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Daily Archives: March 11, 2009

CBO: Using Pricing to Reduce Traffic Congestion

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Using Pricing to Reduce Traffic Congestion, March 2009

  • “Congestion costs highway users billions of dollars every year. Although policymakers have adopted a variety of strategies for reducing or mitigating congestion, relatively little attention has been paid to policies to promote more efficient use of the highway system. One such policy is congestion pricing, under which drivers are charged a higher price for use of a highway at times or places with heavy traffic and a lower price in the opposite circumstances. This study—prepared at the request of the Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget—explains how congestion pricing works, reviews the best available evidence on projects that make use of such pricing in order to assess the benefits and challenges of the approach, and discusses federal policy options for encouraging congestion pricing.”

    • News GAO Reports: Clean Coal, Forest Service, IRS Business Systems Modernization, TARP

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    Clean Coal: DOE Should Prepare a Comprehensive Analysis of the Relative Costs, Benefits, and Risks of a Range of Options for FutureGen, GAO-09-465T, March 11, 2009 Clean Coal: DOE’s Decision to Restructure FutureGen Should Be Based on a Comprehensive Analysis of Costs, Benefits, and Risks, GAO-09-248, February 13, 2009 Forest Service: Emerging Issues Highlight the… Continue Reading

    Hearing on Assessing Treasury's Efforts at Preventing Waste and Abuse of TARP Funds

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    “The purpose of this hearing [was] to assess Treasury’s oversight of the use of funds by financial institutions provided under the TARP. The hearing…evaluate[d] Treasury’s data collection procedures for monitoring the use of TARP funds allocated under the Capital Purchase Program, the largest TARP program. The hearing…also examine[d] Treasury’s ability to detect and prevent waste… Continue Reading

    Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly)

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    Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary: “Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in January. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, while all states and the District of Columbia had higher rates than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of… Continue Reading

    Recovery Act Implementation – Improving Grants.gov and Other Critical Systems

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    OMB Memoranda: M-09-14, Recovery Act Implementation – Improving Grants.gov and Other Critical Systems (March 9, 2009) “Effective implementation of the Recovery Act is a critical part of the effort to jumpstart economic activity and a top priority for the Administration. Central to carrying out the provisions of the Recovery Act with unprecedented levels of transparency… Continue Reading

    Poll: 21% of U.S. Residents Report Trouble Paying Medical, Drug Bills in 2008

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    Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report: “Twenty-one percent of U.S. residents reported having difficulty paying for needed medical care or medications in December 2008, up from 18% in January 2008, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, USA Today reports. The poll, conducted by Gallup and disease management company Healthways, surveyed an estimated 1,000 U.S. residents each… Continue Reading

    ACLU Releases Report On Patriot Act Abuses

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    News release: “The American Civil Liberties Union released a comprehensive report today examining widespread abuses that have occurred under the USA Patriot Act, a law that was rushed through Congress just 45 days after September 11. In the almost eight years since the passage of the controversial national security law, the Patriot Act has led… Continue Reading