SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2017, Issue No. 83
November 27, 2017

Secrecy News Blog: https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

NET NEUTRALITY REVISITED, AND MORE FROM CRS

The principle of "net neutrality," which requires telecommunications companies to provide equal, non-discriminatory access to the Internet, is likely to be weakened next month when the Federal Communications Commission takes up a proposal to weaken Obama-era regulations on net neutrality.

The Congressional Research Service produced a newly updated report on the subject, suggesting that congressional intervention might be appropriate.

"The FCC's move to reexamine its existing open Internet rules has reopened the debate over whether Congress should consider a more comprehensive measure to amend existing law to provide greater regulatory stability and guidance to the FCC," the CRS report said, adding that whether Congress would do so "remains to be seen." See The Net Neutrality Debate: Access to Broadband Networks, updated November 22, 2017:

*

Another new CRS report notes that the 11 remaining signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are moving forward without the US, following President Trump's January 2017 withdrawal from the negotiations. Twenty provisions of the agreement that had been sought by the US negotiators have now been suspended as a result. See TPP Countries Near Agreement without U.S. Participation, CRS Insight, November 20, 2017:

*

Other new and updated products from the Congressional Research Service include the following.

Zimbabwe's Political Transition: Issues for Congress, CRS Insight, November 22, 2017:

Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 115th Congress, updated November 22, 2017:

FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues, November 22, 2017:

End-Year DOD Contract Spending, CRS In Focus, November 17, 2017:

Keystone XL Pipeline: Recent Developments, November 21, 2017:

The Distribution of the Tax Policy Changes in H.R. 1 and the Senate's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, CRS Insight, November 21, 2017:

FDA Human Medical Product User Fee Programs: In Brief, November 21, 2017:

Post-Heller Second Amendment Jurisprudence, November 21, 2017:

The Campus-Based Financial Aid Programs: Background and Issues, November 21, 2017:

Fibbing to Get a Lawyer: Circuits Split on Punishment, CRS Legal Sidebar, November 27, 2017:

The Federal Government's Plenary Immigration Power Collides with the Constitutional Right to an Abortion (Part I), CRS Legal Sidebar, November 27, 2017:

Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, updated November 22, 2017:

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, updated November 22, 2017:

******************************

Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

The Secrecy News blog is at:
      https://fas.org/blogs/secrecy/

To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, go to:
     https://fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/subscribe.html

To UNSUBSCRIBE, go to:
      https://fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/unsubscribe.html

OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org

Secrecy News is archived at:
      https://fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html

SUPPORT the FAS Project on Government Secrecy with a donation here:
      https://fas.org/donate/