[ RadSafe ] Off topic, but current analyses from CRS that may be of broad interest 8 July 2014

[Maury]

*SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2014, Issue No. 45
July 8, 2014

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

NEW USAF BOMBER ALREADY UNDER DEVELOPMENT, SAYS CRS

A Request for Proposals from industry to develop a new Air Force Long 
Range Strike Bomber is said to be imminent. But in fact, the aircraft 
may already be under development, the Congressional Research Service 
said last week.

The projected funding stream for the proposed new aircraft "resembles a 
production program more than a typical development profile," CRS said. 
"This may indicate that significant LRS-B [Long Range Strike Bomber] 
development has already been completed, presumably in classified budgets."

"Such prior development would also help explain how the Air Force 
intends to get the system from a Request for Proposals to initial 
operational capability in about 10 years, when equally or 
less-complicated systems like the F-22 and F-35 have taken more than 20."

Any pre-proposal development that may have occurred could also 
complicate the bidding process, CRS said.

"If there has in fact been considerable prior development, the Air Force 
will be challenged to construct a truly competitive RFP [because] 
whichever competitor may have done the bulk of any such preliminary 
LRS-B development is likely to have an advantage in the production 
contract."

See CRS Insights: Budget Highlight: Air Force Long Range Strike Bomber, 
July 2, 2014.
________________________________
Other noteworthy new CRS products that Congress has withheld from online 
public distribution include the following.

Physical Security of the U.S. Power Grid: High-Voltage Transformer 
Substations, June 17, 2014

Aliens' Right to Counsel in Removal Proceedings: In Brief, June 20, 2014

Unaccompanied Alien Children: Potential Factors Contributing to Recent 
Immigration, July 3, 2014

Unaccompanied Alien Children--Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked 
Questions, June 27, 2014

The Peace Corps: Current Issues, July 2, 2014

U.S. Energy: Overview and Key Statistics, June 27, 2014

Export-Import Bank: Overview and Reauthorization Issues, June 30, 2014

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations During the Obama Presidency: 
Midyear Analysis and Comparison with Recent Presidents, June 30, 2014

The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Background and Overview, July 1, 2014

U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications, July 
1, 2014

U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians, July 3, 2014



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