FDA Provides Updates on Peanut Recall

This morning I slathered peanut butter onto my toast. Soon thereafter, a Democracy Now! broadcast reminded me that the Food & Drug Administration had recalled numerous peanut butter products after discovering that a Georgia peanut plant had knowingly shipped salmonella-tainted foods over the past two years. You can read a transcript or listen to the broadcast on the Democracy Now! website.

Consumers should visit the FDA's website for the latest guidelines and updates on an FDA/CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) investigation, which indicates that the source of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium is peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America at its plant in Blakely, Georgia. CDC information on the salmonella outbreak can be found here.

Wondering what products you should eliminate from your pantry or refrigerator? On this FDA web page you can browse a list of recalled products or search for items by brand name, UPC code, or product description. The FDA is also posting recall updates on its Twitter page and an RSS feed.

Food contamination has been in the international spotlight in the last several months--see our September blog post on melamine contamination in China.

For additional resources about food safety issues, check out our guide to Food Supply.

Economic Stimulus Bill

Today the house votes on the economic stimulus bill, also known as HR 1, Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. That link will take you to the bill on Thomas, but I thought it might be useful to see some of the other sites, both governmental and non-governmental tracking this bill:

• White House: Economy The new Obama administration has put up a page on the Economy. This page lists statements by the president on the plan and his inauguration speech. For current statements and actions, check out the blog.
• The Stimulus Plan: Where the Money Would Go This site has a java applet that lets you explore the areas where the money in the plan will go and how it will be spent. ProPublica is a nonprofit group that focuses on investigative journalism.
• OpenCongress: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 This site gathers information on amendments and actions on the bill as well as news reports. It allows you to vote for or against the bill as well as comment. OpenCongress is a nonprofit group that works to provide Congressional information easier to understand and respond to by citizens.
• Political Browser This page from the Washington Post gathers the days hot political news into one place and links out to other articles from additional news sources. Right now the top story is the stimulus, but as the day progresses it will shift.
• Fox News: Politics This page from Fox News gathers the Fox stories on the top political stories of the day. Right now it has a number of articles on the republican response to the stimulus plan.
  

Want more information on the legislative process? Why not check out the library's Congress and Legislation guide.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports

Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This week only brings us a number of CRS reports on presidential power, nuclear weapons, and much more. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by OpenCRS:

• Aviation and Climate Change
• Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations
• Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policies
• Education of Limited English Proficient and Recent Immigrant Students: Provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• Federal Employees: Pay and Pension Increases Since 1969
• GAO: Government Accountability Office and General Accounting Office
• Great Lakes Water Withdrawals: Legal and Policy Issues
• House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison
• Inequality in the Distribution of Income: Trends and International Comparisons
• Insurance Regulation: History, Background, and Recent Congressional Oversight
• Israel and the Palestinians: Prospects for a Two-State Solution
• K-12 Education: Special Forms of Flexibility in the Administration of Federal Aid Programs
• Medical Malpractice Insurance: An Economic Introduction and Review of Historical Experience
• Pesticide Registration and Tolerance Fees: Overview
• Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status
• Projections of FY2009 Federal SCHIP Allotments Under CHIPRA 2009
• Proposed Funding for Education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses
• Revising Insurance Regulation: Policy Considerations
• Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act: Reauthorization and Appropriations
• Sino-Japanese Relations: Issues for U.S. Policy
• State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2009 Appropriations
• States and Proposed Economic Recovery Plans
• Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India, and Implications for U.S. Interests
• The Executive Office of the President: An Historical Overview
• The Federal Budget: Current and Upcoming Issues
• The Global Financial Crisis: The Role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• The Marines' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV): Background and Issues for Congress
• The OECD Initiative on Tax Havens
• Water Infrastructure Project Earmarks in EPA Appropriations: Trends and Policy Implications

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as bankruptcy, the Endangered Species Act, and modernizing the financial regulatory system. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Bankruptcy: Judiciary Should Take Further Steps to Make Bankruptcy Data More Accessible. GAO-09-28, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-28
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0928high.pdf
  
• Federal User Fees: Additional Analyses and Timely Reviews Could Improve Immigration and Naturalization User Fee Design and USCIS Operations. GAO-09-180, January 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-180
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09180high.pdf
• High-Risk Series: An Update. GAO-09-271, January 2009
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-271
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09271high.pdf
• Immigration Application Fees: Costing Methodology Improvements Would Provide More Reliable Basis for Setting Fees. GAO-09-70, January 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-70
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0970high.pdf
• VA Health Care: Long-Term Care Strategic Planning and Budgeting Need Improvement. GAO-09-145, January 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-145
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09145high.pdf

Correspondence

• Endangered Species Act: Many GAO Recommendations Have Been Implemented, but Some Issues Remain Unresolved. GAO-09-225R, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-225R
• Natural Hazard Mitigation and Insurance: The United States and Selected Countries Have Similar Natural Hazard Mitigation Policies but Different Insurance Approaches. GAO-09-188R, December 22.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-188R

Testimonies

• Financial Regulation: A Framework for Crafting and Assessing Proposals to Modernize the Outdated U.S. Financial Regulatory System, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. GAO-09-314T, January 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-314T
• Real Property: Infrastructure Investment Presents Opportunities to Address Long-standing Real Property Backlogs and Reduce Energy Consumption, by Terrell G. Dorn, director, physical infrastructure, before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. GAO-09-324T, January 22.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-324T

Barack Obama Becomes 44th President of the U.S.

This morning Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president, and the first African American president, of the United States. A crowd of about 2 million--as reported in the Washington Post--gathered on the Washington Mall to hear Obama take the oath of office and give his inaugural speech. Change has come not only to America but to WhiteHouse.gov. Here you can read President Obama's first proclamation. The White House Blog describes features of the new White House website and promises that later today it will post full text and video of Obama's inaugural address.

Above are links to the primary and most up-to-date online connections to the White House. But if you need additional presidential resources, we list them on our guide to Presidents.

Serial Set records in the catalog

Government Publications and Cataloging and Metadata Services are happy to report that records for the U.S. Congressional Serial Set (a subscription database) are now available in Chinook, the library catalog. The Serial Set is an important source of information for the study of U.S. politics and history. The set includes gems such as (the links will take you to the record in the catalog):

• Report of the Secretary of War, communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 4, 1867, a copy of the evidence taken at Denver and Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, by a military commission, ordered to inquire into the Sand Creek Massacre, November, 1864. February 14, 1867 (Serial Set Volume 1277 includes eye witness testimony before the commission.)
• Message of the President of the United States, communicating a letter addressed to him from a committee of gentlemen representing the Freedman's Aid Societies of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, in relation to the freedmen under the Proclamation of Emancipation. December 17, 1863. (Serial Set Volume 1176--regarding the transition from slavery to freedom. Lincoln had not yet developed a "mature opinion" on the issue)
• The Louisiana Purchase and our title west of the Rocky Mountains, with a review of annexation by the United States, by Binger Hermann, Commissioner of the General Land Office. (Serial Set Volume 4002 -- an in-depth discussion of the expansion of the United States to 1900)
  

I encourage everyone to check these resources out, you will be surprised by the types of information you will find! If you want to search just for these titles in the catalog type the phrase "U.S. congressional serial set" and your topic in the advanced search in Chinook.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports

There haven't been any reports released in this quieter time in Congress, but the reports have started to reappear, so here is another list. Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This week only brings us a number of CRS reports on presidential power, nuclear weapons, and much more. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by Secrecy News:

• An Overview of the Presidential Pardoning Power
• Nuclear Weapons in U.S. National Security Policy: Past, Present, and Prospects
• Nuclear Arms Control: The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty
• Organizing the U.S. Government for National Security: Overview of the Interagency Reform Debates
• Iran’s Nuclear Program: Tehran’s Compliance with International Obligations
• U.S. Military Stop Loss Program
• Department of Defense Facilities Energy Conservation Policies and Spending
• Congressional Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Legislative Considerations
• Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector
• Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as the IRS's 2008 Filing Season and defense infrastructure. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Defense Infrastructure: Additional Information Is Needed to Better Explain the Proposed 100,000-Acre Expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. GAO-09-171, January 13.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-171
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09171high.pdf
• Defense Infrastructure: Army's Approach for Acquiring Land Is Not Guided by Up-to-Date Strategic Plan or Always Communicated Effectively. GAO-09-32, January 13.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-32
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0932high.pdf
• Defense Inventory: Army Needs to Evaluate Impact of Recent Actions to Improve Demand Forecasts for Spare Parts. GAO-09-199, January 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-199
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09199high.pdf
• Defense Logistics: Lack of Key Information May Impede DOD's Ability to Improve Supply Chain Management. GAO-09-150, January 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-150
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09150high.pdf
• Inspectors General: Actions Needed to Improve Audit Coverage of NASA. GAO-09-88, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-88
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0988high.pdf
• International Taxation: Large U.S. Corporations and Federal Contractors with Subsidiaries in Jurisdictions Listed as Tax Havens or Financial Privacy Jurisdictions. GAO-09-157, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-157
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09157high.pdf
• Medical Devices: FDA Should Take Steps to Ensure That High-Risk Device Types Are Approved through the Most Stringent Premarket Review Process. GAO-09-190, January 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-190
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09190high.pdf
• Tax Administration: IRS's 2008 Filing Season Generally Successful Despite Challenges, although IRS Could Expand Enforcement during Returns Processing. GAO-09-146, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-146
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09146high.pdf

Special Products

• Citizens' Report: Fiscal Year 2008 Summary of GAO's Performance and Financial Results. GAO-09-2SP, January 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-2SP
  

Correspondence

• Missouri River Navigation: Data on Commodity Shipments for Four States Served by the Missouri River and Two States Served by Both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. GAO-09-224R, January 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-224R
• U.S. Postal Service: Age and Disability Diversity in the Executive Service. GAO-09-255R, January 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-255R
  

Testimonies

• Financial Regulation: A Framework for Crafting and Assessing Proposals to Modernize the Outdated U.S. Financial Regulatory System, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Congressional Oversight Panel. GAO-09-310T, January 14.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-310T
• Health Information Technology: Federal Agencies' Experiences Demonstrate Challenges to Successful Implementation, by Valerie C. Melvin, director, human capital and management information systems issues, before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. GAO-09-312T, January 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-312T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09312thigh.pdf

2008 Tax Forms

The time has come to start the annual progression toward April 15th. Here at the University of Colorado at Boulder we still get those paper forms. On this blog posting we will keep as up-to-date a list as possible of what we have in the UC-B Government Publications Library. For those of you not in Boulder or who don't want to mess with parking, we also have an online link to tax forms and information.

We want to assist as many patrons as possible, so we ask that you not take more than 10 copies of any multi-part form.

As of 2/27/09, we have the following forms:

Federal (US)

* 1040 (forms)
* 1040A (forms & instructions)
* 1040ES (forms)
* 1040EZ (forms)
* 1040NR (forms & instructions)
* 1040NR-EZ (forms & instructions)

* Schedule 1 (forms)
* Schedule 2 (forms and instructions)
* Schedule 3 (forms and instructions)
* Schedule A & B (forms)
* Schedule C (forms)
* Schedule C-EZ (forms)
* Schedule D (forms)
* Schedule E (forms)
* Schedule EIC (forms)
* Schedule R (form & instructions)
* Schedule SE (forms)

* 1096 (forms)
* 1096-MISC (forms)
* 1099-MISC (forms)
* 1099-DIV (forms)
* 1099-INT (forms)
* 2106 (forms & instructions)
* 3903 (forms)
* 4562 (forms & instructions)
* 4868 (forms)
* 8283 (forms & instructions)
* 8822 (forms)
* 8829 (forms)
* 8863 (forms)
* 8889 (forms)
* 8917 (forms)

* W-2 (form & instructions)
* W-3 (form & instructions)
* W-4 (forms)

* Publication 17
* Publication 334
* Publication 590
* Publication 1132 (volume 1)
* Publication 1796

Colorado

* Colorado Income Tax Guide

EU Takes Role in Russia and Ukraine Dispute over Natural Gas

BBC News reports that hundreds of thousands of Europeans haven't had access to natural gas for nearly a week due to the debt and pricing disputes between Russia and Ukraine. The European Union receives a quarter of its gas from Russia, 80 percent of which passes through Ukraine. The BBC article features a map indicating which European countries have been hardest hit by the gas stoppage.

In an agreement reached yesterday, January 12, Russia offered to resume gas transmission if Russian and EU observers were allowed to monitor its flow through Ukraine. On the Europa website you can find a statement by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Commissioner Andris Piebalgs about the agreement for gas monitoring.

For further resources, see Europa's web page on security of natural gas supplies or check out our guide to energy.

Coal Plant Spill Leaves Water Contaminated but Safe to Drink

On Friday, February 9, it was discovered that about 10,000 gallons of waste leaked from a gypsum pond at Tennessee Valley Authority-operated Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama. According to TVA's own fact sheet about the spill, "gypsum ponds hold limestone spray from TVA’s scrubbers that clean sulfur dioxide (SO2) from coal-plant emissions. Gypsum contains calcium sulfate, which is commonly used in drywall, a commercially sold construction material."

Today's Washington Post contains an update on TVA tests for contamination levels in the nearby Tennessee River, which was affected by the spill. TVA's website also provides test results as of January 11, including a link to tables of sample results. So far results show that although the Tennessee River was contaminated, its water still meets standards for drinking.

TVA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are sampling Tennessee River water independently. The EPA maintains it's own On-Scene Coordinator web page, which contains links to images, contacts, and additional information about the Widows Creek Spill.

To find more information about governmental resources on the environment, see our guide.

GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as financial regulation, protecting marine animals from commercial fishing, and the process for granting immigrants permanent residency. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Financial Regulation: A Framework for Crafting and Assessing Proposals to Modernize the Outdated U.S. Financial Regulatory System. GAO-09-216, January 8.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-216
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09216high.pdf
• Immigration Benefits: Actions Needed to Address Vulnerabilities in Process for Granting Permanent Residency. GAO-09-55, December 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-55
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0955high.pdf
• Information Security: Continued Efforts Needed to Address Significant Weaknesses at IRS. GAO-09-136, January 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-136
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09136high.pdf
• Information Technology: Demand for the Social Security Administration's Electronic Data Exchanges Is Growing and Presents Future Challenges. GAO-09-126, December 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-126
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09126high.pdf
• National Marine Fisheries Service: Improvements Are Needed in the Federal Process Used to Protect Marine Mammals from Commercial Fishing. GAO-09-78, December 8.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-78
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0978high.pdf
  
• Research and Development: DOE Could Enhance the Project Selection Process for Government Oil and Natural Gas Research. GAO-09-186, December 29.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-186
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09186high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Business Transformation: Status of Department of Defense Efforts to Develop a Management Approach to Guide Business Transformation. GAO-09-272R, January 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-272R
• Social Security Disability: Improving Notices to Denied Claimants. GAO-09-183R, January 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-183R

Congressional Panel Releases Report on TARP

Today a bipartisan congressional oversight panel has released its second report, entitled Accountability of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have issued articles about the report, which criticizes the U.S. Treasury Department for its failure to restore lending to consumers and to fulfill the stated purpose of the relief program (TARP). A PDF of the full, 45-page report can be found via the House of Representatives' website.

Related to this report, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank created an outline of a bill that would amend the TARP provisions in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (see our blog post from October 2 of last year).

Explore the websites of the House, Senate, and Treasury Department for their latest strategies to rescue the U.S. economy. For additional resources, refer to our guide on Business and Economic Information.

Colorado Legislature Begins Historic 2009 Session

Colorado lawmakers began their 2009 session Wednesday. In a historic opening day, Representative Terrance Carroll became the first African American speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. Carroll and Colorado Senate President Peter Groff's roles make Colorado the first state to have elected black leaders to both of its legislative chambers. See the Denver Post for further details.

The website of the Colorado General Assembly provides House and Senate calendars, the history and status of bills, a directory of legislators, districts maps, and video and audio broadcasts of current proceedings. LexisNexis State Capital, which is available on the CU-Boulder campus (and to CU employees and students with off-campus access), provides bills, statutes and constitutions, digests of state law, proposed and final regulations, legislative directories, and news.

For additional Colorado state government resources, take a look at our guide.

Back from a winter break ... CRS Reports

Due to the fact that not many were released and I was on holiday, there has been no listing of Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports for the past two weeks. For those of you new to the blog, Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This week only brings us a number of CRS reports on climate change, auto industry, trade, and much more. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by OpenCRS and Secrecy News:

• Executive Branch Reorganization and Management Initiatives: A Brief Overview
• Islamist Militancy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Region and U.S. Policy
• Section 1206 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2006: A Fact Sheet on Department of Defense Authority to Train and Equip Foreign Military Forces
• Department of Defense ‘Section 1207′ Security and Stabilization Assistance: A Fact Sheet
• Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues
• Whales and Sonar: Environmental Exemptions for the Navy’s Mid-Frequency Active Sonar Training Program
• Afro-Latinos in Latin America and Considerations for U.S. Policy
• Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2009
• Containing Financial Crisis
• The Constitutionality of Campaign Finance Regulation: Buckley v. Valeo and Its Supreme Court Progeny
• Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations
• Recess Appointments Made by President George W. Bush, January 20, 2001-October 31, 2008
• Nominations to Article III Lower Courts by President George W. Bush During the 110th Congress
• The Motion to Recommit in the House of Representatives: Effects, Recent Trends, and Options for Change
• Organic Agriculture in the United States: Program and Policy Issues
• A Low Carbon Fuel Standard: State and Federal Legislation and Regulation
• Global Climate Change: Three Policy Perspectives
• C0mpulsory DNA Collection: A Fourth Amendment Analysis
• Economic Stimulus Proposals for 2008: An Analysis
• Even Start: Funding Controversy
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Conflicting Situations, Conflicting Perspectives
• How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal
• Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities
• Job Loss and Infrastructure Job Creation During the Recession
• Medicare: Part B Premiums
• Membership of the 111th Congress: A Profile
• Nonforeign Cost-of-Living Allowances and Possible Transition to Locality Pay
• Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Russia: Statutory Procedures for Congressional Consideration and Their Implementation
• Ocean Piracy and Its Impact on Insurance
• Presidential Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation
• Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2006
• Strategic Arms Control After START: Issues and Options
• The National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility: Issues for Congress
• Training the Military to Manage Contractors During Expeditionary Operations: Overview and Options for Congress
• What Happens to SCHIP After March 31, 2009?

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

Job Search Dismal, Even for College Grads

Employment statistics are not looking good--even for those with college degrees. An article in the Washington Post reports that although a college degree typically facilitates job searching and increases job security, the unemployment rate for workers with at least a bachelor's degree is approaching record highs.

In fact, some economists claim the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor's degree or higher could exceed 4 percent. This would be the highest unemployment rate for this category of workers since 1970, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics started recording unemployment by education level. Currently the unemployment rate for those with college degrees is 3.1 percent--the highest it's been since 2003.

Although the level of unemployed college graduates has approached a peak, 3.1 percent is still much lower than the overall national unemployment rate of 6.7 percent or the 10.5 percent unemployment rate among job-seekers without a high-school diploma. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' website provides monthly data about a variety of employment factors and outcomes, such as the table "Employment Status of the Civilian Population 25 Years and Older by Educational Attainment," which contains statistics through November 2008.

The BLS website also contains links to information about job outlooks in specific states and localities, including the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment's LMI Gateway.

If these links don't provide the employment information you need, see our guide to labor & employment for additional resources.