Increases privacy protections, oversight, transparency of critical intelligence programs: The Senate Intelligence Committee [October 31, 2013] approved the FISA Improvements Act by a vote of 11-4. The bipartisan legislation increases privacy protections and public transparency of the National Security Agency call-records program in several ways, while preserving the operational effectiveness and flexibility of this vital… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
New GAO Reports – Sequestration, Corporate Tax Expenditures, Defense Health Care Reform, GPS Disruptions, Info Tech, Transportation Disadvantaged Populations, Private Pensions
SEQUESTRATION – Observations on the Department of Defense’s Approach in Fiscal Year 2013, GAO-14-177R, Nov 7, 2013 CORPORATE TAX EXPENDITURES – Evaluations of Tax Deferrals and Graduated Tax Rates, GAO-13-789, Sep 16, 2013 DEFENSE HEALTH CARE REFORM – Additional Implementation Details Would Increase Transparency of DOD’s Plans and Enhance Accountability, GAO-14-49, Nov 6, 2013 GPS DISRUPTIONS – Efforts to Assess Risks to… Continue Reading
IRS Case Processing Delays and Tax Account Errors Increased Hardship for Victims of ID Theft
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: Case Processing Delays and Tax Account Errors Increased Hardship for Victims of Identity Theft – September 26, 2013, Reference Number: 2013-40-129. “It took the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an average of 312 days to resolve tax-related identity theft cases, according to a new report released by the Treasury Inspector… Continue Reading
Commentary explores the historical roots of regional gun violence in America
The Battle Lines of Today’s Debates Over Gun Control, Stand-Your-Ground Laws, and Other Violence-Related Issues Were Drawn Centuries Ago by America’s Early Settlers, by Colin Woodard, Tufts Magazine Fall 2013. “…Our death rate from assault is many times higher than that of most other countries, whether highly urbanized or sparsely populated. State-sponsored violence, too—in the… Continue Reading
NY Fed Chair – Ending Too Big to Fail
William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer – Remarks at the Global Economic Policy Forum, New York City, November 8, 2013 “..My remarks are going to focus on what is called the “too big to fail” problem. As you are aware, this problem arises when the failure of a large, complex financial institution threatens to… Continue Reading
Report – Impacts and Costs of the Government Shutdown
“As the President has said, the shutdown that occurred last month inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy and took a toll on families and businesses across the country. Today, OMB is releasing a report that catalogs the breadth and depth of this damage, and details the various impacts and costs of the October 2013… Continue Reading
National Security Archive Posts Able Archer 83 Sourcebook
The Able Archer 83 Sourcebook: “Today marks the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Able Archer 83, a NATO exercise that utilized “new nuclear weapons release procedures” to simulate the transition from conventional to nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Although US officials saw Able Archer 83 as a routine exercise, it resulted in an “unprecedented Soviet… Continue Reading
CRS – Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology
Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology – Patricia Moloney Figliola, Specialist in Internet and Telecommunications Policy – October 22, 2013 “Modern communication tools such as the Internet provide a relatively inexpensive, accessible, easy-entry means of sharing ideas, information, and pictures around the world. In a political and human rights context, in closed societies when the more established, formal… Continue Reading
The Relationship of the Court and Defense Counsel
The Relationship of the Court and Defense Counsel: The Impact on Competent Representation and Proposals for Reform – Richard Daniel Klein 29 Boston College Law Review 531 (1988), Touro Law Center Legal Studies Research Paper “This Article examines the impact of the trial court upon the quality of legal assistance provided the indigent criminal defendant.… Continue Reading
Wireless Networks: Technological Challenges and Policy Implications
Yoo, Christopher S., Wireless Networks: Technological Challenges and Policy Implications (November 6, 2013). U of Penn, Inst for Law & Econ Research Paper No. 13-31. Available at SSRN “Since June 2012, mobile wireless has emerged as the largest and fast growing medium for broadband service. At the same time, mobile wireless networks have proven considerably… Continue Reading
NOAA internet tool provides unique access to environmental data
“NOAA today unveiled the beta version of “NOAA View,” an online educational tool that gives educators and the public interactive access to NOAA environmental data, enabling unique views of the world’s oceans, land, atmosphere, cryosphere and climate. The NOAA View imagery portal provides a single point for experiencing NOAA data, including environmental information captured by… Continue Reading
Supplemental Measure of Poverty Remains Unchanged
Census news release: “The nation’s poverty rate was 16.0 percent in 2012, unchanged from 2011, according to the supplemental poverty measure released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2012 rate was higher than the official measure of 15.0 percent. The official poverty rate in 2012 was also not significantly different from the corresponding rate… Continue Reading
