Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery With Daily Postings Since 2002
News release: “Earlier today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced that the US Code is now available for bulk download in XML. This seemingly technical announcement must be understood as a bigger win for transparency than it would initially appear. What the House leadership is doing (in a bipartisan …
The Fall and Rise and Fall of Iraq by: Kenneth M. Pollack, July 20, 2013 “This essay traces the course of Iraq’s fortunes from the American invasion in 2003 through the civil war of 2005-2008 and the endangered effort at reconstruction that followed. Only by seeing the full course of Iraq’s narrative arc during this …
CRS – The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). James K. Jackson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance-June 12, 2013. “The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is comprised of nine members, two ex officio members, and other members as appointed by the President representing major departments and agencies …
Congressional Primer on Responding to Major Disasters and Emergencies. Francis X. McCarthy -Analyst in Emergency Management Policy; Jared T. Brown – Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy. May 24, 2013 “Before and after a disaster strikes, it may be helpful to understand the broad outlines of the national emergency management structure and where authority rests at …
CBO letter to Rep. Chris Van Hollen, July 25, 2013: “As you requested, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed a proposal under which the automatic spending reductions in effect for 2013 would be canceled at the beginning of August and none of the reductions scheduled for 2014 would be implemented; for 2013, mandatory payments made after early …
“The U.S. Census Bureau has released My Congressional District, the first interactive tool geared exclusively toward finding basic demographic and economic statistics for every congressional district in the U.S. This Web app uses the latest annual statistics from the American Community Survey, providing the most detailed portrait of America’s towns and neighborhoods. Users can sort …
Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, Rita Tehan, Information Research Specialist. July 18, 2013 “Cybersecurity vulnerabilities challenge governments, businesses, and individuals worldwide. Attacks have been initiated by individuals, as well as countries. Targets have included government networks, military defenses, companies, or political organizations, depending upon whether the attacker was seeking military intelligence, conducting diplomatic or industrial …
“The National Security Agency has been allowed to extend its dragnet of the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon through a court order issued by the secret court that oversees surveillance. In an unprecedented move prompted by the Guardian’s disclosure in June of the NSA‘s indiscriminate collection of Verizon metadata, the Office …
Dodd-Frank Progress Report Generated using the Davis Polk Regulatory Tracker™. July 15, 2013 – “As of July 15, 2013, a total of 279 Dodd-Frank rulemaking requirement deadlines have passed. This is 70.1% of the 398 total rulemaking requirements, and 99.6% of the 280 rulemaking requirements with specified deadlines. Of these 279 passed deadlines, 172 (61.6%) …
“Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, and other members of the Committee, I am pleased to present the Federal Reserve’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress. I will discuss current economic conditions and the outlook and then turn to monetary policy. I’ll finish with a short summary of our ongoing work on regulatory reform. The Economic Outlook – The …
The Defense Production Act of 1950: History, Authorities, and Reauthorization – Jared T. Brown, Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy; Daniel H. Else – Specialist in National Defense. June 14, 2013 “The Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (P.L. 81-774, 50 U.S.C. Appx § 2061 et seq.), as amended, confers upon the President …
CDT: “On July 12, 2013, civil society groups submitted a letter to the United States Senate expressing concern over a proposal that would grant federal regulatory agencies authority to require web-based email service providers, cloud service providers, and other Internet companies to disclose the contents of communications or documents on behalf of their customers.”
