No Child Left Behind is 5 Years Old Today!

President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act five years ago today on January 8, 2002. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings celebrated the fifth anniversary with a speech and question and answer session with national education and business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read more from the Department of Education's press release including Secretary Spelling's remarks.

Read a transcript or listen to President Bush's January 6th radio address in which he discusses the No Child Left Behind Act.

For more information on No Child Left Behind, visit the following sites:

• U.S. Department of Education
• The White House
• Full text of Public Law 107-110 - the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• CRS Report (December 14, 2006) - The No Child Left Behind Act: An Overview of Reauthorization Issued for the 110th Congress

GAO Reports for the Week

Here are this week's Government Accountability Office reports, due to the holidays there is only one report this week. To learn more about the GAO, read the library's guide.

Report:

1. Medical Devices: Status of FDA's Program for Inspections by Accredited Organizations. GAO-07-157, January 5.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-157
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07157high.pdf

Correspondence

1. Childhood Obesity: Factors Affecting Physical Activity. GAO-07-260R, December 6.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-260R

Two countries join European Union

Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union on January 1st.

To learn more about how the European Union adds new members, check out the European Commission's Enlargement website. You'll find information about the enlargement process, candidate countries, potential candidate countries; a link to questions and answers, key documents, a glossary; myths and facts about Enlargement; Enlargement videos and a photo gallery; and much more...

Check out BBC's profiles on Bulgaria and Romania.

See the Government Publications Library's guide to European Union Resources.

Gerald Ford in Congress

Former President Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was honored today by the United States at a state funeral held in Washington's National Cathedral. He is probably remembered by most as the only unelected Vice President and President in our nation's history. However, before becoming Vice President and later President, he served in the House of Representatives from January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973, being reelected twelve times, each time with more than 60% of the vote.

Check out some of the following resources from the Ford Presidential Library and Museum:

• Media Photo Kit - The Congressional Years
• Historical Photographs - Campaign for Congress
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1950-53
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1956-58
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1959-60
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1961-62
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1964-67
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1968-71
• Historical Photographs - U.S. House - 1972

New Year's Resolutions

Ahh, it is New Year's Day and time to resolve to do better this year. If you would like the government's help with any of those popular resolutions, such as losing weight or quiting smoking, check out the web site at on FirstGov.

FirstGov is the official web portal to the United States government. It has links to federal, state and local resources on a variety of topics.