Congress eyes getting more info released
693001
Congressional Democrats are looking at ways to strengthen open government laws and force the Bush administration to release more documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
517460
Congress to try for SPY ACT law by year's end.
707439
In an attempt to quell increasing criticism over the nation's patent system, the Bush Administration is looking to make changes to require more specific information, and allow the public to comment.
486138
By Pete Carey, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.  Sep. 18--Hewlett-Packard delivered a stack of documents to Congress today  related to its boardroom-leak probe, in advance of hearings later this month  to take testimony from HP's chairman and top inside and outside lawyers.
203276
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the Bush administration to disclose the identity of more troubled nursing homes, saying earlier efforts to alert consumers did not go far enough.
468856
A bipartisan group of Senators is pushing legislation that would force the CIA to release an inspector general's report on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001
548325
Probes by Attorney General Mukasey and others could help determine how far the controversy reaches.
700318
Lawmakers say they want to know whether a Veterans Affairs employee was being unfairly blamed for losing veterans&#039; personal information, citing newly disclosed documents showing he had received permission to work on the data from home.
423403
Governmental sites need to be revamped so people can find what they need, experts tell a Congressional committee.
766912
Although Congress has tackled a number of tech-related bills this year, a number of measures have yet to be acted on.
40315
The House has scheduled votes this week on open-government bills. They would:  - Require organizations established for the purpose of raising funds for presidential libraries to disclose the sources of contributions of $200 or more.
124312
Citing newly disclosed State Department documents, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) called yesterday for further congressional hearings on Halliburton Co.'s contracts in Kuwait and Iraq.
71382
A top House Democrat who is investigating allegations of voting irregularities on Election Day wants the media to show him the confidential, "raw" data from the exit polls of voters they did this year.
629020
State's top cop is gathering information about damage that may have been caused by covert attempts to unearth leaks to the media.
315033
WASHINGTON -- Twenty-two members of Congress signed a letter today demanding information on reports that FDA whistleblower David Graham was being punished by Food and Drug Administration officials for his outspoken testimony before a Senate committee.
576752
Two bills take different approaches toward the tricky concept of how to regulate what happens if a company has a data leak.
559455
(InfoWorld) - Many of the Web sites for members of the U.S. Congress lack basic information such as information on office hours or where to go if the reader has problems with a federal agency, according to a report released Monday. The overall state of congressional Web sites is "disappointing," said the Congressional Management Foundation, a nonprofit group advocating for a more effective Congress. The group gave only about 14 percent of the 615 lawmaker and congressional leadership Web sites it surveyed A grades for user friendliness. The top group of A-graded sites earn CMF's Gold Mouse award. Thirteen percent of the congressional sites received F grades, and another 25 percent received D's. "It's things that are missing, things that aren't updated," said Beverly Bell, CMF's executive director. In many cases, congressional offices seem to see Web sites as one-way communication mediums, she said. About 49 percent of the sites did not include sufficient information on how to contact the office about a problem with a federal agency, CMF said in its report. Just over 26 percent told visitors the best way to communicate with their offices, and 32 percent did not include links to sponsored or cosponsored legislation. Just 11 percent of House Web sites and 5 percent of Senate Web sites posted their office hours. "It's how you view your Web site," Bell added. "Are you seeing your Web site as a service center for constituents? There's not as much of that as we'd like to see. Or, are you seeing it as one big press release for yourself?" CMF produced two previous reports, in 2002 and 2003. Only three lawmakers have received awards in each of the Gold Mouse Reports: Representative Mike Honda, a Democrat representing part of Silicon Valley in California, Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, and Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat known for his interest in tech issues. But overall, Republican sites scored higher than Democratic sites, with 66 percent of Republican sites scoring at least a C compared to 56 percent of Democratic sites. In some cases, lawmakers seem to believe that Web sites create more work for their staffs, and congressional staffs haven't substantially increased in size since the 1970s, Bell said. But a well-designed Web site can reduce workload by cutting telephone calls from constitutions about information such as sponsored legislation or visitor tours, she said. The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the University of California-Riverside, and Ohio State University assisted CMF with the report.