The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as the 2010 Census and Medicare. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• 2010 Census: Census Bureau's Decision to Continue with Handheld Computers for Address Canvassing Makes Planning and Testing Critical. GAO-08-936, July 31.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-936
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08936high.pdf
• Drug-Free Communities Support Program: Stronger Internal Controls and Other Actions Needed to Better Manage the Grant-Making Process. GAO-08-57, July 31.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-57
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0857high.pdf
• Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Assets and Income Are Both Important in Subsidy Denials, and Access to State and Manufacturer Drug Programs Is Uneven. GAO-08-824, September 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-824
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08824high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Health Care: Oversight of Military Services' Post-Deployment Health Reassessment Completion Rates Is Limited. GAO-08-1025R, September 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1025R
• Various Issues Led to the Termination of the United States-Canada Shared Border Management Pilot Project. GAO-08-1038R, September 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1038R

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpiqa.htm Reviews questions about whether the CPI has been manipulated to reduce the apparent severity of inflation. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k7nsduh/2k7Results.pdf Provides results from a survey of 67,500 persons, the primary annual source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco by Americans 12 years or older. Estimates that 19.9 million Americans or 8% of the population were users of illicit drugs during 2007. Presents characteristics of users by drug of choice. Also covers prevention methods and treatment. From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/bisphenol.pdf Reports the results of an investigation into possible harmful effects from the chemical Bisphenol A used in plastic bottles. Expresses some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current exposure levels. From the National Toxicology Program, Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33640.pdf Describes the current state of the strategic triad, land and submarine-based nuclear missiles and heavy bombers, all of which are considered delivery vehicles for nuclear missiles. Also discusses issues for Congress in deciding how large a force to maintain. From the Congressional Research Service, posted by the Federation of American Scientists.

[Cross posted on LegalResearchPlus]

About one month ago, I posted an item about the difficulty of getting documents about NARA from NARA -- the entry was based on an article written by Anthony Clark (Why Is It So Hard to Get Documents from the National Archives About the National Archives?, History News Network, July 21, 2008).

Here is an update to this very interesting story. On the Archivists' Forum, there is a recent entry from Anthony Clark detailing the latest ups and (mostly) downs of this saga.

Clark writes:

"Some readers may know that I have had great difficulty accessing NARA's own records for my research into presidential libraries and NL, or NARA's Office of Presidential Libraries (see http://hnn.us/articles/52350.html) for more information). What you might not know is that in July NARA offered me a deal" - if I dropped all of my pending FOIA requests for NL's records, they would commit to systematically process all of NL's records - some 230 boxes - at a rate of nine boxes per month, until all boxes have been processed and made available. Just a few weeks later, not only did NARA "take back" part of that offer (while claiming it was never made), they have now reneged on it completely. I was so shocked by what NARA did today that I felt I had to make the list aware of what they had done. [Full details available on the Forum page.]"

As I hear more about this NARA-tive, I'll be sure to pass it along.

My apologies for anyone who relied on my post "Catloging Gets Results in Alaska." Revised data has forced me to retract my claim. Please see details at http://freegovinfo.info/node/1940.

But don't be afraid to share information and new ideas. Sometimes we're going to be wrong. That's just the nature of the game. But we as a community are stronger when we share information and admit our mistakes as well as celebrate our successes.

It has been a while since we did a blog posting on finding those economic indicators from the US government. Today's stock plunge has a number of possible reasons, but today's numbers may or may not have helped. There were a number of releases in the past two days and they all came from different government web sites. So here they are with some hints:

• Department of Commerce numbers:
  The Department of Commerce usually releases its numbers through the Census Bureau. They have an Economic Indicators page, where you can find two from this week "Manufacturer's' Shipments, Inventories and Data" and "Construction Spending."

• Department of Labor numbers:
  The Department of Labor releases numbers on it's own, but it also has numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Today's "Unemployment Insurance Claims" comes from the Department of Labor page, whereas the "Productivity and Costs" comes from BLS. Tomorrow's "Employment Situation" is back on the Bureau of Labor Statistics page.

• Federal Reserve Bank numbers:
  I admit this is not the first place you might look for economic information, but eight times a year the Federal Reserve releases the "Beige Book." This book "gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources."
  

Still want more numbers? Well, if you are sure, check out the library's guide.

Two new blogs appeared on the USA.gov Blogs from the U.S. Government page recently:

• Arctic Chronicles, by Jessica Robertson, Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Geological Survey. She will be documenting her journey to the Arctic as she accompanies scientists on an expedition to map the seafloor.
• The Energy Savers Blog, which aims to provide "a place for consumers to learn about and discuss energy efficiency and renewable technologies at home, on the road, and in the workplace."

While the Energy Savers Blog is apparently provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), it is hosted on a .com website. That creates a variety of problems for long-term access and preservation. (See more examples of government information on .com sites here.)

Both blogs have RSS feeds.

This is a nice site that aggregates news mentions and polls into a nice visual interface. It also pulls in feeds from various news sites and twitter.

During an election year, national level politicians from all sides of the spectrum may say whatever it takes to get elected.  One website to check out the truth behind the speeches is factcheck.org, a project of the Anneberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.   Factcheck will respond to commericals, speeches, and other comments made by candidates during the campaign, and will cite its sources at the end of the response.

http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2007/index.html Provides information about the history and benefits of the program, the appeals process, and provides statistics for benefits paid over the past year. Disability benefits were paid to 8.1 million people and the average monthly benefit received was just over $1,000. From the Social Security Administration.

http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2008/fast_facts08.pdf Provides basic program statistics and answers the most frequently asked questions about the Social Security programs. From the Social Security Administration.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/mobility_of_the_population/012604.html Press release with links to detailed tables with statistics about frequency and types of moves by Americans. Reports that 38.7 million people moved in 2006-2007 and that 25 million stayed in the same county. Also provides reasons for moves and demographic characteristics of movers. From the Census Bureau.

http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr210.pdf Analyzes the possibilities and practicalities of managing the Kashmir conflict by allowing the easy movement of people, goods, and services across the border between Pakistan and India. From the U.S. Institute of Peace.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err64/DBGen.htm Explores the use of market mechanisms, such as emissions trading and eco-labels, to increase private investment in caring for the environment. Also defines roles for government in the creation and function of markets for environmental services. From the Economic Research Service.

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/location/underage.pdf Reports that a majority or 53% of current alcohol users aged 12 to 20 drank at someone else's home and another 30% drank in their own home. Describes how drinking locations change with age for underage drinkers. From the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db08.pdf Reports that 15% of U.S. children aged 4-17 had parents who talked to a health care provider or school staff about their child's emotional or behavioral difficulties. About 5% of children were placed on prescriptions for emotional or behavioral difficulties. From the National Center for Health Statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db07.pdf Describes the prevalence and characteristics of those who suffer from depression, the impairments to their functioning from such mental illness, and the small percentage who receive professional treatment. From the National Center for Health Statistics.

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008053 Presents estimates for dropout rates for 2006 and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades, including characteristics of dropouts and completers. From the National Center for Education Statistics.