The policy implications of changing climatic conditions in the Arctic region, and specifically the record loss of ice cover, are explored in a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. See Changes in the Arctic, March 17, 2015.
“There are only eight nations in the world whose territory above the Arctic Circle gives them the right to claim being an Arctic nation,” said Adm. Robert Papp, Jr., the U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic, at a congressional hearing last December. “The United States is one, although it has been my experience that Americans do not embrace or fully understand the concept of being an Arctic nation.”
Other new and updated CRS products that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following.
Energy Tax Incentives: Measuring Value Across Different Types of Energy Resources, March 19, 2015
Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, CRS Fact Sheet, March 19, 2015
“Holds” in the Senate, March 19, 2015
Increased Campaign Contribution Limits in the FY2015 Omnibus Appropriations Law: Frequently Asked Questions, March 17, 2015
U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective, March 17, 2015
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Background and Reauthorization, March 13, 2015
International Drug Control Policy: Background and U.S. Responses, March 16, 2015
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
With so much at stake, we cannot afford to cede science and technological leadership or its underpinnings: foundational federal R&D investments, growing STEM talent pipelines, and the best scientific and technical expertise to support policymakers.
Moreover, the recent decrease in UK government transparency regarding the status of its nuclear arsenal and modernization program reflects a worrisome global trend.
Even without weapons present, the addition of a large nuclear air base in northern Europe is a significant new development that would have been inconceivable just a decade-and-a-half ago.