Congressional Research Service Products: Purpose and Legislative Histories

Congressional Research Service (CRS) products, such as CRS Reports and Issue Briefs, are valuable reference tools that can assist reference professionals in providing service to a wide range of patrons and should not be overlooked. This article briefly explains how legislative reference bureaus came into existence and details the early legislative history of the formation of CRS, the federal legislative reference service. This article also explains what products CRS creates and for what purpose. Finally, this article provides a brief legislative history of modern congressional efforts to publicly disseminate CRS products, which includes summaries of public discourse on the subject.