News release: “Regulation of medical devicesa $350 billion industry that includes such products as heart and brain stents, artificial hips and implantable defibrillatorsis at a crossroads. With a major reauthorization bill up for debate, members of Congress already have introduced 14 bills (as of Feb. 14, 2012) that aim to accelerate devices path to the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
Reforming and Consolidating Government Act of 2012
White House: “We live in a 21 5t century economy, but we have a Government organized for the 20th century. Our economy has fundamentally changed but the Federal Government has not. The Federal Government needs to be leaner, smarter, and more consumer-friendly to give our communities, businesses, and workers the tools they need to thrive… Continue Reading
Cost Estimate for H.R. 3630, Middle Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act of 2012
“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have reviewed the conference agreement for H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, as posted on the Web site of the House Committee on Rules on February 16, 2012. The attached table provides CBOs… Continue Reading
Public Comments on the Volker Rule Posted by Regulators
Federal Reserve – Comments Continue Reading
CRS – Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents
Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents, Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney, February 1, 2012. “P.L. 112-81, affirm that the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF), P.L. 107-40, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, authorizes the detention of persons captured in connection with hostilities. The Act provides for the first time… Continue Reading
Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry
CRS – Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry, Marc R. Rosenblum, Specialist in Immigration Policy, January 6, 2012 “Twenty-five years after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA, P.L. 99-603) marked the beginning of the modern era in border enforcement, this report reviews recent enforcement efforts, takes stock of the current… Continue Reading
Boycott Against Scientific Journal Publisher Gathering Supporters
Wired Campus by Josh Fischman: “Elsevier, the global publishing company, is responsible for The Lancet, Cell, and about 2,000 other important journals; the iconic reference work Grays Anatomy, along with 20,000 other booksand one fed-up, award-winning mathematician. Timothy Gowers of the University of Cambridge, who won the Fields Medal for his research, has organized a… Continue Reading
CRS – Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Legal Issues
Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Legal Issues, January 23, 2012 “In 2008, TransCanada Corp. applied for a presidential permit from the State Department to construct and operate an oil pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border in a project known as Keystone XL. The Keystone XL pipeline would transport oil produced from oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to… Continue Reading
CRS – Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications
Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications – Todd Garvey, Legislative Attorney. January 4, 2012 “Presidential signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President contemporaneously to the signing of a bill into law that, in addition to commenting on the law generally, have been used to forward the Presidents interpretation of the statutory language;… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Credit Rating Agencies, Dodd-Frank Act, Real Estate Appraisals,
Credit Rating Agencies – Alternative Compensation Models for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, GAO-12-240, Jan 18, 2012 Dodd-Frank Act – Hybrid Capital Instruments and Small Institution Access to Capital, GAO-12-237, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Appraisal Subcommittee Needs to Improve Monitoring Procedures, GAO-12-147, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Survey of State… Continue Reading
House of Representatives House Launches Transparency Portal
Sunlight Foundation: “Making good on part of the House of Representative’s commitment to increase congressional transparency, today the House Clerk’s office launched http://docs.house.gov/, a one stop website where the public can access all House bills, amendments, resolutions for floor consideration, and conference reports in XML, as well as information on floor proceedings and more. Information… Continue Reading
2012 Presidential Primary Calendar; 2012 State and Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates
Via The Thicket: “National Conference of State Legislatures’s (NCSL) new 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar, and its companion, a state-ordered table, 2012 State and Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates…Jennie Bowser created the lists and checked them against a multitude of official sources. She says, this year, it was more complicated than ever to assemble this data.… Continue Reading
