Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, and More from CRS
A new report from the Congressional Research Service looks at the use of mandatory minimum sentencing to punish certain types of crimes, and reviews current legislation to modify that controversial practice.
“A surprising number of federal crimes carry mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment,” CRS said. “That is, they are punishable by imprisonment for a term of not less than some number of years. During the 114th Congress, Members have introduced a number of related proposals. Some would expand the scope of existing mandatory minimum sentencing provisions; others would contract their reach.” See Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Legislation in the 114th Congress, April 29, 2015.
Other noteworthy new CRS products that Congress has withheld from public distribution include the following.
European Fighters in Syria and Iraq: Assessments, Responses, and Issues for the United States, April 27, 2015
New U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines Deepen Alliance Cooperation, CRS Insights, April 28, 2015
Questions of the Privileges of the House: An Analysis, April 28, 2015
Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal, April 24, 2015
The United Kingdom Election, CRS Insights, April 29, 2015
What are the Department of Defense (DOD) Policies on Transgender Service?, CRS Insights, April 28, 2015
The first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA), who was appointed in 1922 to replace a Senator who had died in office. At age 87, Senator Felton was the oldest person ever to begin a Senate career. She served for only one day. See Women in Congress: Historical Overview, Tables, and Discussion, April 29, 2015.
The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons, and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987.. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: Director Hans […]
On 14 April 2023, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence released a short video of a Su-25 pilot explaining his new role in delivering “special [nuclear] munitions” following his training in Russia. The features seen in the video, as well as several other open-source clues, suggest that Lida Air Base––located only 40 kilometers from the Lithuanian border and the […]
A photo in a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) student briefing from 2022 shows four people inspecting what appears to be a damaged B61 nuclear bomb.
In early-February 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) had informed Congress that China now has more launchers for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) than the United States. The report is the latest in a serious of revelations over the past four years about China’s growing nuclear weapons arsenal and the deepening […]