Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities, and More from CRS
In almost every year since 2007, Congress appropriated less money for diplomatic security than had been requested. In FY2012, the State Department sought $2.9 billion for security, and Congress enacted $2.6 billion.
The diplomatic security function, including its funding profile, was discussed in the light of recent attacks of U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya and elsewhere in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See Securing U.S. Diplomatic Facilities and Personnel Abroad: Background and Policy Issues, November 26, 2012.
Some other new and updated CRS reports that have not been made publicly available include the following.
Panama: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations, November 27, 2012
The Judgment Fund: History, Administration, and Common Usage, November 26, 2012
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit, November 16, 2012
Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, November 27, 2012
The potential implication of these evidence gaps becomes more consequential when you look at how institutions actually make decisions day to day.
Every new institution inherits something – existing incentives, existing staff, decades of prior investment that shaped what’s possible.
This is not the first time Google has agreed to censor imagery at the behest of governments, but be warned: obfuscation at this broad level poses a direct threat to the public’s ability to monitor and scrutinize government operations.
America’s affordability problem is bigger than home prices and rents. The best housing policies make it easier to build homes, and recognize how housing connects to other domains.