Congressional Research Service

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Congressional Research Service
CRS logo.png
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Affiliation:U.S. Congress
Top official:Director Mary B. Mazanec
Year founded:1914
Employees:600
Website:Official website

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), often known as "Congress's think tank," is a branch of the Library of Congress.[1] The agency, overseen by the Joint Committee on the Library, aims to provide high-quality research and analysis to members of Congress on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. Furthermore, members of Congress may freely and confidentially consult with CRS professionals and make research requests at any time.[2]

Mission

On its website, CRS describes its mission in the following way:[3]

“ To serve Congress with the highest quality of research, analysis, information and confidential consultation to support the exercise of its legislative, representational and oversight duties in its role as a coequal branch of government.[4] ”

History

In 1914, Congress and President Woodrow Wilson passed legislation establishing the Legislative Reference Service within the Library of Congress. The department was renamed to the Congressional Research Service in 1970 with passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act. The service's responsibilities expanded significantly after this reorganization.[3]

Work

Administrative State
Administrative State Icon Gold.png
Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia.

CRS only works for Congress, and exchanges between members of Congress and CRS professionals are considered strictly confidential.[2] In general, Congressional Research Service reports can only be obtained through members of Congress, and the organization has resisted efforts from open-government groups and even some legislators to make all of its materials publicly available online. However, according to The Washington Post, "U.S. government entities and nongovernmental entities, the media and foreign governments, like embassies" are often granted access to CRS reports.[1] A number of free, online databases that collect CRS materials exist.

Structure

According to its website, the Congressional Research Service employs more than 400 analysts, attorneys, and other research personnel. In addition to the Knowledge Services Group, which employs information professionals who provide research support to CRS policy experts, the agency is organized into five research divisions:[5]

  • American law
  • Domestic social policy
  • Foreign affairs, defense and trade
  • Government and finance
  • Resources, science and industry

In total, CRS employs approximately 600 people, with about 200 administrative and support staff. The agency's five research divisions are managed and supported by the following offices:[6]

  • Office of the Director
  • Office of Administrative Operations
  • Counselor to the Director
  • Office of Legislative Information Services
  • Office of Publishing

Leadership

The Congressional Research Service is led by Interim Director Robert R. Newlen and Deputy Director T.J. Halstead. These positions are appointed by the Librarian of Congress with advice from the Joint Committee on the Library.[7]

Budget

CRS is a program administered by the Library of Congress. The following table lists the approximate annual expenses on the Congressional Research Service program for fiscal years 2021 and 2022:[8]

Annual expenses of the Congressional Research Service, 2021-2022
Fiscal Year Net Program Costs
2022 $42,136,000
2021 $41,785,000

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Congressional Research Service' CRS. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Congressional Research Service - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Washington Post, "You'd Know if You Were Congressional," March 22, 2007
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Library of Congress, "CRS Careers: Values," accessed June 16, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Library of Congress, "CRS Careers: History and Mission," accessed February 21, 2024
  4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. ↑ Library of Congress, "CRS Careers: Areas of Research," accessed February 21, 2024
  6. ↑ Library of Congress, "CRS Careers: Organizational Structure," accessed February 21, 2024
  7. ↑ Library of Congress, "CRS Careers: Office of the Director," accessed February 21, 2024
  8. ↑ Library of Congress, "Library of Congress - Financial Statements Report," accessed February 21, 2024
v • e
Influencers
MainInfluencer Project Badge.png
v • e
The Administrative State
MainThe Administrative State Project Badge.png
Pillars
Reporting
Laws
Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases
Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States
Terms
Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large
Bibliography
Agencies
v • e
Ballotpedia
About
Editorial Content
Geoff Pallay, Director of Editorial Content and Editor-in-Chief • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Daniel Anderson, Managing Editor • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor • Cory Eucalitto, Managing Editor • Mandy Gillip, Managing Editor • Doug Kronaizl, Local Elections Project Manager • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Thomas Ellis • Frank Festa • Nicole Fisher • Brianna Hosea • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Nathan Maxwell • Ellie Mikus • Jackie Mitchell • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Maddie Sinclair Johnson • Abbey Smith • Alexis Thacker • Janie Valentine • Joel Williams • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Congressional_Research_Service&oldid=9374653"