When new leadership takes control in the 110th Congress, the public may finally gain routine online access to finished products of the Congressional Research Service.
The prospects for adopting this simple change in disclosure policy are enhanced by the fact that such a move would not require Bush Administration concurrence.
For the time being, however, congressional policy prohibits direct public access to CRS reports.
Some notable new CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News that are not otherwise available online include the following (all pdf).
“Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?”, November 21, 2006.
“Iraqi Civilian Deaths Estimates,” November 22, 2006.
“Televising Supreme Court and Other Federal Court Proceedings: Legislation and Issues,” updated November 8, 2006.
“Anti-Terrorism Authority Under the Laws of the United Kingdom and the United States,” September 7, 2006.
Given the unreliability of private market funding for agricultural biotechnology R&D, substantial federal funding through research programs such as AgARDA is vital for accelerating R&D.
“Given the number of existential crises we must collectively confront, I have found policy entrepreneurship to be a fruitful avenue towards doing some of that work.”
We sit on the verge of another Presidential election – an opportunity for meaningful, science-based policy innovations that can appeal to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Outdated Bureau of Labor Statistics classifications hampers the federal government’s ability to design and implement effective policies for emerging technologies sectors.