A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "About 5,000 people die and more than 120,000 are injured each year from crashes involving large trucks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has several enforcement programs to improve truck safety and funds similar enforcement programs in states through its Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Following concern by Congress and others in 1999 that FMCSA's enforcement approach was ineffective, the agency committed to take stronger actions. This study reports on how FMCSA's enforcement approach has changed, how it makes decisions about its enforcement approach, and how it ensures that its grants to states contribute to the agency's mission of saving lives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the 1970s, the natural gas and electricity industries have each undergone a shift toward greater competition, referred to as restructuring. This restructuring has moved these industries from regulated monopolies to markets in which competitors vie for market share and wholesale prices are largely determined by supply and demand. Amid this restructuring, private companies have published information about these markets, including reports of market prices in various locations--referred to as price indices. These indices, whether for short-term "spot" or long-term "forward" markets, are developed by surveying selected market participants who voluntarily supply price information. Market participants rely on these price indices to help them make informed decisions about trading these commodities and to evaluate new investments. In recent years, confidence in price indices has been shaken due to misreporting and other abuses. During the energy crisis in the West in 2000-2001, several market participants were found to have purposefully misreported prices in order to manipulate these indices for financial gain. In this context, GAO agreed to answer the following questions: (1) What federal regulatory and statutory efforts have been taken to improve price indices in electricity …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects an estimated one million Americans. IBD patients often have difficulty digesting food. As a result, they may require parenteral nutrition (intravenous feeding) or enteral nutrition (tube feeding), medically necessary food products to supplement their diets, and medications. In addition, some IBD patients must care for their ostomies--surgically created openings for the discharge of digested food. IBD advocates have recently expressed concerns regarding the ability of IBD patients to obtain the health care they need. The Research Review Act of 2004 directed GAO to study the Medicare and Medicaid coverage standards for individuals with IBD, in both home health and outpatient delivery settings. GAO (1) identified the Medicare and Medicaid coverage standards for five key therapies used for the treatment of IBD and (2) determined what specific supplies used in these therapies Medicare and Medicaid programs will pay for. In this work, GAO examined Medicare's national and local coverage policies and conducted a survey of Medicaid programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because of the importance of the Department of Defense's (DOD) adherence to disciplined information technology (IT) acquisition processes in successfully modernizing its business systems, GAO was asked to determine whether the Transportation Coordinators' Automated Information for Movements System II (TC-AIMS II) program is being managed according to important aspects of DOD's acquisition policies and guidance, as well as other relevant acquisition management best practices. TC-AIMS II was initiated in 1995 as a joint services system to help manage force and equipment movements within the United States and abroad. The U.S. Department of the Army has the lead responsibility for managing the system's acquisition and estimates its life-cycle cost to be $1.7 billion over 25 years."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To provide for oversight of cost growth in DOD major defense acquisition programs, Congress passed legislation, commonly referred to as Nunn-McCurdy, which requires DOD to notify Congress when a program's unit cost growth exceeds (or breaches) the latest approved acquisition program baseline by at least 15 percent. If the cost growth has increased at least 25 percent over the baseline, the Secretary of Defense must certify to Congress that (1) the program is essential to national security; (2) no alternatives exist which will provide equal or greater military capability at less cost; (3) new program acquisition or procurement unit cost estimates are reasonable; and (4) the management structure is adequate to control unit cost. On April 13, 2005, the Acting Secretary of the Air Force formally notified Congress that the procurement unit cost of the Global Hawk had increased 18 percent over the baseline estimate. As requested, we are in the process of reviewing the acquisition strategies and requirements for several unmanned aircraft systems, including the Global Hawk. While that work will not be completed for some months, we are issuing this correspondence because we have developed important …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Purchasing makes up a significant portion of annual expenses for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). USPS has recently made significant changes to its purchasing regulations which, according to USPS, will result in a more businesslike purchasing process. Some stakeholders, including smaller suppliers who stated they rely on USPS for the majority of their business, have raised concerns about these changes. GAO was asked to (1) describe these changes, stakeholder views, and USPS's rationale for the changes and (2) assess how these changes reflect the principles of postal reform and practices of leading organizations and identify areas, if any, for continued oversight."

A chapter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress and the President have called for various homeland security efforts to be based on risk management--a systematic process for assessing threats and taking appropriate steps to deal with them. GAO examined how three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components were carrying out this charge: the Coast Guard, which has overall responsibility for security in the nation's ports; the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), which awards grants for port security projects; and the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate (IAIP), which has responsibility for developing ways to assess risks across all types of critical infrastructure. GAO's work focused on identifying the progress each DHS component has made on risk management and the challenges each faces in moving further."

Contains notes and research (DFAS)Various States-by Bob Cook of the INTERAGENCY Team.

Contains notes and research (Postgraduate Education Realignment Scenarios) by Syd Carroll of the JOINT Cross Service Team.

Contains notes and research (General) Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. By Art Beauchamp of the AIR FORCE Team.

Contains notes and research (Base Visit) Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, by Tanya Cruz of the AIR FORCE Team.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Fort Worth, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

This report describes the nature and scope of the problem of trafficking in persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report then describes U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region, as well as discusses the successes and failures of some recent country and regional anti-trafficking efforts. The report concludes by raising several issues for policy consideration that may be helpful as the 109th Congress continues to address human trafficking as part of its authorization, appropriations, and oversight activities.

Weekly newspaper from Albany, Texas that includes local, county, and state news along with extensive advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Lexington, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Odem, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Comanche, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Hondo, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans area is from hurricane-induced storm surges, waves, and rainfalls. To protect the area from this threat, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) was authorized by Congress in 1965 to design and construct a system of levees as part of the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project. Although federally authorized, the project was a joint federal, state, and local effort. For the levees in the project, the Corps was responsible for design and construction, with the federal government paying 70 percent of the costs and state and local interests paying 30 percent. As requested, GAO is providing information on the (1) level of protection authorized by Congress for the Lake Pontchartrain project; (2) authorities, roles, and responsibilities of the Corps and local sponsors with respect to the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and rehabilitation of the levees; (3) procedures in place to ensure that responsible parties maintain the levees in accordance with the authorized protection level; (4) authorities, roles, and responsibilities of the Corps and local parties when levees fail or are damaged; and (5) plans, capabilities, and …

Weekly newspaper from Sachse, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.