Newly updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been authorized by Congress for broad public distribution include the following.
Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress, July 6, 2012
Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve: Current Policy and Conditions, July 6, 2012
The Definition of “Supervisor” Under the National Labor Relations Act, July 5, 2012
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations, July 5, 2012
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.