1999年3月9日

国会的政策问题 -
分布CRS写的是产品
TO THE PUBLIC

下面的讨论审查关于在决定是否改变各种有关CRS产品，如报告和热点话题的公共可用性现行政策的CRS产品向公众发行和地址问题审议大会国会政策。ReportsReports金博宝正规网址

As set forth below, CRS at present is precluded by law from general public distribution of its materials without prior approval by a congressional oversight committee. The Congress has actively exercised its oversight authority regarding CRS publication practices and has developed and promulgated standards to be applied in evaluating specific proposals. Current guidelines from the Joint Committee on the Library and other congressional bodies, issued in 1980, restrict the vast majority of CRS written products to congressional use and distribution to the public on a selective basis only.

Many years of congressional consideration of this issue reveal serious concerns about the institutional and legal consequences likely to result from the wholesale direct public distribution of CRS products with a potentially large circulation (e.g., CRS Reports and Issue Briefs).

一，背景，当代国会的政策问题 - 以CRS写的是产品的市民分布

总结

B.目前的限制和准则。

目前，CRS是由法律从它的材料一般公众分发未经批准擅自通过其两个国会监督委员会之一排除。从限制这个限制的结果已经出现在CRS”年度拨款中的作用，每年自1952年财政年度这一规定内容如下：

The most recent policy statement from Congress regarding the publication of CRS written products came in 1980. In a communication, dated March 21, 1980, the Joint Committee on the Library reaffirmed:

“那CRS材料的流通国会使用而准备的国会政策仅限于国会，并在CRS的个别国会客户的工作保密的长期政策应该保持下去。我们相信，在过去，CRS和监督委员会应考虑的只有那些CRS产品的出版发行，其对公众是兼容的，无论是在成本和产品内容方面，与CRS的义务向国会。”

这参议院决议针对参议院法律顾问代表参议院和CRS中对于联邦贸易委员会行政法官的“扫传票[代石油公司参与了FTC诉讼的]国会研究服务于该讨论石油文档行业和有关政府它的政策“。ID。该决议指出，“美国国会研究服务和国会成员和委员会之间的通信是立法过程中的宪法的言论免责权下的一个组成部分和特权。”

1980年的指导方针，发展到1978年的建议，根据该CRS会收到访问的国家研究材料由NCSL抽象文件州议会全国会议（NCSL）通过CRS以后，也将有机会到订单在回答国会查询使用所需项目的副本。作为回报，CRS会提供NCSL与CRS报告的定期列表（称为“multiliths”当时）和只有一个该NCSL请这些CRS报告的副本。ReportsReports根据这项建议的NCSL也获得了来自国会的天蝎座系统的图书馆访问某些文件，其中包括CRS热点话题。

在1978年9月27日，联合委员会在图书馆举行听证会，考虑CRS-NCSL交换提议。在听力，委员会认为CRS材料的任何传输经由计算机终端包含在SCORPIO到noncongressional用户将构成“出版物”，因此，下容纳在CRS的年度拨款立法（上面指出）的语言的术语将要求无论是在内务总局或参议院委员会在规则和管理委员会的事先批准。此外，联合委员会的成员对可能转移CRS资源和优先来自其法定的责任给国会的任何活动有严重保留。最后，委员会成员表示，这是适当的国会议员，而不是CRS，以确定是否以及在多大程度上各种CRS产品应公开传播。其结果是，没有采取任何行动来实现所提出的CRS-NCSL交流。在1980年3月21日指导方针，即一个月后，随后（1980年3月27日），由参议院决议颁布。（S. RES。396，第96国会）。参议院决议：

参议院多数党领袖伯德，在介绍该决议，指出在提供咨询意见的立法问题和CRS“，从而提供给成员和国会的委员会，这相当于由成员和委员会的工作人员进行了服务成员和委员会CRS”角色金博宝正规网址“。3

多年来，在CRS的请求，联合委员会的图书馆已授权CRS出版物的数量非常有限，通过托存图书馆，文献总监的销售计划更广泛的分布，并通过个人购买公众。金博宝更改账户此外，一些CRS产品发布为具体的法定授权的结果是：一般公共法案和决议案（草案大纲）的消化;4并且其CRS已经由国金博宝更改账户会图书馆馆长赋予重任三本刊物：美国，分析和解释（注释宪法）的美国宪法;五和全国高中和大学的辩论话题手册。6

C.目前CRS写的是产品的辅助功能

With few exceptions, congressional offices are the exclusive source for distributing CRS Reports and Issue Briefs to the public. Member offices use CRS products to develop their own understanding of policy issues and options and to inform their constituents regarding these issues and options. The principles of representative government and of legislative accountability hold that representatives have an obligation to provide their constituents with the information and understanding required in order to exercise democratic citizenship; that is, the democratic idea that the authority of those who govern rests on the consent of those who are governed, calls for democratic consent to be fully informed and enlightened. It is well known, both in Washington, D.C. and by interested parties throughout the country, that constituents may obtain copies of CRS written products through a Member or Committee of Congress. In addition, congressional offices often respond directly to constituent requests for information on particular subjects by sending copies of CRS Reports and Issue Briefs. For example, during fiscal year 1998, over 500,000 printed copies of CRS Reports and Issue Briefs were sent to congressional offices. Some percentage of these are sent on to constituents -- either because constituents asked for them specifically or as a means of answering constituent requests for information.7

在过去一年中三个转变增强了会员和委员会，使CRS产品通过国会的主页提供给选民以电子格式的能力。首先，CRS已超过一倍，在流行的超文本（HTML）万维网格式提供CRS产品的数量。在过去的一年里，几百CRS报告，以HTML格式正在提供现在已经加入了热点话题。ReportsReports其次，CRS已在便携式文档格式（PDF）提供的所有文件CRS。这种特殊的格式允许成员轻松地从自己的办公室随时打印任何CRS产品的高品质，专业水准的副本。

第三，CRS大大简化网上找到合适的CRS产品。立法信息系统进行现在直接链接到所有的CRS产品。而且，新的CRS搜索在搜索技术的应用允许成员和委员会和工作人员更容易地找到他们所需要的产品CRS页和变化。本次升级更容易为成员和委员会对热点话题和报表添加到自己的主页为他们的选民对议员和委员会的范围内，例如可用性认为适当。ReportsReports

II。金博宝正规网址与CRS产品向公众批发释放问题有关

A.体制问题金博宝正规网址

The direct, wholesale dissemination by Congress of Reports and Issue Briefs would have significant effects on the policies, resources, and institutional culture that CRS utilizes in serving the Congress.

First, CRS' mission is to support the Congress exclusively. Given its limited resources, CRS can undertake services to non-congressional entities (such as the public) only at the expense of direct support of the Congress. While the direct and indirect costs associated with disseminating Reports and Issue Briefs are difficult to estimate with precision, it is clear that significant resources would have to be diverted from congressional services. For example, with wider product distribution, particularly to users of the Internet/World Wide Web, CRS is more likely to get calls, comments, and requests for additions and changes that would place a burden on CRS analysts, distracting them from their work for Congress. In particular, outside parties may judge and question CRS papers on the basis of standards other than the standards CRS has developed to meet congressional needs (e.g., timeliness, non-partisanship, balance, objectivity). It is reasonable to anticipate that the volume of communications between CRS and the public, currently manageable, would rise substantially and affect the Service's ability to meet the needs of congressional requester. Any mechanisms developed by CRS to shield analysts from these demands would of course also involve resource commitments.

第二,CRS分析师现在直接他们的著作,佛cused on legislative issues, to congressional audiences. The closeness of CRS to the legislative process and the sensitivity of the Service's traditional culture of exclusively supporting Congress' legislative needs shape the nature and content of its written products. If CRS written products were routinely available on a wholesale basis to academic and other professional peers outside the Congress, CRS analysts might become more conscious of the need to address views, methods, disciplines, and expectations of noncongressional professional peers, with the result that CRS written work could shift away, or appear to shift away, from its current emphasis on the congressional audience.

With an awareness that a CRS Report would be disseminated to the public, Members may increase the number of confidential requests that they place with CRS in order to ensure that they are provided an opportunity - should they so desire - to reflect and consider questions that emerge from evolving legislative proposals before they have to respond to public inquiry about the resulting issues. This increase in confidential requests requiring more tailored responses would diminish the ability of CRS analysts to prepare reports that are generally available to Congress and that serve a broader congressional audience. With this increase in tailored analysis would come the necessity of duplicating more analysis because of the demand of those Members who request that their examination of a legislative proposal remain confidential at that point in the legislative process.

第三，相关的问题是可能增加的利益集团的压力和CRS分析师关于其报告的内容和这种压力可能对服务进行分析，这是无党派信息国会的直接需求的影响的游说组织，客观ReportsReports和平衡。加强内部机制都必须设计，以确保通信与有关各方从生产是从宣传和偏见的产品，造成资源从直接服务于国会进一步分流没有打歪CRS分析师。

Fourth, CRS staff serve by statute as an extension of Member and committee staff. The release by Congress of CRS Reports and Issue Briefs may set a precedent leading to greater pressure to have studies prepared by congressional staff for Members' exclusive use (e.g., committee staff studies distributed to entire committee membership) to be disseminated directly to the general public. It might be difficult for Congress to articulate a convincing rationale for granting public access to the Service's work but denying equivalent access to materials prepared by other shared staff (e.g., committee staff) that are distributed to more than one Member. Thus, a policy of providing Members' constituents with the same materials that Members themselves draw upon to make legislative decisions could have serious implications for the functions of staff and their relationship with Members.

B. Legal Issues

本节考虑与CRS产品批发向公众传播相关的三个相关的法律问题。金博宝正规网址前两个问题涉及宪法的言论免责金博宝正规网址权和知识产权问题的第三个交易。

1.广泛的电子传播CRS报告和热点话题的公众更有可能比传播根据目前的政策，以沉淀诉讼中，演讲或辩论条款豁免权不会是一个防御。ReportsReports

自1972年在美国诉布鲁斯特裁定，最高法院限制了演讲或辩论条款的规定给予豁免权“的立法行为，”8which were distinguished from a range of activity described as "entirely legitimate" but unprotected by the speech or debate clause because it was considered to be "political in nature."9In several cases relevant to the applicability of speech or debate immunity to the public distribution of CRS products, the Court has relied on the dichotomy established in Brewster to hold that congressional activities intended to inform the general public are outside the scope of the speech or debate clause. Notably, in Doe v. McMillan, the Court found that the clause might not protect the Public Printer and the Superintendent of Documents from liability for distribution of a committee report, which contained material alleged to have invaded individual privacy rights, beyond "the legitimate legislative needs of Congress...."10

传播（由会员和/或他们的助手，通过CRS，或由国会指定的实体），以CRS产品的一般市民不会被视为一种立法行为，但会被认为是国会代表职能的行使，针对演讲或辩论免疫力不可用。11那些从事CRS产品，以及CRS分析师谁准备的产品公开发行，可能容易受到各种行政和司法程序的。在这样的动作，当事人可能会寻求，对于发现的目的，CRS分析师或诉讼的文件，可能会要求赔偿或禁令救济限制特定报告或问题简短的进一步分配。当事人也可以要求损害赔偿诉讼中指控侵犯版权。

It would seem that these kinds of actions would be more likely to occur as a result of widespread electronic dissemination to the general public of CRS products than from the current practice of limited distribution (e.g., dissemination by a congressional office of a single hard copy of a particular CRS product to a constituent or incorporation of a CRS product in a committee report or hearing).

2. Widespread electronic public dissemination of CRS products would jeopardize the confidentiality of CRS files and hamper a claim of constitutional immunity by CRS.

CRS产品向广大市民广泛的电子环流可能在伴随着不确定的法律后果的课程设置CRS。12的CRS产品广泛分布于广大市民的必然结果将是公共的研究和分析服务为国会准备，这可能升级诉讼当事人的努力获得，对发现的宗旨的认识增加，CRS分析师文件。这些发现可能会尝试寻求服务的文件，不仅信息，并用于开发CRS报告和热点话题的数据，而且相关的材料。ReportsReports

演讲或辩论免疫可能提供这样的发现程序中有效的防御，如果诉讼主体是受保护的立法行为。13然而，值得注意的是，即使在CRS成功抵御发现工作的情况下，诉讼将会给CRS和其他国会资源造成负担，可以把法官的仲裁纠纷的位置有关14CRS之间的通信的保密性and Congress.15语音或辩论免疫的权利要求书将受审查由法院，潜在地包括在材料照相检查哪个特权的权利要求作出16and segregation of protected from non-protected material.17可以说，这种类型的立法部门材料的司法筛选会扑来由语音或辩论条款曾在保密的利益。18此外，有两个原因，目前尚不能确定国会是否会在诉讼等事项为准。首先，它是可能的，法院将不正是在表面上的相似类型的CRS的主题文件的文件信息之间的区别，并会给予当事人访问不仅可公开获得的信息，但也给服务和国会办公室之间的保密通信。其次，在CRS已涉及诉讼或代理诉讼之前的情况下，司法或机构决定强调，CRS执行立法职能和其工作人员作为成员和组委会工作人员的辅助。19With wider dissemination of CRS products to the general public, this longstanding perception of the Service and the nature of its communications to the Congress could be altered, eventually putting at risk speech or debate protection for the Service's confidential work. In other words, extensive involvement by CRS in the direct public information function could lead courts and administrative agencies to reconsider their perception of CRS as playing a significant and unique support role in the legislative process, and thus some day might hamper a claim of immunity even in an instance in which CRS was fulfilling its legislative function.20

3. There is some risk of assertion of copyright infringement if CRS materials are made available online to members of the general public.美国版权保护不适用于美国政府的作品。21由美国政府撰写的一份公开文件的那些部分是在“公共领域” - 自由而广泛地向公众提供，而不放在其传播的限制。然而，政府在政府刊物包括有版权的材料不推物料进入公共领域或损害著作权人的权利。22

CRS may incorporate preexisting material in its written responses to congressional requests. Although such material is often from public domain sources, in certain instances the material, appropriately credited, may be from copyrighted sources. To the extent that the material is copyrighted, CRS either: obtains permission for the use;23considers its information-gathering function protected by the speech or debate clause; or believes that the use falls under the "fair use" doctrine of the Copyright Act as applied in the context of the legislative process.24The exclusive rights of the copyright owner are qualified or limited by25枚举例外。26除非有法定的例外准许，未经授权使用受版权保护的作品被认为是侵权。合理使用是版权拥有者的专属权利的限制之一，均不得援引为积极抗辩侵犯版权的要求。

The copyright statute does not expressly include congressional use of copyrighted works as a fair use. However, both the House and Senate Reports on the Copyright Act of 1976 include the "reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports" among examples of fair use.27立法史中还含有的观察，在美国国会的文件出版的版权材料将构成合理使用“[W]这里的工作或摘录出版，授权拷贝数的长度的情况下是合理的，而工作本身直接相关合法的立法关注的一个问题......”28

因此，在侵权诉讼中，法院可能认为版权材料的出版国会文档中合法的立法目的是“合理使用”。但是，如果使用的是立法等目的外，有可能是一个传统的合理使用分析可能导致侵权责任。国会的范围之外更广泛的传播会进一步复杂化的“合理使用”的问题。29

著作权法不含有侵犯版权由美国政府授权使用版权材料的豁免。Subsection 1498(b) of Title 28 of the U.S. Code provides that the exclusive remedy of a copyright owner for copyright infringement by the United States is an action against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims "for the recovery of ... reasonable and entire compensation ... including the minimum statutory damages ...." Speech or debate clause immunity is not waived under § 1498(b); however, activities outside of the legislative sphere would not be shielded from a copyright infringement action.30

In summary, where permission has been granted to CRS to use copyrighted material, it has likely been based on legislative purpose and limited to selective distribution of hardcopy by Members of Congress. If access is broadened to wholesale release to members of the general public, such release may be outside the scope of "legitimate legislative purpose." If a CRS product, containing substantial copyrighted material (albeit with appropriate credit) is made available to the general public without permission and outside the confines of traditional fair use, liability is possible. In this regard, distinctions can be made between the selective distribution of hardcopy CRS products by Members and Committees and wholesale, potentially world-wide distribution of CRS products on the Internet. Violation of any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner may give rise to an action for copyright infringement. Although the extent of copyright owners' rights in the online environment is still evolving, wholesale distribution of CRS products via the Internet - unlike the current practice - would likely implicate copyright owners' performance and public display rights, as a matter of direct infringement, and may implicate rights31复制和公开发行的任何直接，替代的物质或32共同侵权。在另一方面，下“合理使用”的分析，有可能是在选择性硬拷贝分发的情况下，著作权人的潜在市场比在互联网上经销批发的情况下影响较小。通过会员的硬拷贝CRS产品选择性分布可能并不构成著作权意义上的“出版物”。33

III. CONCLUSION

审查，国会历来都把CRS作为自己的成员和组委会工作人员的一个扩展。CRS”与国会关系是保密的，独特的;为了保持这种关系，即CRS产品要通过国会办公室有选择地分发给非国会用户国会已确定为一个政策问题。建议直接传播CRS产品，公众会从根本上改变这一长期政策，国会议员，与CRS和做法可能显著的体制和法律后果，目前国会运营和。

Notes

1酒吧。L. 105-55，111 Stat的。1190（1997）。
2126丛。建议6892（1980年3月27日）。
3ID。
42 U.S.C.166（d）（6）。
五2 U.S.C.168。
644U.S.C. 1333.
7CRS has not undertaken to survey congressional offices to determine this precise percentage.
8U.S.Constitution，艺术。1，§6，第1项。
9408 U.S. 501，509，512（1972）。
10DOE诉麦克米兰，412 U.S. 306，324（1973）（强调）。法院发回重审，判别分配的公用打印机和文件的监督程度是否已经超过了“美国国会立法的合法需求，以及免疫力因此限制。”ID。On the remand, the lower courts upheld the claim of immunity as to the Public Printer and Superintendent of Documents (374 F. Supp. 1313 (D.D.C. 1974), aff'd, 566 F.2d 713 (D.C.Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 969 (1978)), but the court of appeals expressly reserved the question of the availability of immunity "in a case where distribution was more extensive...." 566 F.2d at 718. Apparently the only copies distributed outside the federal government in the events that precipitated the suit in McMillan were approximately 172 of 796 copies that had been distributed to various federal agencies.
11参见，例如，伊v麦克米兰，同上;哈钦森诉普罗克斯迈尔，443美国111（1979）。
12作为一名法律期刊已经观察到，在解决互联网和其他计算机相关的问题，法院是在“未知的水。”金博宝正规网址你不可侵犯行为 - 即使在网络空间，新泽西州律师，1997年9月1日，于p。10。
13见，例如，布朗·威廉姆森烟草公司诉威廉姆斯，62 F.3d 408（D.C.Cir 1995）。
14发现试图获得CRS文件材料常常被众议院总法律顾问或参议院法律顾问办公室辩护。参见例如，S.Res。291，101聪。（引导参议院法律ST法律顾问分辨率来表示史密斯诉IRS，第3778-89（含税的Ct。，1990）一CRS律师）。
15See In re Grand Jury Investigation, 587 F.2d 589 (3d Cir. 1978); United States v. Eilberg, 507 F. Supp. 267 (E.D.Pa. 1980).
16见，例如，本福德诉美国广播公司，98 F.R.D.42（D.Md. 1983），rev'd其他理由子NOM。在Re的Guthrie，733 F.2d 634（第四巡回1984）。
17See, e.g., United States v. Helstoski, 442 U.S. 477, 488 n.7 (1979).
18法院是否划分the speech or debate clause was intended to ensure confidentiality for legislators. Compare Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 62 F.3d at 420 with In re Grand Jury Investigation, 587 F.2d at 597.
19见韦伯斯特v太阳石油，731 F.2d 1（D.C.Cir 1984）和790 F.2d 157（D.C.Cir 1986）（通信CRS分析师是普通法特权通信对立法机构的范围之内）。在重新埃克森公司，95 F.T.C.919（1980）（FTC传票用于通过语音或辩论免疫力和权力学说的分离被禁止CRS文件; CRS执行“基本上立法功能”）。
20见，多伊诉麦克米兰，注5，同上。
2117 U.S.C.§ 105.
22著作权法的立法历史包含以下语句：这里委员会注意到：（1）没有什么部分105将减轻其义务的政府安全许可才能发布版权作品;（2）发行或由私人工作的政府其他用途不会以任何方式影响其版权保护。H.R.众议员号1476，第94丛。，二维SESS。60（1976）。
23虽然CRS取得许可，复制某些版权作品，权限一般是根据立法的使用和期望，传播仅限于国会议员。
241976年版权法案，法案月19日，1976年，酒吧。L.号94-553（编纂为在17 U.S.C.§§101及以下修正。）。见17 U.S.C.§107。
2517 U.S.C.§§106，106A。2617 U.S.C.§§107-120。27See H.R. Rep. No. 1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 65 (1976); S. Rep. No. 473, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. 61-62 (1975) quoting REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS ON THE GENERAL REVISION OF THE U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW, 87th Cong., 1st Sess. 24 (Comm. Print 1961) (hereafter REGISTER'S REPORT).
28见H.R.众议员第1476，同上。73。
29Moreover, if CRS products were generally available to the public, the construction of these products may be affected, with the potential consequent loss when material, such as copyrighted maps or graphs, may be withheld in the writing of the paper with the foreknowledge that the paper could be widely disseminated and thereby subject to different "fair use" guidelines than those applicable to work for legislative use only. Therefore, public availability may perforce shape selected CRS products so that their contents no longer bring to bear the best information and analysis to assist Members in their decisionmaking.
30按照最初制定的，§1498只适用于诉讼专利侵权对美国。1960年，国会修订§1498给予其同意诉讼侵犯版权反对美国;酒吧的第2节。L. 86-726提供：
在本法不得以任何方式被解释为放弃在文章中，我的美国宪法第6条规定的国会议员任何免疫力。第2节被添加到众议院的法案通过参议院修订，以“强调一个事实，即根据宪法第6条第一条为国会议员没有豁免应遵守本法规的制定被豁免。”见S.众议员号1877年第86丛。，二维SESS。（1960）作为重印1960 U.S.C.A.A.N.3444.据推测，语音或辩论子句保护将保护国会使用，用于属于立法过程的一部分进一步合法立法活动受版权保护的材料（例如，受版权保护的材料插入到国会记录或国会文件）。见1958年5月26日，版权局备忘录转载于1960年U.S.C.A.A.N.at 3456. Congress did not waive its speech or debate clause immunity when it amended § 1498. However, insofar as activities outside of the legislative sphere (e.g., political activities or public information activities) are concerned, it would appear that § 1498(b) would not shield Congress from a copyright infringement action.
3117 U.S.C.§§106（4），（5）。3217 U.S.C.§106（1），（3）。3317 U.S.C.§§101,106（3）。