Nate Jones Via Redacted – This a version of this article originally appeared in The Federalist, Newsletter of the Society for History in the Federal Government “The Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA) established that the papers of U.S. Presidents legally belong to the American people. According to the law, the Archivist of the United States… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Legislation
Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan
“In response to today’s release of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released the following statement from Elisabeth Kruger, Arctic program officer and polar bear expert: “The plan shows the complexity of what it means to truly protect America’s most iconic Arctic species. It addresses the… Continue Reading
Statutory Restrictions on the Position of Secretary of Defense: Issues for Congress
CRS report via FAS – Statutory Restrictions on the Position of Secretary of Defense: Issues for Congress. Kathleen J. McInnis, Analyst in International Security. January 5, 2017. “The proposed nomination of General (Ret.) James Mattis, United States Marine Corps (hereafter referred to as “General Mattis”), who retired from the military in 2013, to be Secretary… Continue Reading
GOP Congress now has power to slash individual civil servant salaries
NYMag: “This week, congressional Republicans gave themselves the power to slash the annual salary of any individual federal worker to as low as $1 — and the budget of any individual federal program right down to zero. They executed this attack on the independence of the civil service by reviving an obscure provision enacted by… Continue Reading
House moves forward rules to ease constraints to sell federal lands
Washington Post: “House Republicans on Tuesday changed the way Congress calculates the cost of transferring federal lands to the states and other entities, a move that will make it easier for members of the new Congress to cede federal control of public lands. The provision, included as part as a larger rules package the House approved… Continue Reading
Legislative History of “Repeal and Replacement” of the Obamacare: Overview
This guide as created and is maintained by experts at the The Legal Research Center, Drexel School of Law. “The election of 2016 saw the GOP obtain control of the presidency and retain control of both chambers of Congress. This created an opportunity for Republicans to “repeal and replace” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),… Continue Reading
Paper – The legal macroscope: Experimenting with visual legal analytics
The legal macroscope: Experimenting with visual legal analytics, Nicola Lettieri, Antonio Altamura, Delfina Malandrino First Published December 28, 2016. “This work presents Knowlex, a web application designed for visualization, exploration, and analysis of legal documents coming from different sources. Understanding the legal framework relating to a given issue often requires the analysis of complex legal… Continue Reading
CRS – Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer
Nuclear Cooperation with Other Countries: A Primer. Paul K. Kerr, Analyst in Nonproliferation; Mary Beth D. Nikitin, Specialist in Nonproliferation. December 6, 2016. “In order for the United States to engage in significant civilian nuclear cooperation with other states, it must conclude a framework agreement that meets specific requirements under Section 123 of the Atomic… Continue Reading
EFF on Shadow Internet Regulations
EFF – “Shadow Regulations are voluntary agreements between companies (sometimes described as codes, principles, standards, or guidelines) to regulate your use of the Internet, often without your knowledge. Shadow Regulation has become increasingly popular after the monumental failure of restrictive Internet laws such as ACTA, SOPA and PIPA. This is because Shadow Regulation can involve… Continue Reading
Implications of Partial Repeal of the ACA through Reconciliation
In Brief – Implications of Partial Repeal of the ACA through Reconciliation, Linda J. Blumberg, Matthew Buettgens, John Holahan. Urban Institute, December 6, 2016. “Congress is now considering partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the budget reconciliation process. Since only components of the law with federal budget implications can be changed through… Continue Reading
Paper – Spatiality of Environmental Law
Baaner, Lasse and Hvingel, Line Træholt, Spatiality of Environmental Law (2015). Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, 2015. Available for download at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2890272 “Digital society challenges the traditional perception of legal sources. The use of maps as a basis for public administration dates far back, but e-Government’s use of digital maps that include… Continue Reading
West Virginia Univ. – New database to track millions of public policies
“Policymakers, researchers and journalists alike will soon have access to roughly 4.2 million state government decisions in a single database. West Virginia University political science researcher, William Franko, a professor in the Rockefeller School of Politics and Policy, is part of a research team collecting every legislative bill, executive rule and judicial decision across all 50 states,… Continue Reading
