- ExpectMore.gov site introduces new analysis tools
- Senators are renewing calls for the declassification of a CIA report on 9/11
failures
- Prisoners of the Census
- Census budget could soar in anticipation of dress rehearsal
- House Opens Inquiry Of Presidential Signing Statements
Patrice McDermott, Executive Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
202-332-OPEN (6736)
www.openthegovernment.org
- FEDERAL WEB SITE INTRODUCES NEW ANALYSIS TOOLS
By Wyatt Kash, Editor
Government watch groups can begin to expect more from ExpectMore.gov, the
government-run Web site which reports on the performance and progress of
federal programs. Among the site’s new features is the ability to download
CSV (comma space delimited) zip files of data, which can be readily imported
into database or spreadsheet programs. The new feature includes a diagram
showing the relationships between the data and the CSV file, making it easier
for analysts to map the federal data into spreadsheets. Programs have also
been more thoroughly tagged with up to three identification tags, said Shea,
so researchers are likely to get more useful search results.
And later this month, Shea said, federal programs will be including
hyperlinks to congressional budget justifications and to the Web addresses of
the Performance and Accountability Reports. The new links should enable
analysts as well as congressional staffers to tie federal programs more easily
to federal appropriations for better analysis. more [GCN]
***
- SENATORS ARE RENEWING CALLS FOR THE DECLASSIFICATION OF A CIA REPORT ON 9/11
FAILURES
By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
Updated: 4:13 p.m. ET Jan 31, 2007
An internal report documenting the CIA’s failures in the run up to the
September 11 terror attacks is still being withheld from the public. In a
letter sent just this week, three panel members—including Intelligence
Committee chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller and ranking Republican Christopher
Bond—revived the issue and asked that an executive summary of the report be
declassified “without delay” and released to the public. more [Newsweek]
***
- PRISONERS OF THE CENSUS
The Census Bureau counts prisoners as if they lived voluntarily in the
communities where they are incarcerated. And though most states bar prisoners
from voting, the inaccurate census figures allow state lawmakers to pad
district populations when drawing legislative maps. This creates prison
districts with disproportionate voting power and drains political influence
from the urban districts where most prisoners live. more [thanks to
bespacific.com]
***
- CENSUS BUDGET COULD SOAR IN ANTICIPATION OF DRESS REHEARSAL
BY WADE-HAHN CHAN
Published on Feb. 6, 2007
The Bush administration has proposed a major increase in funding for the
Census Bureau as the agency prepares to do a live test of its information
technology systems in the next year. Of the proposed funding, $325 million is
apportioned to the agency’s decennial census program. The biggest chunk of
that money — $281 million — would be spent to support several tests of
handheld computers that census takers will use to collect data and to support
the bureau's secure networks and Global Positioning System. more [FCW]
***
- HOUSE OPENS INQUIRY OF PRESIDENTIAL SIGNING STATEMENTS
By Rebecca Carr
Saturday, February 03, 2007
WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., fired an
opening salvo Wednesday in what is expected to be a series of hearings into
allegations that the Bush administration is operating in excessive secrecy.
Conyers said the committee would start with a formal inquiry into President
Bush's use of "presidential signing statements" and build from there. But
Texas Republican Lamar Smith, the new ranking member of the panel, decried the
controversy as "much ado about nothing." Critics of Bush have launched a
massive fishing expedition, Smith said, but "have caught only the reddest of
red herrings." more
***
Attachment:
image001.gif
Description: GIF image
