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Daily Archives: December 5, 2007

Lead, Arsenic, Other Harmful Chemicals Found in Popular Toys

Press release: “The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization, today released the results of their testing of 1,200 popular children’s toys for toxic chemicals at www.HealthyToys.org. Working with environmental health groups across the country, the Ecology Center led the development of the site to inform consumers about products they will be purchasing this holiday season. Parents and other holiday shoppers can now easily search by product name, brand, or toy type to learn how the products rate in terms of harmful chemical content.”

  • Healthy Toys Product Action Guide
  • Conyers, House Judiciary Members Introduce Bill to Protect Creative and Intellectual Property Rights

    Press release: “In an effort to strengthen laws protecting creative and intellectual property, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve federal agency enforcement efforts and provide more resources to those efforts. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX), Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and… Continue Reading

    Hearing Examines Executive Pay and Compensation Consultants

    “On Wednesday December 5th the [House Oversight and Government Reform] Committee held a hearing to examine the role played by compensation consultants in determining the pay packages of senior executives at the largest publicly traded corporations. Corporate governance experts, institutional investors, and compensation consulting firms testified regarding the role of consultants in setting executive pay,… Continue Reading

    DHS OIG Audits: Financial Reporting, Financial Controls, USCIS Benefit Fraud Referral Process

    OIG-08-13 – FY 2007 Audit of DHS’ Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (PDF, 7 pages) – New 12/04/2007 OIG-08-12 – Independent Auditor’s Report on DHS’ FY 2007 Financial Statement (PDF, 30 pages) – New 12/04/2007 OIG-08-09 – Review of the USCIS Benefit Fraud Referral Process, (Redacted) (PDF, 74 pages) – New 11/29/2007 Continue Reading

    New GAO Reports: Information on Low-Income Veterans' Housing Conditions, Aviation Runway and Ramp Safety

    Rental Housing: Information on Low-Income Veterans’ Housing Conditions and Participation in HUD’s Programs, GAO-08-324T, December 05, 2007 Aviation Runway and Ramp Safety: Sustained Efforts to Address Leadership, Technology, and Other Challenges Needed to Reduce Accidents and Incidents, GAO-08-29, November 20, 2007: “FAA and aviation stakeholders have taken steps to address runway and ramp safety, including… Continue Reading

    CRS Report – Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism

    Botnets, Cybercrime, and Cyberterrorism: Vulnerabilities and Policy Issues for Congress, Updated November 15, 2007. “Cybercrime is becoming more organized and established as a transnational business. High technology online skills are now available for rent to a variety of customers, possibly including nation states, or individuals and groups that could secretly represent terrorist groups. The increased… Continue Reading

    Bureau of Labor Statistics: Economic and Employment Projections

    Bureau of Labor Statistics: Economic and Employment Projections, December 4, 2007 – “Projections of industry and occupational employment, labor force, and economic growth covering the 2006-16 decade were released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. The 10-year projections are widely used in career guidance, in education and training program… Continue Reading

    FTC Offers Tutorial for Businesses on Protecting Personal Information

    “Protecting the personal information of customers, clients, and employees is good business. The Federal Trade Commission has a new online tutorial to alert businesses and other organizations to practical and low- or no-cost ways to keep data secure. The tutorial, “Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business,” at www.ftc.gov/infosecurity, takes a plain-language, interactive approach to… Continue Reading

    Florida Governor Announces New Initiatives for Open Government

    Press release: “Governor Crist…announced two new open government initiatives that will improve Floridians’ ability to access public documents and meetings. The first initiative involves a Bill of Rights for all Floridians trying to access public records. The list of rights was compiled by the Commission on Open Government, established by the Governor on June 19,… Continue Reading

    States, Cities and Environmental Groups Urge EPA to Reduce Global Warming Pollution from Aircraft

    Press release: “A coalition of environmental groups, states and regional governments filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today urging the agency to address the effects of vast amounts of global warming pollution from the world’s aircraft fleet. The petitions are the first step in a process that requires the EPA to evaluate the current… Continue Reading

    Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007

    Press release: “Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) Tuesday introduced bipartisan, revised legislation to increase government transparency and provide the first major reforms to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in more than a decade. The Senate passed an earlier version of the Leahy-Cornyn bill — the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National… Continue Reading