Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO addressed the Air Force's plan to replace a portion of its KC-135 aerial refueling tanker fleet with leased Boeing 767 aircraft. Although the Air Force has a long term requirement to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 tankers, the urgency of the need in the short term is unclear. The Air Force stated that the leasing arrangement would allow it to acquire new tankers three years earlier than through its most recent procurement plan. This would allow the Air Force to retire old, less capable KC-135s, thus saving maintenance costs on those aircraft. Because the Air Force is still negotiating the lease details, it could not provide information on the cost effectiveness of leasing aircraft instead of purchasing them. Although GAO has not taken a position on the overall policy of leasing versus purchasing defense equipment, it found that, from a cost standpoint, leasing is more expensive in the long run. Because the 767 aircraft is larger than the KC-135, there will be some infrastructure improvement costs, such as for building or modifying hangars, taxiways, and runway aprons. Additional costs would likely include simulators and project management. …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a county may maintain a road that has not been officially established as a public road but which has been accessible to and regularly used by the public (RQ-0469-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether section 37.123 of the Education Code, which creates the offense of “disruptive activity,” requires proof of intent (RQ-0474-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a casket constitutes “funeral merchandise” for purposes of Chapter 651 of the Occupations Code, and related questions (RQ-0477-JC)

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A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation for fiscal years 2000 and 1999 and the related statements of activities and cash flows. GAO found that (1) the financial statements were presented fairly in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, (2) the Foundation had effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Violence Against Women Act funds programs that shelter battered women, training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors, and research on violence against women. Available data on the number of pregnant women who are victims of violence are incomplete and lack comparability. There is no current national estimate of the prevalence of violence against pregnant women. Available estimates cannot be generalized to all pregnant women, and little information is available on the number of pregnant homicide victims. Health and criminal justice officials have designed multiple strategies to prevent violence against women, but their effect is unknown. Strategies to prevent violence against pregnant women are similar to those to prevent violence against all women and include public health efforts to prevent violence in the first place, intervention activities that identify and respond to violence after it occurs, and criminal justice strategies that focus on incarcerating or rehabilitating batterers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must mitigate potential damage to fish and wildlife caused by dam construction, harbor dredging, and other projects. In the past, the Corps has acquired lands to replace lost habitat, created wetlands, or planted vegetation to stabilize soil and prevent erosion. The Corps' Civil Works Program deals with commercial navigation and flood damage, while its Regulatory Program oversees privately financed projects that affect water and land resources. According to Corps engineers, 28 of the 47 water resources projects authorized since enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 required a fish and wildlife mitigation plan. For projects that received funding, less than half of the mitigation was completed before construction began. Of the remaining 19 projects, seven completed at least half of mitigation before initiating construction; two had not started construction but had done some mitigation; and 10 had not begun construction or mitigation. As of September 2001, 16 of the 34 projects where construction had begun had completed all of the mitigation. A panel of scientific experts similarly rated the overall quality of the national fish and wildlife mitigation …

This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.