NEWS ROUNDUP:

• New York Governor, and assumed 2016 presidential candidate, Andrew Cuomo is planning a series of huge dollar fundraisers. He already has more than $22 million in his campaign account and no major challenger in his 2014 race for another term in the New York state house. (Politico)
• The leaders of Organizing for Action, the Obama campaign spin off that is looking to promote issues at federal and state levels, appear to be coordinating with just about everyone from Hollywood executives, to former members of the campaign’s finance team, to the President himself as they plot their fundraising and action strategy. (Washington Post)
• Wireless company Qualcomm has agreed to ramp up disclosure of its political spending following a law suit filed by the New York State Common Retirement Fund. In exchange for the suit being dropped Qualcomm will post its political contributions and expenditures online. It will also disclose the money it spends to influence ballot measures. (The Hill)
• The White House released a memo directing federal agencies to create plans to provide free public access to the results of federally funded scientific research. The memo, which was released in response to a petition on the White House’s We the People platform, is parallel to legislation that has been introduced in the House. (Politico)
• South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Unfortunately, there is a strong culture of government censorship and little has been done to use technology to increase transparency. A nascent group of NGOs is trying to change that. (Tech President)
• A top energy adviser to Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign is taking a lobbying job with a major natural gas company. Rebecca Rosen, who also previously worked on the Senate’s energy committee, will join Devon Energy Corp. as vice president of federal government affairs. (The Hill)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED:

• H.R. 637. Preserving American Privacy Act of 2013.
• H.R. 708. To provide for Federal agencies to develop public access policies relating to research conducted by employees of that agency or from funds administered by that agency.
• S.260. Immigration Enforcement Transparency Act.
• S.245. Federal Communications Commission Collaboration Act of 2013.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK 2/25-3/1: 

• Budget Hearing – Government Accountability Office. House Appropriations, Legislative Branch Subcommittee.  Tues. 2/26. 10:00 am. HT-2, the Capitol.
• Budget Hearing – Government Printing Office. House Appropriations, Legislative Branch Subcommittee. Tues 2/26. 11:00 am. HT-2, the Capitol.
• Budget Hearing – Library of Congress. House Appropriation, Legislative Branch Subcommittee. Wed. 2/27. 9:30 am. HT-2, the Capitol.
• Budget Hearing – Congressional Budget Office. House Appropriations, Legislative Branch Subcommittee. Wed. 2/27. 10:15 am. HT-2, the Capitol.
• Fostering innovation to fight waste, fraud, and abuse in health care. House Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health. Wed. 2/27. 12:00 pm. 2123 Rayburn.
• Swimming in the ocean of big data: National security in the age of unlimited information. Georgetown Law. Wed. 2/27. 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. 120 F Street NW, Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20001.
• Internet Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Internet Infrastructure Coalition. Wed. 2/ 27. 12:30 – 2:00 pm. Capitol Hill, East Capitol and First Street, Washington, DC 20510.
• How we know the parliament is working: New approaches to monitoring and evaluation of legislative strengthening programs. RTI International. Thurs. 2/28. 12:00 – 1:45 pm. 701 13th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC.
• Following the money to combat terrorism and crime: case studies in Mexico and Argentina. GMU. Fri. 3/1. 12:00 – 1:30 pm. George Mason University – School of Public Policy, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Founders Hall, Arlington, VA 22201.
• Caste politics, corruption and distribution in India. Inter-American Development Back. Fri. 3/1. 12:00 pm. 1300 New York Avenue, Andrews Bello 4/5 NW, Washington, DC.

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