Monthly archives: March, 2008

New GAO Reports: Combating Terrorism, Defense Acquisitions, Disconnected Youth, Homeland Security

Combating Terrorism: State Department’s Antiterrorism Program Needs Improved Guidance and More Systematic Assessments of Outcomes, GAO-08-336, February 29, 2008 Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs, GAO-08-467SP, March 31, 2008 Disconnected Youth: Federal Action Could Address Some of the Challenges Faced by Local Programs That Reconnect Youth to Education and Employment, GAO-08-313, February 28, 2008 …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

EPA: New requirements to protect children from lead-based paint hazards

News release: “To further protect children from exposure to lead-based paint, EPA is issuing new rules for contractors who renovate or repair housing, child-care facilities or schools built before 1978. Under the new rules, workers must follow lead-safe work practice standards to reduce potential exposure to dangerous levels of lead during renovation and repair activities…The …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

Army Corps and EPA Improve Wetland and Stream Mitigation

News release: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released a new rule to clarify how to provide compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to the nation’s wetlands and streams. The rule will enable the agencies to promote greater consistency, predictability and ecological success of mitigation projects under the Clean Water …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

OMB Watch Launches Web-Based Regulatory Resource Center

“Today, OMB Watch launched a web-based Regulatory Resource Center. The Resource Center provides tips for advocates who want to get involved in regulatory decision making and educational resources for anyone interested in how the federal regulatory process works. The first part of the Regulatory Resource Center is the Advocacy Center. The Advocacy Center shows users …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation: Taking Back our Fiscal Future

Taking Back our Fiscal Future – Cost of Living, Economic Mobility, Fiscal Policy, Financial Services, Macroeconomics. The Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation, April 2008. “…we recommend that: Congress and the president enact explicit long-term budgets for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security that are sustainable, set limits on automatic spending growth, and reduce the relatively …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

DOI OIG Report on Crandall Canyon Mine Roof Control Plan

Department of the Interior OIG Report: MSHA [Mine Safety and Health Administration] Could Not Show It Made the Right Decision in Approving the Roof Control Plan at Crandall Canyon Mine, March 31, 2008. “What OIG Found: MSHA was negligent in carrying out its responsibilities to protect the safety of miners. Specifically, MSHA could not show …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Treasury Releases Blueprint for Stronger Regulatory Structure

Follow up to March 30 posting, Treasury Secretary Proposes Overhaul of Financial Market Regulatory Process, the following from Treasury: “Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. today released the Treasury’s Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory Structure. “We should and can have a structure that is designed for the world we live in, one that is more …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Management Turnover, Regulatory Oversight, and Performance: Evidence from Banks

OCC Working Paper 2008-1: Management Turnover, Regulatory Oversight, and Performance: Evidence from Banks, by Ajay A. Palvia – “Finds that turnover in bank management resulting from regulatory supervision is positively related to a bank’s future performance.”

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

U.S. Fire Administrator Adopts Official Position on Residential Fire Sprinklers

USFA Position on Residential Fire Sprinklers: “Every day the U.S. Fire Administration collects news stories from our Nation’s media that deal with the tragic loss of life from fire in American homes. In January and February alone, over 300 people lost their lives in home fires. Commercial buildings such as schools, office buildings, and factories …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Advanced Search on Google Updated

Google Advanced Search: “We recently updated our advanced search page to make it easier than ever to refine and expand your query with our dynamic query builder. You can use all the same features as before, but we’ll now show you a real-time view of what it looks like if you create a complex query …

Subjects: Search Engines

Bush Administration Submits Annual Trade Report to Congress

News release: “The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) today announced the release of its 2008 National Trade Estimate Report (NTE). The NTE report describes significant barriers to U.S. trade and investment, as well as the actions taken by USTR to address those barriers. In 2007, USTR worked with four key trading partners on …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

EPA OIG: EPA Can Recover More Federal Superfund Money

EPA Can Recover More Federal Superfund Money [Report PDF – 28pp] [At a Glance PDF] “We found that EPA regions have recovered $165 million of $294 million (56 percent) of the total Superfund costs from the sites we reviewed. Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) at these sites have generally paid what they have been billed. However, …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

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