New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following.
China’s Banking System: Issues for Congress, February 20, 2012
Rising Gasoline Prices 2012, March 1, 2012
Gun Control Legislation, March 2, 2012
Budget Process Reform: Proposals and Legislative Actions in 2012, March 2, 2012
Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses, March 2, 2012
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.