- Cheney standoff with Democrats extends to spending bill - Bill to Require NIH to Publish Research Online - Ex-Surgeon General Says White House Hushed Him - New Blog on Government Contacting - "I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy Patrice McDermott, Director OpenTheGovernment.org www.openthegovernment.org 202.332.OPEN (6736) - Cheney standoff with Democrats extends to spending bill By Peter Cohn July 11, 2007 Senate appropriators approved spending bills Tuesday that would cut funding for Vice President Dick Cheney's office, while boosting programs ranging from consumer product safety to rural air service above the White House's budget plan. But in a rare subcommittee roll-call vote, the panel approved the bill 5-4 with all Republicans opposed, due to Majority Whip Richard Durbin's move to cut funds for Cheney's office. Durbin, who chairs the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee, would withhold the $4.4 million requested for the Office of the Vice President in fiscal 2008 until Cheney complies with an executive order Democrats argue compels him to release classified information as a member of the executive branch. more [Gov Exec] A similar measure to cut funding for the Office of Vice President, introduced in the House last month by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, was narrowly defeated on June 28 by a vote of 209-217. Links: Durbin Press Release Emanuel amendment and Recorded Vote *** - Bill to Require NIH to Publish Research Online By Daniel Pulliam July 10, 2007 The Senate Appropriations Committee has included language in a spending bill that would require the National Institutes of Health to make federally funded research available to anyone on the Internet. According to the June 27 report for the fiscal 2008 appropriations bill (S.1710), which includes the Department of Health and Human Services, all "investigators who are funded by the NIH" must "submit an electronic version" of their final peer-reviewed manuscripts, which must "be made publicly available" as soon as possible on PubMed Central. The manuscript must be published on the Web site no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. more [Gov Exec] *** - Ex-Surgeon General Says White House Hushed Him By Christopher Lee Wednesday, July 11, 2007; Page A01 Former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona yesterday accused the Bush administration of muzzling him on sensitive public health issues, becoming the most prominent voice among several current and former federal science officials who have complained of political interference. "Much of the discussion was being driven by theology, ideology, [and] preconceived beliefs that were scientifically incorrect," said Carmona, one of three former surgeons general who testified at yesterday's hearing. "I thought, 'This is a perfect example of the surgeon general being able to step forward, educate the American public.' . . . I was blocked at every turn. I was told the decision had already been made -- 'Stand down. Don't talk about it.' That information was removed from my speeches." more [WPost] Links: Video of the Hearing Testimony of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop Testimony of Surgeon General David Satcher Testimony of Surgeon General Richard Carmona *** - New Blog on Government Contacting Government, Inc. by Robert O'Harrow. *** - "I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy Daniel J. Solove George Washington University Law School Examines the "nothing to hide" argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: "I've got nothing to hide." According to the "nothing to hide" argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The "nothing to hide" argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the "nothing to hide" argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings. Link: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565 ###