Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress' request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This month brings us reports on the earthquakes, flooding, middle east protests, and much more. Although these reports are in the public domain, there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report, you can request it from your senator or representative. These reports were discovered by Open CRS and Secrecy News:

• Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya): Background and Issues for Congress
• No-Fly Zones: Strategic, Operational, and Legal Considerations for Congress
• Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications
• Fukushima Nuclear Crisis 
• Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress 
• The Japanese Nuclear Incident: Technical Aspects 
• Nuclear Power Plant Sites: Maps of Seismic Hazards and Population Centers 
• Japan’s 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the United States
• Funeral Protests: Selected Federal Laws and Constitutional Issues
• War in Afghanistan: Strategy, Military Operations, and Issues for Congress
• Military Justice: Courts-Martial, An Overview
• The State Secrets Privilege: Preventing the Disclosure of Sensitive National Security Information During Civil Litigation
• Rare Earth Elements in National Defense:  Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress
• Government Shutdown: Operations of the Department of Defense During a Lapse in Appropriations
• The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases
• Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations
• Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2010
• Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 and Current Congressional Concerns
• Privacy Protections for Personal Information Online 
• Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis
• Iran Sanctions
• Asylum and ‘Credible Fear’ Issues in U.S. Immigration Policy
• The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States
• Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities in North Korea
• Turkey-U.S. Defense Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges 
• FY2011 Appropriations in Budgetary Context
• Judicial Discipline Process: An Overview 
• Effects of Radiation from Fukushima Daiichi on the U.S. Marine Environment
• The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
• Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations
• U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress
• Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress
• Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions
• Direct Overt U.S. Aid and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2001-FY2012
• DNA Testing in Criminal Justice: Background, Current Law, Grants, and Issues
• The Global Challenge of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
• U.S. Global Food Security Funding, FY2010-FY2012
• "Gang of Four" Congressional Intelligence Notifications 
• Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance 
• An Overview of Major Tax Proposals in the President's FY2012 Budget 
• Appropriations Subcommittee Structure: History of Changes from 1920-2011 
• Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy 
• Battery Manufacturing for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles: Policy Issues 
• Changing the Federal Reserve's Mandate: An Economic Analysis 
• Chemical Facility Security: Issues and Options for the 112th Congress 
• Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits  for Children in Foster Care 
• Coast Guard Deepwater Acquisition Programs: Background, Oversight Issues, and  Options for Congress 
• Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress 
• Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations 
• Community Development Block Grants: Funding Issues in the 112th Congress and Recent Funding History 
• Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies
• Continuing Resolutions: Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices
• Côte d'Ivoire's Post-Election Crisis
• Derivatives Regulation in the 111th Congress
• Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Issues
• Educational Assistance Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of  Veterans Affairs
• Essential Air Service: Frequently Asked Questions
• Europe's Preferential Trade Agreements: Status, Content, and Implications
• Federal Employee Benefits and Same-Sex Partnerships
• Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2012
• Financial Services and General Government (FSGG): FY2011 Appropriations
• Funding Gaps and Government Shutdowns: CRS Experts
• Haiti's National Elections: Issues and Concerns
• House Committee Funding Requests and Authorizations, 104th-112th Congresses
• Kenya: Current Conditions and the Challenges Ahead
• Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues
• Liability and Compensation Issues Raised by the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill
• Locally Operated Levees: Issues and Federal Programs
• Multilateral Development Banks: General Capital Increases
• Multilateral Development Banks: Overview and Issues for Congress
• National Forest System (NFS) Roadless Area Initiatives
• Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress
• Nigeria: Elections and Issues for Congress
• Overview of Immigration Issues in the 112th Congress
• Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) Status for Russia and U.S.-Russian  Economic Ties
• Piracy off the Horn of Africa
• Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process
• Political Transition in Tunisia
• Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Independent and Other Agencies During the 110th Congress
• Puerto Rican Statehood: Effects on House Apportionment
• Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of Their Use in the House, 1947-2011
• Syria: Issues for the 112th Congress and Background on U.S. Sanctions
• The Kaesong North-South Korean Industrial Complex
• The National Directory of New Hires
• The Proposed U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement
• The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress
• Tort Suits Against Federal Contractors: An Overview of the Legal Issues
• U.S. National Science Foundation: Experimental Program to Stimulate  Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
• Universal Service Fund: Background and Options for Reform
• Value-Added Tax (VAT) as a Revenue Option: A Primer
• Veterans and Homelessness

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports dating back to 1916.

Not on campus but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports. 

Book: Fundamentals of Government Information

Neal-Schuman Publishers has released this month a new title of interest to Government Information researchers and librarians: Fundamentals of Government Information.


Subtitled "Mining, Finding, Evaluating, and Using Government Resources," the book is broken into 15 chapters, each detailing high-interest areas of government search. Included are chapters on Congress, Statistical Information, Historical and Archival Information, and How to Think Like a Government Documents Librarian.

Two chapters within the book are authored by librarians from the CU Boulder campus. Library Faculty Jennie Gerke has authored Environment and Energy Information, while Peggy Jobe, Head of the Government Information Library, contributed Scientific and Technical Information.

The book utilizes screen captures, scanned documents, data tables, and end of chapter exercises to inform and educate those new to research in government information, while written links to publicly accessible government resources are included throughout. A copy for use at CU's Norlin Library is coming soon.

What is The Federal Register?

Continuing our video series of short, informative videos on popular, useful and sometimes hard-to-understand sources of government information is this latest effort: "What is the Federal Register?"



We welcome your comments below, and hope that readers will feel free to embed, link to, or share the video if they find it a helpful and useful device in explaining this popular source. These videos will soon have their own pages within the CU Boulder Government Information Library Web site.

In the meantime, to visit the Federal Register online, or other government sources for regulations, visit our online guide to Regulations, or check out FederalRegister.gov and Regulations.gov directly.

Follow this link to view the previous video in this series: "What is FDsys?" or check out the CU Boulder Libraries YouTube channel.

Getting away from campus

The end of the semester is upon us and while it may be hard to imagine that you can get outside when you have been in the library for 24 hours studying, soon finals will be over. Therefore, why not spend some time outdoors in one of the various parks in Colorado.

Looking back down the Cataract Gulch Trail outside Lake City, Colorado

There are numerous ways to explore Colorado with a variety of organizations and the alphabet soup can be overwhelming. So here is an attempt to provide you with some of the places to go to find information on parks in Colorado.

Local Area Open Spaces

• Boulder City Open Spaces Enjoy walking at Chautauqua or checking out Boulder Falls? These are all Boulder City open spaces and this web site gives you trail maps, closures, and information on pet restrictions.
• Boulder County Open Spaces Did you know that Boulder County overseas almost 98,000 acres of open space? Not all open space is trails, some of it is used for agricultural purposes. Check out the breakdown of the acreage and find maps, trails and much more on this site.

Statewide Resources

• Colorado State Parks With the abundant local and federal resources you may not have explored the 42 state parks we have here in Colorado, but these parks give you access to boating, fishing, and beautiful trails.
• National Park Service: Colorado There are 13 national parks in Colorado (I've only been to 7 of them), scattered from the eastern plains to the Utah border. This web site gives you information on trails, history and much more on each park.
• National Forest Service: Colorado The Forest Service manages 13 national forests in Colorado, including the Arapho and Roosevelt National Forests here on the front range. If you don't know the name of your favorite national forest, check out this interactive national map.
• Bureau of Land Management: Colorado Last, but not least, is the BLM. The BLM in Colorado manages 8.3 million (yes, million) acres in Colorado. The picture above was taken on a BLM managed trail and their field offices provide detailed and useful trail descriptions across Colorado.

Still looking for more information? Check out the library's guide to parks, forests, grasslands, wildlife refuges, and historic places.

Taxpayer receipt

So maybe you just mailed in your check to the IRS or maybe you are one of the lucky folks who got a tax refund. Either way you might be interested in a new tool the White House released today.


This tool lets you discover where your tax dollars went in the budget. You might be interested to know that a married family with two children making $80,000 probably put $258.86 of their $9,983 in taxes toward interest. Which is still less then the $1,1015.97 they put towards national defense, but this tool will let you see where the US budget is spent. Unsurprisingly, the biggest costs are national defense and health care.

No matter what your position on cutting the deficit (view the White House and Rep. Paul Ryan's plans), this tool helps illustrate the ways the money is spent.

Still want more? Check out the library's guide to debt and budget information.