Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People

Open CRS Network - CRS Reports for the People is a relatively new website that has links to all of the publicly available reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service. The CRS is the non-partisan research arm of Congress. In essence any member of Congress may ask the specialists at CRS to conduct research into any topic. Normally these reports are private (depsite being paid for by public funds) and are released to the public by the Member of Congress who requested the report.

I for one believe this to be a fine idea, from a taxpayer standpoint and from a public information standpoint. However, Amanda Butler (hat tip to Outside the Beltway) at Crescat Sententia is on the fence:

I'm inclined not to believe that making CRS reports generally available to the public would not cause a burden upon the CRS itself: as it stands, these are internal memos designed to be frank and honest and nonpartisan. They are not intended to be used as ammunition. They are not peer-reviewed. They are simply designed to be useful to members of Congress. If they must also be safe for public consumption, will they be able to fill that role?

Again, I'm on the fence: I've found the CRS reports I've used before to be helpful, and I'd be interested in reading more of them. But I'm also not sure yet if the proposal's prudent.

I disagree. Leaving aside the taxpayer funded matter, I think that these reports are probably the BEST source of information about Congressional questions. Too often information released by members of Congress and lobbying operations is so full of spin and contradictions that it is impossible to tell what the truth is about a subject. With a non-partisan, non-agenda setting report written by academics who have no stake in the fight other than providing Congress with solid facts, I think the CRS reports represents the best opportunity to have solid information about what Congress is looking at.

Members of Congress use these reports as the foundation for policy decisions or non-decisions. Why should the public not have access to these reports on subjects safe for public consumption (read: not related to national security issues).

My only critique of the site is its poor search capabilities. For example, I threw in a search for charter schools and got back a report on NASA appropriations. But as a start-up site, this source has a great deal of potential.