The purposes, authorities, and instruments of congressional oversight are described in detail in a newly-expanded Congressional Oversight Manual (pdf) prepared by the Congressional Research Service.

“Congressional oversight and investigations can often, though not always, become adversarial,” the CRS Manual observes. “This is especially true when the entity being targeted, whether a private individual, corporation, or executive branch agency, has information Congress believes is necessary to its inquiry but refuses to disclose. In those situations the targeted entity may attempt to use several methods of avoiding disclosure. A commonly used tactic to avoid disclosure is to assert that the information cannot be disclosed due to a specific law, rule, or executive decision. Another common tactic is to assert that the information itself is of such a sensitive nature that Congress is not among those entities entitled or authorized to have the information.”

The Manual proceeds to scrutinize the validity of such tactics, and discusses the options available to Congress to compel disclosure. A copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See Congressional Oversight Manual, Congressional Research Service, 168 pages, January 6, 2011.

Other noteworthy new CRS reports include the following (both pdf).

National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the Legal Background and Recent Amendments, December 27, 2010.

Ricin: Technical Background and Potential Role in Terrorism, December 21, 2010.

Noteworthy new products of the Congressional Research Service include the following reports (all pdf).

“The EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and Its Implications for the United States,” December 17, 2010.

“Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Fate of the Oil,” December 16, 2010.

“Keeping America’s Pipelines Safe and Secure: Key Issues for Congress,” December 13, 2010.

“American Jihadist Terrorism: Combating a Complex Threat,” updated December 7, 2010.

Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).

“Classified Information Policy and Executive Order 13526,” December 10, 2010.

“Screening and Securing Air Cargo: Background and Issues for Congress,” December 2, 2010.

“Chemical Facility Security: Reauthorization, Policy Issues, and Options for Congress,” November 15, 2010.

“Reorganization of the Minerals Management Service in the Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” November 10, 2010.

Noteworthy new products from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf).

“Securing America’s Borders: The Role of the Intelligence Community,” December 7, 2010.

“Hamas: Background and Issues for Congress,” December 2, 2010.

“U.S.-Australia Civilian Nuclear Cooperation: Issues for Congress,” December 1, 2010.

“Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?,” November 24, 2010.

Noteworthy new documents from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).

“Changes in Airport Passenger Screening Technologies and Procedures: Frequently Asked Questions,” November 23, 2010.

“North Korea’s 2009 Nuclear Test: Containment, Monitoring, Implications,” November 24, 2010.

“Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments,” November 16, 2010.

“North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation,” November 10, 2010.

“Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),” November 5, 2010.

Updated below

U.S. efforts to promote the rule of law in Afghanistan are expanding and accelerating.  Nearly a billion dollars has been spent in the past decade to strengthen Afghanistan’s legal infrastructure, rising from $7 million in FY2002 to an estimated $411 million in FY2010.  In July 2010, a new Ambassador-rank position was created to focus on justice-related issues in the country.  Yet the effectiveness and even the feasibility of these efforts to establish the rule of law are in doubt.

A new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service provides a detailed overview of the U.S. approach to rule of law (ROL) issues in Afghanistan.  It describes the numerous and diverse initiatives that have been undertaken, the political, cultural and institutional obstacles that confront them, and their uncertain results.

The rule of law in this context simply means the stable, predictable, and fair application of public legal standards.  It is considered essential to the establishment of a legitimate and effective government.  “Without ROL the country cannot progress no matter what contributions are made by outsiders,” according to a 2008 State Department Inspector General report.

But progress towards a state of rule of law in Afghanistan is stymied both by the general instability in the country and by the pervasive corruption that prevails.  “As many as one out of every two Afghans experienced bribery in the past year,” the CRS noted, based on UN data, “resulting in an estimated $2.5 billion in bribe payments in 2009 alone.”  The average bribe was said to be around $160, and those who paid bribes did so three to five times per year.

The U.S. has a “Strategy for Rule of Law in Afghanistan” but it is “not available publicly,” the CRS said.  A summary of its contents was provided in the CRS report, based on State Department information.  For the first time this year, rule of law issues in Afghanistan constitute a separate portfolio under the new position of the Coordinating Director of ROL and Law Enforcement, held by Ambassador Hans Klemm.

“Although significant progress in establishing ROL in Afghanistan has been achieved, there appear to be several fundamental limitations on the ability of the U.S. government and other donors to strengthen the Afghan justice sector in the short term,” the CRS report concluded.  Besides the instability of war and widespread corruption, other obstacles include illiteracy and the lack of qualified personnel to serve in law enforcement and the judiciary;  local reliance on traditional councils that do not always practice a consistent or egalitarian form of law;  and “existing perceptions among many Afghans that high-level corrupt officials are exempt from the full force of Afghan law.”

Afghan officials themselves have observed that “despite increasing resources devoted to justice sector support, efforts have not yet translated into a functional formal justice system in Afghanistan.”

“The 112th Congress may choose to address these long term issues in the context of the Obama Administration’s review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan,” the CRS suggested.

A copy of the new CRS report was obtained by Secrecy News.  See “Afghanistan: U.S. Rule of Law and Justice Sector Assistance,” November 9, 2010.

Update: “Despite some efforts by the Government of Afghanistan to eliminate corruption and improve rule of law, overwhelming reports of corruption continue,” a new report to Congress (pdf) from the Department of Defense said.

“The latest survey of Afghan perceptions of the Afghan Government’s rule of law capacity shows an almost 7 percent decline in Afghans’ confidence in their government’s ability to deliver reliable formal justice. This is likely due to continued corruption and to the slow progress in hiring and placing justice professionals at the provincial level. Additional polling shows that fewer than half of Afghans polled trust the Afghan Government to settle a legal dispute,” the November 2010 DoD report to Congress said.

Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf).

“Countering Terrorism in East Africa: The U.S. Response,” November 3, 2010.

“Latin America: Terrorism Issues,” October 26, 2010.

“U.S.-South Korea Relations,” November 3, 2010.

“Prompt global strike” refers to the possibility of destroying a target anywhere on Earth within minutes or hours using bombers, cruise missiles or ballistic missiles armed with conventional warheads. The prompt global strike mission and its various implications were examined in a new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.

Some argue that a conventional global strike capability could permit reduced U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons without diminishing deterrence.  Others say that it would be destabilizing, especially since conventionally-armed ballistic missiles in flight would be indistinguishable from nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, and could therefore be easily misinterpreted as a nuclear strike.

Under the terms of the New START Treaty between Russia and the U.S., which is awaiting Senate consideration, conventionally-armed ballistic missiles would be permitted, despite initial opposition from Russia during negotiations.  However, such missiles would still be counted along with nuclear-armed missiles under the Treaty’s limits on deployed delivery systems. All of these issues and more were carefully sorted out by CRS analyst Amy F. Woolf in “Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues,” October 25, 2010.

The Congressional Research Service does not permit direct public access to its publications.

“More and more prosecutions” under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act may be expected, said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer last month. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is intended to prevent and punish bribery of foreign officials by U.S. firms.  “The executive branch appears to have increased oversight of suspected American businesses for alleged violations,” according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service, noting that “there have been a number of settlements and indictments in 2010” involving violations of the Act. See “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): Congressional Interest and Executive Enforcement” (pdf), October 21, 2010.

Another new CRS report uncovers the history of the mostly forgotten Joint Congressional Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Expenditures, which was in existence from 1941-1974.  Its purpose was to generate recommendations for the elimination of non-essential federal spending.  Interest in the Committee has been revived because of the possibility that it could serve as a model for restraining federal spending today.  But that possibility seems faint, since there is no evidence that the Committee had any tangible effect.  “CRS research did not uncover instances [of spending cuts] that could be specifically attributed to a recommendation of the joint committee or documentation that attributed a specific cut in spending to a joint committee recommendation.”  See “History of the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Federal Expenditures (1941-1974), with Observations on Oversight Today” (pdf), October 26, 2010.

CRS updated its recent report on “Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information” (pdf) on October 18, 2010 to correct some minor factual errors and to make various editorial changes.

Copies of these reports were obtained by Secrecy News.

In advance of President Obama’s visit to India this weekend, the Congressional Research Service has prepared an updated assessment of “India-U.S. Relations” (pdf), dated October 27, 2010.

Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf).

“Piracy: A Legal Definition,” October 19, 2010.

“Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status,” October 18, 2010.

“Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress,” October 15, 2010.

“Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. 924(e)): An Overview,” October 13, 2010.

“Homeland Security Department: FY2011 Appropriations,” October 13, 2010.

Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).

“Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress,” October 8, 2010.

“Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,” October 7, 2010.

“Burma’s 2010 Election Campaign: Issues for Congress,” October 6, 2010.

“Drug Courts: Background, Effectiveness, and Policy Issues for Congress,” October 12, 2010.

“Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency,” October 8, 2010.

“Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal: Background Information,” October 6, 2010.

“The National Security Council: An Organizational Assessment,” September 23, 2010.