The Evolving Congress

The Evolving Congress
Author: Congressional Research Congressional Research Service Library of Congress
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2015-05-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781512234244

For 100 years, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has been charged with providing nonpartisan and authoritative research and analysis to inform the legislative debate in Congress. This has involved a wide range of services, such as written reports on issues and the legislative process, consultations with Members and their staff, seminars on policy and procedural matters, and congressional testimony. The Government and Finance Division at CRS took a step back from its intensive day-to-day service to Congress to analyze important trends in the evolution of the institution-its organization and policymaking process-over the last many decades. Changes in the political landscape, technology, and representational norms have required Congress to evolve as the Nation's most democratic national institution of governance. The essays in this print demonstrate that Congress has been a flexible institution that has changed markedly in recent years in response to the social and political environment.

U.S. Education Reform and National Security

U.S. Education Reform and National Security
Author: Joel I. Klein
Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 087609521X

The United States' failure to educate its students leaves them unprepared to compete and threatens the country's ability to thrive in a global economy and maintain its leadership role. This report notes that while the United States invests more in K-12 public education than many other developed countries, its students are ill prepared to compete with their global peers. According to the results of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international assessment that measures the performance of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science every three years, U.S. students rank fourteenth in reading, twenty-fifth in math, and seventeenth in science compared to students in other industrialized countries. The lack of preparedness poses threats on five national security fronts: economic growth and competitiveness, physical safety, intellectual property, U.S. global awareness, and U.S. unity and cohesion, says the report. Too many young people are not employable in an increasingly high-skilled and global economy, and too many are not qualified to join the military because they are physically unfit, have criminal records, or have an inadequate level of education. The report proposes three overarching policy recommendations: implement educational expectations and assessments in subjects vital to protecting national security; make structural changes to provide students with good choices; and, launch a "national security readiness audit" to hold schools and policymakers accountable for results and to raise public awareness.

Roadmap

Roadmap
Author: Roadmap Nation
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1452173664

The New York Times bestseller is back! The career workbook Roadmap is better than ever. Roadmap has been updated and expanded with tons of brand new content—including chapters on changing directions mid-career and not letting your past define your future. Through inspirational stories and interviews, journal-like prompts, and practical career development information, this helpful resource will steer students, recent graduates, and career-changers toward an authentic, fulfilling life. • Features fresh perspectives from people like singer-songwriter John Legend, surfing world champion Layne Beachley, and MacArthur fellow and radio host Jad Abumrad • Full of advice for people seeking a fulfilling work life that will make them happy and keep them engaged • A self-mapped guide to creating a rewarding and satisfying work life Roadtrip Nation, based in Costa Mesa, was founded by Nathan Gebhard, Mike Marriner, and Brian McAllister in 2001, and has grown into a national career exploration movement, educational organization, and PBS series. Since its original publication in 2015, the team at Roadtrip Nation has continued to travel the world and interview accomplished individuals about their path to success. • Great for recent college graduates, interns, or anyone questioning their career path and in need of advice and a fresh perspective • Useful as a resource for career advisers, educators, and companies who want to foster an engaged workforce • Add it to the collection of books like What Color Is Your Parachute? 2019: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, and How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life by Caroline Webb

US Nation-Building in Afghanistan

US Nation-Building in Afghanistan
Author: Conor Keane
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2016-03-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317003187

Why has the US so dramatically failed in Afghanistan since 2001? Dominant explanations have ignored the bureaucratic divisions and personality conflicts inside the US state. This book rectifies this weakness in commentary on Afghanistan by exploring the significant role of these divisions in the US’s difficulties in the country that meant the battle was virtually lost before it even began. The main objective of the book is to deepen readers understanding of the impact of bureaucratic politics on nation-building in Afghanistan, focusing primarily on the Bush Administration. It rejects the ’rational actor’ model, according to which the US functions as a coherent, monolithic agent. Instead, internal divisions within the foreign policy bureaucracy are explored, to build up a picture of the internal tensions and contradictions that bedevilled US nation-building efforts. The book also contributes to the vexed issue of whether or not the US should engage in nation-building at all, and if so under what conditions.

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers
Author: Alexander Hamilton
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2018-08-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1528785878

Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption

Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption
Author: Senate Committee on Homeland Security
Publisher: Cosimo Reports
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2020-09-23
Genre: Conflict of interests
ISBN: 9781646793334

"Hunter Biden is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to examining corruption within the Biden family during the time that Joe Biden was vice president." -Peter Schweitzer, Investigative Journalist on Fox News (January, 2020) The US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Finance released their much-anticipated report Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on US Government Policy and Related Concerns (September, 2020) about Hunter Biden's extensive dealings with Ukraine, Russia, and China while his father Joe Biden served as vice president of the United States. This Republican Majority Staff report provides a roadmap to the Bidens' connections to many questionable foreign individuals and shows how Hunter Biden, his family, and his business partner Devon Archer received millions of dollars from them. Joe Biden's campaign rejected this report for pushing "a long-disproven hardcore right-wing conspiracy theory." Time will tell whether the findings of this report are partisan or will have actual political consequences.