Robert's US Government Info Blog April 2008 Archive

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has agreed to reimburse Gulf Coast firefighters for overtime worked during their response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Under the agreement issued on April 16, ... Read More

While their phones never quit ringing, the IRS is answering each and every tax rebate question coming in via their toll-free information line. In his Washington Post column, Stephan Barr ... Read More

"We filed a joint return, so who gets the tax rebate?" The entire rebate will go to the first Social Security number listed on the tax return. By law, each ... Read More

At least a week ahead of schedule, the IRS today will begin transmitting the much-anticipated 2008 tax rebates directly into the bank accounts of individuals who specified that their rebates ... Read More

Back in Feb. 2007, supporters of the National Popular Vote initiative – a state-based legislative initiative which would allow the states to essentially "bypass" the Electoral College System – hoped ... Read More

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) now offers handy online access to the 2008 edition of the booklet "Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents." The free booklet describes benefits provided by ... Read More

It was six minutes until midnight, April 15 -- for over an hour – on the floor of the Kentucky state legislature, as lawmakers pulled a clock-stopping maneuver around the ... Read More

Let's face it, being an airline passenger just isn't much fun anymore. Even U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Mary E. Peters agrees and has announced a series of government ... Read More

When Minneapolis' I-35 Bridge collapsed, we began to catch on to the fact that America's aging infrastructure -- bridges, roads, levees, ports, airports, etc. -- was beginning to crumble before ... Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Baze v. Rees, ruled 7-2 on Wednesday that lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment, ... Read More

A magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in California within the next 30 years is almost a sure thing, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, who place the chances of ... Read More

A bill just introduced in the House of Representatives would effectively block the federal government from enforcing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Stating that the Internet Gambling Enforcement ... Read More

Blind people and pedestrians in general would be offered some protection from the dangers of quiet hybrid cars under a bill introduced in Congress on April 9, by Rep. Edolphus ... Read More

The White House has reported details of the 2007 tax returns filed by President and Mrs. Bush and Vice President and Mrs. Cheney. According to the White House, President and Mrs. ... Read More

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have reported finding many sensitive, defenses-related items for sale on both of the popular web sites eBay and Craigslist. According to the GAO's report, ... Read More

Throughout the day on April 1, Arizona talk radio station KTAR broadcast stories stating that the state's legislature had passed and Gov. Janet Napolitano had signed a bill requiring that ... Read More

Whether we know it or not, we spend more money when we're sad. So says a team of behavioral scientists as a result of research funded by the National Science Foundation, ... Read More

When Dr. Kou Wei Chiu, 32, arrived at the Sea-Tac airport on July 25, 2007, he realized his flight home to Memphis, Tennessee was already boarded and departing. Really wanting ... Read More

During 2006 - 2007, the seven U.S. states with no income tax whatsoever again led the nation in net population growth, according to the Census Bureau. Which states are they, ... Read More

Can U.S. cities "pick and choose" which religious monuments they place in their parks, or if they allow one, must they allow them all? It's an unusual question testing ... Read More

Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez announced last week that the U.S. Census Bureau would be forced to scrap plans to use wireless handheld computers in conducting the 2010 census. Instead, ... Read More

Faced with having its drivers licenses rejected at airports, the State of Maine on Wednesday agreed to take "significant additional steps" necessary to comply with security levels required by the ... Read More

You shop for the best car, why not shop for the best hospital? Consumers can now do just that using the recently upgraded Hospital Compare web site from the U.S. ... Read More

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given Maine until 5:00 p.m. today to agree to work toward meeting initial requirements of the REAL ID Act or face having its ... Read More

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson has announced his resignation effective April 18, 2008. As the nation's 13th HUD Secretary, Jackson oversaw HUD's $37 billion annual budget ... Read More

Whatever it is Americans like about the South and West, it continues to draw them there in growing numbers; as Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston realized the largest population ... Read More