A campaign by citizens’ groups in Germany last month persuaded the Bundestag (the German parliament) to authorize the release of thousands of research reports prepared by the Wissenschaftlicher Dienst, the German equivalent of the Congressional Research Service.
“But not only that: The Parliament also changed its publication policy regarding all new reports. In the future, they will be released by the Parliament after a protective period of four weeks,” according to a blog post on the campaign from FragDenStaat.
Our own Congress is still not quite ready to follow suit.
For now, the latest products of the Congressional Research Service must be obtained through alternate channels:
Nigeria: Current Issues and U.S. Policy, March 11, 2016
Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program: Frequently Asked Questions, March 11, 2016
Legal Issues with Federal Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food: In Brief, updated March 11, 2016
Veterans’ Benefits: Burial Benefits and National Cemeteries, updated March 11, 2016
FY2017 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability, updated March 10, 2016
Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress, updated March 10, 2016
U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues, updated March 10, 2016
Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars.
The U.S. government should establish a public-private National Exposome Project (NEP) to generate benchmark human exposure levels for the ~80,000 chemicals to which Americans are regularly exposed.
The federal government spends billions every year on wildfire suppression and recovery. Despite this, the size and intensity of fires continues to grow, increasing costs to human health, property, and the economy as a whole.
To respond and maintain U.S. global leadership, USAID should transition to heavily favor a Fixed-Price model to enhance the United States’ ability to compete globally and deliver impact at scale.