Four months after the retirement of the previous director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Daniel Mulhollan, no successor has been named. Today, the Library of Congress posted a solicitation on USA Jobs seeking applicants for the position of CRS Director.
“A successful candidate for this position should have thorough, substantive knowledge of the Congress as an institution and its operations. The candidate should have experience interacting with Members of Congress and their staffs, and should possess first-hand knowledge of congressional decision-making, processes, and procedures,” the job announcement said.
Anyone with ideas of opening up CRS to interactions with the larger world would not be welcome.
Applicants “should have a strong desire to work exclusively for Congress,” the announcement said, reflecting the legacy view that CRS should not be responsive to anyone but Congress, and should not even make non-confidential CRS publications available to the public.
Recent CRS reports that are not publicly available from CRS include the following (all pdf).
“Suicide, PTSD, and Substance Use Among OEF/OIF Veterans Using VA Health Care: Facts and Figures,” July 18, 2011
“The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress,” July 18, 2011
“Fairness Doctrine: History and Constitutional Issues,” July 13, 2011
“Chinese Tire Imports: Section 421 Safeguards and the World Trade Organization (WTO),” July 12, 2011
“State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2012 Budget and Appropriations,” July 22, 2011
“The Republic of South Sudan: Opportunities and Challenges for Africa’s Newest Country,” July 25, 2011
“Critical Infrastructures: Background, Policy and Implementation,” July 11, 2011
“National Security Letters: Proposals in the 112th Congress,” June 30, 2011
By preparing credible, bipartisan options now, before the bill becomes law, we can give the Administration a plan that is ready to implement rather than another study that gathers dust.
Even as companies and countries race to adopt AI, the U.S. lacks the capacity to fully characterize the behavior and risks of AI systems and ensure leadership across the AI stack. This gap has direct consequences for Commerce’s core missions.
The last remaining agreement limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons has now expired. For the first time since 1972, there is no treaty-bound cap on strategic nuclear weapons.
As states take up AI regulation, they must prioritize transparency and build technical capacity to ensure effective governance and build public trust.