Open and Unimplemented – IG Recommendations Could Save Taxpayers $67 Billion, Staff Report Prepared for Chairman Darrell Issa, House of Representatives, 113th Congress, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. March 5, 2013 “The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has jurisdiction over the IG community. This staff report is a compilation of four years… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: March 2013
Digital Public Library of America Names Founding Director
“The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) announced [March 5, 2013] the appointment of Dan Cohen as the DPLAs founding Executive Director. Cohen, currently a tenured professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University and the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, brings to the… Continue Reading
White House – It's Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking
R. David Edelman: “Thank you for sharing your views on cell phone unlocking with us through your petition on our We the People platform. Last week the White House brought together experts from across government who work on telecommunications, technology, and copyright policy, and we’re pleased to offer our response. The White House agrees with… Continue Reading
Social media is transforming how government engages with citizens
“Social media is transforming how government engages with citizens, allowing agencies to share information and deliver services more quickly and effectively than ever before. As social content, data, and platforms become more diverse, agencies have a responsibility to ensure these digital services are accessible to all citizens, including people with disabilities. To address this need,… Continue Reading
TRAC – Weapons Prosecutions Slip from FY 2012 Pace
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: “During January 2013, there were 493 new federal criminal prosecutions in the weapons category, according to the latest available data from the Justice Department. This represents a drop of 4 percent from the previous month and a decrease of about 12 percent from what it was a year ago. For more… Continue Reading
The 2013 Cybersecurity Executive Order: Overview and Considerations for Congress
CRS – The 2013 Cybersecurity Executive Order: Overview and Considerations for Congress, March 1, 2013 “The federal role in cybersecurity has been a topic of discussion and debate for over a decade. Despite significant legislative efforts in the 112th Congress, no major legislation on this topic has been enacted since the Federal Information Security Management… Continue Reading
Inflation and the Real Minimum Wage: A Fact Sheet
CRS – Inflation and the Real Minimum Wage: A Fact Sheet. Craig K. Elwell, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy; Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics. February 26, 2013 “The minimum wage is not indexed to the price level. It has been legislatively increased from time to time to make up for the loss in its real… Continue Reading
GAO Report – Multiemployer Plans and PBGC Face Urgent Challenges
Private Pensions – Multiemployer Plans and PBGC Face Urgent Challenges, GAO-13-428T, March 5, 2013 “The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) financial assistance to multiemployer plans continues to increase, and plan insolvencies threaten PBGC’s multiemployer insurance fund. As a result of current and anticipated financial assistance, the present value of PBGC’s liability for plans that are… Continue Reading
CRS – Public Access to Data from Federally Funded Research
Public Access to Data from Federally Funded Research: Provisions in OMB Circular A-110. Eric A. Fischer, Senior Specialist in Science and Technology. March 1, 2013 “The results of scientific studies are often used in making government policy decisions. While the studies are often published, traditional federal research funding policies did not require the data on… Continue Reading
CRS – Federal Financial Reporting: An Overview
Federal Financial Reporting: An Overview, Meredith A. Levine, Analyst in Government Organization and Management. February 27, 2013 “Federal financial reportingdefined here as the process of recording retrospective executive department-level financial and performance informationcan provide both a snapshot of the governments financial health at a given moment in time, as well as an accounting of its… Continue Reading
Census – Megacommuters: 600,000 in U.S. Travel 90 Minutes and 50 Miles to Work
“About 8.1 percent of U.S. workers have commutes of 60 minutes or longer, 4.3 percent work from home, and nearly 600,000 full-time workers had “megacommutes” of at least 90 minutes and 50 miles. [See the report – Mega Commuting in the U.S.] The average one-way daily commute for workers across the country is 25.5 minutes,… Continue Reading
Report – Ensuring the Health Care Needs of Women: A Checklist for Health Exchanges
Ensuring the Health Care Needs of Women: A Checklist for Health Exchanges, February 2013 “To inform the development of the state health insurance Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, this checklist identifies key coverage, affordability and access issues that are important for women. Based on lessons learned from womens health research and the Massachusetts experience,… Continue Reading
