EveryCRSReport.com – Women in Congress, 1917-2019: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress, April 9, 2019. “In total 365 women have been elected or appointed to Congress, 247 Democrats and 118 Republicans. These figures include six nonvoting Delegates, one each from Guam, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and American… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Congress
NYT – How to Cover 2020: Assume Nothing and Beware of Twitter
The New York Times – “Journalists have no idea how the 2020 election will play out. And that’s a good thing. Some of the country’s top political journalists came together last week for a gathering convened by the strategist David Axelrod, to talk about how to cover the presidential race in a way that won’t… Continue Reading
The Insiders’ Guide To the Mueller Report
Politico – How experts and political operatives are gearing up to read the juiciest Washington info dump in two decades. “…The report by special counsel Robert Mueller could be the biggest oppo dump in history. It could be a fizzle. Although Mueller didn’t find enough evidence to charge President Donald Trump for conspiring with Russia… Continue Reading
The Special Counsel’s Report: What Do Current DOJ Regulations Require and Can Congress Get It?
CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – The Special Counsel’s Report: What Do Current DOJ Regulations Require? March 7, 2019: “…This Sidebar examines the current legal obligations of the Special Counsel and Attorney General to report information relating to the investigation to Congress and the public. It also provides historical examples of reports issued for other… Continue Reading
Can the President Close the Border? Relevant Laws and Considerations
CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – Can the President Close the Border? Relevant Laws and Considerations, April 12, 2019: “Does the executive branch have authority to “close” the southern border? Recently, President Trump declared that he would order the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border or at least “large sections” of it, unless Mexico acts to… Continue Reading
House Democrats launch probe into EPA officials’ ties to utilities
POLITICO: “The House Energy and Commerce Committee is launching an investigation into whether top EPA officials violated ethics rules by launching a rollback of air pollution regulations that benefited their former lobbying clients in the electric utility sector. The committee’s Democrats are seeking to probe communications between the utilities and an industry group that was… Continue Reading
To Purge Some of Social Media’s Ugliness, an Unlikely Lesson From Wall St.
The New York Times Deal Book – A simple rule that bolsters the banking system – “know your customer” — could help combat fake news and hate speech online if companies like Facebook and Twitter embraced it. “…The concept is “know your customer” — or KYC, as it’s called on Wall Street — and it’s… Continue Reading
Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing
ProPublica: “Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed… Continue Reading
Leaks of Classified Info Surge Under Trump
FAS – Secrecy News: “The number of leaks of classified information reported as potential crimes by federal agencies reached record high levels during the first two years of the Trump Administration, according to data released by the Justice Department last week. Agencies transmitted 120 leak referrals to the Justice Department in 2017, and 88 leak referrals in 2018,… Continue Reading
Opinion: America’s ability to identify financial stability risks is weakening
Medium Riki Matsumoto – “As the ten year anniversary of the infamous Lehman Weekend has come and gone, it’s important to reflect on the lessons that we learnt. Or in the tragic case of the Office of Financial Research, the independent federal agency Congress set up to identify risks to America’s financial stability; lessons that we… Continue Reading
CRS – Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media Conteny
Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media Content. March 27, 2019 – “As the Supreme Court has recognized, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have become important venues for users to exercise free speech rights protected under the First Amendment. Commentators and legislators, however, have questioned whether these social media platforms are living up… Continue Reading
Congressional Subpoenas: Enforcing Executive Branch Compliance
CRS Report via FAS –Congressional Subpoenas: Enforcing Executive Branch Compliance, March 27, 2019. “Congress gathers much of the information necessary to oversee the implementation of existing laws or to evaluate whether new laws are necessary from the executive branch. While executive branch officials comply with most congressional requests for information, there are times when the… Continue Reading
