Nuclear Weapons

Senate Republicans Lead Congressional Use of Twitter, CRS Says

04.02.13 | 2 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Senate Republicans are the most prolific users of Twitter in Congress, tweeting an average of 1.53 Tweets per day, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.  They were followed by Senate Democrats (1.49 Tweets on average), House Republicans (1.23), and House Democrats (1.09).

Senate Republicans were also the most frequent posters on Facebook, with an average of 0.84 posts per day.

“In 2012, 56% of Twitter-registered Members were Republican and 44% were Democrats,” reported the CRS study, which was performed with the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin.

Twitter and Facebook “allow Members to communicate directly with constituents (and others) in a potentially interactive way that is not possible through mail or e-mail. For Members and their staff, the ability to collect and transmit real time information to and from constituents could be influential for issue prioritization, policy decisions, or voting behavior,” CRS said.

However, the new study does not present any data to show that Twitter or Facebook are actually being used interactively, i.e. that Members are consistently reading or responding to incoming messages from constituents or others.  See Social Networking and Constituent Communications: Members’ Use of Twitter and Facebook During a Two-Month Period in the 112th Congress, March 22, 2013.

Some other new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following.

Argentina’s Post-Crisis Economic Reform: Challenges for U.S. Policy, March 26, 2013

Proposed Cuts to Air Traffic Control Towers Under Budget Sequestration: Background and Considerations for Congress, March 26, 2013

Administrative Agencies and Claims of Unreasonable Delay: Analysis of Court Treatment, March 21, 2013

U.S. and World Coal Production, Federal Taxes, and Incentives, March 14, 2013

publications
See all publications
Nuclear Weapons
Report
Nuclear Notebook: Russian Nuclear Weapons, 2023

The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons, and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987.. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: Director Hans […]

05.08.23 | 1 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
Video Indicates that Lida Air Base Might Get Russian “Nuclear Sharing” Mission in Belarus

On 14 April 2023, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence released a short video of a Su-25 pilot explaining his new role in delivering “special [nuclear] munitions” following his training in Russia. The features seen in the video, as well as several other open-source clues, suggest that Lida Air Base––located only 40 kilometers from the Lithuanian border and the […]

04.19.23 | 7 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
Was There a U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accident At a Dutch Air Base? [no, it was training, see update below]

A photo in a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) student briefing from 2022 shows four people inspecting what appears to be a damaged B61 nuclear bomb.

04.03.23 | 7 min read
read more
Nuclear Weapons
Blog
STRATCOM Says China Has More ICBM Launchers Than The United States – We Have Questions

In early-February 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) had informed Congress that China now has more launchers for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) than the United States. The report is the latest in a serious of revelations over the past four years about China’s growing nuclear weapons arsenal and the deepening […]

02.10.23 | 6 min read
read more