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Category Archives: Legislation

Injection and Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide: Federal Role and Issues for Congress

CRS Report – Injection and Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide: Federal Role and Issues for Congress, September 22, 2022: “For several decades, the federal government has funded efforts to explore the feasibility of mitigating the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) while burning fossil fuels as a source of energy. Carbon capture and storage (CCS)—the process… Continue Reading

New US company owner database ‘taking way too long’ to implement, experts warn

ICIJ – “After ICIJ’s FinCEN Files investigation, transparency advocates cheered a new law mandating a beneficial ownership register in the U.S. Two years later, experts are expressing serious concerns. A key U.S. reform designed to halt anonymous companies hiding illicit activities and funds remains stalled in the U.S. Treasury Department two years after the FinCEN… Continue Reading

Voter Registration: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress

CRS Report – Voter Registration: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress, September 19, 2022: “Voter registration policies are typically determined by state and local governments, subject to certain federal requirements. Historically, much of thefederalpolicy discussion surrounding voter registration has focused on providing access to registration opportunities. Some federal statutes that primarily address preserving voting access… Continue Reading

Statement to the January 6th Committee on Reforming the Insurrection Act

Brennan Center for Justice: “On September 20, 2022, Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director of the Liberty & National Security Program, and Joseph Nunn, Counsel, submitted a written statement to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Their statement describes the history and flaws of the Insurrection Act and… Continue Reading

Global Registry of Fossil Fuels

Global Registry of Fossil Fuel Emissions and Reserves: “The Global Registry is the first open-source database of oil, gas and coal production and reserves globally, expressed in CO2-equivalent. By increasing transparency and accountability around fossil fuel production, the Registry aims to improve understanding of extraction impacts on the remaining carbon budget and ultimately to inform… Continue Reading

Manufactured Uncertainty in Constitutional Law

Waldman, Ari Ezra, Manufactured Uncertainty in Constitutional Law (September 6, 2022). Fordham Law Review, Vol. 91, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4211548 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4211548 “Civil rights litigation is awash in misinformation. Courts find that abortion causes cancer, that adolescent hormone therapy is irreversible, that in-person voter fraud is a growing problem. Except none of that is… Continue Reading

Privacy-Focused Technology Companies Call for a Floor Vote on Antitrust Legislation

Spread Privacy: “On Tuesday September 13th, 13 privacy-focused technology companies representing more than 100 million users in the United States published a letter to U.S. Congressional Leadership imploring them to support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and bring it to a floor vote as soon as possible. Incessant data collection and tech… Continue Reading

LobbyingData.com Launches First-Ever Publicly Available Real-Time View of American Lobbying

“LobbyingData.com (LobbyingData) today announces the official launch of Daily Lobbying Data, the first-ever 100% free real-time view into American Lobbying. With LobbyingData, anyone can easily know which companies are lobbying, how much was spent, and-most importantly-the issues being lobbied for. LobbyingData is the only platform of its kind that provides insight into why companies choose… Continue Reading

GAO: Congress Should Enact Comprehensive Privacy Legislation

EPIC.org: “The Government Accountability Office yesterday released a snapshot of its recent work on consumer data. The GAO’s work shows that (1) consumer scores pose risks; (2) facial recognition technology raises consumer privacy and accuracy concerns; and (3) additional federal authority over internet privacy could enhance consumer protection. The GAO recommended that Congress implement consumer… Continue Reading

The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits are confusing, so the White House launched a website to help

The Verge: “The Biden administration launched a new website — CleanEnergy.gov — aimed at helping Americans navigate the new green energy tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). That could especially be useful for people looking to buy a new electric vehicle but finding themselves confused by the litany of new… Continue Reading

Congress may force election deniers to get a lot more creative

Vox: “The human mind is ingenious. It can create towering works of art and make remarkable scientific discoveries. It is, as we saw in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, also capable of inventing new ways to undermine American democracy by abusing our existing election laws, and turning orderly presidential elections into anarchy and… Continue Reading

Introducing the Congress.gov API

In Custodia Legis – September 6, 2022 by Margaret Wood and Andrew Weber. “Congress.gov is a fantastic source of legislative information, and a marvelous source for investigating specific legislation and exploring the legislative history of a bill. Congress.gov also contains large amounts of data and various users have expressed interest in having additional access to… Continue Reading