Author archives

Hearing on Causes and Effects of the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing today to examine the regulatory mistakes and financial excesses that led to the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers. The following witnesses have testified: Dr. Luigi Zingales (Oral and Written Testimony), Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Dr. Robert F. Wescott, President, Keybridge Research LLC Nell Minow, …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents

Board announces that it will begin to pay interest on depository institutions' required and excess reserve balances

News release: “The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced that it will begin to pay interest on depository institutions’ required and excess reserve balances. The payment of interest on excess reserve balances will give the Federal Reserve greater scope to use its lending programs to address conditions in credit markets while also maintaining the federal …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Subcommittee Report Finds CDC Has Failed to Protect the Public Health

News release: “Today, the House Committee on Science and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight released a staff report that details the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) handling of its response to high levels of formaldehyde in travel trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to survivors of Hurricanes Katrina …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

IUCN Red List Reveals World’s Mammals in Crisis

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources: “The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, revealed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. The new study to assess …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

BirdLife International (2008) State of the world’s birds: indicators for our changing world

Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International: “…our data show that the state of the world’s biodiversity, as reflected by its 9,856 living bird species, continues to get worse, and that, if anything, this deterioration is accelerating, not slowing. Moreover, while governments have made copious verbal commitments to conserving biodiversity and safeguarding the environment, the resources available for …

Subjects: Knowledge Management

GPO Launches Congressional Reports Browse Feature

Congressional Reports: Browse – “To browse a current catalog of congressional reports available on GPO Access, click on the link for the appropriate Congress and session below. Catalogs are available for the 110th Congress. Links are included with each congressional report listed in the catalog, which retrieve the text of the corresponding document as an …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Legislation

Enforceability of Certain Agreements Between the Department of the Treasury and the Government Sponsored Enterprises

Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel: Enforceability of Certain Agreements Between the Department of the Treasury and the Government Sponsored Enterprises, (September 26, 2008) (added 10/02/08) “Under the Agreements, following a payment default by a GSE with respect to any Holders, and in the event Treasury fails to perform its obligations to either of …

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

FAA OIG: Air Carriers’ Outsourcing of Aircraft Maintenance

Office of Inspector General, Federal Aviation Administration Air Carriers’ Outsourcing of Aircraft Maintenance, September 30, 2008. Project ID: AV-2008-090 “We found that while FAA has begun moving its safety oversight toward a risk–based system, it still relies too heavily on air carriers’ oversight procedures, which are not always sufficient. Specifically, we determined that FAA did …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Recent CRS Reports: Income and Poverty Among Older Americans, Economic Stimulus Proposals for 2008, U.S. Financial Crisis

October 03, 2008 – Income and Poverty Among Older Americans in 2006 September 29, 2008 – Economic Stimulus Proposals for 2008: An Analysis September 29, 2008 – The U.S. Financial Crisis: Lessons From Japan September 29, 2008 – The U.S. Financial Crisis: Lessons From Chile September 29, 2008 – The U.S. Financial Crisis: Lessons From …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

Sunlight Foundation Releases First Online Foreign Agent Lobbying Database

News release: “…the Sunlight Foundation is releasing a beta version of FARAdb, which digitizes disclosures filed by lobbyists representing 15 foreign countries required by the Foreign Agent Registration Act. These reports are filed twice a year by firms hired to lobby Congress and the executive branch by foreign governments, political parties, individuals and organizations–including for-profit …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents

EPA's "National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change"

News release: “To assist in responding to potential effects of climate change, a new strategy focuses on 40 specific actions for the national water program to take to respond to climate change. EPA’s National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change [September 2008, pre-publication copy, 119 pages, PDF] describes steps for managers to adapt their …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents

EPA Seeks Comment on Preliminary Perchlorate Drinking Water Decision

Follow-up to previous posting, Perchlorate and TCE in the Nation’s Waters, this news release: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted extensive review of scientific data related to the health effects of exposure to perchlorate from drinking water and other sources and found that in more than 99 percent of public drinking water systems, perchlorate was …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Government Documents