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Daily Archives: November 29, 2010

White House Fact Sheet: Cutting the Deficit by Freezing Federal Employee Pay

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“..the President has decided to propose a freeze in civilian pay for federal employees for two years, 2011 and 2012.

  • This two-year pay freeze will save $2 billion for the remainder of FY 2011, $28 billion over the next five years, and more than $60 billion over the next 10 years.
  • It will apply to all civilian federal employees, including those in various alternative pay plans and those working at the Department of Defense – but not military personnel.
  • This was a decision that was not made lightly. From the doctors and nurses who care for our veterans to the scientists searching for better treatments and cures, the men and women who care for our national parks, and the thousands who make sure that the Social Security check is in the mail and that students get their scholarships, federal workers serve their fellow Americans. They do so often with great sacrifice and motivated by a patriotic love for their country. This freeze is not to punish federal workers or to disrespect the work that they do. It is the first of many actions we will take in the upcoming budget to put our nation on sound fiscal footing – which will ask for some sacrifice from us all.”
  • Related postings on financial system

Retired Associate Supreme Court Justice's Book Review on America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition

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New York Review of Books, On the Death Sentence, John Paul Stevens’ review of Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition, by David Garland “Garland’s argument is historical and contemporary. Chapters 2–6 situate the modern American death penalty within US and European histories of capital punishment. On both continents, capital punishment has… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports: Energy-Water Nexus, Federal Oil and Gas Leases, Forest Service Research and Development

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Energy-Water Nexus: A Better and Coordinated Understanding of Water Resources Could Help Mitigate the Impacts of Potential Oil Shale Development, GAO-11-35, October 29, 2010 Federal Oil and Gas Leases: Opportunities Exist to Capture Vented and Flared Natural Gas, Which Would Increase Royalty Payments and Reduce Greenhouse Gases, GAO-11-34, October 29, 2010 Forest Service Research and… Continue Reading

EPA finalizes 2011 Standards for the Renewable Fuel Standards program

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News release: “EPA is finalizing the volume requirements and associated percentage standards that will apply under the RFS2 program in calendar year 2011 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. The standards will ensure that transportation fuel sold in the United States contains a minimum volume of renewable fuel as required… Continue Reading

Roadmap for New Physicians: Avoiding Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse

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“HHS OIG conducted a survey to learn what types of instruction medical students, residents, and fellows receive on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse. OIG developed a document that summarizes the five main Federal fraud and abuse laws and provides tips on how physicians should comply with these laws. Take a look at the… Continue Reading

New Affordable Care Act rules give consumers better value for insurance premiums

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News release: “New regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) require health insurers to spend 80 to 85 percent of consumers’ premiums on direct care for patients and efforts to improve care quality. This regulation, known as the “medical loss ratio” provision of the Affordable Care Act, will make the insurance… Continue Reading

Confronting Space Debris Strategies and Warnings from Comparable Examples Including Deepwater Horizon

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Rand – Confronting Space Debris, Strategies and Warnings from Comparable Examples Including Deepwater Horizon, by Dave Baiocchi, William Welser, IV “Orbital debris represents a growing threat to the operation of man-made systems in space. There are currently hundreds of thousands of debris objects greater than one centimeter in diameter in Earth’s orbit, and the collision… Continue Reading

EU Comparative Study on Work Related Stress

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“This report, Work-related stress, examines the issue of work-related stress in the 27 EU Member States and Norway. Studies capturing data on work-related stress in individual countries differ in terms of their scope, methodology and coverage. The main risk factors for work-related stress include heavy workload, long working hours, lack of control and autonomy at… Continue Reading

OECD: Health: Improving health care efficiency is key to curbing spiraling costs

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Summary: “Governments must make their health care systems more efficient if they are to maintain quality of care without putting further stress on public finances, according to a new OECD report. In Health Care Systems: Efficiency and Policy Settings, the OECD warns that cash-strapped governments no longer have the option of boosting spending to improve… Continue Reading