agencies, and 
establishments of the executive branch of Government and the 
regulatory agencies and commissions of the Government. All such 
departments, agencies, establishments, and regulatory agencies 
and commissions shall furnish the Director any available 
material which he determines to be necessary in the performance 
of his duties and functions (other than material the disclosure 
of which would be a violation of law).\14\ The Director is also 
authorized, upon agreement with the head of any such 
department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or 
commission, to utilize its services, facilities, and personnel 
with or without reimbursement; and the head of each such 
department, agency, establishment, or regulatory agency or 
commission is authorized to provide the Office such services, 
facilities, and personnel.''\15\
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    \14\H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act, 
was introduced in the 118th Congress and passed the House under 
suspension of the rules on April 29, 2024. The bill was received by the 
Senate on April 30, 2024. The bill specifies that CBO is authorized to 
obtain data from the executive branch with or without written agreement 
if CBO maintains the same level of confidentiality that is required of 
the agency that provides the data. In effect, the bill would amend 
section 201(d) of the Budget Act to strike the parenthetical (other 
than material the disclosure of which would be a violation of the 
law.).
    \15\2 U.S.C. Sec. 601(d).
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    Though CBO was created just four years after the LRA made 
significant updates to CRS's authorizing statute, its access to 
department and agency information and data is not tied solely 
to its work supporting congressional committees, despite the 
agency's statutory mandate to support the work of the Senate 
and House Budget Committees.
    Since 1974, CBO's statutory authorities have been updated 
several times. For example, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995 requires CBO, at certain stages in the legislative 
process, to assess the cost of mandates that would apply to 
state, local, and tribal governments or to the private 
sector.\16\ There have also been updates to CBO's 
administrative authorities over the years, including an 
amendment to the Director's pay in 2019,\17\ a statutory 
requirement to protect executive branch data,\18\ the ability 
to pay departing employees for their accrued annual leave,\19\ 
and the authority for senior level positions.\20\ Some of the 
provisions governing how CBO prepares budget baselines have 
also been modified since 1974.\21\
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    \16\2 U.S.C. Sec. 1501.
    \17\2 U.S.C. Sec. 601(a)(5).
    \18\2 U.S.C. Sec. 603(e).
    \19\2 U.S.C. Sec. 607.
    \20\2 U.S.C. Sec. 6013.
    \21\CBO Explains the Statutory Foundations of Its Budget Baseline, 
Congressional Budget Office (May 25, 2023) https://www.cbo.gov/
publication/58955.
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    As Congress has added to the responsibilities of both GAO 
and CBO, it has also provided both agencies with some of the 
additional tools and access authorities needed to carry out 
additional work.\22\ Pairing extra responsibilities with extra 
support helps ensure that the agencies are equipped to 
effectively serve Congress as its analytical needs evolve.
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    \22\Supra at note 16.
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    Institutional changes have also forced the legislative 
support agencies to informally adapt how they work to support 
Congress.\23\ For example, CBO has shared that as legislation 
has grown more complex, the agency has had to dedicate more 
time to providing preliminary analysis and technical assistance 
during the legislative drafting stage. CBO also shared that the 
agency is increasingly asked to prepare cost estimates for 
bills that are heading to the House floor without first being 
marked up in committee. Similarly, GAO reports having to direct 
more attention to contemporary issues like the $2.6 trillion 
COVID response effort. GAO has also established a new science 
and technology team to meet Congress's growing demand for 
information on cutting-edge issues like artificial 
intelligence.
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    \23\See Kramer, Curtlyn Vital Stats: Congress has a staffing 
problem too (May 24, 2017). Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/
articles/vital-stats-congress-has-a-staffing-problem-too/ (The 
legislative support agencies have also had to adapt to significant cuts 
in staffing levels. GAO, CBO, and CRS have lost 45 percent of their 
combined staffs from 1975 to 2015).
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    Like CBO and GAO, CRS has also adapted how it works to meet 
the needs of an evolving Congress. As legislative activity has 
become more dispersed, CRS's workload has shifted to include 
significantly more requests from individual Member and other 
non-committee offices. In Fiscal Year 2023, for example, CRS 
responded to over 57,000 requests from individual Member and 
other congressional offices.\24\ Demand for rapid analysis on 
increasingly complex policy issues has also grown as bills are 
more likely today to skip the committee process and go straight 
to the House floor.\25\
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    \24\See Newlen Questions for the Record, Legislative Proposals to 
Support Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of 
Federal Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization 
Subcommittee, 118th Cong. (2024).
    \25\Id.
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    While all the legislative agencies are challenged to 
provide Congress with rapid expert support, CRS is arguably 
more hindered by its limited data and information access 
authorities. Over the past two decades, according to CRS, the 
agency has periodically discussed with its authorizing 
committees the need to update its statute to expand its access 
to federal data and information. The agency has also 
periodically requested expanded data access authorities as part 
of its annual budget request to Congress.\26\ And in the 112th 
Congress, a bill was introduced ``to provide the Director of 
the Congressional Research Service with the authority to obtain 
information directly from agencies of the Federal Government,'' 
but it was not considered by the Committee.\27\ These various 
efforts have highlighted a longstanding problem for CRS that 
still exists today.
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    \26\Fiscal 2024 Budget Justification, United States Library of 
Congress, https://www.loc.gov/static/portals/about/reports-and-budgets/
documents/budgets/fy2024.pdf.
    \27\H.R. 2571 (112th Congress).
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    More recently, in the 117th Congress, the bipartisan Select 
Committee on the Modernization of Congress\28\ (Select 
Committee) held a hearing focused on modernizing the 
legislative support agencies. The directors of GAO, CBO, and 
CRS testified before the Select Committee on efforts to 
modernize their agency operations, as well as their products 
and services for Congress.\29\ Based on testimony received, the 
Select Committee recommended examining legislative support 
agency authorities to determine if they need to be updated. The 
Select Committee also recommended enhancing support agency 
access to federal data.\30\
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    \28\H. Res. 6, 117th Congress (see section 201 creating the 
Modernization Committee which continued with the 118th Congress).
    \29\Modernizing the Congressional Support Agencies to Meet the 
Needs of an Evolving Congress; Hearing before the Select Committee on 
the Modernization of Congress, 117th Congress (2021).
    \30\Final Report, Select Committee on Modernization of Congress 
117th Congress, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRPT-
117hrpt646/pdf/GPO-CRPT-117hrpt646.pdf (See Recommendations 133, 140).
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    The Committee on House Administration's Subcommittee on 
Modernization, established in the 118th Congress for the 
purpose of implementing the recommendations of the Select 
Committee, held a hearing on April 26, 2023, to begin exploring 
how to strengthen, improve, and modernize CRS.\31\ Using the 
Select Committee's recommendations as a guidepost, Subcommittee 
Members agreed that while CRS's statute requires a broader 
overhaul in the long term, updating the agency's data access 
authorities in the near term would improve its ability to 
support Congress.
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    \31\The Path Toward a More Modern and Effective Congressional 
Research Service; Hearing Before the Committee on House Administration, 
Subcommittee on Modernization, 118th Cong. (2024).
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    The Subcommittee on Modernization held a follow-on hearing 
on March 20, 2024, to examine the question of expanding CRS's 
data access authorities and other matters.\32\ Elise J. Bean, 
director of the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, 
testified to the nearly century-long chain of Supreme Court 
precedents that recognize the authority of Congress, and by 
extension, the legislative support agencies, to gather 
information. According to Ms. Bean:

    \32\Legislative Proposals to Support Modernizing the Congressional 
Research Service and the Use of Federal Data, available at https://
cha.house.gov/hearings?ID=91FE17EE-9EA9-446C-9FCF-032F5DAF9F78.
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          The seminal case is McGrain v. Daugherty,\33\ an 8-0 
        opinion in which the Supreme Court held that ``the 
        power of inquiry--with process to enforce it--is an 
        essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative 
        function. . . . A legislative body cannot legislate 
        wisely or effectively in the absence of information.''
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    \33\273 U.S. 135, 174-175 (1927).
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          The Supreme Court has also held that ``[t]he power of 
        Congress to conduct investigations is inherent in the 
        legislative process,'' the congressional power to 
        obtain information is ``broad'' and ``indispensable,'' 
        and ``[i]t is unquestionably the duty of all citizens 
        to cooperate with the Congress in its efforts to obtain 
        the facts needed for intelligent legislative 
        action.''\34\
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    \34\Watkins v. United States, 354 U.S. 178, 187-188, 215 (1957).
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          In 2020, the Supreme Court not only reaffirmed those 
        principles,\35\ but also cited precedent in holding: 
        `It is the proper duty of a representative body to look 
        diligently into every affair of government and to talk 
        much about what it sees. It is meant to be the eyes and 
        the voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its 
        constituents. Unless Congress have and use every means 
        of acquainting itself with the acts and the disposition 
        of the administrative agents of the government, the 
        country must be helpless to learn how it is being 
        served.'\36\

    \35\Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 591 U.S.__, 140 S. Ct. 2019, 2031, 
2033 (2020).
    \36\United States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41, 43 (1953).
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    Ms. Bean testified that the 2020 Mazars opinion speaks 
approvingly of Congress using ``every means'' to acquaint 
itself ``with the acts and the disposition of the 
administrative agents of the government'' to learn how the 
country is being served. A common-sense interpretation of that 
language, according to Ms. Bean, supports congressional use of 
a body like CRS to obtain information from ``the administrative 
agents of the government'' and is consistent with Supreme Court 
and lower court precedents upholding the authority of GAO to 
obtain information on behalf of Congress when acting pursuant 
to an enabling statute.\37\
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    \37\See Bean Questions for the Record, Legislative Proposals to 
Support Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of 
Federal Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization 
Subcommittee, 118th Cong. (2024): See, e.g., Bowsher v. Merck & Co., 
Inc., 460 U.S. 824 (1983)(upholding--though narrowing--a GAO 
information demand which was encouraged by two Senators and initiated 
under statute to determine whether the government paid a fair price 
under certain pharmaceutical contracts); United States v. McDonnell 
Douglas Corp., 751 F.2d 220, 224-225 (8th Cir. 1984)(finding that GAO 
``serves as an investigative and auditing arm of Congress'' and 
upholding a GAO subpoena, authorized by statute, to ``gather 
information [from a contractor] that would help Congress decide whether 
public money has been used and expended economically and efficiently'' 
by the Department of Defense).
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    Supreme Court precedent already affirms Congress's 
authority to obtain information. Updating that authority to 
reflect the way Congress has changed since 1970 is consistent 
with how Congress, via the LRA, recognized the need to ensure 
that CRS is equipped to support an evolving institution. 
Supreme Court precedent also supports Congress's use of ``every 
means'' to acquaint itself with actions taken by the 
government, and upholds efforts by another legislative support 
agency, GAO, to obtain information on Congress' behalf when 
acting pursuant to statute. It follows that expanding CRS's 
access authority--to include all its duties--to obtain federal 
data and information on Congress' behalf falls squarely within 
Congress's authority, as recognized by the Supreme Court, to 
use ``every means'' to access the information it needs to serve 
the American people.''\38\
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    \38\Id.
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    The Subcommittee also sought to understand some of the 
specific access challenges that CRS has encountered. In 
testimony before the Subcommittee, CRS Interim Director Robert 
R. Newlen explained:
          Generally, CRS has been successful in its ability to 
        secure the information that it needs from other federal 
        agencies through formal agreement or by way of the many 
        collegial relationships between CRS staff and agency 
        officials. There have been instances, however, when the 
        Service has encountered resistance from federal 
        agencies in providing needed information. Among the 
        responses to CRS information requests, agencies have 
        directed the Service to file Freedom of Information Act 
        (FOIA) requests; required disclosure of the 
        congressional office for whom the research is being 
        conducted (in violation of CRS's confidentiality 
        obligations); sought CRS's assurance that the 
        information will not be shared with third parties (a 
        potential conflict with CRS obligations to Congress); 
        restricted identification of the source of the 
        information; and delayed the response pending the 
        completion of lengthy administrative processes. In one 
        notable example, CRS has been attempting to procure two 
        data resources, critical to its research, since 2017. 
        In other instances, information requests are simply 
        ignored or denied, requiring the Service to inform the 
        congressional requestor that CRS is unable to secure 
        the information.\39\

    \39\See Newlen Testimony, Legislative Proposals to Support 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of Federal 
Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization Subcommittee, 
118th Cong. (2024).
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    Former CRS analyst, Dr. Matthew Glassman, testified to 
several instances where he was told point-blank by a federal 
agency that he could not have the data he was requesting. In 
other cases, he had to go back to the requesting Member of 
Congress or congressional staffer and ask them to intervene 
with the agency on his behalf. For Members or staff who wish to 
keep their requests to CRS confidential, having to request data 
on behalf of CRS defeats the purpose. Dr. Glassman explained 
that when data is difficult or impossible to access, Congress 
suffers the consequences:
          To be clear, in most cases where I sought data from 
        the executive branch, I eventually was able to acquire 
        it. But the time it could take, the hassle of the 
        acquisition process, and the possibility of ultimately 
        not getting the data often led me to not even try, and 
        to seek other avenues for information and data to 
        fulfill the congressional request and support the 
        legislative process. For anticipatory reports, it 
        occasionally killed entire ideas. ``Wouldn't it be 
        great if we could do X?'' would often be met with, 
        ``yeah, but we'd need to have Y and Z data, and that's 
        just going to be impossible to get.'' This preemptive 
        scuttling of potential analytical products is a 
        pernicious and mostly invisible second-order problem 
        with data access.\40\
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    \40\See Glassman Testimony, Legislative Proposals to Support 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of Federal 
Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization Subcommittee, 
118th Cong. (2024).

    Mr. Newlen and Dr. Glassman also noted that CRS's current 
statute, which requires federal agencies to share information 
only when it is requested on behalf of or when CRS is acting as 
an agent of a committee, does not reflect the contemporary 
institutional landscape.\41\ Both were careful to state that 
despite CRS's limited access authorities, analysts are 
generally able to obtain the data and information they need by 
working hard to develop professional relationships with agency 
contacts. And both expressed confidence that relationship-
building would continue to be the default approach by which 
analysts secure data and information. But in instances where 
CRS has exhausted other means for obtaining the data and 
information it needs to support the work of Congress, having 
expanded statutory authorities to point to can boost the 
agency's case for access.\42\ Expanded statutory authorities 
might also be helpful when an analyst is denied data because 
their longstanding agency or department contact left, or 
because a new administration has put new appointees and 
procedures in place that affect legislative support agency 
access to data.
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    \41\Id. and footnote 37.
    \42\See Glassman Testimony, Legislative Proposals to Support 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service and the Use of Federal 
Data: Hearing Before the H. Comm. On Admin. Modernization Subcommittee, 
118th Cong. (2024).
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    Perhaps most importantly, broader access to data and 
information would improve the quality and scope of the products 
and services CRS provides for Congress. As Dr. Glassman 
testified: ``high-quality policy research and analysis requires 
data. It is the lifeblood of objective consideration and the 
basis of informed analysis. An institution such as CRS can only 
be as good as its ability to access the necessary data to 
conduct its mission.''\43\
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    \43\Id.
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                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Requiring agencies and departments to comply with CRS 
requests for information and data in the performance of all 
their duties, and not just those related to committees, would 
meaningfully improve the agency's ability to deliver timely 
research and analysis to Congress. Removing the limitations and 
procedural hurdles required under its current, outdated statute 
would also bring CRS's access authorities more closely in line 
with those of its two sister agencies, better equipping CRS to 
fulfill its statutory obligation to support Congress.
    CRS's current statute states that federal departments and 
agencies shall comply with requests for ``books, records, 
correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents as the Service 
considers necessary . . .'' so that the Service can assist 
congressional committees.\44\ Because the kinds of information 
and data that agencies and departments produce today is 
remarkably different from what was produced in 1970, the 
categories of material that CRS can request from agencies and 
departments also needs to be updated to include information and 
data in all forms. Broadening the categories of information 
that CRS can access better aligns the agency's access 
authorities with those of its sister agencies.
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    \44\2 U.S.C. Sec. 166(d)(1).
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    Updating CRS's statute with language requiring the CRS 
Director to maintain the same level of confidentiality as is 
required by law of the department, agency, establishment, or 
regulatory agency or commission from which the data is 
obtained, and subjecting CRS officers and employees 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 the data is 
obtained, would align CRS with CBO's data access 
confidentiality requirements.\45\ Establishing sufficient 
``custody of information'' audit trails will also ensure that 
CRS can trace when data or information was requested, who 
requested it, and when it was received. Taken together, these 
measures will help validate CRS's requests and streamline its 
work on behalf of Congress.
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    \45\CBO is bound by the confidentiality language in 2 U.S.C. 
Sec. 603.
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    It is also important to note that under CRS's current 
information and data access provisions, the agency works with 
committee staff to determine appropriate request parameters 
before reaching out to a federal agency or department with a 
request. And when CRS requests information or data for 
anticipatory purposes or to inform or update its general 
distribution products, the agency first 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 might be used. For example, because CRS is 
sensitive to central bank independence, it would refrain from 
requests that may be construed as threatening the independence 
of federal monetary policy. CRS's long-established record of 
not making inappropriate or unduly expansive information and 
data requests reflects the agency's strict adherence to its 
statutory mandate to advise and assist Congress, without 
partisan bias. These protocols will not change under H.R. 7593.
    CRS serves as support staff to congressional committees and 
Members of Congress, assisting at every stage of the 
legislative process--from the early considerations that precede 
bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to 
the oversight of enacted laws and various agency 
activities.\46\ For CRS to continue fulfilling this essential 
support role, Congress must pass legislation updating its 
authorizing statute.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \46\See About CRS (last visited May 6, 2024) https://www.loc.gov/
crsinfo/about/.
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                            Committee Action


                       INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL

    On March 8, 2024, Representative Stephanie Bice (OK-05), 
Chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration's 
Subcommittee on Modernization, joined by Representative Derek 
Kilmer (WA-06), Representative Mike Carey (OH-15), and 
Representative Joseph Morelle (NY-25), introduced H.R. 7593, 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's Access to Data 
Act. The bill was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration on March 8, 2024, and to the Committee on House 
Administration's Subcommittee on Modernization on March 11, 
2024.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House rule XIII, 
in the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Modernization held 
two Subcommittee hearings that explored the need for expanded 
data access authority as set forth in H.R. 7593.
          1. On April 26, 2023, the Subcommittee on 
        Modernization held a hearing titled, ``The Path Toward 
        a More Modern and Effective Congressional Research 
        Service.'' The hearing focused on CRS's leadership and 
        strategic goals and how CRS can best meet the needs of 
        a modern Congress, including by incorporating 
        technology to better advise and assist Congress. The 
        hearing was a first step in a longer-term process of 
        strengthening and improving the agency to meet the 
        needs of an evolving Congress. The Subcommittee heard 
        testimony from Dr. Mary B. Mazanec, CRS Director, 
        Joseph Dunne, Director of the European Parliament 
        Liaison Office in Washington, D.C., and formerly a 
        Director in the European Parliamentary Research 
        Service, Richard Coffin, Chief of Research and Advocacy 
        at USA Facts, and Kevin Kosar, Senior Fellow of Legal 
        and Constitutional Studies at American Enterprise 
        Institute.\47\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \47\The Path Toward a More Modern and Effective Congressional 
Research Service: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Modernization, 
118th Cong. (2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          2. On March 20, 2024, the Subcommittee on 
        Modernization held a legislative hearing titled, 
        ``Legislative Proposals to Support Modernizing the 
        Congressional Research Service and the Use of Federal 
        Data.'' The purpose of the hearing was to receive 
        testimony on three measures referred to the 
        Subcommittee: H.R. 7592, To Direct the Librarian of 
        Congress to promote the more cost-effective, efficient, 
        and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution 
        and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound 
        versions with digital versions; H.R. 7593, the 
        Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's Access 
        to Data Act and; H. Con. Res. 49, the Congressional 
        Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution. The 
        Subcommittee heard testimony from Robert Newlen, CRS 
        Interim Director, Elise J. Bean, Director, Washington 
        Office, Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy 
        at Wayne State University Law School, Dr. Matthew 
        Glassman, Senior Fellow, Government Affairs Institute 
        at Georgetown University, and Dr. Nicholas Hart, 
        President and CEO, Data Foundation.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \48\Legislative Proposals to Support Modernizing the Congressional 
Research Service and the Use of Federal Data: Hearing Before the 
Subcommittee on Modernization, 118th Cong. (2024).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        Committee Consideration

    On April 11, 2024, the Subcommittee on Modernization met in 
open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 7593, Modernizing the 
Congressional Research Service's Access to Data Act, reported 
favorably to the Committee on House Administration, by voice 
vote, a quorum being present.
    On April 30, 2024, the Committee on House Administration 
met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 7593, 
Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's Access to Data 
Act, reported favorably to the House of Representatives, by 
voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of House rule XIII, the 
following vote occurred during the Committee's consideration of 
H.R. 7593:
          1. Vote to report H.R. 7593 favorably to the House of 
        Representatives, passed by voice vote.

                 Statement of Constitutional Authority

    Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
to the following:
           Article I, Section 8, Clause 18--``To make 
        all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
        carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all 
        other Powers vested by thisConstitution in the 
Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer 
thereof.\49\
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    \49\U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 18.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are 
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.

            Statement of Budget Authority and Related Items

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget 
authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. In the 
opinion of the Committee, H.R. 7593 provides no new budget 
authority nor has any effect on budget outlays, revenues, or 
tax expenditures.

                  Congressional Budget Office Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, a cost 
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant 
to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was 
received and included in the report materials. The Chairman of 
the Committee shall cause such an estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record if it is received by the Committee.




    H.R. 7593 would amend the Legislative Reorganization Act of 
1946 to clarify and strengthen the ability of the Congressional 
Research Service (CRS) to access data from the executive 
branch. The bill would require CRS to continue to maintain the 
same level of confidentiality for the data as the agency that 
provides the data. Under current law, CRS generally has access 
to information from the executive branch; however, questions 
about the extent of their authority can delay the timing of 
that access.
    Because H.R. 7593 would primarily clarify CRS's ability to 
access and its need to protect executive branch data, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 7593 would have no significant 
effect on federal spending. Any related spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The performance goals and objectives of H.R. 7593 are to 
expand CRS's data access authority to strengthen the agency's 
ability to request and receive timely information and data in 
order to support Congress in its legislative, oversight, and 
representative duties.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, no provision 
of H.R. 7593 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of House rule XXI, H.R. 7593 
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clauses 
9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of House rule XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was received and included in the 
report materials. The Chairman of the Committee shall cause 
such an estimate to be printed in the Congressional Record if 
it is received by the Committee.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    H.R. 7593 does not establish or authorize any new advisory 
committees.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    This section provides that H.R. 7593 may be cited as the 
``Modernizing the Congressional Research Service's Access to 
Data Act.''

Section 2. Access of Congressional Research Service to government 
        information

    This section amends Section 203 of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 166) to grant CRS the 
authority to secure all forms of records, information, and data 
directly from the various departments, agencies, and 
establishments of the executive branch, regulatory agencies, 
and commissions, as necessary to carry out congressional 
requests.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                 LEGISLATIVE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1946



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
                        TITLE II--MISCELLANEOUS

Part 1--Statutory Provisions Relating to Congressional Personnel

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                     congressional research service

  Sec. 203. (a) The Legislative Reference Service in the 
Library of Congress is hereby continued as a separate 
department in the Library of Congress and is redesignated the 
``Congressional Research Service''.
  (b) It is the policy of Congress that--
          (1) the Librarian of Congress shall, in every 
        possible way, encourage, assist, and promote the 
        Congressional Research Service in--
                  (A) rendering to Congress the most effective 
                and efficient service,
                  (B) responding most expeditiously, 
                effectively, and efficiently to the special 
                needs of Congress, and
                  (C) discharging its responsibilities to 
                Congress; and
          (2) the Librarian of Congress shall grant and accord 
        to the Congressional Research Service complete research 
        independence and the maximum practicable administrative 
        independence consistent with these objectives.
  (c)(1) After consultation with the Joint Committee on the 
Library, the Librarian of Congress shall appoint the Director 
of the Congressional Research Service. The Director shall be 
compensated at the greater of the rate of pay in effect for 
level III of the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 
5 or the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable under section 
5376 of such title for positions at agencies with a performance 
appraisal system certified under section 5307(d) of such title.
  (2) The Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the 
Director, shall appoint a Deputy Director of the Congressional 
Research Service and all other necessary personnel thereof. The 
basic pay of the Deputy Director shall be fixed in accordance 
with chapter 51 (relating to classification) and section 5376 
of title 5, United States Code. The basic pay of all other 
necessary personnel of the Congressional Research Service shall 
be fixed in accordance with chapter 51 (relating to 
classification) and subchapter III (relating to General 
Schedule pay rates) of chapter 53 of title 5, except that--
          (A) the grade of Senior Specialist in each field 
        within the purview of subsection (e) of this section 
        shall not be less than the highest grade in the 
        executive branch of the Government to which research 
        analysts and consultants, without supervisory 
        responsibility, are currently assigned; and
          (B) the positions of Specialist and Senior Specialist 
        in the Congressional Research Service may be classified 
        above GS-15 in accordance with section 5108(c) of title 
        5, United States Code, and the rate of basic pay for 
        such positions may be fixed in accordance with section 
        5376 of such title, subject to the prior approval of 
        the Joint Committee on the Library.
  (3) Each appointment made under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
this subsection and subsection (e) of this section shall be 
without regard to the civil service laws, without regard to 
political affiliation, and solely on the basis of fitness to 
perform the duties of the position.
  (d) It shall be the duty of the congressional research 
service, without partisan bias--
          (1) upon request, to advise and assist any committee 
        of the Senate or House of Representatives and any joint 
        committee of Congress in the analysis, appraisal, and 
        evaluation of legislative proposals within that 
        committee's jurisdiction, or of recommendations 
        submitted to Congress, by the President or any 
        executive agency, so as to assist the committee in--
                  (A) determining the advisability of enacting 
                such proposals;
                  (B) estimating the probable results of such 
                proposals and alternatives thereto; and
                  (C) evaluating alternative methods for 
                accomplishing those results;
        and, by providing such other research and analytical 
        services as the committee considers appropriate for 
        these purposes, otherwise to assist in furnishing a 
        basis for the proper evaluation and determination of 
        legislative proposals and recommendations generally; 
        [and in the performance of this duty the Service shall 
        have authority, when so authorized by a committee and 
        acting as the agent of that committee, to request of 
        any department or agency of the United States the 
        production of such books, records, correspondence, 
        memoranda, papers, and documents as the Service 
        considers necessary, and such department or agency of 
        the United States shall comply with such request;] and 
        further, in the performance of this and any other 
        relevant duty, the Service shall maintain continuous 
        liaison with all committees;
          (2) to make available to each committee of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives and each joint committee 
        of the two Houses, at the opening of a new Congress, a 
        list of programs and activities being carried out under 
        existing law scheduled to terminate during the current 
        Congress, which are within the jurisdiction of the 
        committee;
          (3) to make available to each committee of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives and each joint committee 
        of the two Houses, at the opening of a new Congress, a 
        list of subjects and policy areas which the committee 
        might profitably analyze in depth;
          (4) upon request, or upon its own initiative in 
        anticipation of requests, to collect, classify, and 
        analyze in the form of studies, reports, compilations, 
        digests, bulletins, indexes, translations, and 
        otherwise, data having a bearing on legislation, and to 
        make such data available and serviceable to committees 
        and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives 
        and joint committees of Congress;
          (5) upon request, or upon its own initiative in 
        anticipation of requests, to prepare and provide 
        information, research, and reference materials and 
        services to committees and Members of the Senate and 
        House of Representatives and joint committees of 
        Congress to assist them in their legislative and 
        representative functions;
          (6) to prepare summaries and digests of bills and 
        resolutions of a public general nature introduced in 
        the Senate or House of Representatives;
          (7) upon request made by any committee or Member of 
        the Congress, to prepare and transmit to such committee 
        or Member a concise memorandum with respect to one or 
        more legislative measures upon which hearings by any 
        committee of the Congress have been announced, which 
        memorandum shall contain a statement of the purpose and 
        effect of each such measure, a description of other 
        relevant measures of similar purpose or effect 
        previously introduced in the Congress, and a recitation 
        of all action taken theretofore by or within the 
        Congress with respect to each such other measure;
          (8) to develop and maintain an information and 
        research capability, to include Senior Specialists, 
        Specialists, other employees, and consultants, as 
        necessary, to perform the functions provided for in 
        this subsection; and
          (9) to comply with the requirements of, and provide 
        information and technological assistance consistent 
        with, section 124 of the Legislative Branch 
        Appropriations Act, 2018.
  (e) The Librarian of Congress is authorized to appoint in the 
Congressional Research Service, upon the recommendation of the 
Director, Specialists and Senior Specialists in the following 
broad fields:
          (1) agriculture;
          (2) American government and public administration;
          (3) American public law;
          (4) conservation;
          (5) education;
          (6) engineering and public works;
          (7) housing;
          (8) industrial organization and corporation finance;
          (9) international affairs;
          (10) international trade and economic geography;
          (11) labor and employment;
          (12) mineral economics;
          (13) money and banking;
          (14) national defense;
          (15) price economics;
          (16) science;
          (17) social welfare;
          (18) taxation and fiscal policy;
          (19) technology;
          (20) transportation and communications;
          (21) urban affairs;
          (22) veterans' affairs; and
          (23) such other broad fields as the Director may 
        consider appropriate.
Such Specialists and Senior Specialists, together with such 
other employees of the Congressional Research Service as may be 
necessary, shall be available for special work with the 
committees and Members of the Senate and House of 
Representatives and the joint committees of Congress for any of 
the purposes of subsection (d) of this section.
  (f) The director is authorized--
          (1) to classify, organize, arrange, group, and 
        divide, from time to time, as he considers advisable, 
        the requests for advice, assistance, and other services 
        submitted to the Congressional Research Service by 
        committees and Members of the Senate and House of 
        Representatives and joint committees of Congress, into 
        such classes and categories as he considers necessary 
        to--
                  (A) expedite and facilitate the handling of 
                the individual requests submitted by Members of 
                the Senate and House of Representatives,
                  (B) promote efficiency in the performance of 
                services for committees of the Senate and House 
                of Representatives and joint committees of 
                Congress, and
                  (C) provide a basis for the efficient 
                performance by the Congressional Research 
                Service of its legislative research and related 
                functions generally, and
          (2) to establish and change, from time to time, as he 
        considers advisable, within the Congressional Research 
        Service, such research and reference divisions or other 
        organizational units, or both, as he considers 
        necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.
  (g) The Director of the Congressional Research Service will 
submit to the Librarian of Congress for review, consideration, 
evaluation, and approval, the budget estimates of the 
Congressional Research Service for inclusion in the Budget of 
the United States Government.
  (h)(1) The Director of the Congressional Research Service may 
procure the temporary or intermittent assistance of individual 
experts or consultants (including stenographic reporters) and 
of persons learned in particular or specialized fields of 
knowledge--
          (A) by nonpersonal service contract, without regard 
        to any provision of law requiring advertising for 
        contract bids, with the individual expert, consultant, 
        or other person ooncerned, as an independent 
        contractor, for the furnishing by him to the 
        Congressional Research Service of a written study, 
        treatise, theme, discourse, dissertation, thesis, 
        summary, advisory opinion, or other end product; or
          (B) by employment (for a period of not more than one 
        year) in the Congressional Research Service of the 
        individual expert, consultant, or other erson 
        concerned, by personal service contract or otherwise, 
        wit R out regard to the position classification laws, 
        at a rate of pay not in excess of the per diem 
        equivalent of the highest rate of basic pay then 
        currently in effect for the General Schedule of section 
        5332 of title 5, United States Code, including payment 
        of such rate for necessary travel time.
  (2) The Director of the Congressional Research Service may 
procure by contract, without regard to any provision of law 
requiring advertising for contract bids, the temporary (for 
respective periods not in excess of one year) or intermittent 
assistance of educational, research, or other organizations of 
experts and consultants (including stenographic reporters and 
of educational, research, and other organizations of persons 
earned in particular or specialized fields of
  (i) The Director of the Congressional Research Service shall 
prepare and file with the Joint Committee on the Library at the 
beginning of each regular session of Congress a separate and 
special report covering, in summary and in detail, all phases 
of activity of the Congressional Research Service for the 
immediately preceding fiscal year, and shall include in the 
report a description of the efforts made by the Director to 
make additional Congressional Research Service products that 
are not confidential products or services available to the 
Librarian of Congress for publication on the website 
established and maintained under section 124 of the Legislative 
Branch Appropriations Act, 2018.
  (j)(1) In carrying out the duties and functions of the 
Congressional Research Service 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.
  [(j)] (k) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to 
the Congressional Research Service each fiscal year such sums 
as may be necessary to carry on the work of the Service.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *