Tag Archives: CRS

National security-related ‘considerations and options’ during a presidential transition


By SB Anderson

Interesting rundown from the Congressional Research Service of national security-related “considerations and options” for outgoing and incoming administrations after a presidential election, as well as the pre-election phases that are fast drawing to a close. 

“While possible changes in Administration during U.S. involvement in national security-related activities are not unique to the 2012-2013 election period, many observers suggest that the current security environment may portend a time of increased risk to the current presidential election period,” the report says.

“Whether the enemies of the United States choose to undertake action that may harm the nation’s security interests during the 2012-2013 election period, or the existing or new President experiences a relatively peaceful period during the transition, many foreign policy and security challenges will await the Administration.”

Full Report (PDF)

Via Steven Aftergood’s Secrecy News.

Some good backgrounder reading from Congressional Research Service


By SB Anderson

A couple of fresh PDFs from CRS, via SecrecyNews.

  • “Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry”  takes a look “recent enforcement efforts, takes stock of the current state of border security, and considers lessons that may be learned about a quarter century of enhanced migration control efforts at U.S. borders” and concludes “concludes by raising additional questions about future investments at the border, how to weigh such investments against other enforcement strategies, and the relationship between border enforcement and the broader debate about U.S. immigration policy.”
  • “U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems” looks at the nuts and bolts of unmanned vehicle programs whose costs have grown 11-fold since FY2000, to $3.3 billion in FY2010.

New CRS reports on cellphone privacy, legislative secrecy


By SB Anderson

Steven Aftergood at Secrecy News has links and the lowdown on two new Congressional Research Service reports that are worth a read. 

1. A new report from the Congressional Research Service explores ongoing legal debates over the tracking of private cell phones and vehicles by law enforcement agencies.

The 22 page CRS report provides a survey of relevant Fourth Amendment law, federal electronic surveillance statutes and case law, pending GPS-vehicle tracking cases, and electronic surveillance legislation that is before Congress.

2. “Compared with the White House, the executive branch, and the Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress is the most transparent national governmental institution,” the CRS report said.  “Yet the congressional process is replete with activities and actions that are private and not observable by the public.”