Addressing the climate crisis is one of the Biden administration’s key goals. On January 27th, the president issued an executive order stating that the U.S. should aim for net zero emissions, economy-wide, by 2050. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing last week to discuss reaching this goal that featured leaders from industry, academia, and the environmental […]
Last month, in the final days of his Administration, President Trump moved to renew the “national emergency” along the US-Mexico border that he had declared in 2019. “The ongoing border security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border of the United States continues to threaten our national security, including by exacerbating the effect of the […]
The Department of Defense is authorized to use unmanned aircraft systems within U.S. airspace for more than a dozen different types of operations, from search and rescue to counterintelligence. These domestic missions, and the official guidance or legal authority behind each of them, were tabulated in a newly updated manual on military support to civilian […]
Given the pervasiveness of COVID-19 throughout the U.S., the risk of infection to transportation workers and passengers is significant. For instance, in a survey of over 600 bus and subway workers in New York City, almost one quarter reported contracting COVID-19, and 76 percent personally knew a coworker who had died from the disease. During last week’s hearing, […]
The traditional system for granting or denying security clearances for access to classified information is undergoing a significant overhaul as it transitions into what is called Trusted Workforce 2.0. Among other changes, Trusted Workforce 2.0 will ultimately phase out the painstaking periodic reinvestigations of cleared personnel in favor of “continuous evaluation” or “continuous vetting.” This […]
Environmental justice is a priority for the Biden administration, with the president advocating for the use of a whole-of-government approach based on the latest science to improve environmental conditions in low-income communities and communities of color. When pressed to expand on the administration’s vision during Wednesday’s Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Michael Regan, the president’s nominee […]
“In a democracy, the public deserves as much transparency as possible regarding the work of our national security institutions, consistent with legitimate needs to protect sources and methods and sensitive foreign relationships,” according to a memorandum issued by President Biden on February 4. “The revitalization of our national security and foreign policy workforce requires a recommitment […]
The declassification process has been overwhelmed by the flood of classified records awaiting review, said Sen. Ron Wyden last week. “I intend to push the Director of National Intelligence to fix a broken declassification system,” he said. One highly effective way to begin fixing the declassification system would be to set a maximum period of […]
Update: National Security Directive 1 was redesignated as National Security Memorandum 1. Amid the whirlwind of White House activity following inauguration last week, President Biden issued his first presidential directive on national security to designate pandemic response as a priority. “My Administration will treat epidemic and pandemic preparedness, health security, and global health as top national […]
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force today, 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. So far, a total of 86 countries have signed the treaty, which complements existing disarmament measures like the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The TPNW is a significant milestone in the long and global […]
The US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) has published a new version of its widely referenced Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat report. The agency normally puts out an updated version of the report every four years. The previous version dates from 2017. The 2021 report (dated 2020) provides information on developments […]
There has been a surge of public interest in the drug fluvoxamine as a potential treatment for individuals with mild COVID-19, and Congressional offices are receiving many questions about the possibility of using the drug to counter COVID-19 from constituents. This brief outlines what is known to date about fluvoxamine in the context of the […]