Defense Department Energy Needs, and More from CRS
The Department of Defense is by far the largest government consumer of energy, having spent around $17 billion on fuel last year, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.
“DOD’s reliance on fuel can lead to financial, operational, and strategic challenges and risks,” which are explored in the report. See Department of Defense Energy Initiatives: Background and Issues for Congress, June 5, 2012.
Other new and updated CRS reports that Congress has barred CRS from publishing online include the following.
Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2013, June 1, 2012
Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations, May 31, 2012
The U.S. Postal Service’s Use of Contractors to Deliver Mail: Background and Recent Developments, May 29, 2012
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: A Summary of the House- and Senate-Reported Bills for FY2013, June 1, 2012
Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts, June 5, 2012
Ability to Repay, Risk-Retention Standards, and Mortgage Credit Access, June 5, 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.