Thoughts on the Congressional Research Service (CRS)

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is an incredibly valuable resource for Members of Congress and their staff. Thankfully, when I first began my Congressional staff service in September 1998, I quickly realized that fact. While many staff are quite familiar with CRS, some are not. For those of you who are not, below you will find some information from the CRS website (About CRS (congress.gov) that details what it is as well some additional perspective based on my personal experience.

According to CRS, it is “a federal legislative branch agency located within the Library of Congress,” that “works exclusively for Congress, providing timely, objective, and authoritative research and analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of political party affiliation.”

CRS says its products are “created for the sole purpose of supporting Congress in its legislative, oversight, and representational duties. New products are regularly produced to anticipate and respond to issues of interest to Congress on a timely basis. As these issues develop, so do our products, which may be updated to reflect new information, developments, and emergent needs of Congress. The products are not designed to provide comprehensive coverage of the academic literature or address issues that are outside the scope of congressional deliberations. They are marked as “new,” “updated,” or “archived” to indicate their status.”

CRS describes that its “experts assist 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.” The services CRS provides include:

·??????“Reports on major policy issues

·??????Tailored confidential memoranda, briefings and consultations

·??????Seminars and workshops

·??????Expert congressional testimony”

Another valuable CRS service is its Appropriations Status Table. As CRS states, the Table “provides timely information on legislative activity related to the appropriations and budget process. It includes updates on the status of each of the regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, supplemental appropriations bills (e.g., disaster assistance supplemental appropriations legislation), omnibus appropriations measures and budget resolutions. It also provides links to related resources for appropriations legislation, such as legislative text, committee prints, and press releases.”

As soon as I understood what CRS is, does, and offers, I began to regularly use its services. At the time, I commuted to Capitol Hill by Metro, and I read numerous CRS reports and materials to learn more about the legislative, regulatory, and appropriations processes. I also read them to better understand public policy issues within my assigned portfolio and that were otherwise part of the current public debate.

As my career progressed, I used CRS to help secure information needed to explore and develop legislative proposals and to respond to constituent or district concerns. Another CRS service that I found invaluable was its biannual Continuing Legal Education (CLE) workshops. Those workshops focused on current legal debates and developments and really helped me better understand complex and arcane issue areas.

I also appreciated and benefitted from individual briefings from CRS on various topics. For example, I did a lot of work on trade and appropriations issues and found CRS to be a great partner in securing information to use, particularly when working to deconstruct market access barriers or secure federal funding through earmarks or grants. Additionally, through my work with CRS, I was privileged to develop relationships with some of its experts such as Judy Schneider, a renowned expert on Congressional process and a supreme political junky, who taught me so much and provided encouragement and support.

When I was on the Hill, CRS conducted a “Mock Congress” for Congressional staff. I will always be thankful that I was privileged to be able to participate in one which took place in the Richmond Capitol for several days.

We were assigned different roles - I was a Senator from Arkansas - and given several issues to consider. That experience was one of the best in my career. I learned so much about the legislative process and was thrilled to have the opportunity to have the most realistic experience as a member of Congress one can have without serving in that august body. We engaged in party conferences and caucuses, spoke to the press, offered and debated amendments, and engaged in conference committees. After that experience, I had a totally new perspective on the many different aspects of my principal’s work. I also left with an expanded network and new friends.

I encourage you to fully explore, understand, and explore CRS. Do not hesitate to use its services and work to build relationships with its experts in those issue areas that you are most interested or for which you are responsible. In short, I encourage you to actively partner with CRS to enhance your knowledge and ability to serve your principal and their constituents. CRS can definitely help you to “Make it matter.”