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CRS report via FAS – Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile. Jennifer E. Manning, Senior Research Librarian, January 3, 2018: “This report presents a profile of the membership of the 115th Congress (2017-2018) as of January 3, 2018. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, …
NeimanLab: “Instead of watching the upcoming State of the Union address with snide fact-checks from users on Twitter or other social media in the background, viewers will be able to see instantaneous fact-checking appear on their device screen as soon as President Trump utters a claim — or at least that’s the dream for Bill …
“In cooperation with the Library of Congress, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has completed the digitization of all historical issues of the Congressional Record dating to the first appearance of this publication on March 5, 1873. The final release of this project, covering the period 1873-1890, is being made available to the public free …
POGO: “On the Thursday before Christmas, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual fraud recovery numbers. The DOJ announced it had recouped $3.7 billion through settlements and judgments in False Claims Act cases in fiscal year 2017. This amount is nearly 23 percent lower than the previous fiscal year, but roughly in line with FY …
CRS report via FAS – Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC): Structure and Activities. Jeffrey M. Stupak, Analyst in Macroeconomic Policy. December 22, 2017. Summary: “The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and its Office of Financial Research (OFR) were established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (P.L. 111- 203) to address several …
A new investigative report by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology – Not Ready for Takeoff Face Scans at Airport Departure Gates Executive Summary [snipped]: “At Boston’s Logan International Airport, travelers at one international boarding gate will be surprised that they are being told to stop before what looks like a sophisticated camera. …
The Washington Post: “Nearly a year into his takeover of Washington, President Trump has made a significant down payment on his campaign pledge to shrink the federal bureaucracy, a shift long sought by conservatives that could eventually bring the workforce down to levels not seen in decades. By the end of September, all Cabinet departments …
Prepaying Your Property Tax? I.R.S. Cautions It Might Not Pay Off – “…The tax bill that President Trump signed into law last week sharply limited the itemized deductions for state and local taxes while raising the standard deduction for individuals and couples. Those rules do not take effect until 2018, however. That has led some …
Via In Custodia Legis – this guide by Adrienne Keys, specialist in legislative information systems management within the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. “Did you know that by using Congress.gov, you can receive notifications of committee action on legislation? Use the Legislation Advanced Search form to create a saved search and set up email …
Via LLRX – Legislation Alert: Worrisome Changes to Government Publications Are Possible Peggy Roebuck Jarrett writes about an issue that is significant to law librarians, federal documents librarians, and to the public. The subject is a draft House bill that proposes “to amend title 44, United States Code, to reform the organization, authorities, and programs …
– Statement on Visit to the USA, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, December 15, 2017. “I have spent the past two weeks visiting the United States, at the invitation of the federal government, to look at whether the persistence of extreme poverty in America undermines the …
The Billion-Dollar Loophole The most generous charitable deduction in the federal tax code is being manipulated to make big profits — and there’s no sign that Congress has any intention of fixing the problem. Article by ProPublica and Fortune. “The idea seems like the perfect marriage of environmentalism and capitalism: Landowners give up their right …
