Robert's US Government Info Blog May 2007 Archive

A bill just reintroduced by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) would restore the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to its pre-terrorist attack status of an independent, executive branch agency. ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to purchase up to 3 million pounds of surplus asparagus. Why, you might ask, would the USDA need to buy 3 ... Read More

At any time, the U.S. government provides over 1,400 programs offering discretionary assistance or benefits. Most people call these grants, but "grants" is far too general a term. Under the ... Read More

The executive, legislative and judicial branches represent the constitutional framework envisioned by the Founding Fathers for our nation's government. Together, they function to provide a system of lawmaking and enforcement ... Read More

"This Memorial Day weekend, Americans honor those who have given their lives in service to our Nation," said President Bush in his May 26 radio address. "As we pay tribute ... Read More

The U.S. Senate yesterday voted 80-14 in favor of an emergency spending bill allocating $100 billion to continue fighting the war in Iraq. While the compromise bill does contain language ... Read More

The federal government has announced that Medicare will begin covering Doppler ultrasound monitoring of cardiac output for patients in intensive care units (ICUs), or undergoing surgery. The decision announced this week ... Read More

Unless something changes, the state of California will soon spend more on its prisons than on its public universities. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's state budget for ... Read More

The National Governors Association (NGA) has released a report that breaks out the estimated costs to the states to implement requirements of the federal Real-ID Act. Reissuing New DL/ID Cards: $8.48 ... Read More

While you might think that U.S. drug treatment centers are overflowing, only 8 percent of all drug abusers and fewer than 40 percent of persons declared drug dependent have ever ... Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly last week to delay and greatly restrict President Bush's plan to allow Mexican commercial trucks unlimited access to U.S. highways. The White House plan ... Read More

The nation's minority population has reached 100.7 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Among a total population of just over 300 million, one out of three U.S. residents is ... Read More

What NASA scientists referred to as "extensive areas" of snow in western Antarctica simply melted away in January 2005, due to warm weather, according to observations made with NASA’s QuikScat ... Read More

After dropping to only 417 nesting pairs in 1963, bald eagles have recovered to an estimated new high of 9,789 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states, according to the ... Read More

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill giving U.S. states -- like Michigan -- the power to ban the importation and dumping of solid waste and hazardous waste ... Read More

He really didn't want to, but Oklahoma's Democratic Governor Brad Henry has signed a law cutting off almost all state assistance for illegal immigrants and making it a crime to ... Read More

Hoping to someday produce fuel to power its entire fleet of diesel-powered vehicles, the Utah Dept. of Transportation has started an experimental program of planting oil-producing crops -- canola, safflower ... Read More

The House of Representatives yesterday passed another Iraq war spending bill for President Bush to veto. The bill, H.R. 2206, which passed 221-205, would provide $42.8 billion for the wars ... Read More

The price of a First-Class U.S. postage stamp increases to 41 cents on Monday, May 14. The last two postage rate increases came on Jan. 8, 2006 and June 30, ... Read More

The EPA Energy Star label first began appearing on a few computer monitors back in 1992. Today the Energy Star -- a certification of money-saving energy efficiency and earth-saving environmental ... Read More

In a 2-1 vote the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rule that the only remaining horse slaughterhouse in the nation can remain open, at ... Read More

A scamming telemarketer who promised his victims a six-figure income if they purchased and used his $10,000 "asset protection service" business program, has been banned for life from telemarketing and ... Read More

The Bush administration was extremely happy to report the 44th consecutive month of job growth in the United States. OMB Director Rob Portman called the news "the latest sign that ... Read More

The Department of Homeland Security has extended 24/7 Secret Service protection to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. Under federal law, Secret Service protection can be provided to "major" presidential ... Read More

Anybody planning a digging project, from planting a tree, to building a skyscraper, should now call 8-1-1 before breaking ground. That’s the new federally-mandated national "Call Before You Dig" phone ... Read More

While challenges to its long term survival remain, the ozone layer is "on the road to recovery," according to the EPA's Achievements in Stratospheric Ozone Protection: Progress Report. The ozone layer ... Read More

A total of 1,839 court orders for wiretaps were requested in 2006, all of which were authorized by U.S. federal and state courts. That number represents a 4 percent increase ... Read More

The first of nine mobile sensor towers designed to track illegal entries into the U.S. has been installed near Sasabe, Arizona, according to the Department of Homeland Security. When completed, ... Read More

President Bush, as expected, has vetoed a supplemental spending bill that sets a non-binding timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. In a nationally televised address following his veto ... Read More

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has released The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women, a 122-page, full-color booklet presenting the latest medical information on preventing and controlling the ... Read More