The CRS is a federal legislative branch agency located within the Library of Congress that works for the United States Congress and provides policy and legal analysis to committees and members of the House and Senate. CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century, according to the Library of Congress.
“Following our core values of objectivity and nonpartisanship, CRS doesn’t take sides in policy debates and won’t make policy recommendations for Congress in the reports,” said Stephen Dagadakis, head of the Congressional Programs and Communications Office at Congressional Research Service. “We outline options and considerations for Congress and assess their impacts, and Congress makes the political decisions about the issues.”
The CRS has approximately 600 employees, including lawyers, economists, reference librarians, and scientists. These experts assist at every stage of the legislative process, approaching complex topics from a variety of perspectives and examining all sides of an issue with research and analysis. CRS staff members present current policies and the impact of proposed alternatives. CRS services can include reports on major policy issues, confidential memos and briefings, seminars and workshops, and expert congressional testimony.
What is a CRS Report?
CRS reports are written collaboratively by Congressional Research Service employees, including research analysts, attorneys, and information professionals. They cover the full range of topics that are of interest to Congress, including policy issues such as defense, appropriations, health, education, environmental policy, foreign affairs, and information about the legislative and budget process. If there is increased interest in a particular topic or a perennial issue, a CRS report will most likely be written on that subject.
The CRS serves to provide Congress with research and analysis on relevant issues. By law, CRS staff are only available to assist Congress members, committees, and staff and respond to their congressional requests. While the CRS works exclusively for Congress, thousands of CRS reports are available to the public and provide access to products produced by the CRS for the U.S. Congress.
“Even though the reports are made available to the public, they’re explicitly written for a Congressional audience,” Dagadakis said. “We distill down and analyze information that’s relevant to help best inform Congress.”
These reports are living documents that are often updated and revised, sometimes dozens of times as issues emerge or develop. In 2021, the service published 1,325 new CRS reports and made 2,551 updates to previous reports and other products. There are currently more than 10,000 reports available in the database.