Louis Fisher involved in dispute with Congressional Research Service

Louis Fisher who has written excellent reports on election-law related issues for the Congressional Research Service, is involved in a dispute with his superiors. According to CRS Demands Apology, But Researcher Refuses (Roll Call, paid subscription required), Fisher has been asked to apologize for a Jan. 18 memorandum:

Much of Fisher's memo deals with what he call’s CRS' "incoherent" policy, which he says advocates neutrality and suppresses the analytical skills of the agency’s researchers.

In the memo, addressed to Mulhollan, Fisher wrote that in the 38 times he has been asked to testify before Congress, he is selected "because I have an expert opinion to share. ... I am certainly not partisan in my CRS work or in my outside writings. But I have always considered myself free to analyze an issue on the basis of all available information and reach a professional conclusion. That is what other analysts do. ... That is what the people I work with on the Hill --Republican and Democrat --expect. Anything short of that would be mere descriptive writing."

Fisher, who has written more than a dozen books on separation of powers, wrote that he's seen an increasing push by CRS administrators for "neutrality" in analytical work, a push that is against the agency’s core mission.

Posted by Rick Hasen at February 13, 2006 08:58 AM