Congressional Research Service director Dan Mulhollan’s retirement on April 2 – after running Congress’ think tank for 17 years – raises questions about the agency’s policies and future.

Is CRS meeting the needs of Congress? Has its analytical expertise eroded? Are CRS Reports as relevant, accurate, and understandable as they need to be, and should they be available to the general public? What does a 21st century research service look like?

The Advisory Committee on Transparency will host a panel of experts to discuss the future of CRS on April 11th at 2pm in Rayburn 2203.

Our panel includes:

• Steve Aftergood, Senior Research Analyst, the Federation of American Scientists, and Director, FAS Project on Government Secrecy
• Stan Brand, Founder, the Brand Law Group; General Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives (1976-1983)
• Robyn Russell, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Mike Quigley (D – Ill.)
• Nye Stevens, Deputy Director, Government and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service (2000-2006); Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office (1982-2000); Director, Organization and Special Projects Division, U.S. Office of Management and Budget (1977-1982)
• Moderator Daniel Schuman, Policy Counsel and Director of the Advisory Committee on Transparency, the Sunlight Foundation; Attorney, American Law Division, Congressional Research Service (2006-2007)

All are welcome. RSVP to http://snlg.ht/CRSrsvp. Background information on CRS is available here.

(Cross-posted from the Advisory Committee on Transparency website.)