Noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service obtained by Secrecy News include the following (all pdf).
“Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007,” updated September 12, 2007.
“The Military Commissions Act of 2006: Analysis of Procedural Rules and Comparison with Previous DOD Rules and the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” updated September 27, 2007.
“Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1999-2006,” September 26, 2007.
“Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy,” updated September 14, 2007.
“Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues,” updated September 19, 2007.
“Iraq: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy,” updated September 12, 2007.
“Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications,” updated September 17, 2007.
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.