DOCUMENTS IN THE NEWS - 2005
United States Government and Its Officials

Avian Flu

President's Prepareness Proposal
• President Outlines Pandemic Influenza Preparations and Response
  • Speech given at the National Institutes of Health on November 1, 2005
  • The strategy includes an international partnership of surveillance, stockpiling of current flu vaccines and remedies, investing in technology to create new vaccines rapidly, and federal-state-local partnerships
  PandemicFlu.Gov
  • National strategy for identifying and responding to a possible flu pandemic
  • Key facts on the flu and vaccines
  • Monitoring outbreaks
  • Research activities

Election Reform

Commission on Federal Election Report (2005)
• Co-chairs were Jimmy Carter and James Baker
• Final report entitled: Building Confidence in U.S. Elections
• Recommendations
  • State-based rather than local-based voter registration system
  • REAL ID cards at the polls
  • Auditable backup of voter machines
  • States crack down on election fraud
National Commission on Federal Election Reform (2001_
• Co-chaired by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
• Final report entitled: To Assure Pride and Confidence in the Electoral Process
• Policy recommendations include:
  • Every state should have a statewide voter registration system
  • Provisional voting
  • Hold Congressional and Presidential elections on a national holiday
  • Simplify absentee voting
  • Voting equipment standards
  • Clear outlines for what constitutes a vote
  • >News media should not project the winner while the polls are open
  • Restore vote to felons who have served their sentences
Reform Elections (American University
• Balancing Access and Integrity
  • Report on improvements to be made after 2004 presidential elections
• Numerous position papers

Hurricane Katrina

Comprehensive News Coverage
• New York Times
  • News stories and photos on the recovery
• About.Com (New York Times)
  • How to cope with the tragedy (e.g. insurance claim, enrolling children in school, condolence letters, keeping marriage intact
  • Blogs from survivors
• CNN
  • News stories focus on the victims and their personal stories
  • Also carries a "safe list"
Aftermath Investigations
• Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the (House) Select Bipartisan Commitee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina
  • The report squarely blames all of the leaders and their lack of initiative
  • Released on February 15, 2006
  • Another copy
  • Appendices provide additional documentation and a GAO Report
  • Another copy of appendices
• Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (White House)
  • Faults the national security plan
  • Presents 125 recommendations for improvement before the next hurricane season
  • Report written by Fran Townsend under White House auspices and released on February 23, 2006
  • Another Copy
• Government Accountability Office Preliminary Report on Hurricane Katrina
  • Cites the President, FEMA, and Mayor Ray Nagin for lack of leadership in responding to Hurricane Katrina
  • Official title: Statement by Comptroller General David M. Walker on GAO's Preliminary Observations Regarding Preparedness and Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita GAO-06-365R, February 1, 2006
• Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared
  • Joint report by the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Senate Report 109-322), released December 2006
  • Despite adequate warnings about a catastrophic hurricane,there was a failure of leadership on the local, state and national level to deal with Katrina
  • Seven recommendations include replacing FEMA with a heartier organization
Predictors
• Hurricane Pam (Global Security)
  • Simulation of hypothetical Hurricane Pam
  • 2002 New Orleans Times-Picayune article assessing possible storm damage
  • Department of Homeland Security 2004 estimate of possible damange in New Orleans
• Hypothetical Hurricane Pam
  • Simulation conducted in 2004 showing possible effect of a category 3 hurricane on the New Orleans' levee system
Maps
• New Orleans Geospatial Data (Army Corps of Engineers)
  • Navigation charts, hydrographic surveys, and aerial photos
• Civil Works Project Maps (Army Corps of Engineers)
  • Maps of flood control and levee projects in Louisiana
State and Local Government
• Official Katrina Information (Louisiana State Government)
  • Under development as of September 10, 2005
• Louisiana State Government
  • Main page on September 10, 2005 have information about the FEMA debit car, state office and school closures, missing persons registry
• City of New Orleans
  • Web site carries mandatory evacuation order as of September 10, 2005, satellite images of the area, federal recovery and Red Cross information
• New Orleans Times-Picayune
  • Current day's newspaper
• Mississippi State Government
  • Hurricane Katrina recovery information on main page as of September 11, 2005
• Biloxi Mississippi
  • Main page as of September 11, 2005 has preliminary storm damage assessments, storm water management, and videos of storm
• Pascagoula
  • No storm information as of September 11, 2005
Federal Web Sites
• Senator David Vitter
  • Assistance available to victims
• Defense Department
  • Military support in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
• Senator Mary Landrieu
  • Recovery information
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • How to get help or find loved ones
  • Worker safety
  • Explanation of what the government is going
  • Announcement of Mike Brown's Resignation (September 12, 2005)
  • Brown's Emails during the Hurricane (Rep. Melancon)
• Energy Department Gasoline Prices
  • Weekly figures on a national and state level
  • Spreadsheets of monthly historic prices
  • Use Gas Buddy for prices of individual stations in your area
• National Hurricane Center
  • Archived public advisories and forecasts on Hurricane Katrina, August 23-30, 2005
• Appropriations Hearings
  • Army Corps of Engineers projects are covered by the Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees on Energy and Water Development
  • Senate Hearings are on the web through FY 2006 and House Hearings through FY 2004
  • For additional hearings University of Michigan affiliates should use Congressional Universe to locate partial testimony and the Documents Center's SUDOCS number for paper copy of the full text
Relief Organizations
• American Red Cross
  • Contacting loved ones
  • How to stay afe after the storm
  • How to donate money or volunteer
  • Banners to place on one's web site
• Salvation Army
  • Donations of time and self
  • How to prepare for a hurricane
• Guidestar
  • Guide to non-profit organizations
  • Analyze database for their financial performance and percent in overhead
  • Information for organizations wanting to give to Katrina victims
• Katrina Housing (UMich School of Information)
  • Comprehensive guide to alternative housing for Katrina evacuees
  • Search for housing by state or city
  • Information includes number of beds, additional information, and a means to contact the donor
  • Provides system for housing donations
  • Links to public and private organizations

Income Tax

Canadian Tax Forms
• Site includes forms and instructions for individuals, business and non-profits
• Recommendations for tax advice
Detroit Tax Forms
• Tax forms for 2004
Federal Tax Forms (IRS)
• Tax forms, instructions, and publications in PDF (Adobe Acrobat), PCL, PostScript, and SGML format
• Although the tax forms print well, the tax booklets may be too long to effectively print
• 2004 forms available as of 12/31/04
• IRS cancelled distribution of tax forms to banks and most libraries as of August 2005
Michigan 2004 Tax Forms (Treasury Department)
• All forms available in Adobe Acrobat
• Provides link for free Acrobat software and tax assistance information
• 2004 forms available as of 12/31/04
• Michigan is not distributing tax forms to academic libraries in 2004 as a budget-saving measure
Michigan State and City Tax Forms
• Alternative source for state tax forms since 1996
• Best links to Michigan city tax forms
State Tax Forms (LSU)
• Clear listing of links to tax forms from various states

Military Base Closures

Overseas Base Closures
• Report of the Overseas Basing Commission
• Issued May 2005
• Withdrawn by Defense Department due to touchiness over Romania and Bulgaria
• Another Copy
Base Closure and Realignment 2005
• Web site with various lists of possible domestic base closures, economic impact on the communities, and Congressional testimony
• Detailed Recommendations

Second Bush Administration

News Coverage
• President Bush: The Second Term (CNN)
  • Cabinet changes
  • Brief articles on the second term agenda
  Second Term (Jib Jab Video)
  • Animated video of President Bush's plans for his second term set to lyrics
  President's Inaugural Address
  • Calls for liberty throughout the world
  • Given January 20, 2005

Position	First Administration Incumbent	Second Administration Nominee
Agriculture	Ann Veneman	Mike Johanns
Commerce	Don Evans	Carlos Gutierrez
Defense	Donald Rumsfeld	Donald Rumsfeld
Education	Rod Paige	Margaret Spellings
Energy	Spencer Abraham	Sam Bodman
Health and Human Services	Tommy Thompson	Mike Leavitt
Homeland Security	Tom Ridge	Michael Chertoff
Housing and Urban Development	Alphonso Jackson	Alphonso Jackson
Interior	Gale Norton	Gale Norton
Justice	John Ashcroft	Alberto Gonzalez
Labor	Elaine Chao	Elaine Chao
State	Colin Powell	Condoleeza Rice
Transportation	Norman Mineta	Norman Mineta
Treasury	John Snow	John Snow(?)
Veterans Affairs	Anthony Principi	Jim Nicholson
Central Intelligence Agency	Porter Goss	Porter Goss
Environmental Protection Agency	Mike Leavitt	Stephen Johnson
Federal Bureau of Investigation	Robert Mueller	Robert Mueller
Federal Reserve System BOG	Alan Greenspan	Alan Greenspan
NASA Administrator	Sean O'Keefe	...
National Intelligence Director	...	John Negroponte
National Security Adviser	Condoleeza Rice	Richard Hadley
OMB Director	Joshua Bolten	...
UN Ambassador	John Danforth	...
White House Chief of Staff	Andrew Card	Andrew Card

Tax Reform

President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform
• Report entitled Simple, Fair and Pro-Growth: Proposals to Fix American's Tax System submitted in November 2005
• Document outlines two alternative tax plans both of which lower tax rates, eliminate paper work and the alternative minimum tax, eliminate many tax shelters but not those for home ownership, charitable giving or health care
• Comparison tables are given in the front pages of the first volume
• Committee chaired by Connie Mack











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University of Michigan Library
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