Last year, DC District Judge Richard W. Roberts ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to disclose a classified document to a FOIA requester because, he said, the classification of the document was not properly supported. That ruling in Center for International Environmental Law v. Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was a startling judicial rebuff to […]
This week is Sunshine Week, an annual effort sponsored by journalism advocacy and civil society organizations to promote values of open government, freedom of information, and public participation. A rich variety of events are scheduled around the country, most of which are free and many of which will be webcast. I will be participating in […]
The Commander of U.S. Central Command said last week that he is “encouraged” by the willingness of U.S. intelligence agencies to share information with military allies, which is becoming “a standard practice rather than the exception.” At the same time, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee complained that her committee has not been receiving […]
The latest updated products from the Congressional Research Service include the following. The U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications, March 7, 2013 Arab League Boycott of Israel, March 5, 2013 Senate Select Committee on Ethics: A Brief History of Its Evolution and Jurisdiction, March 7, 2013 Small Business Administration: A Primer […]
Congress has again blocked the transfer of the National Intelligence Program outside the Department of Defense budget, rejecting a move that had been urged by the 9/11 Commission. The transfer was specifically prohibited in the 2013 continuing appropriations conference bill passed by the House yesterday. “None of the funds appropriated in this or any other […]
Congress has directed the Secretary of Defense to report on the handling of surveillance data collected by military unmanned aerial systems operating in domestic airspace. A provision in the 2013 continuing appropriations conference bill approved by the House yesterday explained: “The conferees are aware of concerns that have been raised regarding the use of unmanned […]
The latest products from the Congressional Research Service include these reports: Gun Control Proposals in the 113th Congress: Universal Background Checks, Gun Trafficking, and Military Style Firearms, March 1, 2013 Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2013, March 4, 2013 Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs: Status of the Integrated Electronic Health Record (iEHR), […]
The hourly minimum wage reached its peak value in 1968, when it was worth $10.57 in real terms, the Congressional Research Service calculated in a new report. But although the nominal value of the minimum wage has increased over the years, it has not kept pace with the increase in consumer prices, and so its […]
Several members of the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court this month to ask the Court to prepare summaries of classified opinions that represent significant interpretations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to facilitate their declassification and public release. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs challenging the […]
“The average age of Members of the 113th Congress is among the highest of any Congress in recent U.S. history,” according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service. The average age of Members of the House of Representatives is 57 years, while the average age of Senators is 62 years. “The overwhelming majority […]
.By Hans M. Kristensen Tonight I’ll be debating additional nuclear weapons reductions with former Assistant Secretary of State Stephen Rademaker at a PONI event at CSIS. I will argue (prepared remarks here) that the United States could make more unilateral nuclear arms reductions in the future, as it has safely done in the past, as […]
By Hans M. Kristensen The United States has quietly reduced its nuclear weapons stockpile by nearly 500 warheads since 2009. The current stockpile size represents an approximate 85-percent reduction compared with the peak size in 1967, according to information provided to FAS by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The reduction is unilateral and not […]