CRS Reports are produced by the Congressional Research Service, the public policy research arm of Congress and are heavily researched and written by experts in the field on legislative issues. CRS Reports are available fulltext from 1916 to the present.
From the Congressional Research Service homepage:
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS 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.
CRS approaches complex topics from a variety of perspectives and examines all sides of an issue. Staff members analyze current policies and present the impact of proposed policy alternatives.
CRS services come in many forms:
Note: there might not be a CRS report for every topic - but do try and see if there is!
There are two ways to find CRS Reports:
1. Google your keywords and add crs reports
Example: offshore wind farm* crs reports
2. Use the Congressional Publications Database (linked below)
1. Document Types
Either keep Select All, or deselect and choose CRS Reports. You can also add Topic Pages.
(If you keep Select All, you will have the opportunity to limit document type within results)
2. Keep the search field to: All fields except full text
3. Enter Search Terms = keywords. Some examples:
"cap and trade"
"hydraulic fracturing"
"water rights" and drought*
(cafo* or "concentrated animal feed operation*) and EPA
biofuel* and ethanol
"renewable energy" and biofuels
Results, notice you can change the display from relevance to sort by date (most recent first)
