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Global Risk
Press release
Hans Kristensen: Great Immigrant, Great American

The Federation of American Scientists is proud to announce that Hans Kristensen, Nuclear Information Project director, is honored as a Carnegie Corporation of New York 2020 Great Immigrant, Great American. The Great Immigrant, Great American initiative is a tribute to its namesake, the Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and recognizes American immigrants who have […]

07.01.20 | 3 min read
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Environment
Blog
US vaccine manufacturing capacity assessed at Senate HELP Committee hearing

At the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday, Members of Congress and witnesses evaluated whether the U.S. will be able to manufacture enough COVID-19 vaccines to protect the population, as well as be able to distribute them equitably. Vaccine manufacturers are racing to increase their capacity to produce what will likely be billions […]

06.26.20 | 4 min read
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Global Risk
Blog
The State Department’s Compliance Report Plays the Blame Game, Despite Offering Little Evidence

The Trump administration clearly sees the Compliance Report as a tool to provide justification for shedding treaties.

06.24.20 | 11 min read
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FAS
Blog
Crisis of Credibility in Secrecy Policy

Obsolete secrecy procedures and growing political abuse have left the national security classification system in a state of disarray and dysfunction. Most government agencies “still rely on antiquated information security management practices,” according to a new annual report from the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO). “These practices have not kept pace with the volume of […]

06.22.20 | 4 min read
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Emerging Technology
Report
Temporary Work Visa Holders in the United States, By the Numbers

The Trump administration is expected to unveil an executive action in the near future that would significantly restrict temporary (“nonimmigrant”) work visa categories.  While there are multiple public data sets available from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State relevant to these visa categories, they are unfortunately not sufficient to answer these […]

06.12.20 | 1 min read
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Environment
Blog
Much-needed supplies for responding to COVID-19 remain limited

Unlike countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, or Germany, the US has not controlled the spread of COVID-19 in a coordinated fashion, and the nation is in danger of a second surge of cases. Some experts already see indicators of the second surge. For instance, COVID-19 hospitalizations rose sharply in several states after Memorial […]

06.11.20 | 4 min read
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Environment
Blog
The Senate Finance Committee questioned FDA officials about US policies on hydroxychloroquine, the World Health Organization, and supply chain security

The coronavirus has killed over 108,000 people, and infected millions, in the US alone. As some areas of the country begin to lift infection control precautions, it is critical for the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic to improve. An important part of this process is Congressional oversight of the Administration’s response to COVID-19, and during […]

06.05.20 | 4 min read
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Education & Workforce
Press release
FAS President’s statement on nationwide demonstrations against police violence.

The demonstrations that we are witnessing across the nation are in direct response to police violence and to systemic racism that has plagued this country from its birth. All officers responsible for the senseless killing of George Floyd — which follows a pattern of police brutality against countless other black Americans — must be fully […]

06.05.20 | 1 min read
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FAS
Blog
PIDB Urges Modernization of Classification System

How can the national security classification and declassification system be fixed? That depends on how one defines the problem that needs fixing. To the authors of a new report from the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), the outstanding problem is the difficulty of managing the expanding volume of classified information and declassifying a growing backlog of records. “There is […]

06.01.20 | 3 min read
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FAS
Blog
Pentagon Seeks Authority to Recall More Retirees to Duty

The Department of Defense is asking Congress to expand its authority to recall retired members of the military to active duty in the event of a war or national emergency. The DoD proposal predates the turmoil that followed the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis last week and the activation of National […]

06.01.20 | 2 min read
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FAS
Blog
Air Force Calls for Expansion of Nevada Test Range

The US Air Force wants to renew and expand the withdrawal of public land for the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), where it conducts flight testing, classified research and development projects, and weapons tests. A Defense Department proposal to Congress would increase the amount of land currently withdrawn from public use by more than 10 […]

06.01.20 | 2 min read
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FAS
Blog
Protecting Privacy in the 2020 Census

In 2018 the Census Bureau discovered that results of the 2010 census could be processed and matched with external sources in such a way as to reveal confidential personal information, in violation of the law. “This had not been thought to be feasible owing to the large amount of data and computation involved,” a new report from […]

05.15.20 | 2 min read
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