FAS

History of Executive Privilege, and More from CRS

06.20.12 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

A 2008 report by the Congressional Research Service discussed the history of claims of executive privilege, including various unresolved questions surrounding its use.  The Obama Administration asserted executive privilege today in connection with records sought by a House Committee.  See Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice and Recent Developments, updated August 21, 2008.

Newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made publicly available include the following.

U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress, June 19, 2012

Free Trade Agreements: Impact on U.S. Trade and Implications for U.S. Trade Policy, June 18, 2012

Madagascar’s Political Crisis, June 18, 2012

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Political Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests, June 15, 2012

U.S. Trade Deficit and the Impact of Changing Oil Prices, June 18, 2012

Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and “DREAM Act” Legislation, June 19, 2012

Federal Taxation of Aliens Working in the United States, May 18, 2012

publications
See all publications
Global Risk
Report
Poison in our Communities: Impacts of the Nuclear Weapons Industry across America

As the United States continues nuclear modernization on all legs of its nuclear triad through the creation of new variants of warheads, missiles, and delivery platforms, examining the effects of nuclear weapons production on the public is ever more pressing.

08.07.25 | 2 min read
read more
Government Capacity
Blog
Direct File Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

“The first rule of government transformation is: there are a lot of rules. And there should be-ish. But we don’t need to wait for permission to rewrite them. Let’s go fix and build some things and show how it’s done.”

08.06.25 | 5 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
Blog
Creating A Vision and Setting Course for the Science and Technology Ecosystem of 2050

To better understand what might drive the way we live, learn, and work in 2050, we’re asking the community to share their expertise and thoughts about how key factors like research and development infrastructure and automation will shape the trajectory of the ecosystem.

08.06.25 | 4 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
Blog
Why Listening Matters for Moonshot Programs: ARPA-I’s National Tour

Recognizing the power of the national transportation infrastructure expert community and its distributed expertise, ARPA-I took a different route that would instead bring the full collective brainpower to bear around appropriately ambitious ideas.

08.05.25 | 7 min read
read more