Costs and Policy Options for Federal Student Loan Programs, March 2010 “The federal government helps students finance higher education through two major loan programsone that guarantees loans made by private lenders and one that makes loans directly to borrowers. The two programs offer similar types of loans on similar terms to borrowers, but they differ… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Monthly Archives: March 2010
Pew Survey: Public Divided Over Local Gun Bans And Broader Issue of Gun Control
Public Divided Over State, Local Laws Banning Handguns – Since 2008, Increased Support for Gun Rights, March 23, 2010 “The public is divided over whether state and local governments should be able to pass laws banning the sale and possession of handguns. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the next few months on… Continue Reading
CBO – Federal Climate Change Programs: Funding History and Policy Issues
Federal Climate Change Programs: Funding History and Policy Issues, March 2010 “In recent years, the federal government has allocated several billion dollars annually for projects to expand the understanding of climate change or to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Most of that spending is done by the Department of Energy (DOE) and… Continue Reading
Civil Engineering: The Infrastructure Crisis
ASCE & American Society of Civil Engineers Special Report – The Infrastructure Crisis, by Robert L. Reid “The collapse last summer of the Minneapolis bridge that carried Interstate 35W over the Mississippi trained a spotlight on a long-standing national problem: how years of neglect, underfunding, and a lack of leadership and vision allowed Americas infrastructure… Continue Reading
Mortgage Loan Modifications and Refinance Volume Increased in January
News release and data charts: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed more than 73,300 permanent mortgage loan modifications through January under the Administrations Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, also increased, as the percentage of total monthly refinance volume increased to nearly 12.7 of all refinancings in January. The… Continue Reading
State and Local Public Employee Retirement Systems Assets Drop Nearly $180 Billion in 2008 Census Bureau Reports
News release: “The nations state and local government employee retirement systems totaled $3.2 trillion in holdings and assets in 2008, a loss of $178.8 billion, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. These data come from the 2008 State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems Survey, which provides an annual look at… Continue Reading
Housing Program Enhancements Offer Additional Options for Struggling Homeowners
Refinements to Existing Administration Programs Designed to Help Unemployed, Underwater Borrowers While Helping Administration Meet its Goals: “…as part of its ongoing commitment to continuously improve housing relief efforts, the Administration announced adjustments to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. These program adjustments will better assist responsible… Continue Reading
2010 Worlds Most Ethical Companies
Ethisphere: “The Worlds Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business ethically and translate those words into action. WME honorees demonstrate real and sustained ethical leadership within their industries, putting into real business practice the Institutes credo of Good. Smart. Business. Profit. There is no set number of… Continue Reading
UK Prime Minister's Speech on Building Britain's Digital Future
A transcript of a speech given by the Prime Minister on Building Britains Digital Future in London on 22 March 2010. “I want Britain to be the world leader in the digital economy which will create over a quarter of a million skilled jobs by 2020; the world leader in public service delivery where we… Continue Reading
FDA Transparency Task Force
Resource page: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has formed a task force to develop recommendations for making useful and understandable information about FDA activities and decision making more readily available to the public in a timely manner and in a user-friendly format. The Task Force is seeking public opinion on how to make the… Continue Reading
FDA Orders 2 Companies to Stop Marketing Unapproved Nitroglycerin Tablets
News release: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today ordered Glenmark Generics of Mahwah, N.J., and Konec Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., to stop marketing unapproved nitroglycerin tablets. The tablets are placed under the tongue to relieve chest pain or to stop a heart attack and are marketed in 0.3 mg, 0.4 mg, and 0.6 mg… Continue Reading
Political Considerations Another Facet of Google's Decision to Exit China
Follow up to Google Discontinues Censored Search in Mainland China and An Interview with David Drummond of Google about the company’s new policies in China, additional perspective as follows: New York Times, Google Searches for a Foreign Policy:”When Google announced last week that it would shut its censored online search service in China, it was… Continue Reading
