“Federal financial institution regulatory agencies today issued guidance clarifying the applicability of the Customer Identification Program (CIP) rule to prepaid cards issued by banks. The guidance applies to banks, savings associations, credit unions, and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks (collectively “banks”). The guidance clarifies that a bank’s CIP should apply to the holders… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
GAO Reports – Critical Defense Materials, Federal Real Property, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Private Health Insurance
Critical Defense Materials: Government Collected Data Are Sufficiently Reliable to Assess Tantalum Availability, GAO-16-335: Published: Mar 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2016. Federal Real Property: GSA Could Better Identify Risks of Unforeseen Conditions in Repair and Alteration Projects, GAO-16-273: Published: Mar 17, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 17, 2016. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:… Continue Reading
EFF – What We Talk About When We Talk About Apple and Compelled Speech
Via EFF – “Last week, EFF filed a brief in support of Apple’s fight against the FBI, in which we argued that forcing Apple to write—and sign—a custom version of iOS would violate the First Amendment rights of Apple and its programmers. That’s because the right to free speech sharply limits the government’s ability to… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Social Security Disability, Oil and Gas Management, U.S. Secret Service
Social Security Disability: SSA Could Increase Savings by Refining Its Selection of Cases for Disability Review, GAO-16-250: Published: Feb 11, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 14, 2016. Oil and Gas Management: Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Restructuring Has Not Addressed Long-Standing Oversight Deficiencies, GAO-16-245: Published: Feb 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 11, 2016. U.S.… Continue Reading
CRS Report – Iraq: Politics and Governance
Iraq: Politics and Governance, Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs; Carla E. Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern and African Affairs. March 9, 2016: “As part of an overarching effort to defeat the Islamic State, the United States is helping the Iraqi government try to recapture territories in Iraq that have fallen under Islamic State… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Defense Weather Satellites, Emergency Communications, Stewardship of Clinical Trials, Space Acquisitions
Defense Weather Satellites: Analysis of Alternatives Is Useful for Certain Capabilities, but Ineffective Coordination Limited Assessment of Two Critical Capabilities, GAO-16-252R: Published: Mar 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 10, 2016. Emergency Communications: Actions Needed to Better Coordinate Federal Efforts in the National Capital Region, GAO-16-249: Published: Mar 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 10, 2016. Energy… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources
CRS report via FAS – Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources, Rita Tehan, Information Research Specialist. March 8, 2016. “This report serves as a starting point for congressional staff assigned to cover cybersecurity issues as they relate to critical infrastructure. Much is written about protecting U.S. critical infrastructure, and this CRS report directs the… Continue Reading
Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
Via Steven Aftergood – FAS: “The term “climate change” was included for the first time in the latest revision of the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication 1-02), published last week. Climate change is officially defined by DoD as “Variations in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Data Center Consolidation, Modernizing the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Data Center Consolidation: Agencies Making Progress, but Planned Savings Goals Need to Be Established [Reissued on March 4, 2016], GAO-16-323: Published: Mar 3, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2016: The 24 agencies participating in the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative have collectively made progress on their data center closures efforts. As of November 2015, agencies… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Data Center Consolidation, DOE Loan Programs, Explosives Detection Canines, Navy and Coast Guard Shipbuilding, Nonemergency Medical Transportation
Data Center Consolidation: Agencies Making Progress, but Planned Savings Goals Need to Be Established, GAO-16-323: Published: Mar 3, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2016. DOE Loan Programs: Information on Implementation of GAO Recommendations and Program Costs, GAO-16-150T: Published: Mar 3, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 3, 2016. Explosives Detection Canines: TSA Has Enhanced Its Canine Program,… Continue Reading
GAO Reports – Emerging Infectious Diseases, Rare Diseases, Retirement Security, Southwest Border Security
Emerging Infectious Diseases: Preliminary Observations on the Zika Virus Outbreak,GAO-16-470T: Published: Mar 2, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 2, 2016. Retirement Security: Better Information on Income Replacement Rates Needed to Help Workers Plan for Retirement, GAO-16-242: Published: Mar 1, 2016. Publicly Released: Mar 1, 2016. Southwest Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Assess Resource Deployment and… Continue Reading
CRS – The 2015 National Security Strategy
The 2015 National Security Strategy: Authorities, Changes, Issues for Congress – Nathan J. Lucas, Coordinator Section Research Manager; Kathleen J. McInnis Analyst in International Security. February 26, 2016, “The Obama Administration released a new National Security Strategy (NSS) on February 6, 2015. It was the second NSS document to be published by the Administration; the… Continue Reading
