President Trump will declare the escalating number of drug deaths from opioids as a “public health emergency” — but not a “national emergency” — in an announcement scheduled for today.
The Congressional Research Service has issued a new report on aspects of the problem, including an overview of opioid abuse, a review of opioid supply, and a survey of federal programs that deal with the issue. See The Opioid Epidemic and Federal Efforts to Address It: Frequently Asked Questions, October 18, 2017.
On the origins of the crisis, see “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe, The New Yorker, October 30, 2017.
Other new and updated publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following.
Poverty in the United States in 2016: In Brief, October 25, 2017
EPA Proposes to Repeal the Clean Power Plan, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 25, 2017
Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal, updated October 23, 2017
Gun Control: Silencers under the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 3668), CRS Insight, October 16, 2017
Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources, updated October 24, 2017
Human Trafficking: New Global Estimates of Forced Labor and Modern Slavery, CRS Insight, October 18, 2017
U.S. Withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), CRS Insight, October 17, 2017
Overview of “Travel Ban” Litigation and Recent Developments, CRS Legal Sidebar, October 23, 2017
Iran Policy and the European Union, CRS Insight, updated October 18, 2017
States’ Obligations Under Additional Protocols to IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, CRS memorandum, October 23, 2017
Coordination among federal science agencies is essential to ensure government-wide alignment on R&D investment priorities. However, the federal R&D enterprise suffers from egregious siloization.
Don’t like the Chinese-backed EVs that are undercutting your market? Start with a well-designed statute to strengthen market oversight and competition while also providing American companies with support.
Cities and states are best positioned to design policies to accelerate clean energy, innovation, and economic development because they can design approaches that work in different social, political, and economic contexts.
Outcome-Based Contracting reframes procurement around the staged achievement of measurable mission outcomes rather than the delivery of predefined technical artifacts.