State employment changes, April 2010
"From March 2010 to April 2010, 18 States had statistically significant increases in employment, while 4 States experienced statistically significant decreases in employment."

The Condition of Education 2010
"The Condition of Education 2010 summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 49 indicators on the status and condition of education, in addition to a special section on high-poverty schools. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which accurate data are available. The 2009 print edition includes 49 indicators in five main areas: (1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education..."
Full Report

Unauthorized Aliens in the United States
"The unauthorized alien (illegal alien) population in the United States is a key and controversial
immigration issue. In recent years, competing views on how to address this population have
proved to be a major obstacle to enacting comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The
unauthorized alien issue is likely to be a key challenge if, as the Senate Majority Leader and the
Speaker of the House have indicated, the 111th Congress takes up immigration reform legislation
this year.

It is unknown, at any point in time, how many unauthorized aliens are in the United States, what
countries they are from, when they came to the United States, where they are living, and what
their demographic, family, and other characteristics are. Demographers develop estimates about
unauthorized aliens using available survey data on the U.S. foreign-born population. These
estimates can help inform possible policy options to address the unauthorized alien population.
According to recent estimates by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), approximately
10.8 million unauthorized aliens were living in the United States in January 2009. Using different
sources, the Pew Hispanic Center has estimated the March 2008 unauthorized resident population
at about 11.9 million..."

DECEPTIVE MARKETING OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
"The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) submits this statement to
Chairman Kohl, Ranking Member Corker, and Members of the Special Committee on Aging.
The statement details recent FTC enforcement efforts to protect consumers from false or
misleading claims about dietary supplement products. The Commission appreciates the
opportunity to submit this statement for the record..."

National Security Strategy, 2010
"The President’s highest priority is always to keep the American people safe. Today the Administration is releasing the National Security Strategy that lays out a strategic approach for advancing American interests, including the security of the American people, a growing U.S. economy, support for our values, and an international order that can address 21st century challenges.

Read the full National Security Strategy (pdf)
The National Security Strategy is guided by a clear understanding of our increasingly interconnected world where the free flow of information, people and goods continues to accelerate at an unprecedented pace promising new opportunities while simultaneously posing challenges that no longer recognize borders: global networks of terrorists and criminals, threats in space and cyberspace, a degrading climate, and technologies with tremendous destructive power. The response systems and international architecture of the 20th century, designed for another time, are buckling under the weight of these new threats. Currently, these realities describe the world as it is..."

Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
"What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Secondhand smoke is also called environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and exposure to secondhand smoke is sometimes called involuntary or passive smoking. Secondhand smoke contains more that 4,000 substances, several of which are known to cause cancer in humans or animals.

* EPA has concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer in adults who do not smoke. EPA estimates that exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year in nonsmokers.
* Exposure to secondhand smoke has also been shown in a number of studies to increase the risk of heart disease..."

Smoking and Tobacco Use
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through its Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), is the lead federal agency for comprehensive tobacco prevention and control. OSH is a division within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which is located within CDC’s Coordinating Center for Health Promotion.

Originally established in 1965 as the National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health, OSH is dedicated to reducing the death and disease caused by tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke."

Surveillance of Violent Deaths...16 States, 2007
"...For 2007, a total of 15,882 fatal incidents involving 16,319 deaths occurred in the 16 NVDRS states included in this report. The majority (56.6%) of deaths was suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal intervention (i.e., deaths caused by police and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions) (28.0%), deaths of undetermined intent (14.7%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7%). Suicides occurred at higher rates among
males, American Indians/Alaska Natives, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 45–54 years. Suicides occurred most often in a house or apartment and involved the use of firearms. Suicides were precipitated primarily by mental-health, intimate-partner, or physical-health problems, or by a crisis during the preceding 2 weeks. Homicides occurred at higher rates among males and persons aged 20–24 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. The majority of homicides involved the use of a firearm and occurred in a house or apartment or on a street/highway. Homicides were
precipitated primarily by arguments and interpersonal conflicts or in conjunction with another crime. Other manners of death and special situations or populations also are highlighted in this report..."

EPA Releases Draft Dioxin Report for Peer Review and Public Comment
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a significant milestone toward the completion of the agency’s dioxin reassessment with the public release of its draft scientific report, EPA’s Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments. The draft dioxin report is EPA’s response to key comments and recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences on the agency’s draft dioxin reassessment. EPA is moving forward with Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to complete the long-awaited dioxin reassessment. This comprehensive human health and exposure risk assessment on dioxin, one of the most toxic environmental contaminants, aims to protect the health of the American public. The draft report will now undergo scientific peer review by independent, external experts as well as public review and comment..."

STRONG EVIDENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE UNDERSCORES NEED FOR ACTIONS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS AND BEGIN ADAPTING TO IMPACTS
"As part of its most comprehensive study of climate change to date, the National Research Council today issued three reports emphasizing why the U.S. should act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop a national strategy to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The reports by the Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, are part of a congressionally requested suite of five studies known as America's Climate Choices.

"These reports show that the state of climate change science is strong," said Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. "But the nation also needs the scientific community to expand upon its understanding of why climate change is happening, and focus also on when and where the most severe impacts will occur and what we can do to respond."

'Poses Significant Risks'

The compelling case that climate change is occurring and is caused in large part by human activities is based on a strong, credible body of evidence, says Advancing the Science of Climate Change, one of the new reports. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never "closed," the report emphasizes that multiple lines of evidence support scientific understanding of climate change. The core phenomenon, scientific questions, and hypotheses have been examined thoroughly and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations..."

America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
"America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has identified more than 200 one-of-a-kind historic treasures since 1988. From urban districts to rural landscapes, Native American landmarks to 20th-century sports arenas, entire communities to single buildings, the list spotlights places across America that are threatened by neglect, insufficient funds, inappropriate development, or insensitive public policy."

EPA Adds More Than 6,300 Chemicals and 3,800 Chemical Facilities to Public Database Unprecedented access provided for the first time
"s part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to increase public access to information on chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added more than 6,300 chemicals and 3,800 chemical facilities regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to a public database called Envirofacts.

“The addition to Envirofacts will provide the American people with unprecedented access to information about chemicals that are manufactured in their communities,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “This is another step EPA is taking to empower the public with information on chemicals in their communities.”

The Envirofacts database is EPA’s single point of access on the Internet for information about environmental activities that may affect air, water and land in the U.S and provides tools for analyzing the data. It includes facility name and address information, aerial image of the facility and surrounding area, map location of the facility, and links to other EPA information on the facility, such as EPA’s inspection and compliance reports that are available through the Enforcement Compliance History Online (ECHO) database. EPA is also adding historic facility information for another 2,500 facilities..."

FEMA Launches New Mobile Web Site For Smartphones
"Today, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate announced the launch of FEMA's new mobile Web site, m.fema.gov. The mobile Web site makes it easier to access critical information regarding emergency preparedness and what to do before and after a disaster right on a smartphone.

"Smartphones are becoming more prevalent, affordable, reliable and more viable to locate and obtain information and assistance," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "This service will provide yet another avenue for the sharing of important information that is so critical to ensuring the public is prepared for emergencies. As we've seen in recent cases, often times after a disaster, mobile devices become a crucial lifeline to provide information to survivors."

The new site is laid out in a user friendly, question and answer format, providing users with the answers to their top questions, such as:

What should I do in a disaster?

Where can I find assistance?

How can I help others?

FEMA will be making several enhancements to m.fema.gov in the coming months, including the ability to apply for individual assistance when a disaster has been declared by the President, check on the status of an application and update an existing application..."

EPA Releases Land Management Guidance to Reduce Water Pollution to Chesapeake Bay
"On the same day the federal government announced a comprehensive strategy to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced guidance to help federal facilities reduce their pollution to the bay. EPA is delivering to federal land managers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed the most effective tools and practices to reduce water pollution from a variety of nonpoint sources, including agricultural lands, urban and suburban areas and septic systems. This guidance to provide the technical tools that will be needed to restore the bay is in response to the Chesapeake Bay executive order issued by President Obama in May 2009.

The guidance provides federal land managers with the help they need to implement the best proven tools and practices to restore and protect the region’s waterways and the bay. The cost-effective tools and practices outlined in the document are indicated by current scientific and technical literature to be the most state-of-the-art approaches to reduce water pollution from nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment. Others in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including states, local governments, conservation districts, and watershed organizations, can also benefit from the information presented in this guidance..."

The New World of Mobile Phones
"The prospect of getting a wireless phone, with the newest technology and applications can be exciting. However, this decision requires you to consider not only the phone’s capabilities, but also the service provider, and the type of plan you need. And now that can use your mobile phone to access the Internet and applications, you also need to remember the same safety and privacy concerns that you follow when using your computer.

Assess Your Communication Needs
Selecting a Phone, Service Provider, and Service Plan
Privacy and Safety Concerns
Disposing of Your Old Cell Phone
Other Resources
E-mail this Information to A Friend.."

Census Bureau Reports Nearly Half of U.S. Residents Live in Households Receiving Government Benefits
" In the third quarter of 2008, approximately 45 percent of U.S. residents lived in households in which at least one individual received government benefits, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. These benefits came from programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

According to the report, about 28.4 million households, or 24 percent of the U.S. total, received means-tested benefits — either cash or noncash — in an average month during the quarter. Medicaid (21.1 million), free or reduced-price school meals (11.5 million) and food stamps (9.3 million) were the most widely received such benefits. (Means-tested programs are those that provide cash or services to people who meet a test of need based on income and assets.) However, it was two non-means-tested programs, Social Security and Medicare, that affected the largest number of households, with 33.6 million receiving Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits and 30.8 million receiving benefits from Medicare.

In keeping with the economic downturn, participation rates for each means-tested program were on the upswing between May and November 2008. The percentage of households receiving any type of means-tested benefit climbed from 23.2 percent to 24.7 percent between May and November of that year, with the percentage receiving food stamps increasing from 7.6 percent to 8.8 percent and the share of those receiving Medicaid rising from 17.5 percent to 18.5 percent.

The information comes from Economic Characteristics of Households in the United States: Third Quarter 2008 [PDF], which examines the roles of government-sponsored benefit programs and the labor market during the recession. Specifically, it presents data on average monthly income, participation in government-sponsored social welfare or social insurance programs and labor force activity during the period..."

FCC BUREAU LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO HELP CONSUMERS AVOID “BILL SHOCK”
"Today the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB)
launched an initiative on “bill shock” – the experience of getting an unexpectedly high wireless phone bill. The Bureau is seeking input on ways to alert consumers about potential high charges before they add up. One idea is a technical solution now used in Europe that could help consumers avoid this problem.

”We are hearing from consumers about unpleasant surprises on their bills,” said Gurin. “We’ve gotten hundreds of complaints about bill shock. But this is an avoidable problem. Avoiding bill shock is good for consumers and ultimately good business for wireless carriers as well.” Gurin will discuss the initiative at a press avail at the FCC today at 11:00.

Today’s action is one of the first initiatives undertaken by the Commission’s Consumer Task Force which was launched in January by Chairman Genachowski and is chaired by Joel Gurin, Chief of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau..."

Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections
"Economic indicators confirm that the U.S. economy sunk into a recession in December 2007.
Although some economic indicators suggest that growth has resumed, unemployment remains
high and is projected to remain so for some time. Historically, international migration ebbs during
economic crises; for example, immigration to the United States was at its lowest levels during the
Great Depression. While preliminary statistical trends hint at a slowing of migration pressures, it
remains unclear how the current economic recession will affect immigration. Addressing these
contentious policy reforms against the backdrop of economic crisis sharpens the social and
business cleavages and narrows the range of options.

Some employers maintain that they continue to need the “best and the brightest” workers,
regardless of their country of birth, to remain competitive in a worldwide market and to keep their
firms in the United States. While support for increasing employment-based immigration may be
dampened by the high levels of unemployment, proponents argue that the ability to hire foreign
workers is an essential ingredient for economic growth..."

Emergency Communications: Broadband and the Future of 911
"Today’s 911 system is built on an infrastructure of analog technology that does not support many
of the features that most Americans expect to be part of an emergency response. Efforts to splice
newer, digital technologies onto this aging infrastructure have created points of failure where a
call can be dropped or misdirected, sometimes with tragic consequences. Callers to 911, however,
generally assume that the newer technologies they are using to place a call are matched by the
same level of technology at the 911 call centers, known as Public Safety Answering Points
(PSAPs). However, this is not always the case. To modernize the system to provide the quality of
service that approaches the expectations of its users will require that the PSAPs, and state,
local, and possibly federal emergency communications authorities invest in new technologies.
As envisioned by most stakeholders, these new technologies—collectively referred to as Next
Generation 911 or NG9-1-1—should incorporate Internet Protocol (IP) standards. An IP-enabled
emergency communications network that supports 911 will facilitate interoperability and system
resilience; improve connections between 911 call centers; provide more robust capacity; and offer
flexibility in receiving and managing calls. The same network can also serve wireless broadband
communications for public safety and other emergency personnel, as well as other purposes..."

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions in 2009: A Retrospective Review
"The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently expanded its reporting of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions starting in the fall of 2009. This analysis examines the level and drivers of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2009.

What happened to carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in 2009?

In 2009, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States saw their largest absolute and percentage decline (405 million metric tons or 7.0 percent) since the start of EIA’s comprehensive record of annual energy data that begins in 1949, more than 60 years ago. While emissions have declined in three out of the last four years, 2009 was exceptional. As discussed below, emissions developments in 2009 reflect a combination of factors, including some particular to the economic downturn, other special circumstances during the year, and other factors that may reflect persistent trends in our economy and our energy use..."

FTC Issues Report On Emergency Technology for Use With ATMs
"As required by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, the FTC issued a report regarding “emergency PIN” and “alarm button” devices that would allow users of automated teller machines (“ATMs”) to electronically alert police about crimes at ATMs. The Report, authored by the staff in the Bureau of Economics, discusses the available information about crimes at ATMs and the costs and benefits of the emergency technologies specified in the Act. The Commission vote to file the report was 5-0. Copies of the report are available on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. (FTC File No. P859912; the staff contact is Paul Zimmerman, Bureau of Economics, 202-326-3159.")

Legislative Approaches to Defining “Waters of the United States”
"In the 111th Congress, legislation has been introduced that seeks to clarify the scope of
the Clean Water Act(CWA) in the wake of Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that
interpreted the law’s jurisdiction more narrowly than prior case law. The Court’s narrow interpretation involved jurisdiction over some geographically isolated wetlands, intermittent streams, and other waters. The two cases are Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v.
Army Corps of Engineers(SWANCC) and Rapanos v. United States.

Bills to nullify the Court’s rulings have been introduced repeatedly since the 107th Congress,
but none had advanced until the 111th Congress. In June 2009, a Senate committee approved
S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act. Companion legislation in the House, H.R. 5088
(America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act), was introduced in April 2010.

Under current law, the key CWA phrase which sets the act’s reach is the phrase “navigable
waters,” defined to mean “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.”
Proponents of the current legislation contend that the Court misread Congress’ intent when
it enacted the CWA, and consequently the Court’s ruling unduly restricted the scope of the
act’s water quality protections. Both S. 787 and H.R. 5088 would replace the phrase “navigable
waters” in the CWA with “waters of the United States” and would install a definition of
“waters of the United States,” not found in the law now. The bills differ in how they would
define the phrase. The Senate committee bill includes a definition drawn from one paragraph
of existing federal regulatory text, while H.R. 5088 includes a longer definition based on
the same regulatory language, but with some modifications. Both bills also include provisions affirming the constitutional basis for the act’s jurisdiction. These provisions address the concern that the Court’s rulings, while decided on statutory grounds, raised related questions about the outer limits of Congress’s power to regulate waters with little or no connection to traditional navigable waters under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution..."

2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference: Key Issues and Implications
"The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970 and was extended
indefinitely in 1995, is the centerpiece of international nuclear nonproliferation efforts.
The NPT recognizes five nations (the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China) as
nuclear-weapon states; 189 countries are parties to the NPT. India, Israel, and Pakistan have
never signed the treaty and possess nuclear weapons. North Korea acceded to the NPT but
announced its withdrawal in 2003. Several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, and South
Africa, ended their nuclear weapons programs and joined the NPT in the 1990s. Others—Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan—gave up former Soviet nuclear weapons on their territories and joined
the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states in the 1990s. Iraq had a nuclear weapons program prior
to the 1991 Persian Gulf War. UN inspectors subsequently oversaw the program’s dismantlement,
and Iraq is now in full compliance with the NPT. Libya gave up a clandestine nuclear weapons
program after a 2003 agreement. Iran was found in noncompliance with its International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards obligations in 2005, and the matter was referred to the UN
Security Council. The IAEA has reported that Syria has not fully cooperated with an
investigation into its nuclear activities..."

The Future of U.S. Trade Policy: An Analysis of Issues and Options for the 111th Congress
"U.S. trade policy is at a cross-roads as the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress face a
range of policy issues and challenges. The future direction of trade policy and how the issues will be addressed are unclear at this time and the subject of sharp debate within Congress, the
Administration, and the trade policy community at large. While a number of issues are related to
trade policy, the fundamental question that is the subject of this debate is which trade policy, if any, will maximize the benefits of trade and boost U.S. living standards...

The debate on trade is framed by three groups of views. One group, who might be called “trade
liberalizers,” assert that on a net basis the benefits to the United States of trade liberalization are greater than the costs and, therefore, should be encouraged through trade barrier reductions. A second group—“fair traders”—acknowledge the benefits of trade liberalization but assert that U.S. firms and workers are often forced to compete under unfair conditions. They support trade agreements, but only if the agreements provide for a “level playing field.” A third group—“trade skeptics”—tends to argue that the costs of trade liberalization outweigh the benefits for the United States, and therefore, reject unrestricted trade liberalization. Where policymakers fit on this continuum of views could help to determine how they decide to address the outstanding and emerging trade issues before Congress.."

Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer
"Nanoscale science, engineering and technology—commonly referred to collectively as
nanotechnology—is believed by many to offer extraordinary economic and societal benefits.
Congress has demonstrated continuing support for nanotechnology and has directed its attention
primarily to three topics that may affect the realization of this hoped for potential: federal
research and development (R&D) in nanotechnology; U.S. competitiveness; and environmental,
health, and safety (EHS) concerns. This report provides an overview of these topics—which are
discussed in more detail in other CRS reports—and two others: nanomanufacturing and public
understanding of and attitudes toward nanotechnology..."

SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY WITHIN A GENERATION
"Dear Mr. President,
I am pleased to present you with the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity’s action plan for
solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation.

Parents across America are deeply concerned about their children’s health and the epidemic of childhood obesity. One out of every three children is now overweight or obese, a condition that places them at greater risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and cancer over the course of their lives. This is not the future we want for our children, and it is a burden our health care system cannot bear. Nearly $150 billion per year is now being spent to treat obesity-related medical conditions...

Our recommendations focus on the four priority areas set forth in the Memorandum, which also form
the pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign: (1) empowering parents and caregivers; (2) providing healthy food in schools; (3) improving access to healthy, affordable foods; and (4) increasing physical activity. In addition, we have included a set of recommendations for actions that can be taken very early in a child’s life, when the risk of obesity first emerges..."

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
History and full text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

FDA: ‘Bad Ad Program’ to Help Health Care Providers Detect, Report Misleading Drug Ads
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched a program designed to educate health care providers about their role in ensuring that prescription drug advertising and promotion is truthful, and not misleading.

The Bad Ad Program is an FDA-sponsored educational outreach effort administered by the agency’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC), in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

“The Bad Ad Program will help health care providers recognize misleading prescription drug promotion and provide them with an easy way to report this activity to the agency,” said Thomas Abrams, director of DDMAC.

The program will be rolled out in three phases. In Phase 1, DDMAC will engage health care providers at specifically-selected medical conventions and partner with specific medical societies to distribute educational materials. Phases 2 and 3 will expand the FDA’s collaborative efforts and update the educational materials developed for Phase 1.

The FDA’s traditional regulatory activities for monitoring prescription drug promotion primarily rely on review of promotional pieces submitted to the agency by sponsoring drug companies, industry complaints, and field surveillance at large medical conventions. Although these efforts are effective, the agency has limited ability to monitor promotional activities that occur in private.

Health care professionals are encouraged to report a potential violation in drug promotion by sending an email to badad@fda.gov or calling 877-RX-DDMAC. Reports can be submitted anonymously; however, the FDA encourages providers to include contact information so that DDMAC officials can follow-up, if necessary."

Annual Energy Outlook 2013
"The Annual Energy Outlook presents a projection and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2035. The projections are based on results from the Energy Information Administration's National Energy Modeling System. The AEO2010 includes Reference case, additional cases examining alternative energy markets..."

EPA Sets Thresholds for Greenhouse Gas Permitting Requirements/Small businesses and farms will be shielded
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a final rule to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the largest stationary sources, while shielding millions of small sources of GHGs from Clean Air Act permitting requirements. The phased-in, common-sense approach will address facilities like power plants and oil refineries that are responsible for 70 percent of the greenhouse gases from stationary sources that threaten American’s health and welfare.

“After extensive study, debate and hundreds of thousands of public comments, EPA has set common-sense thresholds for greenhouse gases that will spark clean technology innovation and protect small businesses and farms,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “There is no denying our responsibility to protect the planet for our children and grandchildren. It’s long past time we unleashed our American ingenuity and started building the efficient, prosperous clean energy economy of the future.”

EPA’s phased-in approach will start in January 2011, when Clean Air Act permitting requirements for GHGs will kick in for large facilities that are already obtaining Clean Air Act permits for other pollutants. Those facilities will be required to include GHGs in their permit if they increase these emissions by at least 75,000 tons per year (tpy)..."

Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008
"...In the 2008 presidential election, 64 percent of voting-age citizens voted, an estimate not statistically different from the percent that turned out in 2004, but higher than the presidential elections of 2000 and 1996 (Table 1).Overall, 131 million people voted in 2008, a turnout increase of about 5 million people since 2004. During this same 4-year period, the voting-age citizen
population in the United States increased by roughly 9 million people.

In 2008, 71 percent of voting-age citizens were registered to vote, a decrease compared to the 72 percent who were registered in 2004. The 2008 election had a higher registration rate than the
presidential election of 2000, but was not statistically diff erent from the 1996 rate. Overall, 146 million people were registered to vote in 2008, an increase of approximately 4 million people since
2004..."

Legal Resources on Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan
Selected legal resources on Elena Kagan compiled by the Law Library of Congress.

National Women's Health Week, May 9-15, 2010
"National Women’s Health Week is a weeklong health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH). National Women’s Health Week empowers women to make their health a top priority. With the theme “It’s Your Time,” the nationwide initiative encourages women to take simple steps for a longer, healthier, and happier life. Important steps include:

Getting at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity,
1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of both each week
Eating a nutritious diet
Visiting a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings
Avoiding risky behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt
Paying attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress

Securing Nuclear Materials: The 2010 Summit and Issues for Congress
"In an April 2009 speech in Prague, President Obama pledged that his Administration would
launch “a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world
within four years.” To motivate world leaders to achieve this goal, the President hosted a
Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, on April 12-13, 2010. Leaders of 47 countries
attended the summit, including many heads of state. Attendees represent a wide geographic
range of states and nuclear capabilities, and include China, India, Israel, and Pakistan.
The summit resulted in a joint statement saying that international cooperative action is
necessary to prevent an act of nuclear terrorism. Summit attendees also pledged to improve
nuclear security standards, bring international agreements into force, and share best
practices.

Nuclear security measures refer to a wide range of actions to prevent theft or diversion of nuclear material or sabotage at an installation or in transit. They could include physical protection measures, material control and accounting, personnel reliability screening, and training. A broader understanding of nuclear security also includes measures to prevent and
detect illicit trafficking cargo inspections, border security, and interdiction measures.

The U.S. government has worked for more than a decade both domestically and in partnership
with other countries to address this problem through multiple programs at the Departments of
Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and State. The International Atomic Energy Agency has
also played a lead role in these efforts, particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Director Highlights New Approach to Drug Control in the United States and throughout the Western Hemisphere
"Earlier this week, Director Gil Kerlikowske addressed the 47th Regular Session of the Organization of American States Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (known by its Spanish acronym, CICAD). As the Obama Administration prepares to release its new National Drug Control Strategy, CICAD has also been developing a multilateral drug strategy for the Western Hemisphere. Director Kerlikowske discussed the complementary relationship of the two strategies, both of which address new threats, utilize new tools and understanding, and seek to strengthen the bonds of international cooperation. The Director also discussed key issues on the agenda for the CICAD meeting, including drugged driving and community-based approaches to prevention, treatment, and recovery..."

Read the Director's remarks

Financial Regulatory Reform and the 111th Congress
"Financial regulatory reform is being discussed in the 111th Congress, the continuation of a policy debate that began before the September 2008 financial disruption. For example, Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson issued a blueprint for financial reform in March 2008. In September
2008, after this blueprint was issued but before congressional action, the financial system suffered severe distress as Lehman Brothers and AIG failed. This financial panic accelerated the review of financial regulation and refocused some of the policy debate on areas that experienced the most distress.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued a new reform plan in June 2009. House committees
initially reviewed many related bills on an issue-by-issue basis. House Financial Services
Committee Chairman Barney Frank then consolidated proposals into a comprehensive bill, the
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) and the House passed the
bill on December 11, 2009. H.R. 4173 as passed contains elements of H.R. 1728, H.R. 2571, H.R.
2609, H.R. 3126, H.R. 3269, H.R. 3817, H.R. 3818, H.R. 3890, and H.R. 3996. On March 22,
2010, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee amended and ordered reported
Chairman Christopher Dodd’s Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (RAFSA)..."

How Policies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Affect Employment
"Human activities around the world are producing increasingly larger quantities of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide resulting from the use of fossil fuels and from deforestation. Because of concerns that the accumulation of such gases in the atmosphere will result in a variety of environmental changes over time that would have serious and costly effects, policies to reduce
those emissions are being considered. Such policies would impose costs on the U.S. economy and affect patterns of employment throughout the country.

Adopting policies aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases would shift the demand for goods and services away from fossil fuels and products that require substantial amounts of those fuels
to make or to use and toward alternative forms of energy and products that require lesser amounts of fossil fuels. Employment patterns would shift to mirror those changes in demand. Changes in employment in specific industries would reflect the amounts of greenhouse gases they emit
(through production and use of their output) and the difficulty of reducing their emissions of
those gases..."

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
"A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, promote human dignity, and prevent genocide. A public-private partnership, federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanence, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by donors nationwide..."

National Biological Information Infrastructure
"The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. The NBII links diverse, high-quality biological databases, information products, and analytical tools maintained by NBII partners and other contributors in government agencies, academic institutions, non-government organizations, and private industry.."

EPA Announces Plans to Regulate Coal Ash
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today is proposing the first-ever national rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants.

Coal combustion residuals, commonly known as coal ash, are byproducts of the combustion of coal at power plants and are disposed of in liquid form at large surface impoundments and in solid form at landfills. The residuals contain contaminants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which are associated with cancer and various other serious health effects. EPA’s risk assessment and damage cases demonstrate that, without proper protections, these contaminants can leach into groundwater and can migrate to drinking water sources, posing significant health public concerns.

Today’s action will ensure for the first time that protective controls, such as liners and groundwater monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect groundwater and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with strong incentives to close the impoundments and transition to safer landfills, which store coal ash in dry form. The proposed regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments in order to prevent accidents like the one at Kingston, Tennessee. Today’s action also will promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses..."

EPA Launches New Web Tools to Inform the Public About Clean Water
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new set of web tools, data, and interactive maps to inform the public about serious Clean Water Act violations in their communities. Improving water quality is one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities and in 2009, Administrator Jackson directed the agency to develop concrete steps to improve water quality, to better enforce the Clean Water Act and to use 21st Century technology to transform the collection, use and availability of EPA data. The web tools announced today is part of EPA’s Clean Water Act Action Plan to work with states in ensuring that facilities comply with standards that keep our water clean...

The new web page provides interactive information from EPA’s 2008 Annual Noncompliance Report, which pertains to about 40,000 permitted Clean Water Act dischargers across the country. The report lists state-by-state summary data of violations and enforcement responses taken by the states for smaller facilities. The new web page also makes it easy to compare states by compliance rates and enforcement actions taken and provides access to updated State Review Framework (SRF) reports."

Interactive Map for Clean Water Act Annual Noncompliance Report:
http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ancr/us/

IncidentNews: DeepWater Horizon Incident
"A fire and explosion occurred at approximately 11:00 PM CDT, April 20, 2010 on the DEEPWATER HORIZON, a semisubmersible drilling platform, with more than 120 crew aboard. The DEEPWATER HORIZON is located some 50 miles SE of the Mississippi Delta and contained an estimated 700,000 gallons of #2 Fuel Oil or Marine Diesel Fuel."

Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report."

EPA Issues Report on U.S. Climate Change Indicators
"Heat waves, storms, sea levels, glaciers, and wildlife migrations are just a few of the environmental indicators that show measurable signs of climate change. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States, looks at 24 key indicators that show how climate change impacts the health and environment of the nation’s citizens.

“These indicators show us that climate change is a very real problem with impacts that are already being seen,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “The actions Americans are taking today to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions will help us solve this global challenge.”.."

USDA Releases Major Report on Agricultural Transportation
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released to Congress a comprehensive report on agricultural transportation in the United States, the first ever of this magnitude. The report, Study of Rural Transportation Issues, was mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill and covers the four major modes of transportation commonly used by agriculture in the United States-truck, rail, barge, and ocean vessel...

The report examines some of the major issues facing agricultural transportation, including: the dramatic effect of deregulation on the rail industry, a growing gap for funding the inland waterways and highway systems, availability of containers and ocean vessel capacity, and the infrastructure that may be needed to support a projected increase in biofuel transportation.


The report also discusses the current approach to transportation policy in the United States, in which each mode of transportation is often considered separately without an overarching view of the flow of freight through all the modes.


Study of Rural Transportation Issues may be found on the Agricultural Marketing Service website at: www.ams.usda.gov/RuralTransportationStudy."

Oil and Gas Industry Fatal and Nonfatal Occupational Injuries
"Oil and gas industries are frequently in the news. Much of the time this news is related to changes in prices of oil and gas, which affect most consumers in one way or another. Another less frequent subject of media attention is when disasters strike, as in the offshore oil drilling platform explosion and fire on April 20, 2010, and previous incidents such as the Clearbrook, Minnesota pipeline fire in 2007 and the Texas City, Texas refinery explosion in 2005.

According to the North American Industry Classification System, the oil and gas extraction industry is classified in mining, as all mining industries are focused on extracting natural resources from the earth. Drilling oil and gas wells and support activities for oil and gas operations are classified under support activities for mining. Fatal injury data include oil and gas extraction, drilling oil and gas wells, and support activities for oil and gas extraction. Nonfatal injury and illness data only include drilling oil and gas wells.

Occupational injuries and fatalities associated with fires and explosions are rare events. The overall rate of injuries and illnesses with days away from work due to fires and explosions in all industries was 0.2 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2008, composed of 2,320 cases with days away from work. There were 174 fatal injuries due to fires and explosions in 2008, 18 of which were in the oil and gas industry..."

Remarks by the President on Oil Spill
"THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. First let me say a few words about the incident in New York City. I want to commend the work of the NYPD, the New York Fire Department, and the FBI, which responded swiftly and aggressively to a dangerous situation. And I also want to commend the vigilant citizens who noticed this suspicious activity and reported it to the authorities.

I just got off the phone on the way down here with Mayor Bloomberg to make sure that state and federal officials are coordinating effectively. Since last night my national security team has been taking every step necessary to ensure that our state and local partners have the full support and cooperation of the federal government. We're going to do what's necessary to protect the American people, to determine who is behind this potentially deadly act, and to see that justice is done. And I'm going to continue to monitor the situation closely and do what it takes at home and abroad to safeguard the security of the American people.

Now, we just finished a meeting with Admiral Thad Allen, our National Incident Commander for this spill, as well as Coast Guard personnel who are leading the response to this crisis. And they gave me an update on our efforts to stop the BP oil spill and mitigate the damage.

By the way, I just want to point out, I was told there was drizzling out here -- (laughter) -- is this Louisiana drizzle right here? (Laughter.)

They gave me a sense of how this spill is moving. It is now about nine miles off the coast of southeastern Louisiana. And by the way, we had the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, as well as parish presidents who were taking part in this meeting, because we want to emphasize the importance of coordinating between local, state, and federal officials throughout this process.

Now, I think the American people are now aware, certainly the folks down in the Gulf are aware, that we're dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster. The oil that is still leaking from the well could seriously damage the economy and the environment of our Gulf states and it could extend for a long time. It could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who call this place home..."

Survey Reports Latest Honey Bee Losses
"Losses of managed honey bee colonies nationwide totaled 33.8 percent from all causes from October 2009 to April 2010, according to a survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Beekeepers identified starvation, poor weather, and weak colonies going into winter as the top reasons for mortality in their operations.

This is an increase from overall losses of 29 percent reported from a similar survey covering the winter of 2008-2009, and similar to the 35.8 percent losses for the winter of 2007-2008.

The continued high rate of losses are worrying, especially considering losses occurring over the summer months were not being captured, notes Jeffrey Pettis, research leader of ARS' Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal intramural scientific research agency. The survey was conducted by Pettis and past AIA presidents Dennis vanEngelsdorp and Jerry Hayes. The three researchers said that continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers..."