beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology newshttp://www.bespacific.com
By Sabrina I. Pacifici - bespacific@earthlink.net
Free weekday coverage on current issues
April 12, 2007
Headlines - IRS Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint and Related Filing Info
- FTC Issues Report on Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children
- GAO Report on Tax Filing and Paid Preparers
- Federal Election Commission Makes Legislative Recommendations
- Federal Reserve Bulletin: Report on the Condition of the U.S. Banking Industry
- Seventh Report Card on Computer Security at Federal Departments and Agencies
- DOD OIG Audit of Katrina Relief Efforts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Monthly Receipts, Outlays and Deficit/Surplus of the U.S.
- Waxman Asks Government Agencies to Preserve E-mails from RNC Accounts
- DHS OIG Status of Katrina Funds
 IRS Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint and Related Filing Info FTC Issues Report on Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children Press release: "The Federal Trade Commission gave a mixed review of the movie, music, and video-game industries' self-regulatory programs and their marketing of violent entertainment products to children in its latest report to Congress. This fifth follow-up report, the most comprehensive study since 2000, found that all three industries generally comply with their own voluntary standards regarding the display of ratings and labels. However, entertainment industries continue to market some R-rated movies, M-rated video games, and explicit-content recordings on television shows and Web sites with substantial teen audiences. In addition, the FTC found that while video game retailers have made significant progress in limiting sales of M-rated games to children, movie and music retailers have made only modest progress limiting sales." Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: A Fifth Follow-Up Review of Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording & Electronic Game Industries: A Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress (April 2007) GAO Report on Tax Filing and Paid Preparers 2007 Tax Filing Season: Interim Results and Updates of Previous Assessments of Paid Preparers and IRS's Modernization and Compliance Research Efforts GAO-07-720T, April 12, 2007. Federal Election Commission Makes Legislative Recommendations April 12, 2007 press release, Federal Election Commission Makes Legislative Recommendations: "The Federal Election Commission (FEC) met in open session today and unanimously approved five legislative recommendations to be forwarded to the President and Congress. Commission Chairman Robert Lenhard described the recommendations as "measured, common-sense changes that would bolster the Commission's ability to efficiently and effectively perform its disclosure and enforcement duties." The Commission makes recommendations annually, with an eye toward improving the administration of Federal election laws." See also April 12, 2007 FEC press release - "The Federal Election Commission (FEC/the Commission) recently collected civil penalties totaling $81,578 for Highmark Inc.'s payment of fundraising costs associated with events held for America's Foundation and former Senator Rick Santorum's (R-PA) campaign committee." Federal Reserve Bulletin: Report on the Condition of the U.S. Banking Industry Federal Reserve Bulletin: Report on the Condition of the U.S. Banking Industry - First Quarter, 2006 - April 11, 2007. Related documents and links: Working Papers - Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2007-10 through 2007-11, April 12 Press Release Agencies announce availability of 2006 HMDA data, April 12, 2007
Seventh Report Card on Computer Security at Federal Departments and Agencies Press release: "Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), ranking member of the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, gave the federal government an overall grade of C-minus when it comes to safekeeping information on government computer systems." Seventh Report Card on Computer Security at Federal Departments and Agencies - Overall Grade: C-, April 12, 2007 DOD OIG Audit of Katrina Relief Efforts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers D-2007-081 Financial Management of Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (04/06/2007)(D2006-D000FE-0010.001) Waxman Asks Government Agencies to Preserve E-mails from RNC Accounts Following up on this April 10, 2007 posting, House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas AG Gonzales, and related links on the U.S. Attorney firings, today this press release from Rep. Waxman's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: "Following briefings from the White House and Republican National Committee that revealed an extensive volume of e-mails regarding official government business may have been destroyed by the RNC, Chairman Waxman directs government agencies to preserve e-mails received from or sent to non-governmental e-mail accounts used by White House staffers. The Committee also requests that government agencies provide an inventory of all e-mails involving these accounts. The briefing received by the Committee raises serious concerns about the White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act, which requires that the President "take all such steps as may be necessary to assure that the activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of his constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties are adequately documented and that such records are maintained as Presidential records." Related documents: This press release includes links to letters from the Chairman to 16 agency heads, which duplicate the text of a letter to Attorney General Gonzales. Each letter is three pages, PDF. DHS OIG Status of Katrina Funds Katrina Status of Funds, March 31, 2007 (PDF, 1 page)
Search beSpacific archives back to September 2002 at http://www.beSpacific.com Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific® LLC. All Rights Reserved. BeSpacific® LLC, P.O. Box 3554, Silver Spring, Maryland 20918 |
