CRS report via LC: What’s the Difference?—Comparing U.S. and Chinese Trade Data, May 20, 2020 – “The size of the U.S. bilateral trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China (China) has been and continues to be an important issue in bilateral trade relations. President Trump and some Members of Congress view the deficit as… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Legislation
Presidential Removal of IGs Under the Inspector General Act
CRS via LC – Presidential Removal of IGs Under the Inspector General Act May 22, 2020: “President Trump has recently removed or replaced a number of acting and permanent Inspectors General (IGs), including the Intelligence Community IG, the State Department IG, and acting IGs at the Department of Transportation and Department of Defense. These actions… Continue Reading
2020 State of Small Business Report
Facebook and Business Roundtable: Small and medium-sized businesses in the United States are being hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis.As part of our ongoing data collection effort with the World Bank and the OECD on the Future of Business, Facebook conducted a survey, in partnership with Small Business Roundtable, of approximately 86,000 people who owned,… Continue Reading
U.S. House approves remote voting, though the tech is unclear
TechCrunch: “Congress will allow remote voting for the first time in its history, after the U.S. House approved Resolution 965 late Friday in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The measure — sponsored by Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern — authorizes proxy voting by members for renewable periods of 45 days and allows for remote participation in… Continue Reading
Inside Trump’s coronavirus meltdown
The Financial Times – Free to Read – What went wrong in the president’s first real crisis — and what does it mean for the US?: “When the history is written of how America handled the global era’s first real pandemic, March 6 will leap out of the timeline. That was the day Donald Trump… Continue Reading
Congressionally Mandated Reports: Overview and Considerations for Congress
LC CRS Reports – Congressionally Mandated Reports: Overview and Considerations for Congress, May 14, 2020: “Congress frequently requires the President, departments, agencies, and other entities of the federal government to transmit reports, notifications, studies, and other information on a specified timeline. Reporting requirements may direct agency officials to notify Congress or its committees of forthcoming… Continue Reading
Here’s Who Just Voted to Let the FBI Seize Your Online Search History Without a Warrant
Gizmodo – “A bipartisan amendment that would have prohibited law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, from obtaining the web browsing and internet search histories of Americans without a warrant failed to pass in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday by a single vote. Twenty-seven Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against the amendment to H.R. 6172,… Continue Reading
COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events December 2019-January 2020
LC CRS Reports – COVID-19 and China: A Chronology of Events (December 2019-January 2020), May 12, 2020: I”n Congress, multiple bills and resolutions have been introduced related to China’s handling of a novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China,that expanded to become the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. This report provides a timeline of key… Continue Reading
The Four Men Responsible For America’s COVID-19 Test Disaster
Rolling Stone – “The White House’s inability to track the disease as it spread across the nation crippled the government’s response and led to the worst disaster this country has faced in nearly a century – Despite months of alarms that the coronavirus was lurking at our doorstep, the Trump administration failed to mount an… Continue Reading
States Are Suspending Public Records Access Due to COVID-19
The Markup – There is little precedent for such action, even in an emergency: “…Hawaii is among several jurisdictions around the country that have amended or suspended access to public records as the coronavirus spreads. Governors are taking emergency action in some states, ordering changes to public records compliance during the crisis. Other states and… Continue Reading
FHFA Announces Tools to Help Renters Find Out if They are Protected from Eviction
“To help renters find out if they are protected from evictions during the COVID-19 national health emergency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) have created online multifamily property lookup tools. The property lookup tools allow renters to find out if the multifamily property where they reside… Continue Reading
New Search Engine for State Legislation
“BillTrack50 offers both a free and a paid service. Our genuinely free service allows citizens to search by keyword or bill number to discover and review an unlimited number of state and federal bills. Unlimited free access to bill data is fundamental to the working of our sharing tools and is fundamental to our mission.… Continue Reading
