Senator Sam Nunn has often underscored that humanity is in “a race between cooperation and catastrophe.” As co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, he has urged greater and faster international action on reducing nuclear dangers. He has also joined with former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former Secretary […]
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 […]
The across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration that are expected to take effect on March 1 could impede the government’s ability to respond to WikiLeaks and to rectify the flaws in information security that it exposed, a Pentagon official told Congress recently. Zachary J. Lemnios, the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering, was […]
Government-sponsored scientific research published in expensive journals should become more readily accessible to the public under an initiative announced by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Friday. Federal agencies that fund at least $100 million per year in scientific research were directed by White House science advisor John Holdren to develop […]
Members of the public are invited to comment on the feasibility and desirability of various forms of institutional oversight at federally-funded institutions that perform research involving certain pathogens or toxins. “Certain types of research that are conducted for legitimate purposes may also be utilized for harmful purposes. Such research is called ‘dual use research’,” said […]
By Hans M. Kristensen The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) expects additional delays in production and delivery of the B61-12 nuclear bomb as a result of so-called sequestration budget cuts. During testimony before the Hours Energy and Water Subcommittee last week, NNSA’s Acting Administrator Neile Miller said an expected $600 million reduction of the agency’s […]
On December 12, 2012, North Korea finally succeeded in placing an object into low Earth orbit. Recovered debris of the launcher’s first stage verified some previous assumptions about the launch system, but it also included some surprises. Independent from the technical findings and their consequences, the public debate seems to miss some important points. Fundamental […]
Judge Claire V. Eagan of the Northern District of Oklahoma was appointed this month to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by the Chief Justice of the United States. Her term on the FIS Court began on February 13, 2013 and will extend until May 18, 2019. She replaces Judge Jennifer B. Coffman, who retired […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has chosen not to make available to the public include the following. Federal Reserve: Unconventional Monetary Policy Options, February 19, 2013 Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Legal Issues, February 14, 2013 Pharmaceutical Patent Settlements: Issues in Innovation and Competitiveness, February 15, 2013 Unauthorized Aliens: Policy […]