Posted by Brad Smith General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft “[July 16, 2013] we have asked the Attorney General of the United States to personally take action to permit Microsoft and other companies to share publicly more complete information about how we handle national security requests for customer information. We… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: July 2013
FHFA’s Initiative to Reduce Enterprises’ Dominant Position in Housing Finance System
FHFA’s Initiative to Reduce the Enterprises’ Dominant Position in the Housing Finance System by Raising Gradually Their Guarantee Fees, Evaluation Report – EVL–2013–005 – July 16, 2013 “In 2012, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) generated $12.5 billion in revenues from the single-family guarantee fees that they charge to protect investors in their mortgage-backed securities… Continue Reading
The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools
The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools – by Kristen Purcell, Judy Buchanan, Linda Friedrich. July 16, 2013 “A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and high school students finds that digital technologies are impacting student writing in myriad ways and there are significant advantages from… Continue Reading
National Insider Threat Policy
Steven Aftergood: The National Insider Threat Policy directs agencies to “leverag[e] counterintelligence (CI), security, information assurance, and other relevant functions and resources to identify and counter the insider threat.” “Agency heads shall ensure personnel assigned to the insider threat program are fully trained in… counterintelligence and security fundamentals….” Agency heads are directed to grant insider… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – DHS, Patient Protection, Retirement Security
Department of Homeland Security Oversight and Coordination of Research and Development Efforts Could Be Strengthened, GAO-13-766T, Jul 17, 2013 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Status of CMS Efforts to Establish Federally Facilitated Health Care Exchanges and the Federal Data Services Hub, GAO-13-786T, Jul 17, 2013 Retirement Security, Challenges and Prospects for Employees of Small… Continue Reading
Executive Order – HIV Care Continuum Initiative
Executive Order – HIV Care Continuum Initiative: “Since the release of the Strategy, additional scientific discoveries have greatly enhanced our understanding of how to prevent and treat HIV. Accordingly, further Federal action is appropriate in response to these new developments. For example, a breakthrough research trial supported by the National Institutes of Health showed that… Continue Reading
CRS – The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization
The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization – Jared T. Brown, Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy; Daniel H. Else – Specialist in National Defense. June 14, 2013 “The Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (P.L. 81-774, 50 U.S.C. Appx § 2061 et seq.), as amended, confers upon the President… Continue Reading
Business Continuity Planning: Lessons from a Communications Exercise
The Payments Risk Committee (PRC) is a private sector group of senior managers from U.S. banks that is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Continuity Planning: Lessons from a Communications Exercise, July 9, 2013 “Today banking is more globally and systemically integrated than ever before. It is very difficult to find a… Continue Reading
The Risk of Fire Sales in the Tri-Party Repo Market
The Risk of Fire Sales in the Tri-Party Repo Market – Brian Begalle, Antoine Martin, James McAndrews, and Susan McLaughlin “This paper studies the risk of “fire sales” in the tri-party repo market, a large and important market where securities dealers find short-term funding for a substantial portion of their own and their clients’ assets. We distinguish between fire… Continue Reading
A Century of U.S. Central Banking: Goals, Frameworks, Accountability
A Century of U.S. Central Banking: Goals, Frameworks, Accountability – Chairman Ben S. Bernanke At the “The First 100 Years of the Federal Reserve: The Policy Record, Lessons Learned, and Prospects for the Future,” a conference sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 2, 2013 “Today, I’ll discuss the evolution over the… Continue Reading
Improving Access to Refinancing Opportunities for Underwater Mortgages
Improving Access to Refinancing Opportunities for Underwater Mortgages – Joshua Abel and Joseph Tracy “Since the onset of the housing crisis, a focus of policymakers has been to help underwater homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments by refinancing, principally through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This enables households to commit more money to consumption,… Continue Reading
Survey Shows States Increased Student Aid Despite Recession
Chronicle of Higher Education: Most States Increased Need-Based Grants in 2011: “Over all, state spending on student financial aid increased at the same time higher education was still being propped up with money from the federal stimulus. Money for need-based grants grew 6 percent from 2010 to 2011, while merit aid declined more than 9 percent.” Continue Reading
