A coalition of twenty-five government accountability, transparency, and congressional reform organizations and experts is urging House Appropriations Committee leaders to preserve the records of the committee’s former Surveys & Investigations staff. Established in 1943, S&I provided the committee with a dedicated, nonpartisan investigative capacity and produced thousands of reports examining federal programs, spending, defense, intelligence, procurement, and other matters across nearly every appropriations jurisdiction.

The coalition is seeking assurances that S&I’s physical files and electronic database remain intact and will be transferred to the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives, consistent with House rules and federal law. More than 2,000 study titles have already been identified, but the surviving records located in public and private archives appear to represent only fragments of a much larger collection. Preserving the complete archive would safeguard an important source of institutional memory and provide future Congresses with insight into how congressional oversight has shaped federal policy and governance.