The Congressional Research Service developed “a series of short primers to provide Members of Congress an overview of key aspects of the Department of Defense and how Congress exercises authority over it.” The defense primers, several of which have been recently updated, can be found here.
Other noteworthy recent CRS publications include the following.
Overseas Contingency Operations Funding: Background and Status, updated September 6, 2019
Congress and the War in Yemen: Oversight and Legislation 2015-2019, updated September 6, 2019
Afghanistan: Issues for Congress and Legislation 2017-2019, updated September 3, 2019
DHS Border Barrier Funding, updated September 6, 2019
Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, updated September 6, 2019
Improving public awareness of FDA Advisory Committees would improve public trust and deter misinformation related to the approval of medical products.
FAS has been a leading voice for action on this topic, and has developed a compendium of 150+ heat-related federal policy recommendations.
Proposed bills advance research ecosystems, economic development, and education access and move now to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote
The absence of consistent voting privileges for patient representatives on Advisory Committees hinders representatives from providing an voice on behalf of the community they represent.