American Community Survey 5-Year Data Products

Notice and request for comments.

The U.S. Census Bureau has released American Community Survey

(ACS) data products in the form of 1-year estimates for 2005, 2006, 

and 2007, and 3-year estimates for the period of 2005-2007. 

Annual updates of these products are planned. Specifically, 

in 2009 and 2010, the Census Bureau will publish 1-year estimates 

for the 2008 ACS and the 2009 ACS, and 3-year estimates for the 

2006-2008 ACS and 2007-2009 ACS, respectively. Beginning in late 2010, 

the Census Bureau plans to introduce 5-year data products covering 

the period of 2005-2009. The Census Bureau is proposing to modify 

its current line of data products to accommodate the 5-year estimates 

and is requesting comments from current and potential users of ACS 

data products to help guide this modification. The release of the 

5-year estimates will achieve a goal of the ACS to provide small 

area data similar to the data published after Census 2000, based on 

the long-form sample. Plans for the production of an ACS Summary 

File for race, ethnic origin, ancestry, and country of birth, 

and another for American Indians and Alaska Natives, will be 

described in a future Federal Register notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 20, 2009.

HHS Issues Special Report on Health Reform and Launches New healthreform.gov Web Site

Americans expressed serious concerns regarding health care in a new report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services. The report, Americans Speak on Health Reform: Report on Health Care Community Discussions, summarizes comments from the thousands of Americans who hosted and participated in Health Care Community Discussions across the country and highlights the need for immediate action to reform health care. The report is available on a new Web site dedicated to health reform: www.healthreform.gov. Unveiled today, the Web site will allow Americans to view today's White House Health Forum, share their thoughts about health reform with the Obama Administration and sign a statement in support of President Obama's commitment to enacting comprehensive health reform this year. "This new Web site, www.healthreform.gov and report ensure that when we discuss health reform, the American people will have an equal stake in the health reform efforts," said HHS Spokeswoman Jenny Backus. "Sky-rocketing health care costs are creating enormous pressure on families, on businesses and our fiscal future. The Obama Administration is committed to taking action this year on health reform and is calling on government, business, health care stakeholders and everyday Americans to come together to make it happen." In December, then President-elect Obama called on the American people to host Health Care Community Discussions to assess the seriousness of the problems and identify solutions. In the last eight years, health insurance premiums have grown four times faster than wages and one million more Americans have lost their health insurance each year. Health care costs have forced small businesses to close their doors and compelled corporations to ship jobs overseas. Over 9,000 people signed up in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to host a discussion, and thousands more participated in these gatherings. After each Health Care Community Discussion, guests and hosts were asked to fill out a Participant Survey and submit a group report to the Presidential Transition Team's Web site summarizing the group's concerns and suggestions. Group reports from 3,276 Health Care Community Discussions as well as Participant Surveys from 30,603 participants were collected, analyzed, and are summarized in the report.

Weatherization Assistance for Low-Income Persons

(Updated) The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to solicit grant applications for the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons for Program Year 2009, and establish grant guidance and management information for the Weatherization Assistance Program as outlined in the Weatherization Program Notice (WPN) 09-1, Program Year 2009 Weatherization Grant Guidance, included as Attachment 1. This announcement also addresses the $250M supplemental funding being accessed by grantees in conjunction with their annual application.

Past Experiences Offer Recovery Lessons for Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Future Disasters

Statement of Stanley J. Czerwinski, GAO Director Strategic Issues
Before the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives

Lessons from past disasters provide a potentially valuable source of information for all levels of government as they seek to meet the many challenges of recovering from a major disaster. For affected state and local jurisdictions, good practices to consider include the following:

• Creating a clear, implementable, and timely recovery plan can provide communities with a road map for the recovery process. Just 2 months after the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan, the city created a recovery plan with these elements.

• Providing financial and technical capacity facilitates jurisdictions’ ability to implement federal disaster programs. For example, loans and technical assistance provided after past disasters helped communities better navigate the wide range of federal disaster programs.

• Implementing business recovery strategies to minimize business relocations helps small businesses adapt to postdisaster market conditions. For example, to encourage businesses to remain in the city Grand Forks after the 1997 flood, the city forgave loans for businesses that stayed in the city.

• Adopting a comprehensive approach toward combating fraud, waste, and abuse protects both disaster victims from contractor fraud and public funds from fraudulent applicants. Controls to combat such activities before, during, and after a disaster can deter such activities, including instances of contractor fraud.

On the federal level, experiences with FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes illustrated a variety of challenges in the day-to-day operation of the program that could be faced again by Gulf Coast states recoveringfrom Hurricanes Ike and Gustav or other disasters in the future. These include the following:

• Challenges using program flexibilities to respond to the postdisaster needs of grant applicants and determining project scope. For example, applicants reported needing additional flexibility when rebuilding to address significant population changes after the storm.

• Challenges in sharing information among federal, state, and local officials during project development that at times slowed the process. For example, some applicants in Louisiana told us of the need to repeatedly resubmit key project documents because of the lack of an effective system to share such documentation.

Policy on Reporting of Coordinated Human Services Transportation Data

Notice of Final Policy on Reporting of Coordinated Human Services Transportation Data
to the National Transit Database.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) policy on the
reporting of coordinated human services transportation data to the National Transit Database (NTD).
On August 12, 2008, FTA proposed a new policy clarifying how transit providers reporting to
the NTD may include sponsored trips in their reports. FTA received two comments on the proposed
policy and is now formally adopting the new policy.

DATES: Effective Date: March 4, 2009.

NIMBYs and Old People Make Excellent Defenses Against Recession

from the Economist

Nowhere in California is immune to recession, but the oldest areas are proving most resistant. Of the ten counties with the lowest unemployment rates, nine, including Santa Barbara, contain an above-average proportion of people aged 65 or older. Youthful Los Angeles has shed almost a quarter-of-a-million jobs in the past year. Slightly older San Diego has lost a few thousand, while considerably older San Francisco has lost none. A map of the state’s retirees could almost double as a map of economic resilience.

In the past ten years, obedient to the findings of urban sociologists, American cities have tripped over themselves vying for young, creative people. They have revitalised downtowns and sponsored gay-pride parades. They might have been better off building retirement homes.