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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

09/20/11 Greenwich Roundup's daily aggregation of press releases, reports, and other news items from the web pages of federal agencies & other groups

NOTE: Items that implicate a public policy issue are selected for the report without consideration of the viewpoints they express. No litmus test—partisan, ideological, theological or otherwise—is applied to the selection of news items.

This daily reports consistently introduce Greenwich residents to ideas not yet imagined, issues not yet confronted, viewpoints not yet expressed and—most importantly—to articles not yet written.

Time for José. In a move seen as extremely rare, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the 17-year prison sentence for U.S.-born al-Qaeda terrorist José Padilla with instructions to keep him locked up for a longer period. Among other things, the admissibility of evidence obtained before he was read his Miranda rights was not a factor that mitigated in favor of a shorter prison sentence, a divided three-judge panel said.

Are thieves and muggers staying home these days? The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its 2010 crime statistics showing that violent crime decreased by 6% and property crime decreased 2.7% last year. It was the eighth consecutive year of violent and property crime decreases.



White House


President
Weekly address: Passing the American Jobs Act

Proposes to tax the upper middle class to reduce the deficit

Presidential Memorandum
Message to the Congress on the President's deficit reduction plan

Press Secretary
Fact sheet on the President's deficit reduction plan

Report: Living within our means and investing in the future: The President's plan for economic growth and deficit reduction

Press briefing by Press Secy. Carney, Treasury Secy. Geithner, and OMB Director Lew

President's call with German Chancellor Merkel

Press gaggle by Press Secretary Carney aboard Air Force One en route to New York City

Office of Science & Technology Policy
Federal science, technology, engineering and math education inventory highlighted

Federal Courts


1st Circuit Court of Appeals
Haley v. City of Boston (Convict who was released after 30 years of incarceration on the basis of previously undisclosed evidence has right to sue police investigators)

4th Circuit Court of Appeals
Aziz v. Alcolac Inc. (Company that sold mustard gas precursor chemicals to Iraq is not liable for murders of Kurdish people)

9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries (Religion-based drug treatment and homeless shelter programs can deny service to non-religious people)

11th Circuit Court of Appeals
USA v. Jayyousi (Orders new sentencing hearing for al-Qaeda terrorist Jose Padilla because 17-year prison sentence was too lenient)

Executive Departments


Defense
Contract announcements for September 19

Air Force
Senior leaders say B-2 has bright future

DOD set for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal

Defense Casualties
Army Spc. Chazray C. Clark, 24, of Ecorse, Mich.

Army Sgt. Garrick L. Eppinger, Jr., 25, of Appleton, Wis.

Army Staff St. Michael W. Hosey, 27, of Birmingham, Ala.

Energy
Secy. Chu addresses International Atomic Energy Agency conference

Energy Information Administration
China and India to drive 53% increase in world energy use by 2035

Health and Human Services
Announces new recommendations to support health text messaging and mobile health programs

Signs agreement with the World Health Organization to help developing countries strengthen their capabilities to meet International Health Regulations

Food and Drug Administration
Confirms Listeria on recalled Jensen Farms' Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes

National Institute of Mental Health
Short-term inpatient psychiatric stays increased for youth but declined for older adults between 1996 and 2007

National Institutes of Health
Scientists find approach to enhance and prolong immune attack against tumor cells

Housing and Urban Development
Awards $8.3 million to Native American communities for housing

Interior

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
Holds unannounced spill drill to test undersea containment response

Justice
Atty. General Holder speaks at the UN Secy. General's symposium on international counter-terrorism cooperation

Remarks at the M/V Cosco Busan settlement press conference

Ship owners and operators to pay $44 million in damages and penalties for 2007 San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge crash and oil spill

Atty. General Holder's statement on the 2010 uniform crime report

Criminal Division
President of fraudulent Florida physical therapy company is sentenced for Medicare fraud

Miami mental health company owner is sentenced for orchestrating a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme

Army Corps of Engineers employee pleads guilty to accepting bribes from Iraqi contractors

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Releases 2010 crime statistics showing violent crime decreased for the fourth consecutive year

Crime rates in the U.S. decline

Links to sections of the 2010 uniform crime report

U.S. Attorney - California Northern
Fourth defendant is charged in insider trading scheme involving Citigroup investment banker

U.S. Attorney - Michigan Eastern
Ecorse city controller is sentenced on bribery charges

Detroit public school official is sentenced for accepting cash kickbacks for $3.32 million in phony invoices

Labor

Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Announces $10 million grant competition to combat child labor in Ethiopia

Employee Benefits Security Administration
To re-propose rule on definition of a fiduciary

Wage and Hour Division
IRS signs agreement to improve coordination on employee misclassification

State
Briefing on Secy. Clinton's meetings with Turkish and Kosovan officials

Transportation

Federal Transit Administration
Awards $25 million for Charlotte, N.C., streetcar project

Treasury

Comptroller of the Currency
Foreclosure and mortgage servicing is discussed at regulatory symposium

USDA

Agricultural Research Service
Scientists develop new potato lines to wage war on wireworms

Foreign Agricultural Service
Announces extension of public comment period on proposed changes to the export credit guarantee program

Independent Agencies


Corporation for National and Community Service
More than one in four older Americans are volunteers

Director of National Intelligence
Intelligence community reduces security clearance processing time

Environmental Protection Agency
Issues final air quality permits to Shell for Arctic oil and gas exploration

Twelve are arrested for illegally distributing and selling pesticides in New York's Chinatown

Federal Communications Commission
Issues comprehensive data request in special access proceeding

NASA
Unveils outline of its strategy to procure private transportation services for astronauts to the Space Station

Satellite raises doubt about asteroid family believed responsible for dinosaur extinction

National Science Foundation
On-line gamers open doors to new AIDS drug design

Deep oceans may mask global warming for years at a time

Awards $20 million to fund university nano-electronics research for 2020 and beyond

Securities and Exchange Commission
Proposes rule to prohibit conflicts of interest in certain asset-backed securities transactions

Interest Groups


Budgets & spending
AARP
Social Security should be kept off the table

Alliance for Retired Americans
President's plan would strengthen nation and honor the commitment to Social Security

American Federation of Government Employees
President's plan unfairly targets federal workers

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Millionaires’ tax is welcome news but Congress must pass jobs bill now

American Petroleum Institute
Administration plan would hurt jobs and investment

American Public Health Association
Proposed cuts to Prevention and Public Health Fund are shortsighted

Bipartisan Policy Center
President’s engagement increases the chances that the Joint Select Committee will reach a "grand bargain"

Business Roundtable
Lower corporate rate and a competitive territorial system are essential elements of successful economic growth strategy

Citizens Against Government Waste
President Obama perpetrates the myth that the deficit and debt are a product of too little revenue

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Super Committee should "go big" and actually stabilize the debt

Common Cause
President has finally put some teeth into his case for "shared sacrifice"

Communications Workers of America
White House plan is a positive step for tax fairness

Constitutional Accountability Center
President Obama pledges to uphold the Constitution above special interests

Environmental Working Group
Obama’s debt reduction plan would eliminate wasteful farm subsidies

Families USA
Supports President's approach to budget but opposes Medicaid cost shifts to states

Federation of American Hospitals
Arbitrary hospital cuts will inhibit job creation

Leadership Conference
President Obama's debt reduction plan is the right approach

Liberty Counsel
Obama’s jobs bill attacks charitable deductions in favor of bigger government

National Air Transportation Association
General aviation groups strongly oppose user fees in White House proposal

National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Good news and bad news in the president's deficit plan

National Corn Growers Association
Deeply concerned by proposals that undermine a farmer’s ability to purchase adequate crop insurance

National Federation of Independent Business
New tax increases on America’s biggest job creators are the last thing this economy needs

National Partnership for Women & Families
Obama plan is on the right track

National Treasury Employees Union
Federal workers union is planning to fight pension contribution increases in White House proposal

National Women's Law Center
Any cuts to health programs must protect women and families

Service Employees International Union
Time for corporations and the rich to pay their fair share

Sunlight Foundation
Federal spending reporting system is still broken

Study: How reliable is USASpending.gov

Trust for America's Health
Proposed cuts to the public health fund is harmful to America's long-term fiscal security

Civil rights

Catholics for Choice
Social justice leaders question Obama’s commitment to upholding nondiscrimination laws

Climate

Economic Policy Institute
Report: The combined effect of the Obama EPA rules

Crime

Urban Institute
Surveillance cameras are cost-effective tools for cutting crime
Study: Evaluating the use of public surveillance cameras for crime control and prevention

Economy

American Iron and Steel Institute
Steel shipments were down 3% from June
National Association of Home Builders
Builder confidence was virtually unchanged in September
National Retail Federation
Import cargo volume at major retail container ports is beginning to see cautious increases

Employment

Tax Foundation
Jobs Act is unlikely to produce many jobs

Ethics

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Names the 14 most corrupt members of Congress

Health insurance

Physicians for a National Health Program
Uninsured patients in Massachusetts are still predominantly the working poor despite reform

Religion

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Has the President changed his position on subsidizing religious discrimination with tax funds?

Trade

Council on Foreign Relations
Pro-America trade policy would bring home benefits of global commerce

Congressional Agencies

Government Accountability Office
Excess facilities: DOD needs more complete information and a strategy to guide is future disposal efforts

Joint strike fighter: Implications of program restructuring and other recent developments on key aspects of DOD's prior alternate engine analyses

Telecommunications: Competition, capacity and costs in the fixed satellite services industry

Weapons acquisition reform: Actions needed to address systems engineering and developmental testing challenges

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