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Child Tax Credit: Proposed Expansion in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; H.R. 1319) [Updated March 1, 2021]
From the Document: "In recent years, there has been increased interest in providing direct benefits to families with children to reduce child poverty in the United States, sometimes in the form of tax benefits. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) included a 'child allowance' as part of a package of policies to reduce child poverty over 10 years. (Senator Romney has also proposed a child allowance.) Some research has suggested that increasing the amount of the child tax credit that low-income families receive would substantially reduce child poverty, boost future earnings, and potentially improve future health and education outcomes. In the 116th Congress, there were several legislative proposals to expand the child tax credit, especially for lower-income families that tend to receive little or no benefit from the current credit. In the 117th Congress, a temporary one-year expansion of the child credit (for 2021) is included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; H.R. 1319). This Insight provides a summary of the current child tax credit and an overview of the proposal to expand it included in H.R. 1319, as passed the House on February 27, 2021."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
2021-03-01
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Assessment Tool for Laboratories Implementing SARS-CoV-2 Testing: Interim Guidance
From the Overview: "This Laboratory Assessment Tool (LAT) is specifically designed to assess capacities of existing laboratories which have implemented or aim to implement SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory system coronavirus 2] testing. It addresses both core capacities of a laboratory and specificities related to SARS-CoV-2 testing. It is a focused and shorter version from the existing complete laboratory assessment tool that can be found at https://www.who.int/ihr/publications/laboratory_tool/en/ [hyperlink] The target audience is any stakeholder performing laboratory assessments such as national health authorities, multilateral agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and laboratory managers. Assessors can use the tool, and customized if needed, to meet local requirements or assessment context. This tool is an Excel file, which enables automatic calculations of module indicators."
World Health Organization
2020-10-02
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Asian Discrimination in the Coronavirus Era: Implications for Business Formation and Survival
From the Abstract: "With the onset of the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, Asians became the victims of a sudden increase in racial discrimination as public officials repeatedly referred to the virus as the 'Chinese virus.' We document that Asian entrepreneurship has been disproportionally hurt after January 2020, particularly among Asian immigrants, declining by 17 percent when compared to non-Hispanic whites. Examining the dynamics of transitions into and out of self-employment, we find a substantial increase in Asian immigrants' self-employment exits, increased necessity entries, and reductions in opportunity entries - patterns suggestive of customer and employer 'taste discrimination'. The pandemic has also proven particularly harmful on businesses owned by recently arrived immigrants and by East Asian immigrants. While Asian enclaves help palliate the pandemic's damaging impact, the latter has reached a broad spectrum of businesses. Gaining a better understanding of how the pandemic has impacted Asian businesses is crucial to inform about the emergence of discriminatory behaviors that widen inequities and endanger a fast recovery."
IZA Institute of Labor Economics
Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina; Borra, Cristina; Wang, Chunbei
2021-03
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Welfare Reform and Child Support Enforcement, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 12, 1998
This is the June 12, 1998 hearing on "Welfare Reform and Child Support Enforcement," held before the House Subcommittee on Human Resources. From the Focus of the Hearing: "The field hearing will focus on the impact of the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the child support enforcement program on low-income families in Arizona. A major reason the Subcommittee is traveling to Arizona is to determine whether the TANF program and the child support enforcement program are providing the help they should to Native Americans. The Subcommittee is interested in learning about the policies adopted by State officials to produce reports of remarkable improvement The hearing will provide an opportunity for the Subcommittee to hear directly from legislators who designed the Arizona programs, administrators who are implementing the programs, and Native Americans participating in and, in some cases, administering the programs." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Linda J. Blessing, Nancy Mendoza, Steven J. Esposito, Winifred Hershberger, John R. Lewis, Tom Atcitty, Non Etsitty, and Jorge Garcia.
United States. Government Printing Office
2000
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Managing the Public Debt in an Era of Surpluses, Hearing Before the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 24, 1998
This is the June 24, 1998 hearing on "Managing the Public Debt in an Era of Surpluses," held before the House Committee on Ways and Means. From the Focus of the Hearing: "The hearing will review the current debt management practices of the Treasury Department. Some of the issues expected to be addressed at the hearing are as follows: As the United States moves from an era of budget deficits to an era of budget surpluses, what changes, if any, would be required to manage the public debt; what effect will the so-called 'year 2000' problem have on debt management; and as the public debt continues to decrease, what effect will this have on the purchasers of debt in the market place and economy generally?" Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Paul L. Posner, Thomas J. McCool, Jose R. Oyola, Gary Gensler, John Y. Campbell, Stephen C. Francis, and Mark B. Werner.
United States. Government Printing Office
2000
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Financial Services Industry: Using Data to Promote Greater Diversity and Inclusion, Statement of Daniel Garcia-Diaz, Managing Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, Testimony Before Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives
From the Highlights: "The financial services industry provides services that help families build wealth and is essential to the economic growth of the country. For instance, the FHLBanks [Federal Home Loan Banks], Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac play important roles in supporting the U.S. housing market. The FHLBanks include 11 federally chartered banks that provide liquidity for member institutions, such as commercial and community banks, to use in support of housing finance and community lending. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase single-family and multifamily mortgage loans that lenders already made to borrowers. Congressional members and others have highlighted the need for the financial services industry to create opportunities for all Americans, including supporting a diverse workforce. This statement discusses (1) how financial service firms use data to assess workforce diversity efforts; (2) how the FHLBanks and the enterprises use data to assess their diversity efforts; and (3) how FHFA [Federal Housing Finance Agency] oversees diversity efforts at the FHLBanks and the enterprises. This statement is primarily based on three GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] reports (GAO-18-64, GAO19-589, and GAO-20-637) on diversity efforts in the financial services industry and at FHLBanks and the enterprises. For the reports, GAO reviewed relevant literature and data, and interviewed representatives of financial services firms and industry and diversity advocacy organizations. GAO also reviewed documents and interviewed officials from the FHLBanks, enterprises, and FHFA."
United States. Government Accountability Office
Garcia-Diaz, Daniel
2021-03-18
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Accelerating National Genomic Surveillance
From the Document: "The United States has been flying virally blind. By the time the first cases of Covid-19 were confirmed last year, the pandemic was already spreading uncontrollably. [...] As a country, the U.S. must take crucial steps to support a national viral genomic surveillance network to defeat Covid-19 and prepare for the next pandemic. The following plan is part of a larger commitment by The Rockefeller Foundation to incubate a global data-driven, pandemic prevention institute. The goal is to have an early alert system to increase awareness of a newly emerging or spreading pathogen before it has an opportunity to spread undetected. Such a system could save millions of lives and trillions of dollars, by leveraging rapid detection for effective mitigation planning and response activities. And it could be deployed not only to track the rare, yet potentially catastrophic, pandemic pathogen, but also to enhance current influenza monitoring and contain the growing scourge of antimicrobial and antifungal resistance."
Rockefeller Foundation
2021-03?
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 1112, Protect Democracy in Burma Act of 2021
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on February 25, 2021. From the Document: "H.R. 1112 states that it is the policy of the United States to: [1]Condemn the military coup in Burma, [2] Urge the release of Burmese elected leaders and members of civil society, and [3] Engage with the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to restore democracy and hold accountable those responsible for the coup. The bill also would require the Department of State to report to the Congress on the coup and on steps being taken to implement that policy."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-03-18
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 144, Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center Access Improvement Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on March 10, 2021. From the Document: "S. 144 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to purchase, pave, and maintain a road to facilitate access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center (DSYWC) in Hemet, California."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-03-18
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Promoting Inclusion: Examining the Need for Diversity Practices for America's Changing Workforce, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, October 17, 2019
This is the October 17, 2019 hearing on "Promoting Inclusion: Examining the Need for Diversity Practices for America's Changing Workforce," held before the House Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. From the Opening Statement of Joyce Beatty: "Today's hearing seeks to focus solely on retention and promotion of diverse talent. We cannot just focus on recruitment, which we already know is subpar sometimes. Too often, organizations place such a heavy emphasis on pipeline development that retention aspects to diversity and inclusion practices are often neglected. Research shows that many business leaders, primarily white heterosexual males, underestimate the challenges that diverse employees face in moving up the ladder in the workforce. In 2019, we have ongoing evidence from the data of diversity request that this subcommittee made to the top megabanks of the country on the financial services industry demonstrating that women and people of color are woefully underrepresented and unrepresented in leadership positions." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Rod Graves, Bernard Guinyard, Patricia Mota, Laura Sherbin, and Ruchika Tulshyan.
United States. Government Publishing Office
2020
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Antagonizing the Neighborhood: Putin's Frozen Conflicts and the Conflict in Ukraine, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, March 11, 2020
This is the March 11, 2020 hearing on "Antagonizing the Neighborhood: Putin's Frozen Conflicts and the Conflict in Ukraine," held before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment. From the opening statement of William Keating: "Last month marked 6 years since Russia invaded Ukraine[.] 6 years of conflict in Ukraine, and it is not cold by any means, with cease-fires that failed to hold to this day. [...] The subcommittee's meeting today [...] is to hear testimony on Putin's frozen conflicts and conflict in Ukraine. [...] [W]hen we look around the region, Ukraine simply is [one of] the most recent incidents where Russia has exploited divisions and deployed resources to destabilize the borders of its post-Soviet neighbors. Today we are looking at the conflicts in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. Each took a [sic] place in different decades, and Russia's intervention in each was very different as well. However, to this day, none of these countries maintains full control over its borders, and it is instead trapped in the incredibly precarious situation of striving to make critical reforms to strengthen democratic governance and develop closer ties to the West, all while being unable to fully govern and serve all of its citizens. [...] If we are to succeed and overcome in the global crisis and challenges we face in climate change, terrorism, and threats from Russia and China, our best path forward is to work together in a broad coalition of partners who share our democratic values. And these countries will be strong partners, once they have achieved sovereignty over their own borders." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Dan Baer, Simon Ostrovsky, Olesya Vartanyan, and Stephen B. Nix.
United States. Government Publishing Office
2021
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Student Loan Programs Authorized by the Public Health Service Act: An Overview [March 16, 2021]
From the Document: "The Public Health Service Act (PHSA, 42 U.S.C. §§201 et. seq.) authorizes five student loan programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): (1) Health Professions Student Loans, (2) Loans for Disadvantaged Students, (3) Primary Care Loans, (4) Nursing Student Loans, and the (5) Nurse Faculty Loan Program. [...] This report describes PHSA student loan programs, including borrower eligibility requirements, loan terms and conditions, and administrative rules. It also briefly describes the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) program, a related student loan program authorized under the PHSA that was previously administered by HRSA and is now administered by ED [Department of Education]. The report concludes with a table comparing these programs by borrower type, repayment terms, the number of participating schools, and the number and financial amount of outstanding loans."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Heisler, Elayne J., 1976-; Hegji, Alexandra
2021-03-16
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American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2): Title IX, Subtitle G--Tax Provisions Related to Promoting Economic Security [Updated March 16, 2021]
From the Document: "The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. [Public Law] 117-2) was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. ARPA is the latest in a series of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related relief and economic stimulus legislation. Consideration of ARPA began early in the 117th Congress. On February 8, 2021, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal released nine legislative proposals to be considered under the budget reconciliation instructions. On February 27, 2021, the House passed these proposals as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; H.R. 1319). On March 4, 2021, the Senate version of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, S.Amdt. 891 to H.R. 1319, was proposed. On Saturday March 6, 2021, the Senate passed H.R. 1319, as amended by S.Amdt. 891. On March 10, 2021, the House passed H.R. 1319, as amended by S.Amdt. 891. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) was signed into law. The versions of the bill passed on March 6 in the Senate and March 10 in the House are identical to the law as enacted. This report summarizes the tax provisions in Title IX, Subtitle G of the American Rescue Plan Act."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Sherlock, Molly F.; Gravelle, Jane; Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
2021-03-16
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Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA): Overview of Workers' Compensation for Certain Private-Sector Maritime Workers [Updated March 16, 2021]
From the Summary: "The LHWCA [Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act] pays for all medical care associated with a covered injury or illness. Disability benefits are based on a worker's pre-injury wage, and, unlike comparable state workers' compensation benefits, are adjusted annually to reflect national wage growth. Covered workers with employment-related Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be eligible for LHWCA benefits but may find it difficult to demonstrate a link between their employment and diagnoses. Section 2014 of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, as passed by the House of Representatives, would have created a presumption of eligibility for LHWCA benefits for covered workers with COVID-19 and reimbursed their employers or employers' insurance carriers for the costs of these benefits from a newly created Longshore COVID-19 Fund. This legislation would have appropriated from the general fund such sums as necessary to reimburse the Longshore COVID-19 Fund for these reimbursements. The provision creating a presumption of eligibility for LHWCA benefits for covered workers with COVID-19 was not included in the version of H.R. 1319 passed by the Senate or the version that was enacted as P.L. [public law] 117-2."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Szymendera, Scott
2021-03-16
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Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Selected Policy Options [March 15, 2021]
From the Document: "Congress may consider a range of policy options that could be used to limit or remove human-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxides, and others. Efforts to reduce net GHG emissions--the sum of direct emission reductions/removals and permanent sequestration--are under way in other countries and in a number of U.S. states and localities. This In Focus identifies and briefly describes selected policy tools that could reduce net GHG emissions from one or more economic sectors, including electricity, transportation, industry, agriculture, and commercial and residential buildings. Some of the policies described [in this document] directly impact emissions--for example, through a price or regulation--whereas others address emission levels indirectly."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Croft, Genevieve K.; Clark, Corrie E. . . .
2021-03-15
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Child Tax Credit: Temporary Expansion for 2021 Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) [Updated March 15, 2021]
From the Document: "In recent years, there has been increased interest in providing direct benefits to families with children to reduce child poverty in the United States, sometimes in the form of tax benefits. [...] Some research has suggested that increasing the amount of the child tax credit that low-income families receive would substantially reduce child poverty, boost future earnings, and potentially improve future health and education outcomes. In the 116th Congress, there were several legislative proposals to expand the child tax credit, especially for lower-income families that tend to receive little or no benefit from the current credit. In the 117th Congress, a temporary one-year expansion of the child credit (for 2021) was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. [public law] 117-2). This Insight provides a summary of the child tax credit prior to ARPA and an overview of the temporary child credit expansion under ARPA for 2021."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
2021-03-15
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H. Rept. 117-9: Providing for Consideration of the Bill (H.R. 1) to Expand Americans' Access to the Ballot Box, Reduce the Influence of Big Money in Politics, Strengthen Ethics Rules for Public Servants, and Implement Other Anti-Corruption Measures for the Purpose of Fortifying Our Democracy, and for Other Purposes; Providing for Consideration of the Bill (H.R. 1280) to Hold Law Enforcement Accountable for Misconduct in Court, Improve Transparency Through Data Collection, and Reform Police Training and Policies; and for Other Purposes, Report to Accompany H. Res. 179, March 1, 2021
From the Document: "The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House Resolution 179, by a record vote of 7 to 4, report the same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution be adopted."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2021-03-01
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COVID-19 - A Plague of Racism and Conspiracy Theories
From the Executive Foreword: "COVID [coronavirus disease 2019] completely turned the world upside down and arguably changed how we live our lives forever. Such major cataclysms always provide a fertile ground for hate and conspiracy theories. People, especially when they feel insecure, look for easy answers, people that they can blame, straightforward theories so they can make sense of the world once more. The pandemic has not been different. Multiple communities have been targets of vicious verbal racist attacks, discrimination has become rampant towards certain minorities and a myriad of conspiracy theories blossomed in the wake of the virus. Many of our members diligently documented the instances of hate speech related to the Corona virus and the conspiracy theories it gave birth to. In this report, their findings will be collected, compiled and presented to provide stakeholders and the public with an extensive and overarching view of the situation and shine a light on the hardships, discrimination and intimidation that multiple communities have to face in a time when they are struggling too with a loss of financial and physical security. The aim of this report is not to give a detailed reiteration of our members' findings, but to provide an overview of them, raise awareness and provide another tool to bring this information to the wider audiences that might not have been reached by the original sources."
International Network Against Cyber Hate
Berecz, Tamas
2020
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Preventing Pandemics
From the Document: "The public health community has long known that pandemics are sure bets, that they are certain to intermittently visit upon us devastating degrees of illness, death, and economic loss. The current COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic is just the latest in a series of pandemics that historians have traced back thousands of years. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19 has become the worst pandemic since the flu pandemic of 1918-1919, which killed tens of millions of people around the globe. As January 2021 was coming to a close, COVID-19 was closing in on 100 million infections and already had surpassed 2.1 million deaths worldwide, including well over 25 million infections and 420,000 deaths in the United States. [...] Just as massive wildfires can be prevented by putting out smaller fires before they spread, so too can localized outbreaks of disease be quashed or prevented before they grow into pandemics. With that dynamic in mind, DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] has been managing an audacious portfolio of projects designed to generate pandemic-stopping know-how and to act on that knowledge by dramatically reducing the time it takes to scale-up the means for preventing, diagnosing, and treating any infectious disease that might arise, even ones the world has never seen before. The pillars of DARPA's pandemic portfolio fall into the categories of prevention, diagnostics, and treatments."
United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
2021-01-29
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Electricity Grid Cybersecurity: DOE Needs to Ensure Its Plans Fully Address Risks to Distribution Systems, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "Protecting the reliability of the U.S. electricity grid, which delivers electricity essential for modern life, is a long-standing national interest. The grid comprises three functions: generation, transmission, and distribution. In August 2019, GAO [U. S. Government Accountability Office] reported that the generation and transmission systems--which are federally regulated for reliability--are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. GAO was asked to review grid distribution systems' cybersecurity. This report (1) describes the extent to which grid distribution systems are at risk from cyberattacks and the scale of potential impacts from such attacks, (2) describes selected state and industry actions to improve distribution systems' cybersecurity and federal efforts to support those actions, and (3) examines the extent to which DOE [U.S. Department of Energy] has addressed risks to distribution systems in its plans for implementing the national cybersecurity strategy. To do so, GAO reviewed relevant federal and industry reports on grid cybersecurity risks and analyzed relevant DOE documents. GAO also interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of federal, state, and industry officials with a role in grid distribution systems' cybersecurity. GAO recommends that DOE more fully address risks to the grid's distribution systems from cyberattacks--including their potential impact--in its plans to implement the national cybersecurity strategy. DOE agreed with GAO's recommendation."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03-18
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Program Evaluation: Key Terms and Concepts
From the Document: "Both the executive branch and congressional committees need evaluative information to help them make decisions about the programs they oversee-information that tells them whether and why a program is working well or not. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) established a framework for performance management and accountability within the federal government. Building on that foundation, Congress has since passed, among other laws, the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) to strengthen the evidence-building efforts of executive branch agencies. The Evidence Act, for example, created a framework for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to federal evidence-building efforts. This product updates our previous glossary (GAO-11-646SP) to highlight different types of evaluations for answering questions about program performance, as well as relevant issues to ensure study quality."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 314, Klamath Tribe Judgement Fund Repeal Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on March 10, 2021. From the Document: "S. 314 would repeal the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Act, which authorizes the Department of the Interior (DOI) to establish and maintain a fund to make payments to Klamath Tribe members to satisfy any judgments obtained by the tribe. The bill also would require any amounts remaining in the fund upon its closure to be disbursed to the Klamath Tribe. Payments to certain tribal trust funds that are held and managed in a fiduciary capacity by the federal government on behalf of Indian tribes are treated as payments to a nonfederal entity. Thus, the balances remaining in the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund were previously recorded as federal budget authority and outlays at the time those funds were deposited into the fund. Accordingly, any subsequent disbursement of those funds would have no effect on the federal budget. According to information provided by DOI, about $660,000 remains in the fund. That money is slated to be paid to almost 200 members of the Klamath Tribe or to their next of kin, none of whom DOI has been able to locate. Assuming that S. 314 is enacted early in calendar year 2021, CBO estimates that those funds would be disbursed directly to the government of the Klamath Tribe during fiscal year 2021."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-03-19
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: S. 371, Blackwater Trading Post Land Transfer Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on March 10, 2021. From the Document: "S. 371 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take into trust approximately 55 acres of land in Pinal County, Arizona, owned by the Gila River Indian Community. Under the bill, DOI would hold title to that land for the benefit of the tribe. The bill would require the tribe to fulfill reporting and surveying requirements for DOI to take the land into trust and would prohibit certain types of gaming on that land. Using information provided by DOI, CBO [Congressional Budget Office] estimates that the administrative costs to implement S. 371 would not be significant. S. 371 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by prohibiting state and local governments from taxing land taken into trust for the Gila River Indian Community. Information from Pinal County about taxes and other receipts associated with the land indicates that those foregone revenues would total less than $20,000 annually, which is far below the annual threshold established in UMRA ($85 million in 2021, adjusted annually for inflation)."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2021-03-19
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Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System: Essential Elements, Measurable Standards and Best Practices for Behavioral Health Crisis Response
From the Introduction: "There is broad recognition that behavioral health crises have reached epidemic proportion, with drug overdoses and suicides having overtaken traffic accidents as the two leading causes of death among young Americans ages 25-44. The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 19] pandemic has further underscored the dramatic need for behavioral health services, including crisis services. Yet very few communities in the United States have a behavioral health crisis system that would be considered excellent, let alone ideal."
National Council for Behavioral Health (U.S.)
2021-03
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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: DOD Needs to Update Modernization Schedule and Improve Data on Software Development, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program remains DOD's most expensive weapon system program. DOD is 3 years into a development effort that is loosely based on Agile software development processes to modernize the F-35 aircraft's capabilities. With this approach, DOD intends to incrementally develop, test, and deliver small groups of new capabilities every 6 months. Congress included provisions in two statutes for GAO [United States Government Accountability Office] to review the F-35 program. This report addresses the F-35 operational testing status, DOD's Block 4 modernization development schedule, and how the F-35 program office implements key practices for evaluating Agile software development progress. To assess cost and schedule concerns identified in prior years, GAO selected three key practices that focus on evaluating Agile software development progress. GAO reviewed DOD and contractor documentation and interviewed DOD officials and contractor representatives. GAO is making three recommendations to DOD, including that it update its modernization schedule to reflect achievable time frames, identify and implement tools to enable automated data collection on software development performance, and set software quality performance targets. DOD agreed with GAO's recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03-18
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Imported Seafood Safety: FDA Should Improve Monitoring of Its Warning Letter Process and Better Assess Its Effectiveness, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of most imported seafood. FDA relies, in part, on inspections of importers' facilities and of processors' foreign facilities to ensure compliance with federal law. If FDA identifies significant violations, such as firms not identifying food safety hazards likely to occur during processing, the agency can issue the firm a warning letter. GAO [Government Accountability Office] was asked to review FDA's efforts to use warning letters to ensure the safety of imported seafood. This report examines the extent to which FDA (1) ensures it is following key procedures and meeting key goals for its warning letter process for imported seafood and (2) assesses the effectiveness of its warning letters in ensuring the safety of imported seafood. GAO reviewed FDA procedures and data and interviewed FDA officials. [...] GAO recommends that FDA (1) establish a process to monitor whether the agency is following the procedures and meeting the goals established for its warning letter process for imported seafood, and (2) develop performance goals and measures to assess how effective warning letters are at ensuring the safety of imported seafood. FDA agreed with GAO's recommendations."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03
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Hypersonic Weapons: DOD Should Clarify Roles and Responsibilities to Ensure Coordination Across Development Efforts, Report to Congressional Addressees
From the Highlights: "Hypersonic missiles, which are an important part of building hypersonic weapon systems, move at least five times the speed of sound, have unpredictable flight paths, and are expected to be capable of evading today's defensive systems. DOD has begun multiple efforts to develop offensive hypersonic weapons as well as technologies to improve its ability to track and defend against them. NASA and DOE [Department of Energy] are also conducting research into hypersonic technologies. The investments for these efforts are significant. This report identifies: (1) U.S. government efforts to develop hypersonic systems that are underway and their costs, (2) challenges these efforts face and what is being done to address them, and (3) the extent to which the U.S. government is effectively coordinating these efforts. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO [Government Accountability Office] issued in January 2021. Information that DOD deemed to be sensitive has been omitted. GAO collected and reviewed information from DOD, DOE, and NASA to identify hypersonic weapons development efforts from fiscal years 2015 through 2024. GAO also analyzed agency documentation and interviewed agency officials."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03
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Decennial Census: Bureau Should Assess Significant Data Collection Challenges as it Undertakes Planning for 2030, Report to Congressional Requesters
From the Highlights: "The 2020 Census was conducted under extraordinary circumstances. In response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and related Commerce [Department of Commerce] decisions, the Bureau [Census Bureau] made a series of late changes to the design of the census. As GAO [Government Accountability Office] previously reported, these changes introduced risks to the quality of data that the Bureau provides for congressional apportionment and redistricting purposes. GAO was asked to review the Bureau's implementation of the 2020 Census. This report assesses the Bureau's implementation of the: (1) nonresponse follow-up operation, (2) group quarters enumeration, and (3) plans to assess those operations. To address these objectives, GAO conducted a series of surveys of all 248 census offices during the collection of data for those operations. GAO also monitored the cost and progress of operations and interviewed census field supervisors for each operation."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-03
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H. Rept. 116-683, Part 1: National Commission on Online Platforms and Homeland Security Act, Report Together with Minority Views, to Accompany H.R. 4782, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, December 21, 2020
From the Purpose and Summary: "H.R. 4782, the 'National Commission on Online Platforms and Homeland Security Act,' would create a bipartisan, 12-member Commission comprised of non-government experts to study the ways, if any, that online platforms, including platforms used for social media and social networking, have been utilized in furtherance of acts of targeted violence, including domestic and international terrorism, as well as covert foreign influence campaigns. The Commission would examine the implications of such use, if any, on free speech, privacy, civil rights and civil liberties, as well as actions taken by platform owners and operators in response to such utilization. The Commission would be tasked with developing recommendations for how online platforms could address such utilization in ways that promote transparency, free speech and innovation on the internet, preserve individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, and uphold the principles of the U.S. Constitution in accordance with relevant statutes, and take into account current or anticipated trends and technological developments, such as advancements in artificial intelligence."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2020-12-21
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H. Rept. 116-701: School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act, Report Together with Minority Views to Accompany H.R. 4301, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, December 28, 2020
From the Document: "The Committee on Education and Labor, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 4301) to require the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to publish an annual report on indicators of school crime and safety that includes data on school shootings, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2020-12-28
