H1N1 (aka Swine Flu)

Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, recently encouraged Americans to get the H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available. The government, through the coordinated efforts of the CDC, White House, and other agencies, has published the website Flu.gov to inform Americans about flu prevention, treatment, and more.

Multiple congressional committees have held hearings on H1N1:

"H1N1 Flu: Protecting Our Community" (Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, September 2009)
"Preparing for the 2009 Pandemic Flu" (House Committee on Energy and Commerce, September 2009)
"The Swine Flu Epidemic: The Public Health and Medical Response" (Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, April 2009)

So how well is the government doing in responding to the pandemic? The Government Accountability Office has released two reports in response to that question:
"Influenza Pandemic: Continued Focus on the Nation's Planning and Preparedness Efforts Remains Essential"
"Influenza Pandemic: Gaps in Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Need to Be Addressed"

And for the inside scoop on H1N1, look at the report that Congress recently requisitioned from the Congressional Research Service:
"The 2009 Influenza Pandemic: An Overview" (released September 10, 2009)

Special Interest Groups

Interested in researching connections between contributions by special interest groups, legislators, and legislation/bills? Check out MAPLight.org where you can find supporters and opponents of specific bills, top contributors to individual legislators, and top recipients of special interest contributions. Also check out their contributing site, OpenSecrets.org from the Center for Responsive Politics.

If you want to go straight to the source, take a look at these Federal disclosure databases:
For Campaign Finance data, the FEC's Campaign Finance Disclosure Database
For information on lobbyists, the US Senate's Lobbying Disclosure Act Database

Interested in lobbying and campaign contributions in the California state political arena? MAPLight.org also has information for the California state level. You can also look at the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access which offers information on campaign finance, of both elected officials and propositions/ballot measures, and California lobbyists.

And if you're researching independent expenditures in California campaigns, be sure to read the report Independent Expenditures: The Giant Gorilla in Campaign Finance Reform from the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

For further resources, see the Politics page on the UCSC Government Publications & Law website.

Immigration Enforcement and 287(g)

The 287 (g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement agencies to receive authority for immigration enforcement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is under new scrutiny since the recent release of a GAO report recommending better oversight on the part of ICE.

The program was authorized by Section 133: Acceptance of State Services to Carry Out Immigration Enforcement of Public Law 104-208. For the relevant US Code Section, see 8 USC 1357.

Immigration reform, including border security and enforcement activities, has been the topic of many congressional hearings. Some hearings held prior to the passage of PL 104-208 include: "Proposals for immigration reform" (1994) and "Border Security" (1995). Since the implementation of the 287(g) program, congress has held additional hearings concerning immigration enforcement efforts of local and state entities. These include: "State and local authority to enforce immigration law : evaluating a unified approach for stopping terrorists" (2004), "The 287(g) Program : ensuring the integrity of America's border security system through federal-state partnerships" (2005) and "Empowering local law enforcement to combat illegal immigration" (2007).

You can also find information on the implementation of the 287(g) program in the Annual Report of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As for California, the State recently announced a change in its parole policies for illegal immigrants. On February 27, 2009 the Secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security notifying her of the State's new policy. Click here to read the letter or to see the official CDCR press release.

Revisiting the Kyoto Protocol

Former Vice President Al Gore was on capitol hill recently to testify before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in preparation for UN sponsored climate change talks scheduled to take place in Copenhagen at the end of this year. For more information on these new climate change discussions, see the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. You can view Mr. Gore's testimony and read his prepared statement at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing "Addressing Global Climate Change: the Road to Copenhagen".

For some background information on the Kyoto Protocol, including a chronology and bibliography, see this report from CQ Press "Global Warming Treaty" (available through CQ Researcher, OCA required). The full text of the Kyoto Protocol is available through the "Official Documents of the United Nations" database. For other UN resources, see our International & United Nations Resources page.

Congress has a held a number of hearings regarding the Kyoto Protocol. You can see which hearings are publicly available online and in print at McHenry library by searching in Cruzcat. Or you can search for hearings and reports in Lexis Nexis Congressional (OCA required).

The Environmental Protection Agency also offers a number of reports regarding the Kyoto Protocol through their now archived page on Global Warming. This is a useful resource for finding older documents related to climate change. For more recent climate change documents and resources, see the EPA's new Climate Change page.

For additional climate change government resources and information, check out the US Climate Change Science Program/US Global Change Research Program and for California-centric information, visit the California Climate Change Portal. Also check out the other resources listed at Gov Info by Topic: Environment.

Government Calculators

With tax season upon us, many people are discovering the variety of free forms and tools available on the IRS website. Some of the tools available include the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator and the IRS Withholding Calculator.

Many government agencies offer calculators to assist people in making plans or assessments on a wide variety of topics. Here are just a few examples:

Money

• Budget Calculator from the US Dept. of Education


• Calculators for Investors (retirement savings, loans, mutual funds, etc.) from the US Securities & Exchange Commission


• Inflation Calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics


• Home Ownership calculators (buy vs. rent, affordability, etc.) from Ginnie Mae


• Cost of Raising a Child calculator from the US Dept. of Agriculture

Health

• Personal Health calculators (BMI, physical activity recommendations, etc.) from the US Dept. of Health & Human Services


• Drug Cost calculator (money spent on alcohol, tobacco, etc.) from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration


• Breast Cancer Risk Assessment tool from the National Cancer Institute


• Estimating Your 10-year Risk of Having a Heart Attack from the National Institutes of Health

Environment

• Home Energy Saver calculator from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory


• Household Emissions calculator from the Environmental Protection Agency


• Hybrid Electric Vehicle Cost calculator from the US Dept. of Energy

And here's a fun calculator from the Maine State Library: What is Your Library Worth to You?

Presidential Proclamations: New Marine National Monuments

On January 6, 2009, President Bush issued three proclamations establishing the Rose Atoll, Pacific Remote Islands, and Marianas Trench Marine National Monuments. These proclamations were issued under 16 USC 431-433, also known as "The Antiquities Act" which grants the President authority to declare national monuments. For more information about the Antiquities Act, including its history and monument profiles, see the National Park Service Archeology Program page.

The management of these marine national monuments will be overseen by both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

To learn more about presidential proclamations and to find proclamations from 1789 through the present, check out UC Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project's page on presidential proclamations.

To learn more about national monuments, check out the article, "A National Monument, Memorial, Park . . . What's the Difference?" from the National Atlas of the United States.

Effects of Recession in California

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer released a report about the impact of the recession on the California economy titled "The Realities of Recession in California". The report is based on interviews the Senator's staff held with representatives from all 58 counties and 20 selected cities.

The report is available in two forms: the full report includes data on unemployment and foreclosures, as well as a one-page narrative outlining economic conditions in each county. The supplemental "quick guide" includes charts which provide a color coded snapshot of budget deficits, program cuts, layoffs, foreclosures, crime, unemployment, and credit.

Senator Boxer's report is a helpful source for examining impacts on cities and counties. Additionally, several California State agencies take a big-picture look at the budget and economy, such as the Office of the Governor, and the California Department of Finance. Other state agencies who track and analyze the budget include the California State Controller, and the State Treasurer.

Of course, the Federal government also tracks data and analyzes government, consumer and business spending for both the nation and states. A variety of federal agencies gather, analyze, and report economic conditions: The Commerce Department, including the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Treasury Department, the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Presidents National Economic Council.

Presidential Nominations & Confirmations

Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Obama's cabinet nominees are scheduled to begin later this week. For an overview of this process, check out "Senate Confirmation Process: A Brief Overview" (2008) from the Congressional Research Service. To read the full text of Senate rule XXXI, see the Rules of the Senate on the website for the Senate Committee on Rules & Administration. For information on Presidential nominations from the 100th congress onward, check out the Presidential Nominations database from LOC's THOMAS.

California Cellular Phone Laws

A number of new California laws will go into effect beginning January 2009. One of the better known new laws is the "Texting while driving" law. To see a legislative history of this new law, click here.

This new cellular phone law will compliment the currently enforced "Hands-free" law which has been in effect since July 1, 2008; during which time, the California Highway Patrol has issued over 40,000 citations for violations. You can read the legislative history of the "Hands-free" law and California Vehicle Code section 23123.

Some research has been conducted on the possible benefits of these cellular phone laws. The National Conference of State Legislatures issued "Cell Phones and Highway Safety" in 2005 (prior to the passage of the bill leading to the "Hands-free" law). More recently, the Public Policy Institute of California issued "What to Expect from California’s New Hands-Free Law" in May 2008. To find more recent research on cellular phone laws or motorist behavior, try searching the collections of the National Transportation Library and the Research and Development Publications issued by the California DMV.

World AIDS Day

December 1, 2008 marked the 20th annual World AIDS Day.

There are numerous government sources for information on HIV/AIDS research, community resources, and data.

California Resources:

• Office of AIDS: links to community HIV/AIDS resources including testing and other services and general information about HIV/AIDS

US Resources:

• AIDS.gov: access to US Government HIV/AIDS information from a variety of Federal sources


• National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention: from the Centers for Disease Control


• HIV/AIDS Today Factsheets: weekly fact sheets from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

United Nations Resources:

• UNAIDS: joint venture of ten UN system organizations, information on international HIV/AIDS policies and practices


• World Health Organization and HIV/AIDS: information on international HIV/AIDS occurrence, prevention, and treatment

For statistical information on HIV/AIDS:

• HIV/AIDS Monthly Statistics (for California)


• HIV/AIDS Statistics and Surveillance: US statistics from the CDC


• UNAIDS/WHO Global HIV/AIDS Online Database: "collates the most recent country-specific data on the spread and impact of the virus, together with information on risk behaviours"

New Report on Gulf War Syndrome

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses formally presented a major report on veterans' Gulf War illnesses to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on November 17, 2008. It is reported that the findings presented by the committee differ from previous reports (such as those from the Institute of Medicine) by implicating exposure to specific chemicals as the cause of Gulf War syndrome.

The federal government has been involved in the investigation of Gulf War illnesses for over a decade. In 1995, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12961 establishing the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Although the Committee was terminated in 1997, you can still access the archived website complete with meeting transcripts and reports.

Congress established the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in 1998 by Public Law 105-368 known as the "Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998." For some insight into the legislative history behind this act, you can read the following hearings and committee print available at McHenry library:

• "Persian Gulf War illnesses" (1997)


• "Full committee hearing to receive updates on research, investigations, and programs involving Persian Gulf War veterans' illnesses" (1998)


• "Report of the Special Investigation Unit on Gulf War Illnesses" (1998)

Congress has held subsequent hearings on the topic of Gulf War illnesses. To find other congressional materials, try searching in Lexis Nexis Congressional (OCA Required) and CQ Public Affairs Collection (OCA Required) is also a great place to find legislative chronologies.

Other government agencies and departments have also completed research in this area. The Government Accountability Office has released reports such as "Gulf War illnesses: DOD's conclusions about U.S. troops' exposure cannot be adequately supported" (2004) and "Department of Veterans Affairs: federal Gulf War illnesses research strategy needs reassessment" (2004).

You can also use the DTIC database to find Department of Defense reports and the Homeland Security Digital Library (OCA Required) to access documents from a variety of security-related entities.

The California Initiative Process

Californians had the opportunity to vote on 12 ballot measures in the November 2008 election. Voters passed 7 out of the 12 measures. Many are already looking forward to the 2010 election, as petitions for new initiatives are already circulating.

For more information on the California initiative process and how citizens participate in this form of direct democracy, take a look at the "Statewide Ballot Initiative Handbook" from the California Secretary of State for a brief overview on the statewide initiative process. For a more in-depth discussion, see "California's statewide initiative process" from the California Research Bureau (CRB).

For a history of California state ballot initiatives, see: "A history of California initiatives" (2002) from the California Secretary of State and "The initiative and referendum in California, 1898-1998" (2000) from Stanford University Press (requires OCA). To find the text of past ballot initiatives, search the "California Ballot Propositions (1911-present)" database from UC Hastings College of Law for state ballot propositions and these reports on the outcome of past County and Municipal initiatives from the California Secretary of State.

The California initiative process is the subject of research and discussion. The Public Policy Institute of California (a San Francisco based think tank) has produced a number of papers on the initiative process, such as "The California Initiative Process: Background and Perspective" (2000) and "The California Initiative Process-How Democratic Is It?" (2002). The PPIC recently released a survey of Californians' thoughts on the initiative process. You can find the results of that survey here. The Center for Governmental Studies (a Los Angeles based think tank) has also researched the initiative process and just recently released "Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California's Fourth Branch of Government, 2nd Edition".

Belugas and the Endangered Species Act

NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) listed the Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act earlier this month.

NOAA has been monitoring the status of the beluga whale for quite some time. A "Status Review and Extinction Assessment of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales" was reported in 2006 and again in 2008. You can also take a look at NOAA's "Aerial Surveys of Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska, June 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004."

Cook Inlet belugas have also been studied by the Minerals Management Service. Some examples of their studies include "Persistent Chlorinated Compounds and Elements in Tissues of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales, Delphinapterus leucas" (2000) and "Distribution of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Winter" (1999).

The Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Program experienced some bad press in 2007 when an investigation found misconduct on behalf of the deputy assistant secretary involving manipulation of reports used to make decisions on endangered species.

The Bush administration has recently announced its desire to make some modifications to the Endangered Species Act (among other proposed regulatory changes). California Attorney Jerry Brown has submitted a public comment opposing the proposed modifications. If you're interested in commenting on these (or any) proposed regulations, you can make comments and get current information at Regulations.gov.

Election Crimes: Voter Fraud and Intimidation

As the 2008 general election draws near, we have seen increased discussion about election crimes, including voter fraud and voter intimidation, from both Republican and Democratic camps. Unfortunately, statistics on the occurrence of voter fraud and voter intimidation can prove difficult to find.

The US Department of Justice established the Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative in 2002 to aid in the investigation and prevention of election crimes. According to "Fact Sheet: Protecting Voting Rights and Preventing Election Fraud" released in 2008, over 140 people have been charged with election fraud in the past 6 years.

The government has conducted multiple investigations in the area of election crime. After the 2000 general election, congress established the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. The commission was responsible for investigating "federal election system, election administration, and constitutional and federal election law issues." You can read the commission's final report here. The commission also released a series of task force reports on specific issues ranging from voter registration to verification of identity. You can also read transcripts from the hearings that were held before the commission.

The US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. In 2006, the EAC released the report "Election Crimes: An Initial Review and Recommendations for Future Study" which focused on the issues of voting fraud and voter intimidation. However, this report is the subject of some controversy. The New York Times reported that the panel altered the report section on voter fraud between the draft report and the final release.

Congress is also investigating election crime issues. In the past few years, a number of hearings have been held:

• "Protecting the right to vote : election deception and irregularities in recent federal elections" (March 2007) (Includes testimony and statement from Barack Obama)


• "Prevention of deceptive practices and voter intimidation in federal elections" (June 2007) (Includes testimony from Barack Obama)


• "In Person Voter Fraud: Myth and Trigger for Disenfranchisement?" (March 2008) (available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)


• "Protecting the Right to Vote: Oversight of the Department of Justice's Preparations for the 2008 General Election" (September 2008) in the Senate (currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)


• "Joint Hearing on: Federal, State and Local Efforts to Prepare for the 2008 Election" (September 2008) in the House (this hearing includes some discussion of ACORN), currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements


• "Ensuring the Rights of College Students to Vote" (September 2008) (currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)

And for a nice overview of election crime issues and proposed legislation, see the Congressional Research Service report "Election Reform: Issues and Legislative Proposals in the 109th Congress" (February 2007).

For guides and more information on voter rights and election laws, see the Voting Section Home Page from the US DOJ, the Voter Fraud Protection Handbook and the Voter Bill of Rights from the California Secretary of State, and our Elections page.

The New US Citizenship Test

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just introduced its redesigned naturalization test. Although there is some mixed reaction to the exam format, USCIS will begin administering the new test today. The redesigned test will pose 10 questions from a list of 100 potential questions. Applicants must correctly answer 6 of these 10 questions in order to pass the exam. For information on other portions of the naturalization process, check out "Pathway to US Citizenship" from the USCIS.

The Office of Citizenship offers a variety of free study guides and materials to assist applicants in preparing for the exam. These materials are available electronically in PDF formats and in print at McHenry library in the Government Publications section under SuDoc number HS 8.2:C 49/2/TOOLKIT.

For some brief background information on immigration and naturalization in the United States, check out the report "Immigration and Naturalization Fundamentals" from the Congressional Research Service (2003).

For the most recent naturalization statistics, check out "Naturalizations in the United States: 2007" and these tables from the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2007, both from the USCIS. For a more historic perspective on United States naturalization, take a look at "Mapping Trends in Naturalizations: 1980 to 2003" from the Office of Immigration Statistics.

And congress has recently been investigating the delays in the naturalization process. You can take a look at their January 2008 hearing "Naturalization delays: causes, consequences, and solutions."

Funding for Health Care Services in California Prisons

One of today's big news items is the Governor's signing of the California budget. The adoption of the state budget seems to have refueled a dispute between California Health Care Services (Receiver J. Clark Kelso) and California government executives.

Although a Receivership of California's prison health care services was established back in 2005, friction between the parties became particularly apparent in August of 2008 when Receiver J. Clark Kelso filed a motion to compel the state to begin funding the $7.9 billion needed for the extensive reform of California's prison medical system. You can read the motion and supporting documents here (look for 8/13/08 date).

In response to the motion, State Controller John Chiang issued this statement. Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. also responded to the motion by filing his own motion in opposition.

In support of his motion, Attorney General Brown references the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The PLRA was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1996 and signed into law as Title VIII in Public Law 104-134 (see page 67 in the PDF). The PLRA is also referenced in the full report issued by the Legislative Analyst's Office "Update of the California Prison Receivership: 2007".

For more background information on the Receivership, take a look at the website of the California Prison Health Care Services and their collection of documents related to the case of Plata v. Shwarzenegger. You can also look at the Receiver's reports on the status of the California prison medical system. For a point of comparison to these reports, you can look at a 1998 report by the California Research Bureau "Health Care in California State Prisons."

January 2009 Update:

"Improper" spending-

A recent report by the State Auditor concludes, "staff at Prison Health Services ignored state contracting laws, as well as the alternative contracting requirements established by a federal court, when it acquired $26.7 million in IT goods and services in a noncompetitive manner..."

Safety of Bisphenol A (BPA)

Recent controversy has been brewing regarding the use of the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) in consumer products ranging from water bottles to the lining in cans. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created a task force to further investigate the possible health effects of BPA, but has released a draft assessment stating that it currently considers it safe. Some consider the conclusions in this draft assessment to be in discordance with a report recently released by the National Toxicology Program and an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Congress is also interested in the safety and use of BPA. Senate Bill 2928 was introduced as the "BPA-Free Kids Act of 2008" in April. Both the House and the Senate have held recent hearings regarding BPA. While these hearings have not yet been published, audio webcasts and printed testimonies are available. The hearing on "Safety of Phthalates and Bisphenol-A in Everyday Consumer Products" was held before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection on June 10, 2008. The hearing on "Plastic Additives in Consumer Products" was held before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety on May 14, 2008. Also, the Congressional Research Service released the report "Bisphenol A (BPA) in Plastics and Possible Human Health Effects" in May.

Questions about the safety and use of BPA are not necessarily a recent development. Check out the "Informational hearing on the health effects of phthalates and bisphenol-A on children" held before the California Assembly Committee on Health back in 2006.

You might also want to review this BPA fact sheet from the CDC. And if you're interested in what other countries are doing about BPA, take a look at this page from the Government of Canada.

Some Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) basics

Recent discussions about the financial stability of major banking institutions, such as Washington Mutual, have prompted increased attention on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the strength of its insurance fund. One of the FDIC's principle responsibilities is the insurance of bank deposits for at least $100,000. In order to get a better understanding of the FDIC's consumer protection measures, check out the following publications:

FDIC Consumer News (quarterly)

"Your Insured Deposits: FDIC's Guide to Deposit Insurance Coverage"

And to calculate your FDIC insurance coverage, check out EDIE (Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator).

Although the FDIC has undergone multiple changes since its inception under the Banking Act of 1933 (Public Law No. 73-66, 12 USC Sec. 227), a recent major reform was signed into law in 2006 as the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005.

Congress has held a number of hearings concerning the Federal Deposit Insurance System. Here are some of the more recent ones:

• "Viewpoints of the FDIC and select industry experts on deposit insurance reform" (2001)


• "Viewpoint of select regulators on deposit insurance reform" (2001)


• "Deposit insurance reform : hearing before the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Committee on Financial Services" (2001)


• "The Federal Deposit Insurance System and recommendations for reform" (2002)


• "The Federal Deposit Insurance System : hearing before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs" (2003)


• "Oversight of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation" (2004)


• "The consideration of regulatory relief proposals" (2005)


• "Consideration of regulatory relief proposals" (2006)


• "H.R. 698 : the Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007" (2007)


• "Recent events in the credit and mortgage markets and possible implications for U.S. consumers and the global economy" (2007)

And here's a congressional report regarding the Reform Act of 2005:

"Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 : report (to accompany H.R. 1185) (including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office)" (2005)

The Government Accountability Office (the investigative branch of congress) has also issued a number of reports on the FDIC. Here are two of the most recent ones:

"Deposit Insurance: Assessment of Regulators' Use of Prompt Corrective Action Provisions and FDIC's New Deposit Insurance System" (2007)

"Management Report: Opportunities for Improvements in FDIC’s Internal Controls and Accounting Procedures" (July 2008)

And the Congressional Budget Office (responsible for estimating budget effects of proposed legislation) published this report in 2005.

If you're interested in other aspects of FDIC oversight, you might want to check out the website for the FDIC Office of the Inspector General.

And if you're curious about similar federal insurance for credit unions, check out the National Credit Union Administration.

Minerals Management Service Scandal

There has been much reporting on the recently completed investigation of the Minerals Management Service, an office within the Department of the Interior, which include various allegations ranging from drug use to conflict of interest violations. The investigations were conducted by the Department of the Interior's Office of the Inspector General. You can find the three reports presented to congress by the OIG here.

It appears that this is not the first time that congress has looked into the operations of the Minerals Management Service. Here are just a few congressional hearings regarding the MMS and/or the DOI:
"Oil and Gas Royalty Management at DOI" (PDF)
"Interior Department: a culture of management irresponsibility and lack of accountability?"
"Reports, audits, and investigations by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding the Department of the Interior"

You might also want to look at some of the reports issued by the US Government Accountability Office:
"Litigation over Royalty Relief Could Cost the Federal Government Billions of Dollars"
"Data Management Problems and Reliance on Self-Reported Data for Compliance Efforts Put MMS Royalty Collections at Risk"

If you're interested in government ethics and conflicts of interest, you might want to take a look at the website for the Office of Government Ethics, which includes their advisory opinions. California has a state government level equivalent in the Fair Political Practices Commission; find their advice summaries here.

Possible Pay Cuts for State Workers

Back on July 31, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-09-08 which effectively ordered a reduction in the pay of over 175,000 California State workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour. The precedent for this action was set in 2003 under then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger cites the decision of the California Supreme Court in the case of White v. Davis, 30 Cal. 4th 528 (Cal. 2003) in his executive order. However, State Controller John Chiang stated that he would not comply with the order. To see the most recent information on the legal battle between Governor Schwarzenegger and Controller Chiang, including the papers filed with the court in the case of Gilb v. Chiang, check out The State Worker.

During the similar situation in 2003, Assembly Bill 1535, which would have ensured regular pay for state workers, was proposed, though never passed. To see what the current legislature is doing in this regard, check out this informational hearing held before the California State Senate on August 4, 2008. And to get the gubernatorial/executive perspective on the matter, check out this article from the Department of Personnel Administration and the Governor's speech from August 31, 2008.