Category «Congress»

CRS – Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources

Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources. Merete F. Gerli, Information Research Specialist. May 13, 2015. “Finding data on federal grants and contracts awarded to states and congressional districts, local governments, nonprofit organizations, contractors, and other eligible entities may present challenges. The official website, USAspending.gov, at http://www.usaspending.gov, collects data on grants, loans, insurance, assistance, …

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

New GAO Reports – Airport Finance, Domestic Food Assistance, Federal Employees Compensation, Older Adults, Surface Ships

Airport Finance: Information on Funding Sources and Planned Capital Development, GAO-15-306: Published: Apr 28, 2015. Publicly Released: May 20, 2015. Army Force Structure: Observations about Aviation Restructuring and Other Relevant Force Structure Challenges, D10389: May 20, 2015 Contingent Workforce: Size, Characteristics, Earnings, and Benefits, GAO-15-168R: Published: Apr 20, 2015. Publicly Released: May 20, 2015. Domestic …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Food and Nutrition, Government Documents, Health Care, Legislation, Transportation

Testimony on the Work of Congressional Budget Office

Testimony by CBO Director Keith Hall before the Committee on the Budget, United States Senate, May 19, 2015. “The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 instituted a formal process through which the Congress could develop, coordinate, and enforce its own budgetary priorities and created legislative institutions to implement the new Congressional budget process: the House and …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents

Most Agencies Falling Short on Mandate for Online Records

“Nearly 20 years after Congress passed the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments (E-FOIA), only 40 percent of agencies have followed the law’s instruction for systematic posting of records released through FOIA in their electronic reading rooms, according to a new FOIA Audit released today by the National Security Archive at www.nsarchive.org to mark Sunshine …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Libraries, Search Engines

GAO – Additional Actions Are Needed to Meet Requirements of Managing Government Records Directive

Information Management: Additional Actions Are Needed to Meet Requirements of the Managing Government Records Directive, GAO-15-339: Published: May 14, 2015. Publicly Released: May 14, 2015. “The federal government collects large amounts of information, increasingly in electronic form, to accomplish its missions. This greater reliance on electronic communication and information technology systems has, as a result, …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Citizens Against Public Waste Releases 2015 Congressional Pig Book

“[May 13, 2015], Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released its 2015 Congressional Pig Book, the 23rd edition of the group’s exposé on pork-barrel spending. CAGW President Tom Schatz was joined at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Rep. …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues

CRS – U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues. Amy F. Woolf, Specialist in Nuclear Weapons Policy. March 18, 2015. “Even though the United States plans to reduce the number of warheads deployed on its long-range missiles and bombers, consistent with the terms of the New START Treaty, it also plans to develop new …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents

Appropriations for LC and CRS – no public access to CRS reports

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2016 – spotlight on LIBRARY OF CONGRESS [via FAS]: “The Committee recommends $591,431,000 for the operations of the Library of Congress. This is $33,071,000 below the budget request and is $510,000 above the current level. In addition to the appropriation, the Committee recommends offsetting collections of $42,127,000. Established by Congress in …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

EFF Case Analysis: Appeals Court Rules NSA Phone Records Dragnet is Illegal

Andrew Crocker – “We now have the first decision from a court of appeals on the NSA’s mass surveillance program involving bulk collection of telephone records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and it’s a doozy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in ACLU v. Clapper holding that …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Patriot Act, Privacy

CRS – The Future of Internet Governance

The Future of Internet Governance: Should the U.S. Relinquish Its Authority Over ICANN? Lennard G. Kruger, Specialist in Science and Technology Policy, May 5, 2015. “Currently, the U.S. government retains limited authority over the Internet’s domain name system, primarily through the Internet Assigned Number s Authority (IANA) functions contract between the National Telecommunications and Informati …

Subjects: Congress, Domain Names, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management

Interactive: Exploring the Public’s View of Affordable Care Act Over Time and by Group

“A newly-updated Kaiser Family Foundation interactive tool allows users to explore five years’ worth of detailed data capturing the public’s views on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including breakouts by party identification, age, gender, race, and other characteristics. With more than 50 polls since April 2010 involving more than 70,000 interviews, the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Health Care, Legislation

Federal Spending Data Elements

“In conjunction with the recent enactment of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) (Pub. L. 113-101) and our ongoing efforts to improve federal spending data under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), the federal government is working to establish government-wide financial data standards and increase the availability, accuracy, and usefulness of …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legislation

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