State Disparities in Teenage Birth Rates in the United States
"Key findings
In 2008, state-specific teenage birth rates varied widely, from less than 25.0 per 1,000 15-19 year olds to more than 60.0.

Rates for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic teenagers were uniformly higher in the Southeast and lower in the Northeast and California.

The highest rates for non-Hispanic black teenagers were reported in the upper Midwest and in the Southeast.

The race and Hispanic origin-specific birth rates by state as well as the population composition of states by race and Hispanic origin contribute to state variations in overall teenage birth rates..."

Addressing the Impact of the Foreclosure Crisis: Federal Reserve Mortgage Outreach and Research Efforts
"Since the start of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve System has undertaken a series of well publicized and unprecedented actions to help stabilize the mortgage and financial markets and promote economic recovery. What is less well known is that the Federal Reserve has also been working to respond to the foreclosure crisis
on “Main Street,” leveraging its research, community affairs and supervision and regulation functions to support innovative foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization strategies at the local level. In the spring of 2009, the Federal Reserve’s Conference of Presidents embarked on a collaborative effort to leverage the
substantial knowledge of experts in mortgage markets across the Federal Reserve System. Under the auspices of the Mortgage Outreach and Research Efforts (MORE) initiative, the 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors have worked together proactively to inform and engage policymakers, community organizations, financial institutions and the public.

This publication, Addressing the Impact of the Foreclosure Crisis, highlights MORE-sponsored projects designed to communicate best practices and information about innovative programs to improve conditions in neighborhoods affected by high rates of foreclosure. It also reviews initiatives undertaken by the various Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors to respond to the foreclosure crisis. More detailed information about MORE projects, including foreclosure toolkits and other valuable information for borrowers and community organizations, can be found at the Foreclosure Resource Center of www.chicagofed.org and the other Federal Reserve Bank websites."

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: A Legal Analysis
"...In recent years, several Members of Congress have expressed interest in amending DADT. At least two bills that would repeal the law and replace it with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation—H.R. 1283 and S. 3065—have been introduced in the 111th Congress. Other proposed legislation in the 111th Congress includes H.R. 4180, which would protect service members who disclose their sexual orientation to a member of Congress, and H.R. 4902, which would establish additional research, study, and reporting requirements for the Department of Defense (DOD) working group currently reviewing issues that may arise if DADT is repealed. The working group was established in February 2010 by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who simultaneously directed DOD to review regulations regarding DADT and to propose any changes that would allow DOD to “enforce the law in a fairer and more appropriate manner.” Based on this review, Secretary Gates announced revisions to the DADT regulations in March 2010 that will ease certain requirements for discharging service members pursuant to DADT. More recently, both the full House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee approved amendments to the 2011 defense authorization bill (H.R. 5136; S. 3454) that would repeal DADT if certain conditions are met."

The Economic Outlook and Options for Fiscal Policy
Douglas W. Elmendorf,Director presentation to the Forecasters Club, Oct., 27, 2010.
"CBO expects that the economic recovery will proceed at a modest pace, leaving the unemployment rate above 8 percent until 2012.

There are monetary and fiscal policy options that, if applied at a sufficient scale, would increase output and employment during the next few years (but not overnight).

Such options would have costs as well. Expansionary fiscal policy would increase federal debt, which is currently larger relative to the size of the economy than it has been in more than 50 years—and is headed higher..."

DOT, EPA Propose the Nation’s First Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Trucks and Buses
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years....

EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The categories were established to address specific challenges for manufacturers in each area. For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year..."

Industrial Revolution in the United States:Primary Source Set
Find primary source materials from the Library of Congress on the Industrial Revolution. Although directed toward teachers, it provides valuable resources for the general reader.

Economic Effects of the March Health Legislation
Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, presentation at the University of Southern California, October 22, 2010.
"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act:
–Expansion of insurance coverage.
–Changes in Medicare.
–Revenue increases.

■The economic effects of the legislation can be divided into two pieces:
–The effects on the five-sixths of the economy outside the health sector.
–The effects on the health sector itself.

The most significant effects will be through the labor market—but those effects will probably be small.

■The legislation will affect some individuals’ decisions about whether and how much to work, and some employers’ decisions about hiring workers. We estimated that the legislation, on net, will reduce the amount of labor used in the economy by roughly half a percent, primarily by reducing the amount of labor that workers choose to supply..."

Bedbugs
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site that provides descriptive information on bedbugs along with information on their life life cycle.

FTC Issues Enforcement Policy Statement on New Debt Relief Rule
"Enforcement Deferred for Tax Debt Relief Services, but Most Companies Are Now Prohibited From Collecting Advance Fees

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an enforcement policy statement on a new FTC rule that protects consumers by barring debt relief firms from collecting up-front fees. In its statement, the FTC says that while most companies that sell debt relief services over the telephone are now prohibited from charging fees before settling or reducing a consumer’s credit card or other unsecured debt, it will defer enforcement of the new rule for tax debt relief services.

The ban on advance fees reflects changes that the FTC made to its Telemarketing Sales Rule last July. These change take effect today. During the FTC’s education and outreach efforts earlier this month, some tax debt relief companies expressed uncertainty about whether the Rule applied to them. Specifically, they questioned whether tax debts are “unsecured,” which would make them subject to the Rule. The FTC currently is considering these concerns, and until further notice, will defer enforcing the Rule with respect to “services that represent, directly or by implication, to renegotiate settle, or alter the terms of obligation between a person and a taxing entity (tax debt relief services).”,,,"

Federal Conspiracy Law: A Brief Overview
"Zacarias Moussaoui, members of the Colombian drug cartels, members of organized crime, and
some of the former Enron executives have at least one thing in common: they all have federal
conspiracy convictions. The essence of conspiracy is an agreement of two or more persons to
engage in some form of prohibited misconduct. The crime is complete upon agreement, although
some statutes require prosecutors to show that at least one of the conspirators has taken some
concrete step or committed some overt act in furtherance of the scheme. There are dozens of
federal conspiracy statutes. One, 18 U.S.C. 371, outlaws conspiracy to commit some other federal
crime. The others outlaw conspiracy to engage in various specific forms of proscribed conduct.
General Section 371 conspiracies are punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years;
drug trafficking, terrorist, and racketeering conspiracies all carry the same penalties as their
underlying substantive offenses, and thus are punished more severely than are Section 371
conspiracies. All are subject to fines of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000 for
organizations), most may serve as the basis for a restitution order, and some for a forfeiture order..."

Venezuela: Issues in the 111th Congress
"The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, a major supplier of foreign oil, but there has been friction in relations for almost a decade under the government of populist President Hugo Chávez. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about human rights, Venezuela’s military arms purchases, its relations with Cuba and Iran, and its efforts to export its brand of populism to other Latin American countries. Declining cooperation on anti-drug and antiterrorism efforts has also been a concern. In September 2008, bilateral relations worsened when President Chávez expelled the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, and the United States responded in kind. Under the Obama Administration, Venezuela and the United States reached an agreement
for the return of respective ambassadors in July 2009. While some observers were hopeful that
the return of ambassadors would mark an improvement in relations, this has not been the case.
The United States has continued to express concerns about the Venezuelan government’s
treatment of the news media and political opposition and about interference in the affairs
of other countries in the region.

Under the rule of President Chávez, first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a six-year term in
December 2006, Venezuela has undergone enormous political changes, with a new constitution
and unicameral legislature, and a new name for the country, the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela. Human rights organizations have expressed concerns about the deterioration of
democratic institutions and threats to freedom of expression under President Chávez. The
government benefitted from the rise in world oil prices, which sparked an economic boom and
allowed Chávez to increase expenditures on social programs associated with his populist agenda.
These programs have helped reduce poverty levels significantly, but the Venezuelan economy has
been hit hard by the global financial crisis and economic downturn..."

Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion
"The federal government loses both individual and corporate income tax revenue from the shifting
of profits and income into low-tax countries, often referred to as tax havens. The revenue losses
from this tax avoidance and evasion are difficult to estimate, but some have suggested that the
annual cost of offshore tax abuses may be around $100 billion per year. International tax
avoidance can arise from large multinational corporations who shift profits into low-tax foreign
subsidiaries or wealthy individual investors who set up secret bank accounts in tax haven
countries.

Recent actions by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the
G-20 industrialized nations have targeted tax haven countries, focusing primarily on evasion
issues. The recently adopted HIRE Act (P.L. 111-147) included a number of anti-evasion
provisions, and P.L. 111-226 included foreign tax credit provisions. Some of these proposals, and
some not adopted, are in the American Jobs and Closing Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213); the Stop Tax
Haven Abuse Act (S. 506, H.R. 1265); draft proposals by the Senate Finance Committee; two
other related bills, S. 386 and S. 569; the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act (S.
3018); and proposals by President Obama..."

The “Deeming Resolution”: A Budget Enforcement Tool
"Summary
“Deeming resolution” is a term that refers to legislation deemed to serve as an annual budget
resolution for purposes of establishing enforceable budget levels for a budget cycle. A deeming
resolution is used when the House and Senate are late in reaching final agreement on a budget
resolution or fail to reach agreement altogether.

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the annual adoption of a budget resolution
establishing aggregate levels of revenues, spending, the debt limit, and the surplus or deficit, as well as allocations of spending. Enforcement of the budget resolution relies primarily upon points of order and reconciliation procedures. With regard to the enforcement of budget aggregates and committee spending allocations, the major points of order are found in Sections 311 and 302 of
the act, respectively.

The term “deeming resolution” is not officially defined, nor is there any specific statute or rule
authorizing such legislation. Instead, the use of a deeming resolution simply represents the House
and Senate employing regular legislative procedures to deal with the issue on an ad hoc basis..."

CBO’s Projections of Federal Receipts and Expenditures in the Framework of the National Income and Product Accounts
"The fiscal transactions of the federal government are recorded in two major sets of accounts. One is The Budget of the United States Government, which is prepared by the
Office of Management and Budget and is the framework generally used by executive branch agencies and the Congress and typically discussed in the press. The other set of accounts is the national income and product accounts (NIPAs), which are produced by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.1

The purposes served by the budget and the NIPA accounting frameworks, the conceptual differences, and the relationship between those two sets of data are examined
briefly below and more thoroughly in previous publications by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In August, CBO reported its latest baseline projections
of federal revenues and outlays in the standard structure for budget accounting.3 This report presents those projections in the NIPA framework (see Tables 1 and 2)..".

Number of Americans with Diabetes Projected to Double or Triple by 2050
"As many as 1 in 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes now. The prevalence is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years due to an aging population more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, increases in minority groups that are at high risk for type 2 diabetes, and people with diabetes living longer, according to CDC projections published in the journal Population Health Metrics. Because the study factored in aging, minority populations and lifespan, the projections are higher than previous estimates.

The report predicts that the number of new diabetes cases each year will increase from 8 per 1,000 people in 2008, to 15 per 1,000 in 2050.

The report estimates that the number of Americans with diabetes will range from 1 in 3 to 1 in 5 by 2050. That range reflects differing assumptions about how many people will develop diabetes, and how long they will live after developing the disease..."

Poverty in the United States: 2009
"In 2009, 43.6 million people were counted as poor in the United States—an increase of 3.7
million persons from 2010, and the largest number of persons counted as poor in the measure’s
50-year recorded history. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the
official definition, was reported at 14.3% in 2009, amounting to one of every seven persons in the
U.S. being counted as poor. The 2009 poverty rate was up from 13.2% in 2008, and above its
most recent pre-recession low of 12.3% in 2006. The increase in poverty over the past three years
reflects the effects of the economic recession that began in December 2007. In spite of signs that
the economy may be recovering, some analysts expect poverty to remain above pre-recessionary
levels for as long as a decade. The incidence of poverty varies widely across the population
according to age, education, labor force attachment, family living arrangements, and area of
residence, among other factors. Under the official poverty definition, an average family of four
was considered poor in 2009 if its pre-tax cash income for the year was below $21,954.

The measure of poverty currently in use was developed nearly 50 years ago, and was adopted as
the “official” U.S. statistical measure of poverty in 1969. Except for minor technical changes, and adjustments for price changes in the economy, the “poverty line” (i.e., the income thresholds by which families or individuals with incomes that fall below are deemed to be poor) is the same as that developed nearly a half century ago, reflecting a notion of economic need based on living
standards that prevailed in the mid-1950s..."

Pay Equity Legislation
"The term “pay equity” originates from the fact that women as a group are paid less than men. In
recent years, for example, women with a strong commitment to the workforce earned about 77 to
80 cents for every dollar earned by men. As women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings
have narrowed by less than 20 percentage points over the past 40-plus years, some members of
the public policy community have argued that current anti-discrimination laws should be
strengthened and that additional measures should be enacted. Others, in contrast, believe that
further government intervention is unnecessary because the gender wage gap will narrow on its
own as women’s labor market qualifications continue to more closely resemble those of men.

The Equal Pay Act (EPA), which amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), prohibits covered
employers from paying lower wages to female employees than male employees for “equal work”
on jobs requiring “equal skill, effort, and responsibility” and performed “under similar working
conditions” at the same location. The FLSA exempts some jobs (e.g., hotel service workers) from
EPA coverage, and the EPA makes exceptions for wage differentials based on merit or seniority
systems, systems that measure earnings by “quality or quantity” of production, or “any factor
other than sex.” The “equal work” standard embodies a middle ground between demanding that
two jobs either be exactly alike or that they merely be comparable. The test applied by the courts
focuses on job similarity and whether, given all the circumstances, they require substantially the
same skill, effort, and responsibility. The EPA may be enforced by the government, or individual
complainants, in civil actions for wages unlawfully withheld and liquidated damages for willful
violations. In addition, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act provides for the awarding of
compensatory and punitive damages to victims of “intentional” wage discrimination, subject to
caps on the employer’s monetary liability..."

Consumer-Driven Health Care: What Is It, and What Does It Mean for Employees and Employers?
"The cost to employers of providing health insurance to their employees has been rising for decades.1 Estimates from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) indicate that the average cost for the private employer to provide health care insurance has risen from $1.03 per hour worked in March 1999 to $2.00 per hour worked in March 2009, a change from 5.4 percent to 7.3 percent of total compensation..."

CBO'S 2010 LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
"Social Security is the federal government's largest single program. About 54 million people currently receive Social Security benefits. About 69 percent are retired workers, their spouses, and children and another 12 percent are survivors of deceased workers; all of those beneficiaries receive payments through Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI). The other 19 percent are disabled workers or their spouses and children; they receive Disability Insurance (DI) benefits. Social Security's outlays in fiscal year 2010 totaled $706 billion, one-fifth of the federal budget; OASI payments accounted for 82 percent of those outlays and DI payments made up about 18 percent..."

Arctic Report Cart: Update for 2010
"Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely

Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a reduced summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases and links to some Northern Hemisphere weather support this conclusion.."

Nutrition.gov
"Nutrition.gov provides easy access to the best food and nutrition information from across the federal government. It serves as a gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers.

Providing science-based dietary guidance is critical to enhance the public's ability to make healthy choices in the effort to reduce obesity and other food related diseases. Since dietary needs change throughout the lifespan, specialized nutrition information is provided about infants, children, teens, adult women and men, and seniors..."

FTC Offers Legal Assistance Guide to Help Identity Theft Victims
"The Federal Trade Commission has created a guide to help attorneys and victim advocates provide legal assistance to identity theft victims.

Geared toward resolving issues out of court, the Guide for Assisting Identity Theft Victims (www.idtheft.gov/probono) describes how advocates can intervene with creditors, credit reporting agencies, debt collectors, and others, as well as self-help measures that victims can take. Victims may need an advocate’s help in a variety of situations: their age, health, language skills, or income prevents them from making effective disputes; they’re being pursued for someone else’s debt; they face uncooperative creditors or credit reporting agencies; or their case is complex.

Step-by-step instructions provide best practices for recovering from identity theft involving financial accounts, and incorporate victims’ rights under various federal statutes. The guide also addresses recovery from less common forms of identity theft, such as when a thief commits tax fraud, or obtains a federal student loan or medical services using stolen information. It includes sample dispute letters for victims and sample attorney follow-up letters to address matters victims are unable to resolve. It also provides checklists, an ID Theft Affidavit, a Victim’s Action Log, federal statutes and regulations, consumer education material, and links to online resources..."

Executive Order--White House Initiative On Educational Excellence For Hispanics
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, to restore the country to its role as the global leader in education, to strengthen the Nation by expanding educational opportunities and improving educational outcomes for Hispanics and Latinos (Hispanics) of all ages, and to help ensure that all Hispanics receive an education that properly prepares them for college, productive careers, and satisfying lives, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. At more than 52 million strong, including 4 million in Puerto Rico, Hispanics constitute the country's largest and fastest growing minority group. They have had a profound and positive impact on our country through, among other things, their community's strong commitment to family, faith, hard work, and service. Many Hispanics contribute to this Nation bilingually in the English and Spanish languages -- a true asset for our country in an increasingly global, interdependent world.

Hispanic students are the largest minority group in our Nation's schools, numbering more than 11 million in our public elementary and secondary school system, and constituting more than 22 percent of all pre-K–12 students. Hispanic students face educational challenges of crisis proportions. Fewer than half of all Hispanic children participate in early childhood education programs, and far too few Hispanic students graduate from high school; of those who do complete high school, many are not adequately prepared for college. Only 12 percent of adult Hispanics have a bachelor's degree, and just 3 percent have completed graduate or professional degree programs. At the same time, large numbers of Hispanic adults lack the education or literacy skills they need to advance their careers; they also are less likely than members of other groups to have taken job- or career-related courses, with the exception of basic education classes, such as English as a second language..."

Background Checks For Firearm Transfers, 2009
"This web page describes background checks for firearm transfers conducted in 2009. The statistical tables provide the number of firearm transaction applications checked by state points of contact and local agencies, the number of applications denied and the reasons for denial, and estimates of applications and denials conducted by each type of approval system. Data are also provided on appeals of denied applications and arrests for falsified applications.

Michael Bowling, Ph.D., Ronald J. Frandsen, and Gene A. Lauver from Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS) prepared these tables under the supervision of Devon B. Adams and Allina D. Boutilier, of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Terry J. Tomazic, Professor of Sociology at Saint Louis University, served as statistical advisor and Dave Naglich at REJIS assisted with data analysis on the project. The tables were prepared under BJS cooperative agreement #2009-BJ-CX-K006. The BJS sponsored Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) program collects information on firearm background checks conducted by state and local agencies and combines this information with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) transaction data. NCJ 231679.."

Federal Reserve Final Rules on Gift Cards
"The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced a final rule implementing recent legislation modifying the effective date of certain disclosure requirements applicable to gift cards under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009.

The rule finalizes an interim final rule published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2010. For gift certificates, store gift cards, and general-use prepaid cards produced prior to April 1, 2010, the legislation and interim final rule delay the August 22, 2010 effective date of these disclosures until January 31, 2011, provided that several specified conditions are met..."

FTC Testifies on the Rights of Employees Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
"The Federal Trade Commission today told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) imposes requirements on Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) - which include the three major credit bureaus - and on employers that use the information “to ensure that sensitive consumer report information is used with fairness, impartiality, and respect for consumers’ privacy.”

Commission testimony given by Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, states that FCRA requirements placed on CRAs and employers are designed to promote privacy, accuracy, and fairness in the use of consumer reports. For example, before giving a consumer report to an employer, the CRA must take reasonable steps to ensure that the employer has a legitimate basis to obtain the report; must inform the employer of his or her obligation to provide certain notices to consumers; and must obtain the employer’s certification that he or she is complying with the FCRA and will not use consumer report information in violation of equal opportunity laws..."

NOAA: Year-to-Date Global Temperature Ties for Warmest on Record
"he first nine months of 2010 tied with the same period in 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record. The global average land surface temperature for January-September was the second warmest on record, behind 2007. The global ocean surface temperature for January–September was also the second warmest on record, behind 1998.

The monthly analysis from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, which is based on records going back to 1880, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides government, business and community leaders, so they can make informed decisions.

Global Temperature Highlights
For the year-to-date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 58.67 F (14.75 C) tied with 1998 as the warmest January-September period on record. This value is 1.17 F (0.65 C) above the 20th century average.

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for September 2010 tied with 1998 as the eighth warmest on record at 59.9 F (15.5 C), which is 0.90 F (0.50 C) above the 20th century average of 59.0 F (15.0 C)..."

FEMA’s Preparedness for the Next Catastrophic Disaster - An Update"
"In March 2008, we issued a report in response to a request from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to perform a high-level assessment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s preparedness to handle a future disaster. We reported that the agency had made progress in all of the key preparedness areas we reviewed, although in some areas the progress was modest or limited.

The primary objective of this assessment was to determine the progress the Federal Emergency Management Agency has made in the key preparedness areas. We reviewed pertinent reports, including those of our office and the Government Accountability Office, as well as congressional testimony. We interviewed agency officials and evaluated documents provided by them. Within each of the ten key preparedness areas, we collaborated with agency officials to confirm that the critical components identified in 2008 were still relevant or to update the critical components. We assessed the agency’s progress in each of the areas against a four-tiered scale: substantial progress, moderate progress, modest progress, and limited or no progress..."

Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccination Coverage Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years --- United States, 1999 and 2008
"In 2005, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that the newly licensed tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine replace a single decennial dose of tetanus diphtheria (Td) vaccine for persons aged 10--64 years. According to these recommendations, Tdap may be used to protect against pertussis even when <10 years have passed since the most recent tetanus vaccination. For adults with infant contact and health-care personnel (HCP) with direct patient contact (two groups at increased risk for transmitting pertussis to those who are most susceptible), the single recommended Tdap dose is suggested to be administered as soon as 2 years after the last tetanus vaccination (1). To assess changes in tetanus vaccination coverage and the use of Tdap among U.S. adults, CDC analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for 1999 and 2008. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that self-reported tetanus vaccination coverage (vaccination within the preceding 10 years) was 60.4% in 1999 and 61.6% in 2008. Among adults aged 18--64 years, Tdap coverage was estimated to be 5.9% in 2008. Of those who reported receiving a tetanus vaccination during 2005--2008, 52.0% reported receiving Tdap. Tdap vaccination coverage among adults with infant contact was 5.0% and among HCP was 15.9%. Of those adults with infant contact and HCP who had received a tetanus vaccination during 2005--2008, 60.0% and 60.3% reported receiving Tdap, respectively. Health-care providers should recommend Tdap vaccination to adults aged 18--64 years whose most recent tetanus vaccination was ≥10 years prior; the interval for HCP and persons with infant contact can be as short as 2 years..."

Nation's Foreign-Born Population Nears 37 Million
"The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 36.7 million of the nation's population (12 percent) were foreign-born, and another 33 million (11 percent) were native-born with at least one foreign-born parent in 2009, making one in five people either first or second generation U.S. residents.

The second generation were more likely than the foreign born to be better educated and have higher earnings and less likely to be in poverty. In 2009, 59 percent of the native-born 25 and older with at least one foreign-born parent had some college education and 33 percent had a bachelor's degree. That compares with 45 percent of the foreign-born who had some college and 29 percent who had a bachelor's degree..."
View full report.

Agricultural Disaster Assistance
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and emergency disaster loans. The federal crop insurance program is designed to protect crop producers from unavoidable risks associated with adverse weather, and weather-related plant diseases and insect infestations. Producers who grow a crop that is currently ineligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under NAP. Under the emergency disaster (EM) loan program, when a county has been declared a disaster area by either the President or the Secretary of Agriculture, agricultural producers in that
county may become eligible for low-interest loans..."

Deflation: Economic Significance, Current Risk, and Policy Responses
"Despite the severity of the recent financial crisis and recession, the U.S. economy has so far avoided falling into a deflationary spiral. Since mid-2009, the economy has been on a path of economic recovery. However, the pace of economic growth during the recovery has been relatively slow, and major economic weaknesses persist. In this economic environment, the risk of deflation remains significant and could delay sustained economic recovery.

Deflation is a persistent decline in the overall level of prices. It is not unusual for prices to fall in a particular sector because of rising productivity, falling costs, or weak demand relative to the wider economy. In contrast, deflation occurs when price declines are so widespread and sustained that they cause a broad-based price index, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to decline for several quarters. Such a continuous decline in the price level is more troublesome, because in a
weak or contracting economy it can lead to a damaging self-reinforcing downward spiral of prices and economic activity.

However, there are also examples of relatively benign deflations when economic activity expanded despite a falling price level. For instance, from 1880 through 1896, the U.S. price level fell about 30%, but this coincided with a period of strong economic growth. Whether a deflation is on balance malign or benign most often will hinge on whether the force generating the falling price level is collapsing aggregate demand or accelerating aggregate supply. Both forces exert downward pressure on the price level but have opposite effects on the level of economic activity..."

The Freedom of Information Act and Nondisclosure Provisions in Other Federal Laws
"Congress continues to consider how to balance the federal government’s growing need for sensitive or confidential business information, the public’s right of access to information about government activities, and the private sector’s interest in keeping its sensitive or proprietary information protected from public disclosure. In enacting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Congress sought to balance the right of the public to know and the need of the government to protect certain information. FOIA’s broad provisions favoring disclosure, coupled with the specific exemptions, represent the balance Congress achieved. The federal FOIA is an information access statute enacted in 1966 that applies to agency records of the executive branch of the federal government. FOIA requires that certain types of records be published in the Federal Register, that certain types of records be made available for public inspection and copying, and that all other records be subject to request in writing..."

The Role of Trade Secrets in Innovation Policy
"Many businesses have developed proprietary information that provides a competitive advantage because it is not known to others. As the United States continues its shift to a knowledge- and service-based economy, the strength and competitiveness of domestic firms increasingly depends upon their know-how and intangible assets. Trade secrets are the form of intellectual property that protects this sort of confidential information.

Trade secret law protects secret, valuable business information from misappropriation by others. Subject matter ranging from marketing data to manufacturing know-how may be protected under the trade secret laws. Trade secret status is not limited to a fixed number of years, but endures so long as the information is valuable and maintained as a secret. A trade secret is misappropriated when it has been obtained through the abuse of a confidential relationship or improper means of acquisition.

A number of competing innovation policy concerns help shape the particular doctrines that comprise trade secret law. The availability of legal protection for trade secrets potentially promotes innovation, encourages firms to invest in employee development, and confirms standards of commercial ethics and morality. On the other hand, trade secret protection involves the suppression of information, which may hinder competition and the proper functioning of the marketplace. An overly robust trade secret law also could restrain employee mobility and promote investment in costly, but socially inefficient security measures..."

Regulating Coal Combustion Waste Disposal: Issues for Congress
"Coal combustion waste (CCW) is inorganic material that remains after pulverized coal is burned for electricity production. A tremendous amount of the material is generated each year—industry estimates that as much as 136 million tons were generated in 2008. On December 22, 2008, national attention was turned to issues regarding the waste when a breach in an impoundment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Kingston, TN, power plant released 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry. The cleanup cost has been estimated to reach $1.2 billion.

While the incident at Kingston drew national attention to the potential for a sudden catastrophic release of waste, it is not the primary risk attributed to CCW management. An April 2010 risk assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that CCW disposal in unlined landfills and surface impoundments presents substantial risks to human health and the environment from releases of toxic constituents (particularly arsenic and selenium) into surface and groundwater. Those releases are largely prevented when the waste is disposed of in landfills and surface impoundments equipped with composite liners. In addition to potential risks, EPA has
reported numerous cases of documented damages to surface and groundwater when CCW was
deposited into unlined disposal units or used as construction fill..."

Federal Reserve's Interim Rule on Real Estate Appraisal
"he Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced an interim final rule to ensure that real estate appraisers are free to use their independent professional judgment in assigning home values without influence or pressure from those with interests in the transactions. The rule also seeks to ensure that appraisers receive customary and reasonable payments for their services.

The interim final rule includes several provisions that protect the integrity of the appraisal process when a consumer's home is securing the loan. The interim final rule:

Prohibits coercion and other similar actions designed to cause appraisers to base the appraised value of properties on factors other than their independent judgment;
Prohibits appraisers and appraisal management companies hired by lenders from having financial or other interests in the properties or the credit transactions;
Prohibits creditors from extending credit based on appraisals if they know beforehand of violations involving appraiser coercion or conflicts of interest, unless the creditors determine that the values of the properties are not materially misstated;
Requires that creditors or settlement service providers that have information about appraiser misconduct file reports with the appropriate state licensing authorities; and
Requires the payment of reasonable and customary compensation to appraisers who are not employees of the creditors or of the appraisal management companies hired by the creditors..."

Criminal Victimization 2009
"Presents the annual estimates of rates and levels of violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault), property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft), and personal theft (pocket picking and purse snatching). This report describes the year-to-year change from 2008 and trends for the 10-year period from 2000 through 2009. The National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. During 2009, 38,728 households and 68,665 individuals were interviewed twice for the NCVS. This report also includes data on the characteristics of victims of crime; estimates of intimate partner violence; and use of firearms and other weapons during the crime.

Highlights include the following:

An estimated 4.3 million violent crimes, 15.6 million property crimes, and 133,000 personal thefts were committed against U.S. residents age 12 or older in 2009.
Violence against males, blacks, and persons age 24 or younger occurred at higher or somewhat higher rates than the rates of violence against females, whites, and persons age 25 or older in 2009.
About half (49%) of all violent crimes and about 40% of all property crimes were reported to the police in 2009. Violent crimes against females (53%) were more likely to be reported than violent crimes against males (45%)..."

Military Must Reduce Its Use of Fossil Fuels
"The Defense Department’s current reliance on expensive, difficult–to-transport and finite fossil fuels affects cost-reduction efforts as well as war-fighting operations, a senior Pentagon official said.

“Certainly, for current operations and for the future, one of the things we're really focused on is reducing demand, [which is] reducing our consumption, because no matter what kind of energy we're using, the amount of energy we're using causes us problems in practice -- particularly in the kinds of fights we're fighting today where so much of our logistics train is in the battlefield,” Sharon Burke, director of the department’s operational energy plans and programs, said in a recent “DoDLive” Bloggers roundtable.

Operational energy is the energy used to move, train and sustain weapons, forces and equipment for military operations, said Burke, who discussed the Pentagon’s plans to reduce and reform operational energy consumption.

In her recently created position, Burke’s job, she said, is to look into current operational energy usage and find ways to lower total fossil fuel consumption, and to work toward incorporating alternative and renewable energy sources into the fighting force..."

Child Maltreatment 2008
"Child abuse and neglect is one of the Nation’s most serious concerns. The Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, addresses this important issue in many ways. One example is to collect data on the children who are served by child protective services (CPS) agencies.

This Child Maltreatment 2008 report, now in its 19th edition, presents national data about child abuse and neglect known to CPS agencies in the United States during Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2008. The data were collected and analyzed through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) supported by the Children’s Bureau. This chapter discusses the background of NCANDS and describes the annual data collection process..."
View full report.

DOD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for Fiscal 2010
"The Department of Defense announced today its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for fiscal 2010.

- Active Component.

- Recruiting. All four active services met or exceeded their accession goals for fiscal 2010.

- Army – 74,577 accessions with a goal of 74,500; 100 percent

- Navy – 34,180 accessions with a goal of 34,140; 100 percent

- Marine Corps – 28,041 accessions with a goal of 28,000; 100 percent

- Air Force – 28,493 accessions with a goal of 28,360; 100 percent

- Retention. Three of the four services met or exceeded their overall retention goals, with the Air Force achieving 98 percent.

- Reserve Component.

- Recruiting. Five out of six reserve components met or exceeded fiscal 2010 recruiting goal, with the Army National Guard intentionally missing its recruiting goal to stay within end strength constraints.

- Army National Guard –57,204 accessions with a goal of 60,000; 95 percent

- Army Reserve –26,810 accessions with a goal of 26,000; 103 percent

- Navy Reserve –6,669 accessions with a goal of 6,654; 100 percent

- Marine Corps Reserve –10,077 accessions with a goal of 8,043; 125 percent

- Air National Guard –6,983 accessions with a goal of 6,430; 109 percent

- Air Force Reserve –9,604 accessions with a goal of 9,135; 105 percent

- Attrition. Losses in all reserve components are within acceptable limits."

FCC PROPOSES RULES TO HELP MOBILE PHONE USERS AVOID “BILL SHOCK”
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new rules
that would require mobile service providers to provide usage alerts and related information that will assist consumers in avoiding unexpected charges on their bills. The proposed rules would empower consumers with simple alerts and easy-to-find tools and information so they can make smart decisions about their mobile plans.

The record thus far indicates that mobile “bill shock” -- an unexpected increase in the monthly mobile bill -- is a growing challenge for the surveyed consumers, and that current tools could be improved. According to an April-May 2010 FCC survey, 30 million Americans -- one in six mobile users -- have experienced bill shock. More than half those consumers saw an increase of $50 or more, but many were not alerted by their provider before they incurred the charges. The tools in place to eliminate bill shock vary widely between service providers and type of service, and can be difficult to find. Most of the alerts that are offered do not cover all services or are not sent before the overage charges are incurred..."

United States Life Tables by Hispanic Origin
"Life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2006 was 77.7 years; 80.6 years for the Hispanic population, 78.1 years for the non-Hispanic white population, and 72.9 years for the non-Hispanic black population. The Hispanic population has a life expectancy advantage at birth of 2.5 years over the non-Hispanic white population and 7.7 years over the non-Hispanic black population. Although seemingly paradoxical, these results are consistent with the findings of numerous studies which show a Hispanic mortality advantage despite this population’s lower socioeconomic status. Nonetheless, the procedures used in this report to correct for racial and ethnic misclassification and age misstatement are not error free and therefore some of the observed advantage may still be a function of data artifact. This report does not address other factors that may explain the Hispanic mortality advantage..."

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week October 24-30, 2010
"EPA observes National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week to focus on the importance of educating parents and children about the dangerous health effects of lead exposure, especially lead paint hazards in housing. This year's National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week theme, "Lead-Free Kids for a Healthy Future," underscores the importance of the many ways parents can reduce a child's exposure to lead and prevent its serious health effects.
Simple Things You Can Do To Help Protect Your Family

Get Your Home Tested. Ask for a lead inspection before you buy a home built before 1978.

Get Your Child Tested. Ask your doctor to test your young children for lead even if they seem healthy.
*
Get the Facts. More information about preventing childhood lead poisoning is available at www.leadfreekids.org."
*

Spread the Word! Please download EPA's, CDC's and HUD's lead poisoning prevention week poster (PDF) (1 pg, 3.0MB, about PDF) to help spread the word about lead poisoning prevention. Why not post it in your community center, school or church? en español (PDF) (1 pg, 2.9MB)

Rental Housing Market Condition Measures: 2009(American Community Survey Brief)
"This report presents data from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) on rental market conditions, including share of occupied housing, housing costs, housing cost “burden,” and vacancy rate at the national level and for metropolitan statistical areas (metro areas).

Rental housing is catapulting to the top of the national housing agenda, The past 30 years have witnessed a housing policy that has been focused on promoting homeownership. The large gap between the number of renting households and the units that they can afford will only grow as foreclosures
persist and home mortgages become increasingly scarce for all but the most qualifi ed buyers. Consequently, rental housing is getting a second look as an important component of a national housing policy..."

Short-Term Energy and Winter Fuels Outlook
"EIA projects average household expenditures for space-heating fuels will total $986 this winter (October 1 to March 31), an increase of $24, or 2.5 percent, from last winter. EIA projects higher expenditures in all fuels except electricity, where expenditures decline by 2 percent. This forecast reflects moderately higher prices for all the fuels, although slightly milder weather than last winter for much of the Nation should contribute to lower consumption in many areas (see EIA Short Term and Winter Fuels Outlook slideshow."

POTENTIAL COSTS OF VETERANS' HEALTH CARE
"The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care at little or no charge to more than 5 million veterans annually. Medical services are provided through the inpatient and outpatient facilities run by the Veterans Health Administration. Those services include routine health assessments, readjustment counseling, surgery, hospitalization, and nursing home care.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the future costs for VA to treat enrolled veterans will be substantially higher (in inflation-adjusted dollars) than recent appropriations for that purpose, partly because more veterans are likely to seek care in the VA system but mostly because health care costs per enrolled veteran are projected to increase faster than the overall price level. Under two scenarios that CBO examined, the total real resources (in 2010 dollars) necessary to provide health care services to all veterans who seek treatment at VA would range from $69 billion to $85 billion in 2020, representing cumulative increases of roughly 45 percent to 75 percent since 2010..."

flu.gov
Find up-to-date information about the flu and well as locations for getting a flu shot.

Regional Economic Conditions
"Regional Economic Conditions (RECON) was originally designed to assist the FDIC in the examination process by providing economic information at the state, MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), and county levels. It is helpful in the analysis of risks facing financial institutions. We believe that easy access to timely, high-quality information about economic conditions and risks could be of benefit to some banks, as well as the general public.
Using RECON, anyone with internet access is able to drill down to any state, MSA, or county to view standard graphs, tables, and maps depicting economic conditions and how they have changed over time.
RECON contains a 'shopping cart' feature that allows the user to assemble charts and tables of interest and then print them together at the end of their session..."

Presidential Memorandum--Refugee Admissions
"MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT: Fiscal Year 2011 Refugee Admissions Numbers and Authorizations of In-Country Refugee Status Pursuant to Sections 207 and 101(a)(42), Respectively, of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and Determination Pursuant to Section 2(b)(2) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, as Amended


In accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the "Act") (8 U.S.C. 1157), as amended, and after appropriate consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following determinations and authorize the following actions:

The admission of up to 80,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; provided that this number shall be understood as including persons admitted to the United States during FY 2011 with Federal refugee resettlement assistance under the Amerasian immigrant admissions program, as provided below.

The 80,000 admissions numbers shall be allocated among refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States in accordance with the following regional allocations; provided that the number of admissions allocated to the East Asia region shall include persons admitted to the United States during FY 2011 with Federal refugee resettlement assistance under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988, as contained in section 101(e) of Public Law 100-202 (Amerasian immigrants and their family members):

Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
East Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,000
Europe and Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . 2,000
Latin America/Caribbean. . . . . . . . . . . 5,500
Near East/South Asia. . . . . . . . . . . 35,500
Unallocated Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000

The 3,000 unallocated refugee numbers shall be allocated to regional ceilings, as needed. Upon providing notification to the Judiciary Committees of the Congress, you are hereby authorized to use unallocated admissions in regions where the need for additional admissions arises..."

The Bush Tax Cuts and the Economy
"A series of tax cuts were enacted early in the George W. Bush Administration by the Economic
Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA; P.L. 107-16) and the Jobs and
Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA; P.L. 108-27). These tax cuts, which are
collectively known as the Bush tax cuts, are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. Beginning in
2011, many of the individual income tax parameters (such as tax rates) will revert back to 2000
levels. The major tax provisions in EGTRRA and JGTRRA that are part of the current debate
over the Bush tax cuts are the reduced tax rates, the reduction of the marriage penalty (and
increase in the marriage bonus), the repeal of the personal exemption phaseout and the limitation
on itemized deductions, the reduced tax rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends,
and expanded tax credits. This report examines the Bush tax cuts within the context of the current
and long-term economic environment.

The U.S. economy entered into a recession in December 2007. Between the fourth quarter of
2007 and the second quarter of 2009, the economy shrank with real gross domestic product
(GDP) falling by 4.1%. The unemployment rate increased from 4.9% in December 2007 to 10.1%
by October 2009, and is currently still over 9%. As a result of reduced economic activity and
government efforts to stimulate the economy, the federal budget deficit increased from 1.2% of
GDP in FY2007 to 9.9% of GDP in FY2009. Most economic forecasts suggest the economic
outlook over the next few months is not bright and will likely be characterized by high
unemployment and sluggish economic growth. The long-term fiscal situation is unsustainable..."

The Helium-3 Shortage: Supply, Demand, and Options for Congress
"The world is experiencing a shortage of helium-3, a rare isotope of helium with applications in
homeland security, national security, medicine, industry, and science. For many years the supply
of helium-3 from the nuclear weapons program outstripped the demand for helium-3. The
demand was small enough that a substantial stockpile of helium-3 accumulated. After the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government began deploying neutron detectors at the
U.S. border to help secure the nation against smuggled nuclear and radiological material. The
deployment of this equipment created new demand for helium-3. Use of the polarized helium-3
medical imaging technique also increased. As a result, the size of the stockpile shrank. After
several years of demand exceeding supply, a call for large quantities of helium-3 spurred federal
officials to realize that insufficient helium-3 was available to meet the likely future demand..."

Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law
"The power to prescribe rules as to which aliens may enter the United States and which aliens may
be removed resides solely with the federal government, and in particular with Congress.
Concomitant to its exclusive power to establish rules which determine which aliens may enter and
which may stay in the country, the federal government also has the power to sanction activities
that subvert this system. Congress has defined our nation’s immigration laws in the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA), a comprehensive set of rules for legal immigration, naturalization,
work authorization, and the entry and removal of aliens. These requirements are bolstered by an
enforcement regime containing both civil and criminal provisions. Deportation and associated
administrative processes related to the removal of aliens are civil in nature, while certain
violations of federal immigration law, such as smuggling unauthorized aliens into the country,
carry criminal penalties.

Congressional authority to prescribe rules on immigration does not necessarily imply exclusive
authority to enforce those rules. In certain circumstances, Congress has expressly authorized
states and localities to assist in enforcing federal immigration law. Moreover, there is a notion that has been articulated in some federal courts and by the executive branch that states may possess “inherent” authority to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law, even in the absence of clear authorization by federal statute. Nonetheless, states may be precluded from taking actions that are otherwise within their authority if federal law would thereby be thwarted..."

Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information
"The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization Wikileaks and
subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on
whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Attorney General has reportedly stated
that the Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to
determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure.

The report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply, but notes that these have been used
almost exclusively to prosecute individuals with access to classified information (and a
corresponding obligation to protect it) who make it available to foreign agents, or to foreign
agents who obtain classified information unlawfully while present in the United States. Leaks of
classified information to the press have only rarely been punished as crimes, and we are aware of
no case in which a publisher of information obtained through unauthorized disclosure by a
government employee has been prosecuted for publishing it. There may be First Amendment
implications that would make such a prosecution difficult, not to mention political ramifications
based on concerns about government censorship. To the extent that the investigation implicates
any foreign nationals whose conduct occurred entirely overseas, any resulting prosecution may
carry foreign policy implications related to the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction..."

The 2010 Oil Spill: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under the Oil Pollution Act
"The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill leaked an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf
of Mexico, damaging the waters, shores, and marshes, and the fish and wildlife that live there.
The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) establishes a process for assessing the damages to those natural
resources and assigning responsibility for restoration to the parties responsible. BP was named the responsible party for the spill. The Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process
allows Trustees of affected states and the federal government (and Indian tribes and foreign
governments, if applicable) to determine the levels of harm and the appropriate remedies.

The types of damages that are recoverable include the cost of replacing or restoring the lost
resource, the lost value of those resources if or until they are recovered, and any costs incurred in assessing the harm. Claims by individuals or businesses are not allowed, as all injuries are to the resources managed by state, federal, tribal, or foreign governments. OPA allows recovery from
the responsible parties for harm resulting from response efforts, which in this case could include
in situ burning, use of dispersants, and vehicle traffic on shores and marshes. The $20 billion
escrow fund set up by BP in June 2010 is not for government NRDA claims, but it can be used to
reimburse individual losses of subsistence use of natural resources, primarily lost fishing
opportunities, which are covered by OPA..."

Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance
"The weak performance and lack of transparency within the Afghan government are a growing
factor in debate over the effectiveness of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. In a December 1, 2009,
policy statement on Afghanistan, which followed the second of two major Afghanistan strategy
reviews in 2009, President Obama stated that “The days of providing a blank check [to the
Afghan government] are over.” Since early 2010, the Administration has been pressing President
Hamid Karzai to move more decisively to address corruption within his government, but Karzai’s
backlash against the criticism has caused the Administration to try to work quietly with Karzai
and to emphasize building the capacity of several emerging anti-corruption institutions. However,
these same institutions have sometimes targeted Karzai allies and undermined the U.S.-Karzai
partnership, compelling Karzai to strengthen his bond to ethnic and political faction leaders who
are often involved in illicit economic activity and who undermine rule of law. Some of the effects
of corruption burst into public view in August 2010 when major losses were announced by the
large Kabul Bank, in part due to large loans to major shareholders, many of whom are close to
Karzai. While prodding Karzai on corruption—including some moves in Congress to link further
U.S. aid to clear progress on this issue—another clear trend over the past two years has been to
reduce sole reliance on the Afghan central government by strengthening local governing bodies.
This is being implemented, in part, by expanding the presence of U.S. government civilians as
advisors outside Kabul..."

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES--2009
"Average annual expenditures per consumer unit(1) fell 2.8 percent in 2009
following an increase of 1.7 percent in 2008, according to results from the
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The spending decrease was larger than the 0.4-percent decrease in
prices from 2008 to 2009 as measured by the average annual change in the
Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). This was the first time there has been a drop in
spending from the previous year since the CE began publishing integrated data
in 1984 from the Diary and Interview components of the CE.

Spending on housing and transportation fell 1.3 percent and 11.0 percent,
respectively, contributing to the overall drop in spending in 2009. Healthcare
expenditures rose 5.0 percent, the only increase among the major components of
spending. Among the other major components, food dropped 1.1 percent, apparel
fell 4.2 percent, entertainment dropped 5.0 percent, and personal insurance
and pensions fell 2.4 percent."

Federal Trade Commission Proposes Revised "Green Guides"
"The Federal Trade Commission today proposed revisions to the guidance that it gives marketers to help them avoid making misleading environmental claims. The proposed changes are designed to update the Guides and make them easier for companies to understand and use.
The changes to the “Green Guides” include new guidance on marketers’ use of product certifications and seals of approval, “renewable energy” claims, “renewable materials” claims, and “carbon offset” claims. The FTC is seeking public comments on the proposed changes until December 10, 2010, after which it will decide which changes to make final.

“In recent years, businesses have increasingly used ‘green’ marketing to capture consumers’ attention and move Americans toward a more environmentally friendly future. But what companies think green claims mean and what consumers really understand are sometimes two different things,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The proposed updates to the Green Guides will help businesses better align their product claims with consumer expectations.”

The Green Guides were first issued in 1992 to help marketers ensure that the claims they are making are true and substantiated. The Guides were revised in 1996 and 1998. The guidance they provide includes: 1) general principles that apply to all environmental marketing claims; 2) how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can substantiate these claims; and 3) how marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers..."

Advancing Regulatory Science for Public Health:A Framework for FDA’s Regulatory Science Initiative
"...This document outlines a broad vision for advancing regulatory science and unleashing its potential to improve public health. It discusses the role of the FDA, working with partners, to strengthen the field, both within the agency and throughout the Nation.

The document is organized into two sections: (1) The Promise of Regulatory Science and (2) A Collaborative Implementation Framework. The first section provides background on the emerging and
promising field of regulatory science as well as examples of current activities. It then goes on to
explore seven different public health areas in which advancements in the field can help deliver better, safer, more innovative products to Americans. The second section lays out a strategic framework that will guide FDA as we lead this nationwide effort to advance regulatory science and leverage its potential to fulfill the agency’s fundamental mission — to promote and protect the public health..."

EPA Pesticide Database to Aid Consumers in Controlling Bed Bugs
"With cases of bed bug infestations increasing, many people are turning to pesticides as a means of ridding their homes of the pest. To help people find an appropriate pesticide for use on bed bugs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created a new database listing all pesticides registered for this purpose. The new search tool will let consumers choose an EPA-registered bed bug product that meets their needs and is safe if properly used according to label instructions.

“This new database will help Americans select a safe, EPA-approved pesticide to help rid their home of bed bugs,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “While this tool ensures a safer way of dealing with bed bugs, chemical pesticides are most effective when used properly and in conjunction with practical steps like reducing clutter, covering mattresses, vacuuming and other methods.".."
Access the database here.

FTC Proposes Policy Statement Clarifying How to Collect Decedents' Debts
"The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement clarifying when the FTC will take action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the FTC Act against companies trying to collect the debts of deceased consumers.

In collecting these debts, the FDCPA generally allows collectors to contact only the decedent’s spouse, or the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate. Since the FDCPA was enacted in 1977, state probate laws have expanded the types of persons who are authorized to pay a decedent’s debts from assets in the decedent’s estate, beyond the categories expressly permitted under the FDCPA. In the proposed enforcement policy statement issued today for public comment, the Commission seeks to reconcile the FDCPA’s requirements with state probate law developments..."

CBP's Handling of Unaccompanied Alien Children
"The Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) Office ofInspector General (OIG) was
established by the Homeland Security Act of2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment
to the Inspector General Act of1978. This is one of a series ofaudit, inspection, and
special reports prepared as part of our oversight responsibilities to promote economy,
efficiency, and effectiveness within the department.

This report addresses Customs and Border Protection's compliance with the Flores
Settlement Agreement in the treatment ofunaccompanied alien children in its custody. It
is based on interviews with employees and officials ofrelevant agencies, direct
observations, and a review of applicable documents..."

1 in 4 High School Students and Young Adults Report Binge Drinking
"0 percent of high school students who drink, binge drink

More than 1 in 4 high school students and adults ages 18 to 34 engaged in a dangerous behavior known as binge drinking during the past month, according to the findings from a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows that each year more than 33 million adults have reported binge drinking, defined as having four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a short period of time, usually a couple of hours. And the report said levels of binge drinking have not declined during the past 15 years.

The CDC report found men are more than twice as likely to binge drink than women (21 percent compared to 10 percent). It said binge drinking is more common among non-Hispanic whites (16 percent of whom binge drink) than among non-Hispanic blacks, (10 percent of whom binge drink)..."

Purchasing Pet Drugs Online: Buyer Beware
"Discount pet drugs—no prescription required" may appeal to pet owners surfing the Web, but FDA experts say it can be risky to buy drugs online from sites that tout this message and others like it.

Some of the Internet sites that sell pet drugs represent legitimate, reputable pharmacies, says Martine Hartogensis, D.V.M., deputy director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance in FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). But others are fronts for unscrupulous businesses operating against the law.

FDA has found companies that sell unapproved pet drugs and counterfeit pet products, make fraudulent claims, dispense prescription drugs without requiring a prescription, and sell expired drugs.

Pet owners who purchase drugs from these companies may think they are saving money, says Hartogensis, but in reality, they may be short-changing their pet's health and putting its life at risk..."

Country Analysis Brief: Iraq
"Iraq was the world’s 12th largest oil producer in 2009, and has the world’s fourth largest proven petroleum reserves after Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Iran. Just a fraction of Iraq’s known fields are in development, and Iraq may be one of the few places left where vast reserves, proven and unknown, have barely been exploited. Iraq’s energy sector is heavily based upon oil, with approximately 94 percent of its energy needs met with petroleum. In addition, crude oil export revenues accounted for over two-thirds of GDP in 2009."

CVM Announces Availability of Online Pet Pharmacy Brochure through Pueblo, Colorado
"CVM’s brochure entitled Online Pet Pharmacies. Protect Yourself and Your Pets: Be A.W.A.R.E. is available from the Federal Citizen’s Information Center (FCIC) in Pueblo, Colorado.
Although online pet pharmacies may save pet owners money when buying animal medications, not all online pharmacies are reputable. CVM created the brochure to provide pet owners with safety tips to help protect themselves and their pets when purchasing animal medications online.

For ordering information, please visit: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/rc/petpharm.htm. The brochures are free and are available as single copies or in bulk quantities of 100.

To access the online version of the A.W.A.R.E. brochure, please visit: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm203000.htm."

In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life
"Domestic abuse in later life is a problem that has not received the attention it deserves. The dynamics involved in this type of abuse, including domestic violence and sexual assault, are unique and require a specialized response that needs to be integrated into existing victim assistance approaches and programs. The wide range of professionals who come into contact with older victims need to be educated in order to intervene effectively in the situations of abuse they encounter. Training resources will help to build the capacity of the various professional groups who work with older victims of domestic abuse. These practitioners include victim advocates, criminal justice professionals, health care providers, adult protective services workers, and aging services professionals and volunteers.

The training DVD In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life presents five compelling stories of abuse in later life conveyed by the survivors themselves, amplified by interviews with the professionals who worked with them. Additional segments address emergency housing, support
groups, and effective advocacy—three critical issues for older victims of abuse. The DVD includes a role-play segment to support an interactive workshop on discerning justifications used to excuse abuse, neglect, and/or financial exploitation of an older adult. The accompanying training guide
offers comprehensive guidance to trainers on using the DVD, including background information on domestic abuse in later life..."

Affordable Care Act gives consumers new tool..
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that new information and tools have been added to HHS' consumer website www.HealthCare.gov that will make the health insurance market more transparent, increase competition and help lower costs for individuals.

For the first time ever, price estimates for private insurance policies are available, allowing consumers to easily compare health insurance plans – putting consumers, not their insurance companies, in charge by providing one-stop shopping and taking the guesswork and confusion out of buying insurance.

To help consumers make more informed choices, the site includes new information including two notable metrics never before made public:

Insurance providers are required to provide the percentage of people who applied for insurance and were denied coverage.
Insurance companies are required to provide the percentage of applicants who were charged higher premiums because of their health status..."

Victimization During Household Burglary
"Presents findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on the characteristics of burglary, with comparisons between households where members were present and not present. It also examines the extent to which individuals in the residence are violently victimized when at home during these encounters. The NCVS classifies victimization as personal, rather than property crime, when a household member is present and experiences violence during a household burglary. This report classifies these violent burglaries differently so that they may be compared to traditionally classified burglaries. It also discusses crime characteristics such as household structure, location and type of residence, method of entry, time of day, type of violence, weapon use, injury, and reporting to police. Data on nonfatal violent victimization (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) are drawn from the NCVS. Data on homicides are drawn from the Supplementary Homicide Report of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

Highlights include the following:

An estimated 3.7 million burglaries occurred each year on average from 2003 to 2007.
Offenders were known to their victims in 65% of violent burglaries; offenders were strangers in 28%.
Serious injury accounted for 9% and minor injury accounted for 36% of injuries sustained by household members who were home and experienced violence during a completed burglary."

FDA issues final rule on safety information during clinical trials
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final rule that clarifies what safety information must be reported during clinical trials of investigational drugs and biologics.

“This final rule will expedite FDA’s review of critical safety information and help the agency monitor the safety of investigational drugs and biologics,” said Rachel Behrman, M.D, associate director for medical policy in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “These changes will better protect people who are enrolled in clinical trials.”

The new rule requires that certain safety information that previously had not been required to be reported to FDA be reported within 15 days of becoming aware of an occurrence. These reports include:

findings from clinical or epidemiological studies that suggest a significant risk to study participants

serious suspected adverse reactions that occur at a rate higher than expected

serious adverse events from bioavailability studies which determine what percentage and at what rate drug is absorbed by the bloodstream and bioequivalence studies which determine whether a generic drug has the same bioavailability as the brand name drug.."

Review of the Management Recovery Act Funds for Monument and Memorial Repairs
"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided funds to Federal agencies to acquire goods and services to help stimulate the U.S. economy. We conducted this review to determine if the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) implemented effective policies and procedures to ensure accountability and transparency for $50 million it received in ARRA funds.

What We Found
NCA was on track to meet the deadline for obligating ARRA funds. However, NCA needed to improve management processes to guarantee efficient administration of the funds in line with ARRA accountability and transparency objectives.

NCA did not use a formal process to document the prioritization and selection of ARRA-funded projects. NCA did not ensure that staff completed the documentation of procurement information, as required by Departmental guidance, by recording it in the Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS). Further, NCA did not establish outcome-based (original signed by:) performance measures for its projects to enable the achievement of ARRA-related objectives..."

EPA Libraries Prepare for 40th Anniversary – September 2010
"Beginning October 1, 2010, Fiscal Year 2011 will usher in the 40th anniversary of the EPA National Library Network. Among other anniversary activities, EPA library staff and federal library managers will convene in the Washington, DC metro area, March 15-17, 2011. This Annual Meeting of the EPA National Library Network will provide opportunities to reflect on EPA library history while focusing on strategic planning. The Library Network welcomes input for its long-term planning through the online Feedback Form, or by sending an e-mail to library.feedback@epa.gov..."

Infant sleep positioners: Consumer Warning - Risk of Suffocation
"AUDIENCE: Consumers, Pediatrics

ISSUE: FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning not to use Infant sleep positioners. In the last 13 years, the federal government has received 12 reports of babies known to have died from suffocation associated with their sleep positioners. Most of the babies suffocated after rolling from the side to the stomach.

BACKGROUND: The most common types of sleep positioners feature bolsters attached to each side of a thin mat and wedges to elevate the baby’s head. The sleep positioners are intended to keep a baby in a desired position while sleeping. They are often used with infants under 6 months old.

RECOMMENDATION: Consumers are warned to stop using infant positioning products. Never put pillows, sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under the baby or in the crib. Always place a baby on his or her back at night and during nap time. See the Consumer Update for links to additional information, including product photos..."

Census Bureau's Question & Answers: Population: Geographic Center
What is the geographic center of the U.S. population and how has it changed?
Answer:
"There are a couple ways of describing the geographic center of the U.S. population.:

1. Each decade, the Census Bureau calculates the mean center of population . The center is determined as the place where an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if all 281,421,906 residents were of identical weight.

In 1790, it was near Chestertown, Maryland.
In 1880, it was in Covington County, Kentucky.
In 2000, it was in Phelps County, Missouri.

2. Another measure is the median center of the population .

In 1880, it was in Miami County, Ohio.
In 2000, it was in Daviess County, Indiana..."

Census Bureau's Question & Answers: Population: Geographic Center
What is the geographic center of the U.S. population and how has it changed?
Answer:
"There are a couple ways of describing the geographic center of the U.S. population.:

1. Each decade, the Census Bureau calculates the mean center of population . The center is determined as the place where an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if all 281,421,906 residents were of identical weight.

In 1790, it was near Chestertown, Maryland.
In 1880, it was in Covington County, Kentucky.
In 2000, it was in Phelps County, Missouri.

2. Another measure is the median center of the population .

In 1880, it was in Miami County, Ohio.
In 2000, it was in Daviess County, Indiana..."