USAID Responds to Cyclone Nargis
Source: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
From press release:

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), are providing an additional $3 million dollars in initial assistance to help meet the most urgent needs of the Burmese people in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. The White House announced this additional funding at a press briefing today. This brings the total USAID assistance to $3.25 million to date, which will be allocated by the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that is currently pre-positioned in Bangkok awaiting permission to enter Burma.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), the most urgent needs of populations in affected areas include plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits, food, and possibly fuel supplies.

Citizens who wish to assist the people of Burma are encouraged to make a cash donation to a reputable humanitarian organization working in the disaster region.

School Enrollment in the United States: 2006
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

A national-level update of characteristics of the nation’s more than 75 million students. Eight tables include number of students by attributes such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, family income, type of college and vocational course enrollment. This Internet-only release comes from data collected each October as part of the Current Population Survey. The full report with analysis of the details is expected later this summer.

+ School Enrollment

Fact Sheet — Emergency Supplemental: Iraq, Afghanistan, Veterans, and Workers (PDF; 60 KB)
Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations

This week the House of Representatives will consider the emergency supplemental bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and pressing domestic needs. Under consideration are $183.77 billion in outstanding requests from the President. The Democratic proposal totals $183.686 billion, just under the President’s request for appropriated dollars.

As Congress considers the most recent war request, it is important that we also meet our obligations to those who bravely serve and address the economic insecurity of those at home. Thus, the proposal also includes 2 new initiatives not requested by the President:
1.) an expanded GI Bill to provide improved education benefits for veterans, and
2.) a 13 week extension of unemployment benefits for those workers who are unable to find a job in today’s rough economy.

The proposal will be taken up as 3 amendments.
+ Amendment #1: $162.5 billion for the Department of Defense, funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the summer of 2009.
+ Amendment #2: Iraq Policy Restrictions.
+ Amendment #3: Expanded GI Bill, Unemployment Insurance Extension, and other critical needs.

Healthcare Inspection Scopes of Practice for Unlicensed Physicians Engaged in Veterans Health Administration Research (PDF; 174 KB)
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General

We determined in a previous inspection that certain unlicensed physicians functioned outside their scopes of practice, engaging in activities that may constitute the practice of medicine. In an effort to identify whether this problem was systemic in nature, we initiated a Combined Assessment Program (CAP) focused review, which began June 1, 2007, to evaluate whether this problem existed at additional facilities. The purpose of this review was to determine whether research activities performed by unlicensed physicians fell outside their scopes of practice, as determined by state law.

We performed this review in conjunction with 14 CAP reviews of VA medical facilities conducted from June 1, 2007, through September 30, 2007. We found that 5 of the 14 facilities did not employ unlicensed physicians in their research departments. The remaining 9 facilities identified 25 unlicensed physicians assigned to 59 human subjects research studies.

We did not find evidence that unlicensed physicians, with the exception of one, were performing activities that would constitute the practice of medicine. However, the majority of the scopes of practice were not in compliance with the Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) 2003 guidance in one or more criteria and occasionally did permit providers to engage in activities generally performed by licensed personnel, such as nurses.

We did not find uniform documentation of educational verification. The lack of a clearly defined, published Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policy for educational verification of unlicensed physicians functioning as research assistants is also symptomatic of the lack of policy and guidance in this area on a national level. VHA’s Office of Research Oversight does not consider that guidance posted on ORD’s website has the full force of formal VHA policy.

We recommended that the Under Secretary for Health ensure that the scopes of practice for all research personnel engaged in research activities do not permit activities requiring licensure. We further recommended that the credentialing of unlicensed personnel engaged in research involving human subjects complies with the requirements of VHA policy.

See also: Audit of Veterans Health Administration’s Oversight of Nonprofit Research and Education Corporations (PDF; 399 KB)

The President’s War Request: Local Costs Updated
Source: National Priorities Project

As Congress considers additional war funding, NPP offers a state-level table and breakdowns of the President’s proposed Iraq war spending by congressional district, county and city.

NPP’s analysis shows that of the President’s $178 billion war spending request, $135.4 billion is dedicated to the Iraq War, with close to $83.7 billion allocated for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2008 and $51.7 billion allocated for the first three months of Fiscal Year 2009. The remainder of the $178 billion in war funding is for Afghanistan and other Global War on Terror activities.

The table below shows, for each state, how much money has already been allocated to the Iraq war, what the additional amount under consideration will cost, and what that money could buy in local services instead.

+ Congressional district, county, and city data

Undercover Shoppers Find It Increasingly Difficult for Children to Buy M-Rated Games
Source: Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission today released the results of its latest nationwide undercover shop of movie theaters and movie, music, and video game retailers. The FTC conducted a survey with 13-to-16-year-old undercover shoppers to collect data about the extent to which retailers prevent unaccompanied children from buying tickets to R-rated movies, R-rated DVDs, Unrated DVDs of movies that were R-rated in theaters, M-rated video games, and music CDs labeled with a Parental Advisory Label – “PAL” – for explicit content.

The survey found that 20% of underage teenage shoppers were able to buy M-rated video games, a major improvement from all prior surveys, and down from 42% in 2006. While CD and DVD retailers demonstrated some improvement since the 2006 survey, roughly half of the undercover shoppers still were able to purchase R-rated and Unrated movie DVDs and PAL music CDs. The fact that so many children were able to purchase Unrated movie DVDs – some of which contain content that, if rated, might result in an NC-17 rating – indicates that retailers need to re-double their efforts in this area. Although movie theaters have improved since the 2000 shop, they still sold R-rated movie tickets to unaccompanied children 35% of the time, demonstrating no statistically significant improvement in ratings enforcement since 2003.

+ FTC’s Entertainment Ratings site
+ Video Games: Reading the Ratings on the Games People Play

U.S. Airline Industry: Issues and Role of Congress
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

Mergers, airline bankruptcies, aircraft safety and maintenance concerns, extensive flight delays and cancellations, $100-plus-per-barrel oil prices, and a litany of other issues define congressional interest in the airline industry at present. Congress does not play a day-to-day role in any of these issues. Most ongoing oversight of the industry, to the extent that it does occur, takes place within the executive branch. Congress periodically addresses airline issues through legislation, but for the most part the congressional role occurs primarily through oversight.

The authority to approve or disapprove airline mergers rests entirely with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) makes recommendations to DOJ based on its evaluation of the effect of a proposed merger on airline industry competition. Congress has no specific statutory role in the airline merger review and approval process, having legislatively charged the executive branch with that task.

Members of Congress can, and do, file statements with DOJ expressing their views on a proposed merger. Congressional interest going forward is likely to focus on the proposed merger between Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Recent incidents, including passengers being held in aircraft for eight or more hours awaiting takeoff, passengers being stranded by the shutdown of bankrupt air carriers, as well as deteriorating airline on-time arrival performance, have led to increasing congressional interest in airline passenger consumer issues.

Currently, most passenger rights are set forth in the airlines’ “contract of carriage” language. Existing law does, however, provide procedures and compensation rules for “bumping” and lost or damaged baggage. The main power the Department of Transportation (DOT) has to protect consumers is the department’s power to take action against air carriers for “deceptive trade practices.”

Despite impressive airline safety statistics in recent years, some aviation safety professionals and some Members of Congress have expressed concern that the industry and regulators have been lulled into complacency with regard to safety. This concern has been heightened recently in response to various findings that airlines have failed to fully comply with aircraft inspections and repairs mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Congressional oversight has focused on the relationship between the FAA and the airlines and the manner in which the FAA carries out its safety mandates. This report provides an overview of selected airline related issues currently subject to congressional oversight and/or possible legislation. Many of the issues discussed here are also addressed in some fashion as part of the ongoing congressional debate about reauthorization of the FAA. Those seeking additional information on reauthorization should refer to CRS Report RL33920, Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization: An Overview of Selected Provisions in Proposed Legislation. This report will be updated as warranted by events.

+ Full Report (PDF; 227 KB)

Suicide Prevention Among Veterans
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

Numerous news stories in the popular print and electronic media have documented suicides among servicemembers and veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In the United States, there are more than 30,000 suicides annually. Suicides among veterans are included in this number, but it is not known in what proportion. There is no nationwide system for surveillance of suicide specifically among veterans. Recent data show that about 20% of suicide deaths nationwide could be among veterans. It is not known what proportion of these deaths are among OIF/OEF veterans. Veterans have a number of risk factors that increase their chance of attempting suicide. These risk factors include combat exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems, traumatic brain injury (TBI), poor social support structures, and access to lethal means. Several bills addressing suicide in veterans have been introduced in the 110th Congress. On November 5, 2007, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (P.L. 110-110) was signed into law, requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a comprehensive program for suicide prevention among veterans. More recently, the Veterans Suicide Study Act (S. 2899) was introduced. This bill would require the VA to conduct a study, and report to Congress, regarding suicides among veterans since 1997. The VA has carried out a number of suicide prevention initiatives, including establishing a national suicide prevention hotline for veterans, conducting awareness events at VA medical centers, and screening and assessing veterans for suicide risk. This report discusses data sources and systems that can provide information about suicides in the general population and among veterans, and known risk and protective factors associated with suicide in each group. It also discusses suicide prevention efforts by the VA. It does not discuss Department of Defense (DOD) activities, or VA’s treatment of risk factors for suicide, such as depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. This report will be updated when legislative activity warrants.

+ Full Report (PDF; 120 KB)

Churches and Campaign Activity: Analysis Under Tax and Campaign Finance Laws
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

Churches and other houses of worship qualify for tax-exempt status as Internal Revenue Code ? 501(c)(3) organizations. One qualification for ? 501(c)(3) status is that these organizations may not participate in political campaign activity. They are permitted under the tax laws to engage in other political activities (e.g., distribute voter guides and invite candidates to speak at church functions) so long as such activity does not support or oppose a candidate. Additionally, church leaders may engage in campaign activity in their capacity as private individuals without negative tax consequences to the church. The tax code’s political campaign prohibition is sometimes referred to as the “Johnson Amendment,” after then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, who introduced the provision as an amendment to the Revenue Act of 1954. While some have argued the prohibition violates churches’ free exercise and free speech rights under the First Amendment, the two federal courts of appeals to address the issue have reached the opposite conclusion. Separate from the prohibition in the tax code, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) may also restrict the ability of churches to engage in electioneering activities. Legislation introduced in the 110th Congress, H.R. 2275, would repeal the political campaign prohibition in the tax code. If this bill were enacted into law, churches could engage in campaign activities without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, but they would still be subject to applicable campaign finance laws. This report examines the restrictions imposed on campaign activity by churches under tax and campaign finance laws, discusses recent IRS inquiries into such activity, and analyzes H.R. 2275.

+ Full Report (PDF; 117 KB)

Removing Aliens from the United States: Judicial Review of Removal Orders
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

Aliens may be removed from the United States for a variety of reasons, such as entering into the country unlawfully, overstaying a visa, or committing a crime. Prior to removal, however, aliens usually have access to a removal hearing or some other form of adjudication that determines whether an alien is subject to removal. Although judicial review by a federal court of appeals of a removal order is generally available, Congress has denied the federal courts jurisdiction to review many types of removals, such as expedited removal orders, crime-related removals, discretionary determinations, and matters involving prosecutorial discretion. Jurisdictional issues related to removal are further complicated because of the constitutional requirement that some adequate substitute for habeas corpus be available for all removal orders. In order to satisfy this requirement, Congress specifically preserved the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to review constitutional claims and questions of law for all removals, even those arising from an area where judicial review is generally barred. This report shall attempt to wend a way through the jurisdictional thicket created by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by focusing on the procedural mechanisms used to initiate judicial review and the reach of an Article III court’s jurisdiction to review a removal order. Discussion concerning the procedures underlying removal hearings and administrative review is limited to their relation to judicial review and will not be expatiated.

+ Full Report (PDF; 132 KB)

New GAO Reports (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
9 May 2008

1. Offshore Marine Aquaculture: Multiple Administrative and Environmental Issues Need to Be Addressed in Establishing a U.S. Regulatory Framework
2. Federal Real Property: Corps of Engineers Needs to Improve the Reliability of Its Real Property Disposal Data

The America COMPETES Act and the FY2009 Budget
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) responds to concerns that the United States may not be able to compete economically with other nations in the future due to insufficient investment today in science and technology research and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. A similar concern led President Bush to announce the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) in January 2006. In March 2008, both the House and Senate included in their budget resolutions support for the America COMPETES Act. The act authorizes increases in the nation’s investment in science and engineering research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.

In addition, the act authorizes new STEM education programs at NSF, DOE, and the Department of Education (ED) and enhances the funding of some existing programs at NSF including the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. A concern to some policymakers is whether federal appropriations will meet the act’s authorized levels. The act also establishes within DOE the Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy (ARPA-E) and Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes. ARPA-E is designed to support transformational energy technology research projects with the goal of enhancing the nation’s economic and energy security.

An issue for Congress is whether to appropriate funds to ARPA-E. The President’s FY2009 budget does not request appropriations for ARPA-E. Instead, it requests funding of six new technology transfer collaborations that integrate basic and applied research. The Discovery Science and Engineering Innovation Institutes are multidisciplinary research institutes, located at DOE National Laboratories, that would apply fundamental science and engineering discoveries to technological innovations. The President’s FY2009 budget would not establish these institutes. The Administration proposes instead to establish Energy Frontier Research Centers (ERFCs) at universities focused on transformative research. In STEM education, the act authorizes ED and NSF programs to encourage STEM degree majors and professionals to become K-12 STEM teachers. At ED, an issue for Congress is that although the Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow program is appropriated for FY2008, the Administration proposes to eliminate it for FY2009. At NSF, the FY2009 budget justification provides a FY2008 budget estimate less than Congress appropriated for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program and requests FY2009 funding at approximately 10% of that authorized in the act. At DOE, an issue is the degree to which DOE has taken actions to establish the new DOE STEM education initiatives authorized in the act. The DOE FY2009 budget justification notes the America COMPETES Act and mentions many DOE STEM education programs, but it does not identify any specific America COMPETES Act initiatives. As a result, the status of these programs is unclear.

+ Full Report (PDF; 134 KB)

Allstate America’s Teen Driving Hotspots Study (PDF; 657 KB)
Source: Allstate/Sperling’s BestPlaces
From press release:

Summary of Findings

The 10 deadliest hotspots among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas are concentrated in the southern United States and include four in Florida. The metropolitan areas (a central city and its surrounding counties) that were the greatest hotspots for fatal teen crashes are:

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN
Birmingham-Hoover, AL
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Kansas City, MO-KS
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
Louisville, KY-IN

The 10 least deadly teen driving hotspots (of the largest 50 metro areas) are:

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
Salt Lake City, UT
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

The Role of Healthcare Work Environments in Shaping a Safety Culture
Source: Canadian Policy Research Networks

A strong safety culture is critical to the ability of Canada’s health care institutions and facilities to deliver high quality patient services. To meet this goal, these organizations need to build and sustain an organization-wide understanding and practice of safety. In The Role of Healthcare Work Environments in Shaping a Safety Culture, CPRN Research Associate Graham Lowe discusses the importance that workplace environment factors such as work features and occupational or organizational practices play in creating a culture of safety. The study is based on a 2006 Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) survey of allied health professional and technical workers in Alberta.

+ Full Report (PDF; 644 KB)

Capital Budgeting (PDF; 238 KB)
Source: Congressional Budget Office

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper, prepared at the request of the Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a capital budget at the federal level. It also examines implementation issues, including options for defining capital spending.