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Daily Archives: January 11, 2011

Final Report Issued by National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

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Deep Water – The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling Report to the President, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, January 2011 [Note: GPO has also published this report, here]

  • “…the disaster in the Gulf undermined public faith in the energy industry, government regulators, and even our own capability as a nation to respond to crises. It is our hope that a thorough and rigorous accounting, along with focused suggestions for reform, can begin the process of restoring confidence. There is much at stake, not only for the people directly affected in the Gulf region, but for the American people at large. The tremendous resources that exist within our outer continental shelf belong to the nation as a whole. The federal government’s authority over the shelf is accordingly plenary, based on its power as both the owner of the resources and in its regulatory capacity as sovereign to protect public health, safety, and welfare. To be allowed to drill on the outer continental shelf is a privilege to be earned, not a private right to be exercised.”

    • U.S. Census Bureau Releases 130th Edition of Federal Government's Best-Selling Reference Book

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    News release: “Metropolitan population growth is just one of more than a thousand topics addressed in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011. The Abstract is perennially the federal government’s best-selling reference book. When it was first published in 1878, the nation had only 38 states, people usually got around using… Continue Reading

    EPA Issues Guidance for Enhanced Monitoring of Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water

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    News release: “Today, the agency…has issued guidance recommending how public water systems might enhance monitoring and sampling programs specifically for hexavalent chromium. The recommendations are in response to emerging scientific evidence that chromium-6 could pose health concerns if consumed over long periods of time…The enhanced monitoring guidance provides recommendations on where the systems should collect… Continue Reading

    CRS: Screening and Securing Air Cargo: Background and Issues for Congress Bart Elias Specialist in Aviation Policy

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    Screening and Securing Air Cargo: Background and Issues for Congress, Bart Elias, Specialist in Aviation Policy. December 2, 2010 “The October 2010 discovery of two explosive devices being prepared for loading on U.S.-bound all-cargo aircraft overseas has heightened concerns over the potential use of air cargo shipments to bomb passenger and all-cargo aircraft. The incidents… Continue Reading

    The Private Security Industry: A Review of the Definitions, Available Data Sources, and Paths Moving Forward

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    The Private Security Industry: A Review of the Definitions, Available Data Sources, and Paths Moving Forward – Literature Review and Secondary Data Analysis Prepared, December 2010 “The private security industry is a crucial component of security and safety in the United States and abroad. Today, private security is responsible not only for protecting many of… Continue Reading

    FT: Global Regulators Quietly Agree to Target Credit Bubbles

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    Via CNBC: “Banking regulators have quietly taken a major step towards harmonised global regulation by agreeing to raise worldwide capital requirements whenever an individual country declares a credit bubble. Part of the larger Basel III banking reform package, the “countercyclical capital buffer” heralds a step change in the way national banking regulators interact and is… Continue Reading

    Drupal open-source web content management system chosen for more than 500 House of Representatives sites

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    Sources Sought: “The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the United States House of Representatives seeks vendors experienced with web design, development and support using Drupal, the open-source web content management system. This is a source selection process only. The CAO will not be making any contract awards during this process. The CAO has established a… Continue Reading

    Education Week’s Annual Survey – Quality Counts

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    News release: “At a time of persistent turbulence for America’s economy and schools, Quality Counts has continued its long-standing mission of regularly evaluating the status of states’ educational performance and policymaking. This 15th edition of Education Week’s annual report issues summative scores and letter grades to the states and features newly updated analysis from the… Continue Reading

    Final report: assessment of macroeconomic impact of the transition to stronger capital and liquidity requirements

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    “The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) concluded their assessment of the macroeconomic impact of the transition to the new bank capital and liquidity standards. The assessment, produced by the joint FSB-BCBS Macroeconomic Assessment Group (MAG) in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, is summarised in the MAG’s final… Continue Reading