Social Security Disability: Better Planning, Management, and Evaluation Could Help Address Backlogs, GAO-08-40, December 7, 2007: “For years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has experienced processing delays and significant backlogs of disability claims. At the end of fiscal year 2006, some 1.5 million disability claims were awaiting a decision. About 576,000 of these claims were backlogged–exceeding the number of claims that should optimally be pending at year-end. In response to the congressional request, GAO (1) examined trends in disability claims backlogs and the time required for SSA to decide a claim, (2) identified key factors contributing to the backlogs and processing times, and (3) described the steps SSA is taking to reduce them. To address these issues, GAO analyzed SSA administrative data, conducted an extensive literature review, interviewed SSA officials as well as key program personnel, and conducted site visits in three SSA regions.”
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Daily Archives: January 7, 2008
UK Report: National Security for the Twenty-First Century
Current notions of defence, foreign affairs, intelligence and development are redundant in the new security environment… National Security for the Twenty-first Century, Charlie Edwards, DEMOS: “The government remains structured around functions and services with separate budgets for defence, foreign affairs, intelligence and development. Whitehall departments, intelligence agencies and the police forces that make up the… Continue Reading
Federal Fish and Wildlife Statement for Polar Bear Decision
Press release: “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working diligently to reach a final decision on the proposal to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We expect to provide a final recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior and finalize the decision within the next month.” Related… Continue Reading
CBO Monthly Budget Review – January 2008
CBO Monthly Budget Review – January 2008: “The federal budget deficit was about $107 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, CBO estimatesabout $27 billion more than in the same period last year. Outlays have risen by 9 percent compared with their level in the first three months of 2007, whereas revenues have… Continue Reading
FBI Releases Preliminary Crime Statistics for January-June 2007
Press release: “According to the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report released today, the nation experienced a 1.8 percent decrease in violent crime and a 2.6 percent decrease in property crime during the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The report is based on information from law enforcement agencies… Continue Reading
CBO: Society of Government Economists Distinguished Lecture on Economics
Society of Government Economists Distinguished Lecture on Economics, Peter R. Orszag, January 5, 2008 (25 pages, PDF) Continue Reading
White House: Fact Sheet: Six Years of Student Achievement Under No Child Left Behind
Fact Sheet: Six Years of Student Achievement Under No Child Left Behind, January 7, 2008 “The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law in January 2002 and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Under this legislation, the Commissioner of Education Statistics is to conduct national and state NAEP assessments… Continue Reading
Upcoming Conference Providing Guidance on Newly Enacted Amendments to the FOIA
“On January 16, 2008, the Office of Information and Privacy (OIP), Department of Justice, will host a conference on the newly enacted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act. Entitled the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007,” the bill was signed into law by the President on Monday, December 31, 2007.… Continue Reading
Spartans in Darkness: American SIGINT and the Indochina War
Via Secrecy News, “this 2002 study was released in response to a Mandatory Declassification Review request filed by Michael Ravnitzky”: Spartans in Darkness: American SIGINT and the Indochina War, 1945-1975 by Robert J. Hanyok, Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2002. Continue Reading
Consumer Product Safety Commission Creating Import Surveillance division
CongressNow.com reports: “Facing mounting criticism from Congress and consumer advocates, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is creating a new organization to inspect foreign imports as well as a new system to warn consumers more quickly about potentially defective and dangerous products, CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord said today. According to Nord, speaking at the National Press… Continue Reading
The Home Energy Saver
“The Home Energy Saver is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. The Home Energy Saver was the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),… Continue Reading
Get Coupons to Convert your TV from Analog to Digital
Follow up to January 2, 2008 posting, U.S. Households Can Now Request Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons, the TV Converter Program Website: “On February 17, 2009, television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. At that time, you can watch TV using one of the following options:… Continue Reading
