The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

Shortlisted for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize Based on the German composer's own correspondence, this inventive, counterfactual work of historical fiction imagines Beethoven traveling to America to write an oratorio based on the Book of Job. It is a matter of historical record that in 1823 the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston (active to this day) sought to commission Beethoven to write an oratorio. The premise of Paul Griffiths’s ingenious novel is that Beethoven accepted the commission and traveled to the United States to oversee its first performance. Griffiths grants the composer a few extra years of life and, starting with his voyage across the Atlantic and entry into Boston Harbor, chronicles his adventures and misadventures in a new world in which, great man though he is, he finds himself a new man. Relying entirely on historically attested possibilities to develop the plot, Griffiths shows Beethoven learning a form of sign language, struggling to rein in the uncertain inspiration of Reverend Ballou (his designated librettist), and finding a kindred spirit in the widowed Mrs. Hill, all the while keeping his hosts guessing as to whether he will come through with his promised composition. (And just what, the reader also wonders, will this new piece by Beethoven turn out to be?) The book that emerges is an improvisation, as virtuosic as it is delicate, on a historical theme.

In the letter people land, there lives Mr. H.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, has upheld complaints from nine farmers about the Government's handling of a subsidy scheme which caused them to miss out on payments they were entitled to. The farmers complained to the Ombudsman about the administration of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2005 and 2006 by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), The SPS is the latest generation of the EU schemes intended, among other policy aims, to give farmers direct income support. The farmers complained about RPA's handling of their claims to the SPS on a number of counts, including that they provided poor quality and sometimes ambiguous guidance on how to make a claim; failed to return applicants' telephone calls when this had been promised; misdirected applicants about the status of their cases; delayed letting applicants know that they would not be paid; and did not explain their decisions properly. RPA also failed to consider the effects their errors and omissions had on the farmers when they came to complain. In one case, a farmer misunderstood the new form and only claimed a subsidy for the year 2005. She did not activate her claim and subsequently did not receive a payment. No one questioned her mistake, even though RPA knew this was a common error by farmers. Losing a payment of over £13,000 left the farmer unable to pay all her bills and reliant on her partner's goodwill. She found out her mistake almost a year after submitting her claim, when she asked what had happened to her payment. Another farmer also misunderstood the new form and guidance and did not activate his claim. He was then led to believe by the RPA that he would be paid, which was not the case. He and his wife found the confusion and uncertainty of their circumstances particularly stressful. The farmer had to increase his overdraft, sell land and take on extra part time work in order to meet the financial shortfall. As a result of the Ombudsman's investigation the farmers will each receive a written apology from the Permanent Secretary of Defra and compensation of £500 for the inconvenience, distress and frustration that they experienced. They will also receive individual payments to put right the financial impact of RPA's failures. In addition, the Ombudsman has also asked RPA to provide an action plan setting out the changes they have made to prevent other farmers experiencing the same problems in future.

The intentionally long subtitle to Detectives comes close to saying it all about this unique two-in-one book - but not quite. Detectives is both a book to read for the fun of it and a book to read for self-improvement if you are looking to become a better reader, thinker, and writer. The for-the-fun-of-it part comes from reading and wondering about the mystery-solving skills of the contemporary and classic detectives showcased in these 24 remarkable mystery stories and plays. The self-improvement part comes from the book's four special features: Suspicions?, How Clever?, DetectWrite, and Don't Peek! Multiple Suspicions? "intermissions" in the margins of each mystery are strategically placed to help you to think like a detective -- and like a good reader. Their provocative questions prompt you to note and track clues and to make predictions while you are immersed in the mystery. How Clever? questions and activities, located immediately after each mystery's conclusion, give practice in the skills of detection and reflection so vital to the self-improvement goal of becoming a more observant reader and more mindful thinker. How Clever? sections enable you to review the now-solved mystery, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your own Suspicions? speculations, and evaluate just how capable both you and the story's fictional sleuth were in arriving at a solution. DetectWrite writing prompts following all the How Clever? sections of each mystery help you to establish your own voice as a more effective writer in a variety of writing forms while giving you opportunities to even write like a detective story author. At the very end of the book (but don't jump to any conclusions!), the almost 50 pages of the Don't Peek! section provide "one reader's" explanations of the solutions to the 24 mystery stories and plays.