RAND Corporation: Congressional Resources

RAND Congressional Resources offers an easy way for policymakers to access research and analysis that is relevant to current Congressional agendas. You will find:

Testimony by RAND staff
Policy Issue Fact Sheets and Publication Profiles
Summaries of upcoming and past Briefings to Congress
A comprehensive Public Policy Experts Guide
Easy-to-read Newsletters on topics such as child policy, health, education, national security, terrorism, and more.

BRIEFING Henry Willis will present "Moving Ahead: Public Choices about US Railroad Performance, Capacity and Cost" on September 8, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. in 2212 Rayburn House Office Building. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Sirat Attapit at sirat_attapit@rand.org or 703-413-1100 ext. 5938.

BRIEFING Brian Michael Jenkins will present "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?" on September 9, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Location TBD. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Carmen Ferro at carmen_ferro@rand.org or 703-413-1100 ext. 5320.

U.S. Leads the World in Science and Technology With Help of Foreign Scientists

Is the United States in danger of losing its competitive edge in science and technology? A new RAND report by Titus Galama and Jim Hosek, "U.S. Competitiveness in Science & Technology," asks this important question. Authors found that the United States continues to lead the world in science and technology. It generally benefits from the influx of foreign science and engineering students and workers, and it will likely continue to benefit from the development of new technologies by other nations, as long as it maintains the capability to acquire and implement such technologies. However, U.S. leadership in science and technology must not be taken for granted.

Full Document News Release Research Brief

Gulf States Continue to Struggle Post Katrina

Congress provided more than $8.1 billion to Louisiana to help rebuild housing destroyed by wind and flood damage in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state established the Road Home program to disburse these funds to eligible homeowners.Homeowners who applied for Road Home grants faced long wait times. A recent RAND study found that only 31 percent of applicants had received grants by mid-December 2007 (the study's end date for data collection). Of those applicants who did receive grants, about half waited more than eight months. One-quarter waited at least 10 months, and others waited even longer. As of the study's conclusion, thousands of homeowners were still waiting, including some who had been among the earliest to apply.

Full Document News Release Research Brief

One In Five Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Suffer from PTSD or Major Depression

Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan — 300,000 in all — report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment.

Full Document News Release Invisible Wounds of War: Summary and Recommendations Research Brief Post-Deployment Stress: What You Should Know, What You Can Do Post-Deployment Stress: What Families Should Know, What Families Can Do Media Interview veterans.rand.org

RAND Focuses on Impact of Sustained Operations on Army Readiness

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army is "out of balance," and that demand for forces for Iraq and Afghanistan "exceeds the sustainable supply." In Stretched Thin: Army Forces for Sustained Operations, a team of RAND researchers led by Lynn Davis assessed the tradeoffs between the number of combat units deployed, the length of deployments and the time that soldiers have at home—as well as the overall impact of sustained operations on the Army's readiness for other contingencies.

Full Document Research Brief

Video Interview

James A. Thomson, President and Chief Executive Officer, RAND Corporation — Jul. 27, 2007

James Thomson discusses the RAND Corporation's role as an independent, nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through objective research and analysis. He focuses on RAND's role as an important source of nonpartisan information for members of Congress and their staffs.

View the Video