Democratic proposals to initiate a congressional investigation of the National Security Agency warrantless surveillance program have been repeatedly rebuffed by Republican leaders in Congress.
This month, House Committees have produced no fewer than four adverse reports on Democratic “resolutions of inquiry,” which sought executive branch records on domestic intelligence surveillance.
In the Senate, a proposal (pdf) by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) to investigate the NSA program was voted down on party lines in the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 7.
See the adverse reports of the House Intelligence Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee (two: here and here).
Some background on the use of resolutions of inquiry as an instrument of oversight can be found in “House Resolutions of Inquiry” by Louis Fisher (who is now with the Law Library of Congress), Congressional Research Service, May 12, 2003.
Sen. Russ Feingold announced yesterday that he would introduce a resolution to censure President Bush for “authorizing the illegal wiretapping program and then misleading the country about the existence and legality of the program.”
The United States Air Force has forward deployed about one-third of its B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, or about half the B-2s considered fully operational at any given time.
Extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of injury and death and innovations in the built environment can save money and lives.
By requiring all states to conduct flood infrastructure vulnerability assessments (FIVAs), the federal government can limit its financial liability while advancing a more efficient and effective model of flood resilience that puts states and localities at the fore.
FAS is invested in seeing more students gain science and technology skills and enter STEM careers, both for students and for our country’s competitive advantage.