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Daily Archives: November 23, 2015

The Statutes at Large Modernization Act

The Statutes at Large Modernization Act (H.R. 4006) Introduced by Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). Endorsed by: Sunlight Foundation, R Street Institute, Demand Progress, Liberty Coalition, Data Transparency Coalition, OpentheBooks.com, and Niskanen Center.

“What is the United States Statutes at Large? Compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, one volume per session of Congress since 1789; Legal and permanent evidence of the laws enacted during a session of Congress, plus

Why does it need to be available online? The United States of America was established as “a government of laws, and not of men.” The rule of law requires that the laws be available to the people. The Internet is the dominant, ubiquitous communications platform of modern society.

Isn’t the U.S. Code enough? The U.S. Code is not a complete history of the laws of our Republic. It does not include, however, repealed laws, original statutes that have been amended, private laws, or statutes with limited duration like appropriations acts or infrastructure projects. In addition, only about half of the titles of the U.S. Code are codified as positive law. The other, uncodified titles are merely “evidence” of the law before the judicial branch, so attorneys must consult the United States Statutes at Large on questions of law related to uncodified titles.

Hasn’t the Law Library of Congress already digitized the Statutes at Large? The Law Library of Congress has published the Statutes at Large in a text-over-PDF format. It does not, however, include adequately defined and embedded data elements that enable advanced search functions, machine readability, and other useful options. It’s a good start, but it isn’t the modern, authoritative version we need.

How will the digitization process work? The National Archives and Records Administration will take the lead. It will also consult with public and private entities with expertise in developing formatting conventions for legislative materials. Including the results on www.congress.gov will make it a more complete research resource.”

  • Update via Daniel Schuman, Demand Progress: “Also, want to point you to a useful non-official source for SAL data. A number of organizations/volunteers have built http://legislink.org/us, which provides all statutes at large, public law cites, and US code cites from 1787 to present.  It also allows for the instantaneous comparison of any two roll call votes since ~1990.”

OCLC – Roy Tennant’s Data Designed for Discovery

Via OCLC: “In this presentation, Senior Program Officer Roy Tennant explores the reasons behind the adoption of linked data for libraries; library initiatives intended to demonstrate the benefits of linked data and; and the applicability of library focused standards for solving the issue of library resource visibility. He also identifies how this approach will enable… Continue Reading

Global Support for Principle of Free Expression, but Opposition to Some Forms of Speech

Pew – “Although many observers have documented a global decline in democratic rights in recent years, people around the world nonetheless embrace fundamental democratic values, including free expression. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities in nearly all 38 nations polled say it is at least somewhat important to live in a country… Continue Reading

Social Media Tracker, Analyzer, & Collector Toolkit at Syracuse

“STACKS is an extensible social media research toolkit designed to collect, process, and store data from online social networks. The toolkit is an ongoing project via the Syracuse University iSchool, and currently supports the Twitter Streaming API. Collecting from Facebook public pages and Twitter search API are under development. The toolkit architecture is modular and… Continue Reading

The Islamic State – Frequently Asked Questions: Threats, Global Implications, and U.S. Policy Responses

CRS – The Islamic State — Frequently Asked Questions: Threats, Global Implications, and U.S. Policy Responses,  John W. Rollins, Specialist in Terrorism and National Security. Heidi M. Peters, Information Research Specialist. November 19, 2015. “When addressing threats emanating from the Islamic State (IS), numerous strategy and operational considerations arise that might be of interest to… Continue Reading

Changes in Medicare Spending per Beneficiary by Age: Working Paper 2015-08

Changes in Medicare Spending per Beneficiary by Age: Working Paper 2015-08 – By Xiaotong Niu (CBO), Melinda Buntin (Vanderbilt University), and Joyce Manchester (Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office), November 2015. “The aging of the population exerts upward pressure on federal spending for health care, especially Medicare, as both the number and average age of elderly… Continue Reading

Census Report – Wives’ Earnings Make Gains Relative to Husbands’

“Between 2000 and 2015, the share of married couples where the wife earned at least $30,000 more than the husband increased from 6 to 9 percent, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Married couples where the husband earned at least $30,000 more than the wife decreased from 38 to 35 percent.… Continue Reading

FAA issues report on creating process to register drones

FAA – Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Registration Task Force (RTF), Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) Task Force Recommendations, Final Report, November 21, 2015. “The stated objective of the Task Force was to develop recommendations for the creation of a registration process, which ultimately would contribute to an enforceable rule imposed by the FAA. The FAA stated… Continue Reading

Gartner – Turn Voice of the Customer Into Competitive Advantage

IT can lead the charge to give the customer a full voice and the enterprise unprecedented insights into its customers.  November 17, 2015, Contributor: Scott Smith. “Too often, the voice of the customer (VoC) gets lost across multiple data collection points, mired in separate systems, and trapped in departmental silos. IT can lead the charge… Continue Reading