The Congressional Research Service is looking for commercial products to help support its congressionally-directed efforts to improve its data analytics capabilities, according to a recently-released solicitation. The RFP provides insight into the types of tools and technology CRS is developing.
CRS seeks to create or improve five different data models, which are:
1. Text Analysis of Public Comments on Regulations.gov – to allow CRS to show Congress how the commenters are responding to the proposed items found on the site
2. Individual Income Tax Calculator – to update an existing policy simulation tool to allow greater analysis of different tax proposals
3. Health Insurance Pricing Analysis and Dashboarding – to analyze and extend the functionality of an existing pricing analysis tool
4. Student Loan Calculator Analysis and Dashboarding – to expand an existing tool and to visualize the data.
5. DOD Budget Justifications Q&A Portal – to expand on an existing tools that pulls in DOD spending data so users can ask it questions focused on specific branches, years, etc.
In addition, the entities that build these tools would be responsible for pitching six new models near the end of their performance period.
The solicitation also discussed providing support for five existing data models. They are:
1. Department of Defense (DOD) Budget Justifications – a data tool that extracts text from defense-related budget justifications linked to the relevant line of spending to allow for queries to put together spending over time and across accounts, services, or other dimensions
2. Historic Appropriations – Department of State and Foreign Operations – a tool that created a large database that tracks SFOPS appropriations by account and legislative vehicle over a significant period of time and links account names and bill structures that may have changed over time and across legislation,
3. Workforce Information Systems – a tool that combines personnel records with CRS specific information (such as CRS job titles) to populate records used in the Consolidated Database for products.
4. Student Loan Calculator Project – model case simulations of key outcome measures (e.g., dollars paid, dollars forgiven) for user-inputted borrower scenarios under various existing and proposed repayment plan options.
5. Health insurance pricing project – compiles and makes available for analysis data from a public website that contains in-network rates for covered items and services.
