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PURPOSE: To examine the strategies and policies of the administration’s response to cybersecurity incidents. To review the growing market for threat intelligence, the pros/cons of making attribution after cybersecurity incidents, and the benefits of clarifying international norms of cyber operations. BACKGROUND: Data breaches at the Office of Personnel Management and at private sector companies have ...

TAKEAWAYS: A lack of transparency exists in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) application process for deposit insurance. o   This discretionary process is plagued with unwritten rules and sliding standards, making it next to impossible for an application to be approved. o   The FDIC has only approved three new (de novo) bank applications since 2011. As a result, the U.S. has the lowest number of banks since ...

TAKEAWAYS: The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodgescreates uncertainty about how the ruling will affect individuals and organizations who maintain a sincerely held religious belief of moral conviction about marriage. Consistent with the 1stAmendment, citizens should be free to follow their conscience without threats from the federal government for living out their beliefs. FADA protects religious liberty by ...

Washington, D.C.—Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform overwhelmingly passed two bipartisan bills to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service. H.R. 5714, the Postal Service Reform Act, which was cosponsored by Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Reps. Mark ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia requesting an investigation into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton committed perjury and made false statements when ...

PURPOSE: To examine when it is appropriate for the federal government to contract with the private sector for goods and services and when it is appropriate for the government to provide goods and services in-house with an emphasis on promoting public-private competition to generate efficiencies and reduce costs. BACKGROUND: Until 2009, the federal government’s long-standing policy preference was to rely on the ...