A major new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service provides a detailed account of Congress’s contempt power, including the use of contempt proceedings to coerce compliance with congressional demands for information or testimony and to punish non-compliance. “This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case […]
Recently updated reports of the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include these (all pdf). “Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate,” updated June 25, 2007. “U.S.-Japan Economic Relations: Significance, Prospects, and Policy Options,” updated July 9, 2007. “Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) […]
The U.S. Senate is placing increased emphasis on exposing corruption and profiteering in military contracting in Iraq. Last week, Sen. James Webb (D-VA) introduced a bill with twenty co-sponsors that would establish a Commission on Wartime Contracting to investigate fraud and abuse in government contracts, including intelligence contracts, in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring […]
The U.S. Navy has issued its first security policy (pdf) for protection of “biological select agents and toxins” (BSAT) at Navy facilities, a move that may signify heightened Navy interest in research involving these lethal materials. Select agents are substances designated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture that […]
Recently updated reports of the Congressional Research Service on nuclear weapons-related topics include these (all pdf): “Nuclear Warheads: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program and the Life Extension Program,” updated July 16, 2007. “Nuclear Weapons: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program,” updated July 13, 2007. “Nuclear Weapons: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,” updated July 12, 2007. “Nonproliferation and […]
The 1982 U.S. Army medical manual for special forces presented in Secrecy News yesterday is dangerously misleading and it should not be used in practice, one expert in military medicine warned. “That manual (pdf) is a relic of sentimental and historical interest only, advocating treatments that, if used by today’s medics, would result in disciplinary […]
A new publication of the Joint Chiefs of Staff presents U.S. military doctrine on “homeland defense” (pdf). “It provides information on command and control, interagency and multinational coordination, and operations required to defeat external threats to, and aggression against, the homeland.” See “Homeland Defense,” Joint Publication 3-27, July 12, 2007. The document further extends the […]
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has put forward an agenda to increase transparency in government that includes “publishing budgets for every government agency.” This appears to be a roundabout way of endorsing disclosure of intelligence agency budgets, since the budgets of all other agencies are already published. The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to […]
Recent reports of the Congressional Research Service on Middle East-related topics, obtained by Secrecy News without CRS authorization, include the following. “U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Middle East: Historical Background, Recent Trends, and the FY2008 Request,” updated July 3, 2007. “Libya: Background and U.S. Relations,” updated June 19, 2007. “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel,” updated […]
More publicly unreleased reports from the Congressional Research Service on various topics of interest to some include these (all pdf). “Journalists’ Privilege to Withhold Information in Judicial and Other Proceedings: State Shield Statutes,” updated June 27, 2007. “Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Background, Legal Analysis, and Policy Options,” updated June 30, 2007. “Critical Infrastructure: The National Asset […]
Under extreme conditions, live maggots may be inserted into a wound to consume damaged or diseased flesh, according to a medical manual for U.S. Army Special Forces (large pdf). “Despite the hazards involved, maggot therapy should be considered a viable alternative when, in the absence of antibiotics, a wound becomes severely infected, does not heal, […]
At a press briefing on Monday, Assistant Secretary of State John Rood elaborated on the Bush Administration’s latest attempt to secure license-free defense exports to the UK, a contentious issue that sparked a bruising battle between the administration and House Republicans three years ago. This time the exemptions are packaged in the form of a […]