9/11 Panel Continues to Confront Obstacles
Chairman Warns That Inquiry Might Have to Be Limited Bush Plays Bait-and-Switch With 9/11 Panel
Blackmun Papers Finding Aid Posted by Blawg
The Justice Blackmun Finding Aid, Intro. through page 362 (pdf, in 15 separate sections) Upcoming Release of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun’s Papers
Domain Area for Children Underutilized
The domain area created by law just for kids has attracted little interest or investment, resulting in the creation of but a handful of new children friendly websites.
Outsourcing and Danger of ID Theft
Press release: Senator Feinstein Calls on CEOs to Protect Privacy of Documents Outsourced Abroad: “As policymakers consider the impact of American jobs being sent overseas, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) reminded CEOs of several major U.S. corporations of another danger brought on by the outsourcing of work abroad the increased potential for identity theft.” …
FTC Issues Fines Against Two Companies for COPPA Violations
FTC press release: UMG Recordings, Inc. to Pay $400,000, Bonzi Software, Inc. To Pay $75,000 to Settle COPPA Civil Penalty Charges. United States of America v. Bonzi Software, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, defendant., United States District Court for the Central District of California Western Division, Civil No. CV-04-1048 RJK (Ex) United States of America v. …
Budget Cuts Impact Cybersecurity and E-Voting Initiatives
From GovExec.com: “The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will have to curtail its work on cybersecurity, terminate all its work with a law designed to improve the elections process and go to month-to-month funding for manufacturing programs because of its $22 million budget cut in fiscal 2004, according to the agency’s acting chief …
Restricted Access to OSHA Enforcement Database
OSHA’s database that permits users to search for enforcement inspections by the name of the establishment currently posts the following notice to users: “In order to effectively manage the costs of providing public access to this data, OSHA has restricted search times to normal business hours.” (link from NICAR listserv)
Leading Scientists Issue Report on Gov’t Control of Scientific Data
From the February 18 press release issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Today, more than 60 leading scientistsincluding Nobel laureates, leading medical experts, former federal agency directors and university chairs and presidentsissued a statement calling for regulatory and legislative action to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking. According to the scientists, the Bush administration …
New E-Gov BioTech Website
U.S. Regulatory Agencies Unified Biotechnology Website: “This website focuses on the agricultural products of modern biotechnology. At this time, the searchable database available on this site only covers genetically engineered crop plants intended for food or feed that have completed all recommended or required reviews for food, feed or planting use in the United States.” …
TSA Requested Passenger Data From JetBlue
Press release, February 13, 2004, from Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Joe Lieberman (D-CT) …”called on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to explain its role in obtaining sensitive airline passenger information from JetBlue for a Defense Department database project”: “In a letter sent today to Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary …
E-Rulemaking and Regulatory Practice
E-Rulemaking: Information Technology and the Regulatory Process, by Cary Coglianese, Harvard University – John F. Kennedy School of Government. From the abstract: “This paper…highlights the institutional challenges associated with using information technology in the federal regulatory process and suggests that in some cases existing rulemaking practices may need to be reconfigured in order to take …
Economic Report of the President, 2004
Economic Report of the President, 2004. National Debt Tops $7 Trillion