International Space Station: Measurable Performance Targets and Documentation Needed to Better Assess Management of National Laboratory, GAO-15-397: Published: Apr 27, 2015. Publicly Released: May 27, 2015: “The U.S. has spent almost $43 billion to develop, assemble, and operate the ISS over the past two decades. The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 required NASA to enter… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
The Library of Congress: Web Archive Collections
Web Archive Collections – Researcher Access to Publicly Available Web Archive Collections is here The following is a list of all web archive collections developed by or in partnership with the Library of Congress. These are in various stages of production. U.S. Election Web Archives U.S. Congressional/Legislative Web Archives Law Library Web Archives Single Sites… Continue Reading
US DOJ IG Report – Review of the FBI’s Use of Section 215 Orders
FBI’s Use of Section 215 Orders: Assessment of Progress in Implementing Recommendations and Examination of Use in 2007 through 2009, Oversight and Review Division Report 15-05. May 2015. Redacted. “The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced today the release of a public version of its most recent report examining the… Continue Reading
Landmark Open Data Legislation to be Introduced
Data Transparency Coalition – “Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and a bipartisan group of cosponsors will introduce the Financial Transparency Act of 2015 at a press conference tomorrow at 2 pm in room 2226 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Supporters of open data and the public are welcome to attend. Issa’s office issued a media advisory late Monday evening confirming he… Continue Reading
CRS – Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources
Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources. Merete F. Gerli, Information Research Specialist. May 13, 2015. “Finding data on federal grants and contracts awarded to states and congressional districts, local governments, nonprofit organizations, contractors, and other eligible entities may present challenges. The official website, USAspending.gov, at http://www.usaspending.gov, collects data on grants, loans, insurance, assistance,… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Airport Finance, Domestic Food Assistance, Federal Employees Compensation, Older Adults, Surface Ships
Airport Finance: Information on Funding Sources and Planned Capital Development, GAO-15-306: Published: Apr 28, 2015. Publicly Released: May 20, 2015. Army Force Structure: Observations about Aviation Restructuring and Other Relevant Force Structure Challenges, D10389: May 20, 2015 Contingent Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earnings, and Benefits, GAO-15-168R: Published: Apr 20, 2015. Publicly Released: May 20, 2015. Domestic… Continue Reading
New on LLRX – IBM’s Watson is Now Data Mining TED Talks to Extract New Forms of Knowledge
Via LLRX.com – IBM’s Watson is Now Data Mining TED Talks to Extract New Forms of Knowledge – Alan Rothman’s commentary offers actionable information about a new technology from IBM called Watson that is a powerful tool for researchers whose work engages data mining, knowledge management and competitive intelligence. Rothman attended a recent presentation that… Continue Reading
UK government rewrites law to permit GCHQ hacking
Privacy International – May 15, 2015: The Government has quietly ushered through legislation amending the anti-hacking laws to exempt GCHQ from prosecution. Privacy International and other parties were notified of this just hours prior to a hearing of their claim against GCHQ’s illegal hacking operations in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. In its legal filings, sent… Continue Reading
Appropriations for LC and CRS – no public access to CRS reports
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2016 – spotlight on LIBRARY OF CONGRESS [via FAS]: “The Committee recommends $591,431,000 for the operations of the Library of Congress. This is $33,071,000 below the budget request and is $510,000 above the current level. In addition to the appropriation, the Committee recommends offsetting collections of $42,127,000. Established by Congress in… Continue Reading
EFF Case Analysis: Appeals Court Rules NSA Phone Records Dragnet is Illegal
Andrew Crocker – “We now have the first decision from a court of appeals on the NSA’s mass surveillance program involving bulk collection of telephone records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and it’s a doozy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in ACLU v. Clapper holding that… Continue Reading
Interactive: Exploring the Public’s View of Affordable Care Act Over Time and by Group
“A newly-updated Kaiser Family Foundation interactive tool allows users to explore five years’ worth of detailed data capturing the public’s views on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including breakouts by party identification, age, gender, race, and other characteristics. With more than 50 polls since April 2010 involving more than 70,000 interviews, the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll… Continue Reading
Federal Spending Data Elements
“In conjunction with the recent enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) (Pub. L. 113-101) and our ongoing efforts to improve federal spending data under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), the federal government is working to establish government-wide financial data standards and increase the availability, accuracy, and usefulness of… Continue Reading
