Criminal Law Library BlogFrom the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
A presentation by Lara Robillard, an analyst in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division, at AcademyHealth’s Health Policy Orientation.
SUMMARY:
Articles Posted in Regulatory Information
FTC Launches Inquiry into Generative AI Investments and Partnerships
The Federal Trade Commission announced today, January 25, that it issued orders to five companies requiring them to provide information regarding recent investments and partnerships involving generative AI companies and major cloud service providers.
The agency’s 6(b) inquiry will scrutinize corporate partnerships and investments with AI providers to build a better internal understanding of these relationships and their impact on the competitive landscape. The compulsory orders were sent to Alphabet, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Anthropic PBC, Microsoft Corp., and OpenAI, Inc.
According to Sage Lazzaro writing in Eye on AI, “The agency is investigating three multi-billion dollar deals that have shaped the AI landscape as we know it: Microsoft and OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, and Amazon and Anthropic. The FTC issued orders to all of the involved companies, seeking specifics about their agreements, the practical implications of these partnerships, analysis of the transactions’ competitive impact, competition for AI inputs and resources, and more information. This investigation could have major ramifications for these companies and the AI and technology landscape.”
The State of the Economy of the United States: As Viewed by GAO and CBO
In an earlier posting, CBO Projections: The 2023 Budget, we provided Congressional Budget Office (CBO) documents which discuss, from a budgetary perspective, their analysis and projections of what the federal budget and economy would look like over the next 20 years, if current laws generally remain unchanged. In this posting we focus primarily on material provided by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide more general dimension to this discussion. The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 formed the then named General Accounting Office to investigate all matters related to the use of public funds. The Act also required GAO to report its findings to Congress and recommend ways to increase economy and efficiency in government spending. It is an independent, non-partisan agency that works for Congress.
Both the GAO and the CBO are partners in supporting Congress in its effort to ensure accountability to the American people. While both can be involved in the development and analysis of federal and defense budgets, sometimes collaborating in these initiatives, the GAO is also responsible for monitoring expenditures, including excessive spending, and issuing legal decisions on matters such as those related to disputes involving the awarding of government contracts, and has the power to investigate activities of the executive branch, although its enforcement powers are considered negligible.
Regarding The State of the Economy of the United States: As Viewed by GAO and CBO, there are indications from the various federal agencies reporting on these matters that over the long term the nation’s fiscal health may be in peril if current fiscal policies remain unchanged..
U.S. Justice Department is Continuing its Anti Corruption Campaign
In the October 15, 2010 Wall Street Journal, Dionne Searcey reports that “after numerous record-shattering fines and executive prosecutions in recent years, the government’s crackdown on violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act shows no signs of slowing.
So far this year, the U.S. Justice Department has carried out a dozen prosecutions, after 19 prosecutions in 2009. That doesn’t include civil cases brought under the law by the Securities and Exchange Commission.” To see Ms. Searcey’s complete article, go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704634104575552583836621938.html?mod=dist_smartb
New York State Office of the State Comptroller: Citizen Centric Report
The New York State Office of the State Comptroller has issued it’s first Citizen-Centric Report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. The format for the Citizen-Centric Report was developed by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) and is intended to foster innovative means of communication between governments and their citizenry. The AGA believes that government financial information should be provided to citizens in a visually appealing, clear and understandable four-page document.
To view the Citizen-Centric Report for the fiscal year ended March 31,
2009, please click on the link below:
New York Commission on Judicial Nominations – Proposed Revisions to Rules – July 2009
In response to criticism it received for submitting and all-male list with only one black of seven candidates to New York Governor David A. Paterson last December to fill a New York Court of Appeals opening created by the retirement of then Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, the New York Commission on Judicial Nominations has released for public comment a number of proposed rule changes, Proposed Revisions to the Rules of the Commission on Judicial Nominations: Title 22 N.Y.C.R.R. Section 7100. The proposed revisions announced in a Press Release by the Commission on July 20; a 45 day comment period on the rules is expected to begin next week.:
Press Release Announce Proposed Rule Revisions
Download fileles of the New York Commission on Judical Nominations
Unclassified Report on the President’s Surveillance Program
The Unclassified Report of the President’s Surveillance Program released on July 10, 2009 is a review of the National Security Agency Warrantless Search Program, created during the presidency of George W. Bush some time after September 11, 2001. The unclassified report was prepared by the inspectors general of five government bodies involved in the original program. Among its many observations it raises questions about both whether the extensive secrecy of the original warrantless surveillance program limited its effectiveness and the legal basis of the original program..
The following is an excerpt from the Introduction to the Unclassified Report followed by a link to the entire Report:
From the Introduction:
Social Security Administration: Fugitive Felons Serving As Representative Payees
The Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA) has prepared an audit report, Fugitive Felons Serving As Representative Payees. March 2009. The Report consists of a review and analysis of representative payee issues within the SSA. To conduct the review, a file of fugitive records was obtained from the SSA Office of Investigations. From that file it was determined that 14, 594 inbdividuals for whom arrest warrants had been issued and who were represenative payees for SSA benificiaries as of July 2007 From this group 275 individuals were randomly selected for detailed analysis..
To see the entire Report click on the link below:
Audit Report: Fugitive Felons Serving As Representative Payees
Publication: Federal Rules of Evidence 2009
Federal Rules of Evidence 2009
ISSN 566-5645 Published by Federal Evidence Review as a web based publication.
According to the publisher this publication consists of “a current version of the Federal Rules of Evidence…,originally enacted in 1975 and as amended to the present.” It is “fully searchable using the Adobe Reader ‘search’ tool. Other publications produced by this publisher include: The Federal Rules of Evidence Advosory Committee Notes, available at http://federalevidence.com/notes. and Federall Evidence Review, a monthly electronic legal journal that highlights recent federal evidence cases and developments for subscribers. For subscription and other information go to http://federalevidence.com
Madoff, Investors, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Recent news and developments regarding investors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) as related to the Madoff ponzi scheme:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted information for Madoff investors at: