Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States

From the Census Bureau press release: "Real median household income in the United States climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching $50,233, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the third annual increase in real median household income.

"Meanwhile, the nation's official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, not statistically different from 2006. There were 37.3 million people in poverty in 2007, up from 36.5 million in 2006. The number of people without health insurance coverage declined from 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006 to 45.7 million (15.3 percent) in 2007."

The Census Bureau released new data yesterday on income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States. This release includes data tables on income, poverty, and health insurance and two full-length reports:

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007

Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data From the 2007 American Community Survey

The Montana Census and Economic Information Center (CEIC) has described how to retrieve Montana information from these new data releases.

Source: Fletcher, M.A. (26 Aug. 2008). "Nation's Poverty Rate Holds Steady as More Get Health Insurance." Washington Post.

WTC7 Collapse Investigation

From the Associated Press: "Federal investigators said Thursday they have solved a mystery of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: the collapse of World Trade Center building 7, a source of long-running conspiracy theories."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released information on their investigation into the collapse of World Trade Center 7 (WTC7). This information includes the final report, digital models of the collapse, a question & answer document, and an archive of the webcast. Additional information related to the World Trade Center is gathered on the NIST & the World Trade Center website.

Source: Barrett, D. (22 Aug. 2008). "Feds: Fire took down building next to twin towers." Associated Press.

Missile Defense Agreement with Poland

From the Associated Press: "The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia — a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response."

The U.S. State Department website has the text of the "Declaration on Strategic Cooperation Between the United States of America and the Republic of Poland."

Source: Gera, V., and Scislowska, M., Associated Press (20 Aug. 2008). "US, Poland OK missile defense base, riling Moscow." Yahoo! News.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

From the Associated Press: "The number of workers killed on the job annually dropped to a historic low in 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday.

"The number of worker deaths dropped to 5,488 last year -- the fewest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track in 1992. That's down 6 percent from the 5,840 deaths reported in 2006."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the new data in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Source: Holland, J.J., AP, (21 Aug. 2008). "54 Montana workers killed on the job in 2007." Missoulian. B3.

Glacier National Park Bank Stabilization EA

From the Glacier National Park press release: "Officials at Glacier National Park announce that the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the McDonald Creek Bank Stabilization at Milepost 19.25 on the Going-to-the-Sun Road and Statement of Findings for Floodplains are available for public review and comment."

The Bank Stabilization Environmental Assessment(EA) has been posted on the project page. The project page includes information about how to comment on the assessment.

Source: Missoulian (22 Aug. 2008). "Glacier assessment available for review." Missoulian. B3.

Montana Education Report Card

From the Missoulian: "Preliminary reviews of the state's No Child Left Behind test results say that 71 percent of the schools passed their adequate yearly progress threshold.

"Last year, nine of 10 hit that benchmark."

The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has posted the state's 2007-08 No Child Left Behind report card. You can retrieve results by school, district, or grade.

Source: Chaney, R. (11 Aug. 2008). "Montana schools fail No Child marks for yearly progress." Missoulian. A1.

Contractors' Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq

From the New York Times: "The United States this year will have spent $100 billion on contractors in Iraq since the invasion in 2003, a milestone that reflects the Bush administration’s unprecedented level of dependence on private firms for help in the war, according to a government report to be released Tuesday."

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report yesterday about contractor work in Iraq: "Contractors' Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq." The CBO site includes an archived press conference on the report and a summary of the report on the Director's blog.

Source: Risen, J. (11 Aug. 2008). "Use of Iraq Contractors Costs Billions, Report Says." New York Times.

Unemployment Rates

From the Associated Press: "The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ending Aug. 2. The increase left claims at their highest level since late March 2002."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks unemployment data and many other economic indicators.

Source: Associated Press (7 Aug. 2008). "Jobless Claims Rise Sharply." New York Times.

Ambulatory Medical Care Statistics

From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): "Patients in the United States made an estimated 1.1 billion visits to physician offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments in 2006, an average of four visits per person per year, according to new health care statistics released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released two reports that describe trends in health care visits, including emergency room and hospital use and waiting times:

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2006 Emergency Department Summary

Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2006

Source: Stobbe, M., Associated Press (6 Aug. 2008). "Average ER waiting time nears 1 hour, CDC says." Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Study on HIV Infection Rate

From the New York Times: "The United States has significantly underreported the number of new H.I.V. infections occurring nationally each year, with a study released here on Saturday showing that the annual infection rate is 40 percent higher than previously estimated."

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has posted information about the study and other HIV/AIDS statistics and surveillance information.

Source: Altman, L.K. (3 Aug. 2008). "H.I.V. Study Finds Rate 40% Higher Than Estimated." New York Times.

Plum Creek Documentation

From the Missoulian: "On Monday, Deputy County Attorney McCubbin announced he had received the first documents from his FOIA request - 'however, the responses include many different draft agreements, but not the cover correspondence which must have accompanied it.'"

The files about road agreements between Plum Creek Timber Company and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Missoula County received through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request have been posted on the Rural Initiatives Department website.

Source: Jamison, M. (7 Aug. 2008). "County: FOIA request reveals little about Plum Creek talks." Missoulian. A1.

Amendments to Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities

From the Washington Post: "The Bush administration unveiled new operating guidelines for the nation's intelligence community yesterday in a move that boosted the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) while triggering protests from lawmakers who complained that they weren't properly consulted."

The White House website has information on the amendments to Executive Order 12333 on United States Intelligence Activities. The Director of National Intelligence issued a statement about the amended executive order.

Source: Warrick, J. (1 Aug. 2008). "Bush Unveils Spy Guidelines, Angering House Overseers." Washington Post. A09.

Anthrax Case Documents

From the Washington Post: "Government officials asserted yesterday that a troubled bioweapons scientist acted alone to perpetrate a terrorism scheme that killed five people, a case that centered on a near-perfect match of anthrax spores in his custody and a record of his late-night laboratory work just before the toxic letters were mailed."

Information on the anthrax case has been posted on the FBI website. The information includes court affidavits and other elements of the investigation.

The U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia website also has links to anthrax case documents.

Source: Johnson, C., Wilber, D.Q., and Eggen, D. (7 Aug. 2008). "Government Asserts Ivins Acted Alone: Officials Detail Evidence, but Questions Linger." Washington Post. A01.

Decision in Indian Trust Case

From the Missoulian: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that American Indian plaintiffs are entitled to $455 million in a long-running trust case, a fraction of the $47 billion they wanted."

The decision in Civil Action No. 1996-1285, Cobell n. Kempthorne, has been posted on the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia website.

The Department of the Interior has issued a response to the decision, and the Indian Trust website has the lead plaintiff's response.

Source: Jalonick, M.C., Associated Press (8 August 2008). "Indian trust ruling of $455M disappoints plaintiff Cobell." Missoulian. A1.

Homeland Security Laptop Search Policy

From the Washington Post: "Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued a policy dated July 16, 2008: Policy Regarding Border Search of Information.

Senator Russ Feingold issued a press release on the issue and referenced a June 25, 2008, hearing on "Laptop Searches and Other Violations of Privacy Faced by Americans Returning from Overseas Travel." The hearing was held by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, and the hearing webpage includes prepared testimony from witnesses and an archived webcast of the hearing.

Source: Nakashima, E. (1 Aug. 2008). "Travelers' Laptops May Be Detained At Border: No Suspicion Required Under DHS Policies." Washington Post. A01.

Recent House of Representatives Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives passed several interesting pieces of legislation recently that were reported in the news:

H.R. 4040, Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act

Text of Bill

Congressional Research Service (CRS) summary

Roll call vote 543
Source: Abrams, J., Associated Press, (31 July 2008). "House Passes Product Safety Bill." Washington Post. A08.

H.R. 1338, Paycheck Fairness Act

Bill text

CRS summary

Roll call vote 556
Source: Associated Press. (1 Aug. 2008). "House Passes Bill On Pay and Gender."Washington Post. A05.

H.R. 1108, Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

Bill text

CRS summary

Roll call vote 542
Source: Stein, R. (31 July 2008). "House Votes to Let FDA Regulate Tobacco Industry." Washington Post. A05.

Both the House and Senate voted to pass a bill on higher-education programs.

H.R. 4137, To amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes

Bill text

CRS summary

House roll call vote 544

Senate roll call vote 194
Source: Lewin, T. (1 Aug. 2008). "House Acts to Overhaul College Loan Regulations." New York Times.

Ruling on Subpoenas Issued by Congress

From the New York Times: "President Bush's top advisers cannot ignore subpoenas issued by Congress, a federal judge ruled on Thursday in a case that involves the firings of several United States attorneys but has much wider constitutional implications for all three branches of government."

Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia issued a memorandum opinion in Civil Action No. 2008-0409, Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives v. Miers, et al.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr., issued a statement on the opinion. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino addressed the ruling in a press briefing.

Source: Stout, D. (1 Aug. 2008). "Judge Rules Bush Advisers Can't Ignore Subpoenas." New York Times.

Abandoned Mine Lands in the Department of the Interior

From the Associated Press: "The government has endangered the public's health and safety by failing to clean up abandoned mines on federal land in the West, according to a scathing audit released Friday."

The Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General issued the audit on Abandoned Mine Lands in the Department of the Interior (PDF version).

Source: Werner, E., Associated Press, (25 July 2008). "Audit finds serious hazards from abandoned mines." CNBC.com

Projected Budget Deficit

From the Washington Post: "The federal budget deficit will grow to a record $482 billion in the fiscal year that begins in October, the White House said yesterday, driven by war costs, tax rebates, and a slowing economy that will leave the next president little room to fulfill costly campaign promises."

The transcript of the press briefing describing the deficit projection has been posted on the White House website. The Mid-Session Review, which talks about the projected budget deficit and other economic indicators in greater depth, is available on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website. The Council of Economic Advisers website has additional information on the budget.

Source: Weisman, J. (29 July 2008). "Record $482 Billion '09 Deficit Forecast: Next President's Options May Be Limited." Washington Post. A04.

Politicized Hiring at the Justice Department

From the Washington Post: "An extensive report by the department's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility concluded yesterday that Goodling and others had broken civil service laws, run afoul of department policy and engaged in 'misconduct,' a finding that could expose them to further scrutiny and sanctions. The report depicted Goodling as a central figure in politicizing employment decisions at Justice during the Bush administration."

The Justice Department Office of the Inspector General has posted the report, "An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General," on the Special Reports portion of the website.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine is scheduled to testify about this issue before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. His prepared testimony is posted on the hearing webpage and on the Office of the Inspector General website.

Source: Johnson, C. (29 July 2008). "Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices." Washington Post. A01.