Fast moving story with more changes to come on Monday, February 6, 2017. The New York Times – Appeals court declines to quickly reinstate travel ban – “The 9th Circuit ruled that the president’s immigration order will remain suspended, at least through Monday — when both sides have deadlines to present more arguments to a… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2017
NASA Makes an EPIC Update to Website for Daily Earth Pics
“NASA has upgraded its website that provides daily views of the Earth from one million miles away. NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) camera imagery website was recently updated allowing the public to choose natural or enhanced color images of the Earth and even zoom into an area on the globe…EPIC is a four megapixel… Continue Reading
Pew – The changing face of Congress in 5 charts
“The 115th Congress took office in January and set to work on an agenda that includes confirming President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, addressing illegal immigration and repealing and replacing the 2010 health care law signed by Barack Obama. Republicans now control both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2007,… Continue Reading
Congressman Gaetz Proposes Legislation to Abolish the EPA
News release, February 2, 2017 – “A Northwest Florida lawmaker wants to do away with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 2018. Congressman Matt Gaetz has his eyes set on abolishing the federal program as his first order of business in his new role…” Text of the bill is not yet available – the link is… Continue Reading
Deputy Director positions at most federal agencies unfilled
Politico: “The work at some agencies has slowed because of the lack of deputies…President Donald Trump has so far failed to nominate deputies and other top officials to run the day-to-day operations at most federal agencies, creating a vacuum across the government that has businesses, lobbyists and lawmakers in limbo as they wait to see… Continue Reading
Animal welfare information wiped from USDA website
Washington Post, February 3, 2017: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports and other information from its website about the treatment of animals at thousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities. In a statement, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision, which… Continue Reading
Updated listing of all Trump’s executive actions so far
Via Politco – Aidan Quigley: “Updated listing of all Trump’s executive actions so far . The new president is chipping away at Obama’s legacy, and he’s not waiting for Congress to do it.” Continue Reading
Establishing Digital Interactive Transparency Act
News release, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) reintroducing the Establishing Digital Interactive Transparency (EDIT) Act. “The EDIT Act will instruct the Library of Congress to open up the legislative process by implementing a track changes style system for Congress.gov. “Americans want accountability and transparency out of their lawmakers in Washington, and as lawmakers, we must work… Continue Reading
FedWeb.com – How America Raises and Spends $4 Trillion per Year
FedWed.com: “As General Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee, I had the good fortune to be present when our Chairman, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, famously said “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” One of the great ironies of the Information Age is that the volume of information we receive… Continue Reading
Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks
Pew – Parents of young children support measles, mumps and rubella vaccine requirements but rate the risks higher, the benefits lower. There are not major partisan divisions on these issues, though. “Most Americans support requiring the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for public school children in order to protect public health. They see high preventive… Continue Reading
Politico – Federal workers turn to encryption to thwart Trump
Via Politico: “Federal employees worried that President Donald Trump will gut their agencies are creating new email addresses, signing up for encrypted messaging apps and looking for other, protected ways to push back against the new administration’s agenda. Whether inside the Environmental Protection Agency, within the Foreign Service, on the edges of the Labor Department… Continue Reading
Reporters Committee releases report on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch
February 2, 2017 – “U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch does not have an extensive history of cases involving free speech, free press, and freedom of information issues, but the opinions he authored or joined during his more than 10 years on the Tenth Circuit that do touch upon those issues reflect the application of… Continue Reading
