Joint Economic Committee, Democrats – Report [PDF]: “Wildfires represent a growing threat to the health and well-being of communities across the country. The United States has already seen a devastating string of catastrophic wildfires this year in places like Maui, the western United States, and Louisiana as these disasters become more and more damaging due… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics
65% say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics: “Americans have long been critical of politicians and skeptical of the federal government. But today, Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests,… Continue Reading
Climate Change and Human Health Glossary
NIH Climate Change and Human Health Glossary – “A glossary of terms used to describe the science of climate change and its impacts on human health. The goal of this glossary is to help standardize language, enable data harmonization, and encourage clear communication on climate change and health among scientists, health care providers, policymakers, advocates,… Continue Reading
What You Need to Know About Generative AI’s Emerging Role in Political Campaigns
Tech Policy Press – Hype vs. reality: Tom Di Fonzo, journalist-in-residence for the Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) asks, where does the technology stand heading into 2024? “New generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney have sparked intense debate about how this accessible wave of artificial intelligence could transform industries ranging from healthcare… Continue Reading
Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After Surprise Attacks
CRS Insight – Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After Surprise Attacks: “On October 7, 2023, Gaza Strip-based militants led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) engaged in a series of surprise attacks by land, sea, and air against Israel . The assault targeted Israeli military bases and… Continue Reading
An AntiMonopoly Approach to Governing Artificial Intelligence
An AntiMonopoly Approach to Governing Artificial Intelligence, Tejas Narechania & Ganesh Sitaraman. Vanderbilt Technology Accelerator for Political Economy & Regulation.. “Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in the fall of 2022, debates over regulating artificial intelligence (AI) among policymakers, technologists, and scholars have intensified. But for all the interest in regulating AI, there has been little discussion… Continue Reading
Visualizing Congressional Tenures
Center on Data Innovation: “The Washington Post has created a series of visualizations tracking the effects of a proposed constitutional amendment to limit members of Congress to three terms. One visualization shows the number of terms each sitting member of the House of Representatives has served, their age, and their party affiliation and indicates which… Continue Reading
Congress Should Regulate Artificial Intelligence
Tech Policy News: “Since the explosion of ChatGPT about a year ago, it seems that policymakers everywhere want to regulate artificial intelligence. It has become a focus of Congressional attention with Senator Chuck Schumer’s recent AI Insight Forum. This is all to the good, given that many of our troubles with the online world stem… Continue Reading
Medicare Disadvantage
Hartmann Report: The report, titled Our Payments, Their Profits, opens with this shocking exposé: “By our estimate, and based on 2022 spending, Medicare Advantage overcharges taxpayers by a minimum of 22% or $88 billion per year, and potentially by up to 35% or $140 billion. By comparison, Part B premiums in 2022 totaled approximately $131… Continue Reading
I find documents officials want to keep hidden. Here’s how.
Washington Post: “As The Post’s FOIA director, I’ve helped expose government waste and wrongdoing, and published stories that led to new laws. This is the first installment of Revealing Records, a periodic column by Nate Jones about his work obtaining public records for The Post. Few things make a journalist happier than receiving a manila… Continue Reading
H&R Block, Meta, and Google Slapped With RICO Suit
Gizmodo: “Anyone who has used H&R Block’s tax return preparation services in recent years may have unintentionally helped line Meta and Google’s pockets. That’s according to a new class action lawsuit which alleges the three companies “jointly schemed” to install trackers on the H&R Block site to scan and transmit tax data back to the… Continue Reading
Privacy washing: Google claims to support privacy while lobbying against it
Proton Blog: “In the public eye, Google presents itself as a champion of privacy. “Privacy is at the heart of everything we do,” its CEO said (new window / X-Twiiter posting). But behind closed doors, Google is telling a different story to policymakers and actively fighting against privacy laws that would protect you from online… Continue Reading
