Partisans differ on whether social media companies’ decisions had a major impact on the election – “In this starkly atypical year, the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election has been similarly out of the ordinary – with President Donald Trump thus far refusing to concede to President-elect Joe Biden (as of publication on Dec. 15). But a new… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline
The Electoral College: A 2020 Presidential Election Timeline, CRS In Focus, October 22, 2020.”Every four years, the election process for President and Vice President follows a familiar timeline of events. At the same time, a related series of procedures governing electoral college actions proceeds on a parallel track.This report focuses on the electoral college timeline… Continue Reading
Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress
CRS report via LC – Counting Electoral Votes: An Overview of Procedures at the Joint Session, Including Objections by Members of Congress, Updated December 8, 2020: “The Constitution and federal law establish a detailed timetable following the presidential election during which time the members of the electoral college convene in the 50 state capitals and… Continue Reading
Archive, Historians, CREW Sue White House, Seek to Preserve Presidential Records During the Transition
National Security Archive – “The National Security Archive, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, the American Historical Association, and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington today filed suit against President Donald Trump in his official capacity, seeking to enforce the Presidential Records Act and prevent any destruction of records during the… Continue Reading
Rep. Johnson’s Bipartisan Bill Making Federal Court Records Free to Public Passes House
“Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, today announced The Open Courts Act of 2020, H.R. 8235, which would modernize the federal judiciary’s court records systems and eliminate the paywall (called PACER) that currently forces the public to pay more than $140 million each year to access… Continue Reading
Individual Retirement Account Ownership: Data and Policy Issues
CRS report via LC – Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Ownership: Data and Policy Issues December 9, 2020 (51 pages) “…Congress has provided various tax incentives to encourage individuals to save for retirement. Tax incentives exist for employers to offer retirement plans and for employees to participate in these plans, as well as for individuals to… Continue Reading
A Political Obituary for Donald Trump
The Atlantic – The effects of his reign will linger. But democracy survived. “To assess the legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency, start by quantifying it. Since last February, more than a quarter of a million Americans have died from COVID-19—a fifth of the world’s deaths from the disease, the highest number of any country. In… Continue Reading
GPO and Library of Congress Release Ten Years of Legislative Data on Govinfo
Library of Congress: “The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) in partnership with the Library of Congress, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate has released 10 additional years of bill status XML bulk data on govinfo. Bill status information, created by the Library of Congress and Congress, describes the activities and status steps for each… Continue Reading
COVID-19 Vaccines: Global Health Issues
CRS report via LC – COVID-19 Vaccines: Global Health Issues, December 8, 2020 – “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to severe health and economic consequences across the globe, with country governments struggling to contain the spread of the disease through physical lockdown and quarantine measures, while working towards vaccines, to prevent further… Continue Reading
Lawmakers are trying to create a database with free access to court records. Judges are fighting against it.
Washington Post – “Leaders of the federal judiciary are working to block bipartisan legislation designed to create a national database of court records that would provide free access to case documents. Backers of the bill, who are pressing for a House vote in the coming days, envision a streamlined, user-friendly system that would allow citizens… Continue Reading
Fixing financial data to assess systemic risk
Economic Studies at Brookings – Fixing financial data to assess systemic risk, Greg Feldberg, Research Scholar, Yale School of Management: “The COVID-19 market disruption again highlighted the flaws in the data that the public and the authorities use to assess risks in the financial system. We don’t have the right data, we can’t analyze the… Continue Reading
Google and Competition: Concerns Beyond the DOJ’s Lawsuit
CRS In Focus – Google and Competition: Concerns Beyond the DOJ’s Lawsuit, December 2, 2020: “On October 20, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 11 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google LLC under Section 2 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §2). The lawsuit alleges that Google unlawfully maintains “monopolies in the… Continue Reading
