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House Committee on Appropriations, H. R. [Report No. 114–] Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out …
Stimson Center: “As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have drawn down, the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget, initially intended for “emergency” war funding, has been used increasingly for purposes far afield of its original design. Despite troop withdrawals and recapitalization of the equipment used in the wars, large amounts of defense spending have continued to be assigned …
Via FAS – CRS report, U.S.-EU Data Privacy: From Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield, Martin A. Weiss, Specialist in International Trade and Finance; Kristin Archick; Specialist in European Affairs. May 19, 2016. “Both the United States and the European Union (EU) maintain that they are committed to upholding individual privacy rights and ensuring the protection …
Federal Reserve: Legislation in the 114th Congress, Marc Labonte, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy. May 19, 2016. “The Federal Reserve (Fed) is the subject of legislation being considered in the 114th Congress. These bills contain wide-ranging provisions that can be grouped into four broad categories: Changes to Fed governance. Some proposals would change the Fed’s institutional …
The Independent: “The CIA inspector general’s office has said it “mistakenly” destroyed its only copy of a comprehensive Senate torture report, despite lawyers for the Justice Department assuring a federal judge that copies of the documents were being preserved. The erasure of the document by the spy agency’s internal watchdog was deemed an “inadvertent” foul-up …
“H.R. 3713 would amend federal law to change the prison sentences associated with certain offenses. Based on information provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would reduce the cost of incarcerating offenders and would lead to a reduction in discretionary costs to DOJ …
“The Minneapolis Fed’s #EndingTBTF initiative will explore various proposals from expert researchers and incorporate input from a wide range of thought leaders, culminating in an actionable plan to end TBTF, which will be released by the end of the year….” Presentations and videos posted by speakers are available here.
Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy, Christopher M. Blanchard, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs. May 13, 2016. “Libya’s political transition has been disrupted by armed non-state groups and threatened by the indecision and infighting of interim leaders. After an armed uprising ended the 40- plus year rule of Muammar al Qadhafi in late 2011, interim authorities …
Federal Computer Week, Adam Mazmania, May 13, 2016 – “More than a year after a hack of Office of Personnel Management systems compromised more than 22 million records, the agency has not been able to encrypt all the sensitive data on 4 million federal employees, including Social Security numbers. “There are still elements of OPM …
“Dark Money Watch, a project of MapLight, is a hub for information about dark money in U.S. elections. Our goal is to support investigations of dark money in order to help the public understand how hidden donors can influence our political system….Dark money comes from groups that are not required to disclose their donors. It …
Washington Post: “In yet another example of fragile security in federal cyber systems, data for 44,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. customers were breached by an employee leaving the agency. The breach occurred in February and was outlined in an internal FDIC memorandum obtained by The Washington Post. The March 18 memo from Lawrence Gross Jr., …
CRS report – Transportation Security: Issues for the 114th Congress. Bart Elias, Specialist in Aviation Policy; David Randall Peterman, Analyst in Transportation Policy; John Frittelli, Specialist in Transportation Policy. May 9, 2016. “The nation’s air, land, and marine transportation systems are designed for accessibility and efficiency, two characteristics that make them highly vulnerable to terrorist …
