FAS Roundup: July 21, 2014 House amendment to cut NSC budget, nuclear risks and more.

FAS Roundup: July 21, 2014 House amendment to cut NSC budget, nuclear risks and more.

From the Blogs DNI Issues New Policy on Leak Damage Assessments: The Director of National Intelligence has issued new guidance on assessing damage resulting from the unauthorized disclosure of classified intelligence information to ensure that the damage assessments “are produced in an efficient, timely, consistent and collaborative manner.” Leak damage assessments should be used iteratively and the lessons learned from them should be applied “to strengthen the protection of classified national intelligence and prevent future unauthorized disclosures or compromises.” Virtual Biosecurity Center Update: The VBC is up and running again, featuring news articles and op-eds related to biotechnology, biological threats and science policy. The VBC is located at www.virtualbiosecuritycenter.org.  Wanted: A Chef with a Top Secret Clearance: A secure U.S. government facility in Herndon, Virginia needs a master chef who holds or who can obtain a Top Secret security clearance. The job opening was announced by Sodexo, the international food service company. Steven Aftergood writes that the requirement for a chef with a Top Secret clearance exemplifies a significant policy problem, namely the use of the security clearance process as an employee screening tool. What are Acceptable Nuclear Risks?: Dr. Martin Hellman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Nuclear Risks, takes a look at the the ‘acceptable’ probability of an accidental nuclear explosion in the wake of a 1957 Sandia Report, “Acceptable Premature Probabilities for Nuclear Weapons,” which addressed this question. Senate Bill Requires Report on "All" NSA Bulk Collection: The National Security Agency would be required to prepare an unclassified report on “all NSA bulk collection activities,” the Senate Appropriations Committee directed in its report on the Fiscal Year 2015 Department of Defense Appropriations bill, published on July 17. The Committee told the NSA to prepare a report “describing all NSA bulk collection activities, including when such activities began, the cost of such activities, what types of records have been collected in the past, what types of records are currently being collected, and any plans for future bulk collection.” Such a report would be expected to clarify whether NSA bulk collection extends beyond the acknowledged telephone metadata program in Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. House Amendment Would Cut NSC Budget by a Third: On July 15, the House approved an amendment to cut the budget for the National Security Council (NSC) by one third in response to NSC moves to block congressional access to information. In total, the FY2015 NSC budget will be reduced by $4.2 million.  New USAF Bomber Already Under Development and More from CRS: Secrecy News has obtained recently released CRS reports on topics such as the development of the Air Force's Long Range Strike Bomber, the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

FAS in the News Jul 21: NBC News, “MH17: Why Commercial Jets Aren’t Equipped To Avoid Missiles” Jul 18: Wall Street Journal, “Sophisticated Surface-to-Air Missile System Needed To Shoot Down High-Flying Jets” Jul 17: Popular Science, “What Sort Of Weapon Shot Down Flight MH-17?” Jul 16: Nextgov, “So, Which Agency Needs An Executive Chef With A Top Secret Clearance?” Jul 16: The Hill, “Wanted: Top (Secret) Chef” Jul 15: CTV News, “What Are The Big Challenges With Iran Deal?” Jul 14: World Science Festival, “The Long Shadow Of The Manhattan Project Part 1: The Atom Bomb And Science” Jul 11: Popular Mechanics, “Everything You Need To Know About The Air Force’s New Bomber” Jul 10: MSNBC.com, “Showdown Between The Senate And CIA Ends Without Charges” Jul 9: Defense One, “The Air Force May Have Already Developed Its Long-Range Bomber” Jul 8: Huffington Post, “Burned By Snowden, Former NSA Official Now Helps Finance Industry Avoid ‘Insider Threats’” Jul 7: Korea Times, “US Expert Links North Korea’s Nuclear Stockpile With Light Water Reactors” Jul 7: Global Security Newswire, “New Reactor May Boost North Korea’s Warhead Production: Expert”