Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined Navy inventory management activities to determine whether any unauthorized activity codes had been used to requisition new and excess property. GAO found that as of June 2000, the Navy maintained 2,002 activity codes identified as unauthorized to requisition government property. However, during the last five years, 663 of these codes were used to requisition more than $2 billion in new and excess government property. In addition, there were no safeguards in the Defense Automatic Addressing System Center or the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service to prevent these activity codes from being used. This has created a condition in which government property is vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the use of intellectual property generated at the Department of Energy's (DOE) laboratories to satisfy defense contractors' offset requirements. GAO found that DOE's laboratory offset requirements have been limited. GAO's discussions with DOE and laboratory management contractors uncovered only 14 instances in which the laboratories' intellectual property were involved in offset projects. GAO also found that management contractors have the right to intellectual property that they produce at DOE laboratories."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony focuses on the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), its interaction with the regular tax system, and its projected growth in coverage. GAO found that (1) AMT was designed to ensure that high-income individuals do not avoid significant income tax liabilities--for tax year 1997, about 14,000 taxpayers would not have paid any income taxes absent AMT, (2) AMT operates as a separate tax system that parallels the regular individual income tax system but with different rules for determining taxable income, different tax rates for computing tax liability, and different rules for allowing the use of tax credits, (3) AMT affected about one percent of taxpayers in 2000 and accounted for about $5.8 billion in additional tax revenue; by 2010, it is expected to increase the tax liabilities of about one out of six taxpayers and account for about $189 billion in tax revenues over the period, (4) the projected increase in AMT coverage is, for the most part, attributable to inflation and to the scheduled expiration of legislation temporarily excluding some tax credits from AMT rules, and (5) AMT's impacts include increased taxpayer compliance burden; increased Internal Revenue …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The results of the Defense Department (DOD) financial audit for fiscal year 2000 highlight long-standing financial management weaknesses that continue to plague the military. These weaknesses not only hamper the department's ability to produce timely and accurate financial management information but also unnecessarily increase the cost of carrying out its missions. Although DOD has made incremental improvement, it has a long way to go to overcome its long-standing, serious financial management weaknesses as part of a comprehensive, integrated reform of the department's business support operations. Such an overhaul must include not only DOD's financial management and other management challenges but also its high-risk areas of information technology and human capital management. Personnel throughout the department must share the common goal of reforming the department's business support structure. Without reengineering, DOD will have little chance of radically improving its cumbersome and bureaucratic processes."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) how well the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is providing service to taxpayers and ensuring compliance with tax laws, and (2) IRS' progress in its long-term effort to modernize. GAO found that IRS posted mixed results in 2001 in collecting revenues, providing taxpayer service, and enforcing tax laws. On the plus side, IRS processed millions of tax returns and issued refunds without significant problems, taxpayers had an easier time getting through to telephone assistors, and IRS said that it made progress in correcting weaknesses that threatened the security of electronically filed tax information. On the down side, the quality of service provided to taxpayers who visited taxpayer assistance centers, trends in audit rates and enforcement programs, and productivity all experienced troubling declines. With respect to modernization, IRS is making incremental progress in overhauling its organization, performance management system, business processes, and information technology. IRS is also making important progress in implementing its new organizational structure, developing a blueprint for modernizing its business processes and information systems, and more fully defining its strategic direction. However, IRS progress has fallen short of expectations. For example, IRS is …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Children fall ill with many of the same diseases as adults and are often treated with the same drugs. However, only about 25 percent of drugs used today have been labeled for pediatric patients. The lack of pediatric testing and labeling can place children at risk of under- or overdosing, and the lack of age-appropriate formulations, such as liquids or chewable tablets, can result in improper administration of drugs. The pediatric exclusivity provision of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 has successfully encouraged drug sponsors to generate needed information on how drugs work in children. A wide range of drugs are being studied in many therapeutic areas. The infrastructure for conducting pediatric trials has also been greatly strengthened, which should help to support continued progress. Although several drug labels have been changed to incorporate findings from research done under the pediatric exclusivity provision, label changes typically occur long after the Food and Drug Administration has granted the extension of market exclusivity. In addition, there continues to be little incentive to conduct pediatric research on off-patent drugs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the challenges facing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as it moves from its traditional regulatory approach to a risk-informed, performance-based approach. GAO found that NRC's implementation of a risk-informed approach for commercial nuclear power plants is a complex, multiyear undertaking that requires basic changes to the regulations and processes NRC uses to ensure the safe operation of these plants. NRC needs to overcome several inherent difficulties as it seeks to apply a risk-informed regulatory approach to the nuclear material licensees, particularly in light of the large number of licensees and the diversity of activities they conduct. NRC will have to demonstrate that it is meeting its mandate (under the Government Performance and Results Act) of increasing public confidence in NRC as an effective regulator. NRC also faces challenges in human capital management, such as replacing a large percentage of its technical staff and senior managers who are eligible to retire. NRC has developed a five-year plan to identify and maintain the core competencies it needs and has identified legislative options to help resolve its aging staff problem."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the District of Columbia, the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, and Congress have achieved an enormous accomplishment in restoring the District to financial viability, many of the challenges the District faced in the past continue. The District and Congress need current, reliable information about the District's financial condition and developing trends in order to promptly respond to any pressures or warning signs that could indicate that future difficulties lie ahead. Toward that end, the District must ensure that its new financial management system is effectively implemented and provides decision makers with reliable and timely data. In addition, since 1995, Congress has put in place a number of reporting requirements to help provide the financial, planning, and performance information that it needs to conduct effective oversight and make decisions. Congress may wish to consider additional mechanisms to ensure that it and the District have the information needed to help the District maintain its financial viability and address its current and emerging challenges. Such mechanisms must be considered and implemented within a context that seeks to balance two sets of values: the overriding importance of Home Rule and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress, law enforcement, and others have expressed concern about the misuse of Social Security numbers (SSNs). Death information collected by the Social Security Administration (SSA), including the SSN, generally reaches financial institutions and other entities within one to two months of a person's death. SSA and the National Technical Information Service could improve the timeliness of the distribution of the Death Master File. Improving the timeliness of death information to the financial services industry would help to narrow the window of time that a criminal has to open new accounts using a deceased individual's identity. Additional education for the financial services industry about the availability and contents of the Death Master File would also be helpful. Providing timely death information and making financial institutions more aware of a reliable source of such information could deter criminals from using deceased individuals' social security numbers to obtain false identities for fraudulent activities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) would eliminate tariffs and create common trade and investment rules within the 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere. The trade ministers for FTAA faced an ambitious agenda at the April 2001 meetings. Accommodations reached by the ministers on controversial issues, such as labor and the environment, antidumping, and nations with small economies, allowed countries to set forth basic principles while keeping topics on the table for future resolution. As a result of the movement on these controversial issues, the trade ministers were able to set out clear objectives and deadlines to promote progress during the next 18 months of the negotiations. The trade ministers told negotiating groups to (1) eliminate material that is in dispute to the maximum extent possible; (2) develop recommendations by April 1, 2002, on the methods and ground rules for negotiation; and (3) develop, where appropriate, inventories of tariffs, nontariff barriers, subsidies, and other practices that distort trade. To build public support for the FTAA process, and to promote transparency in the negotiating process, the trade ministers agreed to publicly release the draft text of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Advances in information technology, along with an increasing number of parties with access to identifiable health information, have created new challenges to maintaining the privacy of medical records. Patients and providers alike have expressed concern that broad access to medical records by insurers, employers, and others may result in inappropriate use of the information. Congress sought to protect the privacy of individuals' medical information as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA included a timetable for developing comprehensive privacy standards that would establish rights for patients with respect to their medical records and define the conditions for using and disclosing identifiable health information. The final privacy regulation offers all Americans the opportunity to know and, to some extent, control how physicians, hospitals, and health plans use their personal information. At the same time, these entities will face a complex set of privacy requirements that are not well understood at this time. Some of the uncertainty expressed by stakeholder groups reflects the recent issuance of the regulation. With time, everyone will have greater opportunity to examine its provisions and assess their implications for …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined the military's inventory management activities to determine if activity codes identified as unauthorized to requisition had been used to buy property for the Air Force. GAO found that as of June 2000, the Air Force maintained 4,239 activity codes identified as unauthorized to requisition government property. However, during the last five years, 193 of these codes were inappropriately used to requisition nearly $23 million in new and excess government property. In addition, safeguards established to prevent unauthorized activity codes from being used to requisition government property failed. This situation has created a condition in which government property is vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As of June 2000, the General Services Administration (GSA) maintained 52 activity codes identified as unauthorized to requisition government property. During the last five years, four of these codes were inappropriately used to requisition about $3,000 in new and excess government property. Although this amount represents a small percentage of total GSA requisitions made during the five-year period, existing safeguards are inadequate to prevent the use of unauthorized activity codes to requisition government property. GSA is now tracing the various items."

SensIDA and IDA are general-purpose codes for solving differential-algebraic equation (DAE) initial value problems. SensIDA is a variant of IDA that includes options for simultaneously computing the DAE solution together with its first-=order sensitivity coefficients with respect to model parameters. SensIDA is written in ANSI-standard C and it is mainly based on IDA, DASPK3.0, and SensPVODE. IDA is based on DASPK2.0. DASPK3.0 is a Fortran77 code for the sensitivity analysis of DAE initial value problems. SensPVODE is a sensitivity analysis variant of the parallel ordinary differential equation solver PVODE. SensIDA can be compiled to run on serial or parallel computers. This is accomplished by specifying that the serial or parallel version of the vector module NVECTOR is used when compiling SensIDA. The parallel version of SensIDA uses MPI (Message-Passing Interface) to achieve parallelism, and is intended for a distributed Single Program Multiple Data environment in which all vectors are identically partitioned across processors. The idea is for each processor to solve a certain fixed subset of the DAEs that describe the model problem and the first-order sensitivity coefficients of the solution.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Harold Placette. Placette joined the Navy in July of 1940. He provides some vivid details of boot camp. He served 5 years aboard the USS Phelps (DD-360). He trained in radio maintenance and radar. They arrived in Hawaii in November of 1940, and they conducted fleet maneuvers and antisubmarine training. He was assigned to the Bofors gun, which he describes. Phelps was on board during the attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He describes their location on the northeast side of Ford Island, and then provides great detail of the event. They shot down one enemy plane. In May of 1942 he describes the Phelps serving alongside the USS Lexington (CV-2) when it was hit during the Battle of the Coral Sea. He talks through this event, and the Phelps delivering the final blow to the Lexington to prevent enemy capture. They later participated in the Battle of Midway, the Aleutian Campaign and the invasion of Saipan. They completed a tour of duty in both the Pacific and Atlantic Theaters. He was discharged in July of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Charles Sehe. Sehe was born in Geneva, Illinois, on 26 February 1923 and enlisted in the Navy in November 1940. Upon completing basic training at Great Lakes, Illinois in February 1941, he completed gunner’s mate school and was assigned to the USS Nevada (BB-36). He recalls the Nevada, the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and the USS Arizona (BB-39) made up Battle Division One at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Sehe describes the events of 7 December 1941 when the Nevada was hit by a torpedo and several bombs while attempting to move away from the Arizona and the flaming oil. He recalls many heroic actions by crew members, including Ensign Joe Taussig (later awarded the Navy Cross), as the ship eventually got underway and grounded off Hospital Point. He then details the search for victims within the hull over the ensuing days, in which he played an integral role. He describes the temporary repairs that allowed the ship to steam for Bremerton, Washington for a complete refitting. Next, he describes the Nevada’s role at Utah Beach and in the Battle of Cherbourg immediately following the Allied landing on Normandy. He recounts …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alphonsis Stockdale. Stockdale was born near Morristown, South Dakota 2 August 1915. After graduating from high school, he joined the Navy in 1934 and went to San Diego for boot training. He then trained as a radio operator. In 1940, he joined Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 1 aboard PT-24 and went to Pearl Harbor where he witnessed the Japanese attack. Arriving at Midway Island on 2 June 1942 he was present when the Japanese launched their attack. Afterwards, Stockdale went to Melville, Rhode Island, for training in PT boats. Completing the course, he was assigned to PT-107 of Squadron 5. Robert Montgomery, the movie actor, served as boat captain. After training in the Galapagos Islands for several months the boat was taken by ship to New Caledonia, then the Solomons, where they began combat patrols. Stockdale recalls PT-107 and three other boats were involved in an operation to land a group of Marines on Vella Lavella. The landing was repelled by the Japanese and the Marines suffered numerous casualties. He developed a severe case of jungle rot, which hospitalized him on New Caledonia. He was then put aboard …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Swift. Swift was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 3 December 1919. Upon joining the Navy in 1939 he had three months of boot training at San Diego, followed by four months of study at the electrical ordnance school. Reporting aboard the USS Reid (DD-369) in December 1939, he was assigned to the engine room. The Reid was at Pearl Harbor tied up next to the USS Whitney (AD-4) when the Japanese attacked. In March 1942 he went aboard the USS Barton (DD-599). Several months later the Barton was assigned as an escort for the USS Hornet (CV-8). He recalls rescuing survivors of the Hornet after the ship was sunk off Santa Cruz. In November 1942 the Barton was sunk off Guadalcanal. Swift describes his ordeal in the water, being rescued by the USS Portland (CA-33) and being taken to a Marine hospital where he spent several days. Upon his release he was assigned to the USS Navajo (AT-64). The Navajo took the damaged USS Chicago in tow. Both ships were attacked by Japanese aircraft and the Chicago was sunk. When the Navajo sank in September 1943, Swift …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Rhodes. Rhodes was born in 1922 and enlisted in the Army on 23 January 1941. Soon after enlisting, he boarded the USS Republic (AP-33) for an eighteen day voyage to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii for basic training. Upon completion of basic, he was assigned to the 696th Ordnance Company at Wheeler Field. Rhodes recalls being at breakfast when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He describes the actions he and others that were with him took that day and remembers seeing the Japanese pilots smiling while strafing ground targets. In 1943 he was assigned to the 7th Fighter Command and went to Makin Island to help establish an ordnance center for the command. Upon his return to the United States in November 1944, Rhodes was assigned to Langley Field, Virginia and remained there until he was discharged in September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Leroy McCovney. McCovney joined the Navy in May of 1941. Beginning around August he served with the deck force aboard the USS Honolulu (CL-48). He was aboard the Honolulu on 7 December 1941 when it was moored in Pearl Harbor. McCovney provides vivid details of his experiences through the attack on that fateful day. His job was to help clean up the ship after the attack. After minor repairs to the ship, they traveled to Australia, Vanuatu and invaded Guadalcanal. In July of 1943 they participated in the Battle of Kolombangara. McCovney was discharged around October of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with June Reilly Leonard. Leonard was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 8 June 1923 and enlisted in the WAVES after the beginning of the war. Upon completion of basic training at Whittier College, Bronx, New York, she was sent to storekeeper’s school at the Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville. She met and married an Army soldier while on leave in August 1943, and after three months together, they were separated for the next two years until the war ended. She was assigned to the Department of the Navy, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, in Washington performing clerical work. Leonard provides anecdotes about her experiences.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Deno Petrucciani. Petrucciani joined the Navy in September of 1940. He served with the deck force aboard USS Maryland (BB-46). In January of 1941 they traveled to Pearl Harbor. Petrucciani was aboard the Maryland during the attack on 7 December 1941. He served aboard the ship for four and half years. He shares a number of anecdotal stories living on the Maryland. He was discharged in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Nelson Howard. He was born in Everett, Washington, March 17, 1920. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the Navy in 1940. He was sent to Pearl Harbor and assigned to the USS Macdonough (DD-351) where he served as a Gunners Mate. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, he recalls shooting down a Japanese plane. He recalls that the Macdonough steamed out of the harbor that morning and returned the following Wednesday to provision and refuel and sailed with the USS Lexington (CV-2) battle group to the Coral Sea. During April 1942 he recalls observing an action near Rabaul when Edward "Butch" O'Hare shot down five Mitsubishi G4M bombers. In the spring of 1942 he was transferred ashore and then to the crew of the USS Moore (DE-240), which escorted convoys to North Africa. He recounts that his ship returned to Norfolk in 1943 for repairs. He recalls that he was transferred to another destroyer escort (not named) that sailed to the Caroline Islands and then Shanghai, China, where he was transferred back to the States suffering from anxiety neurosis. He recalls that he was subsequently transferred to …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Chester W. Marshall. He was born March 19, 1917 in Holmes County, Mississippi. He describes growing up during the Depression. On June 26, 1940 he enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps. In early 1942 he was accepted into Aviation Cadet training. In July 1943 he was assigned to the 30th Bomber Group of the 20th Air Force in Salina, Kansas to train as a flight engineer on B-29s. He recalls being transferred to the 31st Bomber Group on Saipan in October 1944. He describes taking part in 30 bombing raids from Saipan over Tokyo in 1945. He describes one mission over Japan at high altitude on March 17, 1945 gathering weather data for future bombing runs, when his aircraft was shot up by the Japanese and had to make an emergency landing on Iwo Jima. He recalls meeting Colonel Paul Tibbetts while in the Marianas. He recalls being assigned as a B-29 instructor at Roswell, New Mexico Air Base when the war ended.