Where Did Your Federal Dollars Go in 2006? (2008)
Links to two reports: The first, Consolidated Federal Funds Report: 2006, provides a broad overview of how and where the federal government allocates funds. Statistics are provided for each federal department and agency, and presented by state, county and subcounty area. The second report, Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 2006, contains data on federal grants to state and local governments.

July 2008

Nuclear Power's Role in Generating Electricity (2008)
Intro: "At the request of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessed the competitiveness of nuclear power when compared with other sources of new capacity to generate electricity, focusing on the possible effects of constraints on carbon dioxide emissions and the impact of EPAct incentives. In accordance with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, this study makes no recommendations."

June 2008  top

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, updated November 9, 2007 [Congressional Research Service] PDF-50 pages
Intro: "With enactment of the FY2007 supplemental on May 25, 2007, Congress has approved a total of about $609 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)."

May 2008  top

The Greening of U.S. Corporations (2008) [U.S. Dept. of State] PDF-43 pages
Discusses economic incentives for U.S. corporations to develop green technologies. Major U.S. companies (General Electric, Wal-Mart, Apple) and CEO's are mentioned.

April 2008  top

Social Security Reform: The Nature of the Problem (Issue Brief No. 1: September 24, 2007) PDF-14 pages
Series of issue briefs from the Treasury on Social Security reform topics. The first brief explains the magnitude of the financial challenge facing Social Security and why acting sooner and spreading the burden of reform across more generations is fairer to future generations.

Issue Brief No. 1: Social Security Reform: The Nature of the Problem
Issue Brief No. 2: Social Security Reform: A Framework for Analysis
Issue Brief No. 3: Social Security Reform: Benchmarks for Assessing Fairness and Benefit Adequacy

March 2008  top

Climate Change: Science Update 2007 (November 29, 2007) [CRS] PDF-17 pages
Summarizes highlights of new scientific research and assessments released in 2007 related to global warming. Discusses the fourth major assessment of technical information on climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

February 2008  top

Effects of Gasoline Prices on Driving Behavior and Vehicle Markets (2008) PDF-58 pages
Excerpt from Summary: "This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study examines the scope and intensity of consumers’ responses to the upward trend in gasoline prices that began in 2003. Those responses have been large enough to interrupt a pattern of steady growth in total gasoline consumption dating back to 1990, the last time U.S. gasoline prices rose substantially. If current high prices—and consumers’ responses to them—persist, the effect on overall gasoline consumption will grow stronger as older, less-fuelefficient vehicles are retired and as consumers consider other, less easily implemented adjustments to their patterns of consumption."

January 2008  top

Census Atlas of the United States (2007)
More than 700 full-color maps. First general population and housing statistical atlas published by the Census Bureau since 1925. Featuring more than 300 pages and weighing about 7 pounds, the atlas presents data from 1790 through 2000. It is arranged by topic and grouped into three general themes — who we are, where we come from and what we do. Most maps feature county-level detail for the United States and Puerto Rico.

Women's History Month: March 2008
Core statistics with links to detailed reports on: population, motherhood, earnings, education, businesses, voting, jobs, military, marriage, computers, volunteerism, and sports.

December 2007  top

The State of Work in California, 1979-2006: A Generation of Widening Inequality (2007) PDF-72 pages
Summary: "The story of the past generation is one of widening inequality. Since the late 1970s, California’s job growth has become concentrated in low-wage and high-wage jobs and the  gap between workers at the low end and the high end of the earnings distribution has widened. Meanwhile, income has become increasingly concentrated among the richest Californians. A Generation of Widening Inequality: The State of Working California, 1979 to 2006 documents employment, wage, and income trends in California during the past generation and highlights the importance of public policies that address the gap between rich and poor."

November 2007   top

Making Ends Meet: How Much Does it Cost to Raise a Family in California? 2007 PDF-28 pages
Estimates the cost of a basic standard of living in California for four family types. It calculates annual family budgets and hourly wages needed to cover costs of housing and utilities, child care, transportation, food, health coverage, payroll and income taxes, and miscellaneous expenses, but does not account for savings, vacations or emergencies. Also provides detailed budgets for the four family types in 10 regions in the state, including Los Angeles County.

October 2007   top

Encouraging Girls in Math and Science [PDF]
Intro: "This National Center for Education Research (NCER) Practice Guide is the second in a series of IES guides in education. Developed by a panel of experts, this guide brings together the best available evidence and expertise to provide educators with specific and coherent evidence-based recommendations on how to encourage girls in the fields of math and science. The objective is to provide teachers with specific recommendations that can be carried out in the classroom without requiring systemic change. Other school personnel having direct contact with students, such as coaches, counselors, and principals may also find the guide useful. The guide offers five recommendations and indicates the quality of the evidence that supports the recommendations. Together, the recommendations make a coherent statement: To encourage girls in math and science, educators need to strengthen girls’ beliefs about their abilities in math and science, spark and maintain greater interest in these subject areas, and build associated skills."

September 2007   top

A Child's Day: 2003 (2007) PDF-22 pages | 2000
Statistics on tv viewing, meals with parents, praise from parents, sports participation, progression through school, and more.

August 2007   top

Climate Change (August 2007) [GAO]
Introduction: "Climate change has implications for the vast land and water resources managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (FS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Park Service (NPS). These resources generally occur within four ecosystem types: coasts and oceans, forests, fresh waters, and grasslands and shrublands. GAO obtained experts' views on (1) the effects of climate change on federal resources and (2) the challenges managers face in addressing climate change effects on these resources. GAO held a workshop with the National Academies in which 54 scientists, economists, and federal resource managers participated, and conducted 4 case studies."

Related: Addressing Climate Change: views from the private sector : hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, February 13, 2007.

July 2007   top

A Botanic Garden for the Nation: The United States Botanic Garden (2007)
Chronicles the history of the United States Botanic Garden. Also documents the plants and exhibits housed there.  

June 2007   top

Congressional Testimony: Hearing on Mental Health Problems Confronting Soldiers Returning from Iraq, Afghanistan
Summary: "Numerous reports indicate that a large percentage of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder. In a hearing on Thursday, May 24, the Committee heard from afflicted soldiers and their families, examined the ability of the DOD and the VA to screen, treat, and track returning soldiers who are at risk, and assessed the impact that these illnesses are having on military readiness and military families."

May 2007   top

Contacts between Police and the Public: 2005> (2007) PDF-14 pages
Data on black, hispanic, and white drivers and traffic stops.

April 2007   top

Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq [March 2007] - PDF-47 pages
Note: Previous reports are available here

The latest quarterly report from DoD on "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" has been released. This is the first time the Defense Department has referenced it as a "civil war." "Some elements of the situation in Iraq are properly descriptive of a "civil war," including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities and mobilization, the changing character of the violence, and population displacements." [p. 14]. Also included are numerous graphs, maps and charts including some energy production reports, the number of attacks, combat operation, the number of sectarian murders and incidents, casualties, assessed capabilities and more.

 

Related: The recent National Intelligence Estimate: January 2007 is also referenced in the report and it can be found at http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20070202_release.pdf.

March 2007   top

Food Spending in American Households, 2003-04
Description: "Average yearly expenditures on food in U.S. urban households increased between 2003 and 2004. Over the period, annual per capita spending on food rose from $2,035 to $2,207. The 2004 average comprises $1,347 spent on food consumed at home and $860 spent on food consumed away from home. These amounts reflect a year-to-year increase of 7.9 percent in food-at-home expenditures and 9.3 percent in food-away-from-home expenditures. Wealthier urban households tended to spend more than other urban households for both food at home and food away from home, and they spent a larger share of their food budget than other households on food consumed away from home. The share of the food budget spent on food consumed away from home varied from 30 percent for the poorest group to 44 percent for the wealthiest."

Educational Attainment in the United States: 2006
Description: "Adults with advanced degrees earn four times more than those with less than a high school diploma, according to tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The series of tables, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2006, showed adults 18 and older with a master’s, professional or doctoral degree earned an average of $79,946, while those with less than a high school diploma earned about $19,915. The tables also showed adults with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $54,689 in 2005, while those with a high school diploma earned $29,448."

Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared (Congressional Reports: S. Rpt. 109-322)
URL: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/katrinanation.html

State and Metropolitan Area Data Book: 2006 PDF-448 pages    top
Data for the U.S. and individual states, counties and metropolitan areas. The files include data published for 2005 population and housing unit estimates and many items from the 1990 and 2000 Census of Population and Housing.

Topic areas: age, agriculture, births, business establishments, communications, construction, cost of living, crime, deaths, education, elections, employment, energy, finance, government, health, households, housing, immigration, income, manufactures, marriages and divorces, media, natural resources, population, poverty, race and Hispanic origin, residence, retail sales, science and engineering, social services, tourism, transportation, and veterans.

Labor Force Characteristics of Second-Generation Americans
Full Paper (PDF-10 pages/72KB)
Source: Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor)
“This article examines the labor force status, occupations, and earnings of second- and third-and-higher-generation workers by a variety of demographic characteristics including age, sex, race or ethnicity, educational attainment, and family status. It also looks at the labor market situation of the two groups that make up the second generation — persons whose parents are both foreign born (foreign parentage) and persons who have one native-born parent and one foreign-born parent (mixed parentage).”

September 2006     top

America’s Dynamic Workforce: 2006 [U.S. Department of Labor] PDF-48 pages
Chartbook (statistics, tables, charts) PDF-72 pages
Presents an overview of current conditions and notable trends affecting the American labor market and economic activity. Primary emphasis is on measures of labor market performance ­ employment, labor force participation, unemployment, and compensation. General measures of economic performance such as gross domestic product (GDP) and productivity growth are also described as they relate to labor market conditions and trends.

Securing U.S. Nuclear Materials: DOE Needs to Take Action to Safely Consolidate Plutonium (July 2005)
Highlights | Full Report
Summary: "Plutonium is very hazardous to human health and the environment and requires extensive security because of its potential use in a nuclear weapon. The Department of Energy (DOE) stores about 50 metric tons of plutonium that is no longer needed by the United States for nuclear weapons. Some of this plutonium is contaminated metal, oxides, solutions, and residues remaining from the nuclear weapons production process. To improve security and reduce plutonium storage costs, DOE plans to establish enough storage capacity at its Savannah River Site (SRS) in the event it decides to consolidate its plutonium at SRS until it can be permanently disposed of in a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which DOE can consolidate this plutonium at SRS and (2) SRS’s capacity to monitor plutonium storage containers."

July 2006     top

National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan (May 2006) PDF-233 pages
Implementation plan to clarify roles and responsibilities of governmental and nongovernmental entities.

June 2006     top

A Half-Century of Learning: Historical Statistics on Educational Attainment in the United States: 1940 to 2000
Introduction: "In 1940, statistics on educational attainment were collected for every person enumerated in the census and from a sample of them thereafter. In 1940, only 25 percent of the population age 25 and older had a high school diploma, and just 5 percent earned a bachelor’s degree or more. By the close of the 20th century, these figures had increased to 80 percent with high school diplomas and 24 percent with bachelor’s degrees. Educational attainment data are shown by sex, race and Hispanic origin (since 1980) at the regional and state levels. These data are based on the decennial census and are separate from annual data collected in the Current Population Survey."

May 2006     top

China's Growing Demand for Oil and Its Impact on U.S. Petroleum Markets (April 2006) PDF-58 pages
Introduction: "China’s demand for crude oil and refined petroleum products has been growing over the past decade, and in 2003 and 2004, the country’s demand for oil increased dramatically, surprising many energy analysts. This paper explores the reasons for that growth and the implications for petroleum markets in the United States."

April 2006     top

CBO Data Show Capital Income Has Become Much More Concentrated at the Top (2006) [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities] PDF-4 pages
CBO Report: Historical Effective Federal Tax Rates, 1979-2003

This report examines who received income from interest, dividends, rents and capital gains in the US from 1979 to 2003. The report briefly discusses the impact on income inequality of extending lower tax rates on capital gains and dividend income. 

 

SELECTED FINDINGS:

• In 2003, the top one percent of the population received 57.5 percent of all capital income. This was larger than in any other year examined by CBO, with its data going back to 1979. (The top one percent consisted in 2003 of households with after-tax incomes that averaged $701,500.)

• In 2003, the bottom 80 percent of the population received only 12.6 percent of such capital income, the lowest share on record (with data back to 1979). As recently as 1989, for instance, the bottom 80 percent of the population received 23.5 percent of
  capital income subject to taxation, a share nearly twice as high.

• By contrast, the average after-tax income of the middle fifth of the population rose a relatively modest 15 percent (less than one percentage point per year), and the average after-tax income of the poorest fifth of the population rose just 4 percent, or $600, over the 24-year period.

Related report:

Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America (2006) [Brookings Institute]  

This report examines the income of families and neighborhoods across the nation using decennial census data going back to 1970. Data is broken down by family income levels and neighborhoods (from very low to very high) among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the US. 

SELECTED FINDINGS  

• The number of very low income neighborhoods (50% or less of area median income) in the 100 most populous metro areas increased by more than 300% from 1970 to 2000.
• The share of middle income neighborhoods in the 100 largest metro areas declined from 31.7% in 1970 to 22.5% in 2000.
• 37% of lower income families in 2000 lived in middle income neighborhoods, compared to 55% in 1970.
• The share of very high income families (more than 150% of area median income) among the 100 largest metro areas increased from 23.6% in 1970 to 28.1% in 2000.
• The Los Angeles - Long Beach metro area experienced a 23.6% decline in middle income neighborhoods from 1970 to 2000.

March 2006     top

Performance Review of FEMA’s Disaster Management Activities in Response to Hurricane Katrina (March 31, 2006) PDF-218 pages
Preface: "This report assesses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) performance as it conducted its disaster management responsibilities in response to Hurricane Katrina. We examined whether the laws, regulations, policies, procedures, plans, guidelines, and resources were adequate and operational, and whether FEMA's organizational structure enhanced or hindered its emergency management capabilities."

The Federal Response to Katrina: Lessons Learned (February 2006) PDF-228 pages
Source: Department of Homeland Security
Excerpt from Foreward: "The Report is organized in a manner to give the reader the most comprehensive and clear understanding possible of what happened during the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina. It begins with a discussion of the magnitude and complexity of the response challenge by discussing 'Katrina in Perspective'—providing an historical comparison both of the hurricane itself and the resultant flood. Only by understanding what the storm was, and was not, can an appropriate and measured assessment of the response take place. A National Preparedness 'Primer' on the current Federal framework is then provided to give the reader an understanding of how the current system was supposed to function. This chapter points out some fundamental confusion in the Federal planning and identifies potential shortcomings in the applicability of our plans to catastrophic widespread incidents."

February 2006     top

January 2006     top

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Official Government Edition
Online: Full Report
Online: Executive Summary: PDF-34 pages
Print: DOCS/US  Y 3.2:T 27/2/FINAL  CATALOG RECORD
"The Commission’s Final Report provides a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. It also includes recommendations designed to guard against future attacks." –Excerpt

Also of interest:
Turbulent Transition in Iraq: Can It Succeed? (June 2004)
Online: PDF-8 pages
Relevant Courses: Political Science, History
This report is a brief up-to-date overview of the situation in Iraq as the Interim Government of Iraq begins to assume authority. From the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.