The Congressional Research Service prepared 1,197 new reports and publications last year, as well as 2,471 updates of previous reports. The new reports were identified by title and number in an internal version of the CRS annual report for fiscal year 2016 that has not been previously made public.
Among the notable 2016 reports listed in the new annual report but not previously cited here were these:
Closing Space: Restrictions on Civil Society Around the World and U.S. Responses, April 8, 2016
U.S. Electronic Attack Aircraft, July 26, 2016
The public version of the CRS annual report that is posted on the Library of Congress website is abridged and does not include the listing of new CRS products or other appendices from the full report.
Newly updated Congressional Research Service reports from the past week include these:
Stafford Act Assistance and Acts of Terrorism, June 2, 2017
Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs and Funding, June 5, 2017
The Debt Limit Since 2011, June 5, 2017
Iran: Politics, Human Rights, and U.S. Policy, June 2, 2017
While it seems that the current political climate may not incentivize the use of evidence-based data sources for decision making, those of us who are passionate about ensuring results for the American people will continue to firmly stand on the belief that learning agendas are a crucial component to successfully navigate a changing future.
In recent months, we’ve seen much of these decades’ worth of progress erased. Contracts for evaluations of government programs were canceled, FFRDCs have been forced to lay off staff, and federal advisory committees have been disbanded.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.