Legislative Activity White House Releases “Big Data” Report Last Thursday, May 1, the White House released a highly-anticipated report on the collection of “big data” and its impact on privacy, public policy, and the economy. The report, requested by President Obama in the wake of public disclosures about the National Security Agency’s data collection practices, … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Upcoming Hearings: Tuesday, April 8: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on cybersecurity programs in the FY 2015 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The hearing will feature three witnesses from DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) including Suzanne Spaulding, Undersecretary of Homeland Security; … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity White Paper Released On Modernizing The Communications Act Last Wednesday, January 8, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) released the first in a series of planned white papers as part of their effort to review and update the Communications Act. The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity New COPPA Bill Expected Soon Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), a longtime privacy advocate, and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, are expected to introduce a bill in the near future that would expand protections under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to teenagers age 13-16. Currently, COPPA only … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Franks Abortion Bill The House is scheduled to take up H.R. 1797, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” on Tuesday, June 18, that would ban nearly all abortions after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), was approved by a vote of 20-12 by the House Judiciary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Budget and Appropriations On May 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2014 Homeland Security appropriations bill, which provides $38.9 billion in discretionary funding to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) overall: $35 million below the president’s request, $618 million below the fiscal 2013 enacted amount and $981 million above the … Continue Reading
