Government Information Roundup, March 6-12

Women's History Month, No-Fly Zones, Census Data, and more!

Government Information Roundup: March 6-12

Here are a few highlights in government information news this week!

Celebrate Women’s History Month with New Resource Guides

As with Blackhistorymonth.gov, major U.S. cultural institutions collaborate each year to make resources for Women’s History Month accessible on womenshistorymonth.gov. One of the notable resources featured this year is an updated guide to researching women’s history in the United States from the Library of Congress. Selected teaching resources can be found here. 

What is a No-Fly Zone? 

The Biden Administration reiterated a few times this week that it does not support implementing a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine. Watch or read the transcript for the joint press conference with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Trust here. You can also subscribe to keep up with State Department press releases, which include significant coverage on Russia and Ukraine.¹ 

Many of us aren’t up to date on what a No-Fly Zone actually is and how it would be established. The Congressional Research Service published a report this week entitled, What is a No-Fly Zone?. I highly recommend reading it - it’s only two pages long and is quite comprehensive.

Biden Signs Bill for $1.5 trillion in Federal Funding 

Yesterday, President Biden signed the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by the Senate and House earlier this week. Notably, the bill includes $13.6 billion of foreign aid to Ukraine and a large increase in U.S. cybersecurity infrastructure funding. It also eliminated a $15 billion coronavirus relief package. 

You can certainly search for the bill on Congress.gov, but in the interest of highlighting a new resource: check out the news release from the Senate Appropriations Committee. This is a useful reference page because it links to summaries of the bill stipulations by subcommittee/topic, which is especially useful due to the fact that the original text is over 2,700 pages.

The Census Bureau Releases Details on Count Estimates

This week, the Census Bureau released estimates that show areas of over and undercounts in the 2020 Census. Read the press release with details on the estimates from the Census Bureau here. 

Also of note from the Census Bureau: the National Archives and Records Administration will release the 1950 Census records on April 1. Stay tuned for an upcoming newsletter on this topic! The Census press release on this contains information about a pre-webinar on March 14 that you can join to learn more about the 1950 Census.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports that Consumer Prices are Still Rising

Consumer prices are rising across the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly news releases for major economic indicators, including the CPI. Access the summary and full report here (or find them by going to bls.gov and clicking on “economic releases” in the blue header). At the bottom of the summary, you can find links to the complete report and PDF version. 

What did you note in government information news this week? Let me know in the comments!

See you next week.

1. For supplemental information on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, I recommend taking a look at this fact checking page provided by All Sides that is updated daily. To develop your background knowledge, this resource guide from the Library of Congress is also worth checking out.