Rare Earth Elements in National Defense, and More from CRS
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following.
Rare Earth Elements in National Defense: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress, September 17, 2013
Chemical Weapons: A Summary Report of Characteristics and Effects, September 13, 2013
North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation, September 13, 2013
Federal Climate Change Funding from FY2008 to FY2014, September 13, 2013
Climate Change Legislation in the 113th Congress, September 16, 2013
Federal Permitting and Oversight of Export of Fossil Fuels, September 17, 2013
Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill, September 16, 2013
Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments, September 12, 2013
Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests, September 13, 2013
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Categorical Eligibility, September 17, 2013
Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program: Overview and Current Issues, September 13, 2013
Rebuilding Household Wealth: Implications for Economic Recovery, September 13, 2013
Consumers and Food Price Inflation, September 13, 2013
Synthetic Drugs: Overview and Issues for Congress, September 16, 2013
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.