A new report from the Congressional Research Service summarizes for Congress what is publicly known about the two National Security Agency surveillance programs that were disclosed by Edward Snowden and reported last month by The Guardian and The Washington Post.
“Since these programs were publicly disclosed over the course of two days in June, there has been confusion about what information is being collected and what authorities the NSA is acting under. This report clarifies the differences between the two programs and identifies potential issues that may help Members of Congress assess legislative proposals pertaining to NSA surveillance authorities.”
The CRS report does not present any new factual material concerning the surveillance programs. But it identifies some outstanding questions about them — the word “unclear” is used several times — and it formulates topics for congressional consideration. See NSA Surveillance Leaks: Background and Issues for Congress, July 2, 2013.
Other new or newly updated CRS reports that Congress has not made publicly available include the following.
Ecuador: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations, July 3, 2013
China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities — Background and Issues for Congress, updated July 5, 2013
China-U.S. Trade Issues, updated July 3, 2012
China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States, updated July 3, 2013
U.S.-Taiwan Relationship: Overview of Policy Issues, updated July 2, 2013
Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990, updated July 3, 2013
It is in the interests of the United States to appropriately protect information that needs to be protected while maintaining our participation in new discoveries to maintain our competitive advantage.
The question is not whether the capital exists (it does!), nor whether energy solutions are available (they are!), but whether we can align energy finance quickly enough to channel the right types of capital where and when it’s needed most.
Our analysis of federal AI governance across administrations shows that divergent compliance procedures and uneven institutional capacity challenge the government’s ability to deploy AI in ways that uphold public trust.
From California to New Jersey, wildfires are taking a toll—costing the United States up to $424 billion annually and displacing tens of thousands of people. Congress needs solutions.