Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Cuts Funds for VP's Office

Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government today approved SGW 112, “A bill making appropriations for the Department of the Treasury, District of Columbia, The Judiciary, Executive Office of the President and related agencies, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes…” Durbin Moves to Withhold Funding …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legislation

OMB Adds New Features to Earmarks Database

On July 10, 2007 the OMB Earmarks Database “Added earmarks contained in selected authorization bills resulting in expenditures in FY 2005…[and] estimates on the number and cost of earmarks in the individual FY 2008 Appropriations bills as they move through the legislative process.” OMB press release with additional information on earmarks database.

Subjects: Government Documents

New Version of OSCAR Improves Law Clerk Application Process

The Third Branch: “A new version of OSCAR, the Online System for Clerkship Application and Review, is now available to law schools, clerkship applicants, and judges nationwide. The upgrade incorporates several new features that promise to make the system even easier to use. Nationwide, over 750 federal appellate, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges use OSCAR …

Subjects: Courts, Legal Research

Special IG for Iraq Reconstruction Audit – Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Task Order 130: Requirements Validation, Government Oversight, and Contractor Performance

Logistics Civil Augmentation Program Task Order 130: Requirements Validation, Government Oversight, and Contractor Performance, June 22, 2007 (71 pages, PDF) “The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) performed a review, at the request of the Management Counselor, U.S. Embassy-Iraq, to determine whether the U.S. government is receiving the services paid for under the U.S. …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

DOE Report: Short-Term Energy Outlook July 2007

Short-Term Energy Outlook July 2007 (07/10/2007) – “Quarterly short-term energy projections for supply, demand, and price for the major fuels through 2008 for the U.S. International oil forecasts are included.” Annual Oil Market Chronology 2006 (07/09/2007) – “For information about the latest developments in world oil markets, please see the updated Annual Oil Market Chronology. …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

USGS Report Identifies Asbestos Localities in the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S.

“A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contains a regional map and associated database that inventory 61 locations of reported natural asbestos and fibrous amphibole occurrences in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States, including the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The map is based on a search …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

Problems With FBI Use of NSL Revealed in New FOI Document Release

EFF press release: “…The FBI’s use of NSLs was expanded under the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, allowing federal agents to gather private records about anyone’s domestic phone calls, emails, and financial transactions without any court approval — as long as an FBI agent claims that the information could be related to a terrorism or …

Subjects: Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

"I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy

“In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the “nothing to hide” argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: “I’ve got nothing to hide.” According to the “nothing to hide” argument, there is no threat to privacy unless …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

NYC "Ring Of Steel" Surveillance Plan Raises Major Privacy Concerns

Press release: “The New York Civil Liberties Union today called on the City of New York to ensure that any new surveillance plan for New York City is subject to public input and external oversight mechanisms and includes significant privacy protections to prevent abuse. The NYCLU’s call came in response to today’s disclosure that the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Privacy

DOD OIG Post-Payment Review and Analysis of Procurement

D-2007-110 Identification and Reporting of Improper Payments through Recovery Auditing (July 9, 2007) (Project D2006-D000FJ-0156.001) PDF and Summary. “Recovery auditing is a post-payment review and analysis of procurement and payment documents that DoD Components use to identify overpayments to contractors. For FY 2006 DoD reported it successfully used recovery audits to identify nearly $200 million …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Google Purchases Online Security Firm Postini

Press release: “Google Inc. announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Postini, a global leader in on-demand communications security and compliance solutions serving more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide. Postini’s services — which include message security, archiving, encryption, and policy enforcement — can be used to protect a …

Subjects: Cybercrime, E-Mail, ID Theft, Privacy