Last June, the White House issued a set of proposals to reform and reorganize government functions in dozens of executive branch agencies. The proposals range from cosmetic (e.g., renaming the Department of Health and Human Services) to substantial (e.g., combining the Departments of Labor and Education) with significant implications for domestic and foreign policy, as well as for national security.
A memorandum prepared by the Congressional Research Service provides brief summaries and analyses of the most important proposals, assessing their feasibility and describing the uncertainties involved. See Trump Administration Reform and Reorganization Plan: Discussion of 35 “Government-Wide” Proposals, CRS memorandum, July 25, 2018.
New and updated reports issued by the Congressional Research Service last week include the following.
Air Force B-21 Raider Long Range Strike Bomber, updated October 12, 2018
Religious Intolerence [sic] in Indonesia, CRS In Focus, October 10, 2018
Post-election Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, CRS Insight, October 11, 2018
Hurricane Michael: Brief Overview of FEMA Programs and Resources, CRS Insight, updated October 11, 2018
Temporary Protected Status: Overview and Current Issues, updated October 10, 2018
Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards, CRS In Focus, updated October 11, 2018
Expiration of the 2014 Farm Bill, October 11, 2018
House Passes Bill to Amend the Federal “Crime of Violence” Definition, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 11, 2018
Deference and its Discontents: Will the Supreme Court Overrule Chevron?, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 11, 2018
“One thing became increasingly clear: AI doesn’t simply introduce a new category of risk. It changes the speed, scale, complexity, and interaction of risks that already exist.”
In an ideal world, we would not have state or federal climate intervention research bans. We would have researchers and institutions that would not shy away from revealing the good, the bad, and the ugly of these technologies and doing so responsibly.
“What excites me is that it’s very tempting to be very discouraged, and say, ‘Oh, we’ve got these archaic institutions that are calcified and you could never change them.’ But I think we’re in the middle of a technological revolution that will upend lots of things, and does provide a window.”
Ask people what worries them most right now, and they’ll say the cost of living and their livelihoods, not climate change. But those concerns are not separate.