by Carrie Tian, policy intern

by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS: Though our roundups generally reflect the diversity of topics in open government, today’s roundup... View Article

by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS:

• A top secret court order showed that the NSA ordered Verizon to turn over all call records for a three month period and forbade it from revealing the order. Because the records only contain metadata, such as length of call, location data, and the numbers of both parties, no individual warrants are required for accessing that information. (Guardian) A senior White House official stated that the information obtained is "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats". (Washington Post)
• As conservative groups testified before the House about unwarranted scrutiny by the IRS, many of their own websites include explicitly partisan events and information. The crux of the debate is interpreting the IRS's stipulation that political activity cannot be a 501(c)(4) organization's "primary" activity. (POLITICO)
• The Connecticut state legislature approved a bill restricting access to information about homicide victims after the Newtown shootings highlighted the need for clarification. While records like 911 calls have been available under FOIA, the bill blocks the release of photos, videos, and portions of the calls that "describe the condition of the victim". (Hartford Courant)
• A panel on gun research convened by President Obama has issued its recommendations. Among them is the need for a count of total guns in the nation, though this could stray dangerously close to becoming a national gun registry, which is banned by federal law. (New York Times)
• In response to a petition under the federal Data Quality Act, the CDC and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will revise their information about helmets, removing current claims that helmets prevent 85% of head injuries. Though that figure was obtained in an early study, subsequent studies saw only weaker connections. (Center for Regulatory Effectiveness)

by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS: 

• NY state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will require dark money disclosures by nonprofit organizations in the state. Any group that spends at least $10,000 to influence NY elections will need to disclose details of its activities, including electioneering at the federal, state, and local levels.  (Wall Street Journal)
• Scrutiny of the IRS continues, as a Treasury Department audit of the agency revealed exorbitant conference spending, including a single conference in 2010 that cost $4.1 million. The exact price of the conference is unknown because the IRS - which demands detailed financial records from taxpayers - did not require its management to track conference costs. (POLITICO)
• The police force of Boynton Beach, Fl., recently adopted the MyPD app, a nationwide app that allows citizens to submit tips directly to their police department and stay abreast of local safety updates. The Boynton Beach PD also polled its Facebook followers about where to install additional officers and maintains active accounts on Youtube, Twitter, and Pinterest. (Government Technology)
• Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came under fire for making calls  to companies regulated by HHS, including Johnson & Johnson and Kaiser, asking for their support of Enroll America under Obamacare. Sebelius responded that she was following the legally-authorized precedent of establishing public-private partnerships. (ThinkProgress)
• Majority Leader Eric Cantor unveiled cosponsor.gov, a site that allows individual citizens to indicate their support for pieces of legislation introduced by sitting members of Congress. The site also allows users to track legislation as it moves through the House. (National Review)
• Another newly-launched site is performance.gov, which catalogs federal agencies and seeks to centralize commonly-sought information about each agency, including budget accounts and descriptions of products and services. (Fierce Government)
• Newly-released records indicate that Mayor William Lantigua of Lawrence, MA, spent over $30,000 of taxpayer money to fight the release of records related to legal bills and rental payments. Though Lantigua claims the records contained "privileged" information, FOIA labels them as public documents. (The Valley Patriot)
• As the AP demands lists of the email addresses that political appointees use in official capacities, the debate about secret email addresses continues, over whether they are necessary to prevent officials from being inundated in spam, or whether they make record-keeping unnecessarily arduous and opaque. (Washington Post)

by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS: 

• State agencies across the nation are having discussions about reducing public access to personal information about politicians. In recent months, families of local leaders have been attacked in their homes. (Government Technology)
• France is revising its anti-piracy law, removing Internet cut-offs as the most severe punishment, and considering alternative recommendations, such as a 1% tax on all devices with Internet capabilities. (Ars Technica)
• As states prepare for the launch of their health exchanges under the ACA, they are hindered by the complexities of the new federal data hub, which would allow citizens to put in their personal information and receive an estimate of their healthcare subsidies. The federal data hub will ultimately need to interact with such disparate agencies as the IRS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. (Government Technology)
• New legislation from Singapore requires that heavily-trafficked internet news sources apply for state licenses, which include the condition that the sites remove prohibited content within 24 hours of government notification. (Tech President)
• As the court-martial of Bradley Manning - who released hundreds of thousands of military documents to Wikileaks - begins, the conversation continues to revolve around casting Manning as a whistle-blower or an abetter of Al-Qaeda. (New York Times)
• The Department of Health and Human Services has released its 2011 Medicare data for the pricing of 30 common procedures, further revealing the large pricing spread even within the same regions. (Politico)
• Mainstream social media sites, such as Youtube and Flickr, allow politicians to connect directly with their constituents, but this new access jeopardizes the existence of critical political reporting. (Washington Post)

NEWS:

• After losing ally John Kyl (R-AZ) in last years election, the online poker lobby is looking for new Republican friends on the hill. Harry Reid is a big fan of internet poker, but the deck appears stacked against passage unless a non-Nevadan Republican joins the game. (The Hill)
• Over the past 16 years Thomas Donohue has turned the US Chamber of Commerce into a lobbying powerhouse, research organization, and supreme court advocacy group. He's also raised a ton of money and pulled the Chamber far into partisan territory. (New York Times)
• Marco Rubio is using his PAC to raise money for Chris Christie. Both men appear interested in a 2016 White House bid, but helping each other now might be the best for both short term as Christie (POLITICO)
• President Obama is heading to California to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, but he's also planning to fit in some fundraising time among important discussions with the Chinese leader. (The Hill)
• Sallie Mae shareholders rejected a proposal that would have boosted its voluntary lobbying disclosures and information about giving to trade associations. While the proposal did not pass, it did garner a significant amount of support. (POLITICO)
• The OMB released an important inventory of federal programs across 24 departments last week. The inventory, the first of its kind, lists over 1,600 programs. (Government Executive)
• Former Obama administration officials are starting to cash in on their former experience as the President faces some high profile decisions. Top aides, who face restrictions on their ability to directly lobby the administration, have landed in high profile gigs as consultants, speakers, and media advisers for firms working on hot button issues like Keystone XL. (Washington Post)

NEWS:

• A major player in Nevada politics is facing up to 15 years behind bars after being convicted of making illegal campaign contributions to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Harvey Whittemore, real estate mogul and prominent state lobbyist, was convicted of illegally funneling close to $150,000 to Reid's last campaign through straw donors. (POLITICO)
• When Michelle Bachmann leaves Congress after the 2014 election she will take a strong list of small donors with her. Bachmann pulled in more money from small and medium level donors, $9.5 million or 62% of her total, during the 2012 than any other incumbent member of Congress. (Public Integrity)
• The folks behind OpenOakland are planning to use the National Day of Civic Hacking to set up an "Ask Jeeves" style search engine for city services. They hope to make Oakland's website more accessible by rewriting content and making it more easily searchable. (Tech President)
• Rand Paul, one of several young GOP Senators following the Obama model of using about 10 minutes in the body as a launching pad for their Presidential ambitions, is hitting up Google, Facebook, and eBay during a fundraising swing through Silicon Valley this week. Paul has been engaging heavily in technology issues recently. (The Hill)
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa isn't the only member of Congress using his investigatory power to look at alleged misdeeds by the Obama administration. Members like Trent Franks (AZ), Jim Jordan (OH), Charles Boustany (LA), and Jason Chaffetz (UT) are walking a tight rope between running effective investigations and not appearing overly eager to attack the administration. (POLITICO)
• Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is heading to Apple, where she will help the company with environmental compliance issues. The move comes as Apple prepares to bring some of their manufacturing back to the US. (ars technica)
• Today's most ironic story emerges from a ceremony honoring employees of the Justice Department's Inspector General. Attorney General Eric Holder, who has seen his department hit with a number of critical reports by its IG over the past year, spoke at the ceremony, but snuck out before 11 staffers were awarded for their work on a report on Fast and Furious. (POLITICO)

NEWS:

• A leaked video of Tajikistan's president singing at a lavish wedding ceremony for his son in 2007 is causing controversy and repression as the country prepares for elections. YouTube and K+, an independent central Asian media channel, have been blocked since an exiled advocate shared the video earlier this month. (Global Voices)
• California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has reversed course after several years and announced that her office will release raw data from California's lobbyist and campaign finance database. (Common Cause)
• Former Senator Blanche Lincoln's wait is over. Two years after leaving the Senate and signing on with Alston & Bird LLP she has registered as a lobbyist and begun signing up clients. (Roll Call)
• The Treasury department is using big data and analytics to cut costs in the face of the sequester. The have crunched numbers to help meet small business contracting goals and decide to stop minting $1 coins. (fedscoop)
• The head of India's Center for Internet & Society talked about the ways that technology can both help and hinder the fight for openness in politics and society. He identified a few specific issues with projects like I Paid A Bribe, which rely heavily on a novelty factor and trust in those reporting problems. (Tech President)
• Hillary Clinton still says she's not running for President in 2016, but at the rate things are going her name might appear on the ballot if she likes it or not. Several super PACs have been set up to raise money to support her, and Ready for Hillary has attracted some big dollar donors to its team. (Washington Post)
• Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), facing a tough reelection campaign and investigations into campaign finance wrongdoing on her 2012 presidential bid, has decided to get out before she gets thrown out. She announced that she would not be running for reelection in 2014 via a YouTube video. (Huffington Post)