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Via TechFreedom President Berin Szoka: “Today, the Department of Justice announced that it has reached an agreement with Google and Microsoft to allow them and other tech companies to report, within broad ranges, the number of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders they receive, and the number of user accounts surveilled. Google and Microsoft have agreed to drop their …
“The new national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Jan. 15-19 among 1,504 adults, finds that 65% believe the gap between the rich and everyone else has increased in the last 10 years. This view is shared by majorities across nearly all groups in the public, including 68% of Democrats and 61% …
Aereo and FilmOn X: Internet Television Streaming and Copyright Law. Emily M. Lanza, Legislative Attorney. January 13, 2014 “Companies such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon have changed how many people watch television programming by offering on-demand, online streaming to their computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles. Aereo and FilmOn X also stream television programming over the Internet for a …
CRS – Energy-Water Nexus: The Water Sector’s Energy Use. Claudia Copeland, Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy, January 3, 2014 “In the United States, more than 400 billion gallons of water is withdrawn daily from surface and ground water sources of freshwater and saline-water to supply domestic uses, agriculture including irrigation, industry, mining, and thermoelectric power. Information about the energy—especially electricity—that is …
CRS – Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement: Legal Issues. Kate M. Manuel, Legislative Attorney. Todd Garvey, Legislative Attorney. December 27, 2013 “The term prosecutorial discretion is commonly used to describe the wide latitude that prosecutors have in determining when, whom, how, and even whether to prosecute apparent violations of the law. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and, later, the …
News release: “Far more needs to be done to restore the faith of the American people and repair the damage done globally to the U.S. reputation as a defender of human rights on the Internet. We certainly welcome judicial review of metadata queries, the support for more transparency about surveillance, a voice for civil liberties …
CRS – Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests. Jim Nichol, Coordinator, Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs, January 9, 2014. “After the Soviet Union’s collapse, the United States sought a cooperative relationship with Moscow and supplied almost $19 billion in aid for Russia from FY1992 through FY2010 to encourage democracy and market reforms and in particular to prevent …
Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations. Jeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, January 10, 2014. “This report provides an overview of the key issues for Congress related to Egypt and information on U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. The United States has provided significant military and economic assistance to Egypt since the late 1970s. U.S. policy makers have routinely justified aid …
CRS – Oil and Chemical Spills: Federal Emergency Response Framework. David M. Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy. Jonathan L. Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy, January 13, 2014. “Thousands of oil and chemical spills of varying size and magnitude occur in the United States each year. A recent spill of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol into the Elk River in early January 2014 in and near …
CRS – Privacy Protection for Customer Financial Information, M. Maureen Murphy, Legislative Attorney, January 9, 2014 “One of the functions transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under P.L. 111-203, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), is authority to issue regulations and take enforcement actions under the two major federal statutes that specify conditions under …
H.R. 3547 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014. The measure is the vehicle for FY2014 consolidated appropriations. The House Committee on Rules has posted explanatory material and texts.
CRS – Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic – Rita Tehan, Information Research Specialist, January 9, 2014 “This report provides references to analytical reports on cybersecurity from CRS, other government agencies, trade associations, and interest groups. The reports and related websites are grouped under the following cybersecurity topics: policy overview National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) …
