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
With 2000 nuclear weapons on alert, far more powerful than the first bomb tested in the Jornada Del Muerto during the Trinity Test 80 years ago, our world has been fundamentally altered.
As the United States continues nuclear modernization on all legs of its nuclear triad through the creation of new variants of warheads, missiles, and delivery platforms, examining the effects of nuclear weapons production on the public is ever more pressing.
“The first rule of government transformation is: there are a lot of rules. And there should be-ish. But we don’t need to wait for permission to rewrite them. Let’s go fix and build some things and show how it’s done.”
To better understand what might drive the way we live, learn, and work in 2050, we’re asking the community to share their expertise and thoughts about how key factors like research and development infrastructure and automation will shape the trajectory of the ecosystem.