Government Resources on the Web
WHAT'S NEW
Last updated on May 3,
2012
- May 3, 2012
- Letters
from Abbottabad (Counter Terrorism Center, West Point)
- The last letters written by Osama bin Laden prior to his death
- They discuss killing President Obama, to be replaced by Vice
President Biden, fear of drone strikes, concern about killing of fellow
Muslims
- Letters released on May 3, 2012
- English translations in zipped format
- Primary location: America's War Against
Terrorism
- August 12, 2011
- Super
Committee: Who Are These Guys (CNN)
- Lists six Senate and House members to develop an alternative debt
reduction proposal by Thanksgiving 2011
- Brief description of their experience and interest in the
issues
- Article by CNN Money dated August 11, 2011
- Primary location: Documents in the News
- August 11, 2011
- Foreclosures
- Data from Lois
Stickell, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Aug. 10, 2011
- Foreclosure
Response Org
- Does not have actual foreclosure rates but DOES have spreadsheets and maps of high-cost purchase loans
- Data by state, county, metro area and census tract
- New
York Federal Reserve Credit Conditions
- Select "Mortgages" then "Prime" and then "percent in foreclosure"
- State and county maps and Excel spreadsheets on homes in foreclosure
- Atlanta Federal
Reserve Bank
- Articles and an experimental database on foreclosures
- RealtyTrac
- This is the primary source for foreclosure data but requires a subscription
- Not available on LEXIS Academic
- Free information is a U.S. map of states in foreclosure heat
- Primary location: Demographic Statistics
- August 10, 2011
- CNN/ORC
International Poll (August 10, 2011)
- Poll showing Americans prefer taxing the wealthy and corporations
combined with deep spending cuts
- Do not want changes to Medicare and Social Security
- Percentages broken down by age, income, sex, and region of the
country
- Primary location: Documents in
the News
- August 2, 2011
- July 30, 2011
- July 18, 2011
- National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and
Reform
- Official report entitled Moment of Truthof the commission to reduce the national deficit, issued
December 2010
- Recommends combined approach on entitlements (Social Security, medical care), reduced spending, and tax reform to
reduced the federal deficit
- Chaired by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles
- Primary location: Federal Budget
- July 17, 2011
- August 15, 2008
- Afghanistan War
- Primary web resources for previous al-Qaeda attacks, 2001 military
operations
- Ongoing issues with special focus on statistical data and
Congressional hearings
- August 1, 2008
- June 4, 2008
- June 2, 2008
- Scientific
Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United
States
- Worldwide climate change will increase heat, drought, and sea-level
in the United States
- Report outlines the effects on human (especially an increase in food
and waterborne disease), the air, land, biology, and transportation
- President's triennial report on climate change made available on May
29, 2008 by court order
- Another copy
- A companion volume, its Revised
Research Plan describes progress and cites studies
conducted by the government on global warming, 2003-2008, along with an
outline for 2008-2010 research
- Primary location: Environmental Statistics and
High School Debate
2008
- April 25, 2008
- Vital
Stats
- Create your own tables, charts and graphs and births (since 1990)
and perinatal mortality (since 2003) for states and counties in the
nation
- Detailed cross tabs on conditions of the pregnancy or demographic
characteristics of the mother
- As of April 2008, a similar database for death statistics is under
development
- Primary location: Health
Statistics
- April 23, 2008
- April 21, 2008
- Food
Availability (Per Capita) Data System (USDA Economic Research
Service)
- Data base of spreadsheets
- Nutrients available per capita per day since 1909 (calories, carbs,
fats, proteins, vitamins) for the U.S. public
- Specific foods available per capita per year since 1909 (e.g. 254
eggs available per person per year in 2005)
- Daily per capita servings available of food adjusted for spoilage
(in 2005 there were 1.48 ounces of chicken available per capita per day
but only but only .026 servings of broccoli
- Primary location: Agriculture
Statistics
- Global
Insight (UMich Only)
- Business database with news and time series data on general
economics as well as the automotive, energy medical and pharmaceutical,
and telecommunications sectors
- For ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL DATA, choose
DataInsight-Web on the lefthand side of the screen
- Under historical data, choose Global Economy, Financial Markets, US
Economy or US Regional Economy
- Select in a separate box the indicator , the geography, and source;
then choose frequency (e.g. monthly quarterly); then press GO
- Highlight the table of interest and note any INFORMATION in the
lower lefthand box (sometimes the spreadsheet doesn't identify a country
or other information
- Export the selected data
- Subjects include IMF, Direction of Trade, Balance of Payments and
OECD main economic indicators
- US economic indicators include Daily Treasury Statements, housing,
prices, retail trade, industrial output, labor markets, national
accounts as well as state breakdowns for many of the indicators
- Some time series date back 40 years
- Sample search
- For Automotive, Energy, Healthcare and Telecoms, use the link
provided under MYINSIGHT SERVICES on the lefthand side of the main
screen to select options which will eventually appear on the lower part
of the lefthand side
- AUTOMOTIVE - production and sales by country and by
automotive company
- ENERGY - primarily country reports on oil, gas, electricity,
government policies, and political risks
- HEALTH CARE - country data on causes of death, health care
expenditures per capita, the pharmaceutical market; US FDA approved drug
list
- TELECOMMUNICATIONS - country data on land line and mobile
phone as well as internet users; market penetration by company
- Primary locations: Economic
Statistics and Foreign Statistics
- TracFed
(some files UMich Only)
- Search number of prosecutions and convictions by federal court,
judge, or agency
- Track actions of U.S. attorneys by offense and district as well as
IRS audits
- Salaries of federal judges, attorneys and U.S. officials earning
over $100,000
- Primary locations: Federal
Civil Service and Federal Judiciary
- April 18, 2008
- Canada
Yearbook, 1867-1967
- Yearbook is an annual summary of Canadian economics and culture
supplemented by statistical tables, similar in scope to statistical
abstract
- Browse 100 years of the yearbook by year or subject to find Members
of Parliament, insurance statistics, Canadian participation, size of the
militia, photos of the army in World War I
- Extracts from the current edition are also on the
Statistics
Canada web site
- The Graduate Library has the series in paper as HA 741 .A3 with the
current edition in the Documents Center
- Primary location: Foreign
Governments/North America
- April 15, 2008
- Upjohn
Institute Employment Research Data Center
- Conducts research for Dept. of Labor on labor force issues
- Summarizes results of various surveys: continuous longitudinal
manpower survey, persons who exhaust unemployment insurance benefits,
lifelong learning, job corps
- Data sets available from Upjohn upon request
- Primary location: Labor Statistics
- February 13, 2008
- U.S.
Population Projections: 2005-2050 (Pew Research
Center)
- Reports show that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites will be a minority
(47%) and blacks will remain the same while Hispanics and Asians will
grow as a percentage
- The elderly will nearly double in size, and 19% of the nation will
be immigrants
- Full text of report released in pdf format on February 11,
2008
- Primary location: Demographic
Statistics
- February 8, 2008
- Earth
Platform
- Environmental search engine to news reports and web sites
- Subjects include nature, animals, energy, pollution
- Section devoted to Global
Warming
- Organizations represented include government agencies, non-profits,
and business
- Primary location: Environmental
Statistics
- February 2, 2008
- Rockridge
Institute
- Progressive think tank "committed to the democratization of
knowledge about politics"
- Studies values behind conservative and progressive discourse
- Includes positions on economics, health, environment, family
values, and religion
- Text of George Lakoff's Thinking Points
- Primary location: Political
Science Think Tanks
- February 1, 2008
- Commission on the National
Guard and Reserves
- Commission authorized by Congress to assess homeland readiness for
outside attacks and disaster recovery
- Final Report, dated January 31, 2008, concludes that the National
Guard and Reserves need to be
integrated into the military and serve as an operational rather than
strategic organization
- Also addresses fundamental reforms to reserve roles, personnel
management systems, equipping and training policies,
policies affecting families and employers
- America's War on
Terrorism
- January 21, 2008
- Exit
Polls (MSNBC) [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21660890/]
- Exit polls conducted by Edison as part of pooled news election
coverage
- Questions of voters break presidential choices by state and then
factors such as sex, race, age, education, and income of the
voter
- Primary location: Elections
2008
- December 18, 2007
- Congressional
Hearings (Rutgers-Camden School of Law)
- Full text of over 7000 Congressional hearings published 1970-98
- Searchable by full text
- Hearings may be downloaded page-by-page or in segments
- Primary location: Federal
Legislative Branch
- December 4, 2007
- Iran:
Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities (National Intelligence
Estimate)
- Report suggests that Iran halted its nuclear weapon program in 2003
as the result of international pressure
- Believes Iran could still continue its weapons program in the future
but it would not be ready before 2015
- Released December 3, 2007
- Primary locations: Elections 2008 and
Documents in the News
2007
- Elections 2008
- University of Michigan mega-index to all things electoral
from presidential/voter matching services to advertising, public opinion
polls, and data sets on historic U.S. elections
- Weekly tracks
Congressional candidates not running for re-election.
- Links to election
data provided by the 50 states and key documents relating to policy
issues
- For public and academic use.
Grace York
Retired Documents Librarian
University of Michigan
Graphics by Sherry Piontek, Barbara Perles, and Grace York
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