Paperwork Reduction Act: Agencies Could Better Leverage Review Processes and Public Outreach to Improve Burden Estimates, GAO-18-381: Published: Jul 11, 2018. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2018. Each year, nearly every adult and business provides some form of information to a federal agency, whether via tax forms or benefits applications. Agencies estimate the time and resources… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Senate Judiciary Cmte releases first round of Kavanaugh’s White House documents
The Hill: “The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday publicly released its first tranche of documents from Brett Kavanaugh’s work in the George W. Bush White House. The batch being released, totaling more than 5,700 pages, is part of more than 125,000 pages given to the committee last week by the George W. Bush Presidential Library.… Continue Reading
United States Legislative Markup XML
“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is collaborating with the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, and the Office of the Federal Register on parallel projects to convert a subset of enrolled bills, public laws, the Statutes at Large, the Federal Register, and the… Continue Reading
For most U.S. workers, real wages have barely budged in decades
Pew Research Center: “On the face of it, these should be heady times for American workers. U.S. unemployment is as low as it’s been in nearly two decades (3.9% as of July) and the nation’s private-sector employers have been adding jobs for 101 straight months – 19.5 million since the Great Recession-related cuts finally abated… Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education
CRS report via FAS: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education, August 1, 2018: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education Educational tools enabled by AI have recently attracted attention for their potential to improve education quality and enhance traditional teaching and learning methods. Although there is no single consensus definition, AI generally allows computers to perform tasks that… Continue Reading
What The District?! Explore How Your Voting District Has Evolved
ACLU – “For better or worse, the way Congressional districts are drawn can determine who wins elections, which communities are represented, and what laws are passed. Explore how your own district has changed (sometimes dramatically) over time.” Most state legislatures have the power to draw new congressional district boundaries. Enter your zip code and you… Continue Reading
The Essential Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh Reader: What Cases Should You Read?
The Essential Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh Reader: What Cases Should You Read?, CRS Legal Sidebar, July 25, 2018 “Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, whom President Trump has nominated to fill the impending Supreme Court vacancy caused by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement from the Court, has amasseda voluminous record of judicial writings during his legal career.… Continue Reading
Judicial Opinions of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and his very bigly paper trail
CRS report via FAS – Judicial Opinions of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, Michael John Garcia, Coordinator, Acting Section Research Manager, July 23, 2018. “On July 9, 2018, President Trump announced the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) to succeed Supreme Court… Continue Reading
Special IG reports U.S. wasted more than $15 billion in past 11 years in Afghanistan
NBC News: “The watchdog charged with tracking government spending in Afghanistan has released its first estimate of the total amount of money wasted there — a staggering $15.5 billion over 11 years — but says even that figure is probably “only a portion.” In response to a request from three congressman in 2017, the Special… Continue Reading
Trump Twitter posts are focus of Mueller obstruction investigation
The New York Times: “For years, President Trump has used Twitter as his go-to public relations weapon, mounting a barrage of attacks on celebrities and then political rivals even after advisers warned he could be creating legal problems for himself. Those concerns now turn out to be well founded. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller… Continue Reading
Growing Partisan Differences in Views of the FBI; Stark Divide Over ICE
Pew Research Center – Favorable views of FBI have fallen sharply among Republicans – A new survey of public attitudes toward federal agencies finds that partisan differences in views of the FBI have increased markedly over the past year. And Americans’ opinions about Immigration and Customs Enforcement are deeply polarized: 72% of Republicans view ICE… Continue Reading
Election Security Update: Top 18 Most Vulnerable States
Election Security Update: Top 18 Most Vulnerable States, Committee on House Administration – Democrats – July 2018. “It is now well-known that Russian hackers targeted voter registration databases in at least 21 states and attempted to access credentials of election technology vendors and election officials. If these attacks had succeeded, hackers could have deleted voter… Continue Reading
