FBI Releases 2009 Bank Crime Statistics
"Today the FBI released bank crime statistics for calendar year 2009. Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, there were 5,943 robberies, 100 burglaries, 19 larcenies, and three extortions of financial institutions1 reported to law enforcement. The total 6,065 reported violations represents a decrease from 2008, during which 6,8572 violations of the Federal Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes Statute were reported."
View full report

EPA Issues Second Annual Ranking of U.S. Cities with the Most Energy Efficient Buildings: List shows continued growth in saving money and energy
"e U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of energy efficient buildings that earned EPA’s Energy Star in 2009. The list is headed by Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Lakeland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and New York. Energy efficiency saves building owners money and fights climate change.

"These cities see the importance of taking action on climate change," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “Communities from Los Angeles to Louisville are reducing greenhouse gases and cutting energy bills with buildings that have earned EPA's Energy Star."

EPA first issued its ranking of cities with the most Energy Star labeled buildings last year. This year, Los Angeles remains in first place; the District of Columbia picks up second; Denver and Chicago move into the top five; and Lakeland and New York City are new to the top 10.."
Top 25 cities with energy star label.

Costs and Policy Options for Federal Student Loan Programs
"The federal government helps students finance higher education through two major loan programs—one that guarantees loans made by private lenders and one that makes loans directly to borrowers. The two programs offer similar types of loans on similar terms to borrowers, but they differ significantly in how they are funded and administered. Those differences cause the guaranteed loan program to have a significantly higher rate of federal subsidies—as calculated for the federal budget under the rules of the Federal Credit Reform Act—than the direct loan program has. However, such subsidy-rate estimates do not include the costs to taxpayers that
stem from the risks involved in making student loans, nor do they include federal administrative costs (which are recorded separately in the budget). Morecomprehensive, fair-value estimates, which include such costs, indicate higher subsidy rates for both programs, although direct loans continue to show a marked cost advantage over guaranteed loans.

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study—prepared at the request of the
Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee—compares the budgetary and fair-
value costs of the federal student loan programs. It also looks at several options for modifying those programs, including eliminating the guaranteed loan program
after July 1, 2010, and expanding direct lending. In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective and impartial analysis, this report makes no recommendations..."

Food Assistant Landscape, FY 2009 Annual Report
"Federal expenditures for USDA’s food assistance programs totaled $78.8 billion in fi scal 2009, a 29-percent increase over the previous fiscal year—the largest percentage increase in 34 years. Fiscal 2009 marked the ninth consecutive year in which food assistance expenditures exceeded the previous historical record. The fi ve largest food assistance programs in fi scal 2009—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the School Breakfast Program—accounted for 95 percent of USDA’s food assistance expenditures. Each of these programs expanded during fiscal 2009..."

Bisphenol A (BPA) Action Plan Summary
"What chemical is addressed in the action plan?

This action plan addresses EPA’s review of bisphenol A (BPA), CASRN 80-05-7.

Why is EPA concerned about this chemical?

BPA is a high production volume (HPV) chemical widely used in manufacturing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins used in nearly every industry. Humans appear to be exposed primarily through food packaging manufactured using BPA, although those products account for less than 5 percent of the BPA used in this country. Food packaging is under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not EPA. FDA recently explained the steps it is taking to address BPA. Releases of BPA to the environment exceed 1 million pounds per year..."
Download the complete action plan.

FDA Transparency Task Force
"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formed a task force to develop recommendations for making useful and understandable information about FDA activities and decision making more readily available to the public in a timely manner and in a user-friendly format.

The Task Force is seeking public opinion on how to make the agency’s information on activities and decision making more transparent, useful, and understandable to the public, while appropriately protecting confidential information..."

Census Bureau Story

A video tracing the history of the United States census program from 1790 to today

A New Approach to Protecting Drinking Water and Public Health
"EPA is seeking a new approach to expand public health protection for drinking water by going beyond the traditional framework that addresses contaminants one at a time. The Agency is initiating a national conversation to identify better ways to address contaminants in groups, improve drinking water technology, and more effectively address potential risks to give Americans greater confidence in the quality of their drinking water.
EPA will focus on four principles that will provide greater protection of drinking water. The four principles are:

Address contaminants as a groups rather than one at a time so that enhancement of drinking water protection can be achieved cost-effectively.

Foster development of new drinking water technologies to address health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.

Use the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water.

Partner with states to share more complete data from monitoring at public water systems (PWS)..."

Metropolitan and County Population Estimates, 2009
"The latest estimates of total population for metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, and Puerto Rico Municipios - for July 1, 2009 - were released March 2010."

Supreme Court Web site
"Welcome to the Supreme Court's new Website, which not only has a new look, but also incorporates new features, including:

recent Court decisions accessible from the homepage
docket files dating back to 2000
an interactive Court calendar
a new case citation finder
enhanced search and navigation capabilities
Additonal features and enhancements will be added over time, so watch this space for announcements."

EPA to Increase Restrictions on Flea and Tick Products Cautions consumers to use products with extra care
"Due to a significant increase in adverse incidents, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking a series of actions to increase the safety of spot-on pesticide products for flea and tick control for cats and dogs. Immediately, EPA will begin reviewing labels to determine which ones need stronger and clearer labeling statements. Next, EPA will develop more stringent testing and evaluation requirements for both existing and new products. EPA expects these steps will help prevent adverse reactions. In dogs and cats that can include skin effects, such as irritation, redness, or gastrointestinal problems that include vomiting or diarrhea, or effects to the nervous system, such as trembling, appearing depressed or seizures—from pet spot-on products..."
EPA evaluation of Pet On-spot Products

IC3 2009 Annual Report on Internet Crime Released
"The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), released the 2009 Annual Report about fraudulent activity on the Internet today.

Online crime complaints increased substantially once again last year, according to the report. The IC3 received a total of 336,655 complaints, a 22.3 percent increase from 2008. The total loss linked to online fraud was $559.7 million; this is up from $265 million in 2008.

YEAR COMPLAINTS RECEIVED DOLLAR LOSS
2009 336,655 $559.7 million
2008 275,284 $265 million
2007 206,884 $239.09 million
2006 207,492 $198.44 million
2005 231,493 $183.12 million"

EPA Makes Chemical Information More Accessible to Public For the first time, TSCA chemical inventory free of charge online
"As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s strong commitment to increase information on chemicals, for the first time, EPA is providing web access, free of charge, to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory. This inventory contains a consolidated list of thousands of industrial chemicals maintained by the agency. EPA is also making this information available on Data.Gov, a website developed by the Obama Administration to provide public access to important government information. This action represents another step to increase the transparency of chemical information while continuing to push for legislative reform of the 30 year old TSCA law.

“Increasing the public’s access to information on chemicals is one of Administrator Jackson’s top priorities,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “The American people are entitled to easily accessible information on chemicals, and today’s action is part of a series of ongoing steps that EPA is taking to empower the public with this important information.”

Until now, the consolidated public portion of the TSCA Inventory has only been available by purchase from the National Technical Reports Library or other databases. By adding the consolidated TSCA Inventory to the Agency’s website and to Data.Gov, EPA is making this information readily available to the public at no cost..."
For access to the entire TSCA Inventory

Coming Together for Clean Water Discussion Forum
"Nearly 40 years ago, Congress passed a truly remarkable piece of legislation—the Clean Water Act. This document outlined sweeping commitments to restore and maintain the integrity of our nation’s waters, rid them of pollution, and make them safe for humans and wildlife alike.

For even longer, the Environmental Protection Agency has worked to fulfill these ambitious and important goals. Our efforts have made our water resources cleaner and safer in many ways, but new challenges arise everyday. This April, Administrator Lisa Jackson and I are inviting 100 leaders in water issues to help us sharpen our thinking during a one-day event, Coming Together for Clean Water, on how we can meet these challenges.

Specifically, we’ll discuss what we can do about the most significant pollution problems facing our waters. These evolving issues pose complex challenges to restoring healthy watersheds and creating sustainable communities across the country.

These priorities are important to all of us, and cannot be achieved in one day. That’s why Administrator Jackson and I are asking you to participate in this discussion forum, which was designed around the questions we’ll tackle during the Coming Together for Clean Water conference. I encourage you to share your thoughts and experiences on these topics, so we can use them to inform our discussion..."

NOAA: Imminent Flood Threat in Midwest, South and East Also at Risk
"Major flooding has begun and is forecast to continue through spring in parts of the Midwest according to NOAA’s National Weather Service. The South and East are also more susceptible to flooding as an El Niño influenced winter left the area soggier than usual.

Overall, more than a third of the contiguous United States has an above average flood risk –– with the highest threat in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa, including along the Red River Valley where crests could approach the record levels set just last year.

Supporting the forecast of imminent Midwest flooding is a snowpack more extensive than in 2009 and containing in excess of 10 inches of liquid water in some locations. Until early March, consistently cold temperatures limited snow melt and runoff. These conditions exist on top of: above normal streamflows; December precipitation that was up to four times above average; and the ground which is frozen to a depth as much as three feet below the surface..."

DOD Releases Annual Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Report
"The Department of Defense today released the fiscal 2009 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.

In fiscal 2009, a total of 3,230 restricted and unrestricted reports of sexual assault were filed, involving military members as either victims or subjects, which is an 11 percent increase from fiscal 2008. There were 714 restricted reports filed in fiscal 2009. Under the restricted (confidential) reporting option, service members may choose to obtain medical, mental health care and other services without becoming involved in the military criminal justice process. This year, 123 victims converted their reports from restricted to unrestricted, which is included in the overall total of 2,516 unrestricted reports.

“One sexual assault is too many. As such, the best way to combat sexual assault is to prevent it,” said Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

To advance the prevention of sexual assault, the department provided its DoD Sexual Assault Prevention Strategy to the senior leaders of each military service and the National Guard Bureau in fiscal 2009. Each military service held leadership summits in fiscal 2009, keynoted by their service secretary, chief of staff and commandant of the Marine Corps, to emphasize the importance of command’s role in prevention. The department also deployed a multimedia prevention campaign, “My Strength is for Defending: Preventing Sexual Assault is Part of My Duty,” across the military services.

View the full report full report

The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases
"Total debt of the federal government can increase in two ways. First, debt increases when the
government sells debt to the public to finance budget deficits and acquire the financial resources
needed to meet its obligations. This increases debt held by the public. Second, debt increases
when the federal government issues debt to certain government accounts, such as the Social
Security, Medicare, and Transportation trust funds, in exchange for their reported surpluses. This
increases debt held by government accounts. The sum of debt held by the public and debt held by
government accounts is the total federal debt. Surpluses generally reduce debt held by the public,
while deficits raise it...

The House’s adoption of the conference report on the FY2010 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 13)
on April 29, 2009, triggered the automatic passage of H.J.Res. 45 to raise the debt limit to
$13.029 trillion. In August 2009, Treasury reportedly said that the debt limit would be reached in
mid-October, although the Treasury later stated that the limit would not be reached until mid or
late December 2009. H.R. 4314, passed by the House on December 16, 2009, and by the Senate
on December 24, raised the debt limit to $12.394 trillion when the President signed the measure
(P.L. 111-123) on December 28. On January 28, the Senate passed an amended version of
H.J.Res. 45, which the House passed on February 4 and the President signed on February 12. This
report, written with the assistance of Joseph McCormack, will be updated as events warrant."

Trade Agreements: Impact on the U.S. Economy
"The United States is in the process of considering a number of trade agreements. In addition, the
111th Congress may address the issue of trade promotion authority (TPA), which expired on July
1, 2007. These agreements range from bilateral trade agreements with countries that account for
meager shares of U.S. trade to multilateral negotiations that could affect large numbers of U.S.
workers and businesses. During this process, Congress likely will be presented with an array of
data estimating the impact of trade agreements on the economy, or on a particular segment of the
economy...

This report examines the major features of economic models being used to estimate the effects of
trade agreements. It assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the models as an aid in helping
Congress evaluate the economic impact of trade agreements on the U.S. economy. In addition,
this report identifies and assesses some of the assumptions used in the economic models and how
these assumptions affect the data generated by the models. Finally, this report evaluates the
implications for Congress of various options it may consider as it assesses trade agreements."

Immigration Reform Issues in the 111th Congress
"..This report synthesizes the multi-tiered debate over immigration reform into key elements: legal
immigration; legalization; immigration control; refugees, asylees, and humanitarian migrants;
and, alien rights, benefits and responsibilities. It delineates the issues for the 111th Congress on
permanent residence, temporary admissions, border security, worksite enforcement, employment
eligibility verification, document fraud, criminal aliens, and the grounds for inadmissibility.
Addressing these contentious policy reforms against the backdrop of economic crisis sharpens the
social and business cleavages and narrows the range of options."

Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements
"Arms control and nonproliferation efforts are two of the tools that have occasionally been used to
implement U.S. national security strategy. Although some believe these tools do little to restrain
the behavior of U.S. adversaries, while doing too much to restrain U.S. military forces and
operations, many other analysts see them as an effective means to promote transparency, ease
military planning, limit forces, and protect against uncertainty and surprise. Arms control and
nonproliferation efforts have produced formal treaties and agreements, informal arrangements,
and cooperative threat reduction and monitoring mechanisms. The pace of implementation
slowed, however, in the 1990s, and the Bush Administration usually preferred unilateral or ad hoc
measures to formal treaties and agreements to address U.S. security concerns. But the Obama
Administration has resumed bilateral negotiations with Russia and pledged its support for a
number of multilateral arms control and nonproliferation efforts..."

Obama Administration's Education Reform Plan Emphasizes Flexibility, Resources and Accountability for Results
"he Obama administration's blueprint to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) will support state and local efforts to help ensure that all students graduate prepared for college and a career.

Following the lead of the nation's governors and state education leaders, the plan will ask states to ensure that their academic standards prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to create accountability systems that recognize student growth and school progress toward meeting that goal. This will be a key priority in the reform of NCLB, which was signed into law in 2002 and is the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).

"We will work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize ESEA this year," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said about the blueprint, which the Obama administration released on Saturday. "We owe it to our children and our country to act now."

NCLB highlighted the achievement gap and created a national conversation about student achievement. But it also created incentives for states to lower their standards; emphasized punishing failure over rewarding success; focused on absolute scores, rather than recognizing growth and progress; and prescribed a pass-fail, one-size-fits-all series of interventions for schools that miss their goals. The administration's proposal addresses these challenges, while continuing to shine a bright light on closing the achievement gap..."
Read the full report

A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
"...My Administration’s blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act is not only a plan to renovate a flawed law, but also an outline for a reenvisioned
federal role in education. This is a framework to guide our deliberations and
shared work – with parents, students, educators, business and community leaders, elected
officials, and other partners – to strengthen America’s public education system..."

FCC LAUNCHES BROADBAND CONSUMER TOOLS
"Today, the Federal Communications Commission launched new digital tools
-- the Consumer Broadband Test and the Broadband Dead Zone Report -- that allow consumers
to test their broadband service and report areas where broadband is not available.
“Transparency empowers consumers, promotes innovation and investment, and encourages
competition,” said Chairman Julius Genachowski. “The FCC’s new digital tools will arm users
with real-time information about their broadband connection and the agency with useful data
about service across the country. By informing consumers about their broadband service quality,
these tools help eliminate confusion and make the market work more effectively.”

The Consumer Broadband Test measures broadband quality indicators such as speed and latency,
and reports that information to consumers and the FCC. The mobile version -- the FCC’s first
mobile app -- is available through the Apple and Android app stores. The fixed version is
available at www.broadband.gov. Two popular broadband testing tools are used in this beta
version -- the Ookla, Inc. Speed Test and the Network Diagnostic Tool (NDT) running on the
Measurement Lab (M-Lab) platform. In the future, the FCC anticipates making additional
broadband testing applications available for consumer use. The Commission does not endorse
any specific testing application..."

Country Analysis: Yemen
"Yemen's location on the Bab al Mandab, one of the world's most strategic shipping lanes through which an estimated 3.7 million barrels of oil pass daily, makes Yemen important to the global oil trade. Disruption to shipping in the Bab el-Mandab could prevent tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden from reaching the Suez Canal/Sumed pipeline complex, requiring a costly diversion around the southern tip of Africa to reach western markets..."

Criminal Victimization In The United States, 2007 -- Statistical Tables
"Presents tables with detailed data on major variables measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Topics covered include --

crimes of violence (rape, gender, sexual assault, robbery, assault) and theft (pocket picking, purse snatching, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft), with data on victim characteristics (gender, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, income, and residence)
crime characteristics (time and place of occurrence, distance from home, weapon use, self-protection, injury, medical care, economic loss, and time lost from work)
victim-offender relationship
victims' perceptions of substance use by offenders and of offender characteristics (age, race, and gender)
whether crimes were reported to the police and reasons why
police response time for reported crimes.."

Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2009
"In 2009, 72.6 million American workers age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.3 percent of all wage and salary workers.1 On July 24, 2009, the Federal minimum wage increased to $7.25 per hour from $6.55 per hour. Data in this report reflect the average number of workers earning the prevailing Federal minimum wage or less for the calendar year 2009 (those who earned $6.55 or less from January 2009 through July 2009 and those who earned $7.25 or less from August 2009 through the end of the year). Among those paid by the hour, 980,000 earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage in 2009. Nearly 2.6 million had wages below the minimum.2 Together, these 3.6 million workers with wages at or below the minimum made up 4.9 percent of all hourly-paid workers. Tables 1-10 present data on a wide array of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics for hourly-paid workers earning at or below the Federal minimum wage. The following are some highlights from the 2009 data..."

Salmonella Tennessee Identified in a Processed Food Ingredient
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to protect the public following the early identification of Salmonella Tennessee in one company’s supply of hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP). This is a common ingredient used most frequently as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings.

In coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, other federal agencies, and state health departments, FDA is closely monitoring and assessing the potential risks of illness from affected products.

“Our investigators were able to identify this problem before any illnesses occurred," said FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg. "While the investigation is continuing, the agency is supporting reasonable steps to continue to protect the public health.”.."

Mandatory Flood Insurance Purchase in Remapped Residual Risk Areas Behind Levees
"This report examines the amount of flood insurance that must be purchased (and retained) on
loans secured by real property located in federally designated special flood hazard areas (SFHAs).
It is written in response to three situations: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
remapping efforts that include verifying the status of all levees as providing protection against a
100-year flood, which are currently depicted on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and widespread
concerns among homeowners about new requirements to purchase flood insurance should the
levee become decertified; (2) uncertainty as to whether the mandatory amount of flood insurance
should be equal to the assessed value of the insured residential structure or the unpaid principal
balance (UPB) of the mortgage loan; and (3) concerns that homeowners may be inappropriately
asked to purchase an amount of flood insurance that is several times the value of the actual
property. This report will be updated as events warrant."

Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species
"In late August 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard published proposed regulations to establish
quantitative standards for ballast water treatment. The proposed standards would initially follow
standards developed by the International Maritime Organization. In a subsequent phase, the
quantitative standards would become much more stringent, given sufficient technological
development to support achievement of the higher standards. The proposed Coast Guard
standards would not preempt existing state ballast water management standards.

This report provides background on various approaches to ballast water management and reviews
current ballast water management laws and programs. This report will be updated as this issue evolves."

Metropolitan Transportation Planning
"Federal law requires state and local governments to designate a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in each urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more to help plan surface transportation infrastructure and services. There are currently 381 MPOs nationwide. Despite some strengthening of their authority over the years, MPOs have generally remained subordinate to state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the planning and selecting (“programming”) of projects using federal surface transportation funds. Moreover, it can be argued that at the metropolitan level MPOs are subordinate to local governments that own and
operate many elements of the transportation system, and also control land use planning and zoning.

Because of the perceived weakness of MPOs, some in the transportation community have argued that they ought to be given much more power over the planning and programming of projects using federal surface transportation funds. Some of these observers go so far as to suggest that federal policies and programs in a number of areas, including transportation, housing, and the environment, need to be coordinated on a metropolitan scale, and that MPOs are the organizational venue where this should occur. Others argue that the relationship between state government, local government, and MPOs is well-balanced and should not be changed. A third view is that metropolitan transportation planning is controlled by planners who often harbor anticar views, and consequently, MPOs can be actually detrimental to well-functioning metropolitan transportation systems. In this view, MPOs should be abolished or, at the very least, have their functions significantly curtailed..."

Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians
"This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

Casualty data of U.S. military forces are compiled by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as tallied from the agency’s press releases. Also included are statistics on those wounded but not killed. Statistics may be revised as circumstances are investigated and as records are processed through the U.S. military’s casualty system. More frequent updates are available at DOD’s website at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/ under “Casualty Update...”

Satellite Surveillance: Domestic Issues
"...This report provides background on the development of intelligence satellites and identifies the roles various agencies play in their management and use. Issues surrounding the current policy and proposed changes are discussed, including the findings of an Independent Study Group (ISG) with respect to the increased sharing of satellite intelligence data. There follows a discussion of legal considerations, including whether satellite reconnaissance might constitute a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment; an overview of statutory authorities, as well as
restrictions that might apply; and a brief description of executive branch authorities and Department of Defense directives that might apply. The report concludes by discussing policy issues Congress may consider as it deliberates the potential advantages and pitfalls that may be encountered in expanding the role of satellite intelligence for homeland security purposes."

Vice President Biden Announces Nearly 200 New Recovery Act Transit Projects in 42 States
"Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced funding for 191 new Recovery Act transit projects in 42 states and Puerto Rico that will help transform the nation’s infrastructure and support thousands of jobs across the country. In making the over $600 million in new awards, the Federal Transit Administration met an aggressive deadline to award 100 percent of its Recovery Act transit formula dollars by March 5.

Since President Obama signed the Recovery Act in February 2009, the FTA has awarded 881 grants totaling $7.5 billion, which means all the formula transit funds provided by the Recovery Act have now been “obligated” or committed to specific transit projects. Once funds are obligated to a project, contracts can be bid, workers can be hired, buses and rail cars can be purchased and work can begin on transit construction projects that create jobs and drive economic growth. Recovery Act transit projects have already generated enough work to employ thousands of people nationwide and activity is expected to ramp up even further in the months ahead as new projects break ground and equipment orders are fulfilled..."

2010 Census Arrives Next Week, March 15-19 2010
"The 2010 Census will arrive in the mailboxes of more than 120 million households next week. Is your community ready?

We are asking leaders nationwide to take part in the *Take 10 Challenge* - Inspire your constituents to take 10 minutes to fill out and mail back their 2010 Census forms..."

EPA Announces Superfund Cleanup Progress for FY 2009
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released today the annual summary of the Superfund program’s fiscal year (FY) 2009 progress. The report shows that the program continues to make significant progress in achieving its mission of cleaning up the country’s most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites and protecting the health of nearby communities and ecosystems from harmful contaminants.

In FY 2009, which ended on Sept. 30, EPA completed all of its construction projects at 20 sites, for a cumulative total of 1,080 sites with construction completed – 67 percent of the top priority sites ranked on the National Priorities List (NPL). Superfund has continued to protect communities and the environment by listing 20 new sites and proposing that 23 sites be added to the NPL in FY 2009.."

Congressional Budget Office's Estimate of the Budgetary Effects of the President's Budget.
"CBO’s preliminary analysis indicates the following:

If the President’s proposals were enacted, the federal government would record deficits
of $1.5 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011. Those deficits would
amount to 10.3 percent and 8.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), respectively.
By comparison, the deficit in 2009 totaled 9.9 percent of GDP.

Measured relative to the size of the economy, the deficit under the President’s proposals
would fall to about 4 percent of GDP by 2014 but would rise steadily thereafter.
Compared with CBO’s baseline projections, deficits under the proposals
would be about 2 percentage points of GDP higher in fiscal years 2011 and 2012,
1.3 percentage points greater in 2013, and above baseline levels by growing
amounts thereafter. By 2020, the deficit would reach 5.6 percent of GDP, compared
with 3.0 percent under CBO’s baseline projections..."

US Labor Department releases state-by-state figures on number of Americans who stand to lose unemployment benefits without congressional extension of program
"The U.S. Department of Labor today released state-by-state figures on the number of individuals who will lose their unemployment benefits in the coming days if Congress fails to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

If Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding for the Extended Benefit program are not extended, 400,000 Americans will lose unemployment benefits during the first weeks in March. By May, nearly 3 million people could be left without these benefits. Furthermore, if the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not extended, thousands of families will lose access to affordable health care.

If the extension is not approved, an estimated 500,000 workers who lose their jobs will be ineligible for subsidies to cover the cost of health care over this month. Over the rest of 2010, an estimated 5 million workers will be ineligible for the Recovery Act COBRA subsidy that covers 65 percent of the cost of coverage. Without this assistance, many of these families will be forced to join the ranks of the uninsured..."

U.S. Department of Education Makes Public State-by-State Restraint and Seclusion Information
"Today, the Department posted a summary of state laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines regarding the use of restraint and seclusion techniques in schools: http://www.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/seclusion-state-summary.html. The summary is a result of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s letter issued to Chief State School Officers on July 31, 2009, urging a review of current state policies and guidelines regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. Since August, the Department’s regional Comprehensive Centers have researched and compiled information on state-by-state restraint and seclusion techniques..."

Health United States, 2009
"Health, United States, 2009 is the 33rd report on the health status of the Nation. The report contains a Chartbook and 150 trend tables presenting current and historic information on the health of the U.S. population. The trend tables are organized around four major subject areas: health status and determinants, health care utilization, health care resources, and health care expenditures and payors. The 2009 Chartbook focuses on selected determinants and measures of health and includes a special feature on medical technology..."

EEOC Issues New Data on Job Patterns in Private Sector
"The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has posted extensive new data on job patterns in the private sector, as part of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative.

The EEOC posted 11 new aggregate data sets from the most recent edition of its report Job Patterns for Minorities and Women in Private Industry, commonly known as the EEO-1 survey, on www.Data.gov. The EEO-1 raw data extracts for 2008 may be downloaded at http://www.data.gov/catalog/raw/category/0/agency/119/filter/2008/type//sort//page/1/count/25.

The EEOC also posted the data on a new Open Government page, which it launched today. That page, on the EEOC’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/open/, offers a one-stop location for EEOC statistics and other performance-related materials, and will soon also provide tools for the public to interact with the EEOC about information the agency provides and work it does. The page will eventually carry the agency’s comprehensive Open Government Plan..."

Government Collection of Private Information: Background and Issues Related to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization
"Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Act soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The most
controversial sections of the Act facilitate the federal government’s collection of more
information, from a greater number of sources, than had previously been authorized in criminal or
foreign intelligence investigations. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and the national security letter (NSL) statutes
were all bolstered. With the changes came greater access to records showing an individual’s
spending and communication patterns as well as increased authority to intercept e-mail and
telephone conversations and to search homes and businesses. In some cases, evidentiary standards
required to obtain court approval for the collection of information were lowered. Other
approaches included expanding the scope of information subject to search, adding flexibility to
the methods by which information could be collected, and broadening the purposes for which
information may be sought..."

WHETHER THE TEN-YEAR MINIMUM SENTENCE IN 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(i) APPLIES TO SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS
"MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIMINAL DIVISION
You have asked whether possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime is conduct that remains subject to a mandatory ten-year minimum sentence. Having carefully considered the views of the Criminal Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), we conclude that semiautomatic assault weapons are no longer among the firearms to which the ten-year minimum sentence in section 924(c)(1)(B)(i) of title 18 applies. The 1994 amendment that increased the penalties for use of such firearms in section 924(c)(1) is subject to a sunset provision, and thus was repealed as of 2004. Accordingly, the possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon in furtherance of, or the use during and in relation to, a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime is subject to the general five-year mandatory minimum sentence provided for in section 924(c)(1)(A), with increased penalties for the brandishment or discharge of such weapon..."