CRS reports

Despite the holiday week a few Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports were discovered. 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 brings us CRS reports on veterans, appropriations and weapons. 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:

• U.S.-Russian Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Issues for Congress
• Department of Justice (DOJ) Appropriations for FY2008 and FY2009
• A Brief History of Veterans’ Education Benefits and Their Value
• Veterans Affairs: Historical Budget Authority, Fiscal Years 1940 through 2007
• Cluster Munitions: Background and Issues for Congress

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.

Bertha first hurricane of the season

The first hurricane of the 2008 season has formed in the Atlantic today. Hurricane Bertha's maximum sustained winds reached 90 mph this morning and are expected to increase over the next 24 hours. To watch the hurricane track and get more information on the speeds, check out the Bertha section of the NOAA web site.

Want to know all the names of the hurricanes/tropical cyclones this year? Check out the name list. The names alternate between male and female names and the list is reused every seven years, unless a "storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity."

Want more climate and weather resources? Check out the library's guide.

Fewer Jobs in the United States

I know tomorrow is the start of a long weekend for many of us, but the government released numbers today that indicate that employers are cutting jobs across the United States. The Employment Situation Summary reports that the non-farm employment is down 62,000 in June. If you want to examine these numbers in more detail over a longer period, check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics's Current Employment Statistics web site.

Want some media reaction? Check out the Washington Post's "Employers Cut Jobs for 6th Straight Month" or the Wall Street Journal's "Economists React: 'Consistent Picture of Weakness' on Jobs."

Still need more business and economic information? Check out the library's guides.

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 acquisitions, Medicaid, and nuclear safety. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Defense Acquisitions: A Knowledge-Based Funding Approach Could Improve Major Weapon System Program Outcomes. GAO-08-619, July 2.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-619
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08619high.pdf
• Electronic Payments: Many Programs Electronically Disburse Federal Benefits, and More Outreach Could Increase Use. GAO-08-645, June 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-645
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08645high.pdf
  
• Internal Revenue Service: Status of GAO Financial Audit and Related Financial Management Report Recommendations. GAO-08-693, July 2.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-693
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08693high.pdf
• Medicaid: CMS Needs More Information on the Billions of Dollars Spent on Supplemental Payments. GAO-08-614, May 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-614
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08614high.pdf
• Medicaid Home and Community-Based Waivers: CMS Should Encourage States to Conduct Mortality Reviews for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. GAO-08-529, May 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-529
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08529high.pdf
• Nuclear Safety: NRC's Oversight of Fire Protection at U.S. Commercial Nuclear Reactor Units Could Be Strengthened. GAO-08-747, June 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-747
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08747high.pdf
• Nuclear Waste: DOE Lacks Critical Information Needed to Assess Its Tank Management Strategy at Hanford. GAO-08-793, June 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-793
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08793high.pdf
• VA Health Care: Facilities Have Taken Action to Provide Language Access Services and Culturally Appropriate Care to a Diverse Veteran Population. GAO-08-535, May 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-535
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08535high.pdf

Correspondence

• Depot Maintenance: DOD's Report to Congress on Its Public-Private Partnerships at Its Centers of Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITEs) Is Not Complete and Additional Information Would Be Useful. GAO-08-902R, July 1.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-902R

Highlights of a GAO Forum

• Highlights of the Joint Forum on Tax Compliance: Options for Improvement and Their Budgetary Potential. GAO-08-703SP, June 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-703SP
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08703sphigh.pdf

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 brings us CRS reports on the FISA, wind power, appropriations, 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 and OpenCRS:

• The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
• Conventional Warheads For Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues for Congress
• Iran’s Economy
• The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Comparison of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3773 and the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3773
• Awards of Attorneys’ Fees by Federal Courts and Federal Agencies
• Iran’s Nuclear Program: Status
• Boumediene v. Bush: Guantanamo Detainees’ Right to Habeas Corpus
• Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One Be Utilized In Iraq?
• The National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility: Issues for Congress
• International Trade: Rules of Origin
• Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations
• Clean Water Act: Legislation Concerning Discharges from Recreational Boats
• Wind Power in the United States: Technology, Economic, and Policy Issues
• International Drug Control Policy
• Possible Federal Revenue from Oil Development of ANWR and Nearby Areas
• Veterans Benefits: An Overview
• Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies: FY2009 Appropriations

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.