“The Department of Homeland Security has provided response and comments on the report submitted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) entitled Department of Homeland Security, Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions. Although the GAO recognized progress in certain performance expectations, the Department disagrees with many of their assessments, conclusions and methodological approach. The Department has provided the GAO with a detailed response and makes it available here.
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Daily Archives: September 6, 2007
EPA OIG Report on Chesapeake Bay Watershed
2007-P-00032 Federal Facilities in Chesapeake Bay Watershed Generally Comply with Major Clean Water Act Permits [Report PDF – 15 pages] [At a Glance PDF] September 5, 2007. Continue Reading
FEC Applies Media Exemption to Political Blogs
Press release: “The Federal Election Commission announced today that it has unanimously resolved two complaints alleging that Internet blog activity is subject to Commission regulation, finding that the activity is exempt from regulation under the media or volunteer exemption. In Matter Under Review (MUR) 5928, the Commission determined that Kos Media, L.L.C., which operates the… Continue Reading
DOJ OIG Follow-Up Audit of the Terrorist Screening Center
Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division: Follow-Up Audit of the Terrorist Screening Center, Audit Report 07-41, September 2007, Redacated for Public Release, (106 pages, PDF) Washington Post: “The government’s terrorist screening database, the master watch list used to scrutinize 270 million people each month, continues to be marred by errors and… Continue Reading
Federal Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision of Patriot Act
ACLU press release: “A federal court today struck down the amended Patriot Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provision. The law has permitted the FBI to issue NSLs demanding private information about people within the United States without court approval, and to gag those who receive NSLs from discussing them. The court found that the gag… Continue Reading
DHS OIG Audits of FEMA Debris Removal After Katrina and TSA Oversight of Aircraft Cargo Security
OIG-07-63 – Review of FEMA Guidance for Monitoring Debris Removal Operations for Hurricane Katrina (PDF, 7 pages), August 2007 OIG-07-57 – Transportation Security Administration’s Oversight of Passenger Aircraft Cargo Security Faces Significant Challenges (PDF, 45 pages), July 2007 Continue Reading
Google Adds New Features to Book Search, Advanced Search and Google Reader
Google Launches New Features to Collect, Share, and Discover New Books – ComputerWorld: “Users may now…”create and search their own library built on Google Book Search, so they can organize, annotate and do a full text search through the books they have chosen…share their expertise by allowing them to annotate their libraries with labels, write… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports Poll: 89 Percent of Americans Want Lawmakers to Restrict the Use of Social Security Numbers
“As Congress and federal regulators consider proposals aimed at reducing the risk of identity theft, a national poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center reveals that an overwhelming majority of Americans want lawmakers to restrict the use and availability of Social Security numbers by businesses and government agencies. According to the poll, 89 percent… Continue Reading
DOJ Comments on "Network Neutrality" in FCC Proceeding
Press release: “The Department of Justice cautioned against imposing regulations that could hamper the development of the Internet and related services in response to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Inquiry regarding broadband practices. In its filing the Department said that some regulatory proposals offered by various companies and organizations in the name of… Continue Reading
9/11/2007 – Sixth Anniversary
State Department Media Events Announcements 09/06/07 Department of Defense September 11th Events 09/06/07 Update on World Trade Center Tower Designs, Plans for the WTC Memorial and Construction Activity at the Site 08/30/07 Credentialing, Pool and Program Information for New York City’s September 11 Commemoration Ceremony 08/30/07 9/11 Family Organizations Continue Reading
Today's GAO Reports
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following reports, correspondence and testimony: Reports Department of Homeland Security: Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions. GAO-07-454, August 17, 2007 Employer-Sponsored Benefits: Many Factors Affect the Treatment of Pension and Health Benefits in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. GAO-07-1101, September 6, 2007 Climate Change: Agencies Should… Continue Reading
Seek and Ye Shall Find? State CIOs Must Prepare Now for E-Discovery
NASCIO – Seek and Ye Shall Find? State CIOs Must Prepare Now for E-Discovery, September 2007: “In increasingly consolidated state technology environments, State CIOs may have heightened responsibility for the storage, preservation and retrieval of electronic information in response to e-discovery requests. Since government information is a knowledge asset, State CIOs must ensure the proper… Continue Reading
