In order to strengthen the information base for Congressional consideration and to facilitate input from key stakeholders, the participating agencies, led by the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, will hold a series of workshops across the country and issue a separate RFI in April.

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And they raise most of the money to pay for the books. (Only about a third to a half of the book funds come from matching funds provided by the national Reach Out and Read office.) The program works because it is rooted in individual responsibility: the responsible behavior of parents who, who once they understand the importance of reading to their young children, do so.

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In an effort to break the logjam, the lawmakers are discussing allowing private insurers to offer national policies under the supervision of the federal Office of Personnel Management, which currently administers a similar program for federal employees and Congress.

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He's a meteorologist and the tropical cyclone program manager of the National Weather Service headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, with us by phone now from his office there.

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