Category «Defense»

USA FREEDOM Act Reinstates Expired USA PATRIOT Act Provisions

CRS Legal Sidebar USA FREEDOM Act Reinstates Expired USA PATRIOT Act Provisions but Limits Bulk Collection 6/4/2015: “Following a contentious debate and passagein the Senate, the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 2048) was signed into law onJune 2, 2015. The new law contains eight titles, spanning a range of national security topics from reauthorizing expired investigative …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Patriot Act, Privacy

Black Holes and Open Secrets: The Impact of Covert Action on International Law

Perina, Alexandra H, Black Holes and Open Secrets: The Impact of Covert Action on International Law (June 2, 2015). Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 53, No. 3, 2015. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2613731 “Governments maintain secrecy over a range of conduct in order to protect national security, but in no area is secrecy …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

GAO – DOD Should Strengthen Management and Guidance to Protect Classified Information and Systems

Insider Threats: DOD Should Strengthen Management and Guidance to Protect Classified Information and Systems, GAO-15-544: Published: Jun 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 2, 2015. “The Department of Defense (DOD) components GAO selected for review have begun implementing insider-threat programs that incorporate the six minimum standards called for in Executive Order 13587 to protect classified information …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents, Intellectual Property, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Small Arms Survey 2015: Weapons and the World

“The Small Arms Survey 2015: Weapons and the World examines the role of weapons and armed violence in humanity’s appropriation of the earth’s wildlife and mineral riches—in Africa, where the poaching of elephants and rhinos is becoming increasingly militarized, and near resource extraction sites around the world. In addition to presenting updates on the UN …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Government Documents

New GAO Reports – Border Security, Broadband, DOD Operational Testing, Medicaid, Retirement Security, Telecom, Private Health Insurance

Border Security: Progress and Challenges in DHS’s Efforts to Address High-Risk Travelers and Maritime Cargo, GAO-15-668T: Published: Jun 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 2, 2015. Broadband: Intended Outcomes and Effectiveness of Efforts to Address Adoption Barriers Are Unclear, GAO-15-473: Published: Jun 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Jun 2, 2015. DOD Operational Testing: Oversight Has Resulted in …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Medicine

Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities

CRS – Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities, Edward C. Liu, Legislative Attorney; Andrew Nolan, Legislative Attorney, Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney. May 21, 2015. “Beginning in summer 2013, media reports of foreign intelligence activities conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) have been widely published. The reports have focused on two …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy

FAS – New Intelligence Budget Data Disclosed

Steven Aftergood – Secrecy News: “U.S. intelligence spending remains at the frontier of national security classification and declassification policy, as some new scraps of intelligence budget information are divulged, most other information is withheld, and a simmering demand for greater disclosure persists in Congress and elsewhere. Last month the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) released heavily …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Assessing Unconventional Applications of the ‘Terrorism’ Label

Setty, Sudha, Assessing Unconventional Applications of the ‘Terrorism’ Label (2015). Forthcoming in The War on Terror & Beyond: Moving from Military Action to Civil Rights, Satvinder Juss and Clive Walker, eds. (Univ. of Penn. Press, 2015); Western New England University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-3. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2608623 …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Government Documents, Legal Research

New GAO Reports – IRS Internal Controls, Medicaid, Navy Force Structure

Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service’s Internal Control over Financial Reporting, GAO-15-480R: Published: May 29, 2015. Publicly Released: May 29, 2015. Medicaid: Additional Actions Needed to Help Improve Provider and Beneficiary Fraud Controls, GAO-15-313: Published: May 14, 2015. Publicly Released: May 29, 2015. Navy Force Structure: Sustainable Plan and Comprehensive …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Government Documents, Health Care, Marketing

New GAO Reports – International Space Station, Sequestration

International Space Station: Measurable Performance Targets and Documentation Needed to Better Assess Management of National Laboratory, GAO-15-397: Published: Apr 27, 2015. Publicly Released: May 27, 2015: “The U.S. has spent almost $43 billion to develop, assemble, and operate the ISS over the past two decades. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 required NASA to enter …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Government Documents, Legislation, Transportation

New GAO Reports – Defense Transportation, Federal Veterinarians, U.S. Postal Service

Defense Transportation: Air Force’s Airlift Study Met Mandate Requirements, GAO-15-457R: Published: May 26, 2015. Publicly Released: May 26, 2015. Federal Veterinarians: Efforts Needed to Improve Workforce Planning, GAO-15-495: Published: May 26, 2015. Publicly Released: May 26, 2015. U.S. Postal Service: Improved Management Procedures Needed for Parcel Select Contracts, GAO-15-408: Published: Apr 23, 2015. Publicly Released: …

Subjects: Defense, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Medicine

Report – $36M Command Control Facility in Afghanistan: Unwanted, Unneeded, and Unused

SIGAR – Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction May 2015 SIGAR-15-57-SP $36 Million Command and Control Facility at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan: Unwanted, Unneeded, and Unused “SIGAR found that DoD requested funds for this facility on the basis that it was necessary to address an immediate operational need associated with the military surge in Afghanistan in …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents, Legal Research