Defense Logistics – Improvements Needed to Enhance Oversight of Estimated Long-term Costs for Operating and Supporting Major Weapon Systems, GAO-12-340, February 2, 2012 “DODs reports to Congress on estimated weapon system O&S costs are often inconsistent and sometimes unreliable, limiting visibility needed for effective oversight of these costs. The SAR statute requires that life-cycle cost… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2012
EPIC Seeks Public Release of Google's Privacy Report
“EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Federal Trade Commission for the Privacy Report that Google was recently required to submit to the agency. The Commission had previously investigated Google after EPIC filed a complaint regarding Google’s Buzz product, which transformed private user contacts into publicly available social network data. Last… Continue Reading
The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke – The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation, Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. February 2, 2012 “Globally, economic activity appears to be slowing, restrained in part by spillovers from fiscal and financial developments in Europe. The combination of high debt levels and weak… Continue Reading
Pew: Why most Facebook users get more than they give
Report: Social Networking, Web 2.0 – Why most Facebook users get more than they give by Keith Hampton, Lauren Sessions Goulet, Cameron Marlow, Lee Rainie. February 3, 2012 “The typical Facebook user in our sample was moderately active over our month of observation, in their tendency to send friend requests, add content, and like the… Continue Reading
Report Identifies and Prioritizes Key Technologies for NASA
NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities: Restoring NASAs Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space, January 2012 News release: “During the next five years, NASA technology development efforts should focus on 16 high-priority technologies and their associated top technical challenges, says a new report from the National Research Council. In… Continue Reading
World Bank – Executive Pay and the Financial Crisis
Executive Pay and the Financial Crisis, Lucian Bebchuk, January 31, 2012 “Yes, there is a good basis for concern that executive pay arrangements have contributed to excessive risk-taking during the run-up to the financial crisis. To be sure, other factors were clearly at work: the environment within which firms operated grew riskier due to asset… Continue Reading
Report – Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action
Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action, Institute of Medicine, January 31, 2012 “The epidemic of chronic illness which represents 75 percent of the $2 trillion in annual U.S. health care spending is steadily moving toward crisis proportions, yet maintaining or enhancing quality of life for individuals living with… Continue Reading
SBA Report – Small Business GDP: Update 2002-2010
Small Business GDP: Update 2002-2010, January 2012. “Despite producing a somewhat smaller share of the overall GDP than it did a decade ago, small businesses continue to be incubators for innovation and employment growth during the current recovery. Small businesses produced 46 percent of the private nonfarm gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 (the most… Continue Reading
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022
The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022. January 2012 “Each January, CBO prepares baseline budget projections spanning the next 10 years. Those projections are not a forecast of future events; rather, they are intended to provide a benchmark against which potential policy changes can be measured. Therefore, as specified in law, those… Continue Reading
FHFA Announces Interested Investors May Pre-Qualify For Real-Estate Owned Initiative
News release: “The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the first step of a Real-Estate Owned (REO) Initiative targeted to hardest-hit metropolitan areas announced in August 2011. Investors interested in participating may pre-qualify to establish eligibility to bid on transactions in the initial pilot phase as well as subsequent phases. The REO Initiative will… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Iran Sanctions Act, OPM Retirement Modernization, Selling Iran Refined Petroleum Products
International Affairs Actions to Enforce the Iran Sanctions Act and Implement Contractor Certification Requirement, GAO-12-316R, January 24, 2012 Designing Evaluations 2012 Revision, GAO-12-208G, January 31, 2012 International Affairs Firms Reported in Open Sources to Have Sold Iran Refined Petroleum Products Declined Since June 30, 2010, GAO-12-321R, January 24, 2012 OPM Retirement Modernization, Progress Has Been… Continue Reading
A Guide to the Supreme Court's Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law
A Guide to the Supreme Courts Review of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law, January 12, 2012 “With the Supreme Court preparing to hear oral arguments about challenges to the 2010 Affordable Care Act in March 2012, this Kaiser Family Foundation brief serves as a primer on the pending case, which challenges the constitutionality both… Continue Reading
