Federal government agencies received more Freedom of Information Act requests last year than ever before, the Justice Department reported last week, reflecting a steadily growing demand for access to government information. Nearly 790,000 FOIA requests were received in FY 2016, an increase of more than 10% from the year before. The majority of requests were […]
In the new Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (section 8009), Congress mandated that no new, highly classified special access programs may be created without 30 day advance notice to the congressional defense committees. But in signing the bill into law last Friday, President Trump said he would not be bound by that restriction. “Although I […]
A previously unpublished account of life in the Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in the early 1950s describes a community determined to achieve, and to present, a semblance of conventional suburban life. It was circulated last month by Los Alamos historian Roger A. Meade. “In 1954 an unknown author drafted a report, reprinted below, describing […]
Given its length, complexity and limited availability, it is unlikely that most members of Congress actually read the full text of the American Health Care Act that passed the House of Representatives today. But the Congressional Research Service prepared a report, updated today, that includes an overview of all of the provisions of the Act. […]
Congressional oversight of intelligence often involves disputes over congressional access to intelligence information, records and personnel. But when it comes to internal Pentagon oversight, even the most tightly held intelligence programs are required to cooperate without reservation, a new DoD directive says. Thus, the Senior Intelligence Oversight Official is supposed to have “complete and unrestricted […]
Net neutrality, or unfettered and non-discriminatory access to the Internet, is the subject of current litigation, regulation and legislation. Background to the issue is presented in a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. See The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks, May 1, 2017. Other new and updated reports from the Congressional […]
Are offensive cyber operations an act of war? “I would say specifically to your question what defines an act of war [in the cyber domain]– that has not been defined. We are still working towards that definition across the interagency,” said Thomas Atkin of the Office of Secretary of Defense at a congressional hearing last […]
A new report from the Congressional Research Service describes the gene editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 and its dramatic implications for genetic engineering. The report also introduces the ethical, regulatory and policy questions that this technology is raising. See Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9, April 28, 2017. Other new and updated reports from the Congressional Research […]
“You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers,” advised Major Robert Rogers in 1759, “but don’t never lie to a Ranger or officer.” That guidance is recalled in a newly updated Ranger Handbook published by the U.S. Army last week. The Handbook is a compilation of doctrine, tactics, history […]
A newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service “provides an overview of Mexico’s free trade agreements, its motivations for trade liberalization and entering into free trade agreements, and trade trends with the United States and other countries in the world.” See Mexico’s Free Trade Agreements, updated April 25, 2017. Other new and updated Congressional […]
Could imported steel pose a threat to U.S. national security? The Trump Administration thinks so. Last week, President Trump directed the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an investigation under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 “to determine the effects on national security of steel imports.” Yesterday the Congressional Research Service reviewed the issue skeptically, noting […]
“The Nation must prepare to mitigate an unpredictable global security and national emergency environment,” the White House said in a report to Congress this month. The report, transmitted by President Trump on April 3, provided principles for reform of the selective service process by which young Americans enter the military. The report was required by […]