Robert's US Government Info Blog March 2008 Archive

If you really watch what you eat, you’ll want to read the USDA’s just released report, Nutrient Content of the U.S. Food Supply, 2005 (.pfd). This exhaustive report, published about ... Read More

How much does the federal government take in through income tax? During fiscal year 2007 (Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007) the IRS reported collecting a total of almost ... Read More

A middle income family with a child born in 2007, will pay a total of $204,060 to care for that child until its 18th birthday, according to a report from ... Read More

Booming Baby Boomer retirement, coupled with constantly increasing health care costs, place the U.S. Government on an "imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path," to hard times, according to a new report ... Read More

In a move that should help more Americans invest and save money, the U.S. Treasury Department has announced it will reduce the minimum purchase price for all Treasury bills, notes, ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced its contribution of $3.5 million toward a total prize of at least $10 million for the design of commercially marketable vehicles capable ... Read More

The serious flooding that soaked over 250 communities in a dozen states last week could be just a taste of what's in store for the rest of spring, according to ... Read More

A study conducted by the USDA shows that low-calorie foods cost more on average than high-calorie foods. Nutrition officials fear that the trend will prevent low-income families from adopting healthy ... Read More

In spite of the faltering economy and growing stress on the credit industry, federal student loans and student aid will remain available, according to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. In testimony ... Read More

UPDATE: On May 15, at least two national news sources reported that the IRS had admitted to tax rebate processing errors resulting in tax rebates being sent to the wrong ... Read More

The U.S. federal courts, correctly assuming that they will have to handle a massive number of new immigration-related cases in the future, have asked Congress for a 7.6 percent increase ... Read More

Many recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are disappointed that they are not eligible for an economic stimulus tax rebate check, while many Social Security retirement and disability recipients ... Read More

Apparently fully recovered from its horrid slump following the 9-11 attacks, the U.S. travel industry recorded an all-time record high for international tourism to the United States during 2007, according ... Read More

The State Department has released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007. The report details the current status of human rights practices in 196 foreign countries, including those ... Read More

The Treasury Department has issued a new Economic Update that makes it all sound so good. Here are some excerpts: "Payroll employment fell by 63,000 in February, following a decrease of ... Read More

Let there be no doubt: 154,000 homeless U.S. veterans is still 154,000 too many homeless U.S. veterans, but it is 21 percent fewer than the 195,000 reported last year, according ... Read More

President Bush has vetoed the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act due mainly to a provision of the bill that would have banned the CIA from employing interrogation practices like "waterboarding" on ... Read More

Enjoying the early-starting daylight saving time yet? When Congress voted to extend daylight savings time for a month, lawmakers justified the act as a way to reduce energy consumption. Now, ... Read More

Persons who are not normally required to file a tax return, but must do so this year in order to receive a 2008 tax rebate check, may now file for ... Read More

President Bush on Monday delivered his administration’s Annual Trade Report (.pdf) to Congress. The report highlights the Bush administration's accomplishments during 2007 in development of new international trade markets, implementation of ... Read More

Launched in1984, for a 3-year mission, the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat 5 satellite has now started its 24th year of capturing real-time, earth-surface photographs now considered essential to both government, ... Read More

Three payday loan outfits have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that they failed to disclose annual interest rates in their online advertising, as required by federal law. In ... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court may soon decide the legal meaning of the Second Amendment. In a letter to the Washington Times, Montana's secretary of state warns the court, they had ... Read More

The government wants us to spend, not save, our tax rebate money coming this May. Spending the money, they say, will help stimulate the recession-bound economy. The likelihood of people ... Read More

As part of his administration's 2008 National Drug Control Policy (.pdf), President Bush has called on Congress to ban the illegal sale of addictive prescription drugs over the Internet. Speaking to ... Read More