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Daily Archives: October 16, 2014

Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action

“The Georgetown Climate Center released 100 recommendations … to improve federal programs that could be used to prepare for climate change. The new report will inform the White House State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The report, Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action, draws from a series of workshops with leading federal, state and local officials and builds upon lessons learned post-disaster in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina), New York (following Hurricane Sandy) and Vermont (after Hurricane Irene). The report identifies more than 30 federal programs, initiatives and laws that can be used to prepare for extreme events such as storms, floods and heat waves as well as rising seas. The report recognizes that recent extreme weather events and the mounting economic losses from such events have shown how vulnerable many states and communities are to climate change. Although state and local governments will be the primary actors when it comes to preparing for climate change impacts, the federal government can boost – or impede – preparedness.  The federal government sends billions of dollars to states and communities every year, some of which could be used more effectively to adapt to climate change.  Federal laws and regulations also can be important drivers of state and local action. But, in some cases, federal rules have hindered state and local innovation.  The recommendations in the report explore how existing federal dollars, programs, regulations and policies can be retooled, repurposed and deployed to promote and remove barriers to adaptation.”

How Do Liquidity Conditions Affect U.S. Bank Lending?

NY Fed: Ricardo Correa, Linda Goldberg, and Tara Rice  “The recent financial crisis underscored the importance of understanding how liquidity conditions for banks (or other financial institutions) influence the banks’ lending to domestic and foreign customers. Our recent research examines the domestic and international lending responses to liquidity risks across different types of large U.S.… Continue Reading

USA v. Jeffrey Alexander Sterling: Selected Case Files

Via FAS, there are several dozen documents in this compendium including: On January 6, 2011, the Department of Justice announced the indictment of former CIA officer Jeffrey A. Sterling on charges of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information. A trial date has been set for January 14, 2015 (jury selection on January 8, 2015). Selected Case… Continue Reading

DoD Contract Spending and the Industrial Base, 2000–2013

A Report of the CSIS National Security Program on Industry and Resources, October 2014 “Over the past decade, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has issued a series of analytical reports on federal contract spending for national security and across the government. This latest report analyzes contracting for products, services, and research and development… Continue Reading

Employer Progress on Recruiting and Hiring the Long-Term Unemployed

Companies that signed on to best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed in January are already reporting progress, October 15, 2014. In January, the Administration engaged with America’s businesses to develop best practices for hiring and recruiting the long-term unemployed to ensure that these candidates receive a fair shot during the hiring process… Continue Reading

The Economist Essay – The Future of the Book

From Papyrus to Pixels – The digital transformation of the way books are written, published and sold has only just begun: “Many are worried about what such technology means for books, with big bookshops closing, new devices spreading, novice authors flooding the market and an online behemoth known as Amazon growing ever more powerful. Their… Continue Reading

DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics

“The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics is a compendium of tables that provides data on foreign nationals who, during a fiscal year, were granted lawful permanent residence (i.e., admitted as immigrants or became legal permanent residents), were admitted into the United States on a temporary basis (e.g., tourists, students, or workers), applied for asylum or refugee… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Climate Change, Specialty Metals

CLIMATE CHANGE: USDA’s Ongoing Efforts Can Be Enhanced with Better Metrics and More Relevant Information for Farmers, GAO-14-755: Published: Sep 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 16, 2014: “In 2012, the United States produced about $395 billion in agricultural commodities, with about half of this revenue from crop sales and half from livestock. According to the Third National Climate… Continue Reading

American Housing Survey: 2013 Detailed Tables

Release Number: CB14-TPS.78: “The first findings from the 2013 American Housing Survey are now available in the form of dozens of detailed tables and a microdata file. The American Housing Survey is conducted biennially and, as in past years, provides current national-level information on a wide range of housing subjects. Topics unique to this survey… Continue Reading

Poverty Rate Declines, Number of Poor Unchanged, Based on Supplemental Measure of Poverty

“The nation’s poverty rate was 15.5 percent in 2013, down from 16.0 percent in 2012, according to the supplemental poverty measure released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2013 rate was higher than the official measure of 14.5 percent, but similarly declined from the corresponding rate in 2012. Meanwhile, 48.7 million were below the poverty… Continue Reading

Federal and State Quarantine and Isolation Authority

CRS – Federal and State Quarantine and Isolation Authority, Jared P. Cole, Legislative Attorney. October 9, 2014. “In the wake of increasing fears about the spread of highly contagious diseases, federal, state, and local governments have become increasingly aware of the need for a comprehensive public health response to such events. An effective response could include the quarantine of persons… Continue Reading