Additional reports from the Congressional Research Service that are newly available online include these (all pdf):
“Department of Defense Fuel Costs in Iraq,” July 23, 2008.
“The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress,” July 16, 2008.
“Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force,” updated July 23, 2008.
“Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives,” July 28, 2008.
“Retroactive Immunity Provided by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008,” July 25, 2008.
As useful as some CRS reports are, they are rarely if ever the last word on any given subject. The new CRS report on retroactive immunity and the FISA Amendments Act, for example, does not encompass the challenging constitutional questions discussed by Glenn Greenwald in this ACLU blog entry.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
FAS has partnered with ICLEI USA to launch the CRI Local Advisory Council.