Federal News Digest for March 26, 2012
Washington Post
Bernanke: US job market improving but still far from normal with further gains uncertain [Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke] – AP reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a national business group that he is puzzled by the unusual coupling of slow economic growth with a steep decline in unemployment, which makes him cautious about projecting an economic recovery — the reason economists believe the Fed will keep interest rates near zero in the short term
In speech to South Korean students, Obama describes a North Korea their social networks can’t reach [President Obama, North Korea, South Korea] – David Nakamura reports that while in South Korea for an international conference on nuclear security — including efforts to bring pressure on North Korea to scale back its nuclear arms program — President Obama spoke to South Korean students, contrasting their open, democratic society that has been able to prosper with the isolated, totalitarian North Korea that remains impoverished
Senators want feds to look into employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews [Justice Dept., U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on-line privacy] – AP reports that Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have asked the Justice Department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate whether employers asking potential hires for their Facebook password is lawful, specifically whether it violates laws that “prohibit intentional access to electronic information without authorization and intentional access to a computer without authorization to obtain information”
New York Times
The wall between contractors and politics [Federal Election Commission, Citizens United] – The Times argues in favor of the historic ban on government contractors contributing to political campaigns, which has come under question following the Citizens United decision that lead to unions and corporations contributing huge sums of money to political action campaigns
Health act arguments open with obstacle from 1867 [Supreme Court, Affordable Care Act] – Adam Liptak reports that the first day of the three-day argument in front of the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act focuses on an procedural issue: whether the penalty for not purchasing health insurance as required by the ACA is a tax, and if so, whether a 1867 law that prohibits court review of a tax until after it has been paid prohibits courts from hearing challenges to the ACA’s mandate because the penalty would not be paid until 2015
Wall Street Journal
Panel finds failings by U.S. agency in deadly mine blast [Mine Safety and Health Administration] – Kris Maher reports that had the Mine Safety and Health Administration — which is charged with enforcing mine safety regulations — done its job, it could have mitigated or prevented the explosion at the Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia where 29 miners died, according to a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which earlier found that Massey Energy was primarily responsible for the disaster
Trust buster takes hard line as e-book probe continues [Justice Dept., Antitrust Division] – Thomas Catan reports that the acting head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Sharis Pozen, warned electronic-book publishers that the agency wouldn’t hesitate to bring charges for collusion on e-book pricing, as the Department continues its investigation of Apple and five publishers
FTC urges Congress to pass digital-privacy law [FTC, digital privacy] — Julia Angwin reports that the Federal Trade Commission is calling for Congress to pass a law to protect the privacy of digital consumers after a two-year study — urging brokers who buy and sell names, addresses, and other personal information to give the owners of those tidbits the right to see their data
