The Evolving Missions of the Secret Service, and More from CRS
Though it does not mention anything about Secret Service agents hiring prostitutes in Colombia last week, a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service provides a timely discussion of The U.S. Secret Service: An Examination and Analysis of Its Evolving Missions, April 16, 2012
Some other new or newly updated CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News include the following.
An Overview of Tax Provisions Expiring in 2012, April 17, 2012
Private Health Insurance Market Reforms in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), April 16, 2012
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): A Fact Sheet, April 16, 2012
Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer, April 13, 2012
The proposed Office will resurrect the long-closed Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), the archive of which has been maintained by FAS for decades at https://ota.fas.org/.
If Congress needs help understanding the risks and rewards of a piece of technology, they shouldn’t have to rely solely on the sparknotes from a salesman. The rub is much simpler: Congress needs nerds.
If we set up the new OTA to do its job well, members will see it as the first stop to see what issues are lurking around the corner. They will bring their questions early. And they will keep coming back for more.
Even the best-designed policy rests on assumptions about who will staff it, how it will be funded, whether the responsible institutions have ever coordinated, and if the goals are achievable.