New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public disclosure include the following.
Oman: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy, updated February 5, 2016
Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, updated February 5, 2016
Senate Committee Rules in the 114th Congress: Key Provisions, February 8, 2016
Medicare Trigger, updated February 8, 2016
Federal Freight Policy: In Brief, February 5, 2016
Local Food Systems: Selected Farm Bill and Other Federal Programs, February 5, 2016
Commemorative Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Funding, February 5, 2016
Ocean Energy Agency Appropriations, FY2016, February 5, 2016
Allocation of Wastewater Treatment Assistance: Formula and Other Changes, updated February 5, 2016
The New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions, updated February 5, 2016
Iran’s Nuclear Program: Tehran’s Compliance with International Obligations, updated February 8, 2016
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.