National News

• House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Federal Chief Technology Officer and former CTO at HHS Todd Park to testify about issues with healthcare.gov. The move has drawn criticism from several technology experts and former White House employees as well as Democrats on the Oversight Committee.  (govfresh, The Hill, Washington Times)
• National Security whistleblowers may be getting some official protections, following major revelations throughout the year by former NSA employee Edward Snowden. The Senate Intelligence Committee recently approved language that would provide these whistleblowers with official channels to reveal problems. (Government Executive)
• The end is near for Thomas.gov, the nearly 20 year old Congressional information website. On November 19 THOMAS will begin redirecting to its replacement, Congress.gov. (Fedscoop)

International News

• A coalition of more than 200 civil society groups, under the banner of The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), are circulating a petition aimed at fixing problems with the EU’s official lobbyist register. (Open Knowledge Foundation)

State and Local News

• The Pennsylvania State Senate is considering legislation that would extend the state’s open records laws to bring in police forces at the four largest state funded universities. The legislation would not include any other aspect of the university system. (NFOIC)
• Socrata is working to build standards for civic data that are also supported by Code for America. They hope to help cities adopt new standards and easily work with other cities embracing open data standards.(Socrata)

Events

• The Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. Wed. 11/13. 10:00 am. 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
• Big data, global diplomacy, and our digital heartbeat. Georgetown University. Wed. 11/13. 3:00 – 4:00 pm. Georgetown University, Mortara Building, Conference Room, 3600 N St. NW, Washington, DC.
• Known-knowns and unknowns about the Internet: Measuring the economic, social, and governance impact of the web. The Elliot School. Thurs. 11/14. 9:30 am – 4:00 pm. The Elliot School, City View Room, 7th Floor, 1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC.
• Innovation in urban development: Incremental housing approaches and big data for smarter cities. The Wilson Center. Thurs. 11/14. 1:30 – 4:00 pm. Woodrow Wilson Center, fifth floor, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1 Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

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