Tell Us Your Experience with FOIA – Tell us about issues that you have had with Freedom of Information Act requests. What Happened? Excessive or inappropriate redactions Lengthy delays Administrative closures Requests to narrow or limit the scope Delayed appeals or refusals to mediate Unreasonable denial of fee waivers Other… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
Implementation of Federal Prize Authority: Fiscal Year 2014 Progress Report
A Report from the Office of Science and Technology Policy In Response to the Requirements of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 April 2015 “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into the law the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES). Section 105 of COMPETES added Section 24 (Prize Competitions)… Continue Reading
Librarians Versus the NSA
Via The Nation – Librarians Versus the NSA – Your local library is on the front lines against government surveillance, Zoë Carpenter “Alison Macrina had bad news for the 30 or so librarians in the darkened auditorium on a recent Friday. “Your password is bad,” she informed them. “I’m really sorry. Everything you’ve learned about… Continue Reading
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down NSA Bulk Record Collection Program
EPIC – “The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the NSA’s telephone record collection program exceeds legal authority. The government claimed that it could collect all records under the Section 215 “relevance” standard. But the court rejected that argument and held that “such an expansive concept of ‘relevance’ is unprecedented and unwarranted.” The… Continue Reading
Kaiser Report – Medicaid at 50
Kaiser Foundation – Medicaid at 50 May 06, 2015 | Julia Paradise, Barbara Lyons, and Diane Rowland: “Medicaid’s most well-recognized role in our health care system is as a health coverage program for low-income pregnant women, children, and families. Currently, more than half the states provide Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women with incomes up to… Continue Reading
CRS – An Introduction to Health Insurance: What Should a Consumer Know?
An Introduction to Health Insurance: What Should a Consumer Know? Carol Rapaport, Analyst in Health Care Financing. April 30, 2015. “Congress has seen a renewed interest in the market for private health insurance since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended). This report provides an overview of… Continue Reading
EPIC Launches State Policy Project
“EPIC has launched the EPIC State Policy Project to track legislation across the county concerning privacy and civil liberties. The EPIC State Project will identify new developments and model legislation. The Project builds on EPIC’s extensive work on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues in the states. The new State Project will focus on student… Continue Reading
Take Action to Support Library of Congress and GPO Funding
By James R. Jacobs in post on April 23, 2015. “The American Association of Law Libraries’ Government Relations Committee (GRC) Access to Information Subcommittee has just put out an urgent call for action. We at FGI would echo this call and ask our readers to TAKE ACTION NOW to get Congress to adequately fund the… Continue Reading
Review of USDA’s Approach to Meat and Poultry Safety
The Promise and Problems of HACCP: A Review of USDA’s Approach to Meat and Poultry Safety was made possible by support from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The findings and conclusions are exclusively the work of Consumer Federation of America and do not necessarily reflect the views of Pew. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… Continue Reading
Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies
CRS Report – Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies. Claudia Copeland, Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy. April 20, 2015. “Mountaintop removal mining involves removing the top of a mountain in order to recover the coal seams contained there. This practice occurs in six Appalachian states (Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Ohio). It… Continue Reading
Google Spends Record $5.47 Million On 1st Quarter Lobbying
Consumer WatchDog: “Google spent a record $5.47 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 43 percent from $3.82 million in the comparable 2014 period, according to disclosures just filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Comcast, which is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice… Continue Reading
SEC Implements Dodd-Frank Reporting and Dissemination Rules for Security-Based Swaps
SEC Implements Dodd-Frank Reporting and Dissemination Rules for Security-Based Swaps Posted by Kobi Kastiel, Co-editor, HLS Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, on Sunday, April 19, 2015 [The following post comes to us from Arthur S. Long, partner in the Financial Institutions and Securities Regulation practice groups at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and… Continue Reading
