Brennan Center for Justice: “On September 20, 2022, Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of the Liberty & National Security Program, and Joseph Nunn, Counsel, submitted a written statement to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Their statement describes the history and flaws of the Insurrection Act and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Global Registry of Fossil Fuels
Global Registry of Fossil Fuel Emissions and Reserves: “The Global Registry is the first open-source database of oil, gas and coal production and reserves globally, expressed in CO2-equivalent. By increasing transparency and accountability around fossil fuel production, the Registry aims to improve understanding of extraction impacts on the remaining carbon budget and ultimately to inform… Continue Reading
The Bioeconomy: A Primer
CRS Report – The Bioeconomy: A Primer, September 19, 2022 – “The term bioeconomy refers to the share of the economy based on products, services, and processes derived from biological resources (e.g., plants and microorganisms). The bioeconomy is crosscutting, encompassing multiple sectors, in whole or in part (e.g., agriculture, textiles, chemicals, and energy). Many predict… Continue Reading
A Legitimacy Crisis of the Supreme Court’s Own Making
Brennan Center for Justice – Last term, the justices showed little concern for the public’s trust in them: “Chief Justice John Roberts said at an event last week that he doesn’t understand current questions about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy. “The [Court’s] decisions have always been publicly criticized,” the chief justice said, but it is a… Continue Reading
Privacy Rights Under the Constitution: Procreation, Child Rearing, Contraception, Marriage, and Sexual Activity
CRS Legal Sidebar – Privacy Rights Under the Constitution: Procreation, Child Rearing, Contraception, Marriage, and Sexual Activity, September 14, 2022: “A line of Supreme Court cases establishes that the U.S. Constitution guaranteesa person’s ability to make certain decisions in matters related to procreation, child rearing, contraception, marriage (including interracial marriage and same-sex marriage), and consensual… Continue Reading
Privacy-Focused Technology Companies Call for a Floor Vote on Antitrust Legislation
Spread Privacy: “On Tuesday September 13th, 13 privacy-focused technology companies representing more than 100 million users in the United States published a letter to U.S. Congressional Leadership imploring them to support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and bring it to a floor vote as soon as possible. Incessant data collection and tech… Continue Reading
LobbyingData.com Launches First-Ever Publicly Available Real-Time View of American Lobbying
“LobbyingData.com (LobbyingData) today announces the official launch of Daily Lobbying Data, the first-ever 100% free real-time view into American Lobbying. With LobbyingData, anyone can easily know which companies are lobbying, how much was spent, and-most importantly-the issues being lobbied for. LobbyingData is the only platform of its kind that provides insight into why companies choose… Continue Reading
House Oversight Committee asks Archives if Trump still possesses presidential records
CNN: “The House Oversight Committee is asking the National Archives for an assessment of whether there are presidential records still unaccounted for and in Donald Trump’s possession, according to a new letter obtained by CNN. The committee’s chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, also is requesting in the letter that the National Archives… Continue Reading
GAO: Congress Should Enact Comprehensive Privacy Legislation
EPIC.org: “The Government Accountability Office yesterday released a snapshot of its recent work on consumer data. The GAO’s work shows that (1) consumer scores pose risks; (2) facial recognition technology raises consumer privacy and accuracy concerns; and (3) additional federal authority over internet privacy could enhance consumer protection. The GAO recommended that Congress implement consumer… Continue Reading
Russia spent millions in secret global political campaign, U.S. official says
Washington Post: “Russia has secretly funneled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a new U.S. intelligence review. Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its… Continue Reading
Law Library of Congress Report Examines Economic Espionage Laws in Selected Countries
In Custodia Legis: “A recently published Law Library of Congress report, Economic Espionage Laws, “addresses economic espionage laws and the regulation of fraudulent filing of corporate, import-export, and banking documentation” in sixteen countries. The report consists of a comparative summary followed by individual country surveys for sixteen countries. The countries surveyed are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,… Continue Reading
Trump found the holes in our election laws. Congress is trying to patch them.
Vox: “The human mind is ingenious. It can create towering works of art and make remarkable scientific discoveries. It is, as we saw in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, also capable of inventing new ways to undermine American democracy by abusing our existing election laws, and turning orderly presidential elections into anarchy and… Continue Reading
