Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2008
"This is the third in a series of reports presenting articles pertaining to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE). The most recent report, Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology, 2005, was published in April 2005. As in the previous anthologies, articles discussing ongoing research and
methodological issues pertaining to the CE and analytical articles using this survey’s data are included in this report. For the first time, articles discussing processing methods and improvements are also included here."

Occupational Employment and Wages
"Retail salespersons, cashiers, general office clerks, combined food preparation and serving workers, and registered nurses were among the occupations with the highest employment in 2007. The highest paying occupations included physician specialists, dentist specialists, and chief executives.."

Breathing Easier: Cap and Trade Lowers Smog Levels in Eastern United States
"More than 102 million Americans are breathing cleaner air due to decreases in smog-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) according to the NOx Budget Trading Program annual report. The 2007 summertime NOx emissions from power plants and industrial sources were down by 60 percent compared to 2000 levels and 74 percent below 1990 levels in 20 eastern states and the District of Columbia.

The program helped improve air quality in 95 percent of nonattainment areas in the east, with 64 percent of these areas now below the ozone standard. Some of the report highlights show that:
* the largest NOx emission reductions occurred in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Kentucky; and
* the reduction of NOx – a precursor to ground-level ozone, or smog – has helped reduce ozone concentrations an average of 10 percent in the eastern part of the country since the start of the program in 2003."

HHS in the 21st Century: Charting a New Course for a Healthier America
..."At the request of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the IOM’s December 2008 report HHS in the 21st Century assesses whether HHS is “ideally organized” to meet the enduring and emerging health challenges facing our nation. The committee identifies many factors that affect the department’s ability to address its range of responsibilities, including divergence in the missions and goals of the department’s agencies, limited flexibility in spending, impending workforce shortages, difficulty in retaining skilled professionals, and challenges in effectively partnering with the private sector.

In order to meet the nation’s twenty-first century health care challenges, the committee believes the nation needs and deserves a department exceptional at performing its core function—protecting the health of all Americans. To achieve that goal, the Department of Health and Human Services must be revitalized. It must work more collaboratively with Congress, the rest of the federal government, and other health stakeholders to provide value both within the department and throughout the health care system.

The committee emphasizes the need for improved departmental performance and processes for goal setting, decision making, and management, and accountability rather than a large-scale reorganization of the entire department, for a variety of reasons. The committee identifies five areas of action to improve the performance of the department:

* Defining a twenty-first century vision
* Fostering adaptability and alignment
* Ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of the U.S. health care system
* Stengthening the HHS and U.S. public health and health care workforces
* Improving accountability and decision making"

FDA Warns Consumers About Tainted Weight Loss Pills
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide not to purchase or consume more than 25 different products marketed for weight loss because they contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that may put consumers’ health at risk.

The tainted weight loss products are:

Fatloss Slimming;2 Day Diet; 3x Slimming Power; Japan Lingzhi 24 Hours Diet; 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming; 3 Day Diet; 7 Day Herbal Slim; 8 Factor Diet; 7 Diet Day/Night Formula; 999 Fitness Essence; Extrim Plus; GMP; Imelda Perfect Slim;
Lida DaiDaihua; Miaozi Slim Capsules; Perfect Slim; Perfect Slim 5x; Phyto Shape;
ProSlim Plus; Royal Slimming Formula; Slim 3 in 1; Slim Express 360; Slimtech;
Somotrim; Superslim; TripleSlim; Zhen de Shou"

FCC REPORTS SHOW ANALOG AND DIGITAL COVERAGE OF TV STATIONS
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today released two
reports that show changes in the coverage of the nation’s full-power television (TV) stations as they prepare to transition from analog to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009. The FCC initiated this side-by-side comparison to proactively identify the changes associated with the switch to digital broadcasting by TV stations and share the information with viewers throughout the country."


Map Book of All Full-Power Digital Television Stations Authorized by the FCC

Map Book For Full-Power Digital Television Stations Having Significant Changes in Coverage

Asbestosis-Related Years of Potential Life Lost Before Age 65 Years --- United States, 1968--2005
"Exposure to asbestos fibers can cause asbestosis and other diseases (1) after a latency of 10--40 years from initial exposure to onset of illness. Asbestos still is used in the United States (approximately 2,200 metric tons in 2006) in certain products manufactured domestically (2). In addition, an undocumented amount of asbestos continues to be imported in products manufactured elsewhere, and a substantial amount of asbestos remains in existing buildings and manufactured products. An estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers in the United States potentially are exposed to asbestos each year, mainly from manipulation of asbestos during renovation or demolition activities (3). Also, although asbestos ore is no longer mined in the United States (4), some U.S. mine workers might remain at risk for exposure to asbestos contained in other ores. To characterize trends in premature mortality attributed to asbestosis in the United States, CDC analyzed annual underlying cause-of-death data for 1968--2005, the most recent years for which data were available.* This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that annual years of potential life lost before age 65 years (YPLL) attributed to asbestosis increased 64%, from an average of 146.0 YPLL per year during 1968--1972 to 239.6 per year during 2001--2005 (regression trend for the 5-year moving average, p<0.001), for an overall total of 7,267 YPLL (mean per decedent: 6.2) over the entire period. These results demonstrate that asbestosis-attributable YPLL continue to occur and that efforts to prevent, track, and eliminate asbestosis need to be maintained."

Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, 2008 ed.
"The past several decades have been marked by notable changes in women’s labor force activities. Since the 1970s, women’s labor force participation has risen substantially, particularly among women with children, and a larger share of women work full time and year round than ever before. In addition, women have increasingly attained higher levels of education: among women ages 25 to 64 who are in the labor force, the proportion with a college degree more than tripled from 1970 to 2007. Women’s earnings as a proportion of men’s also have grown over time. In 1979, women
working full time earned 62 percent of what men did; in 2007, women’s earnings were 80 percent of men’s.

This report presents historical and current labor force and earnings data for women and men from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unless otherwise noted, data are annual averages from the CPS. Users should note that the comparisons of earnings in this report are on a broad level and do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences. For a detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of concepts and definitions used, see the
Technical Note at the end of this report."

U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Federal Financial Assistance and Restructuring
"...This report reviews the U.S. automotive industry at present, aspects of the
industry’s financial situation, and relief options. It includes an analysis of the
current situation in the U.S. automotive market, including efforts to address problems of long-term competitiveness and the impact of the industry on the broader U.S. economy. It focuses on financial issues, including credit questions, and legal and financial aspects of government-offered loans or loan guarantees. This further
includes consideration of legacy issues, specifically pension and health care
responsibilities of the Detroit 3. It also reviews potential solutions to the financial crisis, including options of government receivership and participation management, and various forms of bankruptcy. Finally, the report reviews stipulations that Congress might impose on auto manufacturers as conditions of providing assistance."

U.S.-Iraq Withdrawal/Status of Forces Agreement: Issues for Congressional Oversight
"On November 17, 2008, after months of negotiations, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari signed two documents: (1) the Strategic Framework Agreement for a Relationship of Friendship and Cooperation between the United States and the Republic of Iraq, and (2) the Agreement Between the United States of America and Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities during Their Temporary Presence in Iraq. The second agreement is commonly referred to as the SOFA between the United States and Iraq and is incorporated by reference into the larger
strategic agreement.

Congress has several tools by which to exercise oversight regarding negotiation, form, conclusion, and implementation of agreements by the United States and although the agreements with Iraq were negotiated and concluded as executive agreements, they have not been implemented. The agreements are not scheduled to be in force until January 1, 2009, and even then, there remain many unanswered questions about the specific terms within the SOFA. This report begins by discussing the historical legal framework governing U.S. military operations in Iraq. The report then provides a general background as to the contents of agreements traditionally considered Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs). Finally, the report discusses specific aspects of the SOFA, highlighting issues that may require continued congressional oversight."

County Compensation by Industry, 2007
"Total compensation of U.S. workers grew 5.2% in 2007 and most counties shared in that growth, according to statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Compensation grew in over 90% of the 3,111 counties in the U.S., as the average annual compensation per job in the U.S. grew by 4.1% to $53,892. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, grew 2.6% in 2007."

EPA Designates Areas as Attainment and Nonattainment for the 24-Hour PM2.5 National Air Quality Standards
"# On December 22, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated areas throughout the US as "nonattainment" and "unclassifiable/attainment" for the 24-hour national air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

# After EPA sets a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) or revises an existing NAAQS, EPA formally identifies or "designates" areas as unclassifiable/attainment (meeting the standard or expected to be meeting the standard despite a lack of monitoring data), nonattainment (not meeting the standard), or unclassifiable (insufficient data to classify).

# In making the decision to designate 211 counties or parts of counties as nonattainment, EPA carefully assessed the recommendations provided by states and tribes, as well as additional supporting information provided by states, tribes, and the public. These nonattainment areas include counties with monitors violating the standards and nearby areas that contribute to that violation. Affected states and tribes will be required to take steps to reduce the pollution that forms these particles. The majority of U.S. counties – over 3,000 – including tribal lands will not have to take additional steps to meet these standards, but will need to continue working to maintain clean air..."

Factors Underlying the Decline in Manufacturing Employment Since 2000
"...The steep decline in manufacturing employment since 2000 is associated with two interrelated developments: rapid gains in productivity (output per hour) in U.S.
manufacturing and increased competition from foreign producers. Competition from overseas helped spur U.S. firms to boost productivity, but that competition
has also dampened demand for goods produced in the United States, despite domestic manufacturers’ efforts to reduce costs through productivity enhancements."

Historical Effective Federal Tax Rates: 1979 to 2005
"This supplement provides additional data on historical effective federal tax rates as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for the years 1979 through 2005. The data presented in this report show aggregate income and federal taxes, by source, for various income groupings, including a finer disaggregation in the highest income percentile. CBO derives its estimates from Internal Revenue Service data on individual income tax returns, supplemented with information from the Bureau of the Census’s Current Population Survey. Details about CBO’s methodology and additional tables are available on the agency’s Web site in the special collection “Distribution of Federal Taxes.”

National Incident Management System
"Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5, Management ofDomestic Incidents,
directed the development and administration of the National Incident Management
System (NIMS). Originally issued on March 1, 2004, by the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal,
State , tribal, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the
private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity.

HSPD-5 also required DHS to establish a mechanism for ongoing coordination to provide strategic direction for, and oversight of, NIMS. The National Integration Center's (NIC)Incident Management Systems Integration Division (lMSI)-formerly the NIMS Integration Center-was established to support both routine maintenance and the
continuous refinement of NIMS."

Archive Publishes Treasure Trove of Kissinger Telephone Conversations
"...Kissinger never intended these papers to be made public, according to William Burr, senior analyst at the National Security Archive, who edited the collection, Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977. “Kissinger’s conversations with the most influential personalities of the world rank right up there with the Nixon tapes as the most candid, revealing and valuable trove of records on the exercise of executive power in Washington,” Burr stated. For reporters, scholars, and students, Burr noted, “Kissinger created a gift to history that will be a tremendous primary source for generations to come.” He called on the State Department to declassify over 800 additional telcons that it continues to withhold on the grounds of executive privilege.

The documents shed light on every aspect of Nixon-Ford diplomacy, including U.S.-Soviet détente, the wars in Southeast Asia, the 1969 Biafra crisis, the 1971 South Asian crisis, the October 1973 Middle East War, and the 1974 Cyprus Crisis, among many other developments. Kissinger’s dozens of interlocutors include political and policy figures, such as Presidents Nixon and Ford, Secretary of State William Rogers, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Robert S. McNamara, and Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin; journalists and publishers, such as Ted Koppel, James Reston, and Katherine Graham; and such show business friends as Frank Sinatra. Besides the telcons, the Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977 includes audio tape of Kissinger’s telephone conversations with Richard Nixon that were recorded automatically by the secret White House taping system, some of which Kissinger’s aides were unable to transcribe."

Official Inaugural Day WebSites
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Armed Forces Inaugural Committee
Presidential Inaugural Committee
Washington D.C. Metro

President Bush Discusses Administration's Plan to Assist Automakers
"...Because Congress failed to make funds available for these loans, the plan I'm announcing today will be drawn from the financial rescue package Congress approved earlier this fall. The terms of the loans will require auto companies to demonstrate how they would become viable. They must pay back all their loans to the government, and show that their firms can earn a profit and achieve a positive net worth. This restructuring will require meaningful concessions from all involved in the auto industry -- management, labor unions, creditors, bondholders, dealers, and suppliers.

In particular, automakers must meet conditions that experts agree are necessary for long-term viability -- including putting their retirement plans on a sustainable footing, persuading bondholders to convert their debt into capital the companies need to address immediate financial shortfalls, and making their compensation competitive with foreign automakers who have major operations in the United States. If a company fails to come up with a viable plan by March 31st, it will be required to repay its federal loans..."

Treasury Department reports on the plan.

Social Security to be First Government Agency to Use Nationwide Health Information Network
"The Social Security Administration announced today that it will be the first government agency to utilize the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). Beginning in early 2009, Social Security will receive medical records for some disability applicants electronically through the NHIN gateway...

Through the NHIN, Social Security will have instantaneous access to medical records. This will significantly shorten the time it takes to make a disability decision and make the process more efficient. Social Security uses individual medical records when making a decision for more than 2.6 million people who apply for disability each year. To make those decisions, Social Security relies on doctors, hospitals, and others in the healthcare field to provide medical records in a timely fashion. The NHIN will help ensure records are received timely by making it easier and less labor-intensive for medical professionals to submit records."

Committee Releases Report Criticizing President’s Assertion of Executive Privilege
"The Committee approved a report supported by Chairman Henry A. Waxman and former Ranking Member Tom Davis finding that President Bush made a “legally unprecedented and an inappropriate use of executive privilege” when he directed Attorney General Mukasey to withhold Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s interview of Vice President Cheney from the Committee."
Full Report

Budget Options Volume I:Health Care
"This volume—which expands on one of the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) regular reports to the House and Senate Committees on the Budget—presents 115 options for reducing (or, in some cases, increasing) federal spending on health care, altering federal health care programs, and making substantive changes to the nation’s health insurance system.

The options compiled for this volume stem from a variety of sources, including extensive discussions with Congressional staff; reviews of legislative proposals, the President’s budget, and academic literature; and analyses conducted by CBO staff, other government agencies, and private groups. Although the number of health-related policy options shown here is significantly greater than in previous Budget Options volumes, it is not an exhaustive list: Some options could not be included because of time constraints or analytical complexity. The inclusion or exclusion of a particular policy change does not represent an endorsement or rejection by CBO; to ensure impartiality, the discussion of each option summarizes arguments for and
against it. In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective analysis, the report makes no recommendations."

Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals
"This report describes some of the key assumptions that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would use in estimating the effects of key elements of such proposals on federal costs, insurance coverage, and other outcomes; the evidence on which those assumptions are based; and—if the evidence points to a range of possible effects rather than a precise prediction— the factors that would influence where a proposal falls within those ranges. In doing so, it also reviews many of the major issues that arise in designing such proposals. This document does not provide a comprehensive analysis of any specific proposal; rather, it identifies and discusses
many of the critical factors that would affect estimates of various proposals. In accordance with CBO’s mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, the report makes no recommendations."

Immigration Enforcement Actions: 2007
"This Office of Immigration Statistics Annual Report presents information on the apprehension, detention, return, and removal of foreign nationals during 2007. In summary:
• DHS apprehended nearly 961,000 foreign nationals. Nearly 89 percent were natives of Mexico
. The annual number of foreign nationals apprehended by the Border Patrol decreased by 19 percent compared to 2006
. ICE detained approximately 311,000 foreign nationals
. More than 319,000 aliens were removed from the United States—the fifth consecutive record high. The leading countries of origin of those removed were Mexico (65 percent), Honduras (9 percent) and Guatemala (8 percent).
• More than 891,000 other foreign nationals accepted an offer to return to their home countries without a removal order.
• Expedited removals accounted for 106,200 or 33 percent of all removals.
• DHS removed 99,900 known criminal aliens from the United States.

Marital Status is Associated With Health Insurance Coverage for Working-age Women at all Income Levels, 2007
"Key findings. Data from the National Health Interview Survey

Overall, unmarried (divorced or never married) women aged 25-64 years are more likely to be uninsured (21%) than married women (13%) in the same age group..

Poor married women are more likely to be uninsured than poor unmarried women, in part because they are less likely to have Medicaid coverage.

Married women are more likely to have private insurance, and less likely to have Medicaid, than unmarried women.

The probability of an offer of health insurance through an employer increases with family income for both married and unmarried women.

Marriage affects health insurance coverage. As marriage rates in the United States decline (1), fewer women will have the opportunity to obtain health insurance coverage through their spouse. Marriage can also increase family income and may make health insurance more affordable. Because poor and low-income unmarried women are more likely to be eligible for Medicaid than their married counterparts, changes in Medicaid eligibility may also affect coverage rates disproportionately for poor and low-income unmarried women."

Genocide Prevention Task Force Report
"The Genocide Prevention Task Force was launched on November 13, 2007 and released its report to the public on December 8, 2008. It was jointly convened by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. It was funded by private foundations. Its goals were: (1) To spotlight genocide prevention as a national priority; and; (2) To develop practical policy recommendations to enhance the capacity of the U.S. government to respond to emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities."

Comparison of Legislative Resources on GPO Access and Selected Government and Non-Government Web Sites
"The goal of this study is to compare legislative information available on GPO Access to that available on selected, relevant Government Web sites and non-Government sites. This analysis compares two separate source bases of Government information to what currently resides on GPO Access. The first includes legislative resources available on external, free Government sites that provide resources to the public at no cost. The second includes legislative resources available on non-Government, commercial, fee-based Web sites...

The comparative analysis yielded the following key findings:
• GPO Access has the largest total number of legislative resources among those evaluated.
• All Government Web sites, with the exception of GPO Access, utilize at least some external content by linking to other Web sites.
• On House.gov and Senate.gov, most of the legislative resources link to other Web sites to supplement their information.
• House.gov and Senate.gov mostly link to GPO Access rather than THOMAS to supplement their information, and in some cases link to both external services.
• THOMAS links to House.gov for a very small amount of resources.
• The scope (number of years covered) of most resources on GPO Access is exceeded by the following:
o House.gov
o THOMAS
o Lexis-Nexis
o HeinOnline
o CQ.com

• Non-Government Web sites possess their own content, but in a very small number of cases will supplement that information with a link to GPO Access, and in one case, a link to a Library of Congress site.
• Lexis-Nexis, CQ.com, Senate.gov, and THOMAS offer a significant amount of additional legislative resources and features not offered on GPO Access."

Criminal Victimization, 2007
"Presents estimates of rates and levels of personal and property victimization for 2007 and describes the substantial fluctuations in the survey measures of the crime rates from 2005 through 2007. These changes do not appear to be due to changes in the rate of criminal activity during this period, but rather to changes in the sample design and implementation of the survey. BJS and the Census Bureau are continuing to research the impact of the changes, and readers should focus on the comparisons of the 2005 and 2007 rates until these issues are resolved. A technical report discussing these issues is expected later in the year. The estimates are drawn from the NCVS, an ongoing survey of households that interviewed about 73,600 persons in 41,500 households, two times in 2007. The report includes data on violent crimes (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault), property crimes (burglary, motor vehicle theft and property theft), and personal theft (pocket picking and purse snatching), and the characteristics of victims of these crimes."

U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Federal Financial Assistance and Restructuring
"This report reviews the U.S. automotive industry at present, aspects of the
industry’s financial situation, and relief options. It includes an analysis of the
current situation in the U.S. automotive market, including efforts to address problems of long-term competitiveness and the impact of the industry on the broader U.S. economy. It focuses on financial issues, including credit questions, and legal and financial aspects of government-offered loans or loan guarantees. This further
includes consideration of legacy issues, specifically pension and health care
responsibilities of the Detroit 3. It also reviews potential solutions to the financial crisis, including options of government receivership and participation management, and various forms of bankruptcy. Finally, the report reviews stipulations that Congress might impose on auto manufacturers as conditions of providing assistance.."

Americans with Disabilities, 2005
"About one in five U.S. residents - 19 percent - reported some level of disability in 2005, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. These 54.4 million Americans are roughly equal to the combined total populations of California and Florida.

Both the number and percentage of people with disabilities were higher than in 2002, the last time the Census Bureau collected such information. At that time, 51.2 million, or 18 percent, reported a disability.

Among those with a disability, 35 million, or 12 percent of the population, were classified as having a severe disability, according to Americans With Disabilities: 2005 [PDF].

Nearly half (46 percent) of people age 21 to 64 with a disability were employed, compared with 84 percent of people in this age group without a disability. Among those with disabilities, 31 percent with severe disabilities and 75 percent with nonsevere disabilities were employed. People with difficulty hearing were more likely to be employed than those with difficulty seeing (59 percent compared with 41 percent)..."

Social Security in Numbers: SSNs and ID Theft:Recommendations on Social Security Number Use in the Private Sector

"The President’s Identity Theft Task Force (“Task Force”) was established in May 2006 to develop a coordinated plan to prevent identity theft, help victims to recover, and prosecute the criminals who perpetrate it.1 The Task Force issued its Strategic Plan, with 31 recommendations for action, in April 2007. One of those recommendations directed Task Force agencies to study the private sector uses of consumers’ Social Security numbers (“SSNs”), develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between the SSN and identity theft, and explore approaches that would preserve the SSN’s beneficial uses while curtailing its availability and value to identity thieves.

This report answers the Task Force’s mandate. Building on extensive fact-finding conducted by staff of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”), in cooperation with other Task Force agencies, the report examines the various private sector uses of the SSN and concludes with five specific FTC recommendations. These recommendations address both the supply and demand aspects of the SSN problem by proposing actions that would make SSNs less available to identity thieves, and would make it more difficult for them to misuse those SSNs they are able to obtain."

USCIS Finalizes Streamlining Procedures for H-2A Program
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today changes to the H-2A regulations that will streamline the hiring process of temporary and seasonal agricultural workers. This final rule will facilitate the H-2A process for employers by removing certain limitations and will further encourage lawful employment. These changes stem from the commitment made by President Bush’s Administration in August 2007, after Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform. This final rule supplements the extensive reforms of the H-2A program that are included in the Department of Labor’s final rule, also being published today.

U.S. employers may file an H-2A petition with USCIS if they have a shortage of available U.S. workers to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs. Once the petition is approved, the employers can hire foreign workers to fill those jobs for a limited period of time. The final rule includes mechanisms to enhance the integrity of the program, increase protection of U.S. workers, and protect H-2A workers from unscrupulous employers and recruiters."

Annual Energy Outlook 2009 Early Release
"The Annual Energy Outlook presents a midterm projection and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030. The projections are based on results from the Energy Information Administration's National Energy Modeling System. The AEO2009 Early Release includes the reference case. The full publication, to be released in early 2009, will include complete documentation and additional cases examining energy markets."

Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2009 edition
Latest edition of the standard for governement statistics, this site also includes editions 2006-2009.

ONE IN EVERY 31 U.S. ADULTS WERE IN PRISON OR JAIL OR ON PROBATION OR PAROLE IN 2007
"More than 7.3 million men and women were under correctional supervision in the nation’s prisons or jails or on probation or parole at yearend 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. About 3.2 percent of the U.S. adult population, or one in every 31 adults, was incarcerated or under community supervision at the end of 2007. This percentage has remained stable since reaching more than 3 percent in 1999..

The report, Prisoners in 2007 (NCJ-224280), was written by BJS statisticians Heather C. West and William J. Sabol, Ph.D., and Probation and Parole in the United States, 2007 – Statistical Tables (NCJ-224707) was prepared by BJS statisticians Lauren E. Glaze and Thomas P. Bonczar.

Presidential Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation
"Through the National Archives and Records Administration, the federal
government currently manages and maintains 12 presidential libraries. Inaugurated with the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955, these entities are privately constructed on behalf of former Presidents and, upon completion, are deeded to the federal government. Deposited within these edifices are the official records and papers of the former President, as well as documentary materials of his family and, often, his political associates. These holdings are made available for public examination in accordance with prevailing law concerning custody, official secrecy, personal privacy, and other similar restrictions. This report provides a brief overview of the federal presidential libraries system and tracks the progress of related legislation (H.R. 1254, H.R. 1255,H.R. 5811, S. 886)."

Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): 2006 and 2007
"These tables provide estimates of income and poverty for states and counties, as well as estimates of poverty and population for school districts, median household income and poverty rates of various age groups. SAIPE provides annual updates for the administration of federal programs and the allocation of federal funds to local jurisdictions."

New CDC Report Finds Motor Vehicles and Falls are Causes of Most Child and Teen Injuries and Deaths in the United States
"An estimated 55 million children and teens from birth to age 19 were treated in emergency departments for unintentional injuries from 2001 to 2006, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report also notes that between 2000 and 2005, unintentional injuries resulted in 73,052 deaths among children and teens. Falls caused most non-fatal injuries (about 2.8 million each year), while most deaths were transportation-related (about 8,000 deaths each year involved a motor vehicle occupant, pedestrian or pedal cyclist).

According to the report, every year, an estimated 9.2 million children visited emergency departments for unintentional injuries. Falls were associated with over half of the nonfatal injuries involving children less than one year, while transportation-related injuries and deaths were highest among children 15 to 19 years of age. Overall, males were almost twice as likely to die as a result of unintentional injuries than females."

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Annual List of Candidates for Endangered Species Act
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals that are candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Two species have been removed from candidate status, one species has been added, and 11 have a change in priority from the last review in December 2007. There are now 251 species recognized by the Service as candidates for ESA protection."

Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.
"The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to immediately provide authority and facilities to restore liquidity and stability to the domestic 3 automobile industry in the United States; and
(2) to ensure that such authority and such facilities are used in a manner that—
(A)results in a viable and competitive domestic automobile industry that minimizes adverse effects on the environment;
(B) enhances the ability and the capacity of the domestic automobile industry to pursue the timely and aggressive production of energy efficient advanced technology vehicles;
(C) preserves and promotes the jobs of American workers employed directly by the
domestic automobile industry and in related industries;
(D) safeguards the ability of the domestic automobile industry to provide retirement and health care benefits for the industry’s retirees and their dependents; and
(E) stimulates manufacturing and sales of automobiles produced by automobile manufac
turers in the United States.

Rep. Maloney: New Report Shows Why Failure For the Big 3 Automakers is Not an Option
"Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released a report today entitled “The Ripple Effect: Why Failure for the Big 3 is Not an Option.” The domestic auto industry represents over 10 percent of the nation’s manufacturing employment. This includes employment by the Big Three, direct suppliers, production plants and new car dealers. Collapse of the three U.S. automakers will have serious negative spillover effects in industries from tire manufacturers to technology firms researching future innovations and prevent any future progress on improving our trade balance. A conditional bridge loan is crucial in helping the Big Three survive the current economic recession.

A complete copy of the report can be found here.

U. S. Senate Minority Report: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims
"Over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe challenged man-made global warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernemntal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore. This new 231-page U.S. Senate Minority Report report -- updated from 2007’s groundbreaking report of over 400 scientists who voiced skepticism about the so-called global warming “consensus” -- features the skeptical voices of over 650 prominent international scientists, including many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN IPCC. This updated report includes an additional 250 (and growing) scientists and climate researchers since the initial release in December 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers..."

Preliminary Estimates of Electronic Medical Record Use by Office-based Physicians: United States, 2008
"...In the 2008 mail survey, 38.4% of the physicians reported using full or partial EMR systems, not including billing records, in their office-based practices. About 20.4% reported using a system described as minimally functional and including the following features: orders for prescriptions, orders for tests, viewing laboratory or imaging results, and clinical notes. Comparable figures for the 2006 NAMCS, the latest available for the full survey, were 29.2% and 12.4%, respectively."

Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities From January to October 2008
"U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today said the number of people killed in traffic crashes is expected to reach a new record low in 2008, with early projections showing an almost 10 percent drop in highway traffic deaths in the first 10 months of this year...

NHTSA annually collects crash statistics from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to produce annual reports on traffic fatality trends. The agency intends to update 2008 estimates regularly as more data becomes available. The final counts for 2008 will be made available in the summer of 2009."

Business Dynamics Statistics, BDS
"The new Business Dynamics Statistics are a product of the Center for Economic Studies of the U.S. Census Bureau. The annual series describes establishment-level business dynamics along dimensions absent from similar databases including firm age and firm size. The new data series provides researchers with a tool to gain insight into the dynamics of a changing economy...

The BDS series provides annual statistics for 1976-2005 by firm age and firm size. Annual files are also provided at the state level, for Standard Industrial Classification sectors and for the economy as a whole."

Marital Status is Associated With Health Insurance Coverage for Working-age Women at all Income Levels, 2007
"Data from the National Health Interview Survey

* Overall, unmarried (divorced or never married) women aged 25-64 years are more likely to be uninsured (21%) than married women (13%) in the same age group..
* Poor married women are more likely to be uninsured than poor unmarried women, in part because they are less likely to have Medicaid coverage.
* Married women are more likely to have private insurance, and less likely to have Medicaid, than unmarried women.
* The probability of an offer of health insurance through an employer increases with family income for both married and unmarried women."

SAMHSA Releases New Data on Drug-related Hospital Emergency Department Visits
"The latest Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report - drawn from a sample of hospital emergency departments across the Nation - indicates that more than 1.7 million visits for treatment were associated with some form of substance misuse or abuse. The 2006 DAWN report, developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides the latest estimates on how substance use affects this critical part of the Nation’s healthcare system.

Among the report’s more notable findings:

• Cocaine was involved in 548,608 emergency department visits.

• Marijuana was involved in 290,563 emergency department visits.

• Heroin was involved in 189,780 emergency department visits.

• There were 126,704 emergency department visits by patients under age 21 where alcohol was the only substance involved in the visit.

• Stimulants, including amphetamines and methamphetamines, were involved in 107,575 emergency department visits."

SEC Approves Measures to Strengthen Oversight of Credit Rating Agencies
"The Securities and Exchange Commission today approved a series of measures to increase transparency and accountability at credit rating agencies, and ensure that firms provide more meaningful ratings and greater disclosure to investors.

The new measures impose additional requirements on credit rating agencies, whose ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities backed by subprime mortgage loans and of collateralized debt obligations linked to subprime loans contributed to the recent turmoil in the credit markets. The SEC also proposed additional measures related to transparency and competition concerning credit rating agencies. The SEC’s actions were informed by the agency’s extensive 10-month examination of three major credit rating agencies that found significant weaknesses in ratings practices."

DOI Climate Change Task Force Draft Subcommittee Reports
"In March 2007, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne established the DOI Climate Change Task Force, chaired by Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. Three subcommittees were formed to undertake this assignment:
1. Land & Water Management Subcommittee to identify potential issues and challenges facing the Department of the Interior (DOI) as a consequence of climate change and to suggest possible options for addressing them. The subcommittee was composed of 39 staff including economists, geologists, managers, and engineers;
2 a Law & Policy Subcommittee to identify the legal and policy issues facing the DOI and to suggest possible options for addressing them. That subcommittee had 36 staff, including diverse representation from among the career resource managers, representatives of the Solicitor’s office, and personnel from the DOI policy offices; and,
3. a Science Subcommittee to identify the science and information needed to assist the DOI in addressing the consequences of climate change and to suggest possible options for getting the needed science. There were 35 staff members on that subcommittee, including not only scientists from USGS but also multiple other professions from other parts of the Department.
Report of the Subcommittee on Land and Water Management
Report of the Subcommittee on Law and Policy
Report of the Subcommittee on Science

Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007
"Total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 7,282 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO 2e) in 2007, an increase of 1.4 percent from the 2006 level according to Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2007, a report released today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Since 1990, U.S. GHG emissions have grown at an average annual rate of 0.9 percent.

U.S. GHG emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), or U.S. GHG intensity, fell from 636 metric tons per million 2000 constant dollars of GDP (MMTCO 2e/million dollars GDP) in 2006 to 632 MMTCO 2e /million dollars GDP in 2007, a decline of 0.6 percent. Since 1990, the annual average decline in GHG intensity has been 1.9 percent.."

WMD Panel Releases Report to Congress: World at Risk Nuclear and Biological Weapons Pose Greatest Peril
"A congressionally appointed commission is calling on the President-elect and the next Congress to immediately initiate several concrete actions, unilaterally and with the international community, to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction that pose the greatest peril: nuclear and biological weapons.

The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism released its report, “World at Risk” today, and is briefing Vice President-elect Biden, President Bush and congressional leaders..."

New Rules Requiring an Automated Voice or Keypress Opt-Out for Recorded Message Telemarketing Calls Take Effect Today
"Effective today, any telemarketing call that delivers a prerecorded message must include a quick and easy way to opt-out of receiving future calls. The opt-out must work both for consumers who answer these calls in person and for those whose answering machines or voicemail services receive the calls.

Prerecorded telemarketing messages are permitted only in limited circumstances – only when the caller has an established business relationship with the consumer being called. Now, additional restrictions on prerecorded messages are going into effect. Under Do Not Call amendments adopted in August, effective today, any permitted prerecorded message must provide the called consumer with an interactive means to opt out of receiving future calls from the seller or fundraiser using the prerecorded message. Moreover, the consumer must be able to opt out at any time while the message is playing by pressing a particular number or speaking a particular word. Once the consumer has opted out, his or her phone number must be automatically added to the in-house Do Not Call list of the calling seller or fundraiser. Then the call immediately must be disconnected so that the consumer’s line is cleared..."

2007 State Government Finances
"Complete information on the financial activity of all 50 state governments. Data cover revenues by type (taxes and federal aid), expenditures by character (current operations, capital outlay, payments to other governments), expenditures by function (welfare, health, education, natural resources), indebtedness, and cash and security holdings. Complete statistics on local government finances will be released in the summer of 2009 from the 2007 Census of Governments."

Ripoff Artists Target Grandparents
"Complaints are on the rise about a scam that preys on a grandparent’s love, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

A scammer calls posing as a grandchild in distress, and tries to put the squeeze on the grandparent to wire money for repairing a car, paying a fine, or getting out of trouble in a foreign country.

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, has some advice to avoid being taken in by a supposed “family” member or a fake emergency: Check out the facts before you send money to anyone, anywhere – especially when wire transfers are involved. To learn more, see the consumer alert “A Scam Based on Relative-ity: Would-be Grandchildren Bilking Honest Grandparents”

Insured Banks and Thrifts Earned $1.7 Billion in the Third Quarter
"Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported net income of $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2008, a decline of $27.0 billion (94 percent) from the $28.7 billion that the industry earned in the third quarter of 2007. With the exception of the fourth quarter of last year, the latest earnings were the lowest for the industry since the fourth quarter of 1990."

Annual Report to the Nation Finds Declines in Cancer Incidence and Death Rates; Special Feature Reveals Wide Variations in Lung Cancer Trends across States
"A new report from the nation's leading cancer organizations shows that, for the first time since the report was first issued in 1998, both incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women, driven largely by declines in some of the most common types of cancer. The report notes that, although the decreases in overall cancer incidence and death rates are encouraging, large state and regional differences in lung cancer trends among women underscore the need to strengthen many state tobacco control programs. The findings come from the "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2005, Featuring Trends in Lung Cancer, Tobacco Use and Tobacco Control", online Nov. 25, 2008, and appearing in the Dec. 2, 2008, Journal of the National Cancer Institute..."