Some recent publications of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“Conventional Warheads For Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues for Congress,” updated February 9, 2007.
“The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center: Issues for Congress,” updated February 15, 2007.
“National Security Surveillance Act of 2006: S. 3886, Title II (S. 2453 as Reported Out of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” updated January 18, 2007.
“Active Military Sonar and Marine Mammals: Events and References,” updated February 12, 2007.
“U.S.-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement,” updated January 31, 2007.
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.