These findings are based on internal agency documents obtained under court order by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University: “At a time when Americans face growing economic inequality and financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is letting billions of dollars in tax revenue slip through its… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Appointment and Confirmation of Executive Branch Leadership: An Overview
CRS – Appointment and Confirmation of Executive Branch Leadership: An Overview – Updated March 17, 2021: “The Constitution divides the responsibility for populating the top positions in the executive branch of the federal government between the President and the Senate. Article II, Section 2empowers the President to nominate and, by and with the advice and… Continue Reading
The government’s lawyers saw a Google monopoly coming
Politico – “Their bosses refused to sue. FTC memos suggest Obama-era regulators passed on an opportunity to rein in Google when the company still had viable competitors. Federal investigators were convinced: Google’s push to take over mobile internet searches was illegal. They had the evidence and urged their bosses to sue. But those politically appointed… Continue Reading
New Bill Would Increase Transparency of Presidential Records
Government Executive – Legislation was introduced to kick off National Sunshine Week. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, will introduce the ‘‘Presidential Records Preservation Act,” which would update the “1978 Presidential Records Act” by requiring the president, vice president, and other senior White House officials to “make and preserve… Continue Reading
Capitol Breach Cases
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia – “Below is a list of defendants charged in federal court in the District of Columbia related to crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Every case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Following arrests,… Continue Reading
Small group plays big role in pushing vaccine skepticism, Facebook study finds
Washington Post: “Facebook is conducting a vast behind-the-scenes study of doubts expressed by U.S. users about vaccines, a major project that attempts to probe and teach software to identify the medical attitudes of millions of Americans, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The research is a large-scale attempt to understand the spread of… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 14, 2021
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 14, 2021 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading
The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs
CRS – The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs, March 09, 2021: “As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began to unfold, many federal, local, and state governments, in addition to large and small businesses, implemented remote working or distance learning options to help abate the spread of the… Continue Reading
Everything to know about the third stimulus check: Timeline, IRS calculations and more
CNET – “A third stimulus check for up to $1,400 per person could become real this week, as Congress works to finish up the final COVID-19 relief package and get to the President Joe Biden to sign in the coming days. While there’s an outside chance details on the new stimulus payment could change before the… Continue Reading
How Did Absentee Voting Affect the 2020 U.S.Election?
How Did Absentee Voting Affect the 2020 U.S.Election? Jesse Yoder, Cassandra Handan-Nader, Andrew Myers,Tobias Nowacki, Daniel M. Thompson, Jennifer A. Wu,Chenoa Yorgason, and Andrew B. Hall, Democracy & Polarization Lab, Stanford University, March 5, 2021. “The 2020 U.S. election saw high turnout, a huge increase in absentee voting, and brought unified Democratic control at the… Continue Reading
Joe Biden has picked 58 nominees to fill key roles in his administration so far
Washington Post – We are tracking 791 government positions among about 1,250 that require Senate confirmation. Presidents are required to fill roughly 4,000 politically appointed positions in the executive branch and independent agencies, including more than 1,250 that require Senate confirmation. The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking nominees for roughly… Continue Reading
This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participant
George Washington University Program on Extremism / Top Level Findings – “We released a new report coauthored jointly by our staff, titled “This is Our House!” A Preliminary Assessment of the Capitol Hill Siege Participants.” The report offers new details about the individuals alleged to have stormed the nation’s Capitol, as well as a number… Continue Reading
