2010 Census Demographic Profiles
"These profiles provide more subject detail than the recently released 2010 Census redistricting data files. For example, they provide additional details about race and Hispanic subgroups, five-year age groups and subcategories for vacancies. Also, these profiles offer new information from the 2010 Census, such as sex, household relationship, household type, group quarters population and housing tenure (whether a housing unit is owned or rented). The profiles will be released on a state-by-state basis for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The data will be available through American FactFinder for detailed levels of geography down to the place/functioning minor civil division-level, as well as for the nation, regions, divisions and other areas that cross state boundaries. (Scheduled for release in May. A pre-release webinar is planned for April 27.).."

FDA ‘Strategic Priorities 2011 – 2015’
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released the final version of a strategic priorities document outlining the goals that will guide the agency and its 12,000 employees through 2015.

“It’s no secret that the FDA’s responsibilities have increased significantly over the past several years,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “We must continue to build a stronger, more effective agency and, as this document outlines, do so in several specific ways.”

Titled “Strategic Priorities 2011 – 2015: Responding to the Public Health Challenges of the 21st Century,” the 50-page document provides a vision of the FDA that includes:

• a modernized field of regulatory science that draws on innovations in science and technology to help ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical products throughout their life cycles
• an integrated global food safety system focused on prevention and improved nutrition
• expanded efforts to meet the needs of special populations..."
View full report.

An Analysis of the President's Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2012
"t the request of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has prepared an analysis of the President's budgetary proposals for fiscal year 2012, which were released on February 14, 2011. The analysis uses CBO's economic assumptions and estimating techniques, rather than the Administration's, to project how the proposals in the President's budget would affect federal revenues and outlays and the U.S. economy. For tax provisions, the analysis incorporates estimates prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.

This analysis follows and supplements CBO's "Preliminary Analysis of the President’s Budget for 2012," which was released on March 18, 2011, as an attachment to a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. CBO has not changed its estimates from the ones presented there. Chapter 1 of this report reiterates that document, with additional figures and details about the differences between CBO's and the Administration's budget estimates. Chapter 2 presents CBO's analysis of how the President's proposals would affect the overall economy (relative to what would occur under current law) and, in turn, indirectly affect the budget."

Auto Industry Labor Costs in Perspective
"The auto industry occupies a special place in American folklore.1 The phrase “America’s love affair with the automobile” appears in the American Heritage dictionary, as a usage example under the entry for “love affair.”2 An Internet search for the phrase returns hundreds of thousands of matches.3 The College Board’s study guide for the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. History dedicates an entire chapter to “The Automobile in American Life.”4 And the idea that “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country”—although misquoted—still resonates with many Americans.5

Thus, it is no surprise that the auto industry receives a great deal of scrutiny in the popular press. This scrutiny was particularly intense in the final months of 2008,6 when a controversial assistance package of $13.4 billion from the U.S. Treasury provoked a debate on whether auto industry compensation costs were excessive. Data from the BLS National Compensation Survey (NCS) for 2009 allow auto industry compensation costs to be viewed in relation to those in other manufacturing industries..."

Information Security Oversight Office, Report to the President 2010
"...This report provides information on the status of the security classification program as required by Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information” (the Order). It provides statistics and analysis concerning key components of the system, primarily classification and declassification, and
coverage of ISOO’s reviews. It also contains information with respect to industrial security in the private sector as required by Executive Order 12829, as amended, “National Industrial Security Program.”

FY 2010 was a notable year for the security classification program. The initial implementation of Executive Order 13526 began in earnest and remains ongoing. To comply with your direction that a government-wide implementing directive be issued within 180 days, we led an interagency working group that developed 32 C.F.R. Part 2001 which became effective and binding on all appropriate Executive branch agencies on June 25, 2010..."

New National Terrorism Advisory System

New National Terrorism Advisory System
"This page contains any current NTAS Alerts and archived copies of expired alerts.

The National Terrorism Advisory System, or NTAS, replaces the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS). This new system will more effectively communicate information about terrorist threats by providing timely, detailed information to the public, government agencies, first responders, airports and other transportation hubs, and the private sector.

It recognizes that Americans all share responsibility for the nation's security, and should always be aware of the heightened risk of terrorist attack in the United States and what they should do..."

Privacy Protections for Personal Information Online
"There is no comprehensive federal privacy statute that protects personal information. Instead, a patchwork of federal laws and regulations govern the collection and disclosure of personal information and has been addressed by Congress on a sector-by-sector basis. Federal laws and regulations extend protection to consumer credit reports, electronic communications, federal agency records, education records, bank records, cable subscriber information, video rental records, motor vehicle records, health information, telecommunications subscriber information,
children’s online information, and customer financial information. Some contend that this patchwork of laws and regulations is insufficient to meet the demands of today’s technology. Congress, the Obama Administration, businesses, public interest groups, and citizens are all involved in the discussion of privacy solutions. This report examines some of those efforts with respect to the protection of personal information. This report provides a brief overview of selected recent developments in the area of federal privacy law. This report does not cover workplace privacy laws or state privacy laws..."

The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States
"The United States, the third most populous country globally, accounts for about 4.5% of the world’s population. The U.S. population—currently estimated at 308.7 million persons—has more than doubled since its 1950 level of 152.3 million. More than just being double in size, the population has become qualitatively different from what it was in 1950. As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, “The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse.” The objective of this report is to highlight some of the demographic changes that have already occurred since 1950 and to illustrate how these and future trends will reshape the nation in the decades to come (through 2050).

The United States Is Getting Bigger. U.S. population growth is due to the trends over time in the interplay of increased births, decreased deaths, and increased net immigration.

The United States Is Getting Older. Aside from the total size, one of the most important demographic characteristics of a population for public policy is its age and sex structure. This report illustrates how the United States has been in the midst of a profound demographic change: the rapid aging of its population, as reflected by an increasing proportion of persons aged 65 and older, and an increasing median age in the population.

The United States Is Becoming More Racially and Ethnically Diverse, reflecting the major influence that immigration has had on both the size and the age structure of the U.S. population. This section considers the changing profile of the five major racial groups in the United States. In addition, trends in the changing ethnic composition of the Hispanic or Latino Origin population are discussed..."

Local Area Personal Income, 2009
"Today, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released estimates of personal income at the county level for 2009. Among large counties (those with a population of more than 250,000) the change in personal income from 2008 to 2009 ranged from an 8.1 percent decline (in Oakland County, Michigan) to a 4.2 percent gain (in Loudoun County, Virginia). Growth slowed in all but one of the nation’s 255 large counties. For the nation, personal income fell 1.7 percent in 2009 after growing 4.0 percent in 2008..."

The Effects of Automatic Stabilizers on the Federal Budget
"In March 2011, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its most recent baseline projections of federal revenues, outlays, and budget balances for the next 10 years. For those projections, CBO assumed the continuation of current laws and policies that affect taxes and mandatory spending programs and extrapolated the growth of discretionary spending by using projected rates of inflation. CBO estimated in March that the baseline budget deficit will rise from $1.3 trillion in fiscal
year 2010 to $1.4 trillion in 2011 and then will average $692 billion over the next five years. At 9.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, the deficit in
those terms will be the second largest in more than half a century (behind only the 2009 deficit, which was 10.0 percent of GDP). By comparison, CBO projects that the deficit will average 4.1 percent of GDP during the five years from 2012 through 2016 if current laws remain in place..."

U.S. Department of Transportation Expands Airline Passenger Protections
"U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced new airline passenger protections that will require airlines to reimburse passengers for bag fees if their bags are lost, provide consumers involuntarily bumped from flights with greater compensation, expand the current ban on lengthy tarmac delays, and disclose hidden fees. The rulemaking finalized today builds on passenger protections issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2009, which prohibited U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours, with exceptions for safety, security and air traffic control related-reasons. The rule also required U.S. airlines to provide basic services such as access to lavatories and water in the event of extended tarmac delays.

“Airline passengers have a right to be treated fairly,” said Secretary LaHood. “It’s just common sense that if an airline loses your bag or you get bumped from a flight because it was oversold, you should be reimbursed. The additional passenger protections we’re announcing today will help make sure air travelers are treated with the respect they deserve.”

Lost Bags and Bag Fees. Airlines will now be required to refund any fee for carrying a bag if the bag is lost. Airlines will also be required to apply the same baggage allowances and fees for all segments of a trip, including segments with interline and code share partners. Airlines are already required to compensate passengers for reasonable expenses for loss, damage or delay in the carriage of passenger baggage.

Full Disclosure of Additional Fees. Airlines will also have to prominently disclose all potential fees on their websites, including but not limited to fees for baggage, meals, canceling or changing reservations, or advanced or upgraded seating. In addition, airlines and ticket agents will be required to refer passengers both before and after purchase to up-to-date baggage fee information, and to include all government taxes and fees in every advertised price. Previously, government taxes and fees were not required to be included in the up-front fare quotation..."

Green Stats-Earth Day 2011
"Earth Day is Friday, April 22. To help you celebrate, we offer a sampling of green data collected and published by the US Census Bureau.

According to the American Community Survey (5-year estimates):

0.5% of Americans bike to and from work. More men bike to work than women (0.7% vs. 0.3%).
10.5% of U.S. residents carpool to work. Men are more likely to carpool than women (11% vs. 10%).
5% of U.S. residents take public transportation to work. Women are more likely to take public transportation (5.4% vs. 4.6%).
About 36,000 households in the United States rely on solar energy to heat their homes..."

2011 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report
"An emissions inventory that identifies and quantifies a country's primary anthropogenic sources and sinks of greenhouse gases is essential for addressing climate change. This inventory adheres to both (1) a comprehensive and detailed set of methodologies for estimating sources and sinks of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, and (2) a common and consistent mechanism that enables Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to compare the relative contribution of different emission sources and greenhouse gases to climate change...

This chapter summarizes the latest information on U.S. anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission trends from 1990 through 2009. To ensure that the U.S. emissions inventory is comparable to those of other UNFCCC Parties, the estimates presented here were calculated using methodologies consistent with those recommended in the Revised
1996 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC/UNEP/OECD/IEA 1997), the IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2000), and the IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (IPCC 2003). Additionally, the U.S. emission inventory has continued to incorporate new
methodologies and data from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006). The structure of this report is consistent with the UNFCCC guidelines for inventory reporting. For most source categories, the IPCC methodologies were expanded, resulting in a more comprehensive and detailed estimate of emissions..."

EPIDEMIC:RESPONDING TO AMERICA’S PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE CRISIS
"Prescription drug abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the irst time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically.1 The same survey found that over 70 percent
of people who abused prescription pain relievers got them from friends or relatives, while approximately 5 percent got them from a drug dealer or from the Internet.2 Additionally, the latest Monitoring the Future study—the Nation’s largest survey of drug use among young people—showed that prescription drugs are the second most-abused category of drugs after marijuana.3 In our military, illicit drug use increased from 5 percent to 12 percent among active duty service members over a three-year period
from 2005 to 2008, primarily attributed to prescription drug abuse..."

Public Papers of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, Book 1, January 20, 2009 to June 30, 2009
Official papers and speeches of President Barack Obama for the period January 20, 2009 to June 30,2009.

NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR TRUSTED IDENTITIES IN CYBERSPACE:Enhancing Online Choice, Efficiency, Security, and Privacy
"...A secure cyberspace is critical to our prosperity 1 We use the Internet and other online environments to increase our productivity, as a platform for innovation, and as a venue in which to create new businesses “Our digital infrastructure, therefore, is a strategic national asset, and protecting it—while safeguarding privacy and civil liberties—is a national security priority” and an economic necessity 2 By addressing
threats in this environment, we will help individuals protect themselves in cyberspace and enable both the private sector and government to offer more services online.

As a Nation, we are addressing many of the technical and policy shortcomings that have led to insecurity in cyberspace Among these shortcomings is the online authentication of people and devices: the President’s Cyberspace Policy Review established trusted identities as a cornerstone of improved cybersecurity.."

Is that Free Trial Really Free?
An Federal Trade Commission video examining the hidden cost of free trials.

Short-Term Energy and Summer Fuels Outlook
Forecasts for gas prices and supply.

Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse
"Concluding a two-year bipartisan investigation, Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Senator Tom Coburn M.D., R-Okla., Chairman and Ranking Republican on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, today released a 635-page final report on their inquiry into key causes of the financial crisis. The report catalogs conflicts of interest, heedless risk-taking and failures of federal oversight that helped push the country into the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

“Using emails, memos and other internal documents, this report tells the inside story of an economic assault that cost millions of Americans their jobs and homes, while wiping out investors, good businesses, and markets,” said Levin. “High risk lending, regulatory failures, inflated credit ratings, and Wall Street firms engaging in massive conflicts of interest, contaminated the U.S. financial system with toxic mortgages and undermined public trust in U.S. markets. Using their own words in documents subpoenaed by the Subcommittee, the report discloses how financial firms deliberately took advantage of their clients and investors, how credit rating agencies assigned AAA ratings to high risk securities, and how regulators sat on their hands instead of reining in the unsafe and unsound practices all around them. Rampant conflicts of interest are the threads that run through every chapter of this sordid story.”..."
Read the full report.

FTC Testifies on Protecting Social Security Numbers; Millions of Consumers are Victims of Identity Theft Each Year
"The Federal Trade Commission today told a House subcommittee that millions of consumers are victims of identity theft each year at a cost of billion of dollars and countless hours of consumers’ time to repair the damage.

In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee’s Social Security Subcommittee, the agency said helping protect consumers from ID theft and deal with its consequences is a critical part of the FTC’s consumer protection mission. In the testimony, the FTC recommended legislation to help mitigate the identity theft problem by making Social Security numbers less useful to identity thieves and making the numbers harder to access.."

Women at Work
Compilation of recent data on working women by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. Obesity Trends, 1985-2009
"Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%.

Thirty-three states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; nine of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%..."

The State Secrets Privilege: Preventing the Disclosure of Sensitive National Security Information During Civil Litigation.
"The state secrets privilege is a judicially created evidentiary privilege that allows the federal
government to resist court-ordered disclosure of information during litigation if there is a
reasonable danger that such disclosure would harm the national security of the United States.
Although the common law privilege has a long history, the Supreme Court first described the
modern analytical framework of the state secrets privilege in the 1953 case of United States v.
Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1 (1953). In Reynolds, the Court laid out a two-step procedure to be used
when evaluating a claim of privilege to protect state secrets. First, there must be a formal claim of privilege, lodged by the head of the department which has control over the matter, after actual
personal consideration by that officer. Second, a court must independently determine whether the
circumstances are appropriate for the claim of privilege, and yet do so without forcing a
disclosure of the very thing the privilege is designed to protect. If the privilege is appropriately
invoked, it is absolute and the disclosure of the underlying information cannot be compelled by
the court...

Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Fluctuations in the U.S. Income Distribution, 2004–2007
"Between 2004 and 2007, the (real) median household income in the United States increased 3.2 percent, as measured by data available from the Current Population Survey’s (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC). This statistic compares a cross-section of households in 2004 with another crosssection of households in 2007, but does not provide a picture of what happened to
the same households over time. Medians, like those available from the CPS-ASEC, can conceal fluctuations in annual household income. In order to examine changes in the annual (real) income of the same households between 2004 and 2007, this report uses the longitudinal data available from the 2004 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)(Text Box: Household Income)..."

FBI Records: the Vault
"The Vault is our new electronic reading room, containing more than 2,000 documents that have been scanned from paper into digital copies so you can read them in the comfort of your home or office.

Included here are more than 25 new files that have been released to the public but never added to this website; dozens of records previously posted on our site but removed as requests diminished; and files from our previous electronic reading room..."

Emission of Greenhouse Gases in the United States,2009
"This report—the eighteenth annual report—presents the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest estimates of emissions for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases."

Vice President Biden Announces New Administration Effort to Help Nation's Schools Address Sexual Violence
"Washington, D.C. – Today[4/4/11], Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan introduced comprehensive guidance to help schools, colleges and universities better understand their obligations under federal civil rights laws to prevent and respond to the problem of campus sexual assault. The new guidance, announced at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, makes clear the legal obligations under Title IX of any school, college or university receiving federal funds to respond promptly and effectively to sexual violence. The guidance also provides practical examples to aid educators in ensuring the safety of their students..."
Click here for additional information.

Madison Public Library terminated its status as a federal depository library on March 16, 2011. As such, we will continue to occasionally post links to federal government publications on this site but they won't be publications from our collection.
Romeo Dais
Madison Public Library
Madison, WI. 53703
4/5/2011

Census History: Civil War Sesquicentennial
"This month begins the sesquicentennial – the 150th anniversary – of the Civil War. The war began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter, near Charleston, SC.

Data collected by the US Census Bureau help paint a portrait of our nation during 1861. For example:

• The censuses of 1850 and 1860 asked questions about freed and escaped slaves, and revealed that more slaves were freed in 1860 than in 1850. In addition, the number of slaves who escaped from Mississippi, Missouri, and Virginia increased in 1860, compared to 1850.

• The 1860 Census, taken before the start of the Civil War, recorded nearly 4 million slaves in the nation..."

Affordable Care Act to improve quality of care for people with Medicare
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released proposed new rules to help doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers better coordinate care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). ACOs create incentives for health care providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings – including doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. The Medicare Shared Savings Program will reward ACOs that lower health care costs while meeting performance standards on quality of care and putting patients first. Patient and provider participation in an ACO is purely voluntary.

The proposed new rules will help doctors, hospitals, and other providers form ACOs and are now available for public comment. HHS also announced it will hold a series of open-door forums and listening sessions during the comment period to help the public understand what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency administering the ACO program, is proposing to do and to ensure that the public understands how to participate in the formal comment process..."