New reports from the Congressional Research Service on diverse topics of current interest are provided below. Pursuant to congressional policy, CRS is prohibited from making these documents directly available to the public.
The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law, August 16, 2012
Turkmenistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests, updated August 17, 2012
Pipeline Cybersecurity: Federal Policy, August 16, 2012
Gifts to the President of the United States, August 16, 2012
Health Insurance Exchanges Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), August 15, 2012
Crisis in Mali, August 16, 2012
JP Morgan Trading Losses: Implications for the Volcker Rule and Other Regulation, August 16, 2012
Why Some Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Are Not Sold Domestically, August 17, 2012
Armed Conflict in Syria: U.S. and International Response, updated August 20, 2012
The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations, updated August 17, 2012
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.