NEWS ROUNDUP

Lobbying

• Gifts to government employees now limited in Nevada city: In Henderson, Nev., a new lobbying ethics ordinance limits city employees to accepting only $50 in food and gifts in a calendar year from a business-conducting entity. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Consequential lobbying ban put in spending bill: The 2013 House Financial Services bill includes a clause banning former members of Congress and parts of the executive branch from lobbying on behalf of a country described as suppressing religious freedoms (a characterization that includes China and Saudi Arabia) in the first ten years after they leave their positions. (The Hill)

Open Data

• New site centralizes access to NASA’s intellectual property: NASA’s newly launched Technology Transfer Portal has centralized data from all entities within the agency into one site, making it easier for those looking to learn about and license this technology to access it. (FedScoop)
• Two companies join forces to provide easier access to state and federal bills: The creators of BillTrack50, a service that tracks state bills, and GovTrack, a service that tracks federal bills, have partnered up and consolidated their databases in order to create a more wide-ranging–and hopefully more accurate–picture of politics and policy in the United States (Digital Journal)

Government

• GOP’s retreat on disclosure law repeal brings praise from Pelosi: A Republican withdrawal from an attempt to defund an FCC regulation that would force television networks to disclose comprehensive information of their political ad buyers online has been met with support from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who lauded the “increased accountability” this measure will bring. (The Hill)
• Obama’s use of a power he once condemned: The President, who recently invoked executive privilege to prevent the disclosure to the House of documents regarding the “Fast and Furious” operation, has argued against the use of this power in the past, saying that “the American people derserve[d] to know what [was] going on” in a 2007 use of the privilege by his predecessor. (Washington Post)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED

• H.R. 5956: A bill to provide safe, fair, and responsible procedures and standards for resolving claims of state secrets privilege. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
• H.R. 5952: A bill to require each Federal agency to submit and obtain approval from the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy of guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of scientific information relied upon by the agency. “(1) When scientific information is considered by the agency in policy decisions… (C) except for information that is protected from disclosure by law or administrative practice, the agency makes available to the public the scientific information considered by the agency.” Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
• S. 3306: A bill to establish a United States Boxing Commission to administer the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, and for other purposes. “The Commission shall establish confidentiality standards for the disclosure of personally identifiable information to boxing commissions that will (1) protect the health and safety of boxers by making relevant information available to the boxing commissions for use but not public disclosure; and (2) ensure that the privacy of the boxers is protected.” Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

HAPPENING TODAY 6/21

• Open Source Summit: Wed. 6/20 – Thurs. 6/21. 9:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m. Van Munching Hall: University of Maryland Business School. 7621 Mowatt Lane, College Park, Maryland.

• Big Data and National Security Space: How Industry Plans to Address the Intel Crunch: Thurs. 6/21. 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. TechAmerica, 601 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C.

SCHEDULED TOMORROW 6/22

• None.

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