National Security Archive: "FBI special agents carried out 20 formal interviews and at least 5 "casual conversations" with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after his capture by U.S. troops in December 2003, according to secret FBI reports released as the result of Freedom of Information Act requests by the National Security Archive and posted."

News release: " Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction...The number of unemployed persons (14.7 million) and the unemployment rate (9.5 percent) were little changed in June. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 4.6 percentage points."

CBO: Affordable Health Choices Act, July 2, 2009 - Preliminary analysis of the provisions of Title I of draft legislation that has been posted on the Web site of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

• Urban Area Security Initiative: FEMA Lacks Measures to Assess How Regional Collaboration Efforts Build Preparedness Capabilities, GAO-09-651, July 02, 2009
• Defense Travel System: Implementation Challenges Remain, GAO-09-577, June 30, 2009
• Federal Information Security Issues, GAO-09-817R, June 30, 2009
• Recovery Act: The Department of Transportation Followed Key Federal Requirements in Developing Selection Criteria for Its Supplemental Discretionary Grants Program, GAO-09-785R, June 30, 2009

USDA Economic Research Service: Food Security Assessment, 2008-09 - By Shahla Shapouri, Stacey Rosen, Birgit Meade, and Fred Gale, Outlook Report No. (GFA-20) 58 pp, June 2009

News release: "The Securities and Exchange Commission voted on three measures that are intended to better inform and empower investors to improve corporate governance and help restore investor confidence. The Commission proposed requiring public companies receiving money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to provide a shareholder vote on executive pay in their proxy solicitations The Commission also voted to propose better disclosure of executive compensation at public companies in their proxy statements, and approved a New York Stock Exchange rule change to prohibit brokers from voting proxies in corporate elections without instructions from their customers."

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today announced final rules and guidelines that will promote the accuracy and integrity of information provided to credit reporting agencies (commonly called “credit bureaus”) and allow consumers to dispute inaccurate information about them directly with furnishers, the financial institutions and other entities that furnish the information to the credit reporting agencies. Information in credit reports is used widely to determine a consumer’s eligibility for credit, employment, insurance and rental housing, and errors in a consumer’s report can result in denial of those benefits or higher costs.

The FTC is issuing these rules and guidelines with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision (the Agencies) under section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The effective date for these final rules and guidelines is July 1, 2010."

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today announced a law enforcement crackdown on scammers trying to take advantage of the economic downturn to bilk vulnerable consumers through a variety of schemes, such as promising non-existent jobs; promoting overhyped get-rich-quick plans, bogus government grants, and phony debt-reduction services; or putting unauthorized charges on consumers’ credit or debit cards. Dubbed “Operation Short Change,” the law enforcement sweep announced today includes 15 FTC cases, 44 law enforcement actions by the Department of Justice, and actions by at least 13 states and the District of Columbia."

News release: "The Environmental Protection Agency today announced the next steps in a coordinated strategy to slash harmful emissions from ocean-going vessels. EPA is proposing a rule under the Clean Air Act that sets tough engine and fuel standards for U.S. flagged ships that would harmonize with international standards and lead to significant air quality improvements throughout the country."

News release: " As part of its ongoing efforts to protect human health and the environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has posted a list of 44 “high hazard potential” impoundments containing coal combustion residuals, commonly referred to as coal ash, at 26 different coal burning electric utility facilities. EPA is releasing this information after interagency coordination with FEMA’s Risk Analysis Division Mitigation Directorate and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Designating these units reflects EPA’s commitment to assessing risks and vulnerabilities in order to protect critical infrastructure—and the American people—from disaster. A high hazard potential rating is not related to the stability of those impoundments but to the potential for harm should the impoundment fail."

News release: "Widespread racial profiling by law enforcement agents as a result of Bush-era policies remains a pervasive problem throughout the United States, according to a report out today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group (RWG). Government policies are a major cause of the disproportionate stopping and searching of racial minorities by law enforcement agencies, according to the report, which was submitted today to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)."

• The ACLU and RWG's report to CERD
  
• The Bush administration's final submission to CERD

News release: "The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had improved considerably in May, retreated in June. The Index now stands at 49.3 (1985=100), down from 54.8 in May. The Present Situation Index decreased to 24.8 from 29.7. The Expectations Index declined to 65.5 from 71.5 in May."

"The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration released America's Container Ports: Freight Hubs That Connect Our Nation to Global Markets, an overview of the movement of maritime freight handled by the nation's container seaports in 2008 and trends in maritime freight movement since 1995. The report covers the impact of the recent U.S. and global economic downturn on U.S. port container traffic, trends in container throughput, concentration of containerized cargo at the top U.S. ports, regional shifts in cargo handled, vessel calls and capacity in ports, the rankings of U.S. ports among the world's top ports, and the number of maritime container entries into the United States relative to truck and rail containers."

News release: "The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration released Motorcycle Trends in the United States, a special report on the current and emerging trends involving street-legal motorcycles. The report covers the trends in vehicles, vehicle registrations, owner demographics, training and safety."

Best Practices for Government Libraries - 2009 - Change: Managing It, Surviving It, and Thriving On It - "The 2009 edition includes 60 articles and other submissions provided by more than 50 contributors from librarians in government agencies, courts, and the military, as well as from professional association leaders, LexisNexis Consultants, and more." Compiled by Marie Kaddell, LexisNexis.

Approaches to Future Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World: Summary of a Workshop.
"Numerous countries and regions now have very active space programs, and the number is increasing. These maturing capabilities around the world create a plethora of potential partners for cooperative space endeavors, while at the same time heightening competitiveness in the international space arena. This book summarizes a public workshop held in November 2008 for the purpose of reviewing past and present cooperation, coordination, and competition mechanisms for space and Earth science research and space exploration; identifying significant lessons learned; and discussing how those lessons could best be applied in the future, particularly in the areas of cooperation and collaboration."

• Reverse Mortgages: Product Complexity and Consumer Protection Issues Underscore Need for Improved Controls over Counseling for Borrowers, GAO-09-606, June 29, 2009
• Reverse Mortgages: Product Complexity and Consumer Protection Issues Underscore Need for Improved Controls over Counseling for Borrowers, GAO-09-812T, June 29, 2009
• Clean Water Infrastructure: A Variety of Issues Need to Be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund, GAO-09-657, May 29, 2009
• Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices but Is Not Consistently Applied, GAO-09-630, May 29, 2009
• Insurance Sales to Military Personnnel: Additional Actions Needed to Prevent Improper Life Insurance Sales and Pay Allotment Transactions, GAO-09-452, May 29, 2009

News release: "Recommendations for how the HHS Office of the Secretary will spend $400 million in funds for patient-centered research, also known as comparative effectiveness research, were released today by Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). The report, mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is designed to help the HHS Secretary and lawmakers improve the quality of care for patients, and provide patients and doctors the best information possible to make decisions about health care. The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research report also catalogues current federal activities on CER, which had not been previously inventoried."

"Report to the President and the Congress on Comparative Effectiveness Research: The Annual Report on Comparative Effectiveness Research contains information describing current Federal activities on comparative effectiveness research and recommendations for such research conducted or supported from funds made available by the Recovery Act."

• Executive Summary
  
• Full Report

News release: "The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today issued the host state loan-to-deposit ratios that the banking agencies will use to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. These ratios update data released on June 26, 2008. In general, section 109 prohibits a bank from establishing or acquiring a branch or branches outside of its home state primarily for the purpose of deposit production. Section 109 also prohibits branches of banks controlled by out-of-state bank holding companies from operating primarily for the purpose of deposit production."

News release: "In its 79th Annual Report, BIS Annual Report 2008/09, 29 June 2009, released today, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) looks at the narrow path ahead leading out of the financial crisis. The Report underlines the need to focus clearly on the medium term and on sustainability when designing both macroeconomic and financial policy responses. The crisis had both macroeconomic and microeconomic causes: large global imbalances; a protracted period of low real interest rates; distorted incentives; and an underappreciation of risk. There were market failures, and regulation failed to prevent the build-up of excessive leverage."

News release: "As part of the Obama Administration's continued investment in economic development in communities around the country through the Recovery Act, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today announced $90 million in financial assistance awards for 59 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in 26 states and Puerto Rico dedicated to helping communities hard hit by the economic crisis. These awards will support new economic recovery projects in some of our nation's most vulnerable communities at a time when they are facing many financial challenges...The CDFI program invests in and builds the capacity of a nationwide network of community-based financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed urban, rural, and Native communities. The CDFI Fund receives applications on an annual basis and awards funds through a competitive process. For a complete list of award recipients and profiles, visit http://www.cdfifund.gov/."

The Peak Oil Debate, Laurel Graefe, Economic Review, Vol. 94, No. 2, 2009

Brookings: Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators, Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi, June 29, 2009.

The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project: "The six aggregate indicators and the underlying data sources can be viewed interactively on the Governance Indicators webpage of this site. To download the full dataset for all countries and indicators in Excel format, click here. Documentation of the latest update of the WGI can be found in Governance Matters VIII: Governance Indicators for 1996–2008. Further documentation and research using the WGI is available on the Resources page of this website or at www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance."

Arctic Climate Change and Security Policy Conference: Final Report and Findings, Kenneth Yalowitz, James Collins, Ross Virginia Report, June 2009

WSJ: "U.S. consumers are saving more of their incomes than any time since 1993 -- a major shift toward frugality that's expected to be one of the lasting effects of this deep and lengthy recession."

• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - Personal Saving Rate, updated Thursday, June 25 2009.
  
• LA Times: "Americans' savings rate jumps, but there's a catch The personal savings rate soars to 6.9% in May, but the government's one-time stimulus payments skewed the data."
  
• A Guide to the National Income and Product Accounts of the United States: "This guide presents information on the structure, definitions, and presentation that underlie the national income and product accounts (NIPAs) produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The NIPAs show the composition of production and the distribution of incomes earned in production. Thus, they represent a critical element of the U.S. economic accounts, which are designed to provide a consistent and comprehensive picture of the Nation’s economy. The NIPAs feature several widely followed measures of aggregate U.S. economic activity, including gross domestic product (GDP), gross domestic income (GDI), personal income, and personal saving among
  others."
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "On June 29, 2009, the Federal Reserve will offer $150 billion in 28-day credit through its Term Auction Facility. Additional information regarding the auction is listed below; the auction will be conducted as specified in this announcement, Regulation A, and the terms and conditions of the Term Auction Facility.

"Who Runs Gov offers a unique look at the world of Washington through its key players and personalities. Our site will feature profiles of a select group of government officials, including members of the new presidential administration, legislators, senior Congressional aides and committee staff, and experts at think tanks and interest groups who influence how policy is made. Each profile focuses on an individual's policy experience and involvement with specific areas of government decision-making, from health care to telecommunications to financial services to national security. Our goal is to become the web destination for business, opinion and political leaders – as well as students, educators and engaged citizens - looking for crucial, real-time information on the individuals who shape the policy-making process in the nation’s capital." [Gloria Miccioli]

News release: "The United States added nearly 1 million nonemployer businesses between 2006 and 2007, bringing the total to 21.7 million, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This 4.5 percent growth rate is detailed in Nonemployer Statistics: 2007, an annual data series on businesses without paid employees."

News release: "The most authoritative report providing a blueprint for how communities can tackle global warming was released by the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The report is a guide to California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, or SB 375, the nation’s first legislation to link transportation and land use planning with global warming. The report Communities Tackle Global Warming: A Guide to California’s SB 375, highlights that locating homes closer to jobs and transportation choices creates walkable communities and can improve quality of life, reduce commute times and cut millions of tons of global warming pollution. It also features a photo simulation of how communities could come alive after mixed-use development and improved street design bring pedestrian activity into the area."

UNODC Releases 2009 World Drug Report: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has just released the 2009 version of its annual drug report. The Report was launched in Washington, D.C., by UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa and the newly appointed Director of the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske. The Report shows a downward trend in major drug markets. Opium cultivation in Afghanistan, where 93 per cent of the world's opium is produced, decreased by 19 per cent in 2008. Colombia, which produces half of the world's cocaine, saw a fall of 18 per cent in cultivation and a staggering 28 per cent decline in production compared to 2007. Global coca production, at 845 tons, is at a five-year low, despite some increases in cultivation in Peru and the Bolivia."

H.R. 2998, American Clean Energy and Security Act, June 26, 2009 - Cost estimate for the bill as amended and reported by the House Committee on Rules on June 26, 2009

CBO's Long-Term Model: An Overview, June 2009

Report to the Congress on the Profitability of Credit Card Operations of Depository Institutions Submitted to the Congress pursuant to section 8 of the Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act of 1988, June 2009: "Analyzes the profitability over time of depository institutions' credit card activities by examining the performance of larger institutions that specialize in such activities and of a sample of smaller commercial banks that offer a range of credit services. Also reviews trends in credit card pricing, including changes in interest rates."

News release: "The breakdown of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases is given in the following map and table. Map of the spread of Influenza A(H1N1): number of laboratory confirmed cases and deaths."

Human Capital: Actions Needed to Better Track and Provide Timely and Accurate Compensation and Medical Benefits to Deployed Federal Civilians, GAO-09-562, June 26, 2009
• The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Critical Infrastructure Protection Cost-Benefit Report, GAO-09-654R, June 26, 2009
• Energy Markets: Estimates of the Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration on Wholesale Gasoline Prices, GAO-09-659, June 12, 2009
• Energy Markets: Estimates of the Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration on Wholesale Gasoline Prices, GAO-09-659, June 12, 2009

The Troubled Asset Relief Program: Report on Transactions Through June 17, 2009 - June 2009

"The Federal Trade Commission today issued Authorized Generics: An Interim Report, which presents the first set of results from a study conducted to examine the short-term and long-term effects of “authorized generics” on competition in the prescription drug marketplace. An authorized generic exists when a pharmaceutical manufacturer sells a drug under both a brand-name and generic label. The FTC conducted the study in response to requests from Congress. Issues related to generic drug competition are relevant to current legislative debates and health care reform. The FTC Interim Report examines the short-term effects of authorized generics during an initial period of generic competition. In certain circumstances, the first generic competitor of a branded drug is awarded a 180-day period of marketing exclusivity under the Hatch-Waxman Act. This marketing exclusivity period granted to certain generic “first filers,” however, does not preclude competition from authorized generics. It has become increasingly common for brand-name drug makers to begin marketing authorized generics at the same time the generic firm is beginning its 180-day marketing exclusivity period, leading to questions about the effects of authorized generics on pharmaceutical competition."

Banque de France Press Release: 2008 annual report of the Commission bancaire - "In 2008 the financial turmoil resulting from the subprime crisis intensified, leading many credit institutions, in particular in the United States, to make substantial write-downs and impairments. Consequently, confidence in the financial system was hit to the extent that the interbank market seized up, especially after the failure of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers in September. Against this backdrop, governments and central banks in France and abroad took unprecedented measures to support credit institution’s short- and medium-term refinancing and raise their capital levels. These actions, which were highly co-ordinated at the European level, created the conditions for banking systems to gradually return to normal functioning."

News release: "Today, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) announces the release of an investigative staff report, Underpayments to Consumers by the Health Insurance Industry.

News release: "The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced extensions of and modifications to a number of its liquidity programs. Conditions in financial markets have improved in recent months, but market functioning in many areas remains impaired and seems likely to be strained for some time. As a consequence, to promote financial stability and support the flow of credit to households and businesses, the Federal Reserve is extending a number of facilities through early 2010. At the same time, in light of the improvement in financial conditions and reduced usage of some facilities, the Federal Reserve is trimming the size and changing the terms of some facilities."

The Long-Term Budget Outlook, June 2009:

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Resource Guide, a handbook for community organizers and decision-makers, is now available from the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Environmental Justice Office....it provides information on funding sources and other resources that can help communities understand, prioritize, and address their specific environmental concerns...The Guide contains success stories achieved by communities disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens, such as the West Oakland Toxic Reduction Collaborative, which helped reduce port-related diesel pollutants, and the Torres Martinez Collaborative, which helped remove tons of refuse from tribal lands."

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, Information Technology Audits Division - Incident Handling and Privacy Act Controls over External Web Sites, Final Audit Report, Redacted, ED-OIG/A11I0006, June 10, 2009.

• Aviation Safety: Better Data and Targeted FAA Efforts Needed to Identify and Address Safety Issues of Small Air Cargo Carriers, GAO-09-614, June 24, 2009
• Coast Guard: Observations on the Genesis and Progress of the Service's Modernization Program, GAO-09-530R, June 24, 2009
• Contract Management: Minimal Compliance with New Safeguards for Time-and-Materials Contracts for Commercial Services and Safeguards Have Not Been Applied to GSA Schedules Program, GAO-09-579, June 24, 2009
• Federal Tort Claims Act: Information Related to Implications of Extending Coverage to Volunteers at HRSA-Funded Health Centers, GAO-09-693R, June 24, 2009
• Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance IRS's Internal Controls and Operating Effectiveness, GAO-09-513R, June 24, 2009
• Prescription Drugs: Overview of Approaches to Control Prescription Drug Spending in Federal Programs, GAO-09-819T, June 24, 2009

News release: "The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies today proposed revisions to regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to require the agencies to consider low-cost education loans provided to low-income borrowers when assessing a financial institution's record of meeting community credit needs. This proposal, which is being proposed jointly by the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of Thrift Supervision, incorporates provisions of the recently enacted Higher Education Opportunity Act, which revised the CRA."

News release: "EPA has released the latest version of a state-of-the-science tool that estimates health risks from breathing air toxics in the United States. The National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), based on 2002 air emissions data, helps federal, state, local and tribal governments identify areas and specific pollutants for further evaluation to better understand risks they may pose. Air toxics are of concern because they are known to or are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems, including birth defects. The report assessed 180 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter from stationary sources of all sizes and from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment."

• More information on NATA
  
• Information on air toxics

News release: "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during the period of May 15, 2009 through June 14, 2009. The list contains only national banks and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received ratings. The possible ratings are outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, and substantial noncompliance."

An Update on the Credit Crisis Litigation: A Turn Towards Structured Products and Asset Management Firms, June 15, 2009: "In this NERA paper, co-author Vice President Dr. Faten Sabry provides an update on credit crisis-related securities litigation. The paper highlight emerging trends in a number of areas, including filings, percentage of cases involving directors and officers, types of defendants and plaintiffs, and recent decisions with emphasis on cases involving complex financial products such as CDOs and CDS."

News release: "The world’s 65-and-older population is projected to triple by midcentury, from 516 million in 2009 to 1.53 billion in 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In contrast, the population under 15 is expected to increase by only 6 percent during the same period, from 1.83 billion to 1.93 billion. In the United States, the population 65 and older will more than double by 2050, rising from 39 million today to 89 million. While children are projected to still outnumber the older population worldwide in 2050, the under 15 population in the United States is expected to fall below the older population by that date, increasing from 62 million today to 85 million. These figures come from the world population estimates and projections released today through the Census Bureau’s International Data Base. This latest update includes projections by age, including people 100 and older, for 227 countries and areas."

News release: "Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the 2009 Congressional Pig Book, the latest installment in the group’s 19-year exposé of pork-barrel spending. The Pig Book revealed 10,160 earmarks worth $19.6 billion...The Pig Book Summary profiles the most egregious examples, breaks down pork per capita by state, and presents the annual "Oinker" Awards. All 10,160 projects are listed in CAGW's searchable database."

June 2009, Report No. AUD-09-015, FDIC’s Brokered Deposit Waiver Application Process, Inspector General Audit Report

Executive Order: Establishing a White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers, June 23, 2009 - "Over the last decade, the United States has experienced a decline in employment in the auto industry and among part suppliers. This decline has accelerated dramatically over the past year, with more than 400,000 jobs being lost in the industry. Unemployment in the automotive sector in towns and cities across the country has reached levels not seen in decades, with resulting increases in poverty and high home foreclosure rates. The purpose of this order is to establish a coordinated Federal response to issues that particularly impact automotive communities and workers and to ensure that Federal programs and policies address and take into account these concerns."

News release: "[On June 23, 2009] The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, one of 12 Presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, will be opening approximately 154 hours of Nixon White House tape recordings and approximately 30,000 pages of textual materials from the Nixon Presidency."

News release: "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac modified nearly 37,000 loans during the first quarter of 2009. It is an increase of 57 percent over the fourth quarter of 2008 and more than double the number of modifications in the first quarter of last year. The data were released by James B. Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as part of the Foreclosure Prevention Report for the first quarter of 2009."

Measuring the Effects of the Business Cycle on the Federal Budget, June 2009: "In March 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its most recent baseline projections of federal revenues, outlays, and budget balances for the next 10 years. Those projections are developed in a process by which CBO assumes the continuation of current laws and policies that affect taxes and mandatory spending programs and extrapolates the growth of discretionary spending by using projected rates of inflation. According to CBO’s projections, under current tax and spending policies, the budget deficit would increase from $459 billion in 2008 to $1.7 trillion in 2009 and then fall to $1.1 trillion in 2010 and to $693 billion in 2011. Measured relative to the size of the economy—that is, as a percentage of gross domestic product, or GDP—the deficit would be 11.9 percent of GDP in 2009 (the largest in more than half a century), 7.9 percent in 2010, and4.6 percent in 2011."

News release: "HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report -- Hidden Costs of Health Care: Why Americans are Paying More but Getting Less. The report documents the rising cost of deductibles, co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses that are making it more difficult for families with insurance to receive the health care they need."

• High Speed Passenger Rail: Effectively Using Recovery Act Funds for High Speed Rail Projects, GAO-09-786T, June 23, 2009
• Military Personnel: Reserve Component Servicemembers on Average Earn More Income while Activated, GAO-09-688R, June 23, 2009
• V-22 Osprey Aircraft: Assessments Needed to Address Operational and Cost Concerns to Define Future Investments, GAO-09-692T, June 23, 2009
• International Aviation: Federal Efforts Help Address Safety Challenges in Africa, but Could Benefit from Reassessment and Better Coordination, GAO-09-498, June 16, 2009
• Defense Acquisitions: Assessments Needed to Address V-22 Aircraft Operational and Cost Concerns to Define Future Investments, GAO-09-482, May 11, 2009
• Army Corps of Engineers: Recent Changes Have Reduced the Use of Continuing Contracts, but Management Processes Need to Be Improved, GAO-09-552, June 22, 2009
• Job Corps: Better Targeted Career Training and Improved Preenrollment Information Could Enhance Female Residential Student Recruitment and Retention, GAO-09-470, June 02, 2009
• Medicaid: Source of Screening Affects Women's Eligibility for Coverage of Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment in Some States, GAO-09-384, May 22, 2009
• Combating Nuclear Smuggling: DHS Improved Testing of Advanced Radiation Detection Portal Monitors, but Preliminary Results Show Limits of the New Technology, GAO-09-655, May 21, 2009
• Firearm and Explosives Background Checks Involving Terrorist Watch List Records, GAO-09-125R, May 21, 2009

WSJ: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates created a new military command dedicated to cyber security on Tuesday, reflecting the Obama administration's plans to centralize and elevate computer security as a major national-security issue. In a memo to senior Pentagon officials, Mr. Gates said he intends to recommend that Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, take on the additional role as commander of the Cyber Command with the rank of a four-star general."

News release: "The Impacts of Foreclosures on Families and Communities, a new Urban Institute report, details what is known about how foreclosures adversely affect households and their neighborhoods — from children and the elderly to public safety and local property tax revenues. It also looks at policies, programs, and response strategies to prevent or mitigate the fallout. The report, a comprehensive resource for local officials, advocates, and concerned laypeople, was motivated by the recognition that this decade may be the most tumultuous in the history of U.S. housing markets. Home prices skyrocketed from 2000 to 2006, while subprime loans and other factors propelled an expansion in homeownership. Then it all fell apart. Prices have plummeted, foreclosure rates have ballooned, and many communities have been walloped."

• The Impacts of Foreclosures on Families and Communities
  
• The Impacts of Foreclosures on Families and Communities: A Primer
  
• A National Commitment to Ending Homelessness among Veterans - Why Affordable Housing Programs Matter
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "The CIA informed the American Civil Liberties Union that it would delay by one week its release of a reprocessed version of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on the CIA's interrogation and detention program [The heavily redacted version of the report released last year is available here.] The CIA turned over a heavily redacted version of the report in May 2008 as part of an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, but on May 28, 2009, informed the court that it would review the same report with a view toward disclosing more information.In a letter to the ACLU, the government said it "will need additional time to make a final determination as to what additional information, if any, may be disclosed from the report."

Obama's Team: The Face Of Diversity, by James A. Barnes | "Excluding Bush holdovers, white men fill just under half of senior posts."

Patricia White, Associate Director, Division of Research and Statistics - Testimony: Over-the-counter derivatives Before the Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. June 22, 2009 [link to all related testimony]: "...I appreciate this opportunity to provide the Federal Reserve Board's views on the development of a new regulatory structure for the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. The Board brings to this policy debate both its interest in ensuring financial stability and its role as a supervisor of banking institutions. Today, I will describe the broad objectives that the Board believes should guide policymakers as they devise the new structure and identify key elements that will support those objectives. Supervision of derivative dealers is a fundamental element of the oversight of OTC derivative markets, and I also will discuss the steps necessary to ensure these firms employ adequate risk management."

MetroMonitor Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas, June 2009: "Beneath the constant drumbeat of headline numbers emanating from Washington on U.S. jobs, national unemployment, GDP, and home prices lies a complex, diverse set of 366 metropolitan economies. While no metro area has been immune from the current economic downturn, the pain is unevenly distributed. Some have felt only modest effects, and a few show early signs of recovery, while others are undergoing a wrenching restructuring that may fundamentally alter their economic trajectory."

The U.S. Financial and Economic Crisis: Where Does It Stand and Where Do We Go From Here? Martin Neil Baily, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Douglas J. Elliott, Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Initiative on Business and Public Policy, June 2009

The World Bank: Global Development Finance 2009 - Charting a Global Recovery: "Developing countries are expected to grow by only 1.2% this year, after 8.1% growth in 2007 and 5.9% growth in 2008. When China and India are excluded, GDP in the remaining developing countries is projected to fall by 1.6%, causing continued job losses and throwing more people into poverty. Global growth is also expected to be negative, with an expected 2.9% contraction of global GDP in 2009."

The Atlantic: What the World's Great Recession Looks Like, by Derek Thompson references A Tale of Two Depressions by economists Barry Eichengreen and Kevin H. O’Rourke.

Political Violence Against Americans 2008: "Political Violence Against Americans is a report to the American people that focuses on major incidents of anti-U.S. violence and terrorism, with apparent political motivations, that occurred worldwide during 2008. The U.S. Department of State closely monitors and maintains information on threats to Americans overseas – from terrorism and organized violence, to street crimes and health hazards – and makes this information freely available. It is the policy of the U.S.
Government that no double standard shall exist regarding the dissemination of threat information that affects U.S. citizens. Government employees may not benefit unfairly by access to, or possession of privileged information that applies equally to all Americans."

State Personal Income: First Quarter 2009: "U.S. personal income continued to decline in the first quarter of 2009, falling 0.5 percent and encompassing 37 states, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2008, U.S. personal income fell 0.4 percent."

News release: "EPA released a first-of-its-kind guide to help states save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting clean energy practices in their facilities, operations and vehicle fleets. States spend about 10 percent of their operating budgets on energy bills, yet these costs can be greatly reduced by implementing well-designed energy management and greenhouse gas reduction programs. For example, in New York, where a 2001 executive order directed state agencies to reduce energy consumption by 35 percent by 2010 relative to 1990 levels, the state saved $54.4 million in energy costs from energy efficiency improvements between fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2003-2004."

Paid Sick Days Don't Cause Unemployment, June 2009, John Schmitt, Hye Jin Rho, Alison Earle, and Jody Heymann. Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

"On April 16, 2009, President Obama, together with Vice President Biden and Secretary of Transportation LaHood, announced a new vision for developing high-speed rail in America. They called for a collaborative effort among the Federal Government, States,
railroads, and other key stakeholders to help transform America’s transportation system through a national network of high-speed rail corridors. This notice builds on this “Vision for High-Speed Rail” by detailing the application requirements and procedures for obtaining funding for high-speed rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Department of Transportation Appropriations Acts of 2008 and 2009 (FY 2008/2009 DOT Appropriations Acts), while laying the foundation for a longer-term program to establish a network of high-speed rail corridors."

"The ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report [download each section or complete report] sheds light on the faces of modern-day slavery and on new facets of this global problem. The human trafficking phenomenon affects virtually every country, including the United States. In acknowledging America’s own struggle with modern-day slavery and slavery-related practices, we offer partnership. We call on every government to join us in working to build consensus and leverage resources to eliminate all forms of human trafficking." --Secretary Clinton, June 16, 2009.

Weekly Address, June 20, 2009: President Obama Highlights Tough New Consumer Protections: "...one of the most important proposals is a new oversight agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency [proposed in the White House Financial Regulatory Reform Plan]. It’s charged with just one job: looking out for the interests of ordinary Americans in the financial system. This is essential, for this crisis may have started on Wall Street. But its impacts have been felt by ordinary Americans who rely on credit cards, home loans, and other financial instruments...This new agency will have the responsibility to change that. It will have the power to set tough new rules so that companies compete by offering innovative products that consumers actually want – and actually understand. Those ridiculous contracts – pages of fine print that no one can figure out – will be a thing of the past. You’ll be able to compare products – with descriptions in plain language – to see what is best for you. The most unfair practices will be banned. The rules will be enforced."

A Brief Examination of Previous House Price Declines, June 2009: "This Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) research paper examines previous house price downturns across Census Divisions, states, and localities in the United States. The paper is part of FHFA’s ongoing effort to enhance public understanding of the nation’s housing finance system. The paper was prepared by Jesse Weiher of the Office of Policy Analysis and Research."

Economic Survey of Italy 2009: "Italy is facing a difficult period. The economy is in a sharp recession, mainly because of external developments linked to the global financial crisis, and there is great uncertainty about the strength and timing of the recovery. Despite a relatively healthy banking system Italy seems particularly sensitive to both the credit tightening which has occurred in line with that in other countries and the weakness in external demand. This sensitivity has probably been accentuated both by the poor productivity and aggregate profitability performance of the economy over the past decade or more, and by the weak underlying fiscal situation. An array of budget neutral measures have been taken in the short term, but economic performance can be enhanced over the longer term by both macroeconomic and structural policy reforms."

"Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Washington, D.C., June 2009 - TO: The Speaker of the House of Representatives: Pursuant to the requirements of section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act, I am pleased to submit the ninety-fifth annual report of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This report covers operations of the Board during calendar year 2008."

• Federal Reserve Board's 95th Annual Report, 2008
  
• Monetary Policy and Economic Developments
  
• Federal Reserve Operations
  
• Records
  
• Federal Reserve System Organization
  
• Statistical Tables
  
• Federal Reserve System Audits
  
• Maps of the Federal Reserve System
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "The Federal Highway Administration awarded a $382,971 grant to Coreslab Structures (OMAHA) Inc., this week to manufacture and install the deck for a bridge using a brand of concrete considered the most high-tech in the industry. Known as "ultra high-performance concrete," this variety of concrete is much more durable than traditional forms and will be used for the first time in the "waffle" deck panels of a bridge in Wapello County, Iowa. This particular design with cross sections makes it less costly to use the material. The panels also will be fabricated off site and then placed onto the bridge, resulting in less construction time. The grant was provided under FHWA's Highways for LIFE program which promotes highway innovations."

"Traffic Volume Trends is a monthly report based on hourly traffic count data reported by the States. These data are collected at approximately 4,000 continuous traffic counting locations nationwide and are used to estimate the percent change in traffic for the current month compared with the same month in the previous year. Estimates are re-adjusted annually to match the vehicle miles of travel from the Highway Performance Monitoring System and are continually updated with additional data."

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today sent a copy of a recent staff report, Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising, to two subcommittees of the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce that are holding a joint hearing on behavioral advertising. A letter on behalf of the Commission that accompanied the report states that the FTC “has actively encouraged industry to embrace new measures relating to behavioral advertising to inform and empower consumers and is monitoring developments” so that consumers’ privacy is protected. The letter and report were sent to the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection."

News release: "...Matthew M. Aid today posted a collection of declassified documents obtained for his new book The Secret Sentry on the [National Security] Archive’s Web site...disclos[ing] that the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was far from the first time when U.S. government officials, including senior military commanders and the White House, “cherry picked” intelligence information to fit preconceived notions or policies and ignored intelligence which ran contrary to their expectations. The Secret Sentry and the documents posted today show that widespread manipulation of intelligence also occurred during the Korean and Vietnam Wars for example, when Washington ignored intelligence on Chinese intervention in Korea, resulting in catastrophic consequences."

• Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges, GAO-09-709, June 18, 2009
• International Trade: Observations on U.S. Government Efforts to Address Textile Transshipment, GAO-09-813T, June 18, 2009
• Medical Devices: Shortcomings in FDA's Premarket Review, Postmarket Surveillance, and Inspections of Device Manufacturing Establishments, GAO-09-370T, June 18, 2009
• Military Pay: The Defense Finance and Accounting Service--Indianapolis Could Improve Control Activities over Its Processing of Active Duty Army Military Personnel Federal Payroll Taxes, GAO-09-557R, June 18, 2009
• New Markets Tax Credit: Minority Entities Are Less Successful in Obtaining Awards Than Non-Minority Entities, GAO-09-795T, June 18, 2009
• OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs: Improved Oversight and Controls Would Better Ensure Program Quality, GAO-09-395, May 20, 2009
• U.S. and Canadian Governments Have Established Mechanisms to Monitor Compliance with the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement but Face Operational Challenges, GAO-09-764R, June 18, 2009

Secrecy News: "The rise of “the wall” between intelligence and law enforcement personnel that impeded the sharing of information within the U.S. government prior to September 11, 2001 was critically examined in a detailed monograph (pdf) that was prepared in 2004 for the 9/11 Commission. It is the only one of four staff monographs that had not previously been released. It was finally declassified and disclosed earlier this month. In April 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft testified (pdf) that the failure to properly share threat information in the summer of 2001 could be attributed to Justice Department policy memoranda that were issued in 1995 by the Clinton Administration. That is an erroneous oversimplification, the staff monograph contends: “A review of the facts… demonstrates that the Attorney General’s testimony did not fairly and accurately reflect” the meaning or relevance of those 1995 policy documents. For one thing, those policies did not even apply to CIA and NSA information, which could have been shared with law enforcement without any procedural obstacles."

"The Federal Trade Commission today described its comprehensive efforts to combat identity theft before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The FTC also recommended legislative remedies to enhance the effectiveness of these efforts. The testimony presented by Betsy Broder, Assistant Director of the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, highlighted the agency’s leadership role in developing a national strategy to combat identity theft as part of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force. The Task Force issued 31 recommendations that promoted an enhanced data security culture in the public and private sectors, launched victim assistance initiatives, and improved law enforcement’s ability to pursue and punish identity thieves."

Follow up to June 16, 2009 posting - Draft of the White House Financial Regulatory Overhaul Plan - the White House today released: Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation - Rebuilding Financial Supervision and Regulation - "We must act now to restore confidence in the integrity of our financial system. The lasting economic damage to ordinary families and businesses is a constant reminder of the urgent need to act to reform our financial regulatory system and put our economy on track to a sustainable recovery. We must build a new foundation for financial regulation and supervision that is simpler and more effectively enforced, that protects consumers and investors, that rewards innovation and that is able to adapt and evolve with changes in the financial market. In the following pages, we propose reforms to meet five key objectives..

Below are links related to the White Fact Sheets:

• Requiring Strong Supervision And Appropriate Regulation Of All Financial Firms
  
• Strengthening Regulation Of Core Markets And Market Infrastructure
  
• Strengthening Consumer Protection
  
• Providing The Government With Tools To Effectively Manage Failing Institutions
  
• Improving International Regulatory Standards And Cooperation
  
• Related postings on financial system

• Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 5.2 (Best practice approaches for characterizing, communicating, and incorporating scientific uncertainty in decisionmaking) is posted. See also press release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (posted 16 Jan 2009)
• Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.1 (Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region) is posted online. See also press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and EPA web-page. (posted 16 Jan 2009)
• Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.2 (Thresholds of Climate Change in Ecosystems) is posted. See also press release from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). (posted 16 Jan 2009)
• Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 2.3 (Aerosol properties and their impacts on climate) is posted online. See also press release from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (posted 16 Jan 2009)
• Final Report of Synthesis and Assessment Product 1.2 (Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes) is posted. See also press release from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). (posted 16 Jan 2009)
• Related postings on climate change

Strengthening the Transatlantic Alliance: An Overview of the Obama Administration's Policies in Europe, Philip H. Gordon, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Washington, DC, June 16, 2009

• Broadcasting to Cuba: Observations Regarding TV Marti's Strategy and Operations, GAO-09-758T, June 17, 2009
• Identity Theft: Governments Have Acted to Protect Personally Identifiable Information, but Vulnerabilities Remain, GAO-09-759T, June 17, 2009
• Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites: With Costs Increasing and Data Continuity at Risk, Improvements Needed in Tri-agency Decision Making, GAO-09-564, June 17, 2009
• Polar-Orbiting Satellites: With Costs Increasing and Data Continuity at Risk, Improvements Needed in Tri-agency Decision Making, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09772t.pdf, June 17, 2009
• Telecommunications: Preliminary Observations about Consumer Satisfaction and Problems with Wireless Phone Service and FCC's Efforts to Assist Consumers with Complaints, GAO-09-800T, June 17, 2009
• Troubled Asset Relief Program: June 2009 Status of Efforts to Address Transparency and Accountability Issues, GAO-09-658, June 17, 2009
• American Battle Monuments Commission: Management Action Needed to Improve Internal Control Procedures, GAO-09-714R, June 17, 2008

"Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System, is a bipartisan agreement for comprehensive health reform reached by Senators Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and Bob Dole. It is the culmination of an inclusive year-and-a-half effort that included strategic outreach to key health care stakeholders, a series of state-based public policy forums, and months of personal deliberations by the Leaders. Taken together, the recommendations ensure that all Americans have quality, affordable health coverage, while improving health care quality and reining in skyrocketing costs. Organized around four "pillars" of health reform, its policies are inextricably intertwined, and consequently work together to achieve more significant improvements in the health care system than could be achieved if they were considered in an isolated manner."

WSJ: "The 85-page proposal is part of an effort by the Obama administration to redraw the rules that govern finance in an attempt to restore confidence in U.S. and global markets. Obama administration officials want the rules to be tough enough to correct some of the damage caused by the financial crisis last year but not so restrictive that they stifle innovation. The paper says the administration has stopped short of calling for all changes that could be seen as "desirable" and pushed only for those they see as "essential" to reform..The administration's proposal would give the government the power to take over and wind down a large financial company, a power that government officials lacked last year when the financial crisis was intensifying. It would also give the central bank more powers over the payments and settlements systems that money flows through in U.S. financial markets, to prevent against a breakdown in these areas that officials fear could destabilize the economy."

• "A transcript of The Journal’s interview with President Obama, which touches on financial-regulatory reform, the power of free markets, health care and Bernanke’s future at the Fed."
  
• Related postings on financial system

• Defense Acquisitions: Issues to be Considered for Army's Modernization of Combat Systems, GAO-09-793T, June 16, 2009
• Federal Bankruptcy Judges: Measuring Judges' Case-Related Workload, GAO-09-808T, June 16, 2009
• Influenza Pandemic: Greater Agency Accountability Needed to Protect Federal Workers in the Event of a Pandemic, GAO-09-783T, June 16, 2009
• NASA: Commercial Partners Are Making Progress, but Face Aggressive Schedules to Demonstrate Critical Space Station Cargo Transport Capabilities, GAO-09-618, June 16, 2009
• Technology Transfer: Clearer Priorities and Greater Use of Innovative Approaches Could Increase the Effectiveness of Technology Transfer at Department of Energy Laboratories, GAO-09-548, June 16, 2009
• Influenza Pandemic: Increased Agency Accountability Could Help Protect Federal Employees Serving the Public in the Event of a Pandemic, GAO-09-404, June 12, 2009

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Joint Audit of Blackwater Contract and Task Orders for Worldwide Personal Protective Services in Iraq, Report Numbers AUD/IQO-09-16,SIGIR 09-021, June 2009. Unclassified.

"This issue of Supervisory Insights provides a chronology of selected major events and developments that occurred in the financial services industry during a tumultuous 2008. Although the long term effects are unclear, certain points of emphasis for bank supervisors are emerging, and “A Year in Bank Supervision: 2008 and a Few of Its Lessons” offers observations on areas of current and future supervisory attention."

"On 16 June the Government published The Digital Britain Report, its strategic vision for ensuring that the UK is at the leading edge of the global digital economy. The report provides actions and recommendations to promote and protect talent and innovation in our creative industries, to modernise TV and radio frameworks and support local news, and introduces policies to maximise the social and economic benefits from digital technologies."

DHS Office of Immigration Statistics - Refugees and Asylees: 2008, Daniel C. Martin AND Michael Hoefer

News release: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the concluding statement by the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following this year's Article IV Consultation with the United States. This statement represents the independent judgment and assessment by IMF staff of U.S. economic performance and policies. Release of this statement is consistent with the United States' longstanding, strong support for enhanced transparency of the IMF. The United States also plans to release the IMF staff report and Public Information Notice on the U.S. Article IV review following the Executive Board's discussion of the mission later this summer."

OMB Memorandum: Planning for the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget and Performance Plans, June 11, 2009

"...Specifically, we expect the following to take place over the next six months in order to begin the change process:

1. Map your current hiring process, using OPM’s End-to-End Hiring Process Mapping, from the time a manager identifies a need to hire until the person selected starts their first day on the job.
   
2. Review the job announcements for your agency’s top 10 occupations and have them written in plain language and reduced to no more than five pages.
   
3. Notify applicants of their status at four points through USAJobs.gov in a timely fashion --application received, application assessed for qualifications, applicant referred to selecting official (or not); and applicant selected (or not).
   
4. Engage hiring managers in all critical parts of the hiring process. Hiring managers should be involved in targeting recruitment, drafting job announcements, reviewing initial applications, interviewing applicants, and selecting applicants.

CBO: Preliminary Analysis of Major Provisions Related to Health Insurance Coverage Under the Affordable Health Choices Act, June 15, 2009. Letter to the Honorable Edward M. Kennedy.

• CBP Could Improve Its Estimation of Funding Needed for New Border Patrol Agents, GAO-09-542R, June 15, 2009
• Tax Gap: Requiring Information Reporting for Charitable Cash Contributions May Not Be an Effective Way to Improve Compliance GAO-09-555, May 14, 2009
• Veterans Affairs: Implementation of Temporary Residence Adaptation Grants. GAO-09-637R, June 15, 2009

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government: Who’s in Charge? Who Should Be? The Role of the Federal Government in Megadisasters: Based on Lessons from Hurricane Katrina: "This paper looks at what has happened, and what has not happened, since the waters receded and the debris was removed. Based on lessons learned from this catastrophe, the paper focuses on possible national legislation amending the Stafford Act by authorizing the appointment by the president of an officer-in-charge with preauthorized discretionary funding; empowered to assemble and deploy experts, including experts seconded from federal agencies; and to recommend and obtain expedited consideration of a national action program if such a program is determined to be appropriate when megadisasters like this occur."

New on LLRX.com - FOIA Facts: The Detainee Photo Issue - Is it What it Seems? - Scott A. Hodes comments on the Obama administrations' decision to continue to fight the release of detainee photos.

"To understand the looming deficits, The New York Times analyzed Congressional Budget Office projections of the budget surplus or deficit for the years 2009-12, President Obama’s current term. The budget office has been making estimates for these years for nearly a decade now. The numbers that appear [here] are the average annual deficit or surplus for this four-year period." Related Times article: America’s Sea of Red Ink Was Years in the Making">How a Sea of Red Ink Spread From a Puddle.

• Anatomy of a Crash
  
• Related postings on financial system

Remarks at the 2009 World Food Prize Announcement Ceremony, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Washington, DC. June 11, 2009

• Statement of G8 Finance Ministers, 06/13/2009: "Even after output growth begins picking up, unemployment may continue to increase. Our countries will continue to implement actions to reduce the impact of the crisis on employment and maximise the potential for growth in jobs in the period of economic recovery, including by promoting targeted active labor market policies, enhancing skills development, ensuring effective social protection systems and enabling labour markets to respond to broader structural changes."
• Statement by Secretary Geithner at the G8 Finance Ministers Meeting, 06/13/2009: "We aim to put in place more conservative standards for financial oversight of internationally active financial institutions and global markets such as derivatives. To that end, we are proposing that the international group of banking regulators responsible for setting capital requirements take forward its work on reforming capital ratios to constrain future increases in leverage. More broadly, we will call on the international banking regulators to develop proposals by the end of this year for countries to have the necessary tools to quickly resolve failures of cross-border financial firms."
• Related postings on financial system

Paying for Health Care Reform - $313 Billion in Additional Savings to Create a Deficit Neutral Plan - Summary Released by the White House Following the President's Weekly Radio Address

"The RaceTracker project on the OpenCongress wiki tracks every election for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and state governor. RaceTracker is a free, open-source, fully-referenced, and non-partisan public resource. It is coordinated by the crew at the SwingStateProject."

AARP Research Report: 50+ Hispanic Workers: A Growing Segment of the U.S. Workforce, June 2009

News release: "As part of the Obama Administration's efforts to stimulate economic growth and jumpstart the availability of financing critical for economic recovery, the U.S. Treasury Department announced $25 billion in bonds authority available under the Recovery Zone Bonds program. Created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), Recovery Zone Bonds are targeted to areas particularly affected by job loss and will help local governments obtain financing for much needed economic development projects, such as public infrastructure development...To make this program as easy as possible for state and local governments to administer and use, the Treasury Department has also detailed the bond volume cap allocations at the local level for counties and large cities. The total state allocations and the complete list of direct county and large city allocations can be found here."

News release: "United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policy permits officials to search the laptops and other electronic devices of travelers without suspicion of wrongdoing, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU filed the FOIA request with CBP, a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to learn how CBP's suspicionless search policy, first made public in July 2008, is impacting the constitutional rights of international travelers."

The Long March - Building an Afghan National Army, by: Obaid Younossi, Peter Dahl Thruelsen, Jonathan Vaccaro, Jerry M. Sollinger, Brian Grady

The Evolving Terrorist Threat to Southeast Asia - A Net Assessment, by: Peter Chalk, Angel Rabasa, William Rosenau, Leanne Piggott

Responses to Questions About the Cost of a Cap-and-Trade Program, June 12, 2009 - Letter to the Honorable John F. Kerry

• OIG-09-57 - Independent Auditors' Report on the Transportation Security Administration's Consolidated Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2008 (PDF, 53 pages)
• OIG-09-68 - Independent Auditor's Report on TSA's FY 2008 Mission Action Plans included in the DHS FY 2009 Internal Control Playbook (PDF, 17 pages)
• OIG-09-67 - Independent Auditor's Report on Review of Department of Homeland Security Implementation of OMB Circular No. A-123 (PDF, 20 pages)

U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes, May 2009: "The U.S. Import Price Index increased for the third consecutive month in May, rising 1.3 percent. An 8.3 percent increase in petroleum prices was the primary contributor to the overall advance. The U.S. Export Price Index rose 0.6 percent in May after increasing 0.4 percent in April."

"The entire 2006 edition of the United States Code is now available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. The 2006 edition contains the laws enacted through the 109th Congress (ending January 3, 2007, the last law of which was signed January 15, 2007). In addition, PDF files have been made available for the U.S. Code, 2006 edition only. The U.S. Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States, based on what is printed in the Statutes at Large. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. The online version of the United States Code, 2006 Edition is available through GPO Access."

News release: "Obama Administration officials announced that they are taking unprecedented steps to reduce the environmental impacts of mountaintop coal mining in the six Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia through a coordinated approach between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (DOI) and Army Corps of Engineers. Through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior; and Terrence “Rock” Salt, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Administration will implement an Interagency Action Plan on mountaintop coal mining..."

• EPA Chemical Assessments: Process Reforms Offer the Potential to Address Key Problems, GAO-09-774T, June 11, 2009
• Public Housing: HUD's Oversight of Housing Agencies Should Focus More on Inappropriate Use of Program Fund, GAO-09-33, June 11, 2009
• Environmental Contamination: Lessons Learned from the Cleanup of Formerly Used Defense and Military Munitions Sites, GAO-09-779T, June 10, 2009

News release: "On the basis of available evidence and expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. The Director-General of WHO has therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. "The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic," she said at a press conference today."

• Flu Finding Supports ‘One World, One Health’ View of People and Animals
  
• Related postings on swine flu and A/H1N1

"The World Trade Organization has recently posted on its website an interactive map that depicts disputes between its member states. The top of the webpage shows a list of highlight-able choices among types of member-state involvement in disputes: as complainant, respondent, or either. The accompanying map shows member-state areas of the world in a color range of whitish pink to red, to indicate the range in the number of disputes (0-100), and non-member-state areas in gray; the United States is bright red." [LC, Wendy Zeldin]

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Subcommittee on Domestic Policy held a hearing on: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How Did a Private Deal Turn Into a Federal Bailout?

• Opening Statement of Chairman Edolphus Towns
  
• Prepared Testimony of Mr. Kenneth D. Lewis
  
• Fed E-mails
  
• Opening Statement of Chairman Dennis Kucinich
  
• Closing Statement of Chairman Edolphus Town
  
• Related postings on financial system
Permanent Link

News release: "Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.59 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 11, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.29 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.32 percent. The last time the 30-year FRM was higher was the week ending November 26, 2008, when it averaged 5.97 percent."

News release: "A report released today by the U.S. Department of the Interior reveals flaws in the process through which a controversial set of oil and gas leases were offered in Utah in the waning days of the previous Administration, including several near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and Dinosaur National Monument. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who commissioned the report from a team led by Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, agreed with the report’s recommendations, and has directed several follow-up actions, including directing that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in coordination with other federal and state agencies, formulate a comprehensive air quality strategy for the region and to form a special BLM team to conduct a final decision-making review of the 77 parcels in question. The report groups the parcels into categories, noting that some of the parcels, particularly those in areas with existing oil and gas development, may be appropriate for development after a final review. Other parcels in and near sensitive landscapes will require a more extensive, site-specific review."

News release: "Acting Archivist of the United States Adrienne Thomas announced today the appointment of Miriam Nisbet as the director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) within the National Archives and Records Administration. OGIS, an organization newly established under the OPEN Government Act of 2007, will provide policy guidance and mediation services for FOIA activities government-wide."

"The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department today announced that a tax break for the purchase of new motor vehicles is available in states that do not have a state sales tax. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers who buy a new motor vehicle this year are entitled to deduct state or local sales or excise taxes paid on the purchase."

June 10, 2009 - Interim Final Rule on TARP Standards for Compensation and Corporate Governance. For a copy of the regulations, click here [123 pages, PDF].

• Statement by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Compensation
  
• Treasury: Providing Compensation Committees New Independence fact sheet
  
• Treasury: Say on Pay fact sheet
  
• SEC Chairman Schapiro Statement on Executive Compensation
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today released a report entitled, Emerging Health Care Issues: Follow-on Biologic Drug Competition, which examines whether the price of biologic drugs – products manufactured using living tissues and microorganisms – could be reduced by competition from so-called “follow-on biologics” (FOBs). FOBs are like generic drugs, but with significant differences. Biologics are increasingly used to treat arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. No pathway currently exists for such FOBs to enter the market and compete with their pioneer counterparts. The FTC’s Report concludes that providing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to approve such FOBs would be an efficient way to bring these lower-priced drugs to market."

June 10, 2009 - Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District. Link to reports by Districts.

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Summary - May 2009: " Employer costs for employee compensation averaged $29.39 per hour worked in March 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $20.49, accounted for 69.7 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.90, accounted for the remaining 30.3 percent. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, based on the National Compensation Survey, measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for nonfarm private and state and local government workers."

News release: "The unemployment rate for the OECD area was 7.8% in April 2009, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
In the Euro area, the unemployment rate was 9.2% in April 2009, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.9 percentage points higher than in April 2008. For the United States, the unemployment rate for May 2009 was 9.4%, 0.5 percentage point higher than the previous month and 3.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For Japan, the rate was 5.0% in April 2009, 0.2 percentage point higher than the previous month and 1.1 percentage points higher than in April 2008."

Did the 2008 Tax Rebates Stimulate Short-Term Growth?, June 10, 2009 Economic and Budget Issue Brief

• Army Working Capital Fund: Actions Needed to Improve Budgeting for Carryover at Army Ordnance, GAO-09-415, June 10, 2009
• Environmental Contamination: Lessons Learned from the Cleanup of Formerly Used Defense and Military Munitions Sites, GAO-09-779T, June 10, 2009
• VA Real Property: VA Emphasizes Enhanced-Use Leases to Manage Its Real Property Portfolio, GAO-09-776T, June 10, 2009
• Voters With Disabilities: More Polling Places Had No Potential Impediments Than in 2000, but Challenges Remain, GAO-09-685, June 10, 2009
• Telecommunications: Broadband Deployment Plan Should Include Performance Goals and Measures to Guide Federal Investment, GAO-09-494, May 12, 2009

Health and Human Services, HeathReform.gov: "Despite consistent increases in spending, disparities among demographic groups persist. Low-income Americans and racial and ethnic minorities experience disproportionately higher rates of disease, fewer treatment options, and reduced access to care. With unemployment on the rise, the disparities already apparent among these groups will continue to increase. A new report Health Disparities: A Case for Closing the Gap demonstrates the need for reform.

News release: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that 10 of the largest U.S. financial institutions participating in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) have met the requirements for repayment established by the primary federal banking supervisors. Following consultation with the primary banking supervisor of each institution, Treasury has notified the institutions that they are now eligible to complete the repayment process. If these firms choose to do so, Treasury will receive $68 billion in repayment proceeds"

• WSJ Bailout Tracker - "The Treasury first began funneling cash into large banks in October as part of its signature Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which aimed to help boost capital in the ailing financial industry and put the battered economy on a more stable path. Now, as the government begins to approve loan repayments, see a breakdown of the funds by program. Click the column headers in the table below to sort by company, state, amount and more."
  
• Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner Opening Statement – As Prepared for Delivery Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, June 9, 2009
  
• Related postings on financial system

• The 2009 Outlook for Hurricane Production Outages in the Gulf of Mexico (06/09/2009): "EIA's projections for hurricane production outages of crude oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico for the 2009 hurricane season.
• Short-Term Energy Outlook June 2009 (06/09/2009): "Short-term energy projections for supply, demand, and price for the major fuels through 2010 for the U.S. Global oil forecasts are included."
• International Petroleum Monthly - May 2009 (06/09/2009): "This report contains world petroleum production data through March 2009; and OECD country petroleum demand, imports, and stocks data through February 2009. Also included are international oil balance data for 2004-2008 and annual petroleum data series for 1970-2008."

"The Congressional Oversight Panel June 2009 Oversight Report, Stress Testing and Shoring Up Bank Capital, examines the recent stress tests conducted on America’s 19 largest bank holding companies (BHCs)...The Panel’s report examines how effectively Treasury and the Federal Reserve conducted the stress tests, specifically reviewing the government’s economic assumptions, their methods of calculating bank capitalization, their release of information to the public, and whether the stress tests should be repeated in the future. To help make these assessments of the stress tests, the panel engaged two internationally renowned experts in risk analysis, University of California at Berkeley Professors Eric Talley and Johan Walden, to review the stress test methodology."

OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet (06/09/2009): "Based on projections from the EIA June 2009 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could earn $530 billion of net oil export revenues in 2009 and $620 billion in 2010. Last year, OPEC earned $968 billion in net oil export revenues, a 42 percent increase from 2007. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $285 billion, representing 29 percent of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita basis, OPEC net oil export earning reached $2,680 in 2008, a 40 percent increase from 2007."

• Federal Energy and Fleet Management: Plug-in Vehicles Offer Potential Benefits, but High Costs and Limited Information Could Hinder Integration into the Federal Fleet, GAO-09-493, June 09, 2009
• Scientific Integrity: EPA's Efforts to Enhance the Credibility and Transparency of Its Scientific Processes, GAO-09-773T, June 09, 2009
• VA Health Care: Overview of VA's Capital Asset Management, GAO-09-686T, June 09, 2009

OIG-09-66 - DHS' Progress in Addressing Technical Security Challenges at Washington Dulles International Airport (Redacted), May 2009

News release: "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama's strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region. The National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy directs Federal agencies to increase coordination and information sharing with State and local law enforcement agencies, intensifies national efforts to interdict the southbound flow of weapons and bulk currency, and calls for continued close collaboration with the Government of Mexico in their efforts against the drug cartels. The strategy is an important component of the Administration's national drug control policy and complements the Administration's comprehensive efforts to respond to threats along the border."

News release: "A record 10,552 fair housing discrimination complaints were filed in fiscal year 2008, according to a report just released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The State Of Fair Housing FY 2008, Annual Report On Fair Housing, which is produced for Congress each year, shows that a large portion of the complaints, 44 percent, were filed by persons with disabilities. Thirty-five percent, or 3,699, of the complaints alleged discrimination based on race."

Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University report: Enhancing Child Safety & Online Technologies: Final Report of the Internet Safety Technical Taskforce to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States in December of 2008.

"In cases where the DEA is the lead investigative agency, there are significant geographic variations in the rates at which individuals convicted of criminal offenses get sent to prison. According to Justice Department data obtained and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse and just published on TRAC's DEA website, in the Northern District of West Virgina (Wheeling) 65.6% of convictions in such cases resulted in prison terms in 2008. In New York West (Buffalo) the rate was 71.1%. On the other hand, in nine districts fully 100% of all convictions in such cases resulted in prison terms. These were: Alabama Middle (Montgomery), Illinois South (East St. Louis), Illinois Central (Springfield), Michigan West (Grand Rapids), Nebraska (Omaha), North Dakota (Fargo), Oklahoma East (Muskogee), Rhode Island (Providence) and Wisconsin West (Madison). Nationally, the rate was 94.6%...For district-by-district DEA enforcement information go here and click on "District Enforcement." There you'll find data on DEA referrals, charges, convictions, prison sentences and much more, for specific districts and the U.S. as a whole."

Maps of Domestic Natural Gas Sources (06/08/2009): "Summary maps of domestic natural gas sources: Lower 48 States conventional gas production onshore and offshore, shale plays, tight gas plays, and coalbed methane fields. Many more oil and gas maps, summary and detailed, also available."

• Aviation and Climate Change: Aircraft Emissions Expected to Grow, but Technological and Operational Improvements and Government Policies Can Help Control Emissions, GAO-09-554, June 08, 2009
• Nuclear and Worker Safety: Limited Information Exists on Costs and Reasons for Work Stoppages at DOE's Hanford Site, GAO-09-451, May 07, 2009
• Biomonitoring: EPA Needs to Coordinate Its Research Strategy and Clarify Its Authority to Obtain Biomonitoring Data, GAO-09-353, April 30, 2009

"Our Roadmap to Recovery initiative is an ambitious effort to reflect the commitments of your Cabinet members for a stepped up level of activity in implementing the Recovery Act in the next 100 days. We intend to deliver this increased pace at virtually every agency, and in countless programs. In this report, we have highlighted ten of these commitments and provided a graphic representation of where Americans can expect to see the Recovery Act in action across the country this summer."

List of Distressed or Underserved Nonmetropolitan Middle-Income Geographies. Available Formats:

Remarks by John C. Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency, Before the
American Bankers Association Regulatory Compliance Conference, Orlando, Florida, June 8, 2009 - Consumer Protections for Reverse Mortgages

"On Monday, June 8, the World Factbook team unveiled its thoroughly redesigned Web site. Presenting a cleaner look, improved navigation, and a host of added features, the new site provides visitors with a more user-friendly experience. The CIA first made the Factbook available to the public in 1975 and launched its online presence in 1997. This is the first major redesign of the Factbook site in over a decade. More than 3 million visitors access the online Factbook monthly. The world-renowned Factbook provides visitors with wide-ranging and hard-to-locate information about the background, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 countries and other entities."

Emerging Issues in the U.S. Organic Industry, By Catherine Greene, Carolyn Dimitri, Biing-Hwan Lin, William McBride, Lydia Oberholtzer, and Travis Smith. Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-55) 36 pp, June 2009

"H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 21, 2009 would make a number of changes in energy and environmental policies largely aimed at reducing emissions of gases that contribute to global warming. The bill would limit or cap the quantity of certain greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted from facilities that generate electricity and from other industrial activities over the 2012-2050 period. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish two separate regulatory initiatives known as cap-and-trade programs—one covering emissions of most types of GHGs and one covering hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). EPA would issue allowances to emit those gases under the cap-and-trade programs. Some of those allowances would be auctioned by the federal government, and the remainder would be distributed at no charge...CBO has determined that the non-tax provisions of H.R. 2454 contain intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Several of those mandates would require utilities, manufacturers, and other entities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through cap-and-trade programs and performance standards. CBO estimates that the cost of mandates in the bill would well exceed the annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates (in 2009, $69 million and $139 million respectively, adjusted annually for inflation)."

News release: "Members of the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), Embedded Training Team (ETT), Army Veterinarians, and Afghan Para-Veterinarians took part in a 10-day veterinarian medical outreach programme in the districts of Suri and Argendab. The mission provided care for subsistence animals in areas not usually reached by veterinarian care...Over the past five years, the animal population in Zabul has decreased by roughly 70%. In 2003, the province had a total of 800,000 subsistence animals. By 2008, that number had decreased to 54,000."

A CBO Paper - The Effects of Proposals to Increase Cost Sharing in TRICARE, June 2009

News releases, National Security Archive [includes links to full text of referenced documents]: "Now that President Obama has announced a review of U.S. secrecy policy, critics of secrecy policy and declassification requesters alike can only hope that those who carry it out understand the serious failings of the secrecy system as it currently exists. One of the absurdities of the system is that historical national security information, even information 60 years old, is subject to standards that are nearly as tough as those applied to recently-produced information. A group of documents recently declassified by the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel and a CIA history that ISCAP could not release illustrate the problems raised by current standards, overly strict interpretations of those standards, and legal obstacles blocking the declassification of historical intelligence information...Recently, in response to appeals from the National Security Archive, ISCAP reversed several Central Intelligence Agency initial denials of documents from the 1960s and 1970s. While ISCAP withheld material it regards as sensitive secrets, it nevertheless found that much of the information denied by the CIA could be declassified without harm to national security."

Follow up to previous postings on GM bankruptcy and auto industry, this press release: "Penske Automotive Group, Inc., an international automotive retailer, announced today that is has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with General Motors regarding the Saturn brand. Under the terms of the MOU, if the transaction is completed, Penske Automotive Group would obtain the rights to the Saturn brand, acquire certain assets including the Saturn parts inventory, and have the right to distribute vehicles and parts through the Saturn Dealership network. General Motors would continue to provide Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook vehicles, on a contract basis, for an interim period."

• May 04, 2009 - How Would Medicare Part B Premiums Be Affected If There Is No Social Security COLA?
• April 30, 2009 - The 2009 H1N1 \"Swine Flu\" Outbreak: An Overview - See also related postings.
• April 29, 2009 - U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians
• April 27, 2009 - Federal Tort Claims Act
• April 27, 2009 - The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues
• Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001 (fact sheet), updated June 3, 2009.
• Political Turmoil in Thailand and U.S. Interests, May 26, 2009.
• Defense: FY2010 Authorization and Appropriations, May 8, 2009.
• Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies, March 31, 2009

Jobs Picture, by Heidi Shierholz, 06-05-09: "The unemployment rate increased from 8.9% to 9.4% in May, as the Household Survey showed that over three-quarters of a million workers were added to the jobless rolls, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. May marked the 17th straight month of job loss; the current recession is now officially the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The Establishment Survey showed that the U.S. economy lost 345,000 jobs in May, compared to an average monthly loss of 643,000 jobs in the previous half-year. Many will see the declining pace of job-loss in this month’s report as good news. However, last month’s numbers should be put into a larger context: before the current recession, the 0.3% decline in total employment in May would have been the second largest monthly decline in a quarter century. It is only in the midst of a historically steep recession that losing 345,000 jobs in a single month is actually taken as a good sign...The Economic Policy Institute JOBS PICTURE is published each month upon release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report."

French Government: Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety - Press releases, documents and presentations in French [initial page translated into English].

FDIC State Profiles — First Quarter 2009: "The First Quarter 2009 FDIC State Profiles are now available on-line. The FDIC State Profiles are formatted as a quarterly data sheet summation of economic and banking conditions for all fifty states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They are available in both HTML, and via map links, in PDF formats."

News release: "Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 345,000 in May, about half the average monthly decline for the prior 6 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The unemployment rate continued to rise, increasing from 8.9 to 9.4 percent. Steep job losses continued in manufacturing, while declines moderated in construction and several service-providing industries....The number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million in May, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has risen by 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate has grown by 4.5 percentage points."

Energy Information Administration: Iraq Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis - Oil, Gas, Electricity, Coal, June 2009

• Export Controls: Fundamental Reexamination of System Is Needed to Help Protect Critical Technologies, GAO-09-767T, June 4, 2009
• Internal Revenue Service: Review of the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request, GAO-09-754, June 3, 2009
• International Food Assistance: Local and Regional Procurement Can Enhance the Efficiency of U.S. Food Aid, but Challenges May Constrain Its Implementation, GAO-09-570, May 29, 2009
• International Food Assistance: Local and Regional Procurement Provides Opportunities to Enhance U.S. Food Aid, but Challenges May Constrain Its Implementation, GAO-09-757T, June 4, 2009
• Military and Dual-Use Technology: Covert Testing Shows Continuing Vulnerabilities of Domestic Sales for Illegal Export, GAO-09-725T, June 4, 2009
• Tax Administration: Interim Results of IRS's 2009 Filing Season, GAO-09-640, June 3, 2009

Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government: "...this initial public engagement process on open government policy will take place in three phases (brainstorming, discussion, drafting). Following this initial process, we will distill the input received here, from submissions of proposals in From the Inbox, and from government experts and develop a set of draft recommendations for both public and inter-governmental review. These recommendations will, in turn, help to guide the development of government-wide policy on transparency, participation, and collaboration."

FoxBusiness: "Lawmakers and Obama Administration officials are moving closer to finalizing proposals to overhaul the financial regulatory system -- a discussion which now includes federal insurance regulation and institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but significant conflicts remain unresolved."

Monthly Budget Review, June 2009 - Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for April and the Daily Treasury Statements for May: "The federal budget deficit was $984 billion for the first eight months of fiscal year 2009, CBO estimates, $664 billion more than the deficit recorded through May 2008. That estimate includes outlays for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of about $130 billion to date for fiscal year 2009, recorded on a net-present-value basis (adjusted for market risk, as required by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which created the TARP). Revenues have fallen by about 18 percent compared with the amounts collected in 2008; in contrast, outlays have grown by more than 18 percent."

"The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) delivered to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) a draft revision to the 2005 federal Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) Version 1.0, specifying how electronic voting machines are built and tested. The EAC has made the draft revision available for public comment today, with a final version expected by the end of 2009...The draft revision, titled Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, Version 1.1, provides improved requirements for electronic voting machine accuracy, reliability, usability, accessibility and security."

"The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama's administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov."

"New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 62 percent of households reported using Internet access in the home in 2007, an increase from 18 percent in 1997, the first year the bureau collected data on Internet use. Sixty-four percent of individuals 18 and over used the Internet from any location in 2007, while only 22 percent did so in 1997. Among households using the Internet in 2007, 82 percent reported using a high-speed connection, and 17 percent used a dial-up connection."

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Current economic and financial conditions and the federal budget, Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., June 3, 2009

• Alaska Native Villages: Limited Progress Has Been Made on Relocating Villages Threatened by Flooding and Erosion, GAO-09-551, June 03, 2009
• Influenza Pandemic: Continued Focus on the Nation's Planning and Preparedness Efforts Remains Essential, GAO-09-760T, June 03, 2009
• Public Transportation: New Starts Program Challenges and Preliminary Observations on Expediting Project Development, GAO-09-763T, June 03, 2009
• Rebuilding Iraq: Improved Management Controls and Iraqi Commitment Needed for Key State and USAID Capacity-Building Programs, GAO-09-526, June 03, 2009
• Indian Health Service: Millions of Dollars in Property and Equipment Continue to Be Lost or Stolen, GAO-09-450, June 02, 2009
• Regulation SHO: Recent Actions Appear to Have Initially Reduced Failures to Deliver, but More Industry Guidance Is Needed, GAO-09-483, May 12, 2009

News release: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the data from its first Capital Purchase Program (CPP) Monthly Lending Report. The CPP Monthly Lending Report includes all participants in the CPP and will be published in addition to the Monthly Lending and Intermediation Snapshot of the top 21 CPP participants, which Treasury first released in January 2009. The Lending Report, launched today, will make available three data points on a monthly basis: average outstanding balances of consumer loans, commercial loans, and total loans from all CPP participants."

• About the CPP Monthly Lending Report
  
• Summary Table
  
• Individual Bank Reports (February – March, 2009)
  
• Data Tables
  
• Related postings on financial system

ADP National Employment Report: "Nonfarm private employment decreased 532,000 from April to May 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report®. The estimated change of employment from March to April was revised by 54,000, from a decline of 491,000 to a decline of 545,000. Monthly employment losses in April and May averaged 539,000. This is a notable improvement over the first three months of the year, when monthly losses averaged 691,000. Nevertheless, despite some recent indications that economic activity is stabilizing, employment, which usually trails overall economic activity, is likely to decline for at least several more months, although perhaps not as rapidly as during the last six months. May’s ADP Report estimates nonfarm private employment in the service-providing sector fell by 265,000. Employment in the goods-producing sector declined 267,000, with employment in the manufacturing sector dropping 149,000, its thirty-ninth consecutive monthly decline."

News release: "Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today sent Congress his recommendations for a national program to help reduce greenhouse gases by selecting appropriate underground geological formations on public lands to inject and store carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and other carbon-dioxide producing facilities."

"As the ongoing recession places new constraints on family and government budgets, the long-standing gap between Americans’ need for long-term care services and the public and private funding available to pay for them grows ever wider. Policymakers may be interested in exploring whether private long-term care insurance – which now covers only about 6 million individuals – could play a larger role in financing the country’s long-term care needs. A new policy brief, Closing the Long-Term Care Funding Gap: The Challenge of Private Long-Term Care Insurance, from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured examines the fundamentals of private long-term care insurance...Also available is related testimony, Filling In the Long-Term Care Gaps, from Diane Rowland, Executive Vice President of the Foundation and the Executive Director of KCMU, who testified June 3 at a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on the role of private insurance in long-term care."

"Currently, three committees exist at the EU level in the financial services sector, with advisory powers, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Committee (CEIOPS) and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). These are often known as the “Lamfalussy level 3 Committees” because of the role which they play in the EU framework for financial services legislation, created following a report by a group chaired by Alexandre Lamfalussy."

"New statistics released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that economic growth slowed in most states and regions of the U.S. in 2008 as economic growth overall slowed. Real GDP growth slowed in 38 states, with downturns in construction, manufacturing, and finance and insurance restraining growth in many states.1 Growth in real U.S. GDP by state slowed from 2.0 percent in 2007 to 0.7 percent in 2008."

News release: "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York welcomes the letter published today by major financial market participants, committing to additional changes in the market design and risk management for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. The letter, which addresses issues discussed at an April 1 meeting between major market participants and banking supervisors, continues supervisory efforts to reduce systemic risks in the OTC derivatives market. The objectives include expanding use of central counterparties, strengthening risk management and operations, significantly improving transparency and ensuring strong coordination within the regulatory community. Key elements of the letter include establishing, for the first time, deadlines for recording all credit, interest rate and equity derivatives transactions in trade repositories and expanding credit default swap (CDS) central clearing to buy-side firms."

An Analysis of the Army’s Transformation Programs and Possible Alternatives, June 2009

• Information Technology: FDA Needs to Establish Key Plans and Processes for Guiding Systems Modernization Efforts, GAO-09-523, June 02, 2009: "In response to federal law and guidance and urgent mission needs, FDA is pursuing numerous modernization projects (including 16 enterprisewide initiatives), many of which are in early stages. However, FDA does not have a comprehensive IT strategic plan to coordinate and manage these initiatives and projects. Such a plan would describe what the agency seeks to accomplish, identify the strategies it will use to achieve desired results, and provide results-oriented goals and performance measures that permit it to determine whether it is succeeding."
• Nuclear Waste: DOE's Environmental Management Initiatives Report Is Incomplete, GAO-09-697R, June 02, 2009: "The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars annually to clean up nuclear waste at sites across the nation that produced nuclear weapons from the 1940s through the end of the Cold War. This waste can threaten public health and the environment. For example, contaminants at DOE’s Hanford site in Washington have migrated through the soil into the groundwater, which generally flows toward the Columbia River. The river is a source of irrigation for agriculture and drinking water for downstream communities as well as a major route for migrating salmon. Cleanup projects decontaminate and demolish buildings, remove and dispose of contaminated soil, treat contaminated groundwater, and stabilize and dispose of solid and liquid radioactive wastes, among other things. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management currently oversees more than 80 of these cleanup projects, primarily at government-owned, contractor-operated sites throughout the nation. Some of these highly complex projects have completion dates beyond 2050."

Federal Justice Statistics, 2006 - Statistical Tables, 5/09: "Describes criminal case processing in the federal justice system, including arrest and booking through sentencing and corrections. These statistical tables present the number of suspects arrested and booked by the U.S. Marshals Service, suspects in matters investigated and prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, defendants adjudicated and sentenced in U.S. district court, and characteristics of federal prisoners and offenders under federal supervision."

Council of Economic Advisers - The Economic Case for Health Care Reform, June 2009

Retirement - USA.gov: links to several dozen topical sites.

News release: "According to the FBI's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report released June 1, 2009, the nation experienced a 2.5 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 1.6 percent decline in the number of property crimes for 2008 compared with data from 2007. The report is based on information that the FBI gathered from 12,750 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data to the FBI for both 2007 and 2008."

Follow up to previous postings on GM bankruptcy, New York Times: "General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection on June 1, 2009, a move that is expected to result in a drastic downsizing of the company. Judge Robert E. Gerber is hearing the case in United States Bankruptcy Court in New York."

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress for the period from October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009.

News release: "The Federal financial institution regulatory agencies are together issuing for public comment proposed rules requiring mortgage loan originators who are employees of agency-regulated institutions to meet the registration requirements of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (S.A.F.E. Act). The S.A.F.E. Act requires the agencies to jointly develop and maintain a system for registering residential mortgage loan originators who are employees of agency-regulated institutions, including national and State banks, savings associations, credit unions, and Farm Credit System institutions, and certain of their subsidiaries. These mortgage loan originators must be registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (Registry), a database established by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators to support the licensing of mortgage loan originators by the States. As part of this registration process, mortgage loan originators must furnish to the Registry background information and fingerprints for a background check. The S.A.F.E. Act generally prohibits employees of an agency-regulated institution from originating residential mortgage loans without first registering with the Registry."

• Defense Management: Observations on DOD's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request for Corrosion Prevention and Control, GAO-09-732R, June 01, 2009
• Privacy and Security: Food and Drug Administration Faces Challenges in Establishing Protections for Its Postmarket Risk Analysis System, GAO-09-355, June 01, 2009
• Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Enrollee Cost Sharing for Selected Specialty Prescription Drugs, GAO-09-517R, April 30, 2009
• Hospital Emergency Departments: Crowding Continues to Occur, and Some Patients Wait Longer than Recommended Time Frames, GAO-09-347, April 30, 2009
• New Markets Tax Credit: Minority Entities Are Less Successful in Obtaining Awards Than Non-Minority Entities, GAO-09-536, April 30, 2009
• Nuclear Forensics: Comprehensive Interagency Plan Needed to Address Human Capital Issues, GAO-09-527R, April 30, 2009
• Crop Insurance: Opportunities Exist to Reduce the Costs of Administering the Program, GAO-09-445, April 29, 2009

nextgov - Bob Brewin posted the link to this 114 page PDF document, 2009 National Intelligence: A Consumer's Guide, and stated that this handbook, "distributed to intelligence professionals, which, among other things, highlights some top-secret networks that until now have been, well, top secret."

"Effective June 1, 2009, all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda must carry a passport or other accepted documentation when entering or leaving the U.S. by air, land, or sea. This requirement — known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative — has been gradually implemented since 2007 to allow sufficient time for travelers to obtain proper documentation. Visit this U.S. Department of Homeland Security webpage to see what types of documentation are accepted."

News release: "The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) learned in late March 2009 that an external hard drive containing copies of Clinton Administration Executive Office of the President (EOP) data was missing from a NARA processing room. The external drive was being used for routine recopying to ensure preservation of the records. Approximately 113 4mm tape cartridges were copied onto a two terabyte Western Digital MY BOOK external hard drive. This small portable hard drive measures 6.5 x 2.1 x 5.4 inches and weighs 2.5 pounds."

New York Times: "The bankruptcy, to be filed in New York, is a moment of reckoning for an industry that was once at the heart of the American economy. It culminates a remarkable four months of confrontation between Washington and Detroit that is expected to result in a drastic downsizing of the company. It also places the government in uncharted territory as a business owner, as it takes a 60 percent ownership stake in the company during its restructuring."

• See also these related New York Times articles: The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M. and After Many Stumbles, the Fall of an American Giant as well as a timeline: Milestones in the Carmakers’ Crisis - Major events in the automakers' decline and rescue efforts.
  
• News release: "General Motors announced today that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has informed the company that the support of more than 54% of the bondholders allows GM to proceed with the 363 Sale Proposal announced in a Form 8-K filing on May 28, 2009."
  
• WSJ Auto Industry News
  
• Related postings on auto industry as well as on the financial system

News release: "The fifth meeting of the OECD’s Forum on Tax Administration was held in Paris on 28-29 May 2009, bringing together more than 100 participants from 34 OECD and non-OECD countries. The discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities currently facing revenue bodies and taxpayers around the world as a result of the first truly global financial and economic crisis. Working alongside senior business leaders, the heads of revenue bodies from FTA participating countries came together to share experiences and expertise to strengthen the responses of individual revenue bodies and to develop new joint initiatives...The full report will be available in July 2009. Below is the list of documents available:

• FTA Paris Communiqué
  
• Building transparent tax compliance by banks – Report summary
  
• Engaging with High Net Worth Individuals on tax compliance – Report summary
  
• Related postings on financial system

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Ranks of Discouraged Workers and Others Marginally Attached to the Labor Force Rise During Recession

"The International Labour Office (ILO) issued new labour market projections for 2009, showing a further increase in unemployment, working poor and those in vulnerable employment...In the Global Employment Trends Update, May 2009 the ILO revised upwards its unemployment projections to levels ranging from 210 million to 239 million unemployed worldwide in 2009, corresponding to global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 per cent respectively. The Trends report projects an increase of between 39 and 59 million unemployed people since 2007 as the most likely range. Actual outcomes will depend on the effectiveness of fiscal expenditures decided by governments and on a functioning financial sector."

GPO Sustainable Environmental Stewardship - Good Business, Good Government - Annual Report 2008: "As the largest industrial manufacturer in the District of Columbia, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) tries to be as environmentally sensitive as possible. This includes trying to be green in virtually every step of our pr int ing processes. GPO has a long history of recycling. For nearly 150 years, GPO has been recycling waste paper, copper, brass, and scrap metal. Since 1954, GPO has been recycling corrugated boxes. Other materials we recycle include aluminum, silver, photographic film, phototypesetting paper, empty paint cans, 55-gallon metal drums, plastic drums, CDs, floppy disks, and video cassettes. In this Annual Report, we will show you how GPO is taking heed of the words spoken by President Theodore Roosevelt a century ago. It is our obligation to be a good steward of the resources under GPO’s control. Sustainable Environmental Stewardship is good business and good Government."

News release: "Despite the turmoil in the financial world, 2008 saw a doubling of the global carbon market, to an estimated value of more than US$ 126 billion, according to the latest State and Trends of the Carbon Market Report 2009, released today by the World Bank at Carbon Expo in Barcelona. The report is based on data from the trading of European Union Allowances (EUAs) under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and from transactions completed under the Kyoto Protocol’s flexible mechanisms—the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI)—that allow industrialized countries to purchase greenhouse gas emission reductions in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition, as well as data from voluntary markets. It finds that the value of transactions from CDM projects in developing countries declined by 12% to an estimated US$ 6.5 billion in 2008, with an average price of US$ 16.8."

White House: Securing Our Digital Future, Melissa Hathaway, Cybersecurity Chief at the National Security Council, discusses securing our nation's digital future.

News release: "In an effort to better protect financially distressed homeowners, the Federal Trade Commission has initiated a rulemaking proceeding involving foreclosure rescue and loan modification services. The FTC is seeking public comment to determine whether certain practices by companies providing these services are unfair or deceptive and should be reined in by proposed rules that would set standards to protect consumers."

• Mortgage Acts and Practices: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Public Comment (R911004): Text of the Federal Register Notice
  
• Mortgage Assistance Relief Services: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Public Comment (R911003): Text of the Federal Register Notice
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "With summer on the way, hotter days and vacation road trips are coming up fast. Because the costs of cooling your home and filling up your car can add up, the Federal Trade Commission is offering tips to save you money. Saving Starts @ Home: The Insider Story on Conserving Energy, offers energy conservation tips to help consumers save money in every room of the house. For example, for the attic, the FTC explains the ABCs of insulation. Among other tips for the kitchen, consumers find advice on using the newly redesigned Energy Guide labels available for all appliances. At Saving Money at the Gas Pump: A Bumper-to-Bumper Guide, consumers can find tips for improving fuel efficiency from bumper to bumper on a car."

• Defense Management: Observations on DOD's Analysis of Options for Improving Corrosion Prevention and Control through Earlier Planning in the Requirements and Acquisition Processes, GAO-09-694R, May 29, 2009
• Federal Reserve Banks: Areas for Improvement in Information Security Controls, GAO-09-722R, May 29, 2009
• Financial Audit: Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007, GAO-09-409, May 29, 2009
• Sponsored Noncitizens and Public Benefits: More Clarity in Federal Guidance and Better Access to Federal Information Could Improve Implementation of Income Eligibility Rules, GAO-09-375, May 19, 2009
• National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Needs to Complete and Integrate Planning, Exercise, and Assessment Efforts, GAO-09-369, May 07, 2009

"After several months of declines since reaching all-time highs in September, new immigration prosecutions in February were up 22% from the previous month. According to timely case-by-case data obtained and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), these 8,179 cases represent an increase of about 90% from a year ago, and 250% from February 2004. While immigration cases still account for more than half (53%) of all new federal prosecutions, new filings rose in nearly every other category as well, including drugs (up 49%), weapons (up 19%), white collar crime (up 24%) and government regulation (up 42%). Overall, new criminal cases are at the second-highest level recorded, up 27% from January and up 39% from a year ago."

National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education: "The Condition of Education 2009 in Brief contains a summary of 12 of the 46 indicators in The Condition of Education 2009. The topics covered include: public and private enrollment in elementary/secondary education; projections of undergraduate enrollment; student achievement from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading and mathematics; status dropout rates; immediate transition to college; educational attainment; expenditures for elementary and secondary education; and undergraduate fields of study."

New release: "Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 27.9 percent lower in March 2009 than in March 2008, dropping to $51.1 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation, March was the third consecutive month with a yearly decline of greater than 27 percent. The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 6.5 percent in March 2009 from February 2009. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors. Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land."

News release: "With the beginning of the beach season, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is again undertaking a beach and harbor protection program, comprising surveillance, sampling and funding activities to safeguard beaches and bays in New Jersey and New York, and the health of the people who enjoy them. Using its helicopter, ships and cutting-edge technologies, EPA’s initiatives and scientific assessments will go farther in 2009 than ever before."

• Financial Audit: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Funds' 2008 and 2007 Financial Statements, GAO-09-535, May 28, 2009
• Financial Management: DOD Needs to Clarify Its General Gift Fund Policies to Provide for Effective Oversight, GAO-09-486R, May 27, 2009
• U.S. Public Diplomacy: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight, GAO-09-679SP, May 27, 2009

The Budgetary Treatment of Proposals to Change the Nation's Health Insurance System, May 27, 2009

"NIST announces that its working definition of cloud computing is available. Researchers worked in collaboration with industry and government to draft the definition that serves as a foundation for its research and future publication on the topic. Cloud computing is a pay-per-use model for enabling available, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Researchers are studying cloud architectures, economics, security and deployment strategies for the federal government."

News release: "Many people concerned about their mortgage, their job or their finances may be especially vulnerable to scams and other costly "fixes" for their problems. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today issued a variety of tips to help consumers be on guard financially in the current economy. The advice was published in the Spring 2009 issue of FDIC Consumer News, the agency's quarterly newsletter for consumers."

Treasury: Quarterly Report to Congress on International Monetary Fund Lending, January 1 – March 31, 2009

Quarterly Banking Profile: Fourth Quarter 2008 - The 2009 Economic Landscape: How the Recession Is Unfolding across Four U.S. Regions Alternative Financial Services - A Primer - "Provides the earliest comprehensive summary of financial results for all FDIC-insured institutions. This report card on industry status and performance includes written analyses, graphs and statistical tables."

News release: "World marketed energy consumption is projected to grow by 44 percent between 2006 and 2030, driven by strong long-term economic growth in the developing nations of the world, according to the reference case projection from the International Energy Outlook 2009 (IEO2009) released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The current global economic downturn will dampen world energy demand in the near term, as manufacturing and consumer demand for goods and services slows. However, with economic recovery anticipated to begin within the next 12 to 24 months, most nations are expected to see energy consumption growth at rates anticipated prior to the recession. Total world energy use rises from 472 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2006 to 552 quadrillion Btu in 2015 and then to 678 quadrillion Btu in 2030."

News release: "Devolution has changed the system of Government of the United Kingdom irreversibly, according to the Commons Justice Committee, but has left England’s government highly centralised and, in the view of many, in need of fundamental change.

New York Times: "President Obama announced on Tuesday that he will nominate the federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, choosing a daughter of Puerto Rican parents raised in Bronx public housing projects to become the nation’s first Hispanic justice."

Reducing Foreclosures: No Easy Answers, Christopher Foote, Kristopher Gerardi, Lorenz Goette, and Paul Willen, Working Paper 2009-15, May 2009

News release: "Our current economic situation has altered some of the usual interactions between monetary and fiscal policy. One change regards the relative effects of monetary and fiscal policy. The depth and persistence of economic weakness has meant that traditional monetary policy--the target for the federal funds rate--has become constrained from easing as much as might be desirable under the circumstances, and, as a consequence, the target federal funds rate is anticipated to remain near zero for some time. But as a result, fiscal stimulus has potentially become more effective in boosting economic activity than it usually would be."

News release: "Deaths of children aged under five years have dropped by 27% globally since 1990, according to the latest WHO estimates. But in WHO’s first progress report on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World Health Statistics 2009, other results are mixed. An estimated 9 million children aged under five years died in 2007, significantly fewer than the 12.5 million estimated to have died in 1990, the baseline year against which progress towards the goals is measured. However, in many African countries and in low-income countries generally, progress has been insufficient to reach the MDG target, that aims for a two thirds reduction in child mortality by the year 2015."

• World Health Statistics 2009
  
• Millennium Development Goals
  
• Fact sheet: progress on health-realted MDGs

News release: "Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro outlined a series of measures the agency is taking to strengthen its internal compliance program to guard against inappropriate employee securities trading....The measures the agency is taking include:

• First, the staff has drafted a set of new internal rules governing securities transactions for all SEC employees that will require preclearance of all trades. It also will, for the first time, prohibit staff trading in the securities of companies under SEC investigation regardless of whether the employee has personal knowledge of the investigation. The rules have been submitted to the federal government’s Office of Government Ethics, which approves agency ethics rules.
  
• Second, the SEC is contracting with an outside firm to develop a computer compliance system to track, audit and oversee employee securities transactions and financial disclosure in real time.
  
• Third, Chairman Schapiro has signed an order consolidating responsibility for oversight of employee securities transactions and financial disclosure reporting within the Ethics Office. And, she has authorized the hiring of a new chief compliance officer."

Fact Sheet: "Today, President Obama signs the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, marking a turning point for American consumers and ending the days of unfair rate hikes and hidden fees. Americans need a healthy flow of credit in our economy, but for too long credit card contracts and practices have been unfairly and deceptively complicated, often leading consumers to pay more than they reasonably expect. Every year, Americans pay around $15 billion in penalty fees. Nearly 80 percent of American families have a credit card, and 44 percent of families carry a balance on their credit cards. To tackle these problems, the Administration moved swiftly with the Congress to enact reforms."

• End-Stage Renal Disease: CMS Should Monitor Effect of Bundled Payment on Home Dialysis Utilization Rates, GAO-09-537, May 22, 2009
• Federal Transit Administration: Progress and Challenges in Implementing and Evaluating the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program, GAO-09-496, May 21, 2009
• Federal Contractors: Better Performance Information Needed to Support Agency Contract Award Decisions, GAO-09-374, April 23, 2009

OIG-09-037 – Safety and Soundness: OTS Involvement With Backdated Capital Contributions by Thrifts, May 21, 2009

D-2009-075 Afghanistan Security Forces Fund Phase III-Accountability for Weapons Distributed to the Afghanistan National Army, May 21, 2009 (Project No. D2007-D000LQ-0161.005)

As the dust starts to settle, which banks deserve the most plaudits?: "After months of indiscriminate fear, widespread losses and government hand-holding, the banking industry is gradually stabilising. Money markets are steadily calming. American banks that got a clean bill of health in this month’s stress tests are queuing up to repay government money. A first wave of escapees is likely to include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. Those banks that emerge from this crisis with reputations and franchises strengthened will find it increasingly easy to raise funds, win clients, attract employees and buy assets."

"The Best Places to Work rankings — the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee satisfaction and commitment in the federal government — are produced by the Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation (ISPPI)."

"The proposed national autos program adopts uniform federal standards to regulate both fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions while preserving the legal authorities of DOT, EPA and California. The program covers model year 2012 to model year 2016 and ultimately requires an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg in 2016. The result is a projected reduction in oil consumption of approximately 1.8 billion barrels over the life of the program and a projected total reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 900 million metric tons. This groundbreaking policy is good for consumers, good for the auto industry and it helps our country by reducing pollution and promoting energy independence."

• Endangered Species Act: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Has Incomplete Information about Effects on Listed Species from Section 7 Consultations, GAO-09-550, May 21, 2009
• Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-09-699T, May 21, 2009
• Responses to Questions for the Record: March 18, 2009, Hearing on ATC Modernization: Near-Term Achievable Goals, GAO-09-718R, May 20, 2009
• Effect of Personnel Reform on the Federal Aviation Administration's Budget, GAO-09-645R, May 14, 2009
• Freight Rail Security: Actions Have Been Taken to Enhance Security, but the Federal Strategy Can Be Strengthened and Security Efforts Better Monitored, GAO-09-243, April 21, 2009

The Agricultural Newsletter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Number 1944, May 2009: "There was a quarterly decrease of 6 percent in the value of “good” agricultural land—the largest quarterly decline since 1985—according to a survey of 227 bankers in the Seventh Federal Reserve District on April 1, 2009. Also, the year-over-year increase in District farmland values eroded to just 2 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Furthermore, the growth in farmland cash rental rates moderated in the District for 2009, with an increase of 7 percent. The number of survey respondents who observed that the demand to purchase farmland during the first three months of 2009 was lower relative to the same period last year exceeded those who observed higher demand. The number of farms sold, the acreage sold, and the amount of farmland for sale were all below the levels of the prior year. Nearly a third of the bankers anticipated further declines in land values during the second quarter of 2009, while almost two-thirds anticipated stable land values."

News release: "Today, President Obama...sign[ed] the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act into law...The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act is an important step towards stabilizing and reforming our nation’s financial and housing markets – helping American homeowners and increasing the flow of credit during these difficult economic times. This legislation will strengthen our nation's housing sector and facilitate the goals of the Administration's Making Home Affordable Program by helping millions of American homeowners stay in their homes. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act will protect the American people by giving the federal government new tools and resources to prevent fraud. This reform bill will help the federal government keep markets free and fair, so that American consumers can thrive."

Oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program - The witness was The Honorable Timothy Geithner, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

• Joint Strike Fighter: Strong Risk Management Essential as Program Enters Most Challenging Phase, GAO-09-711T, May 20, 2009
• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Financial Challenges Highlight Need for Improved Governance and Management, GAO-09-702T, May 20, 2009
• Sovereign Wealth Funds: Laws Limiting Foreign Investment Affect Certain U.S. Assets and Agencies Have Various Enforcement Processes, GAO-09-608, May 20, 2009
• Space Acquisitions: DOD Faces Substantial Challenges in Developing New Space Systems, GAO-09-705T, May 20, 2009
• U.S. Postal Service: Network Rightsizing Needed to Help Keep USPS Financially Viable, GAO-09-674T, May 20, 2009
• Designated Federal Entities: Survey of Governance Practices and the Inspector General Role, GAO-09-270, April 20, 2009

Follow up to previous postings on swine flu and A/H1N1, from the Economist.com: Where swine flu has hit hardest: "The annual meeting of the World Health Assembly this week has been dominated by swine flu, as the number of cases continues to climb. Over 400 cases have been confirmed since Monday May 18th alone; Greece is the latest country to report a patient with the (A)H1N1 virus, bringing the number of countries with infections to 41. Of the 80 people that have died, most were in Mexico, where the infection originated. Neighbouring America accounts for over half of the world's reported cases. Global efforts will now focus on ensuring that developing countries have sufficient vaccines."

News release: "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation posted a $33.5 billion deficit for the first half of fiscal year 2009, PBGC Acting Director Vince Snowbarger told the Senate Special Committee on Aging at a hearing today. Based on unaudited financial numbers as of March 31, the deficit represents an increase over FY 2008’s $11 billion shortfall, and is the largest in the agency’s 35-year history...The $22.5 billion deficit increase was due primarily to about $11 billion in completed and probable pension plan terminations; about $7 billion resulting from a decrease in the interest factor used to value liabilities; about $3 billion in investment losses; and about $2 billion in actuarial charges."

"A new study from the Pew Philadelphia Research Initiative looks at how 13 major cities are coping with the recession and finds that most are facing significant budget gaps and are cutting services and personnel in response. Philadelphia is one of four cities studied that is planning at least one major tax hike—a five-year, one percentage point increase in the sales tax. Tough Decisions and Limited Options: How Philadelphia and Other Cities are Balancing Budgets in a Time of Recession examines the budget decisions that have been proposed or enacted in Philadelphia, placing its challenges in the context of 12 other cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Columbus (OH), Detroit, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Seattle."

Follow up to previous postings on swine flu and A/H1N1: from the Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) - "The information in this site is intended to support internationally oriented higher education administrators, study abroad representatives, faculty and students by helping inform their decisions and actions affecting international academic activities stemming from concerns over the H1N1 strain of influenza...We are regularly updating basic statistics about the virus outbreak in the North American region. The information is provided by the appropriate government agencies of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada."

Follow up to previous postings on missing White House emails during Bush administrations, today's news release: "Today, in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) v. Office of Administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion upholding the district court's conclusion that the Office of Administration (OA) is not an agency and therefore is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). CREW brought this lawsuit under the FOIA to uncover documents related to OA's response to the discovery that millions of emails had gone missing from White House servers. Although OA had a history of responding to FOIA requests – in fact the office’s own website included regulations for filing FOIA requests with OA – after CREW sued OA suddenly claimed it was not an agency and was not required to produce any of the requested documents. The district court sided with the Bush administration, finding that OA was not an agency because it performed only administrative support functions and did not exercise substantial independent authority. In today's ruling, the D.C. Circuit agreed with that decision."

Remarks: "...While the United States makes up less than 5 percent of the world's population, we create roughly a quarter of the world's demand for oil. And this appetite comes at a tremendous price -- a price measured by our vulnerability to volatile oil markets, which send gas prices soaring and families scrambling. It's measured by a trade deficit where as much as 20 percent of what we spend on imports is spent on oil. It's measured in billions of dollars sent to oil-exporting nations, many that we do not choose to support, if we had a choice. It's measured in a changing climate, as sea levels rise, and droughts spread, forest burns, and storms rage."

• Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Coordinated Federal Decisions and Additional Data Are Needed to Manage Potential Economic Impact of Applying U.S. Immigration Law, GAO-09-426T, May 19, 2009
• DOD Personnel Clearances: Comprehensive Timeliness Reporting, Complete Clearance Documentation, and Quality Measures Are Needed to Further Improve the Clearance Process, GAO-09-400, May 19, 2009
• Foreign Assistance: Measures to Prevent Inadvertent Payments to Terrorists under Palestinian Aid Programs Have Been Strengthened, but Some Weaknesses Remain, GAO-09-622, May 19, 2009
• Information Security: Agencies Make Progress in Implementation of Requirements, but Significant Weaknesses Persist, GAO-09-701T, May 19, 2009
• Seclusions and Restraints: Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers, GAO-09-719T, May 19, 2009

News release: "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during the period of April 15, 2009 through May 14, 2009. The list contains only national banks and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received ratings. The possible ratings are outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, and substantial noncompliance. Of the 39 evaluations made public this month, 10 were outstanding, 28 were satisfactory, and one was needs to improve. None were substantial noncompliance."

News release: "The dredging and related work will be conducted by GE under the terms of a November 2006 consent decree. EPA will oversee all aspects of the work; dredging will continue through October 2009, weather permitting. At the conclusion of this first phase of the project, an independent panel of experts will review the results of the dredging and potentially make recommendations for changes that may be incorporated throughout the remainder of the dredging, which is targeted for completion in 2015. This first phase of the dredging project will be conducted 24 hours a day, six days a week and targets the removal of 265,000 cubic yards of sediment and 20,300 kilograms of PCBs from a six-mile stretch of the river between Roger’s Island and Thompson Island. Sediment removed from the river will be carried by barge to a dewatering facility located on the Champlain Canal in Fort Edward. At this facility, water will be squeezed from the sediment and treated to drinking water standards before being returned to the canal. The remaining PCB-laden dirt will be loaded onto railcars for ultimate disposal at a permitted landfill facility in Andrews, Texas. The entire project will remove an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of sediment and 113,000 kg of PCBs."

News release: "The Office of Information Policy is planning to publish the 2009 edition of the Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act through the Government Printing Office (GPO) in June. The 2009 Guide will contain detailed discussions of the FOIA’s exemptions, as well as its procedural requirements, and FOIA litigation considerations. The 2009 Guide will also discuss proactive disclosures, FOIA fees and fee waivers, exclusions, discretionary disclosures and waiver, FOIA attorney fees, and reverse FOIA cases...The Office of Information Policy will send one courtesy copy of the Guide to the Chief FOIA Officer and principal FOIA contact at each agency."

News release: "James B. Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), today released FHFA’s first Report to Congress, detailing the findings of the agency’s 2008 annual examinations of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks), and the Office of Finance. The report is the first Report to Congress since FHFA was established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), signed into law in July of 2008. A predecessor agency, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), previously published annual reports to Congress on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac examinations."

News release: "In the midst of economic turmoil, federal bailouts, and budget deficits in more than 40 states, a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) offers a roadmap to recovery based on economic performance trends from states over the last 10 years. The second edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index [note: large file - loads slowly] shows how the federal bailout of the states may simply encourage out-of-control spending by states, which is up 124 percent over the last 10 years, without requiring them to make the tough decisions needed to bring about financial stability."

News release: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released a letter from the Bretton Woods Committee, which includes the bipartisan support of five former secretaries of the Treasury, four former secretaries of State and America's leading foreign economic policy and national security experts to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid expressing their support for the Administration's request for prompt enactment of additional funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including the Obama Administration's request for the IMF's New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB). To view full text of the May 14th letter, click here."

"Banks have seized homes in Orange County at a pace that dwarfs the darkest days of the housing downturn in the 1990s. Yet eager buyers have grabbed those properties, keeping the county's foreclosure inventory in check, according to a special report from MDA DataQuick. Some economists see a second wave of foreclosures coming. The onslaught will test the depths of buyer demand. According to DataQuick, banks took possession of roughly 7,000 houses and condos from July 2008 to January 2009, but buyers have taken an equal amount off the market. That equates to 1,000 foreclosures selling per month. (Check foreclosures in Orange County ZIP code HERE.)"

News release: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D‐Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R‐Iowa) today released policy options for financing reform of America's health care system...Three areas of potential funding sources explored in the financing options are: savings achieved from within the health care system from reductions in current levels of spending; reevaluating current health tax subsidies; and changing non‐health tax provisions."

• DOD Business Systems Modernization: Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed, GAO-09-586, May 18, 2009
• Military Operations: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight and Interagency Coordination for the Commander's Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan, GAO-09-615, May 18, 2009
• Questions for the Record Related to the Implementation of the Department of Defense's National Security Personnel System, GAO-09-669R, May 18, 2009

AP Economic Stress Index, "A visual guide to the state of the economy using a unique formula made up of major economic indicators." October 2007 to Present. Data topics include: Stress Index, Unemployment, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, Interviews with people impacted.

CNN Transcripts - "ORSZAG: Well, I think what happened is the free-fall in the economy seems to have stopped and we're, I guess the analogy there are some glimmers of sun shining through the trees, but we're not out of the woods yet. We do have more work ahead."

[On May 15, 2009] "the President and Vice President released their 2008 financial disclosure reports. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level Federal officials to disclose publicly their personal financial interests. This is intended to ensure confidence in the integrity of the Federal government by demonstrating that officials are able to carry out their duties free of conflicts of interest. The public filing system serves to prevent such conflicts by providing for a systematic review of the financial interests of government officials. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest, and their reports have been so certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics."

• Download the President’s 2008 financial disclosure form (pdf).
  
• Download the Vice President’s 2008 financial disclosure form (pdf).

National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) - "Dear Mr. President: We write to convey the concerns of more than 19,000 franchised automobile dealerships on Main Streets all across America and the one million men and women who are directly employed in these local businesses. Together our associations represent every make and model of new cars and trucks (all domestic and all international nameplates) sold in the United States. Despite the fact that the best-made, most environmentally-friendly vehicles ever built are available at extremely competitive prices, the state of our entire industry is dire..."

"The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is pleased to announce a pilot project to make digital audio recordings of court proceedings relating to Chrysler LLC, 09-50002, publicly available online. The audio files are accessible through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. Registration for PACER access may be obtained at www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov."

• All documents in the Chrysler bankruptcy case should be filed and viewed on http://ecf.nysb-mega.uscourts.gov/.
  
• The lead case is: In re Chrysler LLC, 09-50002; parties filing documents (e.g., notices of appearance) should do so in the lead case only.
  
• Additional case and claims filing information can be found on the Chrysler page
  
• Related postings on Chrysler
Permanent Link

Follow up to previous postings, Spain Announces Superspeed Trains and Vision of High-Speed Rail in America, see Stop This Train! by Tom Vanderbilt: "There is at least one technology in America, however, that is worse now than it was in the early 20th century: the train."

News release: "Citizens for Responsibility of Ethics in Washington (CREW), along with 36 other organizations, has sent a letter to the White House urging that the White House's Office of Administration (OA) once again become an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as had been the case in previous administrations."

Cuba's Undersea Oil Could Help Thaw Trade With U.S., by Nick Miroff: "Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, an end to the 1962 U.S. trade embargo against Cuba may be lying untapped, buried under layers of rock, seawater and bitter relations. Oil, up to 20 billion barrels of it, sits off Cuba's northwest coast in territorial waters, according to the Cuban government -- enough to turn the island into the Qatar of the Caribbean. At a minimum, estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey place Cuba's potential deep-water reserves at 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, stores that would rank the island among the region's top producers."

New York Times Magazine: "Today companies are focusing on those customers most likely to honor their debts. And they are looking for ways to convince existing cardholders that if they only have enough money to pay one bill, it’s wiser to pay off their credit card than, say, the phone. Put another way, credit-card companies are becoming much more interested in understanding their customers’ lives and psyches, because, the theory goes, knowing what makes cardholders tick will help firms determine who is a good bet and who should be shown the door as quickly as possible."

News release: "EPA will hold the first of two public hearings on Monday, May 18 regarding the agency’s proposed findings that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare. The proposed findings identify six greenhouse gases that pose a potential threat."

"Late to arrive in the Northeast, the foreclosure crisis has swept through the New York region at an explosive pace in the past two years, destroying billions of dollars in housing wealth, according to a New York Times analysis of foreclosures filed since 2005 and federal mortgage data."

• Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 Financial Statements, GAO-09-652, May 15, 2009
• Military Housing Privatization: DOD Faces New Challenges Due to Significant Growth at Some Installations and Recent Turmoil in the Financial Markets, GAO-09-352, May 15, 2009

News release: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released results from its monthly bank lending survey for March with data from the top 21 recipients of government investments through the Capital Purchase Program (CPP). Overall, balance sheets continued to contract. Outstanding loan balances at these banks slipped 1 percent in March. The survey also collects information on originations, which rose by 27 percent."

• Tables
  
• Submissions March 2009
  
• Snapshot Data
  
• Summary Analysis
  
• Related postings on financial system

Follow up to May 14, 2009 posting, FTC Files Suit to Stop Illegal Robocalls Pushing Vehicle “Warranty Extensions" - "Today Judge John F. Grady of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order stopping telemarketing company Voice Touch, Inc., its principals James and Maureen Dunne, its business partner Network Foundations LLC, and Network Foundations principal Damian Kohlfeld from making any further calls in violation of the Do Not Call Registry and other provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FTC Act. The FTC filed the case yesterday, charging that the defendants were operating a massive telemarketing scheme that used random, pre-recorded phone calls to deceive consumers into thinking that their vehicle’s warranty is about to expire."

Follow up to previous postings on Chrysler, this WSJ article, downloadable list, and graphic chart: "Chrysler will close one-quarter of its dealerships in the United States...see names, location details of the 789 dealers the embattled auto maker is seeking to drop from its retail network, according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan."

• News release: "Chrysler LLC today filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking to reject certain U.S. dealer agreements, and a list of U.S. dealer agreements to be assigned to the buyer of its business assets. Subject to Court approval, 2,392 Chrysler, Jeep® or Dodge dealers will continue with the new company in a global alliance with Fiat once the sale is complete. This action will help improve the landscape of the Chrysler dealership network following the sale and enhance the full line portfolio of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler products for customers."
  
• Treasury Department Statement on Chrysler Dealer Consolidation
  
• Related postings on financial system

• Depot Maintenance: Actions Needed to Identify and Establish Core Capability at Military Depots, GAO-09-83, May 14, 2009: "DOD, through its biennial core process, has not comprehensively and accurately assessed whether it has the required core capability to support fielded systems in military depots. Although DOD internally reported that its maintenance workload of 92.7 million hours in 2007 was “well over” the minimum of 70.5 million hours needed to fulfill core requirements at military depots and that the services were complying with their core capability requirements, this assessment did not show capability shortfalls identified by the services in their core computations."
• Aviation Security: TSA Has Completed Key Activities Associated with Implementing Secure Flight, but Additional Actions Are Needed to Mitigate Risks, GAO-09-292, May 13, 2009: "As of April 2009, TSA had generally achieved 9 of the 10 statutory conditions related to the development of the Secure Flight program and had conditionally achieved 1 condition (TSA had defined plans, but had not completed all activities for this condition). Also, TSA’s actions completed and those planned have reduced the risks associated with implementing the program."

• News release: "With the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program delivering much-needed relief to homeowners and to our economy just over two months after the release of program guidelines, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today provided an update on the program's impact on stemming the housing crisis and keeping families in their homes and announced new options for homeowners facing foreclosure."
• The Program Update Fact Sheet: Foreclosure Alternatives and Home Price Decline Protection Incentives
• The Making Home Affordable Progress Report Fact Sheet
• Related postings on financial system
Permanent Link

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission is asking a federal court to shut down a telemarketing campaign that has been bombarding U.S. consumers with hundreds of millions of allegedly deceptive “robocalls” in an effort to sell them vehicle service contracts under the guise that they are extensions of original vehicle warranties. In two related complaints filed in federal court, the Commission took action against both the promoter of the phony extended auto warranties, as well as the telemarketing company that it hired to carry out its illegal, deceptive campaign."

Audit Report: Material Loss Review of Freedom Bank, Bradenton, Florida, Posted May 12, 2009: "FB failed primarily due to bank management’s aggressive pursuit of asset growth concentrated in high-risk
CRE loans with inadequate loan underwriting and a lack of other loan portfolio and risk management controls. In addition, FB had a lending incentive compensation program without substantive credit quality controls that contributed to the bank’s rapid loan portfolio growth and rewarded loan officers without consideration of actual loan performance. Resulting losses severely eroded FB’s earnings and capital and negatively impacted liquidity, leading to the bank’s failure and a material loss to the DIF."

News release: "Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Vice Chairman of the JEC, released a report showing unfair credit card practices are sending American families further into debt and undermining the economic recovery. The report, Vicious Cycle: How Unfair Credit Card Company Practices Are Squeezing Consumers and Undermining the Recovery, outlines how the economic downturn and financial crisis have accelerated the adverse impacts of these practices on consumers, small businesses and our economy as a whole."

News release: "Pool chemical injuries account for as many as 5,200 emergency room visits each year. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that these injuries are preventable, and during 2007 almost half of those injuries occurred at a residence. According to the study, published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), persons can be injured by inhaling fumes when they open pool chemical containers, attempting to pre-dissolve pool chemicals, or handling them improperly. Persons can also be injured when chemicals splash into the eyes. These preventable injuries typically occur during the summer swimming season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and can occur in or out of the pool.

In addition to pool chemical injuries, thousands of people each year suffer from recreational water illnesses. The study was released ahead of CDC's National Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week, May 18-24. The week aims to raise awareness about healthy swimming behaviors, including ways to prevent recreational water illnesses and injuries. Recreational water illnesses are illnesses spread by swallowing, inhaling vapors, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, water parks, spas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans."

Follow up to Social Security Board of Trustees: Economic Downturn Leads to Worsening of Long-Range Financing Outlook, this news: "the Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a new chartpack and factsheet with updated information on Medicare spending and financing, including new projections and historical data about the program's hospital trust fund, which is projected to be exhausted in 2017. The chartpack also includes recent Kaiser public opinion data highlight the public's views on Medicare and on variation options for addressing its fiscal shortfalls."

Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes, Great Britain 13 May 2009 - 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008.

Unified Agenda, May 2009 Edition: "The Unified Agenda summarizes the rules and proposed rules that each Federal agency expects to issue during the next six months."

"The 2009 African Economic Outlook focuses on Innovations in Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). It also presents a comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and political developments on the continent."

"Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships, announced by Secretary Clinton at the 2009 New York University commencement speech, are part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement. The VSFS Internships will be developed over the next year and will seek to harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats."

News release: "With summer and the high costs of cooling right around the corner, EPA is offering advice to help Americans reduce both energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions by one third through Energy Star. The energy used in an average home costs more than $2,200 a year and contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than a typical car."

• More tips on to how to save energy at home: http://www.energystar.gov
  
• More tips on how to save energy at work: http://www.energystar.gov/bizcooling
  
• More hot tips for a cool summer: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hi-summer.htm
  
• Related postings on climate change

CBO Study: Alternatives for Modernizing U.S. Fighter Forces, May 2009

News release: "The crisis of the past 20 months has exposed critical gaps and weaknesses in our financial regulatory system. As risks built up, internal risk management systems, rating agencies and regulators simply did not understand or address critical behaviors until they had already resulted in catastrophic losses. Those failures have caused a dramatic loss of confidence in our financial institutions and have contributed to a severe recession. Last March, Secretary Geithner laid out new regulatory rules of the road to ensure we never face a crisis of this magnitude again. An essential element of reform is the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework for over-the-counter derivatives, which under current law are largely excluded or exempted from regulation...Today, to address these concerns, the Obama Administration proposes a comprehensive regulatory framework for all Over-The-Counter derivatives..."

News release: "According to the 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment released by the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), approximately one million gang members belonging to more than 20,000 gangs were criminally active in the U.S. as of September 2008. The assessment was developed through analysis of available federal, state, and local law enforcement information; 2008 NDIC National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) data; and verified open source information."

Review of the European Data Protection Directive, by Neil Robinson, Hans Graux, Maarten Botterman, Lorenzo Valeri

CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States, May 2009

Through Boom and Bust: Minorities, Immigrants and Homeownership, May 12, 2009:

News release: "The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Trustees project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2016, one year sooner than projected in last year’s report. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than projected last year. The worsening of the long-range outlook for the Social Security program is due primarily to the recent economic downturn and faster reductions in mortality than previously assumed."

News release: "The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today announced the details of its newly formed initiative aimed at preparing government officials and contractors to recognize and report efforts by parties to unlawfully profit from the stimulus projects that are being awarded as part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Consistent with its mission to protect the welfare of the American economy by promoting open and fair competition, the Department’s Antitrust Division launched an initiative to help government agencies insulate procurement, grant and program funding processes from collusion and fraud, as well as to ensure that those who abuse those processes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...The Antitrust Division’s Recovery Initiative involves training procurement and grant officials, government contractors, and agency auditors and investigators, on techniques for identifying the "red flags of collusion" before stimulus awards are made and taxpayer money is unnecessarily wasted. The initiative makes available to agencies Antitrust Division competition experts who can evaluate procurement and program funding processes. These Division experts will make recommendations on "best practices" that may be adopted by the agencies to further protect processes from fraud, waste and abuse and maximize open and fair competition. Finally, the initiative commits the Antitrust Division to playing a significant role in assisting agencies investigate and prosecute those who seek to or succeed in defrauding the government’s efforts to maximize competition for stimulus funds."

March Airline On-Time Performance Higher Than Last Year, Down from February (05/12/09)

• Motor Carrier Safety: Commercial Vehicle Registration Program Has Kept Unsafe Carriers from Operating, but Effectiveness Is Difficult to Measure, GAO-09-495, May 12, 2009
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Issues Regarding the Inclusion of Refined Petroleum Products as Part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, GAO-09-695T, May 12, 2009
• See also related postings on Petroleum Reserve

Fourth-Quarter 2008 System Airline Financial Data: Network Airlines Report Fifth Consecutive Quarterly Loss Margin (05/11/09)

Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration, 2009

White House Council on Economic Advisers, Estimates of Job Creation from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, May 2009: "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was designed to save and create jobs, as well as to cushion the economic downturn and make crucial public investments. At the time of passage, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) made estimates of the employment effects of the Act for the economy as a whole. As the money is being distributed by the various agencies, there is interest in estimates of the likely jobs effects of the individual pieces. Of course, as projects swing into action, the government will gather actual data on reported job creation. This report describes the estimating procedures used so far; specifies procedures to be used by recipients for estimating job creation going forward; discusses reporting requirements for job creation; and describes the procedures the CEA will use to evaluate the job creation and retention benefits of the ARRA going forward."

News release: "As part of the Administration's effort to develop a budget that invests in our nation's future, the U.S. Treasury Department today released the General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2010 Revenue Proposals (Greenbook) to provide details of plans to cut taxes for small businesses and middle class families and close unfair corporate tax loopholes. The plan includes $736 billion in tax cuts for working families over the next ten years and provides almost $100 billion in tax cuts for businesses, providing support to the entrepreneurs who will help drive an economic recovery. The plan also promotes fairness and fiscal responsibility by closing hundreds of billions in loopholes, including $36 billion in tax breaks for oil companies and the $86.5 billion "check-the-box" loophole which allows U.S. companies that invest overseas to shift income to tax havens."

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, April 30, 2009 - (Public Law 108-106, as amended, and Public Law 95-452)

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission has charged a home mortgage lender and its owner with violating federal law by charging Hispanic consumers higher prices for mortgage loans than non-Hispanic white consumers – price disparities that cannot be explained by the applicants’ credit characteristics or underwriting risk. The FTC seeks to bar future violations and obtain redress for consumers...According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) in pricing mortgage loans. They allegedly gave loan officers and branch managers wide discretion to charge, in addition to the risk-based price, “overages” through higher interest rates and higher up-front charges. The defendants allegedly paid loan officers a percentage of the overages as a commission and failed to monitor whether Hispanic consumers were paying higher overages than non-Hispanic white borrowers."

Description of Policy Options Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans, Senate Finance Committee, May 14, 2009

Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Disciplinary System, Evaluation and Inspections, Report I-2009-002, May 2009

• Federal Rulemaking: Improvements Needed to Monitoring and Evaluation of Rules Development as Well as to the Transparency of OMB Regulatory Reviews, GAO-09-205, April 20, 2009
• IRS Management: IRS Practices Contribute to Its Resilience, but It Would Benefit from Additional Emergency Planning Efforts, GAO-09-418, April 9, 2009

Follow up to GPO Access: Budget of the United States Government and The President’s 2010 Budget, from OMB: "Today, we released the final volumes of the President’s FY 2010 Budget. These volumes include the Summary Tables, which show aggregate budget projections for the next 10 years; Historical Tables, which offer a wealth of budget data over the last century; and Analytical Perspectives, which provides a detailed discussion of certain budget concepts and Administration policies."

• Coal News and Markets : "he Weekly Coal Production (WCP) Report provides estimates for U.S. coal production by State based on railroad car loading data."
• International Petroleum Monthly - April 2009 (05/11/2009) - "This report contains world petroleum production data through February 2009; and OECD country petroleum demand, imports, and stocks data through January 2009. Also included are international oil balance data for 2004-2008 and annual petroleum data series for 1970-2008."
• Federal Register notice - Petroleum Supply Surveys (05/06/2009) "The attached document is the Federal Register notice for the Petroleum Supply Reporting System Surveys. Comments are due by July 6, 2009.
• Federal Register notice - Petroleum Marketing Surveys (05/06/2009): "The attached is the Federal Register notice for the Petroleum Marketing Surveys. Comments are due by July 6, 2009."
• World LNG Imports by Origin, 2007 (05/05/2009): "A table with country-level imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by country of origin for the year 2007 is now available. The table is also provided in Excel spreadsheet format. These tables for 2007, as well as tables for the years 1993-2006, are also available on the International LNG Imports Page."
Permanent Link

New York Times DealBook: "Three United States banks, apparently emboldened by the clean bills of health they received under the federal stress tests, announced plans Monday to pay down the government’s investments under the TARP program by selling billions of dollars in new stock. The announcements came from Capital One Financial, US Bancorp and BB&T Corporation, each of which were found not to need additional capital under the examinations of 19 large financial institutions, whose results were made public last week."

• BB&T announces plan to repay government investment; Plan includes capital issuance, temporary dividend reduction
  
• Capital One Financial Corporation Announces Pricing of Common Share Offering
  
• U.S. Bancorp Announces $2.5 Billion Common Stock Offering
  
• KeyCorp Commences Capital Raise of $750 Million
  
• Related postings on financial system
Permanent Link

News release: "The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today released data showing that reliance on credit cards is growing among small businesses. Unfortunately, so, too, is the number of small-business respondents who reported worsening credit-card terms. The NSBA 2009 Small Business Credit Card Survey provides a detailed view of how small businesses are utilizing their credit cards, how their credit-card companies are treating them, and the impacts of deteriorating credit-card terms on their business."

YouTube: President Obama at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, May 10, 2009

"GovFresh is a live feed of official news from U.S. Government Twitter, YouTube, RSS, Facebook, Flickr accounts and more, all in one place."

A Borrower's Guide to an FDIC Insured Bank Failure, May 5, 2009 - "Information for the borrowers whose loans are acquired in the bank failure process."

09-P-0151 EPA Does Not Provide Oversight of Radon Testing Accuracy and Reliability, May 4, 2009
"EPA does not perform oversight of radon testing device accuracy or reliability. The 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act required that EPA establish proficiency programs for firms offering radon-related services, including testing and mitigation. EPA established and operated proficiency programs until 1998, when it disinvested in these programs. According to Agency representatives, EPA has neither the authority nor resources to ensure radon testing devices and testing laboratories are accurate and reliable. EPA asserts that it shares oversight responsibility with States and industry, including the two national proficiency programs operating under private auspices. However, without oversight, EPA cannot assure that radon testing devices provide accurate data on indoor radon risks or that radon testing laboratories accurately analyze and report radon results."

News release: "Despite declining home prices, many of the jobs created through the federal stimulus package do not pay enough to afford a home, according to Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America. This new study compares housing costs in more than 200 U.S. metropolitan areas with the wages earned by workers in 60 occupations and was released today by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. In particular, the study takes an in-depth look at housing affordability for five construction-related occupations that may see a boost from the stimulus package, including construction managers, carpenters, equipment operators, long haul truck drivers and construction laborers. For all of these occupations except construction managers, homeownership remains unaffordable, even after the recent drop in home prices. Construction laborers also struggle to pay rents in three out of four markets studied, while equipment operators and long-haul truck drivers are unable to afford rents in approximately one-fourth of the markets."
U.S. Metropolitan Area Rankings - Homeownership and Rental Affordability Findings for More Than 200 U.S. Metropolitan Areas:

• Fact Sheet – Most to Least Expensive Homeownership Markets in 2007 and 2008
  
• Fact Sheet – Most to Least Expensive Rental Markets in 2007 and 2008
  
• Fact Sheet – Changes in the Qualifying Income Needed to Purchase a Home from 2007 to 2008
  
• Fact Sheet – Changes in Florida Rental Market Rankings from 2007 to 2008
  
• For all the details on this new study, and to look up housing affordability in your area, please go to the Paycheck to Paycheck online, interactive database.
  
• Related postings on financial system

• Monthly Budget Review, May 2009 - Based on the Monthly Treasury Statement for March and the Daily Treasury Statements for April: "The federal government incurred a deficit of close to $800 billion for the first seven months of fiscal year 2009, CBO estimates—$646 billion more than the deficit recorded through April 2008. That estimate includes outlays for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) measured on a net-present-value basis (adjusted for market risk), consistent with statutory requirements and with the approach used in the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2010, which was transmitted today. On a present-value basis, CBO estimates that outlays for the TARP were $116 billion through April."
• Financing Federal Aviation Programs, May 7, 2009 - Testimony before the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives: "In reauthorizing activities of the FAA, particularly modernizing and operating the air traffic control system, the Congress faces a decision about how to split the costs between users of the agency’s services and taxpayers. During recent years, about 75 percent to 85 percent of funding for the FAA has come from users of the air traffic control system through various taxes, while the remaining amount has come from the general fund of the Treasury."
• The Distribution of Revenues from a Cap-and-Trade Program for CO2 Emissions, May 7, 2009 - Testimony before Committee on Finance, United States Senate: "Under a cap-and-trade program, consumers would ultimately bear most of the costs of emission reductions. Firms that used emission allowances for CO2 would generally pass along to consumers the cost of using those allowances in the form of higher prices for their products—regardless of whether the government sold emission allowances or gave them away. Such price increases would be essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program because they would be the most important mechanism through which businesses and households were encouraged to make investments and behavioral changes that reduced CO2 emissions. see also related postings on climate change].

Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper - Working the Graveyard Shift, Why raising the Social Security retirement age is not the answer, by Monique Morrissey and Emily Garr: "The life expectancy of older Americans has increased by three and a half years over the past half century. In 2005, Americans who survived to age 65 could expect to live another 18.6 years, up from 15.1 years in 1955. By 2050, the Social Security Administration estimates that the average 65-year-old will live 21 years in retirement. As our golden years grow longer, we will need to work longer, work harder, or increase the share of earnings devoted to funding retirement in order to ensure a comfortable old age. The choice depends on whether we prefer to enjoy the fruits of economic growth in the form of increased leisure or increased consumption."

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Documents

• A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise - "Provides a description of the Obama Administration’s fiscal policies and major budgetary initiatives. This document is an overview of the full Fiscal Year 2010 Budget expected to be released this spring."
  
• Appendix - "Contains detailed information on the various appropriations and funds that constitute the budget."

• Statutory Authorities to Prohibit Inspector General Activities, GAO-09-660R, May 08, 2009: "The IG Act provides specific protections intended to help ensure the independence of IG audits and investigations. For example, the IG Act prohibits an agency head from preventing an IG from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena during the course of any audit or investigation. However, the IG Act authorizes the heads of six agencies to prohibit their respective IGs from carrying out or completing an audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena if the head determines that such prohibition is necessary to prevent either the disclosure of certain sensitive information or significant harm to certain national interests."
• Financial Management Systems: OMB's Financial Management Line of Business Initiative Continues but Future Success Remains Uncertain, GAO-09-328, May 07, 2009
• Securities and Exchange Commission: Greater Attention Is Needed to Enhance Communication and Utilization of Resources in the Division of Enforcement, GAO-09-613T, May 07, 2009

Employment Situation Summary, April 2009: "Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in April (-539,000), and the unemployment rate rose from 8.5 to 8.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Since the recession
began in December 2007, 5.7 million jobs have been lost. In April, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major private-sector industries. Overall, private-sector employment fell by 611,000."

Review of Web Applications Security and Intrusion Detection in Air Traffic Control Systems, May 04, 2009

CRS Report - The 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) Outbreak: Selected Legal Issues - May 4, 2009: "Recent human cases of infection with a novel influenza A(H1N1) virus have been identified both internationally and in the United States. Since there has been human to human transmission and the new virus has the potential to become pandemic, it is timely to examine the legal issues surrounding this emerging public health threat. This report provides a brief overview of selected legal issues including emergency measures, civil rights, liability issues, and employment issues."

News release: "The results of a comprehensive, forward-looking assessment of the financial conditions of the nation's 19 largest bank holding companies (BHCs) by the federal bank supervisory agencies were released on Thursday. The exercise--conducted by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation--was conducted so that supervisors could determine the capital buffers sufficient for the 19 BHCs to withstand losses and sustain lending--even if the economic downturn is more severe than is currently anticipated. In a detailed summary of the results of the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP), the supervisors identified the potential losses, resources available to absorb losses, and resulting capital buffer needed for the 19 participating BHCs. The SCAP is a complement to the Treasury's Capital Assistance Program (CAP), which makes capital available to financial institutions as a bridge to private capital in the future. Together, these programs play a critical role in ensuring that the U.S. banking sector will be in a position of strength."

• Statement by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
  
• Statement from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Regarding the Treasury Capital Assistance Program and the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program
  
• The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program: Overview of Results - May 7, 2009
  
• New York Times Op-Ed - How We Tested the Big Banks, by Timothy Geithner
  
• New York Times: U.S. Says Ailing Banks Need $75 Billion
  
• WSJ: Fed Sees Up to $599 Billion in Bank Losses - Ten Firms Must Boost Capital by $75 Billion to Cope With Worst-Case Scenario; Some Shares Up on Hopes Worst Is Past / Also from WSJ - Interactives: Compare Banks Tested and Bank by Bank Findings
  
• Reuters - The stress test’s biggest loser: GMAC
  
• Economic Policy Institute: Greater transparency in stress test results is a good start; more is needed
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "The final report of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States provides over 100 findings and recommendations on critical issues related to U.S. nuclear strategy. Key themes on which recommendations are focused include (1) challenges and opportunities inherent in the current security environment; (2) the roles, functions, and projection of U.S. nuclear forces, including missile defense; (3) the safety, security, and reliability of the nuclear stockpile; (4) the state of the nuclear weapons complex; (5) arms control and nonproliferation; and (6) additional steps for the prevention of proliferation and the protection against nuclear use." [Peggy Garvin]

News release: "U.S. home values continued to slide for the ninth consecutive quarter, declining 14.2 percent from a year ago, and falling 21.8 percent since the market peak in 2006. Additionally, one-fifth (21.9%) of all homeowners in the United States is in negative equity, and one in five homes sold in the past 12 months was a foreclosure. Zillow Q1 Real Estate Market Reports track 161 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) throughout the U.S., identifying market trends including, but not limited to: five and 10-year annualized change, negative equity, short sales and foreclosure transactions [includes excel, graphs and maps]."

Time: "At the new President's urging and by his example, the entire Federal Government [well, not really] has bounded into the world of social-networking. Twenty-five agencies now have YouTube channels. The Library of Congress has begun posting thousands of free historical photos on Flickr. In the past week alone, about 30 agencies, including the White House, have joined Facebook."

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services that, with the rapid increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, the FTC has intensified its efforts to protect consumers from foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams. The FTC also recommended legislative and other remedies to enhance the agency’s effectiveness. Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Financial Practices, Peggy Twohig, testified that the Commission has brought 11 cases targeting mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams in a little over one year, and is actively engaged in ongoing, non-public investigations."

News release: "During this period of extraordinary economic uncertainty, the U.S. federal banking supervisors believe it to be important for the largest U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) to have a capital buffer sufficient to withstand losses and sustain lending even in a significantly more adverse economic environment than is currently anticipated. In keeping with this aim, the Federal Reserve and other federal bank supervisors have been engaged in a comprehensive capital assessment exercise--known as the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP)--with each of the 19 largest U.S. BHCs...Under the SCAP, supervisors evaluated the extent to which each of the 19 BHCs would need to alter either the amount or the composition (or both) of its Tier 1 capital today to be able to comfortably exceed minimum regulatory requirements at year-end 2010, even under an more adverse economic scenario."

• WSJ Graphic: Comparing Banks That Were Tested
  
• New York Times: As Stress Tests Are Revealed, Markets Sense a Turning Point
  
• CNNMoney: Where the banks are failing - Bank failures - many caused by foreclosures - keep mounting.
  
• Related postings on financial system

News release: "For the sixth year in a row, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has produced the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR). These reports measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care. The reports present, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care. The National Healthcare Quality Report tracks the health care system through quality measures, such as the percentage of heart attack patients who received recommended care when they reached the hospital or the percentage of children who received recommended vaccinations. The National Healthcare Disparities Report summarizes health care quality and access among various racial, ethnic, and income groups and other priority populations, such as children and older adults."

The G20 Meetings: No Common Framework, No Consensus, Michael Pettis, Nonresident Senior Associate, Carnegie China Program, Policy Brief No. 79, May 2009

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Watchlist Nomination Practices, Audit Report 09-25, May 2009

• Architect of the Capitol: Plans for Renovating the Cannon House Office Building and Garages, GAO-09-673T, May 06, 2009
• Financial Management: Achieving Financial Statement Auditability in the Department of Defense, GAO-09-373, May 06, 2009
• U.S. Postal Service: Intelligent Mail Benefits May Not Be Achieved if Key Risks Are Not Addressed, GAO-09-599, May 06, 2009
• Securities and Exchange Commission: Greater Attention Needed to Enhance Communication and Utilization of Resources in the Division of Enforcement, GAO-09-358, March 31, 2009
• State Department: Significant Vulnerabilities in the Passport Issuance Process, GAO-09-681T, May 05, 2008

News release: "The U.S. Postal Service ended its second quarter (Jan 1 – March 31) with a net loss of $1.9 billion, as the economic recession and longer-term financial pressures, such as the diversion of letter mail to electronic alternatives, continued to reduce mail volume and revenue. Despite aggressive actions to reduce costs and grow revenue, the Postal Service will likely face a cash shortfall of over $1.5 billion at the end of the fiscal year. The Postal Service has incurred net losses from operations in 10 of the last 11 fiscal quarters. The year-to-date net loss is $2.3 billion, compared to a loss in the same period last year of $35 million. A significant portion of the losses over this period can be attributed to an unprecedented decline in mail volume. In the second quarter, mail volume totaled 43.8 billion pieces, down 7.5 billion pieces, or 14.7 percent, compared to a year ago.

News release: "Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the two agencies that administer the ESA – before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species."

Potential Impacts of Climate Change in the United States, May 2009

News release: "The Federal Trade Commission today testified on the Commission’s efforts to promote better security for sensitive consumer information and to prevent the inadvertent sharing of consumers’ personal or sensitive data over Peer-to-Peer Internet file-sharing networks. As part of these efforts, the agency also announced that it had reached an agreement with one of the largest privately held lenders in the United States to resolve charges that the company violated federal law by failing to provide reasonable security for consumers’ sensitive information. In testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Eileen Harrington said the agency strongly supports the goals of H.R. 2221, the Data Accountability and Trust Act, which would require companies to put reasonable data security policies and procedures in place, and to notify consumers when there has been a data security breach that affects them. The legislation also would give the Commission the authority to obtain civil penalties for violations."

News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing its strategy for increasing the supply of renewable fuels, poised to reach 36 billion gallons by 2022, as mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007."

"Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey, Chairman Emeritus John D. Dingell, Congresswoman Betty Sutton, Congressman Jay Inslee, and Congressman Bart Stupak reached an agreement on a "Cash for Clunkers" program that will help the auto industry while cleaning our air. This agreement is based on H.R. 1550 [Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009], introduced by Congresswoman Sutton, and H.R. 520, introduced by Congressman Inslee."

• Information Security: Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities Place Federal Systems at Risk, GAO-09-661T, May 5, 2009: "Cyber threats to federal information systems and cyber-based critical infrastructures are evolving and growing. These threats can be unintentional and intentional, targeted or nontargeted, and can come from a variety of sources, such as foreign nations engaged in espionage and information warfare, criminals, hackers, virus writers, and disgruntled employees and contractors working within an organization. Moreover, these groups and individuals have a variety of attack techniques at their disposal, and cyber exploitation activity has grown more sophisticated, more targeted, and more serious. As government, private sector, and personal activities continue to move to networked operations, as digital systems add ever more capabilities, as wireless systems become more ubiquitous, and as the design, manufacture, and service of information technology have moved overseas, the threat will continue to grow."
• Recovery Act: GAO's Efforts to Work with the Accountability Community to Help Ensure Effective and Efficient Oversight, GAO-09-672T, May 5, 2009: "GAO is carrying out its responsibilities to review the uses of Recovery Act funds and will also target certain areas for additional review using a riskbased approach. GAO’s first bimonthly report examined the steps 16 states, the District of Columbia, and selected localities are taking to use and oversee Recovery Act funds. These states contain about 65 percent of the U.S. population and are estimated to receive about two-thirds of the intergovernmental grant funds available through the Recovery Act. GAO’s report made several recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) toward improving accountability and transparency requirements; clarifying the Recovery Act funds that can be used to support state efforts to ensure accountability and oversight; and improving communications with Recovery Act funds recipients."
• Related postings on financial system

"GPO is pleased to announce the re-launch of its agency Web site. This enhanced site includes separate Web pages for FDLP and LSCM information for the public. The new Web pages will help inform the public about and lead the public to Federal depository libraries. The redesigned site includes links to FDsys, GPO Access, the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, the Federal Depository Library Directory, The FDLP Desktop, Ben's Guide, and more, as well as Web pages for each of the agency's departments."

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, The economic outlook - Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C., May 5, 2009

"The Task Force report, titled U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy [uncorrected proofs], focuses on near-term policies to reduce nuclear weapons to the lowest possible level consistent with maintaining a credible deterrent, while also ensuring that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is safe, secure, and reliable for as long as it is needed. “The imperative before the Obama administration,” the report says, “is to use all available tools to prevent the use and further acquisition of nuclear weapons.”

EPA OIG: "EPA does not perform oversight of radon testing device accuracy or reliability. The 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act required that EPA establish proficiency programs for firms offering radon-related services, including testing and mitigation. EPA established and operated proficiency programs until 1998, when it disinvested in these programs. According to Agency representatives, EPA has neither the authority nor resources to ensure radon testing devices and testing laboratories are accurate and reliable. EPA asserts that it shares oversight responsibility with States and industry, including the two national proficiency programs operating under private auspices. However, without oversight, EPA cannot assure that radon testing devices provide accurate data on indoor radon risks or that radon testing laboratories accurately analyze and report radon results." At a Glance | Report

EPA Lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Renewable Fuels, EPA-420-F-09-024, May 2009

The April 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices: Current survey | Full report |
Table 1 | Table 2 | Chart data | Table 1 | Table 2 | Charts

News release: "In a video posted on her website this morning, Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, called for greater transparency and accountability in Internet Governance as of October 2009. Key decisions related to Internet Governance, like top level domains and managing the internet's core directory, are currently made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private not-for profit corporation established in California. So far, ICANN has been operating under an agreement with the US Department of Commerce. However, this agreement expires on 30 September this year. For the time after, Commissioner Reding today outlined a new governance model for the internet. This would include a fully private and accountable ICANN, accompanied by an independent judicial body, as well as a "G12 for Internet Governance" – a multilateral forum for governments to discuss general internet governance policy and security issues."

News release: "Today, President Obama and Secretary Geithner are unveiling two components [Fact Sheet and Backgrounder] of the Administration's plan to reform our international tax laws and improve their enforcement. First, they are calling for reforms to ensure that our tax code does not stack the deck against job creation here on our shores. Second, they seek to reduce the amount of taxes lost to tax havens – either through unintended loopholes that allow companies to legally avoid paying billions in taxes, or through the illegal use of hidden accounts by well-off individuals. Combined with further international tax reforms that will be unveiled in the Administration's full budget later in May, these initiatives would raise $210 billion over the next 10 years. The Obama Administration hopes to build on proposals by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel – as well as other leaders on this issue like Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Lloyd Doggett – to pass bipartisan legislation over the coming months."

IDD Magazine.com: There has been a drop in sales and foot traffic at car dealerships ahead of the actual bankruptcy and many have been forced to close - "The downturn in the auto industry has forced 400 Chrysler car dealers to close their doors since January 2008, and the pace is picking up amid a slowing U.S. economy and less available credit for consumers and dealers, according to a company official. The rate of failures was detailed by a Chrysler executive who works with dealerships in the U.S. on Monday at a hearing in a New York bankruptcy court where the auto giant, less than a week into its bankruptcy, asked for court approval to get a massive debtor in possession loan, or DIP, from the government."

• Graduate Medical Education: Trends in Training and Student Debt, GAO-09-438R, May 4, 2009
• Military Personnel: Army Needs to Focus on Cost-Effective Use of Financial Incentives and Quality Standards in Managing Force Growth, GAO-09-256, May 4, 2009

News release: "In the Commission's spring forecast, GDP in the European Union is projected to fall by 4% this year and to broadly stabilise in 2010. The main factors behind the recession are the worsening of the global financial crisis, a sharp contraction in world trade and ongoing housing market corrections in some economies. However, with the impact of fiscal and monetary stimulus measures kicking in, growth is expected to regain some momentum in the course of 2010. Labour markets will be severely affected, with the unemployment rate expected to increase to 11% in the EU in 2010. The public deficit is also projected to rise sharply, to 7¼% of GDP in 2010, reflecting both the slowdown and the discretionary measures taken to support the economy, in line with the European Recovery Plan proposed by the Commission....A more detailed report is available here."

National Science Foundation - Solving the Puzzle: Researching the Impacts of Climate Change Around the World, released May 1, 2009.

A Tradecraft Primer: Structured Analytic Techniques for Improving Intelligence Analysis, Prepared by the US Government, March 2009

National Counterterrorism Center 2008 Report on Terrorism, 30 April 2009

Australian Government, Department of Defense White Paper: Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, May 2, 2009.

May 3 (Bloomberg), by Shobhana Chandra, U.S. Economy Preview - "Unemployment in the U.S. probably climbed in April to a 25-year high, showing the labor market will be one of the last areas to emerge from the worst recession in at least 50 years, economists said before reports this week. The jobless rate jumped to 8.9 percent last month from 8.5 percent in March and employers cut at least 600,000 workers from payrolls for a fifth straight time, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a May 8 Labor Department report. Other figures may show service industries shrank at a slower pace."

News release: "As of 1600 GMT, 3 May 2009, 18 countries have officially reported 898 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection. Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 226 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (85), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (3), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (40), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15)."

• March 05, 2209 - Legal Issues Related to Funding for Religious Schools in P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• April 23, 2009 - Airport Passenger Screening: Background and Issues for Congress
• April 20, 2009 - Insolvency of Systemically Significant Companies: Bankruptcy vs. Conservatorship/Receivership
April 16, 2009 - Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for Congress
• April 14, 2009 - NATO Enlargement: Albania, Croatia, and Possible Future Candidates
• See also related postings on financial system and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Update to May 1, 2009 posting - White House Website Adds Links to FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace - the Official White House Photostream on Flickr

"The economic census provides a detailed portrait of the United States' economy once every five years, from the national to the local level. The 2007 Economic Census covers most of the U.S. economy in its basic collection of establishment statistics. There also are several related programs, including statistics on minority- and women-owned businesses. Censuses of agriculture and governments are conducted at the same time. Results from the 2007 Economic Census are being issued on American FactFinder, starting in early 2009 and continuing through late 2011."

Social Security: Ten Facts that Matter - Research Report, Selena Caldera, AARP Public Policy Institute, April 2009.

"The Congressional Record Daily Digest is now available as the first RSS feed from THOMAS. The Daily Digest from THOMAS is one of five RSS feeds available from the Law Library of Congress as described on our RSS Feeds and Email Delivery http://www.loc.gov/law/news/rss.php page. To see a complete list of RSS feeds and email updates available through the Library of Congress, please visit Library of Congress RSS Feeds and Email Subscriptions. For help with subscribing and suggestions for news readers, please see Library of Congress RSS Feeds http://www.loc.gov/rss/faq.html." [Emily Carr, Legal Reference Specialist, Law Library of Congress]

News release: "A new landmark study published [May 1, 2009] documents for the first time the process in which increased mercury emissions from human sources across the globe, and in particular from Asia, make their way into the North Pacific Ocean and as a result contaminate tuna and other seafood. Because much of the mercury that enters the North Pacific comes from the atmosphere, scientists have predicted an additional 50 percent increase in mercury in the Pacific by 2050 if mercury emission rates continue as projected."

News release: "This survey provides quarterly summary data on assets, revenue and expenditure of the largest public-employee retirement systems in the United States, which comprise about 85 percent of national activity among such entities. It provides the most current data about investment decisions by public employee retirement systems, which are among the largest types of institutional investors in the U.S. financial markets. These reports are published three months after each calendar quarter, and show national financial transactions and trends for the past five years."

A Framework for Assessing the Systemic Risk of Major Financial Institutions, by Xin Huang, Hao Zhou and Haibin Zhu, Working Papers No 281, April 2009. Bank for International Settlements.

In following postings on A/H1N1 influenza virus, with references of attribution to swine flu, please see this statement from the World Organisation for Animal Health:

May 3, 2009 - Swine Flu: First, Sow No Panic, By Elisabeth Rosenthal: "Wash your hands. I know this sounds silly, but it is far more effective at preventing flu than having a dose-pack of Tamiflu in the medicine chest. Take it from a doctor, mother and reporter who covered SARS as well as bird flu where they were most virulent."

Follow up to related postings on swine flu, news that CABI has "announced free access to its specialist Global Health database, the definitive database for public health information, to assist in the battle against swine flu."

"On Tuesday, April 28, the Senate overwhelmingly passed anti-fraud legislation that was reported earlier this year by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act was introduced on February 5 by Committee Members Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.). On February 11, the Committee held a hearing to consider the legislation. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act was reported by the Committee on March 5. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 is also cosponsored by Committee Members Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). In total, nearly 30 senators have cosponsored the legislation."

• The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009
  
• Committee Report
  
• Statement of Administration Policy

FDA: 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus, Topics on this Page:

• Background
  
• News
  
• Health Fraud
  
• Information for Consumers
  
• Information for Health Care Professionals
  
• Emergency Use Authorization
  
• Related postings on swine flu

White House: "A lot of people were taking stock today of the change that the President has so far. But throughout the federal government change has been unfolding at the agency level in thousands of ways you have likely never even heard about. Take a look at the agency reports for whatever issues you are most interested in:

• Department of Agriculture
  
• Department of Commerce
  
• Department of Defense
  
• Department of Education
  
• Department of Energy
  
• Department of the Interior
  
• Department of Health and Human Services
  
• Department of Homeland Security
  
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
• Department of Justice
  
• Department of Labor
  
• Department of The Treasury
  
• Department of Transportation
  
• Environmental Protection Agency
  United States Trade Representative
  
• United States Mission to the United Nations

"U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation. This annual report is entitled Country Reports on Terrorism."

• Defense Acquisitions: Charting a Course for Lasting Reform, GAO-09-663T, April 30, 2009
• Health Resources and Services Administration: Many Underserved Areas Lack a Health Center Site, and Data Are Needed on Service Provision at Sites, GAO-09-667T, April 30, 2009
• Higher Education: Approaches to Attract and Fund International Students in the United States and Abroad, GAO-09-379, April 30, 2009
• Space Acquisitions: Government and Industry Partners Face Substantial Challenges in Developing New DOD Space Systems, GAO-09-648T, April 30, 2009
• The Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: March 2009 Update, GAO-09-405SP, April 30, 2009
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Secure Border Initiative Fiscal Year 2009 Expenditure Plan, GAO-09-274R, April 30, 2009
• Financial Literacy and Education Commission: Progress Made in Fostering Partnerships, but National Strategy Remains Largely Descriptive Rather Than Strategic, GAO-09-638T, April 29, 2009
• Recovering Servicemembers: DOD and VA Have Made Progress to Jointly Develop Required Policies but Additional Challenges Remain, GAO-09-540T, April 29, 2009

News release: "Chrysler LLC today announced that, as a result of the comprehensive restructuring plan agreed to by many of its stakeholders, it has reached an agreement in principle to establish a global strategic alliance with Fiat SpA to form a vibrant new company. It will allow Chrysler and Fiat to fully optimize their respective manufacturing footprints and the global supplier base, while providing each with access to additional markets. Fiat powertrains and components will also be produced at Chrysler manufacturing sites."

• See the Chrysler Restructuring website for Information for Parties of Interest, fact sheets, updates, etc.
  Letter from the Chairman
  
• Chapter 11 Fact Sheet
  
• Via FindLaw - Chrysler's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Petition - In Re: Chrysler, LLC, April 30, 2009: "Chrysler, one of Detroit's 'Big 3' automakers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in New York City. The global car company lists billions in debt and liabilities, and has an extensive list of creditors to whom it owes money."
  
• Obama Administration Auto Restructuring Initiative
  Chrysler-Fiat Alliance
  
• Related postings on financial system

"The Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, Swine Flu Outbreak and the U.S. Federal Response, on Thursday, April 30, 2009. The hearing examined the recent outbreak of swine flu and the next steps for a federal response at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Via Pia Christensen, Managing Editor/Online Services, Association of Health Care Journalists: "the Association has constantly updated resources about covering flu, pandemics and public health preparedness. We have detailed tip sheets, speaker presentations about pandemics, animal-borne diseases, emergency preparedness and public health, inks to press briefings, hearings and news conferences..."

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush

Follow up to previous postings on swine flu, from the World Health Organization (WHO) today: "Based on assessment of all available information and following several expert consultations, Dr Margaret Chan, WHO's Director-General raised the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to 5. She stated that all countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans. At this stage, effective and essential measures include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control in all health facilities."

• Statement by WHO Director-General
  
• NPR - Swine Flu: On The Edge Of A Pandemic
  
• Full coverage of swine influenza
  
• New York Times graphic: Tracking Swine Flu Cases Worldwide - "Health officials continue to report mild cases of swine flu throughout the United States and worldwide. The number of deaths in Mexico that officials suspect to have been caused by the flu is 159."

News release: "Today, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, joined by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, met with consumer groups, civil rights leaders and credit card consumers to discuss the national need for credit card reform. The discussion centered on the House Bill, Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights of 2009, (HR 627) which is set for a vote tomorrow and would significantly strengthen consumer protections in the credit card market."

"Air pollution continues to threaten the lives and health of millions of people in the United States despite great progress since the modern Clean Air Act was first passed in 1970. Even as the nation explores the complex challenges of global warming and energy, air pollution remains widespread and dangerous. This year marks the tenth annual American Lung Association State of the Air report and provides an excellent opportunity to look back over the changes in the past ten years. This 2009 report looks at ozone and particle pollution year round (annual average) and over short-term levels (24-hour) of particle pollution (PM2.5) found in monitoring sites across the United States in 2005, 2006, and 2007."

News release: "Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent. The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter “advance” estimates are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The first-quarter “preliminary” estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on May 29, 2009. The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from exports, private inventory investment, equipment and software, nonresidential structures, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased."

• Recovery Act: Consistent Policies Needed to Ensure Equal Consideration of Grant Applications, GAO-09-590R, April 29, 2009
• Recovery Act: Initial Results on States' Use of and Accountability for Transportation Funds, GAO-09-597T, April 29, 2009
• U.S. Department of Agriculture: Recommendations and Options Available to the New Administration and Congress to Address Long-Standing Civil Rights Issues, GAO-09-650T, April 29, 2009
• VA Health Care: Challenges in Budget Formulation and Issues Surrounding the Proposal for Advance Appropriations, GAO-09-664T, April 29, 2009
• Information Technology: Management and Oversight of Projects Totaling Billions of Dollars Need Attention, GAO-09-624T, April 28, 2009

"President Obama has pledged to take a different approach. Upon taking office, he heralded a "new era of openness" in which "this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known." His commitment to transparency is heartening—but promises and action are two different things. If we are to protect our national security and our liberties, we must hold President Obama to his commitment: we must periodically take stock of his administration's performance, acknowledge and commend those actions that enhance government transparency, and insist on a correction of course when transparency is diminished. This report card is an effort to do just that."

State Department, Washington, DC, April 27, 2009: "On March 31, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Susan Rice announced that the United States will seek a seat this year on the United Nations Human Rights Council with the goal of working to make it a more effective body to promote and protect human rights. As part of the process that will culminate in elections on May 12, each candidate country is asked to produce a pledge outlining its commitment to promoting human rights. This information is circulated among countries and posted on the UN Human Rights Council website. The United States has produced its pledge - Human Rights Commitments and Pledges of the United States of America, which can be read in its entirety here."

By Dan Mitchel, California State Library, this resource guide to selected reliable sources for tracking the global status of the swine flu:

• National Institutes of Health which links to and expands upon the MedlinePlus Swine Flu page. The SIS web page contains information from several U.S. and international agencies and organizations, treatment information, genetic sequence data, information in Spanish, searches of PubMed and the NLM Catalog, and more.
  
• MedlinePlus has created a new page on swine flu.
  
• Center for Disea