The leading cause of railroad-related deaths is not collisions or derailments, but trespassing, explains a neatly argued new issue brief from the Congressional Research Service. See Rail Safety Efforts Miss Leading Cause of Fatalities, CRS Insights, April 2, 2015.
Other new and newly updated CRS reports that Congress has withheld from public distribution include the following.
Net Neutrality: Selected Legal Issues Raised by the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order, April 6, 2015
Ballistic Missile Defense in the Asia-Pacific Region: Cooperation and Opposition, April 3, 2015
An Overview of Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas: Resources and Federal Actions, April 7, 2015
U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas, April 3, 2015
Marijuana: Medical and Retail — Selected Legal Issues, April 8, 2015
Social Media in the House of Representatives: Frequently Asked Questions, April 2, 2015
The No Fly List: Procedural Due Process and Hurdles to Litigation, April 2, 2015
The current wildfire management system is inadequate in the face of increasingly severe and damaging wildfires. Change is urgently needed
While it seems that the current political climate may not incentivize the use of evidence-based data sources for decision making, those of us who are passionate about ensuring results for the American people will continue to firmly stand on the belief that learning agendas are a crucial component to successfully navigate a changing future.
In recent months, we’ve seen much of these decades’ worth of progress erased. Contracts for evaluations of government programs were canceled, FFRDCs have been forced to lay off staff, and federal advisory committees have been disbanded.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.