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For Immediate Release
November 22, 2003 |
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Shays, Inslee Fight For Information Access
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT) and
Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) today introduced the Congressional
Research Accessibility Act, a bill to make Congressional Research
Service products available to the public. The bill is modeled
after the successful pilot program administered by the Committee
on House Administration which was halted in September. The
Congressional Research Service, a department of the Library
of Congress, is a nonpartisan, analytical, research, and reference
service for Congress and Congressional staff.
"CRS products are created with taxpayers' dollars and
the taxpayers should have access to the information,"
Shays said. "There is no logical reason why this information
should be held under lock and key."
"I applaud Congressman Shays for his leadership on this
bill. This legislation is good for representative government,
because it will provide Americans with increased information
about issues before Congress," Inslee said. "I know
that my constituents will appreciate having access to these
valuable reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS)."
The bill requires the Director of the Congressional Research
Service to make research - except that which is confidential
or created at the request of an individual, office or committee
-- accessible to the public by a centralized, searchable electronic
database. The information must be posted within 30 and 40
days after it is made available to Congress. It can be accessed
via the website of a Member of Congress or Congressional committee.
Congressman David Price (D-NC) and Congressman Mark Green
(R-MI) are also co-sponsors of the legislation.
Contact: Sarah Moore,
202/225-5541
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