Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress,” October 8, 2010.
“Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,” October 7, 2010.
“Burma’s 2010 Election Campaign: Issues for Congress,” October 6, 2010.
“Drug Courts: Background, Effectiveness, and Policy Issues for Congress,” October 12, 2010.
“Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency,” October 8, 2010.
“Defense Surplus Equipment Disposal: Background Information,” October 6, 2010.
“The National Security Council: An Organizational Assessment,” September 23, 2010.
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.