Homeland Defense: Actions Needed to Improve Management of Air Sovereignty Alert Operations to Protect U.S. Airspace, GAO-09-184, January 27, 2009 Medicare: Callers Can Access 1-800-MEDICARE Services, but Responsibility within CMS for Limited English Proficiency Plan Unclear, GAO-09-104, December 29, 2008 Electronic Health Records: DOD’s and VA’s Sharing of Information Could Benefit from Improved Management, GAO-09-268,… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Report: World Growth Grinds Almost To a Halt, IMF Urges Decisive Global Policy Respons
News release: “World growth is forecast to fall to its lowest level since World War II, with financial markets remaining under stress and the global economy taking a sharp turn for the worse, sending both global output and trade plummeting, the IMF said in its latest assessment of the world economy. “We now expect the… Continue Reading
Data Privacy Day 2009
Intel: “On January 28, 2009, the United States, Canada, and 27 European countries will celebrate Data Privacy Day together for the second time. Designed to raise awareness and generate discussion about data privacy practices and rights, Data Privacy Day activities in the United States have included privacy professionals, corporations, government officials, and representatives, academics, and… Continue Reading
Unimplemented IG Recommendations Costing Taxpayers Billions of Dollars
News release: “The House Oversight Committee asked the nations IGs to identify all recommendations made between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2008 that had not been implemented by federal agencies. The information provided shows that the Bush Administration failed to implement 13,847 recommendations since 2001, which could have saved taxpayers $25.9 billion. Almost half… Continue Reading
CBO: The State of the Economy and Issues in Developing an Effective Policy Response
Testimony, CBO, Statement of Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, The State of the Economy and Issues in Developing an Effective Policy Response before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, January 27, 2009. “The economy is currently enduring a recession that started more than a year ago. CBO projects that, in the absence of… Continue Reading
Treasury Provides Funding to Bolster Healthy, Local Banks
News release: “The U.S. Treasury Department today announced investments of approximately $386 million in 23 banks across the nation as part of its Capital Purchase Program (CPP), a means to directly infuse capital into healthy, viable banks with the goal of increasing the flow of financing available to small businesses and consumers. With additional capital,… Continue Reading
Treasury IG Receives Support of Chairman Frank on Transparency and Accountability
“House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) sent a letter today to the TARP Special Inspector General praising him for his work in providing greater transparency for the TARP Program. Franks letter…is in response to a letter from Inspector General Barofsky, where the IG stated, Specifically, we [Treasury Special Inspector General] will be sending… Continue Reading
Report: Wind Energy Grows by Record 8,300 MW in 2008
The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all previous records in 2008 by installing 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity (enough to serve over 2 million homes), the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today, even as it warned of an uncertain outlook for 2009 due to the continuing financial crisis. The massive growth in… Continue Reading
DOE OIG: Management Controls over Department's Excess Weapons Inventories and Selected Sensitive Equipment used by Protective Forces
Audit Report – Management Controls over the Department’s Excess Weapons Inventories and Selected Sensitive Equipment used by Protective Forces, January 2009. “The Department of Energy (Department) was not always properly managing its excess weapons inventories and and selected high risk/sensitive equipment used by protective forces. Specifically, our testing revealed large inventories of weapons that were… Continue Reading
Recent CRS Reports: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress as a Consumer of Intelligence Information
January 22, 2009 – Proposed Funding for Education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 January 16, 2009 – Health Insurance Continuation Coverage Under COBRA January 16, 2009 – Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policies January 15, 2009 – Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center – Legal Issues: “This report provides an overview of major… Continue Reading
Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy
Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy, Committee on FEMA Flood Maps; Board on Earth Sciences and Resources/Mapping Science Committee; National Research Council, January 2009. “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps portray the height and extent to which flooding is expected to occur, and they form the basis for setting flood insurance… Continue Reading
Assessing the Impacts of Changes in the Information Technology Research and Development Ecosystem
“This report examines changes in the IT R&D ecosystem over the past decade and makes recommendations to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of federally funded information technology research; for the U.S. to remain the strongest generator of and magnet for technical talent; to reduce friction that harms the effectiveness of the U.S. IT R&D ecosystem;… Continue Reading
