Recent reports of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT): Overview and Application to Interrogation Techniques,” updated January 12, 2007.
“Zimbabwe: Current Issues,” updated June 21, 2007.
“Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 and Current Congressional Concerns,” updated June 21, 2007.
“Japan’s Currency Intervention: Policy Issues,” updated July 13, 2007.
“Kosovo and U.S. Policy: Background and Current Issues,” updated July 3, 2007.
“Kosovo’s Future Status and U.S. Policy,” updated July 12, 2007.
“Federal Crime Control: Background, Legislation, and Issues,” updated June 12, 2007.
“Sea-Based Ballistic Missile Defense — Background and Issues for Congress,” updated June 26, 2007.
January saw us watching whether the government would fund science. February has been about how that funding will be distributed, regulated, and contested.
This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it.
Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.
Durable and legitimate climate action requires a government capable of clearly weighting, explaining, and managing cost tradeoffs to the widest away of audiences, which in turn requires strong technocratic competency.