News from Organizations

October 23, 2023

American Bar Association and AI

In a previous posting on this blog, Reflections of a Retired Law Librarian: From Mimeograph to Generative AI, I urged professional organizations, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), to appoint committees or commissions at the highest level to facilitate the development and implementation of standards sufficient to address the real ethical and safety concerns related to the increasingly rapid adaption of AI, including Generative AI, as a technology of choice in the workplace.

It is gratifying to learn from recent announcements from the American Bar Association that it has already been taking steps to address the legal challenges of Ai faced by the legal community. As Mary L. Smith, President of the American Bar Association, has said: “As a national voice for the legal profession, the ABA must play a leadership role in helping to identify for the legal community the benefits and risks of continually changing AI and machine learning systems and capabilities.”

Measures already taken by ABA include Resolution 112 adopted in August, 2019, Resolution 604 adopted in February, 2023, various articles and podcasts published by its various Sections, including the ABA Business Law Section and the Sci Tech Lawyer published by the ABA Science and Technology Section.

September 20, 2023

The Federal Budget Process and the Role of the Congressional Budget

by David Badertscher

Presentation by:

Lara Robillard, an analyst in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division, to the Leadership Fellowship Program at the National Hispanic Medical Association.

Summary:

July 27, 2023

CBO Blog Post: A Call for New Research In the Area of Taxes and Transfers

by David Badertscher

Originally posted by John McClellan et. al. on July 25, 2023.

As part of the legislative process, the Congressional Budget Office* supplies the Congress with cost estimates for legislation, economic and budget projections, and other economic assessments. Information from the research community is an important element of CBO’s analyses. This is the seventh in a series of blog posts discussing research that would enhance the quality of the information that CBO uses in its work. (Earlier posts in the series discussed the need for new research in the areas of energy and the environment, finance, health, labor, macroeconomics, and national security.) Please send comments to communications@cbo.gov. Since this CBO blog post is believed to contain information of general interest it is being reproduced here, in full, as an information service.

CBO regularly provides the Congress with information about the ways that the government’s tax and transfer system affects the distribution of household income (for example, CBO 2022). That analysis is built on the models and data underlying the agency’s baseline projections of revenues and spending (CBO 2023). CBO is on the lookout for new research that would enhance its analysis of taxes and transfers, including research related to distributional analysis and projections of revenues from business income. The agency is currently working on those topics, and there are significant gaps in the relevant research literature.

July 25, 2023

CB0 Blog Posting: Call For New Research in the Area of National Security

by David Badertscher

Original Posting by David Mosher et.al. on July 24, 2023*

As part of the legislative process, the Congressional Budget Office supplies the Congress with cost estimates for legislation, economic and budget projections, and other economic assessments. Information from the research community is an important element of CBO’s analyses. This is the sixth in a series of blog posts discussing research that would enhance the quality of the information that CBO uses in its work. (Earlier posts in the series discussed the need for new research in the areas of energy and the environment, finance, health, labor, and macroeconomics.) Please send comments to communications@cbo.gov.

The Department of Defense (DoD) received about $850 billion in funding in 2023. With those funds, DoD hires personnel (members of the military and civilian employees) and purchases a variety of goods and services from private-sector companies. Some of the purchased goods, such as aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and nuclear submarines, are highly complex weapon systems. CBO is on the lookout for new research on various topics related to DoD’s personnel and weapon systems, including the implications of the military’s use of in-kind compensation and the causes of, and future trends in, sector-specific inflation. CBO is currently working on those topics, and there are significant gaps in the relevant research literature.

July 22, 2023

CBO Blog Posting: A Call for New Research in the Area of Macroeconomics

by David Badertscher

Original posting by Richard DeKaser on the CBO Blog, July 21,2023.*

As part of the legislative process, the Congressional Budget Office supplies the Congress with cost estimates for legislation, economic and budget projections, and other economic assessments. Information from the research community is an important element of CBO’s analyses. This is the fifth in a series of blog posts discussing research that would enhance the quality of the information that CBO uses in its work. (Earlier posts in the series discussed the need for new research in the areas of energy and the environment, finance, health, and labor. Please send comments to communications@cbo.gov.

CBO regularly prepares forecasts of key economic variables, including output, income, employment, inflation, and interest rates. The agency also evaluates the macroeconomic effects of proposed or enacted legislation. CBO is on the lookout for new research on various topics in the area of macroeconomics, including trends in productivity growth and interest rates on Treasury securities, as well as the effects of fiscal policy on a broad range of economic variables. The agency is currently working on those topics, and there are significant gaps in the relevant research literature.

July 13, 2023

CBO Director: Testimony on Social Security’s Finances, July 12,2023

by David Badertscher

CBO’s Director, Phillip Swagel, testifies about the agency’s projections of Social Security’s finances before the Senate Budget Committee.

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation. This posting includes a summary of Director Swagel’s testimony, a link to the full text of the testimony, and a list of publications that relate to the testimony.

Summary:

June 29, 2023

Congressional Budget Office: 2023 Long-Term Projections for Social Security

by David Badertscher

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.

For the past several months I have been receiving directly from CBO links to which I now plan to begin posting selectively on this blog in the interest of information sharing. If there appears to be sufficient interest among readers of this blog over a period of time, I plan to continue posting selections I receive from CBO

June 29,2023 – Report:

June 5, 2023

Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Estimated Budgetary Impact of The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

by David Badertscher

INTRODUCTION:

Established in 1974, The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government. It is charged with providing members of Congress non partisan, objective analysis of budgeting and economic issues to support the congressional budget process. Each year, CBO economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.

For the past several months I have been receiving directly from CBO links to which I now plan to begin posting selectively on this blog in the interest of information sharing. If there appears to be sufficient interest among readers of this blog over a period of time, I plan to continue posting selections I receive from CBO.

September 13, 2022

Lawyers Working With and Assisting Election Poll Workers 2022

by David Badertscher

We recently received an announcement from the American Bar Association regarding a collaborative effort to mobilize lawyers to work with and assist poll workers during the upcoming 2022 election. The ABA announcement reads in part:

” The American Bar Association is collaborating with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) to once again issue a call aimed at mobilizing lawyers to assist as poll workers for the upcoming 2022 election. The Poll Worker, Esq. Initiative encourages lawyers, law students and other legal professionals to assist in upcoming elections by serving as poll workers… ”

Reading this announcement prompted us to search for some other examples of lawyers organizing, assisting and advising poll workers involved in the upcoming midterm elections. On a more general level we have also identified sources which should provide lawyers and others with useful information related to working at the polls.

August 28, 2022

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Information Regarding Increased Enforcement by the IRS

by David Badertscher

This posting relates to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) correspondence dated August 25, 2022, in which the CBO answers several questions from Congressmen Kevin Brady and Jason Smith about increased enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service.

It includes a brief summary of the correspondence, a direct link to the letter addressed to Congressmen Brady and Smith, and a CBO Report providing additional background material.

BRIEF SUMMARY: