The Congressional Research Service is prohibited by congressional secrecy policy from making its reports directly available to the public. These new CRS reports on various topics of current interest were obtained by Secrecy News (all pdf).
“Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes in the United States,” May 26, 2011.
“Defense: FY2012 Budget Request, Authorization and Appropriations,” June 15, 2011.
“FBI Directorship: History and Congressional Action,” June 7, 2011.
“Presidential Authority to Impose Requirements on Federal Contractors,” June 14, 2011.
“Funding Emergency Communications: Technology and Policy Considerations,” June 14, 2011.
“The Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI): Budget Authority and Request, FY2008-FY2012,” June 1, 2011.
“Legislative History Research: A Basic Guide,” June 15, 2011.
“Mongolia: Issues for Congress,” June 14, 2011.
“Application of Religious Law in U.S. Courts: Selected Legal Issues,” May 18, 2011.
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.