U.S. Federal Government Information

June 22, 2023

H.R. 3564, Middle Class Borrower Protection Act of 2023

Received June 23,2023.

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress non partisan, objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.

For the past several months I have been receiving directly from CBO links to which I now plan to begin posting selectively on this blog in the interest of information sharing. If there appears to be sufficient interest among readers of this blog over a period of time, I plan to continue posting selections I receive from CBO.

June 15, 2023

Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023

by David Badertscher

INTRODUCTION:

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress non partisan, objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.

For the past several months I have been receiving directly from CBO links to which I now plan to begin posting selectively on this blog in the interest of information sharing. If there appears to be sufficient interest among readers of this blog over a period of time, I plan to continue posting selections I receive from CBO.

June 15, 2023

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) : H.R. 1165, Data Privacy Act of 2023

by David Badertscher

Received : June 13, 2023.

Summary:

H.R. 1165 would amend title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) to expand and equally apply protections for consumers and customers with respect to the use of data by financial institutions. The bill would redefine the terms consumer and customer and would require financial institutions to provide opportunities for consumers and customers to opt out of having their personal data disclosed to third parties. H.R. 1165 would require financial institutions to notify people about the information they collect and hold and, upon request, delete nonpublic personal information held by the institution. Finally, the bill would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to the Congress on whether the GLBA’s data safeguards adequately protect people’s nonpublic personal information.

June 5, 2023

Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Estimated Budgetary Impact of The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

by David Badertscher

INTRODUCTION:

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress non partisan, objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.

For the past several months I have been receiving directly from CBO links to which I now plan to begin posting selectively on this blog in the interest of information sharing. If there appears to be sufficient interest among readers of this blog over a period of time, I plan to continue posting selections I receive from CBO.

August 28, 2022

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Information Regarding Increased Enforcement by the IRS

by David Badertscher

This posting relates to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) correspondence dated August 25, 2022, in which the CBO answers several questions from Congressmen Kevin Brady and Jason Smith about increased enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service.

It includes a brief summary of the correspondence, a direct link to the letter addressed to Congressmen Brady and Smith, and a CBO Report providing additional background material.

BRIEF SUMMARY:

August 21, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA)

by David Badertscher

INTRODUCTION

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) HR 5376 was signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 16, 2022, after a tortuous route through the legislative process.

HR 5376 grew out of the Build Back Better Act (BBB) which passed the House on September 27, 2021, but failed to pass in the Senate. The provisions of BBB did, however, become the vehicle for helping move President Biden’s legislative initiatives forward.

November 19, 2010

White House: Middle Class Task Force – Equal Access to Justice

by David Badertscher

Richard Zorza has reminded us that the White House is conducting an event on access to Justice today with Vice President Biden as one of the featured speakers. The event started at 10:30AM. You should be able to listen in on the proceedings by clicking here. For those of us concerned with equal access to legal services, including legal information, this is an important event.

October 15, 2010

U.S. Justice Department is Continuing its Anti Corruption Campaign

by David Badertscher

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

September 28, 2010

From the Brennan Center: The Federal Judiciary

by David Badertscher

.Following up on our postiing about U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Bryer, we wanted to share with you the following excerpts from news and commentary sent to us by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School

September 24, 2010.

1.. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee again voted to approve four of President Obama’s nominees for federal judgeships. Goodwin Liu, a Berkeley law professor for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Louis Butler Jr., a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward Chen of California, and lawyer John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island – all of whom had been previously approved by the Senate panel but never received a final vote on the Senate floor – were approved along party lines. The Blog of Legal Times says the vote indicates a partisan showdown in the weeks before the heated mid-term elections. Two opposing editorials illustrate how divisive the issue is: a New York Times editorial recently blasted “An Extreme Judicial Blockade” by Senate Republicans while a Washington Times editorial stated that a “GOP Senate [is] needed to block bad judges.”

September 22, 2010

U.S. National Archives Puts 3,000 Historic Documents Online*

by David Badertscher

The National Archives has created a new online public website that features more than 3,000 historic documents, photos and videos available for download, along with applications for teachers to create and share history lessons about the items, officials announced.

The new website, DocsTeach.org, offers historic items such as a short newsreel of American war planes attacking Japan in 1944, photos of President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration and a court document on the conviction of activist Susan B. Anthony for voting before it was legal for women to vote….

Click here to see complete article.