What is the role of ethics in intelligence and at the CIA in particular?
“Some former employees and others with experience at the agency have been critical of CIA’s ethics program as focusing too much on legal compliance in a reactive, ad hoc manner that falls short of a comprehensive approach to ethics education at the CIA,” the Congressional Research Service said in a recent discussion of the topic.
But “Others are skeptical of introducing training on morality into what is often viewed as the inherently amoral environment of covert action or clandestine foreign intelligence.” See CIA Ethics Education: Background and Perspectives, CRS In Focus, June 11, 2018.
Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
United States Special Operations Command Acquisition Authorities, July 9, 2018
Defense Acquisitions: How and Where DOD Spends Its Contracting Dollars, updated July 2, 2018
Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations, updated July 3, 2018
China-U.S. Trade Issues, updated July 6, 2018
Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, July 6, 2018
The Army’s Modular Handgun Procurement, CRS In Focus, June 19, 2018
President Trump Nominates Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Initial Observations, CRS Legal Sidebar, July 10, 2018
Who Interprets Foreign Law in U.S. Federal Courts?, CRS Legal Sidebar, July 9, 2018
The Designation of Election Systems as Critical Infrastructure, CRS In Focus, July 6, 2018
Section 232 Investigations: Overview and Issues for Congress, July 5, 2018
The Congressional Review Act: Determining Which “Rules” Must Be Submitted to Congress, July 5, 2018
Federal Quantum Information Science: An Overview, CRS In Focus, July 2, 2018
The public rarely sees the quiet, often messy work that goes into creating, passing, and implementing a major piece of legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act.
If this proposed rule were enacted it would have deleterious effects on government workers in general and federal researchers and scientists, specifically.
When we introduce “at-will” employment to government employees, we also introduce the potential for environments where people are more concerned about self-preservation than service to others.
There is no better time to re-invigorate America’s innovation edge by investing in R&D to create and capture “industries of the future,” re-shoring capital and expertise, and working closely with allies to expand our capabilities while safeguarding those technologies that are critical to our security.