Author archives

New Bill Introduced Prohibiting Cloned Products From Organic Labeling

Follow up to December 28, 2006 posting, FDA Issues Draft Documents on the Safety of Animal Clones, a related report and Congressional news: Is the FDA’s Cloning Proposal Ready for Prime Time?, An Organic Center Critical Issue Report, by James Riddle, January 2007. Press release: “Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) Thursday introduced …

Subjects: Congress, Legal Research, Legislation

Hearing Questions Management of Homeland Security Contracts

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, February 8, 2007: “The hearing focused on the Department of Homeland Security’s management of large contracts that rely on private contractors as “system integrators.” The Committee focused on two examples of multi-billion dollar contracts: the Deepwater program to develop new ships for the Coast Guard and the Secure …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

GAO Report on Federal Oversight of Food Safety

Federal Oversight of Food Safety: High-Risk Designation Can Bring Needed Attention to Fragmented System, full text GAO-07-449T, and Highlights, February 8, 2007. “Each year, about 76 million people contract a foodborne illness in the United States; about 325,000 require hospitalization; and about 5,000 die. While the recent E. coli outbreaks highlighted the risks posed by …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

New Rule on FOIA Processing Fee Imposes Burdens According to National Security Archive

National Security Archive: “The CIA’s proposed new rule on Freedom of Information Act processing fees is likely to discourage FOIA requesters while imposing new administrative burdens both on the Agency and the public, according to formal comments filed with the CIA [February 7, 2007] by the National Security Archive of George Washington University. The Archive’s …

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

Senate Judiciary Committee Reverses Plan to Circumvent Senate Confirmation of U.S. Attorneys'

Press release: “The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee [February 8, 2008] approved a measure sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Arlen Specter, Patrick Leahy, and Chuck Schumer that would prevent the circumvention of the Senate’s constitutional prerogative to confirm U.S. Attorneys. Under a provision inserted without notice into the USA Patriot Act reauthorization last year, the …

Subjects: Congress, Legal Research, Patriot Act

Health Care Provider Refusals to Treat, Prescribe, Refer or Inform: Professionalism and Conscience

Health Care Provider Refusals to Treat, Prescribe, Refer or Inform: Professionalism and Conscience – by R. Alta Charo, February 8, 2007 In this issue brief, Professor Charo examines the debates surrounding health care provider refusals to provide health care services…She analyzes the ethical arguments that have been offered in support of provider refusals and gives …

Subjects: Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Medicaid and Child Health Care Fact Sheets

“The 2007 State Medicaid Fact Sheets, a joint effort of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), provide key data to demonstrate the importance of the Medicaid program to children and children’s hospitals. The fact sheets can be used with state and federal policymakers and can be adapted …

Subjects: Government Documents

FBI Launches E-Mail Alerts on Public Website

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a service that sends out electronic mail (e-mail) alerts when new and vital information is posted on the FBI.gov Web site. Subscribers select which topics that they want updates on, such as new electronic scams (e-scams) and warnings, most wanted terrorists, top ten fugitives, and local and …

Subjects: Cybercrime, E-Government, E-Mail, Government Documents, Privacy

Defense Information Systems Agency Plans Enhanced White House Communications Network

Federal Computer Week: “The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) has developed a six-year plan budgeted at $35 million to beef up presidential communications with a new top-secret network and multimedia Crisis Management System (CMS) designed to operate in a wide range of fixed locations, on Air Force One and on a new fleet of presidential …

Subjects: Government Documents

DHS OIG Audit of BioWatch Program

DHS’ Management of BioWatch Program, OIG-07-22 (PDF, 30 pages), January 7, 2007. Related government documents: Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-18, January 31, 2007 – Released on January 7, 2007 – Subject: Medical Countermeasures against Weapons of Mass Destruction The BioWatch Program: Detection of Bioterrorism, Congressional Research Service Report No. RL32152, November 19, 2003 See also the …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

FTC Issues Annual List of Top Consumer Complaints

Press release: “The Federal Trade Commission today issued its annual report, “Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data” on complaints consumers have filed with the agency. For the seventh year in a row, identity theft tops the list, accounting for 36 percent of the 674,354 complaints received between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Other …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Government Documents, ID Theft, Privacy