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The Boston Globe yesterday reported on a significant security breach involving the House Judiciary Committee server, access to which is shared by both Democrats and Republicans. Passwords meant to provide security for each parties’ respective documents failed due to a security glitch, allowing Republicans unrestricted access to a voluminous amount of Democratic communications. The article …
From Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s press release of January 12 on upcoming legislation to implement technology solutions to address the efficient delivery of health care, the proposal includes five major goals: Increasing research on quality of care; providing the public with a standardized reporting system that allows consumers to reliably compare performance; building an information …
Senators Lieberman and Corzine called for the Library of Congress to expand content and provide enhanced search features on Thomas, the free, searchable database of federal legislation. [Link]
From Secrecy News, a copy of a Congressional Research Service internal memo from December 2003 that addresses the escalating controversy on restrictions to public dissemination of CRS reports.
From today’s New York Times, an article on how House members are purchasing email lists to spam constituents (with the caveat that the messages include an opt-out option) in an effort to build a list of potential voters comprised of those who have chosen to opt-in and receive future messages.
Congress approves anti-spam legislation CAN-SPAM Act
On December Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, sent a letter to Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, expressing concerns over the US-VISIT program and publication of required privacy assessment data. As noted on December 1, the Committee on Government Reform also documented concerns regarding the impact of …
The Tax Relief Extension Act of 2003 (H.R. 3521 and S. 1896) will expire on December 31, 2003. ‘Net Tax Ban Renewal Hopes Fade for 2003
“The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee plans a February hearing to probe fraud allegations in the E-Rate program, the nation’s $2.25 billion initiative to help schools and libraries connect to the Internet.” [Link] Previous postings on the e-rate program
On November 21, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) introduced the Congressional Research Accessibility Act (H.R. 3630), To make available on the Internet, for purposes of access and retrieval by the public, certain information available through the Congressional Research Service Web site. The press release from Rep. Shays states: “CRS products are created with taxpayers’ dollars and …
Press release from the House Government Reform Committee: “Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) wrote last week to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge seeking assurances about the upcoming implementation of the US-VISIT program.” “As the January deadline for implementing the program at 115 airports and 14 seaports approaches, Davis sought information …
On November 25, the Senate unanimously approved the CAN-SPAM Act (S. 877), inclusive of technical changes agreed upon with the House, which is expected to approve the bill once again in December, clearing it for signature by the President. However, not everyone on the Hill is satisfied with the bill, in particular Representatives from California …
