CRS

GAO Report on Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter

The following is the June 20, 2023, Government Accountability Office, U.S. Coast Guard Acquisitions: Offshore Patrol Cutter Program Needs to Mature Technology and Design.

From the report

What GAO Found

In October 2020, GAO found that the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program started construction on the lead ship with an unstable design. In this report, GAO found that the Coast Guard continues its approach of progressing through the technology development, design, and construction phases...

https://news.usni.org/2023/06/22/gao-report-on-coast-guard-offshore-patrol-cutter

Report to Congress on Deep Fakes and National Security

The following is the April 17, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Deep Fakes and National Security.

From the report

“Deep fakes”—a term that first emerged in 2017 to describe realistic photo, audio, video, and other forgeries generated with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies—could present a variety of national security challenges in the years to come. As these technologies continue to mature, they could hold significant implications for congressional oversight, U.S. defense...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/05/report-to-congress-on-deep-fakes-and-national-security

GAO Report on U.S. Funding to Chinese Entities

The following is the April 12, 2023 Government Accountability Office Report, Federal Spending: Information on U.S. Funding to Entities Located in China.

From the report

What GAO Found

U.S. agencies reported providing at least $48 million in obligations for various purposes to entities located in China from fiscal years 2017 through 2021. Of this amount, agencies obligated about $22.8 million through assistance awards and about $25.2 million through contracts. For example, the Department of...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/12/gao-report-on-u-s-funding-to-chinese-entities

Report to Congress on Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutters

The following is the March 23, 2023, Congressional Research Service In Focus report: Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

The Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program envisages procuring 30 replacements for the Coast Guard’s 35 aging river buoy tenders (WLRs), inland construction tenders (WLICs), and inland buoy tenders (WLIs). The Coast Guard wants to have the first new WCC be in service by 2025. On October 5, 2022,...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/24/report-to-congress-on-coast-guard-waterways-commerce-cutters

Report to Congress on Iran and U.S. Policy

The following is the March 22, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Iran: Background and U.S. Policy.

From the report

Congress has played a key role in shaping U.S. policy toward Iran, providing for extensive U.S. sanctions, providing aid and authorizing arms sales to partners threatened by Iran, seeking to influence negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and enacting legislation that allows Congress to review related agreements. In addition to Iran’s nuclear program, its government’s...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/23/report-to-congress-on-iran-and-u-s-policy

Report to Congress on Libya and U.S. Policy

The following is the March 7, 2023, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Libya and U.S. Policy.

From the report

Twelve years after a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime authoritarian leader Muammar al Qadhafi, Libya has yet to make a transition to stable governing arrangements. Elections and diplomacy have produced a series of interim governments (Figure 1), but militias, local leaders, and subnational coalitions backed by competing foreign patrons have remained the most powerful...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/08/report-to-congress-on-libya-and-u-s-policy

Report to Congress on Large Unmanned Aerial System Transfer to Ukraine

The following is the March 1, 2023 Congressional Research Service Report, Large Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Transfer to Ukraine: Issues for Congress.

From the report

In mid-2022, Ukraine reportedly requested that the Biden Administration transfer to Ukraine large advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Ukraine argues that access to these weapon systems would improve its air operations against Russian ground forces. In addition, the U.S. Air Force reportedly proposed the transfer of MQ-9 Reaper...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/03/report-to-congress-on-large-unmanned-aerial-system-transfer-to-ukraine

Report to Congress on Navy Ship Names

The following is the March 1, 2023 Congressional Research Service Report, Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress. 

From the report

Names for Navy ships traditionally have been chosen and announced by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President and in accordance with rules prescribed by Congress. Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time. There have been exceptions to the Navy’s ship-naming rules, particularly for the...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/02/report-to-congress-on-navy-ship-names

Report to Congress on Syria and U.S. Policy

The following is the Congressional Research Service Feb. 24, 2023, In Focus report: Syria and U.S. Policy.

From the report

Since 2011, conflict between the government of Syrian President Bashar al Asad and opposition forces seeking his removal has displaced roughly half of the country’s population and killed over half a million people. Five countries operate in or maintain military forces in Syria: Russia, Turkey (Türkiye), Iran, Israel, and the United States. The United States seeks a negotiated...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/28/report-to-congress-on-syria-and-u-s-policy

Report on U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas

The following is the Feb. 8 2023, Congressional Research Service report, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report

In a context of great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. China’s actions in the SCS—including extensive island-building and base-construction activities at sites that it occupies in the Spratly Islands, as well as actions by its maritime...

https://news.usni.org/2023/02/09/report-on-u-s-china-strategic-competition-in-south-and-east-china-seas

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