Monday, August 19, 2024
Public Feedback Sought for Congress.gov
Monday, August 12, 2024
The Best of Both Worlds or Between a Rock and a Hard Place
The United States Postal Service is a strange hybrid.
It was established by the First Continental Congress in
1775. The new federal government
established in 1789 established the postal service permanently as a government
agency in 1792.
Therefore:
The USPS is a government agency within the Executive
Branch.
Its service standards are set in the Code of Federal
Regulations, and the Postal Regulatory Commission has oversight of it.
It has a public mission, and the price of minimal service
must remain affordable.
It maintains a monopoly of mailboxes and letter delivery to
be able to provide service to communities that would not be financially viable for
a private company. Only the USPS can
deposit items into mailboxes.
As a government agency, the USPS is exempt from tolls,
vehicle registration fees, state/local taxes, property/real estate taxes, and
parking tickets for delivery vehicles.
To fund growth and improvements, the USPS is granted very
low interest loans.
Postal workers are federal employees. The USPS assumes all financial risks for
workers’ compensation from its revenue.
It cannot use a private insurer.
Postal workers cannot strike.
However:
Since the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the USPS does
not receive appropriations from Congress provided by tax revenues. Unlike most
government agencies, it is almost completely financially independent.
It is required to act like a private business and must
compete for customers.
The rise in costs of providing services, especially employee
retirement benefits, competition from other delivery companies, and a reduction
in need for the postal service because of technological innovations for
delivery of communication (email, etc.) has led to a loss of revenue for the
USPS.
Currently the cost of universal mail service is higher than
the monetary value of having a monopoly.
Other handicaps:
USPS has more flexibility in purchasing than other
government agencies, but purchasing is regulated by government oversight and is
not as flexible as a private company would have.
The USPS is forbidden by law from putting retirement program
monies into any but the most secure investments. Therefore, the cost of retirement benefits
for postal employees is higher than the money the investments make.
The amount the USPS can borrow for growth and improvements is
capped by law, and the cap has not changed in 30 years.
Because of its hybrid nature, the USPS has some control over
it’s operations and low to no control over others. For example, USPS has no control over providing
6-day service. It also has no control
over its ability to diversify products and services. It has high control over the prices it charges
for services it competes with other companies to provide such as package delivery.
The US Postal Service component of the Office of Inspector General has studied the tension between the competing natures of the Postal
Service as a privately funded entity and a government agency and in a white
paper released August 2, 2024 has determined that its current structure is not sustainable
and needs reform.
Wednesday, August 07, 2024
Copyright and AI
Monday, July 22, 2024
Hot Enough For Ya?
July and August are the hottest months of the year, with September not far behind here in the South. Extreme high heat can affect our outdoor activities, our electric bills, and our moods. But what effect does heat have on the most vulnerable communities and what is their resilience to this external pressure on them. According to the Census Bureau, “Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households within a community to absorb the external stresses of a disaster.”
The United States Census provides data about the population in
numerous topic areas. Most recently
(July 16, 2024), they released their report on the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) for Heat. The report
includes Quick Guide which can be used to understand and use the data available. The Bureau previously released data for 2019.
In general, the CRE reports the social vulnerability that
inhibits community resilience. The CRE for Heat (which is an experimental report) adds new components of social
vulnerability and information concerning exposure. For example, the report looks at which areas
(by geography, state, county, and census tract) have more than two days in a
row of temperatures over 90 degrees and what households in those areas do not
have air conditioning.
The CRE for Heat uses information from the American Community Survey and the Population Estimates Program.
The American Community Survey is conducted every month of every year and,
unlike the decennial census, is sent to a sample of addresses. The survey asks questions about topics not in
the regular census such as education, employment, internet access, and
transportation.
The Population Estimates Program annually produces reports
on the estimated changes in population and housing units for the nation,
states, counties, cities and towns and includes births, deaths, and
migrations.
Arizona State University’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience collaborates with the Census Bureau to produce the CRE for Heat reports.
The data from the CRE for Heat is included in My Community Explorer which is a Census Bureau tool to identify underserved communities and
includes Census Bureau and Emergency Response datasets.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Gun Violence Research
The U.S. Government Publishing House (GPO) is good about processing major, important, and impactful government documents soon after agencies release them.
- Access the report here: Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America.
- ATF provides the most comprehensive government data collection on firearms. Data & Statistics | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- HHS quick facts: Fast Facts: Firearm Injury and Death | Firearm Injury and Death Prevention | CDC
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Consumer Protection and Consumer Data
Before you take out a loan or mortgage from financial institution that is not a bank, you will want to check the registry being created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The financial crisis of 2008 revealed that although banks
have a great deal of oversight of their lending practices by federal regulators,
other financial institutions do not.
These financial institutions include debt collectors, payday lenders,
and credit reporting companies. Most
importantly, they include nonbank mortgage lenders. Many of these companies are not licensed or
registered with any agency or registry.
When financial companies break consumer laws, they are usually assessed a fine by a court or the CFPB.
However, many companies see these fines as the “cost of doing business”
and proceed to continue their illegal practices. With the creation of this new registry, the
CFPB will be able to track lawbreaking companies, hold them accountable, and
prevent corporate recidivism.
This registry will be used by state attorneys general, state
regulators, and other law enforcement agencies to ensure these companies are
paying their fines and not continuing to participate in illegal activities such
as scams, fraudulent schemes, and other illegal conduct that harms the
public. Most importantly the public,
including investors, creditors, business partners, and average consumers will
be able to vet the financial institutions they deal with.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an official 21st century government agency that implements and enforces Federal consumer financial law and ensures
that markets for consumer financial products are fair, transparent, and
competitive. It provides financial education for individual consumers on such topics as auto loans, credit cards,
and frauds and scams. It also provides data for researchers on their Public Data Inventory section and provides access to FOAI requests. It also provides legal information on the rules and regulations governing consumers and financial
institutions serving them.
Consumers can submit complaints about financial products or
services by visiting the CFPB’swebsite or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).
Employees who believe their company has violated federal
consumer financial protection laws are encouraged to send information about
what they know to whistleblower@cfpb.gov.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Government Publishing Office (GPO) and Authentic Official Publications
The U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE (GPO) is the official, digital and secure source for producing, protecting, preserving and distributing the official publications and information products of the Federal Government.
GPO provides public access to the official publications and information of the Government. GPO’s mission can be traced to the requirement in Article I of the Constitution that each House keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish the same.
When GPO signs and certifies a digital document, a blue ribbon icon appears right beneath the top navigation menu and also in the Signature Panel within Adobe Acrobat or Reader. When users print a document that has been signed and certified by GPO, the Seal of Authenticity will automatically print on the document, but the ribbon will not print.
Try This:
Click here to open the document. Is it authenticated by GPO?
(Note: You need to open the document within Adobe Acrobat or Reader to check the Blue Ribbon Icon and the GPO's Seal of Authenticity.)
Image above: Blue Ribbon Icon
![Seal of Authenticity](https://www.govinfo.gov/media/pki_logo_description.png)
Image above: GPO's Seal of Authenticity
Follow Kelley Center Government Information blogs to learn more.
You are also invited to explore more authentic official government publications and use our services to enhance your research: check out our research guides at https://libguides.rice.edu/gov , visit the Kelley Center, or schedule an appointment with Anna Xiong, your FDLP Representative at Fondren Library: govhelp@rice.edu.
Featured New U.S. Federal Publication: Budget FY 2025 - Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2025
This government document contains analyses that are designed to highlight specified subject areas or provide other significant presentations of budget data that place the budget in perspective. This volume includes: economic and accounting analyses; information on Federal receipts and collections; analyses of Federal spending; information on Federal borrowing and debt; baseline or current services estimates; and other technical presentations.
Click here to access the free online full text of this publication.
Questions For You
The authentication matters.
Is this online document an authenticated official version and how do you know?
Who or which government agency has issued this document?
What is the name of the publisher of the document?
Find out the answer or explore more government information resources and conduct research on more topics, check out https://libguides.rice.edu/gov, visit the Kelley Center, or schedule an appointment with Anna Xiong, your FDLP Representative at Fondren Library: govhelp@rice.edu.