HHS Leadership Needed to Coordinate Federal Efforts Related to Serious Mental Illness, GAO-15-113, Published Dec 18, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2015: ““Agencies identified 112 federal programs that generally supported individuals with serious mental illness in fiscal year 2013. The majority of these programs addressed broad issues, such as homelessness, that can include individuals with… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: February 2015
Who Regulates Whom and How? An Overview of U.S. Financial Regulatory Policy for Banking and Securities Markets
Who Regulates Whom and How? An Overview of U.S. Financial Regulatory Policy for Banking and Securities Markets. Edward V. Murphy, Specialist in Financial Economics. January 30, 2015. “Financial regulatory policies are of interest to Congress because firms, consumers, and governments fund many of their activities through banks and securities markets. Furthermore, financial instability can damage… Continue Reading
Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues
CRS – Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues. Craig K. Elwell, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy; Maureen Murphy, Legislative Attorney; Michael V. Seitzinger, Legislative Attorney, January 28, 2015 “Bitcoin first appeared in January 2009, the creation of a computer programmer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. His invention is an open-source (its controlling computer code… Continue Reading
Legislation Email Alerts on Congress.gov
News release via Andrew Weber – Moving from a 20-year-old system to our new, modern Congress.gov platform has many advantages. One of these is that, starting today, email alerts are available on Congress.gov. There are three different types of alerts in this initial release: Member of Congress, legislation, and the Congressional Record. Bill and member… Continue Reading
The US Treasury’s Credit Rating Agency Exercise
The US Treasury’s Credit Rating Agency Exercise – First Steps Out of the Private-Label Securities Desert. Laurie Goodman, Jim Parrott. Feburary 5, 2015. “As part of an effort to revive the moribund private-label securities (PLS) market, the US Treasury Department recently conducted an exercise with the major credit rating agencies. This exercise was intended to boost… Continue Reading
Child Poverty Pervasive in Large American Cities, New Census Data Show
Commentary and statistics from National Center for Children in Poverty: “Years after the end of the Great Recession, child poverty remains widespread in America’s largest cities. Nearly three children in five living in Detroit are poor, according to the most recent Census figures, a rate that has grown by 10 percentage points since the onset… Continue Reading
U.S. Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition
U.S. Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing: Industry Trends, Global Competition, Federal Support. Michaela D. Platzer, Specialist in Industrial, Organization and Business. January 27, 2015. “Every President since Richard Nixon has sought to increase U.S. energy supply diversity. Job creation and the development of a domestic renewable energy manufacturing base have joined national security and environmental concerns as… Continue Reading
Study – Decoding sugar addiction
Separate neural circuits control sugar cravings and healthy eating, researchers find. Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. January 29, 2015 “Together, obesity and Type 2 diabetes rank among our nation’s greatest health problem, and they largely result from what many call an “addiction” to sugar. But solving this problem is more complicated than solving drug… Continue Reading
Google’s slow fade with librarians
medium.com article by Jessamyn West – Written in response to Never trust a corporation to do a library’s job “Don’t get me wrong, we’re doing pretty great on our own, better than ever really. We’ve gotten a bit more independent, not putting all of our eggs into any one basket, gotten better at establishing boundaries.… Continue Reading
CDC Vital Signs: Secondhand Smoke
Vital Signs: Disparities in Nonsmokers’ Exposure to Secondhand Smoke — United States, 1999–2012. February 3, 2015 / 64 (Early Release);1-7 “No level of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is safe. SHS exposure occurs when nonsmokers breathe in smoke exhaled by smokers or from burning tobacco products. It kills more than 400 infants and 41,000 adult nonsmokers… Continue Reading
CDT Letter on Body Cameras to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing
“The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) provided recommendations related to body-worn cameras in response to the Task Force on 21st Century Policing consideration of the issue and request for public comment. With use of body cameras rapidly expanding across the country2 and federal legislation being offered for nationwide use, CDT is pleased to see the Task Force addressing… Continue Reading
Social Network Privacy Social Networking facebook in re Facebook
EPIC – With New Policy Changes, Facebook Tracks Users Across the Web: “Over the objections of consumer privacy organizations, Facebook has implemented policy changes that allow the company to track users across the web without consent. The Dutch data protection commissioner launched an investigation after the original announcement. This week the a German privacy agency… Continue Reading
