New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have been withheld from broad public distribution include the following.
Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2016, November 10, 2015
The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative, November 12, 2015
Fifth Circuit Declines to Lift Injunction Barring Implementation of the Obama Administration’s 2014 Deferred Action Programs, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 12, 2015
Temporarily Filling Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed Positions, November 10, 2015
Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management, November 10, 2015
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff, November 9, 2015
Federalism Issues in Surface Transportation Policy: A Historical Perspective, November 6, 2015
Veterans and Homelessness, November 6, 2015
U.S.-Mexico Water Sharing: Background and Recent Developments, November 10, 2015
Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress, November 10, 2015
Navy Ship Names: Background For Congress, November 9, 2015
Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, November 9, 2015
Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate Program: Background and Issues for Congress, November 6, 2015
Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress, November 6, 2015
Navy TAO(X) Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress, November 6, 2015
Navy LX(R) Amphibious Ship Program: Background and Issues for Congress, November 6, 2015
Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress, November 5, 2015
Obama Administration Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Permit Request: Could Congress Nevertheless Approve It?, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 9, 2015
Using the NIST as an example, the Radiation Physics Building (still without the funding to complete its renovation) is crucial to national security and the medical community. If it were to go down (or away), every medical device in the United States that uses radiation would be decertified within 6 months, creating a significant single point of failure that cannot be quickly mitigated.
The federal government can support more proactive, efficient, and cost-effective resiliency planning by certifying predictive models to validate and publicly indicate their quality.
We need a new agency that specializes in uncovering funding opportunities that were overlooked elsewhere. Judging from the history of scientific breakthroughs, the benefits could be quite substantial.
The cost of inaction is not merely economic; it is measured in preventable illness, deaths and diminished livelihoods.