Monthly archives: June, 2008

DOJ Issues Guidances on FOIA Backlogs and Reading Room Requirements

DOJ Office of Information and Privacy – Guidance on Preparing Backlog Reduction Plans (posted 06/27/2008): “This memorandum provides guidance for preparing Backlog Reduction Plans. All agencies with backlogs which have not made progress in reducing those backlogs over the last two years are required to prepare Backlog Reduction Plans by September 8, 2008. Each agency …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

One-half of surveyed adults think the pharma industry has a very large influence on doctor’s choice of Rx medicine

News release: “A majority of Americans (64%) say that it is important to know their physician’s financial ties to pharmaceutical companies and 68% would support legislation requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose gifts to doctors, according to the results of a new survey released…by the Prescription Project. The pharmaceutical industry spends more than $7 billion annually …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

Biggest Expansion to Internet in Forty Years Approved for Implementation

News release, June 26, 2008: “The Board of ICANN today approved recommendation that could see a whole range of new names introduced to the Internet’s addressing system. “The Board today accepted a recommendation from its global stakeholders that it is possible to implement many new names to the Internet, paving the way for an expansion …

Subjects: Domain Names, E-Commerce, Internet

Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder: U.S-Pakistan Military Cooperation

U.S-Pakistan Military Cooperation, Greg Bruno, Staff Writer, Jayshree Bajoria, Staff Writer, June 26, 2008 “Military cooperation between the United States and Pakistan has undergone a tactical renaissance since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Moribund at the end of the Cold War, when concerns about nuclear proliferation and the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan diminished …

Subjects: Government Documents

Treasury Department Releases New Guidance on Health Savings Accounts

“The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today released Notice 2008-59, which provides employers and employees with a new set of formal questions and answers on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Since HSAs were created as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Treasury and the IRS have issued a …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

President Bush rescinds North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terror

President Bush Discusses North Korea: “The policy of the United States is a Korean Peninsula free of all nuclear weapons. This morning, we moved a step closer to that goal, when North Korean officials submitted a declaration of their nuclear programs to the Chinese government as part of the six-party talks…First, I’m issuing a proclamation …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

New GAO Reports: Defense Production Act, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Individual Retirement Accounts, Peacekeeping

Defense Production Act: Agencies Lack Policies and Guidance for Use of Key Authorities, GAO-08-854, June 26, 2008 Critical Infrastructure Protection: Further Efforts Needed to Integrate Planning for and Response to Disruptions on Converged Voice and Data Networks, GAO-08-607, June 26, 2008 Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees, …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Statutes at Large 109th Congress, 2nd Session Available Online

“The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. The Statutes at Large is prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Every public and private …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Hearing: Laptop Searches and Other Violations of Privacy Faced by Americans Returning from Overseas Travel

Laptop Searches and Other Violations of Privacy Faced by Americans Returning from Overseas Travel, Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, June 25, 2008. From the Statement of Senator Russ Feingold: “So the constitutional question we face today is this: When the government looks through the contents of your laptop, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Internet, Privacy

Interior OIG Evaluation of Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program Highly Redacted

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) posted the PDF version: [Y-RR-FWS-0007-2007] Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) — Progress Evaluation of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Endangered Species Program, that was released on June 25, 2008. This statement appears on the cover page, “Portions of this report have been redacted pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(5) …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

The Common Framework for Networked Personal Health Information: Overview and Principles

“The framework below proposes a set of practices that, when taken together, encourage appropriate handling of personal health information as it flows to and from personal health records (PHRs) and similar applications or supporting services. Click on the individual documents below to read descriptions and to view or download them as PDF documents. Or, download …

Subjects: E-Records, Privacy