Can you believe it’s already the last day of August?? Summer has gone by far too quickly, if you ask me. The daily roundup carries on, however, with Wednesday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Super Committee

• Mark Prater, chief tax counsel for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, has been chosen to serve as staff director of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. (New York Times)(Roll Call $)
• Republican committee members are meeting to discuss strategy prior to the full committee’s first official meetings, which will take place after Labor Day. (Politico)

Government

• The Social Security Administration has made inroads in implementing the iAppeals application, and an increasing number of disability benefits decision appeals are being filed electronically. (Federal Computer Week)
• Only 23 percent of federal websites have implemented mandatory security measures to prevent hackers from redirecting visitors to fraudulent websites, a full year and a half after a White House deadline to do so. (Next Gov)
• POGO submitted a public comment to the GSA advocating for a comprehensive evaluation of a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision requiring mandatory contractor disclosure. (POGO)
• Performance.gov is not a useful resource in its current format, and falls short of its goal of meaningfully displaying agencies’ quarterly performance data. (Fierce Government)
• The Veterans Affairs Department’s two-year-old IT project oversight system is still in need of work, according to a new IG audit. (Federal Computer Week)
• President Obama wrote a letter to House Speaker Boehner defending his regulatory agenda despite its costs. (Washington Post)
• A recommendation suggesting that federal agencies translate online background information about proposed new regulations into multiple languages other than English could cause partisan disagreement and garner few results, according to the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS). (Next Gov)

Campaign Finance

• Three Republican leadership PACs have joined together to create a new joint fundraising committee called the Young Guns Majority Victory Fund. (Politico)
• Several House freshmen who claimed goals of changing the way Washington works are now promoting legislation that could benefit some of their biggest campaign donors, according to USA Today.

Technology

• Motion control, balloon radio, augmented reality, intelligent streetlights, and unmanned aerial vehicles are five emerging technologies that are headed toward the government market. (Gov Tech)
• O’Reilly’s director of market research Roger Magoulas discusses the potential role data science and big data could play in the financial world in expanding data types, directing investment strategies, and creating new businesses. (O’Reilly Radar)

State and Local

• Georgia is considering changes to its sunshine laws, including a bill that would increase fines and civil penalties if government agencies violate requirements of public access to records and meetings. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Missouri’s Ethics Commission is underfunded and understaffed, according to a report by the state auditor. (Lobby Comply Blog)
• A New Jersey city council has adopted a new pay-to-play ordinance prohibiting “any business entity who submits a proposal for, enters into negotiations for, or agrees to any contract or agreement with the borough, from knowingly making any contribution to local candidates, candidate committee or joint candidates committees, PACs, or to holders of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract or agreement.” (Lobby Comply Blog)
• Governor Pat Quinn signed into law HB 1716, which will restrict FOIA requests in Illinois. (Sunlight Foundation Blog)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 8/31:

• None

Relevant bills introduced:

• None

Transparency events scheduled for 8/31:

• None

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