Honoring Sen. John McCain’s Service by Making CRS Reports Used by Lawmakers Available to the Public

Much will be written following the death of Sen. John S. McCain, the vast bulk of it of with sincere admiration for his personal courage and service to his country. I am among those admirers. His life was undeniably colorful– he was very much human. Equally undeniable was the magnitude of his service to his nation. He knew where his duty lay, and he gave palpably more than any critic to honor that obligation. He knew the difference between patriotism and nationalism or partisanism. Compared to his legislative peers, it is fair to say that few or none have displayed greater loyalty to the common good of our nation as opposed to any political party. In any world– but certainly in today’s political climate– he was a lion among sheep.

What Are CRS Reports?
I interacted with his Senate office one time in 1998 during my Congressional Fellowship and service to the Senate Finance Committee. Senator McCain filed a typically bi-partisan bill that would make most of the reports and issue-briefs prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) available to the public. At the time, I had never heard of these.  CRS reports are among those prepared by the Library of Congress, often in response to requests by federal legislators for background information about current or potential legislation. I had hundreds of these available to me at my networked desk in a Senate office building. The resources of the Library are stunning. The academician in me recognized these reports and issue briefs as extraordinarily useful. They are well researched, and clearly written in language that can be understood by non-technical people. Best of all, these reports are as balanced and nonpartisan as anything can possibly be on Capitol Hill.  (The worst service a legislative aid can give their member is not to include all sides of an argument in their briefing.)  I downloaded and read as many reports related to healthcare matters as I could find, constantly regretting that I had not had them available earlier as I began a second career in health policy research. Continue reading “Honoring Sen. John McCain’s Service by Making CRS Reports Used by Lawmakers Available to the Public”