Category «Legislation»

Bioethics Commission Posts Additional Documents on Public Health Service STD Studies in Guatemala

“Today the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues posted on its website hundreds of supporting documents related to its investigation into the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) studies conducted in Guatemala in the 1940s. The documents include a spreadsheet that Commission staff painstakingly created to document the research subjects in Guatemala. In addition, …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation

Public Citizen Report on regulation of medical devices­

News release: “Regulation of medical devices­—a $350 billion industry that includes such products as heart and brain stents, artificial hips and implantable defibrillators—is at a crossroads. With a major reauthorization bill up for debate, members of Congress already have introduced 14 bills (as of Feb. 14, 2012) that aim to accelerate devices’ path to the …

Subjects: Congress, Legislation

Cost Estimate for H.R. 3630, Middle Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act of 2012

“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have reviewed the conference agreement for H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, as posted on the Web site of the House Committee on Rules on February 16, 2012. The attached table provides CBO’s …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legislation

CRS – Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents

Detention of U.S. Persons as Enemy Belligerents, Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney, February 1, 2012. “P.L. 112-81, affirm that the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF), P.L. 107-40, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, authorizes the detention of persons captured in connection with hostilities. The Act provides for the first time …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry

CRS – Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry, Marc R. Rosenblum, Specialist in Immigration Policy, January 6, 2012 “Twenty-five years after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA, P.L. 99-603) marked the beginning of the modern era in border enforcement, this report reviews recent enforcement efforts, takes stock of the current …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Boycott Against Scientific Journal Publisher Gathering Supporters

Wired Campus by Josh Fischman: “Elsevier, the global publishing company, is responsible for The Lancet, Cell, and about 2,000 other important journals; the iconic reference work Gray’s Anatomy, along with 20,000 other books—and one fed-up, award-winning mathematician. Timothy Gowers of the University of Cambridge, who won the Fields Medal for his research, has organized a …

Subjects: Intellectual Property, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

CRS – Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Legal Issues

Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline: Legal Issues, January 23, 2012 “In 2008, TransCanada Corp. applied for a presidential permit from the State Department to construct and operate an oil pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border in a project known as Keystone XL. The Keystone XL pipeline would transport oil produced from oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

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