Category «E-Government»

E-Gov Site Provides Links and Info on Programs Offering Range of Assistance to Those in Need

Press release: “GovBenefits.gov is a free, on-line resource that helps citizens determine their potential eligibility for benefit programs. The site provides information and links to nearly 1,000 federal and state benefit programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the Community Food and Nutrition Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program, Food Stamp Program, Housing Counseling Assistance Program, …

Subjects: E-Government

Federal Gov’t Wants To Mine College and University Student Data

According to articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Times and the Boston Globe, the National Center for Education Statistics (part of the Dept. of Education) is investigating a new system to significantly broaden the collection of personal data on college and university students beyond the scope of information related to financial …

Subjects: E-Government, Privacy

Sneak Preview of New Design and Features for THOMAS Legislative Info System

Announcement on upcoming release of new design for THOMAS: An Updated THOMAS – The 109th Congress convenes at noon on January 4, 2005. In preparation for that, we have been working to improve the appearance and the usefulness of THOMAS, the Library of Congress’ public legislative information system. We expect the updated site to be …

Subjects: E-Government, Legal Research, Legislation

Debate About Web Access to State Court Records Continues

Wired reports on how free access to information and privacy rights are clashing in the arena of public web availability to court documents, which often contain personal data which could mined for use in acts involving ID theft, harassment, and the determination of home loans and employment.

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Privacy

GAO Responds to Congressional Requests to Investigate 2004 Election

Government Computer News reports that in response to requests from 13 Democratic members of Congress, the agency has determined that an investigation of e-voting security issues associated with the 2004 election is now warranted. Links to PDF copies of the series of letters charting the addition of signatories to the request made to the Comptroller …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Congress and Gov’t Auditors Hear About Air Passenger Data Collection

Another followup, this one to the TSA’s collection of commercial airline passenger data for the new Secure Flight program. See today’s GovExec article, TSA to brief Congress on using commercial data for passenger screening. Privacy concerns about the program were again raised last week by the ACLU.

Subjects: E-Government, Privacy

Plans Take Shape for E-Health Records

From the New York Times, this article reviews the challenges involved in work underway by NIH, industry and providers to coordinate and implement a digital health network.

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Privacy

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Removes Data From Public Access

Notice from the November 18, 2004 Federal Register: “SUMMARY: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) intends to remove its Flight Information Publications (FLIP), Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File (DAFIF), and related aeronautical safety of navigation digital and hardcopy publications from public sale and distribution…The DAFIF and related digital aeronautical information files will be protected from general …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet

Berkeley Researchers Document Florida E-Voting Discrepancies

The Effect of Electronic Voting Machines on Change in Support for Bush in the 2004 Florida Elections by Michael Hout, Laura Mangels, Jennifer Carlson, and Rachel Best, with the assistance of the UC Berkeley Quantitative Methods Research Team. The link to the Summary of findings (PDF) the full text report (PDF) and the report data. …

Subjects: E-Government

Government Agencies Slowly Adopt RSS Feeds

From Wired, RSS Edges Into the Bureaucracy. See also RSS in Government

Subjects: E-Government, RSS

TSA Issues Final Rule on Secure Flight Program

This final rule (35 pages, PDF) lists the requirements for 72 aircraft operators in the United States, stipulating that all their respective passenger name records (PNRs), “containing itineraries for domestic flights operated under a full security program and for which all flights segments… were flown between June 1, 2004 and June 30, 2004,” must be …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Privacy

Questions About Voting Machine Accuracy Continues

Major bugs found in Diebold vote systems More Key Reporting by Media on Election Problems The Unexplained Exit Poll Discrepancy, by Steven F. Freedman PhD, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Nove. 11, 2004 (11 pages, PDF) “Systematic fraud or mistabulation is a premature conclusion, but the election’s unexplained exit poll discrepancies make it an unavoidable hypothesis, one …

Subjects: E-Government

Thank you!