Government Documents for You

**Press Release from the United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security**

January 14, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – Today, Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) and former Subcommittee Chairman for Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology, James R. Langevin (D-RI), released a Majority staff report entitled “Getting Beyond Getting Ready for Pandemic Influenza.”

The report examines the Nation’s state of preparedness and response capabilities in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. It identifies sixteen weaknesses in the outgoing Bush Administration’s approach to get prepared for pandemic influenza. In addition, the report provides fifteen critical recommendations for what Congress, the incoming Administration, and the public and private sectors can do to achieve National readiness to combat this threat.

Chairman Thompson released the following statement along with the report:

"It is possible that the next influenza pandemic will result in hundreds of thousands to millions of deaths – even here in the US. Further, pandemic influenza could destroy the security of our Nation and Homeland. Yet despite the horrific consequences, we still are not prepared as a Nation to fully withstand the impact of such a devastating widespread biological event.

The change in Presidential leadership presents a new opportunity to ensure that the Nation is ready to address pandemic influenza from a position of strength. The House Committee on Homeland Security looks forward to working with the Obama Administration to address this threat and achieve National readiness.

The will to meet and overcome pandemic influenza is as great a mission as any on the global battlefield. Our success depends on keeping up the fight until pandemic influenza is overcome.”

The report can be found at the following website: http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20090114124322-85263.pdf

Policy Options for Reducing CO₂ Emissions. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Budget Office, 2008. SUDOC: Y 10.2:P 75/6

There is a growing scientific consensus that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, which result from the burning of fossil fuels, are gradually warming the Earth’s climate. The amount of damage associated with that warming remains uncertain, but there is some risk that it could be large and perhaps even catastrophic.

Reducing that risk would require restraining the growth of CO2 emissions—and ultimately limiting those emissions to a level that would stabilize atmospheric concentrations—which would involve costs that are also uncertain but could be substantial. The most efficient approaches to reducing emissions of CO2 involve giving businesses and households an economic incentive for such reductions. Such an incentive could be provided in various ways, including a tax on emissions, a cap on the total annual level of emissions combined with a system of tradable emission allowances, or a modified cap-and-trade program that includes features to constrain the cost of emission reductions that would be undertaken in an effort to meet the cap.

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study was prepared at the request of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and compares policy options based on three key criteria: their potential to reduce emissions efficiently; to be implemented with relatively low administrative costs; and to create incentives for emission reductions that are consistent with incentives in other countries. In keeping with the mandate of the CBO to provide objective, impartial analysis, the report contains no recommendations.

This document is available online: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS90587

**Part of this entry is taken from the Preface of the document**

Oversight of Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery: A Semiannual Report to Congress, April 1, 2008 – September 30, 2008. President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency and Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency. Washington, D.C.: PCIE/ECIE, 2008. SUDOC: PREX 2.36:H 94/2008

This semiannual report is intended to keep the public apprised of the Federal Inspector General’s continuing effort to identify fraud, waste, and abuse with Gulf Coast hurricane recovery efforts (Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma). Activities monitored: Public Assistance Grants; Facility Inspections; Design – A&E; Construction; Repair; HMGP – future; Long Term Community; Recovery and Mitigation. At the time of publication, Congress has appropriated more than $149 billion and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has expended more than $35 billion on Gulf Coast disaster relief efforts.

This document is available online at: http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/semiannlrpts/OIG_PCIE_ECIE_Apr08_Sep08.pdf

Previous reports are available at: http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/gc_1161113899636.shtm

Congressional Candidates and Committees. Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission, 2008. SUDOC: Y 3.EL 2/3:13 C 76/2008

This guide summarizes the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidate committees as of April 2008. The guide is intended to assist House and Senate candidates comply with the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations. Interested parties can find information on federal campaign finance laws. Topics include: Testing the Waters; Starting the Campaign; Campaign Contributions (types and limits); Sources of Support; Expenditures; Campaign Conduct; Record Keeping; Campaign Communications; and other relevant issues.

This document is available online at: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS36736

Future versions of this document are located at: http://www.fec.gov/info/publications.shtml#guides

Sullivan, John V. and Robert A. Brady. How Our Laws Are Made. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2007. SUDOC: Y 1.1/7:110-49

This brief guide, published at the request of Congress, provides a basic outline of how laws are made in Congress. Topics include: the role of Congress; the different types of Congressional action or bills; Referring a matter to a Committee; the Committee process; Reporting a Bill; Calendars; Action on a matter; debate; Conference Committee; and Presidential actions.

This document is available online at: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS103851

The latest Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress (October 30, 2008) has been released and is available at
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct08/pdf/Report_-_October_2008.pdf

Their website blurb says "This penultimate quarter of the Year of Transfer witnessed the emergence of nascent normalcy in Iraq. As U.S. reconstruction assistance continued to target civil and military capacity building, Iraq achieved progress on the security, political, and economic fronts. Violent incidents dropped to their lowest levels since 2004; the long-awaited Provincial Election Law finally passed; and commercial activity, spurred by Iraq's oil-revenue windfall, continued to increase. But, as General Ray Odierno, the new Commanding General,
Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I), recently noted, Iraq "was a failed state [in 2006]. In 2008, it's a fragile state. We've got to move it to a stable state." To sustain progress in this direction, Iraq must improve its provision of security and essential services, such as electricity, potable water, sewage systems, and health care services."

Previous reports can be found at
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/default.aspx

Post on GovDoc-L from: Greta E. Marlatt, Information Services Manager & Homeland Security Digital Library Content Manager, Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School

The Congressional Bibliographies' primary goal is to be an authoritative, exhaustive reference source of meetings held and documents released by House and Senate committees. The Congressional Bibliographies focus on a select few of the types of publications issued by Congress as a part of the legislative process - hearings, prints, and publications. Its greatest emphasis is on Senate hearings.

Much of the work of Congress occurs in committees where members receive information from witnesses in hearings. Congress is interested in a wide range of topics, from foreign policy to finance, from agriculture to public health and sports. The transcripts of committee hearings are of great value in researching the issues facing our nation and the world. The Congressional Bibliographies identifies hearings held, hearings published, and hearings unpublished; and facilitates researchers' access to this important body of literature.

The Congressional Bibliographies project pursues its two goals with four different products.

* Authoritative lists of printed Senate Hearings, Prints and Publications
* Statistics and lists of Senate Unprinted Hearings
* Chronological lists of meetings held by House and Senate committees
* Searchable database of House and Senate committee meetings

Available on the Internet: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/congbibs/

Post on GovDoc-L from: John A. McGeachy, Social Sciences Reference Librarian, Research & Information Services Department, North Carolina State University

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

The Sunlight Foundation has created a widget where users can keep up with the latest tweets from members of Congress who use Twitter. The Sunlight Foundation’s Capitol Tweets widget updates you every 10 minutes with the latest tweets from members of Congress.

Users can download the widget from the following website:
http://sunlightfoundation.com/capitoltweets/

For a list of the Members of Congress who Twitter go to the following website:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Members_of_Congress_who_Twitter

Snider, L. Britt. The Agency and the Hill: CIA’s Relationship with Congress, 1946-2004. Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 2008.

This is a study of the CIA’S relationship with Congress, from the creation of the Agency until 2004. In Part I of the book, the author portrays how Congress and the Agency related before and after the creation of the committees on select intelligence, and discusses how the Agency shared intelligence and Congress managed oversight. Part II describes what the relationship produced over time: legislation affecting the Agency; programs and budget; oversight of analysis; oversight of collection; oversight of covert action; oversight of security and personnel matters; and the Senate confirmation process. It highlights what the principal issues have been for Congress in each area as well as how those issues have been handled.

Available on the Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS101665

**Taken from Preface.**

September 12, 2007, marked the official debut of The Dirksen Congressional Center's new online version of Congress in the Classroom® - http://moodle.congressclass.org - an award-winning course for teachers. This improved version of the course uses a more interactive approach, featuring many options to engage you (and the instructor) in the course materials.

Congress in the Classroom® Online will help you understand today's Congress and suggest ways to teach about it. The self-paced online course is organized around the twin responsibilities of Congress members: representation and lawmaking. There are twenty individual units on such topics as "What Makes for Effective Members of Congress?" "How Representative is the Membership of Congress?" and "Lawmaking: Understanding the Basics."

Do you teach social studies, American government, American history, or civics? Are your lessons about the U.S. Congress out of date? Is it hard to engage your students in learning about the House and Senate? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then Congress in the Classroom® Online is the course for you!

Link for the Dirksen Congressional Center: http://www.dirksencenter.org/

Post on GovDoc-L from: Cindy Koeppel, Dirksen Congressional Center

The Thurgood Marshall Law Library has recently added two timely Congressional Research Service (CRS) research summaries to its Special Collections & Digital Projects collection. The Cost of Government Financial Interventions, Past and Present and Proposal to Allow Treasury to Buy Mortgage-Related Assets to Address Financial Instability have been written in response to the financial turmoil occurring in the United States financial markets.

The Cost of Financial Interventions, Past and Present attempts to answer questions about the recent financial interventions by the government in the business of private corporations. Sources of funding and the costs to the taxpayer are discussed. The AIG, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns cases are used as examples. A table of a Summary of Current and Historical Financial Interventions by the Federal Government is also supplied.
Available on the Internet:
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/crsreports/crsdocuments/RS22965_09232008.pdf

Proposal to Allow Treasury to Buy Mortgage-Related Assets to Address Financial Instability explains Treasury Secretary Paulsen's [draft of 9/21/2008] plan for legislative authorization to allow direct intervention in the economy. This report analyzes the proposals by answering frequently asked questions.
Available on the Internet:
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/crsreports/crsdocuments/RS22957_09222008.pdf

Post on GovDoc-L from: Bill Sleeman, Assistant Director for Technical Services,
Thurgood Marshall Law Library, The University of Maryland School of Law

OpenCRS.com provides a directory of websites where you can find almost 4,000 CRS reports. Included in the directory is the National Council for Science and the Environment, Federation of American Scientists, Thurgood Marshall Law Library/University of Maryland School of Law, National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, and the Center for Democracy & Technology.

This website is available at: http://opencrs.com/

The Government Documents Department at the University of North Texas, in collaboration with the University of Texas and Oklahoma State University, also has CRS reports available to the public.

This collection is available at: http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007: memorial tributes in the One Hundred Tenth Congress of the United States. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 2008.
SUDOC: Y 1.1/2:SERIAL 15075

This is a compilation of addresses and tributes as given in the United States House of Representatives and Senate plus additional materials, including the texts of eulogies, messages, prayers, and scriptural selections delivered at the memorial services held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and Riverbend Center, on the life, character, and service of Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States.

**Text obtained from book’s contents.**

Available on the Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS95859

Memorial Services in the Congress of the United States and Tributes in eulogy of Gerald R. Ford, late a President of the United States. Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : [Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., distributor], 2007.
SUDOC: Y 1.1/2:SERIAL 15117

This is a compilation of addresses and tributes as given in the United States House of Representatives and Senate plus additional materials, including the texts of eulogies, messages, prayers, and scriptural selections delivered at the funeral services held in Palm Desert, CA, Washington, D.C., and in Grand Rapids, MI, on the life, character, and public service of the late President Gerald R. Ford. Also includes text from Naming Ceremony for the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.

**Text obtained from book’s contents.**

Available on the Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS95813

The House of Representatives Committee on Standards of Official Conduct publishes an annual Ethics Manual to govern the conduct of House Members. This year's Manual is now available electronically at the following link:

http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf

The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. (http://www.llsdc.org) is pleased to announce a considerable expansion of a publication on its Legislative Source Book entitled "Legislative Histories of Selected U.S. Laws on the Internet" (http://www.llsdc.org/Leg-Hist). The expanded site now encompasses almost all commercial as well non-commercial (free) Federal legislative histories available on the Internet. These commercial histories (Lexis, Westlaw, and HeinOnline) are listed alphabetically by the short title of the public law and then in public law number order whether or not that arrangement is on the vendor site. The layout is similar (but with less detail) to the two listings of non-commercial legislative histories presented just before the commercial listings. Each entry also has a direct
link to the history's URL site or to its general vendor site. In addition, following the public law number list for commercial histories, are entries and links to large or special collected histories (such as the new GAO histories on Westlaw or collected tax related histories). Finally, at the bottom of the site are many explanatory notes about legislative histories, source sites, and citations to public law numbers as well as related statute, U.S. Code and C.F.R. cites.

http://www.llsdc.org/Leg-Hist

**Text taken from a posting by Rick McKinney on the GovDoc-L listserv.**

Post on GovDoc-L from: Rick McKinney, Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board Law Library

Effects of Gasoline Prices on Driving Behavior and Vehicle Markets. U.S. Congressional Budget Office, January 2008.
SUDOC: Y 10.2:G 21/5

**Excerpt from Preface**

Consumers in the past have not responded very much to small fluctuations in the price of gasoline. The recent large increases have led many people to make adjustments in the way they drive and in the kinds of vehicles they buy. This CBO report relates rising gasoline prices to changes in how fast people drive, the volume of highway traffic, and rail transit ridership. It also examines the effects on market shares, fuel economy, and pricing of cars and light trucks purchased over the past several years. This study provides an indication of the kinds of adjustments consumers will make if gasoline prices continue to rise, and of the implications of rising gasoline prices for policies that would discourage gasoline consumption and thus limit the growth in carbon dioxide emissions. As part of the CBO’s mandate, this is an objective, impartial analysis that makes no recommendations. The study is broken down into four sections: Gasoline Prices and Driving Behavior, Gasoline Prices and Vehicle Markets, Study Data, and Analytical Approach and Econometric Results.

Available on the Internet:
http://cdm266301.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p266401coll4&CISOPTR=1787

The Constitution of the United States of America as amended: unratified amendments, analytical index. United States Congress – House document: no. 110-50
SUDOC: Y 1.1/7:110-50

This document contains the original text of the Constitution, along with the signatories. A brief historical note is included discussing the need for a new Constitution, the original debates, and the ratification process. Additionally, there is a section detailing the Amendments to the Constitution and each amendments ratification information. There is also a section on the six amendments that were submitted to the States and not ratified. Finally, there is an extensive index to the Constitution and Amendments.

Available on the Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS92620

Renewing the Spirit of National and Community Service – Hearing before the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities – Committee on Education and Labor – U.S. House of Representatives – 110th Congress, 1st Session – April 19, 2007.
SUDOC: Y 3.ED 8/1:110-21

The Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities discussed and heard speeches concerning innovative programs with a focus on opportunities for service to assist in keeping America competitive in the global knowledge economy and help renew the spirit of national and community services.

Available on the Internet:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_house_hearings&docid=f:34538.pdf

Paying for a College Education: Barriers and Solutions for Students and Families – Hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness – Committee on Education and Labor – U.S. House of Representatives – 110th Congress, 1st Session – May 1, 2007.
SUDOC: Y 4.ED 8/1:110-29

The Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness conducted a series of hearings on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The prior committee hearings discussed how the United States is falling behind in producing college graduates and how well we are preparing low-income and first-generation students for college. This hearing addresses the removal of financial barriers to college education.