Congress

Several senators repeated calls for legislation to ward off massive data thefts during a hearing Monday to review the vulnerability of the nation's digital-payment systems, the first in a trio of sessions this week examining the enormous breaches sustained recently at retailers around the country. Read More »

With Congress seemingly satisfied to let the defense budget take another $52 billion hit in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 [...] Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave a preview recently of how Round 2 of budget sequestration could rattle current forces and deepen damage to U.S. readiness. Read More »

Veterans will still receive medical and hospital care no matter how long the federal government is shut down, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told lawmakers, but funding for benefits and other programs may run out in November, threatening veterans’ financial health. Read More »

The Homeland Security Department's chemical-security program ceased most operations this week as a result of the federal shutdown, prompting concerns about how the government will improve security in the wake of this year's fatal explosion in Texas. Read More »

By some measures, Federico C. Vinas was a star surgeon. He performed three or four surgeries on a typical weekday at the Daytona Beach, Fla., hospital that employed him, and a review showed him to be nearly five times as busy as other neurosurgeons. The hospital paid him hundreds of thousands in incentive pay. In all, he earned as much as $1.9 million a year... Read More »

Before Aaron Swartz became the open-access movement's first martyr, Michael Eisen was blowing up the lucrative scientific publishing industry from within. Read More »

Scout rapidly searches all kinds of government activity—bills, regulations, speeches—at the state and federal level, and can notify you about all of it.

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