Some notable newly-updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that are not readily available in the public domain include these (all pdf).
“Coast Guard Deepwater Program: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress,” December 18, 2006.
“Radioactive Waste Streams: Waste Classification for Disposal,” updated December 13, 2006.
“Border Security: Barriers Along the U.S. International Border,” updated December 12, 2006.
“China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues,” updated December 11, 2006.
“Defense Procurement: Full Funding Policy — Background, Issues, and Options for Congress,” updated December 11, 2006.
“Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation,” updated December 8, 2006.
“Nuclear Arms Control: The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty,” updated October 12, 2006.
January saw us watching whether the government would fund science. February has been about how that funding will be distributed, regulated, and contested.
This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it.
Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.
Durable and legitimate climate action requires a government capable of clearly weighting, explaining, and managing cost tradeoffs to the widest away of audiences, which in turn requires strong technocratic competency.