Category «Congress»

Senate Cmte. on Foreign Relations Report: Latin American Governments Need to "Friend" Social Media

Latin American Governments Need to “Friend” Social Media and Technology, by Carl Meacham, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer for Latin America and the Caribbean, October 5, 2011 “In 2011, social media usage is booming and will likely continue to do so in the coming years. Earlier this month, it was reported that Facebook now …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Internet

The U.S. Postal Service’s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress

The U.S. Postal Service’s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress. Kevin R. Kosar, Analyst in American National Government, January 27, 2012 “This report provides an overview of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS’s) financial condition, legislation enacted to alleviate the USPS’s financial challenges, and possible issues for the 112th Congress. It also includes a side-by-side …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke – The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation, Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. February 2, 2012 “Globally, economic activity appears to be slowing, restrained in part by spillovers from fiscal and financial developments in Europe. The combination of high debt levels and weak …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022

The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022. January 2012 “Each January, CBO prepares “baseline” budget projections spanning the next 10 years. Those projections are not a forecast of future events; rather, they are intended to provide a benchmark against which potential policy changes can be measured. Therefore, as specified in law, those …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

House Oversight Report – Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gun-walking in Arizona

Fatally Flawed: Five Years of Gun-walking in Arizona, Report of the Minority Staff, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, January 2012 “…this report tells the story of how misguided gunwalking operations originated in 2006 as ATF’s Phoenix Field Division devised a strategy to forgo prosecutions …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

CRS – Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications

Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications – Todd Garvey, Legislative Attorney. January 4, 2012 “Presidential signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President contemporaneously to the signing of a bill into law that, in addition to commenting on the law generally, have been used to forward the President’s interpretation of the statutory language; …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

New GAO Reports: Credit Rating Agencies, Dodd-Frank Act, Real Estate Appraisals,

Credit Rating Agencies – Alternative Compensation Models for Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, GAO-12-240, Jan 18, 2012 Dodd-Frank Act – Hybrid Capital Instruments and Small Institution Access to Capital, GAO-12-237, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Appraisal Subcommittee Needs to Improve Monitoring Procedures, GAO-12-147, Jan 18, 2012 Real Estate Appraisals – Survey of State …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legislation

House of Representatives House Launches Transparency Portal

Sunlight Foundation: “Making good on part of the House of Representative’s commitment to increase congressional transparency, today the House Clerk’s office launched http://docs.house.gov/, a one stop website where the public can access all House bills, amendments, resolutions for floor consideration, and conference reports in XML, as well as information on floor proceedings and more. Information …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

CBO – Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations

Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations, January 13, 2012: “As required, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports each January to the Congress on the following: All programs and activities funded for the current fiscal year for which authorizations of appropriations have expired, and; All programs and activities for which authorizations of appropriations will expire during the …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

2012 Presidential Primary Calendar; 2012 State and Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates

Via The Thicket: “National Conference of State Legislatures’s (NCSL) new 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar, and its companion, a state-ordered table, 2012 State and Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates…Jennie Bowser created the lists and checked them against a multitude of official sources. She says, “this year, it was more complicated than ever to assemble this data.” …

Subjects: Congress, Legislation

Men Rule The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics

Men Rule • The Continued Under-Representation of Women in U.S. Politics, January 2012 “Study after study finds that, when women run for office, they perform just as well as their male counterparts. No differences emerge in women and men’s fundraising receipts, vote totals, or electoral success. Yet women remain severely under-represented in U.S. political institutions. …

Subjects: Congress