The Open Government Partnership – Third Open Government National Action Plan for the United States. October 27, 2015 “Open government has long been a cornerstone of democracy in the United States. Principles of transparency and an accountable, responsive government are embedded in Federal law and the U.S. Constitution, and the United States was one of… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
SIGAR’s 29th Quarterly Report – Status of U.S Reconstruction Effort in Afghanistan
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, October 30, 2015. “As of March 31, 2015, approximately $110 billion had been appropriated for Afghanistan relief and reconstruction since 2002. These funds are used to build the Afghan National Security Forces, promote good governance, conduct development assistance, and engage in counter-narcotics… Continue Reading
Agencies Finalize Swap Margin Rule
“Five federal agencies have issued a final rule to establish capital and margin requirements for swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants regulated by one of the agencies (“covered swap entities”), as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The final rule, issued by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), the Federal… Continue Reading
The Federal Advisory Committee Act: Analysis of Operations and Costs
CRS Report – The Federal Advisory Committee Act: Analysis of Operations and Costs, Wendy Ginsberg, Analyst in American National Government. October 27, 2015. “Federal advisory committees are established to allow experts from outside the federal government to provide advice and recommendations to executive branch agencies or the President. Federal advisory committees can be created either by… Continue Reading
A Survey of House and Senate Committee Rules on Subpoenas
CRS Report – A Survey of House and Senate Committee Rules on Subpoenas. Michael L. Koempel, Senior Specialist in American National Government, October 26, 2015. “House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1) and (3) authorizes House committees and subcommittees to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents. Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 1… Continue Reading
Wealth of Congress Index
“Every year since 1990, Roll Call has raked through congressional financial disclosure forms to create our Wealth of Congress Index. In the course of analyzing the data of the 50 richest members of Congress, the 10 “poorest” and all the others elected to represent Americans in the Capitol, we discovered scores of interesting things that… Continue Reading
Regulating Real-World Surveillance
Kaminski, Margot E., Regulating Real-World Surveillance (October 27, 2015). Washington Law Review, Vol. 9, No. 113, 2015; Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 316. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2681128 “A number of laws govern information gathering, or surveillance, by private parties in the physical world. But we lack a compelling theory of privacy… Continue Reading
CRS Policy on Confidentiality
Follow up to 22 Former CRS Employees Support Free Public Access to CRS reports this new memorandum via FAS – CRS Policy on Confidentiality: “The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all Congressional Research Service (CRS or Service) employees recognize the long-standing requirement for preserving the confidentiality of our work for Congress and… Continue Reading
Creating a Federal Advisory Committee in the Executive Branch
Creating a Federal Advisory Committee in the Executive Branch, Wendy Ginsberg, Analyst in American National Government. October 19, 2015 “Federal advisory committees allow members of the public to formally provide advice and recommendations to the executive branch of the federal government. These advisory committees, of which about 1,000 operate at any given time, provide advice… Continue Reading
22 Former CRS Employees Support Free Public Access to CRS reports
From the October 22, 2015 letter [via Politico]: “Dear Chairman Blunt, Chairman Capito, Chairman Miller, Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Schumer, Ranking Member Schatz, Ranking Member Brady, Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz, and Vice Chairman Harper: We are former employees of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), with more than a collective five hundred years with the agency.… Continue Reading
Senate votes quickly to limit term of new Librarian of Congress
Bloomberg BNA: “A Senate-passed bill to limit the Librarian of Congress to a 10-year term could stall in the House amid Republican turmoil over finding a successor to Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), according to observers who spoke to Bloomberg BNA. The position has achieved a higher profile in the digital age, as copyright issues… Continue Reading
GPO to Digitize Two Million Pages of the Federal Register
“The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) partners with the National Archives’ Office of the Federal Register (OFR) to make every issue of the Federal Register digitally available to the public. A total of 14,587 individual issues, which go back to 1936, will be digitized. GPO employees will hand pack and catalogue every issue. The project… Continue Reading
