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Congressional Research Service

U.S. legislative branch (nonpartisan congressional agency)

Owned byA federal government agency within the Library of Congress, which is part of the legislative branch. It works exclusively for Congress and is not privately owned.
FundingAnnual appropriations from Congress through the legislative branch budget (about $133.6 million as of 2023). It takes no advertising, subscriptions or outside donations.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The agency began in 1914 as the Legislative Reference Service, set up within the Library of Congress after Wisconsin Senator Nelson promoted a provision in an appropriations act. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 renamed it the Congressional Research Service and expanded its mandate to give Congress its own research and analysis capacity. Its staff of policy analysts, economists, attorneys and reference specialists produce reports, memos and confidential briefings for lawmakers of both parties. Its reports are generally not published by CRS itself, though many are now available through Congress.gov and third-party archives. Its work is widely seen as even-handed, and its legal and economic analyses are sometimes cited by both parties, though its reports can contradict a party's or administration's claims, which occasionally draws criticism. In 2025 and 2026 its reports have covered topics such as tariffs, the Iran conflict, budget requests for the State Department and the arts and humanities endowments, and the administration's foreign policy on democracy promotion. It has also been affected by turmoil at its parent institution: in May 2025 the Trump administration fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, setting off a legal fight over who controls the Library of Congress. The "nonpartisan" label is statutory and institutional, and its reports are meant to explain options and tradeoffs rather than recommend them, although its output necessarily reflects what Congress asks it to study.

Sources

  1. Congressional Research Service (Wikipedia)
  2. History and Mission (Library of Congress)
  3. Trump and Congress Clash Over Who Has Final Say on the Library of Congress (AEI)
  4. Trump fired the Librarian of Congress. Now Dems want to change the hiring process (Roll Call)
  5. Democracy and Human Rights Promotion in the Trump Administration's Foreign Policy: In Brief (CRS)
  6. U.S. Conflict with Iran, March 26, 2026 (CRS)

Profile compiled 2026-11-01; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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