Bill Gives Lawmakers Access to Tax Returns
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Congress passed legislation Saturday giving two committee chairman and their assistants access to income tax returns without regard to privacy protections, but not before red-faced Republicans said it was all a mistake and would be swiftly repealed.
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The federal tax bill was approved by the Senate 69-17 after passing the House a week earlier by 280-41. Mr. Bush is expected to sign it, claiming it as support for the economy -- even though
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Bill would speed rebates to most taxpayers, including disabled veterans and the elderly.
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A bill intended to grant journalists the right to protect the identity of their sources when questioned in court passed the US House of Representatives yesterday, by a vote of 398 to 21. The version as passed contained much clarified language, closing a legal loophole that might have enabled courts to compel journalists to divulge their sources anyway.
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A proposal to let more lawmakers see income tax returns is going to stay alive into December, thanks to Democratic complaints over how the one-sentence provision was stuffed into a gargantuan spending bill.
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Earlier this year, South Dakota&#39;s candidates for US Senate released their 2003 tax returns. Now, one has released his income information for the four previous years.
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After a long flight through Congress, legislation that would permit Justice Department lawyers to claim time off for travel during off-duty hours has been sent to the president for his signature.
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WASHINGTONÂ -- With the U.S. Congress winding down its work for 2004, technology lobbying groups are stepping up their push for lawmakers to pass several pieces of legislation, including extensions to a research and development (R&D) tax credit and an Internet access tax moratorium.
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Senators aim to tighten cybercrime law Senators on both sides of the House have backed a bill that would allow American victims of identity theft to seek restitution for the money and time they waste repairing their credit histories.â¦
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Legislation that would make it   illegal to obtain and sell consumers' telephone records could   come to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday,   said Rep. Joe Barton, one of the measure's authors.
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The Texas House of Representatives has approved a bill that would allow local courthouse clerks  to disclose "in the ordinary course of business" Social Security numbers contained in public records maintained by their offices.
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Supporters of a major rewrite of corporate tax law are optimistic they will be able to complete congressional action this week on legislation needed
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U.S. House members spent $20.3 million in tax money last year to send constituents what's often the government equivalent of junk mail
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(InfoWorld) - Two U.S. representatives have introduced a law that would give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission the authority to investigate and prosecute imposters who gain access to other people's private telephone records. The bill, introduced Wednesday by Representatives Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat, and Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, comes in addition to a bill signed into law by President George Bush in January criminalizing the phone records scheme known as pretexting. The new pretexting bill is important because the FTC has more expertise and interest in prosecuting identity theft cases than many local prosecutors, a spokeswoman for Inslee said. Ken Springer, the founder and president of Corporate Resolutions, a private investigations firm, applauded the pretexting legislation. State prosecutors have been targeting similar tactics to get personal bank records for about 10 years, and reputable private investigations firms haven't used pretexting for many years, he said. "You've got to play by the rules," said Springer, a former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "It's not a grey area. You can't use it." Although corporate customers may demand that private investigators use all means necessary, Springer tells clients they should consider that the details of their investigations could wind up in the media. "The risk-reward [balance] is something they should consider," he said. After a pretexting scandal at Hewlett-Packard in late 2006, "corporate America got the message," he said. Still, the new pretexting bill can give customers faith that their records are protected, he said. Inslee and Blackburn introduced a similar bill in January 2006, but it didn't come up for a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Their Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act would make it illegal for anyone to knowingly obtain confidential phone records by making false or fraudulent statements to a telephone company or to knowingly sell or receive confidential phone records knowing such information was obtained fraudulently. The bill would also require telephone companies to notify customers when their phone records fall into the wrong hands. In January, Bush signed a law making pretexting illegal, punishable with up to 10 years in prison and fines. Fines and prison sentences would increase if the violations involve more than 50 telephone customers. Congress began investigating pretexting in early 2006 after media reports and a complaint from privacy advocacy group the Electronic Privacy Information Center showed that several companies were selling private phone records online for less than $100. Then in September, HP revealed that investigators it hired had used pretexting to try to discover the source of board leaks.Â California prosecutors charged former HP board Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, former HP legal counsel Kevin Hunsaker, and three investigators with feloniesÂ late last year.
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U.S. lawmakers return to work on  Tuesday from a month-long recess with time running out for  Republicans to pass legislation, impress unhappy voters and  retain control of Congress in the November 7 elections.
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The U.S. Congress has wrapped up its work for the year by passing a bill that would make it illegal to obtain a person's phone records without permission.
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WASHINGTON -- In a breakthrough that could mean a $500 bonus for thousands of Washington state taxpayers, congressional negotiators yesterday agreed to allow state sales taxes to be deducted from federal returns for the first time since 1986.