Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The difficulties of managing, preserving, and providing access to the vast and rapidly growing volumes of electronic records produced by federal agencies present challenges to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the nation's recordkeeper and archivist. Complex electronic records are being created in volumes that make them difficult to organize and keep accessible. These problems are compounded as computer hardware, application software, and even storage media become obsolete, as they may leave behind electronic records that can no longer be read. As a result, valuable government information may be lost. GAO was requested to testify, among other things, on NARA's recent actions to address the challenges of electronic records management, including its effort to address the problem of preserving electronic records by acquiring an advanced Electronic Records Archive (ERA)."

The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of the state’s Senate and House of Representatives delegations; at present, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 55, for a total of 538. This report discuses constitutional origins, the electoral college today and explains the allocation of electors and electoral votes.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A recent report by the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, found that racial and ethnic minority groups tend to receive a lower quality of health care than nonminorities, even when access-related factors such as income and insurance coverage are controlled. It concluded that the elimination of racial and ethnic health care disparities is a major challenge in the United States. Racial and ethnic minority groups identified by the federal government--American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders--are expected to make up an increasingly large portion of the U.S. population in coming years. The federal government, primarily through programs under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), plays a major role in providing and financing health care for minority groups. HHS is also the primary federal entity involved in projects and research aimed at understanding and addressing disparities in health care. HHS has focused on racial and ethnic disparities in health access and outcomes in six areas: cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection/AIDS, immunizations, and infant mortality. …

This report discusses the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), which consolidated and replaced the former Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) and other federal library assistance legislation. LSTA grants to the states are allocated to state library administrative agencies (SLAAs), and may be used for two basic purposes: developing and improving electronic or other linkages and networks connecting providers and consumers of library services and resources; and/or targeting library services to under served or disadvantaged populations, such as persons with disabilities, those with limited literacy skills, or children from poor families.

None

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On the 25th anniversary of passage of the Inspector General (IG) Act, Congress sought GAO's views on the role of the IGs in providing independent oversight within federal agencies and to discuss the new and continuing challenges faced by government performance and accountability professionals."

None

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare, the federal health program insuring almost 35 million beneficiaries age 65 and older, covers certain preventive services, such as flu shots and mammograms. Most beneficiaries receive care through Medicare's fee-for-service program, under which they generally receive these services as part of visits to the doctor for specific illnesses or conditions. Other beneficiaries receive services under Medicare's managed care program, called Medicare + Choice. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which beneficiaries received recommended preventive services through existing visits, (2) whether approaches used by Medicare + Choice plans provide insight for improving delivery of preventive care services for fee-for-service beneficiaries, and (3) what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is doing to explore suggested options for delivering preventive care to fee-for-service beneficiaries. GAO's work included analyzing data from four national health surveys and reviewing five Medicare + Choice plans considered to have innovative approaches to delivering preventive services. GAO also interviewed Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS officials and reviewed documents on CMS demonstrations related to preventive services."

This report summarizes international support for the ongoing war on terrorism, based largely on information from open source materials regarding the diplomatic, intelligence, law information, financial, and military contributions of international organizations and individual nations.

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 528, Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination (PCBs), Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in the southwestern portion of Area 25 on the NTS in Jackass Flats (adjacent to Test Cell C [TCC]), CAU 528 consists of Corrective Action Site 25-27-03, Polychlorinated Biphenyls Surface Contamination. Test Cell C was built to support the Nuclear Rocket Development Station (operational between 1959 and 1973) activities including conducting ground tests and static firings of nuclear engine reactors. Although CAU 528 was not considered as a direct potential source of PCBs and petroleum contamination, two potential sources of contamination have nevertheless been identified from an unknown source in concentrations that could potentially pose an unacceptable risk to human health and/or the environment. This CAU's close proximity to TCC prompted Shaw to collect surface soil samples, which have indicated the presence of PCBs extending throughout the area to the north, east, south, and even to the edge of the western boundary. Based …

This Corrective Action Decision Document identifies and rationalizes the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office's selection of recommended corrective action alternatives (CAAs) to facilitate the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU)168: Areas 25 and 26 Contaminated Materials and Waste Dumps, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Located in Areas 25 and 26 at the NTS in Nevada, CAU 168 is comprised of twelve Corrective Action Sites (CASs). Review of data collected during the corrective action investigation, as well as consideration of current and future operations in Areas 25 and 26 of the NTS, led the way to the development of three CAAs for consideration: Alternative 1 - No Further Action; Alternative 2 - Clean Closure; and Alternative 3 - Close in Place with Administrative Controls. As a result of this evaluation, a combination of all three CAAs is recommended for this CAU. Alternative 1 was the preferred CAA for three CASs, Alternative 2 was the preferred CAA for six CASs (and nearly all of one other CAS), and Alternative 3 was the preferred CAA for two CASs (and a portion of one other CAS) to complete the closure …