News release: “No U.S. state is meeting national objectives for consumption of fruits and vegetables, according to the first report to provide statebystate data about fruit and vegetable consumption and policies that may help Americans eat more fruits and vegetables. State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 was released today by the Centers for… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: September 2009
New GAO Reports: Crime Victims' Rights Act, Debt Management, Federal Contracting, Combating Terrorism
Crime Victims’ Rights Act: Increasing Victim Awareness and Clarifying Applicability to the District of Columbia Will Improve Implementation of the Act, GAO-09-1024T, September 29, 2009 Debt Management: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Should Play a Heightened Role in Addressing Debt Management Challenges, GAO-09-932, September 29, 2009 Federal Contracting: Observations on the Government’s Contracting Data Systems, GAO-09-1032T,… Continue Reading
FHFA Refinance Report Underscores Impact of Interest Rates on Refinance Volumes
News release and report: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinanced more than 3.2 million mortgage loans in 2009 through August of this year. In the month of August alone, nearly 360,000 mortgages were refinanced. The numbers were announced today by Edward J. DeMarco, Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in its monthly… Continue Reading
Census Releases Data on Cities and Poverty Rates
Current Population Survey (CPS), 2009 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), the source of official poverty estimates: “The official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This was the first statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004, when poverty increased to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent… Continue Reading
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Dips in September
News release: “The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had improved in August, dipped in September. The Index now stands at 53.1 (1985=100), down from 54.5 in August. The Present Situation Index decreased to 22.7 from 25.4. The Expectations Index declined to 73.3 from 73.8 last month.” Related postings on financial system Continue Reading
Ice-dependent Arctic Seals Advance Toward Endangered Species Act Protection
News release: “A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requiring the agency to decide whether ice-dependent ringed, bearded, and spotted seals deserve legal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Under the settlement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must make a… Continue Reading
BJS: Contract Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005
Contract Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005: “Presents findings on contract cases disposed of by a bench or jury trial in a nationally representative sample of jurisdictions in 2005. Topics in the report include the types of cases that proceed to trial, differences between the types of cases decided by judges or juries,… Continue Reading
Pew : Quantifying the Effects on Lending of Increased Capital Requirements
Pew Financial Reform Project Briefing Paper# 7 – Quantifying the cost on lending of increased capital requirements, Douglas J. Elliott. “The analysis presented here strongly suggests that the U.S. banking industry could adjust to higher capital requirements on loans through a combination of actions that would not wreak havoc on the system. Not surprisingly, the… Continue Reading
HHS OIG: Review of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Formula Allocations
Review of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Formula Allocations, September 24, 2009, Audit Report No.: 2009-FO-0006 “We performed an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) formula-based allocations related to five programs funded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to satisfy the Recovery Act mandate that… Continue Reading
GPO Announces Additional Federal Digital System Collections Digitally Signed
“The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is pleased to announce that the List of CFR Sections Affected, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, and Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents collections have been authenticated with digital signatures and are currently available on the Federal Digital System (FDsys). GPO is also in the process of digitally signing the… Continue Reading
FBI's Investigation's Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator Program
DOJ OIG – The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator Program, Audit Report 09-36, September 2009 “In part to improve its information-sharing capabilities within the greater U.S. Intelligence Community, the FBI is in the process of implementing a new organizational framework and intelligence process to catalyze the production of timely and actionable… Continue Reading
Recent CRS Reports: Congress and Twitter, Wildfire Fuels, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Older Workers, Climate Change
September 21, 2009 – Social Networking and Constituent Communication: Member Use of Twitter During a Two-Week Period in the 111th Congress September 16, 2009 – FEMA Disaster Housing: From Sheltering to Permanent Housing September 16, 2009 – Wildfire Fuels and Fuel Reduction September 16, 2009 – F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background and Issues… Continue Reading
