The U.S. military is accelerating the development of prompt global strike weapons that are intended to allow the U.S. to hit targets anywhere on Earth on short notice using conventional weapons.
The Department of Defense has requested increased funding in FY 2019 for prompt global strike weapons — $278 million, up from $201 million in FY 2018 — with further increases anticipated for the next five years.
“This shows the growing priority placed on the program in the Pentagon and the growing interest in Congress in moving the program forward toward deployment,” according to a newly updated report on such weapons from the Congressional Research Service.
See Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues by Amy F. Woolf, April 6, 2018.
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Options to Cease Implementing the Iran Nuclear Agreement, updated April 5, 2018
Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress, CRS Insight, April 6, 2018
When the City Goes Broke: Pensions, Retirees, and Municipal Bankruptcies, CRS Legal Sidebar, April 10, 2018
Sexual Harassment and Title VII: Selected Legal Issues, April 9, 2018
Commerce Department Announces Citizenship Question on 2020 Census and Lawsuits Filed, CRS Legal Sidebar, April 6, 2018
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2016 (74th-114th Congresses), April 6, 2018
Statutory Interpretation: Theories, Tools, and Trends, April 5, 2018
Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars.
The U.S. government should establish a public-private National Exposome Project (NEP) to generate benchmark human exposure levels for the ~80,000 chemicals to which Americans are regularly exposed.
The federal government spends billions every year on wildfire suppression and recovery. Despite this, the size and intensity of fires continues to grow, increasing costs to human health, property, and the economy as a whole.
To respond and maintain U.S. global leadership, USAID should transition to heavily favor a Fixed-Price model to enhance the United States’ ability to compete globally and deliver impact at scale.