- Bush Threatens a Veto Over Intel Bill - The 8th International Conference on Digital Government Research May 20-23. - Daniel Metcalfe Says 'Nothing Compares to the Past Two Years' - D.C. Event - Governing by the Numbers - The Promise of Data-Driven Policymaking in the Information Age Patrice McDermott, Director OpenTheGovernment.org www.openthegovernment.org 202.332.OPEN (6736) - BUSH THREATENS A VETO OVER INTEL BILL By Katherine Shrader Apr 12, 10:45 PM (ET) President Bush is threatening to veto a Senate intelligence bill (S. 372) that's laced with provisions that would force the White House and spy agencies to be more responsive to Congress. In a policy statement released Thursday, Bush's advisers said the bill fails to provide enough money, "with sufficient flexibility," to adequately pay for spying operations. Among the provisions in the intelligence bill that the Bush administration rejects: _Yearly disclosure of the total amount spent on intelligence. The administration has long argued that releasing the figures would be a threat to national security. _A mandate that the White House brief all members of the intelligence committees on extraordinarily sensitive matters - not just congressional and intelligence committee leaders, as is often the practice now. _Required reports on interrogation activities and secret prisons, which the administration says would raise "grave constitutional issues" and jeopardize sensitive information that should not be widely distributed. _Creation of a statutory inspector general for Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who would have the power to direct watchdogs in any of the 16 spy agencies. more [AP] Links: OMB policy statement: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/s372sap-s.pdf Related Washington Post article: Intelligence Community to Reshape Personnel Practices By Karen DeYoung Thursday, April 12, 2007 In a series of initiatives set for completion in the next 100 days, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell ...revealed plans for an outside audit of the $42 billion intelligence budget and pledged newly aggressive efforts to recruit and vet native Arabic speakers. McConnell said he will ask Bush and Congress to address what he said had been a 40 percent decrease in intelligence funding since the early 1990s. more [WPost] *** - THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DIGITAL GOVERNMENT RESEARCH MAY 20-23. The 8th International Conference on Digital Government Research is a forum for presentation and discussion of interdisciplinary research on digital government and its applications in diverse domains. Conference focus includes research on digital government as an interdisciplinary domain that "encompasses inquiry at the intersections of computing research, social, political, and behavioral science research, and the problems and missions of government agencies." (US National Science Foundation) The 2007 conference will be held at the Sheraton Society Hill in Philadelphia. more - DANIEL METCALFE SAYS 'NOTHING COMPARES TO THE PAST TWO YEARS' By Tony Mauro April 16, 2007 Since the day he arrived at the Department of Justice in February 2005, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has "shattered" the department's tradition of independence and politicized its operation more than any other attorney general in more than 30 years. ... The day that I decided to retire, for example, was one on which I was asked to participate in a matter in which a significant part of the department's position was aiming to be - there's no other word for it - false. Briefly stated, someone in the White House had determined that it would be a good idea for an op-ed piece on the subject of government secrecy to be prepared, and although its subject matter extended beyond the Justice Department's jurisdiction in multiple respects, it was decided that the Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs would take on that task nevertheless. I was perfectly able to make several corrections and substantive improvements to a last-minute draft that I received but drew a line at even attempting to "improve" a Defense Department-related paragraph within it that was incorrect by a full 180 degrees. .... It's no secret that this first-of-its-kind FOIA executive order was issued in the context of proposed FOIA-amendment legislation - media-sponsored bills that were introduced on an atypically bipartisan basis - and that it served as enough of a countermeasure to forestall full action on those potent bills during the last Congress. I surely had no illusions to the contrary as I nonetheless worked very hard to vigorously implement that executive order from the day it was issued until the time of my retirement on Jan. 3. But would it have been issued by this administration in any other situation, or for any other purpose? I know of no one, inside of government or out, who would credibly assert that. more [Legal Times] *** - GOVERNING BY THE NUMBERS - THE PROMISE OF DATA-DRIVEN POLICYMAKING IN THE INFORMATION AGE Monday, April 23, 2007, Program: 12:30pm to 2:00pm. Admission is free. Lunch will be served at noon. Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 More info and RSVP for this Event
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