{"articles":[{"id":23447,"title":"The DC: Adding a citizenship question to the census, and... 📲 Should the government monitor social media for disability fraud?","html_content":"

by Causes | 3.13.19

Welcome to Wednesday, daylight savers...

Full (Big) House?

Actors Lori Loughlin of \"Full House\" and Felicity Huffman of \"Desperate Housewives\" are among dozens charged in a $25 million college admissions scandal.

The actors join wealthy parents, elite college coaches, and college-prep executives who are accused of bribing sports coaches and administrators to get students admitted to institutions like Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and USC—regardless of academic or athletic ability.

\"This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth combined with fraud,\" said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. \"There can be no separate college admission system for the wealthy, and I'll add that there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.\"

How do you feel about this scandal?

On the Radar

\nThe public has until March 15, 2019, to comment on the Commerce Department’s plan to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. In mid-January, a federal judge in New York ordered the Trump administration to remove the 2020 census citizenship question. At that time, the Justice Department repeated what has continued to be its argument for including the question: voting rights. \"We are disappointed and are still reviewing the ruling,\" said Kelly Laco, a Justice Dept. spokesperson. \"Reinstating the citizenship question ultimately protects the right to vote and helps ensure free and fair elections for all Americans.\" Do you support a census citizenship question?\n

\nPresident Trump signed the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S. 47) into law in a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday. The bipartisan legislation includes more than 100 public lands & natural resources proposals, many of which were considered as standalone bills during the last Congress. One of its more notable provisions is a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which invests funds from offshore oil and gas leasing in programs to conserve public lands and resources and expand recreational opportunities. How do you feel about this bill becoming law?\n

Under the Radar

\nThe Trump administration is considering monitoring social media accounts in an effort to catch disability fraud. The proposed rule would allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) to check, for example, if a person claiming disability for a back injury was also posting pictures of themselves snowboarding on Twitter or Facebook. In a budget request last year, the SSA said it planned to study whether social media surveillance could be used to “increase program integrity and expedite the identification of fraud,” according to the New York Times. Julie Sowash, senior consultant for Disability Solution, worries the increased scrutiny may do more harm than good, including perpetuating \"harmful stereotypes about people with disabilities, including individuals with mental health disorders (like myself) whose disabilities are often not visible.\" Should the government use social media to catch disability fraud?\n

Your Gov at a Glance 👀

The White House: President Trump in D.C.

The House of Representatives: In

\nVoting on a bill to acknowledge the threat posed by shell companies financing terrorism.

The Senate: In

\nVoting on the confirmation of Neomi Rao to be a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Possibly voting on the confirmation of William Beach to be Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should Vladimir Putin’s Net Worth Be Investigated by the U.S. Gov’t?

(Follow Constance's comment here.)

(Follow Annette's comment here.)

But wait, there's more!

And, in the End…

Like Congress, we at Countable work for you. Unlike Congress, we want to get better and more efficient at our job.

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—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at contact [at] countable.us. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Countable.

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