OIG-08-89 – Letter Report: DHS Compliance with Prepackaged News Prohibition (PDF, 10 pages) OIG-08-88 – Hurricane Katrina Temporary Housing Technical Assistance Contracts (PDF, 29 pages) Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: September 2008
Council on Foreign Relations: Securing Pakistan's Tribal Belt
Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt, by Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations Press, July/August 2008 “What is at stake is considerable by any measure. Pakistan is the worlds second-most-populous Muslim-majority country, with nearly 170 million people. It shares borders with Afghanistan, where U.S. and allied forces are struggling… Continue Reading
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Issues Report on Major Banks Helping Non-U.S. Clients Dodge U.S. Dividend Taxes
News release: “At a Thursday hearing entitled, Dividend Tax Abuse: How Offshore Entities Dodge Taxes on U.S. Stock Dividends, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will examine how some financial institutions have designed, marketed, and implemented transactions to enable foreign taxpayers, including offshore hedge funds, to dodge millions of dollars of taxes on U.S. stock… Continue Reading
Comments on Financial Regulation in a System Context, Beyond Leveraged Losses…
Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn – Comments on Financial Regulation in a System Context, Beyond Leveraged Losses: The Balance Sheet Effects of the Home Price Downturn, and The Central Role of House Prices in the Financial Crisis: How Will the Market Clear? At the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity, Washington, D.C. September… Continue Reading
SSA OIG: Dually Entitled Beneficiaries who are Subject to Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision
Dually Entitled Beneficiaries who are Subject to Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision, A-09-07-27010, September 10, 2008. “The Social Security Act includes two provisions that reduce Social Security monthly benefits paid to individuals who receive a pension based on Federal, State, or local government employment that was not covered by Social Security. The… Continue Reading
Staff Report on Commodity Swap Dealers & Index Traders with Commission Recommendations
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Staff Report on Commodity Swap Dealers & Index Traders with Commission Recommendations, September 2008 “Major changes in the composition of futures market participants have developed over the last 20 years. Specifically, there has been an influx of new traders into the market commodity index traders (including pension and endowment funds)… Continue Reading
Federal Financial Institution Regulators Announce Availability of 2007 Data on Mortgage Lending
News release: “The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of 2007 data on mortgage lending transactions throughout the nation at 8,610 financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Covered institutions include, but are not limited to, banks, savings associations, credit unions, and independent mortgage companies. The HMDA data… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: NASA Workforce, Upcoming Transition, >Veterans Health Administration, PBGC, Next Gen Air Transport System
NASA Workforce: Briefing on National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Use of Term Appointments, GAO-08-920R, September 10, 2008 The Upcoming Transition: GAO’s Efforts to Assist the 111th Congress and the Next Administration, GAO-08-1153T, September 10, 2008 Veterans Health Administration: Improvements Needed in Design of Controls over Miscellaneous Obligations, GAO-08-976, September 11, 2008 Health Resources and Services… Continue Reading
Safecar.gov : Defects and Recalls – Safe Driving Information
According to AP, this new government database “allows consumers to look up the number of alleged deaths, injuries and cases of property damage involving passenger vehicles.” Safecar.gov is the nation’s premier source of vehicle safety information from the government, serving the public interest.” Continue Reading
First Beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
News release: “The first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN [the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world’s leading laboratory for particle physics] was successfully steered around the full 27 kilometres of the worlds most powerful particle accelerator at 10h28 this morning. This historic event marks a key moment in the transition… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Aviation Security, DCAA Audits, Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Federal Real Property
Assessment of the Explanation That Immigration and Customs Enforcement Provided for Its Subsequent Transfer from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, GAO-08-846R, September 9, 2008 Aviation Security: TSA Is Enhancing Its Oversight of Air Carrier Efforts to Identify Passengers on the No Fly and Selectee Lists, but Expects Ultimate Solution to Be Implementation of Secure Flight, GAO-08-992,… Continue Reading
Interior OIG Investigations of Minerals Management Service Employees
“This memorandum conveys the final results of three separate Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations into allegations against more than a dozen current and former Minerals Management Service (MMS) employees. In the case of one former employee, Jimmy Mayberry, he has already pled guilty to a criminal charge. The cases against former employees, Greg Smith… Continue Reading
