Jazz Great Freddie Hubbard Dies at 70

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard died Monday of complications caused by a heart attack. He is eulogized in this New York Times obituary.

Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1938. He studied at the Jordan Conservatory and later founded his own band, the Jazz Contemporaries. In 1958 he moved to New York, where he played with such notables as Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane. In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts named Hubbard an NEA Jazz Master. You can find the NEA's biography of Hubbard on its website.

The NEA has offered millions of dollars in grants and awards to jazz artists and organizations since 1969. Here you can read more about NEA Jazz Masters programs and link to Jazz Masters profiles from 1982 to the present. This web page also contains links to audio and video clips, including Smithsonian Jazz Oral Histories, interviews with some NEA Jazz Masters, and photos from previous award ceremonies (the January 10, 2006, slideshow includes a picture of Hubbard).

For additional links to government agencies that support jazz and other art forms, see our guides to museums and black history.

Israel Continues Strikes on Gaza for Third Day

Violence erupted in the Middle East on December 27, when Israel began air strikes against the Gaza Strip. According to the BBC News, Israel's defense chief has stated that his country is fighting a " 'war to the bitter end' against Hamas." Yesterday the United Nations issued a report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza that discusses casualties and describes the conflict's effect on hospitals; schools; and access to food, fuel, and other supplies.

In a statement today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded an end to the violence in and around Gaza, condemning both Israel's "excessive use of force" in Gaza and the Hamas rocket attacks that have provoked it. Yesterday U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a statement critical of Hamas' role in the conflict.

See the website of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its perspective on the situation. For a Palestinian point of view, see the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Palestine Media Center.

For additional resources from both the U.S. government and international organizations, take a look at our guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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 defense logistics, homeland security, and tax compliance. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Defense Logistics: Improved Analysis and Cost Data Needed to Evaluate the Cost-effectiveness of Performance Based Logistics. GAO-09-41, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-41
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0941high.pdf

Correspondence

• DOD Personnel Clearances: Preliminary Observations about Timeliness and Quality. GAO-09-261R, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-261R
• Homeland Security Grant Program Risk-Based Distribution Methods: Presentation to Congressional Committees - November 14, 2008 and December 15, 2008. GAO-09-168R, December 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-168R

Reissued Products

• Tax Compliance: Businesses Owe Billions in Federal Payroll Taxes. GAO-08-617, July 25. [Reissued to correct text in table 1 on page 24 and related text on pp. 15, 23-24, and 26]
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-617
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08617high.pdf
• Tax Compliance: Businesses Owe Billions in Federal Payroll Taxes. GAO-08-1034T, July 29. [Reissued to correct text in table 1 on page 8 and related text on pp. 8 and 11]
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1034T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d081034thigh.pdf

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 Ryan White CARE Act, Social Security disability, and flood insurance. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Crime Victims' Rights Act: Increasing Awareness, Modifying the Complaint Process, and Enhancing Compliance Monitoring Will Improve Implementation of the Act. GAO-09-54, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-54
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0954high.pdf
• Defense Inventory: Management Actions Needed to Improve the Cost Efficiency of the Navy's Spare Parts Inventory. GAO-09-103, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-103
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09103high.pdf
• Disaster Assistance: Federal Efforts to Assist Group Site Residents with Employment, Services for Families with Children, and Transportation. GAO-09-81, December 11.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-81
• Disaster Recovery: FEMA's Public Assistance Grant Program Experienced Challenges with Gulf Coast Rebuilding. GAO-09-129, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-129
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09129high.pdf
• Flood Insurance: Options for Addressing the Financial Impact of Subsidized Premium Rates on the National Flood Insurance Program. GAO-09-20, November 14.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-20
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0920high.pdf
• Medicare Advantage: Characteristics, Financial Risks, and Disenrollment Rates of Beneficiaries in Private Fee-for-Service Plans. GAO-09-25, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-25
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0925high.pdf
• Results-Oriented Management: Opportunities Exist for Refining the Oversight and Implementation of the Senior Executive Performance-Based Pay System. GAO-09-82, November 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-82
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0982high.pdf
  
• Ryan White CARE Act: First-Year Experiences under the Part D Administrative Expense Cap. GAO-09-140, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-140
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09140high.pdf
• Social Security Disability: Collection of Medical Evidence Could Be Improved with Evaluations to Identify Promising Collection Practices. GAO-09-149, December 17.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-149
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09149high.pdf
• United Nations Peacekeeping: Challenges Obtaining Needed Resources Could Limit Further Large Deployments and Should Be Addressed in U.S. Reports to Congress. GAO-09-142, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-142
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09142high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Logistics: Department of Defense's Annual Report on the Status of Prepositioned Materiel and Equipment Can Be Enhanced to Better Inform Congress. GAO-09-147R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-147R
• Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense. GAO-09-233R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-233R
• Improvement Continues in DOD's Reporting on Sustainable Ranges, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Its Range Assessments and Comprehensive Plan. GAO-09-128R, December 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-128R

Feds Approve New Credit Card Regulations

Yesterday the Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration approved regulations that would prohibit certain credit practices, such as increasing interest rates on existing balances unless a payment was received more than 30 days late, charging a late fee if borrowers are allotted less than 21 days to pay, and applying payments so that debts with higher interest rates are repaid last. The regulations would also restrict fees that reduce available credit on subprime credit cards. Financial institutions must comply with the new regulations by July 1, 2010. You can read about the regulations in the Washington Post.

The Federal Reserve issued a press release on Thursday that describes its approval of the final rules. The Office of Thrift Supervision, an agency of the Treasury Department, also issued a release about the ruling. To learn more about the National Credit Union Administration, take a look at its website, which contains fraud alerts, consumer information, credit union data, and links to financial resources.

You can find additional resources on our guide to Banking, Banks, and Credit Unions.

Few States Support Multinational Force in Somalia

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has stated that despite the U.S. proposal to send a multinational peacekeeping force to Somalia, there is practically no international support for such an effort. The New York Times article reports that although Ban Ki-Moon has asked at least 50 countries and 3 international organizations to back such a force, there have been no volunteers.

As we mentioned in an October blog post, piracy off the Somali coast is inextricably linked to lawlessness and fighting in Somalia. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made this case in her speech to the UN Security Council on December 16, and Ban makes similar statements in a UN News Centre article.

On December 16 the UN Security Council declared that "[s]tates and regional organizations cooperating in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia’s coast--for which prior notification had been provided by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government to the Secretary-General--could undertake all necessary measures 'appropriate in Somalia', to interdict those using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake such acts." You can read the Security Council's authorization here.

You can find additional resources, from both the U.S. and the UN, on our guide to Foreign Relations & International Aid.

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 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:

• Global Climate Change: Three Policy Perspectives
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Perspectives on the Top 20 Emitters and Developed Versus Developing Nations
• Climate Change: Design Approaches for a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program
• Climate Change and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): Kyoto and Beyond
• Are Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rising More Rapidly Than Expected?
• Capturing CO2 from Coal-Fired Power Plants: Challenges for a Comprehensive Strategy
• The Carbon Cycle: Implications for Climate Change and Congress
• Climate Change: Federal Laws and Policies Related to Greenhouse Gas Reductions
• U.S. Global Climate Change Policy: Evolving Views on Cost, Competitiveness, and Comprehensiveness
• Iran’s Nuclear Program: Status
• Iran: Ethnic and Religious Minorities
• Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
• Presidential Libraries: The Federal System and Related Legislation
• Nonmarital Childbearing: Trends, Reasons, and Public Policy Interventions
• Border Searches of Laptop Computers and Other Electronic Storage Devices
• A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations
• Agricultural Export and Food Aid Programs
• Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979: Background, Provisions, and Cost
• Converting Retirement Savings into Income: Annuities and Periodic Withdrawals
• Farm and Food Support Under USDA's Section 32 Program
• Financial Market Turmoil and U.S. Macroeconomic Performance
• Former Presidents: Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits
• Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures
• Mad Cow Disease and U.S. Beef Trade
• Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2006
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Final Part B Regulations
• Trade Negotiations During the 109th Congress
• U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry: Federal Financial Assistance and Restructuring
• U.S.-Iraq Withdrawal/Status of Forces Agreement: Issues for Congressional Oversight

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.

Medicare Drug Pricing Surprises Some with High Costs

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that a system known as "referenced-based pricing" is catching some Medicare recipients off guard--and drawing complaints from senior citizens, the AARP, and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. Under this pricing system, patients requesting certain brand-name drugs in lieu of the generic version are charged a much higher price--usually the cost difference between the generic and brand-name drugs, as well as a copayment. You can find the WSJ article here, including a table of prices for some drugs under reference-based plans.

WSJ reports that in 2009, 30 insurers will use reference-based pricing in 63 drug plans representing about 10% of all Medicare Part D prescription-drug plans. Medicare recipients have until December 31 to enroll in a 2009 prescription drug plan. You can learn more about Medicare prescription drug plans via the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder. If you want to learn about your rights under Medicare or you wish to appeal a Medicare decision, go to this page.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services manage the Medicare program. To find links to other government and nongovernmental resources, see our guide to Health and Medical Information.

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 federal-aid highways and homeland security. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Federal-Aid Highways: Federal Requirements for Highways May Influence Funding Decisions and Create Challenges, but Benefits and Costs Are Not Tracked. GAO-09-36, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-36
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0936high.pdf
• Homeland Security: U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program Planning and Execution Improvements Needed. GAO-09-96, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-96
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0996high.pdf
• Medicare Part D: Opportunities Exist for Improving Information Sent to Enrollees and Scheduling the Annual Election Period. GAO-09-4, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-4
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d094high.pdf
• Radio Communications: Congressional Action Needed to Ensure Agencies Collaborate to Develop a Joint Solution. GAO-09-133, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-133
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09133high.pdf
• Tax Administration: IRS Needs to Strengthen Its Approach for Evaluating the SRFMI Data-Sharing Pilot Program. GAO-09-45, November 7.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-45
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0945high.pdf
  
• Terrorism Insurance: Status of Coverage Availability for Attacks Involving Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, or Radiological Weapons. GAO-09-39, December 12.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-39
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0939high.pdf
  

Correspondence

• Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. GAO-09-59R, November 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-59R
  
• Medicare Advantage Organizations: Actual Expenses and Profits Compared to Projections for 2006. GAO-09-132R, December 8.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-132R
• Status of GAO Recommendations to the Department of Defense (Fiscal Years 2001-2007). GAO-09-201R, December 11.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-201R

Testimony

• Troubled Asset Relief Program: Additional Actions Needed to Better Ensure Integrity, Accountability, and Transparency, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the House Committee on Financial Services. GAO-09-266T, December 10.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-266T

Senate Fails to Pass Auto Rescue

The U.S. Senate failed to approve the auto-industry bailout, H.R. 7321, that had been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10, and the Senate abandoned efforts to craft its own legislation to provide loans to troubled U.S. auto-makers GM and Chrysler . You can read an article about the failed legislative efforts, and find numerous related articles, in the Detroit Free Press.

Today on the Library of Congress' Thomas website you can find a link to the failed bill's summary, full text, related bills and congressional actions, and other information at the top of the home page (if you check this page at a later date and the link is no longer there, just do a search for "HR 7321" on the Thomas home page).

Almost two decades ago Congress approved an emergency loan to Chrysler, the Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act, which became Public Law 96-185 in 1980. Here's what the 1979 CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Almanac had to say about that legislative effort:

Chrysler proponents had pressed Congress to complete consideration before the Christmas holiday on grounds the company would go bankrupt early in 1980 if it did not get government backing. Their request was helped by market reports showing the firm would run out of cash in January 1980 — news that prompted Vice President Walter F. Mondale to urge quick action 'so that we can provide security for thousands and thousands of jobs.'
--"Chrysler Aid Cleared in Final Day's Session." CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Almanac Online Edition, cqal79-1185075). http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/cqal79-1185075 (accessed December 12, 2008).

Sound familiar? If you're on CU Campus or able to access the library's online resources via VPN, you can search old editions of CQ Quarterly on CQ Electronic Library.

Estimating the Value of Subsidies for Federal Loans and Loan Guarantees, from the Congressional Budget Office, provides some interesting insight into how "the federal government reduces the price and increases the availability of credit for particular uses by guaranteeing private loans or making loans directly."

EPA Backs off on Air Pollution Rule Changes

The Washington Post reported that, to the delight of environmentalists, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is no longer pursuing revision of two of its air-pollution rules. One proposal would have made it simpler to build coal-fired power plants, refineries, or factories near national parks, while the other would have changed regulations about when power plants must install antipollution devices.

This is an interesting development in light of our earlier blog post this year about the Bush Administration's last attempts at environmental deregulation. According to the Post, an EPA spokesman stated that the agency was giving up these proposals because they couldn't be accomplished before President-elect Obama takes office and because of a recent court ruling against a regulation that was intended to work with the proposals.

To find the latest EPA documents and web pages about air pollution, see this EPA web page. Go to this EPA web page for information about the legal aspects of air pollution. For additional governmental and nongovernmental resources, see our guide to the environment.

Media Commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Today is Human Rights Day and commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR was written by representatives of various regions and traditions. It includes such core values as non-discrimination, equality, fairness, and universality. You can find the full text of the UDHR on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The United Nations also provides a website devoted to Human Rights Day. Here you can find a statement about Human Rights Day from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

For perspectives on the UDHR from the foreign press, see this web page from the website eurotopics. For further resources, check out our guide to human rights.

Are There any Cosmetics on Your Holiday Shopping List?

Today I received a chain e-mail warning me about lipstick brands that contain lead and urging me to forward the e-mail to all the women I knew. The original e-mail appeared to have been crafted by someone representing a certain cosmetics brand.

Rather than forward the e-mail, with its lack of back-up data or source citations, I decided to do a little research on my own. The Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database compares ingredients in over 40,000 cosmetic, skin care, and hair products as well as perfumes. It allows you to search for a product, company, or ingredient to learn the potential hazards posed by various products and ingredients. I did a keyword search for "lead," which resulted in zero products containing lead but 10 items--all hair care products--containing lead acetate.

The database is operated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit whose stated mission is to "use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment." EWG is critical of the federal government for failing to require safety tests of personal care products before they can be sold. You may or may not agree with EWG's stance on cosmetics regulation, but before taking sides, see what the U.S. government currently says about cosmetics in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, read about FDA Authority Over Cosmetics, or peruse the Ingredients Prohibited or Restricted by FDA Regulations.

For further resources about possible bodily toxins, see our guide to Health and Medical Information.

Congressional Research Service 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 Iran, the presidential transition, oil shale in Colorado, 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:

• Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy
• Afghanistan: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Legislative Actions Through the 108th Congress
• Border Security: The Role of the U.S. Border Patrol
• Central Asia: Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests
• China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities -- Background and Issues for Congress
• China's Currency Peg: A Summary of the Economic Issues
• China's Economic Conditions
• China's Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy
• Debarment and Suspension of Government Contractors: An Overview of the Law Including Recently Enacted and Proposed Amendments
• El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and Relations with the United States
• Emergency Communications: The Future of 911
• Emergency Funding for Agriculture: A Brief History of Supplemental Appropriations, FY1989-FY2005
• Federal Law on Parking Privileges for Persons with Disabilities
• Financing Recovery from Large-Scale Natural Disasters
• Gas Hydrates: Resource and Hazard
• Iceland's Financial Crisis
• Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
• Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-War Governance
• Islamist Militancy in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Region and U.S. Policy
• Libya: Background and U.S. Relations
• Medicaid Regulatory Issues
• Midnight Rulemaking: Considerations for Congress and a New Administration
• Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
• Nationwide Permits for Wetlands Projects: Permit 26 and Other Issues and Controversies
• Navy CVNX Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress
• Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Oversight Issues and Options for Congress
• Organizing for Homeland Security: The Homeland Security Council Reconsidered
• Other Transaction (OT) Authority
• Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions on Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109th Congress
• Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations
• Proposed Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues
• Safe Drinking Water Act: Selected Regulatory and Legislative Issues
• Sea-Based Ballistic Missile Defense -- Background and Issues for Congress
• Senate Committee Party Ratios: 94th - 110th Congresses
• The 2009 U.N. Durban Review Conference: Follow-Up to the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism
• The National Response Framework: Overview and Possible Issues for Congress
• The President-Elect: Succession and Disability Issues During the Transition Period
• The Tax Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Insurance: Policy Issues Regarding the Repeal Debate
• The World Bank's Clean Technology Fund (CTF)
• U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 2000-2007
• United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress
• United Nations System Funding: Congressional Issues
• Veterans Affairs: Basic Eligibility for Disability Benefit Programs
• Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange and U.S.-Vietnam Relations
• Water Rights Related to Oil Shale Development in the Upper Colorado River Basin

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 genetically engineered crops, flood insurance, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and international climate change programs. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Financial Audit: Capitol Preservation Fund's Fiscal Years 2007 and 2006 Financial Statements. GAO-09-92, December 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-92
• Flood Insurance: FEMA's Rate-Setting Process Warrants Attention. GAO-09-12, October 31.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-12
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0912high.pdf
• Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring. GAO-09-60, November 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-60
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0960high.pdf
• International Climate Change Programs: Lessons Learned from the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. GAO-09-151, November 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-151
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09151high.pdf
• Troubled Asset Relief Program: Additional Actions Needed to Better Ensure Integrity, Accountability, and Transparency. GAO-09-161, December 2.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-161
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09161high.pdf

Correspondence

• Transportation Security Administration's Suspension of the Butane Lighter Ban Onboard Commercial Aircraft. GAO-09-177R, December 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-177R

Testimonies

• Auto Industry: A Framework for Considering Federal Financial Assistance, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the House Committee on Financial Services. GAO-09-247T, December 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-247T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09247thigh.pdf
• Auto Industry: A Framework for Considering Federal Financial Assistance, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. GAO-09-242T, December 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-242T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09242thigh.pdf
• Troubled Asset Relief Program: Status of Efforts to Address Defaults and Foreclosures on Home Mortgages, by Mathew J. Scire, director, financial markets and community investment, before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Senate Committee on Appropriations. GAO-09-231T, December 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-231T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09231thigh.pdf
  

Presentation By The Acting Comptroller General

• "Ensuring a Continuing Focus on Implementing Effective Human Capital Strategies," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Human Capital Management: Federal 2008 conference. GAO-09-234CG, November 21, 2008

http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09234cg.pdf

Unemployment numbers for November

Today's numbers are "the worst monthly job loss since Dec., 1974" according to the Washington Post's "More Bad Economic News on the Labor Front: Employers Cut 533,000 Jobs in November."

If you want to see the raw numbers, check out the Bureau of Labor Statistic's "Employment Situation Summary." If you just want the tables, check out this page.

President-elect Barack Obama has already released a press release in response to these numbers, which you can read on the change.gov web site. No press release from the current administration as of 9:30 MST.

Want more information? Check out the library's guides to Labor Statistics and Labor and Employment.

International Cluster Bomb Treaty Gains Signatories

Today the Los Angeles Times reported that Afghanistan signed a treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs despite pressure from the United States not to sign the treaty. Afghanistan joins 92 other countries so far who have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions at a signing conference taking place in Oslo, Norway, December 2-4. The United States and Russia have refused to sign the treaty.

The Times article explains that "cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles, which scatter them over vast areas." Some of these bomblets can lie undetonated for long periods of time until they are disturbed--by civilians in many cases. You can read more about the Convention on Cluster Munitions at its official website.

For the U.S. government's official stance on cluster munitions and reasons that it won't sign the treaty, see this Q&A web page from the Department of State.

If you would like to do further research on treaties, see our guide.

College Tuition and Fees Rise Much Faster than Family Incomes

A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education indicates that U.S. college tuition and fees are increasing at a much higher rate than family incomes, which could make higher education unaffordable for most Americans. The report, Measuring Up 2008, is available here. You can read about the report in today's New York Times.

According to the report, the Times states, "published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families."

Want to do your own comparison of higher education statistics? You can search the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Statistical Abstract for a wide variety of education statistics. Note that the sources for these statistics are stated at the bottom of all tables and charts, and you can often just click on the URLS in these Source lines to access websites with additional information. Another good resource for educational statistics is the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.

You can learn more about these and other education resources in our guide to the topic.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat Resigns

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigned today after protests that have stranded over 250,000 tourists in the country. This resignation was brought about it part by the Constitutional Court decision that dissolved the People's Power Party, which the Prime Minister belonged to.

Want to read more about what this means and the ending of the protests? Check out the Washington Post article, "Thai Prime Minister Steps Down After Court Decision."

Want even more information on Thailand? Check out the library's guide to the country.

U.S. Government Prepares for Transition

On Monday President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team nominations: Senator Hillary Clinton for secretary of state; General James Jones, Jr., for national security advisor; Governor Janet Napolitano for secretary of homeland security; Susan Rice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Eric Holder, Jr., for attorney general; and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will remain in his current position. See today's Chicago Tribune article on Obama's latest cabinet selections.

For those of you who would like to track the transition from a Bush administration to an Obama administration, there are plenty of interesting web pages and documents available directly from the U.S. government. The White House has a Transition website where you can find speeches and news releases from President Bush. Perhaps the most useful page on this website is Fact Sheet: Ensuring a Smooth and Effective Presidential Transition, which provides specifics about the president's Transition Coordinating Council and lists steps that specific agencies are taking to facilitate this transition.

Within the websites of specific government agencies, see a Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the Department’s Transition Efforts and Robert Gates' Insight Into Issues Facing Next Administration. In addition, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has created a report for Congress about the 2008-2009 presidential transition.

For additional resources on the presidential transition, UC Santa Barbara provides an excellent website on the 2009 Presidential Transition. If you need additional resources, see our guide to Presidents.