Author archives

Congressman Gaetz Proposes Legislation to Abolish the EPA

News release, February 2, 2017 – “A Northwest Florida lawmaker wants to do away with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 2018.  Congressman Matt Gaetz has his eyes set on abolishing the federal program as his first order of business in his new role…” Text of the bill is not yet available – the link is …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Energy, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Deputy Director positions at most federal agencies unfilled

Politico: “The work at some agencies has slowed because of the lack of deputies…President Donald Trump has so far failed to nominate deputies and other top officials to run the day-to-day operations at most federal agencies, creating a vacuum across the government that has businesses, lobbyists and lawmakers in limbo as they wait to see …

Subjects: Government Documents, Knowledge Management

Animal welfare information wiped from USDA website

Washington Post, February 3, 2017:  “The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports and other information from its website about the treatment of animals at thousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities. In a statement, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cited court rulings and privacy laws for the decision, which …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy

Establishing Digital Interactive Transparency Act

News release, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) reintroducing the Establishing Digital Interactive Transparency (EDIT) Act. “The EDIT Act will instruct the Library of Congress to open up the legislative process by implementing a track changes style system for Congress.gov. “Americans want accountability and transparency out of their lawmakers in Washington, and as lawmakers, we must work …

Subjects: Congress, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

FedWeb.com – How America Raises and Spends $4 Trillion per Year

FedWed.com: “As General Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee, I had the good fortune to be present when our Chairman, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, famously said “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” One of the great ironies of the Information Age is that the volume of information we receive …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Education, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks

Pew – Parents of young children support measles, mumps and rubella vaccine requirements but rate the risks higher, the benefits lower. There are not major partisan divisions on these issues, though. “Most Americans support requiring the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for public school children in order to protect public health. They see high preventive …

Subjects: Government Documents, Health Care, Knowledge Management, Medicine

Politico – Federal workers turn to encryption to thwart Trump

Via Politico: “Federal employees worried that President Donald Trump will gut their agencies are creating new email addresses, signing up for encrypted messaging apps and looking for other, protected ways to push back against the new administration’s agenda. Whether inside the Environmental Protection Agency, within the Foreign Service, on the edges of the Labor Department …

Subjects: E-Mail, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Privacy, Social Media

Reporters Committee releases report on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch

February 2, 2017 – “U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch does not have an extensive history of cases involving free speech, free press, and freedom of information issues, but the opinions he authored or joined during his more than 10 years on the Tenth Circuit that do touch upon those issues reflect the application of …

Subjects: Courts, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Knowledge Management, Privacy

UK’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union White Paper

“This White Paper provides Parliament and the country with a clear vision of what we are seeking to achieve in negotiating our exit from, and new partnership with, the European Union. This White Paper confirms the Prime Minister’s vision of an independent, truly global UK and an ambitious future relationship with the EU. On 17 …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

Javelin 2017 Identity Fraud Study

“The 2017 Identity Fraud Study released today by Javelin Strategy & Research (@JavelinStrategy), revealed that the number of identity fraud victims increased by sixteen percent (rising to 15.4 million U.S. consumers) in the last year, a record high since Javelin Strategy & Research began tracking identity fraud in 2003. The study found that despite the …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Economy, ID Theft

Newsweek reporter records suit is focused Trump National-Security issues

Court House News: “A Newsweek reporter has brought a federal complaint to access records on President Donald Trump’s classified briefings, as well as details on how the government investigated the likes of Stephen Bannon for a security clearance. Jeffrey Stein’s Jan. 31 lawsuit comes just days after Trump announced that he would give the chief …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Defense, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research