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Monthly Archives: July 2008

Senate Passes American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

Follow up to July 23, 2008 posting on the House passage of H.R. 3221, on July 26 the Senate passed the bill, which now goes to the President for signature. CBS/AP: “Congress approved mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners Saturday as part of an election-year housing plan that also aims to calm jittery financial markets… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Government Performance, Public Transportation, Processing Nuclear Material, USPS,

Government Performance: 2007 Federal Managers Survey on Performance and Management Issues: (GAO-08-1036SP, July 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-1026T, GAO-08-1036SP, July 24, 2008 Government Performance: Lessons Learned for the Next Administration on Using Performance Information to Improve Results, GAO-08-1026T, July 24, 2008 Nuclear Material: DOE Needs to Take Action to Reduce Risks Before Processing Additional Nuclear… Continue Reading

Annual Report to Congress on the Information Sharing Environment

“This second Annual Report to the Congress on the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) describes the state of the ISE, highlights areas where there has been measurable progress in improving information sharing, and demonstrates the value of the ISE to the Nation’s broader counterterrorism (CT) mission. In particular, the President’s October 2007 National Strategy for Information… Continue Reading

Interior OIG Final Audit Report – Abandoned Mine Lands in the Department of the Interior

Final Audit Report, Abandoned Mine Lands in the Department of the Interior, July 2008 (No. C-IN-MOA-0004-2007) “This final report presents the results of our audit of abandoned mine lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS). We visited approximately 45 areas with abandoned mines from March 2007 through April… Continue Reading

DOD OIG Report on National Defense Authorization Act for FY08

D-2008-111 DoD IG Report to Congress on Section 324 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Review of DoD Guidelines on Considering Civilians for New and Contracted Functions, July 23, 2008 (Project No. D2008-D000CH-0165.000) “Section 343 of the FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Act required DoD to issue guidelines and procedures for… Continue Reading

HHS and DHS Announce Guidance on Pandemic Vaccination Allocation

News release: “The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) released [a] guidance on allocating and targeting pandemic influenza vaccine. The guidance provides a planning framework to help state, tribal, local and community leaders ensure that vaccine allocation and use will reduce the impact of a pandemic on public health… Continue Reading

FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair Reiterates Promise of Deposit Insurance

FDIC’s Depositor’s Bill of Rights “You have the right to automatic deposit insurance coverage when you open a deposit account at an FDIC-insured bank, with no additional cost or action on your part. You have the right to separate FDIC insurance coverage for deposits held at different FDIC-insured banks. You have the right to confirm… Continue Reading

EPA OIG: Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs Have Limited Potential

08-P-0206 Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs Have Limited Potential, [Report PDF – 40 pages], July 23, 2008. “The set of voluntary GHG programs we reviewed use outreach efforts to recruit program partners and reduce GHG emissions. We found the greatest barriers to participation were the perceived emission reduction costs and reporting requirements. We also found… Continue Reading

DOD OIG: Accountability for Defense Security Service Assets With Personally Identifiable Information

D-2008-114 Accountability for Defense Security Service Assets With Personally Identifiable Information, July 24, 2008 (Project No. D2007-D000LC-00042.000) “DSS management in place during the transfer of the personnel security investigation function to OPM created a lack of accountability for assets, posing an undue risk of compromising [Personally Identifiable Information] PII for military, civilian, and contractor employees… Continue Reading

CBO: Evidence on the Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology

Evidence on the Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology July 24, 2008 – Testimony before the Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives. “This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis focuses on evidence about the benefits and costs of health IT and identifies and analyzes barriers to its adoption. Research… Continue Reading

Study Analyzing Web Sites For User-Visible Security Design Flaws

InformationWeek: ” “More than three-quarters of bank Web sites have design flaws that could expose bank customers to financial loss or identity theft, according to a University of Michigan study that will be presented this week at the Symposium on Usable Security and Privacy. The study, Analyzing Web Sites For User-Visible Security Design Flaws, examined… Continue Reading