News release: “Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, announced that, as part of its ongoing investigation into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the Committee received a whistleblower reprisal complaint alleging serious wrongdoing by officials at the Department… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
CBO – US budget deficit hits record $3 trillion
Congressional Budget Office, September 8, 2020: “The federal budget deficit in August 2020 was $198 billion, CBO estimates, $3 billion less than the deficit in August of last year. However, that comparison is distorted by shifts in the timing of certain payments in both years that had opposite effects on the August deficit in their… Continue Reading
For decades vote-by-mail business was a sleepy industry that stayed out of the spotlight
The California Sunday Magazine – Then came 2020. “…Since the early 1990s,the portion of votes cast by mail has nosed upward in every presidential-election cycle, hitting an all-time high in 2016: 24 percent, or about 33 million ballots. But the national numbers mask a state-by-state variance. As a rule, voting by mail dominates the western states,… Continue Reading
Election Integrity and Technology: Vulnerabilities and Solutions
Election Integrity and Technology: Vulnerabilities and Solutions, Matt Blaze, 4 Geo. L. Tech. Rev. 505 (2020) “…In this Paper, I will give an overview of the technical security risks facing elections in the United States today, with an emphasis on vulnerabilities inherent in electronic voting machines as well as the exposure of our election infrastructure… Continue Reading
FDA’s Role in the Medical Product Supply Chain and Considerations During COVID-19
CRS report via LC – FDA’s Role in the Medical Product Supply Chain and Considerations During COVID-19, September 1, 2020: “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the medical product supply chain globally and domestically. Although concerns about the U.S. medical product supply chain predate the emergence of COVID-19, the ongoing pandemic has underscored… Continue Reading
Help staff your local polling place
Power The Polls: “America is facing a record shortage of poll workers this year due to the coronavirus. Our democracy depends on ordinary people who make sure elections run smoothly and everyone’s vote is counted. You can make sure we have a safe, fair, efficient election for all. Poll workers get: PPE, Training and are… Continue Reading
Barr’s removal of career national security official, weeks before election, raises concerns
ABC News: “Current and former national security officials are raising concerns over Attorney General William Barr’s recent decision to remove the head of a Justice Department office that helps ensure federal counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities are legal – and replace him with a political appointee with relatively limited experience. “It’s very alarming,” said Katrina Mulligan,… Continue Reading
Why Steve Bannon faces fraud charges: 4 questions answered
Via LLRX – Why Steve Bannon faces fraud charges: 4 questions answered – Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon and three other men, and charged them with allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors to an online fundraising campaign to build portions of wall along the U.S. border with… Continue Reading
The Freedom of Information Act – A Legal Overview Updated
CRS report via LC – The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview, Updated August 24, 2020: “Originally enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a three-part system that requires federal agencies to disclose a large swath of government information to the public. First, FOIA directs agencies to publish substantive and… Continue Reading
COVID-19: Brief Update on Initial Federal Response to the Pandemic
COVID-19: Brief Update on Initial Federal Response to the Pandemic. GAO-20-708: Published: Aug 31, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020. “This report updates our oversight of some aspects of the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings include: Spending. Federal obligations totaled $1.5 trillion and expenditures totaled $1.3 trillion, as of June 30. Public health.… Continue Reading
Responding to a Contested Election, Step by Step
Bloomberg (Part 1 of 2 articles) – The Electoral Count Act of 1887 was designed to avert constitutional chaos. That’s the hope anyway. “Election Day — there is a chance of constitutional chaos. It could take the form of acute uncertainty, not only about who won the election but also about the process by which that… Continue Reading
Senate Democrats’ Climate Committee Releases New Report On Climate Action
“Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Special Committee on the Climate Crisis Chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), and U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) released a comprehensive report on the climate… Continue Reading
