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U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa [August 2022]
From the Executive Summary: "Sub-Saharan Africa is critical to advancing our global priorities. It has one of the world's fastest growing populations, largest free trade areas, most diverse ecosystems, and one of the largest regional voting groups in the United Nations (UN). It is impossible to meet this era's defining challenges without African contributions and leadership. The region will factor prominently in efforts to: end the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic; tackle the climate crisis; reverse the global tide of democratic backsliding; address global food insecurity; strengthen an open and stable international system; shape the rules of the world on vital issues like trade, cyber, and emerging technologies; and confront the threat of terrorism, conflict, and transnational crime. This strategy reframes the region's importance to U.S. national security interests. [...] Accordingly, this strategy articulates a new vision for how and with whom we engage, while identifying additional areas of focus. It welcomes and affirms African agency, and seeks to include and elevate African voices in the most consequential global conversations. It calls for developing a deeper bench of partners and more flexible regional architecture to respond to urgent challenges and catalyze economic growth and opportunities. It recognizes the region's youth as an engine of entrepreneurship and innovation, and it emphasizes the enduring and historical ties between the American and African peoples. And it recasts traditional U.S. policy priorities--democracy and governance, peace and security, trade and investment, and development--as pathways to bolster the region's ability to solve global problems alongside the United States."
United States. White House Office
2022-08
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FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: August 2022
This August 2022 edition of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin contains the following content: "Radford City, Virginia, Police Department"; "Alfred, New York, Police Department"; "Police Practice: Providing Cell Phones to Those in Need"; "Bulletin Notes; Depression in the Ranks"; "Community Outreach Spotlight: National Faith and Blue Weekend"; and "Crime Data: National Use-of-Force Data Collection Statistics for 2021."
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
2022-08
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National Research Action Plan on Long COVID
From the Executive Summary: "On April 5, 2022, President Biden issued the 'Memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19' [coronavirus disease 2019] outlining actions needed to support the American people in addressing the longer-term effects of COVID-19. The President charged the Secretary of Health and Human Services with coordinating a government-wide response to Long COVID. An element of that response was for the Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with federal partners, to develop two reports[:] [1] Services and Supports for Longer-Term Impacts of COVID-19 Report (Services Report)[;] [2] National Research Action Plan on Long COVID (the Plan). The Services Report outlines federal services and mechanisms of support available to the American public in addressing the longer-term effects of COVID-19. The Plan provides the first U.S. government-wide national research agenda focused on advancing prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and provision of services and supports for individuals and families experiencing Long COVID."
United States. Department of Health and Human Services
2022-08
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COVID Pandemic and the Federal Budget
From the Abstract: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and the associated policy responses generated large federal budget deficits in recent years. The good news is that these factors are expected to have mainly short-term effects on the federal budget. The bad news is that - as the pandemic recedes, the associated policies expire, and the economy transitions to a more normal state of affairs - the government inherits a much larger national debt than was projected before the pandemic, and other fiscal parameters return more or less to their pre-COVID trajectories, which already were and still are unsustainable and will eventually require federal action. How quickly those actions are needed will depend on many factors, including the path of interest rates."
Brookings Institute. Economic Studies Program
Auerbach, Alan J.; Gale, William G.
2022-08
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Lawfare in Ukraine: Weaponizing International Investment Law and the Law of Armed Conflict Against Russia's Invasion
From the Executive Summary: "This paper explores Ukraine's innovative use of international investment law to hold Russia financially liable for damages arising out of its 2014 invasion and occupation of Crimea, and how this use of 'lawfare' strategy can be further leveraged considering Russia's renewed military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following Russia's initial 2014 invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine decided not to use its military forces to directly confront Russian forces. Instead, Ukraine opted for a deliberate and systematic use of 'lawfare,' broadly defined as the use of the law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective. Ukraine focused on a particular area of law--international investment law--as a legal means to 'wage war' against Russia. Ukraine's lawfare response to Russia's incursion presents a unique and instructive case study of a belligerent State's systematic use of legal means--including the leveraging of the law of armed conflict (LOAC)--as a weapon in an ongoing international armed conflict in the Great Power competition (GPC) context."
National Defense University. Institute for National Strategic Studies
Chang, Eric Z.
2022-08
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Competition in International Shipping: What the Administration Misunderstands About the Current Crisis, and How the Jones Act Makes Everyone Worse Off
From the Document: "This brief's title, especially the latter part, may seem puzzling at first: How can a policy that makes everyone worse off have stayed around for 100 years basically unaltered? The title portrays a bigger picture, though: American shipbuilders, mariners, and shipping company owners are better off because of the law, but the rest of the population--those not employed in the building or sailing of US-built, -owned, -flagged, and -crewed ships that carry domestic goods by water--is worse off. Without the law, shipping would be less expensive; gas prices and highway congestion might be less too. Despite these facts, and despite multiple recessions, wars, and even a life-altering pandemic over the past 100 years, the Jones Act has enjoyed steadfast bipartisan support. Although 2022's monumental supply chain disruptions are not entirely the fault of the Jones Act, it is not a stretch to say the act has played a pivotal role in exacerbating the crisis. In the wake of a pandemic that, as of this brief's publication, has not yet fully ended, shipping costs have skyrocketed. Wait times for basic goods have increased too, with staple home appliances such as dishwashers and refrigerators taking months to arrive in stores"
Mercatus Center
Abbott, Alden F.; Mercado, Andrew L.
2022-08
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MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 29, 2022
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly (MMWR) is a government published scientific periodical series offering public health information. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "Gun Carrying Among Youths, by Demographic Characteristics, Associated Violence Experiences, and Risk Behaviors -- United States, 2017-2019"; "Progress Toward the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of
Hepatitis B Virus -- Worldwide, 2016-2021"; "Chronic Conditions Among Adults Aged 18-34 Years -- United States, 2019"; "Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] mRNA [messenger ribonucleic acid] Vaccine Second Booster Doses Among Adults Aged ≥50 Years -- United States, March 29, 2022-July 10, 2022"; and "Cluster of Parechovirus Central Nervous System Infections in Young Infants -- Tennessee, 2022." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2022.html]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2022-07-29
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Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Hanford Site Cleanup Costs Continue to Rise, but Opportunities Exist to Save Tens of Billions of Dollars
From the Document: "The Hanford Site in Washington State is home to one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the world. It comprises a 586-square-mile campus established in 1943 to conduct research on and produce weapons-grade nuclear materials. After these activities ceased in the late 1980s, the Department of Energy (DOE) began cleanup of the resulting hazardous and radioactive waste. This waste includes 54 million gallons of liquids and sludge stored in 177 large underground waste storage tanks at the site. This waste must be retrieved and treated (immobilized) before disposal, according to legal requirements and agreements made with federal and state environmental regulators. Other cleanup activities at the site include decommissioning old facilities and decontaminating soil and groundwater. In 2022, DOE estimated that completing cleanup of the entire site would cost between $300 billion and $640 billion and take decades.1 Over the last 5 fiscal years, the site has received annual appropriations of about $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion. DOE manages the Hanford cleanup through two separate offices: the Office of River Protection, which oversees the tank waste cleanup mission, and the Richland Operations Office, which oversees site cleanup not related to the waste in the tanks. For each of the last 5 fiscal years, the tank waste mission received appropriations of about $1.6 billion dollars, while the Richland Operations Office received about $0.9 billion."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2022-07-29
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 3228, a Bill to Direct the Secretary of Commerce, Acting Through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to Improve Science, Data, and Services That Enable Sound Decision Making in Response to Coastal Flood Risk, Including Impacts of Sea Level Rise, Storm Events, Changing Great Lakes Water Levels, and Land Subsidence
From the Document: "H.R. 3228 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to research coastal flooding, coastal land loss, sea level rise, and the water levels of the Great Lakes and to use the resulting data to help affected communities plan for current and future risks of flooding. [1] Section 1 would authorize the appropriation of $3 million annually over the 2022-2026 period to NOAA for those purposes, and [2] Section 2 would create an interagency subcommittee for research concerning the science and technology used to measure, predict, and deliver information about the risk of coastal flooding."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-29
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 3905, Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act
From the Document: "S. 3905 would require the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to update its definition of organizational conflicts of interest and provide federal agencies with language designed to mitigate such conflicts in their solicitation proposals and contracts. CBO [Congressional Budget Office] expects that the FAR Council would need to add new regulatory language and create specific guidance for some agencies. Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost about $1 million over the 2023-2027 period to update the Federal Acquisition Regulation and for federal agencies to comply with those changes. Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-29
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Big Tech in Financial Services [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Summary: "For the past decade or so, 'Big Tech'--which hereinafter refers to the large technology companies Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook (now Meta Platforms), unless otherwise noted--has been offering a variety of financial services products to retail customers. Big Tech uses advanced data analysis and novel partnerships with traditional financial institutions to redefine financial services. The financial service with unanimous participation among Big Tech companies is payments. In 2021, more than 100 million consumers used mobile payment apps, including those provided by Big Tech. Other offerings include credit cards and lines of credit, value storage, and stablecoin wallets. In addition to these direct offerings of financial services, Big Tech has other significant, albeit less direct, ties to finance. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google account for roughly twothirds of cloud service in the United States and count banks and other financial institutions as major customers. Big Tech relies on partnerships with traditional financial institutions in some capacity to deliver nearly all of these services. The variation in such relationships accounts for much of the difference both between companies and among products offered by the same company. These complex partnerships can obscure the role of Big Tech and the ultimate provider of the financial service, and they raise the question: Do Big Tech companies provide convenient interfaces, or are they true financial institutions? The answer to that question, perhaps not surprisingly, lies somewhere in between. Big Tech companies are neither pure financial institutions nor solely technology providers."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Tierno, Paul
2022-07-29
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Overseas Crime in the United States [July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "How do you commit a crime in the United States when you have never been here? According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) in 'United States v. Elbaz' [hyperlink], you can commit a crime in the United States without being physically present by phoning it in, even though the crime in question, wire fraud [hyperlink], only applies domestically. Specifically, the Fourth Circuit recently held that the wire fraud statute could be applied to a defendant's domestic conduct in using wires located in the United States to defraud victims in the United States without having to be physically present in the United States."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2022-07-29
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Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Procurement Program [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Summary: "The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Procurement Program is intended to provide SDVOSBs greater access to federal contracting opportunities. The program is designed to help federal agencies achieve the government's statutory goal of awarding SDVOSBs at least 3% of the total value of all prime and subcontract dollars awarded each fiscal year. The program is federal government-wide with two sets of similar, but not identical, regulations; one issued by the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and another issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Administrator for all other federal agencies. Under this program, federal contracting officers may set aside (reserve) federal contracts (or orders) for bidding by SDVOSBs exclusively."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Dilger, Robert Jay, 1954-; Blackford, R. Corinne
2022-07-29
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Statehood Process and Political Status of U.S. Territories: Brief Policy Background [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "Proposals to admit new states to the union are as old as the republic. An expanded United States was contemplated at least as early as 1787, with enactment of the Northwest Ordinance, which addressed territorial expansion, even before the first states ratified the U.S. Constitution later the same year. Vermont joined the union in 1791, the first new state beyond the 13 original colonies. Arizona and New Mexico completed the contiguous United States in 1912. Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states respectively in 1959. Would-be states have relied on different methods to join the union, and there is no single process for doing so. This In Focus provides brief background about the statehood process generally, and about how it might affect congressional consideration of proposed statehood for U.S. territories."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Garrett, R. Sam, 1977-
2022-07-29
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Wilderness: Overview, Management, and Statistics [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Summary: "Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964. This act created the National Wilderness Preservation System, reserved to Congress the authority to designate wilderness areas, and directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to review certain lands' potential wilderness designation. The act also designated 54 wilderness areas with 9 million acres of federal land. Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968. As of July 6, 2022, there are 803 wilderness areas, totaling approximately 112 million acres, in 44 states and Puerto Rico. Numerous bills to designate additional wilderness areas and to expand existing ones have been introduced and considered in every Congress since the act's passage. The Wilderness Act defined 'wilderness' as an area of undeveloped federal land, among other criteria, but due to differing perceptions of wilderness and its purpose, it did not establish criteria or standards to determine whether an area should be so designated. In general, wilderness areas are undeveloped; commercial activities, motorized access, and roads, structures, and facilities are prohibited in wilderness areas. In response to conflicting demands, however, Congress has granted both general exemptions and specific exceptions to the general standards and prohibitions. Questions persist over the frequency and extent to which federal agencies must review the wilderness potential of their lands, and how those lands should be managed."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Riddle, Anne A.; Hoover, Katie
2022-07-29
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FY2023 NDAA: Military Abortion Policies [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "The June 24, 2022, Supreme Court decision on 'Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health' [hyperlink], which overturns 'Roe v. Wade' and allows states to restrict abortion access, has raised questions from some Members of Congress [hyperlink] about the ability of military personnel and their family members to access abortion services when assigned to military installations in such jurisdictions. In most cases, while military servicemembers can submit assignment preferences, Department of Defense (DOD) policy [hyperlink] dictates that the primary consideration for assigning servicemembers is 'current qualifications and the ability to fill a valid requirement.' Senior officials may approve exceptions to this policy in certain instances (e.g., personal or family hardships)."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kamarck, Kristy N.; Mendez, Bryce H. P.; Kaileh, Hibbah
2022-07-29
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FY2023 NDAA: Selective Service and Draft Registration [July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "Several provisions in the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)-reported National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA; S. 4543) would make changes to the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA; 50 U.S.C. §3801 et seq. [hyperlink]). The MSSA provides statutory authority for the federal government to maintain an independent Selective Service Agency responsible for managing the Selective Service System [hyperlink] (SSS) and for delivering qualified civilian men for induction into the Armed Forces of the United States when authorized by the President and Congress. Under the MSSA, all male U.S. citizens and most male noncitizen residents of the United States between the ages of 18 and 26 are required to register with the SSS. Knowingly or willfully failing to register may result in certain federal and state penalties including fines, imprisonment [hyperlink], and ineligibility for federal employment [hyperlink] or workforce programs [hyperlink]. While legislative proposals have been introduced to require women to register, none of these has been enacted."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Kamarck, Kristy N.
2022-07-29
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H. Rept. 117-449: In the Matter of Allegations Relating to the Arrests of Members of the House During a Protest Outside the United States Supreme Court on July 19, 2022, Report, July 29, 2022
From the Findings and Conclusions: "On July 27, 2022, the Committee convened for the purpose of considering the July 19, 2022, arrests of 17 Members of the House for Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding, during a protest outside the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. [...] The Committee voted against impanelling an investigative subcommittee in this matter. The Committee considered the scope and nature of the conduct described above and determined that review by an investigative subcommittee is not required in this matter. The Committee has determined to take no further action in this matter, and upon publication of this Report, considers the matter closed."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2022-07-29
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Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, April Through June 2022
From the Document: "I am pleased to present our ninth Quarterly Report to Congress. During this reporting period we conducted four audit attestations of airlines that received direct loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These attestations showed that the airlines properly completed certifications to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for their loans to move on to the underwriting phase. This work is important as the taxpayer relies on air transport in their daily lives and expects their hard-earned dollars to be utilized in the way the CARES Act intended. We also issued an alert memorandum notifying Treasury that its Calendar Year 2021 direct loan monitoring was delayed. We recommended Treasury create and finalize a monitoring policy and a plan of action to ensure that monitoring is done in a timely manner. Treasury agreed with our recommendations."
United States. Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
2022-07-29?
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Libya and U.S. Policy [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "Eleven years after a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime authoritarian leader Muammar al Qadhafi, Libya has yet to make a transition to stable governing arrangements. Elections and diplomacy have produced a series of interim governments [...], but militias, local leaders, and subnational coalitions backed by competing foreign patrons have remained the most powerful arbiters of public affairs. The postponement of planned elections in 2021, Libyans' continuing lack of consensus over constitutional and legal arrangements, the potential fragility of a United Nations (U.N.)-backed ceasefire, and the reemergence of institutional rivalry threaten Libya's stability and pose challenges for U.S. decisionmakers. Successive U.S. Administrations have sought to prevent Libya from serving as a permissive environment for transnational terrorist groups and have taken different approaches to conflict and competition among Libyans. The Biden Administration supports the holding of new elections in Libya and has used U.S. influence to bolster U.N.-led mediation efforts to that end. Congress has appropriated funds to enable U.S. diplomacy and aid programs, and some Members have called for more assertive U.S. engagement."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Blanchard, Christopher M.
2022-07-29
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Near Peer: China (Understanding the Chinese Military) [video]
From the Video Description: "This film examines the Chinese military. Subject matter experts discuss Chinese history, current affairs, and military doctrine. Topics range from Mao, to the PLA [People's Liberation Army], to current advances in military technologies. 'Near Peer: China' is the first film in a four-part series exploring America's global competitors." The duration of this video is 43 minutes and 45 seconds.
Army University Press (U.S.)
2022-07-29
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H. Rept. 117-448: Providing for Consideration of the Bill (H.R. 1808) to Regulate Assault Weapons, to Ensure That the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is Not Unlimited, and for Other Purposes, Report to Accompany H. Res. 1302, July 29, 2022
From the Summary of Provisions of the Resolution: "The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022, under a closed rule. The resolution provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their designees. The resolution waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The resolution provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-60, modified by the amendment printed in this report, shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. The resolution waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended. The resolution provides one motion to recommit."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2022-07-29
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Argentina: An Overview [Updated July 29, 2022]
From the Document: "Situated on the Atlantic coast of South America's Southern Cone, Argentina has a vibrant democratic tradition and Latin America's third-largest economy. U.S.-Argentine relations have been strong in recent years, and Congress maintains several areas of interest in bilateral relations. [...] Current President Alberto Fernández of the center-left Peronist-led 'Frente de Todos' (FdT, Front for All) coalition won the October 2019 presidential election and was inaugurated to a four-year term in December 2019. [...] The election also returned to government former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, from the leftist wing of the Peronist party, who ran on the FdT ticket as vice president. [...] In November 2021 midterm legislative elections (for a third of the seats in the Senate and half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies), the FdT lost its Senate majority but remained the largest bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, albeit without a majority. The economic impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and rising inflation were key factors in the legislative race. Argentina's next presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for October 2023. [...] In July 2022, Argentina's economic situation deteriorated further, with accelerating inflation and the peso rapidly losing its value. Political infighting within the Peronist government led to the resignation of Minister of Economy Martín Guzmán, considered the architect of Argentina's recent IMF [International Monetary Fund] agreement, which was strongly criticized by the leftist wing of the FdT. Guzmán initially was replaced by Silvina Batakis, considered to the left of Guzmán, but on July 28 President Fernández appointed the more moderate Sergio Massa, the leader of Argentina's lower house, as head of a more powerful economy ministry that also oversees manufacturing and agricultural policy."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Sullivan, Mark P.
2022-07-29
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 5768, Victim Act of 2022
From the Document: "H.R. 5768 would direct the Department of Justice to establish a program to award grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to improve the rate at which they solve crimes. Grants could be used for retaining or hiring detectives, upgrading forensic equipment, and ensuring victims of crimes have access to necessities, such as food and housing. Grant recipients would be required to report annually on how their funds were used, and the National Institute of Justice would be required to evaluate recipients' ability to improve solving crimes and report to the Congress on the results every two years. H.R. 5768 would authorize the appropriation of $100 million for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. Of the amounts appropriated, 10 percent must be awarded to tribal law enforcement agencies. Using historical spending patterns, CBO [Congressional Budget Office] estimates that implementing the bill would cost $377 million over the 2022-2027 period and an additional $500 million over the 2028-2032 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-28
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Sexual Harassment: Opportunities Remain for VA to Improve Program Structure, Policies, and Data Collection, Statement of Thomas Costa, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives
From the Highlights: "Sexual harassment in the workplace can cause harmful psychological, physical, occupational, and economic effects for workers. Several federal laws, executive orders, and agency directives are aimed at preventing and addressing sexual harassment at federal agencies. GAO [Government Accountability Office] issued a June 2020 report [...] that reviewed VA's [Department of Veterans Affairs] efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment at the agency. In this report, GAO made seven recommendations. This testimony discusses VA's efforts to implement GAO's recommendations to 1) ensure VA's EEO [equal employment opportunity] structure is properly aligned; 2) improve the agency's policies to prevent and address sexual harassment of VA employees; 3) collect and analyze data to inform VA about sexual harassment of its employees; and 4) improve relevant training."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Costa, Thomas
2022-07-28
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Information Technology and Cybersecurity: Using Scorecards to Monitor Agencies' Implementation of Statutory Requirements, Statement of Carol C. Harris, Director, Information Technology and Cybersecurity, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Government Operations, Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives
From the Highlights: "Congress has long recognized that IT [information technology] systems provide essential services critical to the health, economy, and defense of the nation. In support of these systems, the federal government annually spends more than $100 billion on IT and cyber-related investments. However, many of these investments have suffered from ineffective management. Further, recent high profile cyber incidents have demonstrated the urgency of addressing cybersecurity weaknesses. To improve the management of IT, Congress and the President enacted FITARA [Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act] in December 2014. FITARA applies to the 24 agencies subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, although with limited applicability to the Department of Defense. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to provide an overview of the scorecards released by this Subcommittee. The scorecards have been used for oversight of agencies' efforts to implement statutory provisions and other IT-related topics."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Harris, Carol C.
2022-07-28
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 4057, Strategic EV Management Act of 2022
From the Document: "S. 4057 would require the General Services Administration (GSA) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies, and within two years of enactment, develop a comprehensive plan to optimize the useful life of batteries that power electric vehicles in the government's fleet. The bill also would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the costs and benefits of a fleet of electric vehicles compared with a fleet powered by gasoline and diesel fuel. Using information from GSA about the agency's management of its electric vehicle fleet, CBO [Congressional Budget Office] expects that developing a comprehensive plan for battery management would not significantly increase the agency's administrative costs."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-28
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 4205, PAW Act
From the Document: "S. 4205 would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish an advisory working group to address the needs of household pets, service animals, and captive animals during emergency and disaster situations. Within one year, the working group would evaluate whether current federal guidance is meeting the needs of animals during those situations. If they find that the current guidance is insufficient, FEMA, in conjunction with the working group, would need to update and publish the revised guidance within three years. The working group would sunset after four years and members would serve without pay. Based on the costs of similar working groups, CBO [Congressional Budget Office] estimates that implementing S. 4205 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2022-2027 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-28
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EMR-ISAC: InfoGram, Volume 22 Issue 30, July 28, 2022
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (EMR-ISAC) InfoGram is a weekly publication of information concerning the protection of critical infrastructures relevant to members of the Emergency Services Sector. This issue includes the following articles: "Updates for EMS [emergency medical services] on the monkeypox outbreak"; "Emergency responder input sought on disruptive vehicle technologies such as EVs [electric vehicles] and autonomous vehicles"; "Cyber Safety Review Board releases inaugural report on the December 2021 Log4j [logging Utility for Java] event"; "Crisis Management for School-Based Incidents: Partnering Rural Law Enforcement, First Responders and Local School Systems"; "United States and Ukraine expand cooperation on cybersecurity"; "CISA [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] releases Log4Shell-related MAR [Malware Analysis Report]"; "Why whole-of-state cybersecurity is the way forward"; "Average data breach costs hit a record $4.4 million, report says"; and "Web Application Attacks in Healthcare."
Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (U.S.)
2022-07-28
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CBO's Estimate of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Effects of H.R. 5118, the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act,
From the Document: "H.R. 5118 would authorize projects to mitigate the risks of drought and wildfires, including efforts to conserve, desalinate, and recycle water; protect ecosystems and communities; and improve and protect the electric grid. Section 302 of division A would allow the Forest Service to spend interest earned on unspent collections from forfeitures, judgments, and settlements without further appropriation. CBO estimates that enacting that provision would increase direct spending by $20 million over the 2022-2032 period."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2022-07-28