H. Sterling Burnett and D. Sean Shurtleff, Capping CO2 Emissions, Boosting Energy Costs, National Center for Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No. 617, May 13, 2008.

Fact Sheet: Emergency Supplemental: Iraq, Afghanistan, Veterans and Workers, Prepared by the Majority Staff of the House Appropriations Committee, May 14, 2008: "Tomorrow the House of Representatives will consider the emergency supplemental bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and pressing domestic needs. Under consideration are $183.9 billion in outstanding requests from the President. The Democratic proposal totals $183.7 billion, just under the President’s request for appropriated dollars. As Congress considers the most recent war request, it is important that we also meet our obligations to those who bravely serve and address the economic insecurity of those at home."

Press release: "In its recent Report on Broadcast Localism and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission concluded that the record in the localism proceeding (MB Docket No. 04-233) revealed a substantial need for greater public understanding of broadcaster obligations, and of the procedures by which the Commission enforces those obligations. The Commission expressed its desire to better educate members of the public about the tools available to them, should they believe that their local broadcast stations are not fulfilling their service obligations. To that end, the Commission directed the Media Bureau to update “The Public and Broadcasting,” a publication that all broadcasters must maintain in their public inspection files. The Commission also stated that it would establish a contact point within the agency for public inquiries about broadcast matters."

• Residential Facilities: Improved Data and Enhanced Oversight Would Help Safeguard the Well-Being of Youth with Behavioral and Emotional Challenges, GAO-08-346, May 13, 2008
• Defense Logistics: Navy Needs to Develop and Implement a Plan to Ensure That Voyage Repairs Are Available to Ships Operating near Guam when Needed, GAO-08-427, May 12, 2008
• Transportation Security: Transportation Security Administration Has Strengthened Planning to Guide Investments in Key Aviation and Surface Transportation Security Programs, but More Work Remains, GAO-08-487T, May 13, 2008

World Bank - State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2008, May 2008 (78 pages, PDF): "The global carbon market grew to a whopping US$64 billion (€47 billion) in 2007, more than doubling over 2006, according to a new report from the World Bank highlighting the state and trends of the global carbon market. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) also saw a doubling of both value and number of allowances transacted to the tune of US$50 billion (€37 billion).

The report’s data shows that the global carbon market doubled or tripled in value for all segments, except for projects in developing countries which saw a leveling off of market volumes transacted under the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM)—from 537 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2006 to 551 MtCO2e in 2007. The report’s analysis cautions that market momentum may be at a crossroads for many developing countries just as they are beginning to reap the benefits of carbon finance and are stepping forward to show that they are making efforts to mitigate climate change through advancing clean energy technology. The report shows that the CDM is delivering on clean energy—energy efficiency and renewable energy accounted for nearly two-thirds of the transacted volumes in the project-based market.

"As announced previously by OIP, we are now posting up-to-date summaries of new court decisions. To facilitate their review, the cases are broken down by FOIA Exemption or procedural element and internal citations and quotations have been omitted. OIP provides these case summaries as a public service; due to their nature as summaries, they are not intended to be authoritative or complete statements of the facts or holdings of any of the cases summarized, and they should not be relied upon as such. Set out below are summaries of the court decisions that were received by OIP during the month of April 2008."

• OIG-08-44 - Independent Review of The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Reporting of FY 2007 Drug Control Obligations (PDF, 9 pages) New 05/12/2008
• OIG-08-43 - Independent Review of The U.S. Coast Guard's Reporting of FY 2007 Drug Control Performance Summary (PDF, 10 pages) New 05/12/2008
• OIG-08-42 - Independent Review of The U.S. Coast Guard's Reporting of FY 2007 Drug Control Obligations (PDF, 5 pages) New 05/12/2008
  Permanent Link        Topic(s): E-Government, Government Documents

H.R. 3548: Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2008 - To enhance citizen access to Government information and services by establishing plain language as the standard style for Government documents issued to the public, and for other purposes. [UsabilityNews.com via Darlene Fichter]

News release: "In a move that will disseminate faculty research and scholarship as broadly as possible, the Harvard Law School faculty unanimously voted last week to make each faculty member’s scholarly articles available online for free, making HLS the first law school to commit to a mandatory open access policy." [John Palfrey via Darlene Fichter]

News release: "The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) today released a first-of-its kind report that examines the technical feasibility of harnessing wind power to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030. Entitled 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030 (248 pages, PDF), the report identifies requirements to achieve this goal including reducing the cost of wind technologies, citing new transmission infrastructure, and enhancing domestic manufacturing capability. Most notably, the report identifies opportunities for 7.6 cumulative gigatons of CO2 to be avoided by 2030, saving 825 million metric tons in 2030 and every year thereafter if wind energy achieves 20 percent of the nation’s electricity mix."

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Strategic Plan for 2008 - 2012 (05/08/2008)

Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress, March 2, 2008 (42 pages, PDF)

DOD Business Systems Modernization: Military Departments Need to Strengthen Management of Enterprise Architecture Programs, GAO-08-519, May 12, 2008

D-2008-088 DoD IG Interim Report to Congress on Section 325 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, April 22, 2008 (Project No. D2008-D000CH-0166.000).

OIG-08-45 - Independent Review of The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Reporting of FY 2007 Drug Control Performance Summary (PDF, 14 pages)