Some new or updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). Security Assistance Reform: “Section 1206” Background and Issues for Congress, January 13, 2012 The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement To Come From Domestic Sources, January 13, 2012 In Brief: Assessing […]
The Department of Energy has asked Congress to amend the Atomic Energy Act to allow certain nuclear weapons information that has been removed from the “Restricted Data” classification category to be restored to that category. “Restricted Data” (RD) pertains to classified nuclear weapons design information. It is distinguished from “Formerly Restricted Data” (FRD) which generally […]
Recent legislative action on military detention of suspected enemy combatants perpetuates an ambiguity in the law as to whether U.S. citizens may be so detained, a new report from the Congressional Research Service says. “The circumstances in which a U.S. citizen or other person captured or arrested in the United States may be detained under […]
In a brief filed Friday in the case of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of leaking classified information, prosecutors told the U.S. Court of Appeals that New York Times reporter James Risen should be compelled to testify at Mr. Sterling’s trial and to reveal whether it was Mr. Sterling who leaked information […]
Some noteworthy new reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following (all pdf): Legal Issues Associated with the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, December 16, 2011 Contemporary Developments in Presidential Elections, January 9, 2012 “Surge Recovery” and Next Steps in the War in Afghanistan: In Brief, January 6, 2011 U.S. Assistance Programs in China, January […]
With the formal ending of the U.S. war in Iraq on December 15, 2011, the Congressional Research Service has produced an updated report on U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Current Conflicts (pdf). “Confusion can occur because beginning and ending dates for ‘periods of war’ in many nonofficial sources are often different from those […]
In a portent of spending cuts that are still to come, the number of employees at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) dropped significantly over the past year. Interestingly, one of the first visible signs of the reduction in the workforce was a decline in the level of ODNI classification activity, which […]
The inequality of income among American taxpayers has grown markedly in recent years, the Congressional Research Service confirmed in a new study of U.S. tax records. Even as total income grew between 1996 and 2006 (the last year for which individual tax data are available), many Americans were losing ground. “Inflation-adjusted income actually fell for […]
If nuclear fusion were ever to become a practical method of generating electrical energy, there would be a continuing requirement to produce significant quantities of tritium for fusion reactor fuel. The JASON scientific advisory panel was asked by the Department of Energy to assess the feasibility of large scale tritium production. Its findings were presented […]
A newly revised Army regulation prescribes the use of “red teams” that are assigned to try and penetrate the security of military communications, as if they were hackers or opposition forces. “Red Team operations expose vulnerabilities by challenging an organization’s readiness and ability to protect information. Red Team activities focus on identifying an organization’s critical […]
Updated below The U.S. electric power grid is vulnerable to damage from severe electromagnetic solar storms and remedial measures should be taken to reduce that vulnerability, a new study (large pdf) from the JASON scientific advisory panel concluded. On the other hand, the JASONs said, catastrophic worst-case scenarios advanced by some are not plausible, and […]
Congress last week enacted the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. “The legislation we are approving today keeps funding for intelligence essentially flat from fiscal year 2011, representing the a meaningful reduction from the President’s request,” said Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on December 14. Curiously, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the […]