Dietary Guidelines for Americansa: 2015-2020, 8th edition

"One of our Government’s most important responsibilities is to protect the health of the American public. Today, about half of all American adults—117 million people—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, many of which are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity. Rates of these chronic, diet-related diseases continue to rise, and they come not only with increased health risks, but also at high cost. In 2008, the medical costs linked to obesity were estimated to be $147 billion. In 2012, the total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes was $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in decreased productivity.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is an essential resource for health professionals and policymakers as they design and implement food and nutrition programs that feed the American people, such as USDA’s National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, which feed more than 30 million children each school day. The Dietary Guidelines also provides information that helps Americans make healthy choices for themselves and their families..."
Dietary guidelines

The Federal Budget in 2015: An Infographic

View a graphic presentation of the United States federal budget with data going back to 1966.
Federal budget

The Animal Welfare Act: Background and Selected Animal Welfare Legislation

"In 1966, Congress passed the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (P.L. 89-54) to prevent pets from being stolen for sale to research laboratories, and to regulate the humane care and handling of dogs, cats, and other laboratory animals. Farm animals are not covered by the AWA. The law was amended in 1970 (P.L. 91-579), changing the name to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Congress periodically amends the act to strengthen enforcement, expand coverage to more animals and activities, or curtail practices viewed as cruel (e.g., animal fighting), among other things. Congress also addresses animal welfare issues through other legislation (e.g., the Horse Protection Act), but the AWA remains the central federal statute governing the humane care and handling of mammals, including marine mammals..."
Animal welfare

Using Data to Improve Defense Acquisitions: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress

"Many analysts believe that data analysis is a critical element in making smart, informed, policy decisions and in managing government programs. Without data, there may not be an appropriate basis for making policy decisions, measuring or assessing the effectiveness of government programs, or providing transparency into government operations. Despite the importance of data, most observers believe that the Department of Defense (DOD), and other government agencies lag behind the private sector in effectively incorporating data analyses into decisionmaking. These analysts argue that by using data more effectively to support acquisition decisionmaking, DOD could save billions of dollars, more efficiently and effectively allocate resources, and improve the effectiveness of military operations.

In FY2014, DOD obligated more than $280 billion for federal contracts, more than all other federal agencies combined. Given the size of the defense budget, Congress has pursued a variety of approaches to improving the efficiency of DOD, such as requiring the department to be auditable, including provisions on acquisition reform in National Defense Authorization Acts, and holding numerous hearings on agency operations and acquisition reform. To the extent that improved data analysis could enable more effective decisionmaking, Congress may opt to conduct oversight in this area and explore ways to enable DOD to conduct more effective data analysis..."
Defense Acquistions

Protect Your Daughters from Cervical Cancer

"HPV vaccination can protect your children from several types of cancers, including cervical cancer. Get HPV vaccine for your sons and daughters at ages 11-12 to protect them from cancers caused by HPV infections.

Every year in the United States, 27,000 women and men are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV—that's a new case of HPV cancer every 20 minutes! About 17,600 of the cases are women, and roughly 4,000 women die from cervical cancer each year in the U.S.—even with screening and treatment..."
Cervical cancer

FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer

"Gun violence has taken a heartbreaking toll on too many communities across the country. Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence—and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place. Over the same period, hundreds of thousands of other people in our communities committed suicide with a gun and nearly half a million people suffered other gun injuries. Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been shot to death protecting their communities. And too many children are killed or injured by firearms every year, often by accident. The vast majority of Americans—including the vast majority of gun owners—believe we must take sensible steps to address these horrible tragedies..."
Gun violence

Sex Discrimination and the United States Supreme Court: Developments in the Law

"In its sex discrimination decisions, the United States Supreme Court not only has defined the applicability of the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution and the nondiscriminatory policies of federal statutes, but also has rejected the use of gender stereotypes and has continued to recognize the discriminatory effect of gender hostility in the workplace and in schools. This report focuses on sex discrimination challenges based on: the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments; the prohibition against employment discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the prohibition against sex discrimination in education contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Although this report focuses on recent legal developments in each of these areas, this report also provides historical context by discussing selected landmark sex discrimination cases..."
Sex discrimination

Data Security and Breach Notification Legislation: Selected Legal Issues

"Recent data breaches at major U.S. retailers have placed a spotlight on concerns about the security of personal information stored in electronic form by corporations and other private entities. A data breach occurs when data containing sensitive personal information is lost, stolen, or accessed in an unauthorized manner, thereby causing a potential compromise of the confidentiality of the data. Existing federal laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, impose security and breach notification requirements on specific industries or types of data. Additionally, 47 states, the District of Columbia (D.C.), and three territories have enacted laws requiring breach notification, while at least 12 states have enacted data security laws, designed to reduce the likelihood of a data breach. Alabama, New Mexico, and South Dakota have not enacted breach notification laws.

Several data security and breach notification bills have been introduced in the 114th Congress, which broadly would impose security and notification requirements on businesses regardless of industry sector, with limited exceptions. This report begins by describing the common elements of these federal proposals and then discusses state laws that may apply in the event of a data breach..."
Data security

Memorandum -- Promoting Smart Gun Technology

"For more than 20 years, the Federal Government has worked to keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks.  This critical effort in addressing gun violence has prevented more than two million prohibited firearms purchases from being completed.  But tens of thousands of people are still injured or killed by firearms every year -- in many cases by guns that were sold legally but then stolen, misused, or discharged accidentally.  Developing and promoting technology that would help prevent these tragedies is an urgent priority...."
Gun technology

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government:Free, Educational Content from GPO for Children and Adults of all Ages

""Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government," a service of the U.S. Government Publishing Office, presents educational content for children and adults of all ages on the workings of the U.S. Government and U.S. history, with a focus on civics. Recently redesigned, the site features all new site content, a device-friendly infrastructure, and a modernized look and feel that has been optimized for an intuitive learning experience..."
Ben's Guide

Concussion Safety

"Concussion Safety Starts with You

For more than a decade, CDC's Injury Center has helped advance the public health response to concussion. Through our HEADS UP campaign, we put concussion educational materials into the hands of coaches, parents, athletes, and school and health care professionals nationwide.

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can make the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging the brain cells. Most children and teens who have a concussion feel better within a couple of weeks. However, for some, symptoms may last for months or longer and can lead to short- and long-term problems affecting how they think, act, learn, and feel..."
Concussion

FCC Releases Fifth "Measuing Broadband America" Report

"The Federal Communications Commission today released the results of its ongoing nationwide performance study of consumers’ fixed broadband Internet access service in its fifth “Measuring Broadband America” report. The report furthers the Commission’s efforts to provide greater transparency about network performance to help consumers make more informed choices about broadband services. This year’s report shows that broadband speed offerings to the average consumer continue to increase at a rapid pace, and broadband service providers generally are delivering actual speeds that meet or exceed advertised speeds. However, results are not uniform across technologies. The report finds a growing disparity in advertised download speeds between many DSL-based broadband services and most cable- and fiber-based broadband services.."
Broadband

Tuberculosis Contact Investigations — United States, 2003–2012

"Mycobacterium tuberculosis is transmitted through the air from an infectious patient (index patient) to other persons (contacts) who share space. Exposure to M. tuberculosis can result in tuberculosis (TB) disease or latent TB infection (LTBI), which has no clinical symptoms or radiologic evidence of disease. The cycle of transmission can be ended by isolating and treating patients with TB disease, examining contacts, and treating LTBI to prevent progression to TB disease. CDC systematically collects aggregate data on contact investigations from the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and Puerto Rico. Data from 2003–2012 were analyzed for trends in yields from contact investigations, in terms of numbers of contacts elicited and examined and the estimated number of TB cases averted through treatment of LTBI among contacts in 2012. During 2003–2012, the number of TB cases decreased, while the number of contacts listed per index patient with contacts elicited increased. In 2012, U.S. public health authorities reported 9,945 cases of TB disease (1) and 105,100 contacts. Among these contacts, 84,998 (80.9%) were examined; TB was diagnosed in 532 (0.6%) and LTBI in 15,411 (18.1%). Among contacts with LTBI, 10,137 (65.8%) started treatment, and 6,689 (43.4% of all contacts with LTBI) completed treatment..."
Tuberculosis

Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses

"Marketers and publishers are using innovative methods to create, format, and deliver digital advertising.  One form is “native advertising,” content that bears a similarity to the news, feature articles, product reviews, entertainment, and other material that surrounds it online.  But as native advertising evolves, are consumers able to differentiate advertising from other content?

The Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits deceptive or unfair practices.  It’s the FTC’s job to ensure that long-standing consumer protection principles apply in the digital marketplace, including to native advertising.  The FTC has issued an Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements that explains how the agency applies established truth-in-advertising standards in this context.  This Guide for Businesses supplements the Enforcement Policy Statement by offering informal guidance from FTC staff to help companies apply the Policy Statement in day-to-day contexts in digital media..."
Native advertising

Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements

"The Federal Trade Commission issues this enforcement policy statement regarding advertising and promotional messages integrated into and presented as non-commercial content. 1 The statement summarizes the principles underlying the Commission’s enforcement actions, advisory opinions, and other guidance over many decades addressing various forms of deceptively formatted advertising..."
Deceptive advertising