Here I detail the two major pieces of biosecurity legislation up for consideration by Congress this year, S.1873, The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005 and S.1880, The National Biodefense and Pandemic Preparedness Act of 2005. They both address similar issues relating to the nation’s ability to develop countermeasures against emerging […]
In a rare relaxation of mounting restrictions on disclosure of government information, the Labor Department has agreed to reverse its policy of withholding notes taken by mine safety inspectors from prompt release under the Freedom of Information Act. In a January 11 letter written in the wake of the Sago mine disaster, Rep. Henry Waxman […]
Sunshine Week is a broad-based initiative intended to focus public concern over the growth of official secrecy. During the week of March 13, 2006, there will be a series of events exploring the diverse and increasing barriers that obstruct public access to government information. Details and educational resources are available on the Sunshine Week web […]
The Department of Defense has abandoned plans to revise its Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations. The draft revision became controversial when it was disclosed last year because of its unusually frank discussion of preemptive use of nuclear weapons. The decision to cancel the revision was discovered by Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists. […]
A noteworthy article from the CIA’s Studies in Intelligence Journal, published in 1979 and declassified last year, describes the use of “remote medical diagnosis” for foreign intelligence purposes. “Remote medical diagnosis is defined as the identification of the illnesses affecting a person without the benefit of a formal medical examination.” The authors provide capsule accounts […]
Congressional Research Service analyses of the Bush Administration’s domestic surveillance activity have been exceptionally influential, and their influence has been magnified by media coverage that has sometimes overstated the rather nuanced conclusions of CRS analysts. But now the CRS may face a backlash from Republican leaders in Congress who apparently resent the agency’s high profile […]
The Pentagon has formally cancelled a controversial revision of its Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations after the document was exposed last year in an article in Arms Control Today and described in the Washington Post. The revised draft doctrine included for the first time descriptions of preemptive use of U.S. nuclear weapons, which prompted the […]
A major new report from the National Research Council warns of future biological threats and urges increased attention to mechanisms for prevention, detection, mitigation and response to the destructive use of biological agents. But secrecy is not one of those mechanisms, the report says. “In general, restrictive regulations and the imposition of constraints on the […]
“The preeminent position that the United States has enjoyed in the life sciences has been dependent upon the flow of foreign scientific talent to its shores,” the National Research Council said in its new report on biosecurity (p. 159). But onerous visa requirements and so-called “deemed export” restrictions on scientific communications could erode the contribution […]
The possibility that Freedom of Information Act requesters can recover attorneys’ fees in FOIA lawsuits makes it easier to find attorneys to represent requesters on a contingency or pro bono basis. Conversely, when new restrictions on the award of attorneys fees are put in place, as they have been in recent years, the availability of […]
The government failed to preserve certain official email messages generated by the Office of the Vice President and the Executive Office of the President in 2003 as required by law, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald revealed in a January 23 letter (pdf). The contents and quantity of the missing email is unknown. In another letter dated […]
Cross-posted from Secrecy News: A new report from the Congressional Research Service takes a detailed look at proposals to significantly restructure the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. The proposals, offered by a Department of Energy Task Force, include closure and consolidation of various nuclear facilities and production of a newly designed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). “Some […]