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Category Archives: Legislation

Presentation – Finding or Compiling Federal Legislative Histories Electronically

Via Rick McKinney – “Recently, at a Congressional Information Symposium sponsored by the Arizona Association of Law Libraries, I gave a presentation entitled “Finding or Compiling Federal Legislative Histories Electronically.” The eight page PDF handout containing more than 240 links, which accompanied the presentation, is hosted on the Legislative Source Book of the Law Librarians’… Continue Reading

New GAO Report – USDA’s Implementation of New State-Delegated Meat Inspection Program Needs Additional Action

Agriculture and Food: USDA’s Implementation of New State-Delegated Meat Inspection Program Addresses Most Key Farm Bill Requirements, but Additional Action Needed, GAO-13-332R, May 30, 2013: “USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) completed most of the key activities outlined in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill), which authorized a new meat and… Continue Reading

Tax Policy Center – Making the World Safe for Philanthropy

Making the World Safe for Philanthropy: The Wartime Origins and Peacetime Development of the Tax Deduction for Charitable Giving by Joseph J. Thorndike, April 30, 2013: “Since the charitable deduction first appeared in 1917, its fate has been bound up with arguments over the nature and size of government, as well as the relationship between… Continue Reading

UK Guardian – 5 largest internet companies challenge tracking legislation

Alan Travis, home affairs editor, The Guardian:  “The five biggest internet companies in the world, including Google and Facebook, have privately delivered a thinly veiled warning to the home secretary, Theresa May, that they will not voluntarily co-operate with the “snooper’s charter”. In a leaked letter to the home secretary that is also signed by… Continue Reading

White House Memo: Affordable Coverage in Health Insurance Marketplace 2014

Early Results: Competition, Choice, and Affordable Coverage in the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2014, May 30, 2013 “This memorandum describes early information on the likely competition and choices in the new Health Insurance Marketplace, based on data that States have released and information submitted by health plans that the Administration will have a role in… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Reducing Obesity and Tobacco Use, Employing People with disabilities, Export-Import Bank, Affordable Health Care and the states, Patient protection and insurance, IRS data

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Lobbying Policies and Monitoring for Program to Reduce Obesity and Tobacco Use, GAO-13-477R, Apr 30, 2013 Employing People With Blindness or Severe Disabilities – Enhanced Oversight of the AbilityOne Program Needed, GAO-13-457, May 30, 2013 Export-Import Bank, Additional Analysis and Information Could Better Inform Congress on Exposure, Risk,… Continue Reading

CRS – 501(c)(4)s and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws

501(c)(4)s and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws: May 17, 2013: “The campaign activities of tax-exempt 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations continue to receive considerable attention. These groups operate with less restriction after the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which invalidated long-standing prohibitions in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) on corporations and labor unions using their… Continue Reading

CRS – Financial Stability Oversight Council: A Framework to Mitigate Systemic Risk

CRS – Financial Stability Oversight Council: A Framework to Mitigate Systemic Risk, by Edward V. Murphy, Specialist in Financial Economics. May 21, 2013:  “The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DFA; P.L. 111-203) in 2010 as part of a comprehensive reform of banking and securities… Continue Reading

Wal-Mart Pleads Guilty to Federal Environmental Crimes, Admits Civil Violations and Will Pay More Than $81 Million

DOJ News Release: “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pleaded guilty today in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also pleaded guilty today in… Continue Reading