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February 07, 2007
Headlines - DHS OIG Audit of BioWatch Program
- FTC Issues Annual List of Top Consumer Complaints
- Bankruptcy Fraud Hotline Launched
- House Judiciary Committee Oversight Plan 110th Congress
- Hearing on The Hazards of Electronic Voting: Focus on the Machinery of Democracy
- GAO Report on Disaster Planning Post Katrina and Rita
- GAO Reports on DHS Address Risk Management and Agency Challenges
- DHS Office of Immigration Statistics Report on Naturalization Rate Estimates and Border Apprehensions
- CIA FOIA Database Updated With Addition of 138 New Documents
- Law Library of Congress To Celebrate 175th Anniversary in 2007
 DHS OIG Audit of BioWatch Program (PDF, 30 pages), January 7, 2007.
Related government documents: Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-18, January 31, 2007 - Released on January 7, 2007 - Subject: Medical Countermeasures against Weapons of Mass Destruction The BioWatch Program: Detection of Bioterrorism, Congressional Research Service Report No. RL32152, November 19, 2003
See also the following guide to Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs) and National Security Presidential Directives [NSPD], maintained and updated by FAS: National Security Presidential Directives [NSPD]George W. Bush Administration: "In the George W. Bush Administration, the directives that are used to promulgate Presidential decisions on national security matters are designated National Security Presidential Directives (NSPDs)." On October 29, 2001, President Bush issued the first of a new series of Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs) governing homeland security policy.
FTC Issues Annual List of Top Consumer Complaints Press release: "The Federal Trade Commission today issued its annual report, “Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data” on complaints consumers have filed with the agency. For the seventh year in a row, identity theft tops the list, accounting for 36 percent of the 674,354 complaints received between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Other categories near the top of the complaint list include shop-at-home/catalog sales; prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries; Internet services and computer complaints; and Internet auction fraud." Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data January - December 2006 State Specific Releases
Bankruptcy Fraud Hotline Launched "As part of the Department of Justice's efforts to combat bankruptcy fraud and abuse, the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustees has launched an Internet hotline, which allows the public to report suspected bankruptcy fraud. The hotline also will protect the bankruptcy system's integrity. A link to it has been added to the U.S. Trustees homepage and to the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Hearing on The Hazards of Electronic Voting: Focus on the Machinery of Democracy House Rules Committee Hearing on The Hazards of Electronic Voting: Focus on the Machinery of Democracy, February 7, 2007. Opening Statement - The Honorable Dianne Feinstein - Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration: "Just last week, Florida Governor Charlie Christ announced plans to abandon the electronic touch-screen voting systems used in many of Florida's counties and adopt a system of casting paper ballots counted by scanning machines. Other states are considering similar plans. And I believe it is time that Congress also considers necessary safeguards for all federal elections." Witness statements Related postings on e-voting CNet: Politicians call for e-voting paper trails by '08 election
GAO Report on Disaster Planning Post Katrina and Rita Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Federal Actions Could Enhance Preparedness of Certain State-Administered Federal Support Programs, GAO-07-219, and Highlights, February 7, 2007.
GAO Reports on DHS Address Risk Management and Agency Challenges Homeland Security: Applying Risk Management Principles to Guide Federal Investments GAO-07-386T, February 7, 2007: "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal government has provided DHS with more than $130 billion in budget authority to make investments in homeland security. However, as GAO has reported, this federal financial assistance has not been guided by a clear risk-based strategic plan that fully applies risk management principles." Homeland Security: Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security GAO-07-452T, February 7, 2007: "GAO designated implementing and transforming DHS as high risk in 2003 because DHS had to transform 22 agencies--several with existing program and management challenges--into one department, and failure to effectively address its challenges could have serious consequences for our homeland security. Despite some progress, this transformation remains high risk."
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics Report on Naturalization Rate Estimates and Border Apprehensions Naturalization Rate Estimates: Stock vs. Flow (PDF, 2 pages): "This report compares stock and flow measures of naturalization and discusses why immigrant naturalization rates differ depending on the data source used." Border Apprehensions: 2005 (PDF, 2 pages): "This report provides information on recent trends in apprehensions and the gender, age, and geographic location of persons apprehended during 2005."
CIA FOIA Database Updated With Addition of 138 New Documents " 138 new documents were added to the site on February 5, 2007. Additional recent releases may be found here." [Note: all but four of the documents date back to the 1990s.]
Law Library of Congress To Celebrate 175th Anniversary in 2007 "Founded in 1832, the Law Library of Congress is the de facto national law library. Its mission is to provide research and legal information to the U.S. Congress, U.S. federal courts and executive branch agencies, and to provide reference service to the public. To accomplish this mission, the Law Library has amassed the world's largest collection of law books and other legal resources from all countries, now comprising more than 2.5 million items. The Law Library is playing a leadership role in the creation of a Global Legal Information Network, a consortium of 46 government agencies and international institutions that contributes and shares global legal resources online." [ Link]
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