Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Commuter rail is an important part of the transportation system in many cities and regions in our country, providing more than 420 million passenger trips in 2005. Although several of the largest commuter rail agencies hire their own employees, many agencies contract with other companies, including Amtrak, freight railroads, and private rail operators, to provide services that are critical to running the agencies' trains. These contracted services include providing crews to operate trains (train operations); maintenance of equipment (MOE), including maintenance of train cars and locomotives; dispatching train traffic; and maintenance of way (MOW), which involves maintaining the track, signals, and other track infrastructure. Commuter rail agencies can obtain these services by opening contracts to competition or through noncompetitive negotiations with a service provider. Congress asked us to provide information on the service arrangements between commuter rail agencies and other companies. Accordingly, we addressed the following questions: (1) How many currently active commuter rail service contracts were obtained through competitive and noncompetitive processes? (2) What differences, if any, are there between competitively and noncompetitively negotiated contracts?"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The West Refrigeration Plant Expansion (WRPE) project is the centerpiece of an effort to expand the capacity of the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) to meet the U.S. Capitol's growing heating and cooling needs and to update plant equipment, some of which dates to the 1950s. CPP generates steam and chilled water to provide heating and cooling for the Capitol and 23 surrounding facilities that, together, encompass about 16 million square feet of space. CPP will also serve the 580,000-square-foot Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), which is under construction. When completed, the WRPE project will increase CPP's chilled water production capacity by about 23 percent and enable central operation of CPP's chillers. The WRPE construction contract was awarded in March 2003, work is ongoing, and the project is now scheduled for completion in March 2006. Future contract changes may, however, extend this date to June 2006. The budget for the WRPE project and associated administrative expenses is $81.7 million. Several modifications have been made to the WRPE contract to incorporate other capital improvements at CPP. The budget for these modifications is $19.2 million, bringing the total budget for the base …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The devastation experienced throughout the Gulf Coast region in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has called into question the government's ability to effectively respond to such disasters. The government needs to understand what went right and what went wrong, and to apply these lessons to strengthen its disaster response and recovery operations. The federal government relies on partnerships across the public and private sectors to achieve critical results in preparing for and responding to natural disasters, with an increasing reliance on contractors to carry out specific aspects of its missions. At the same time, the acquisition functions at several agencies are on GAO's high-risk list, indicating a vulnerability to fraud, waste, and abuse. This testimony discusses how three agencies--the General Services Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps)--conducted oversight of key contracts used in response to the hurricanes. Efforts are ongoing by these agencies to address issues GAO and others have identified."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the fiscal year 2007 budget request for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This request will help us continue our support of the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and will help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. Budget constraints in the federal government grew tighter in fiscal years 2005 and 2006. In developing our fiscal year 2007 budget, we considered those constraints consistent with GAO's and the Committee's desire to "lead by example." In fiscal year 2007, we are requesting budget authority of $509.4 million, a reasonable 5 percent increase over our fiscal year 2006 revised funding level. In the event Congress acts to hold federal pay increases to 2.2 percent, our requested increase will drop to below 5 percent. This request will allow us to continue making improvements in productivity, maintain our progress in technology and other transformation areas, and support a full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing level of 3,267. This represents an increase of 50 FTEs over our planned fiscal year 2006 staffing level and will allow us to rebuild our …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Sharing information with nonfederal officials is an important tool in federal efforts to secure the nation's ports against a potential terrorist attack. The Coast Guard has lead responsibility in coordinating maritime information sharing efforts. The Coast Guard has established area maritime security committees--forums that involve federal and nonfederal officials who identify and address risks in a port. The Coast Guard and other agencies have sought to further enhance information sharing and port security operations by establishing interagency operational centers--command centers that tie together the efforts of federal and nonfederal participants. This testimony is a summary and update to our April 2005 report, Maritime Security: New Structures Have Improved Information Sharing, but Security Clearance Processing Requires Further Attention, GAO-05-394. It discusses the impact the committees and interagency operational centers have had on improving information sharing and identifies any barriers that have hindered information sharing."

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a professional engineer may prepare all plans and specifications for a public building described in Occupations Code section 1051.703(a) without engaging the services of a licensed architect (RQ-0360-GA)

Handwritten note on June 10, 2006 which reads, "Normand Theriault wants to start a North Harris County Stonewall Democratic Club." Included is a business card belonging to Normand Theriault with contact information.

A form for people attending the International Week Awards Banquet to reserve spaces at the tables. It shows costs for a table, and individual seat costs.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. & A.M., in Schulenburg, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, and photographs.

Deposit summary of $105.00 made on July 10, 2006. Included is an envelope from Kenneth D. Stewart to Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, postmarked on July 5, 2006.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Frederick Brown. Brown was born 7 January 1921. In 1942, he was drafted into the US Army and underwent basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was then sent to San Luis Obispo, California for advanced training. Upon completion of the training, his division was sent to New Guinea. He was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Regiment, G Company as a platoon scout and point man. He also recalls a kamikaze attacking a ship he was aboard just prior to landing in the Philippines. Brown witnessed the burial at sea of the seamen killed by the attack. He recalls that the unit was in combat for 112 continuous days. During this time, he contracted malaria and was hospitalized for several weeks. After Japan surrendered, his unit was sent to Korea. He spent three months in Korea before returning to the United States. He was discharged 25 December 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Andrew Bofinger. Bofinger joined the Naval Reserves in October of 1941, and was called to active duty on 15 December 1941. He served as Boatswain’s Mate Second Class, and worked on the offshore patrol in sailing vessels searching for Japanese subs. In June of 1943 he received a direct commission as ensign, and was assigned as Skipper aboard the minesweeper, YMS-93. In early 1944 they traveled to Hawaii, then the Marshall Islands conducting patrols, search and rescue missions and maintenance sweeping. In March of 1945 they swept mines on the east coast of Okinawa and rescued crewman from the USS England (DE-635). Bofinger was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Zane Puckett. Puckett joined the Navy in April, 1942. After boot training, he qualified for communications school. Upon graduation, Puckett was assigned aboard USS PC-602. After transiting the Panama Canal, Puckett joined USS YMS-93 as her signalman in August, 1943. At the Marshall Islands, they patrolled for submarines and accidentally damaged their wooden keel. After repairs at Pearl Harbor, YMS-93 headed for Okinawa in time for the invasion. Puckett explains how minesweepers operated. When the war ended, YMS-93 swept waters off the coast of Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Burle C. Hawthorn. Hawthorn joined the Navy around 1943. He served as an aviation metalsmith aboard USS Chandeleur (AV-10), a seaplane tender, in the Pacific Theatre. Beginning in early 1944, they transported men, aviation equipment, torpedoes, bombs and other cargo throughout the South Pacific islands. Hawthorn shares stories of taking Marines to Guadalcanal, New Hebrides, and Palau. They provided tender services for several patrol squadrons during the invasions of the Palau Islands, the Philippines, Ulithi, and Okinawa. After the war ended, they traveled to Japan, tending seaplanes taking part in the occupation, returning to the US in late 1945 when Hawthorn was discharged.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. O’Keefe. He was born in Centralia, Illinois 13 June 1923. After high school he worked for the Illinois Railroad until he was old enough to join the Navy in 1942. After training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, he was assigned to Diesel Service School in Chicago. After six weeks, he went to patrol boat school at Melville, Rhode Island. O’Keefe and several other PT boat replacements, boarded the Robert C. Greene for a 43 day trip to New Hebrides. At Tulagi, he was temporarily assigned to work on PT-107, part of Patrol Boat Squadron 5. He was then assigned to PT-184, in Squadron 11. He recalls the need for one hour rotations by the boat diesel engineers, due to extreme heat in the engine room. He visited a small island and found group picture of Amelia Earhart, a Japanese officer, a missionary and a native boy. Following Navy orders to report any evidence regarding Amelia Earhart, they contacted headquarters. Three days later, a PBY arrived with an officer from Naval Intelligence, who took possession of the picture. After making inquires as to the disposition …

Handwritten contact and general information on John Mallory Land, and notes about an amount of $1,300.00 in bank from old Gay Lesbian Democratic Caucus.

News release about the first "North Texas free Fare Transit Day," during which several North Texas transit agencies, including DART, offered use of public transportation for free on July 18th.

News release about DART's expansion of its light rail transit system.

News release promoting the use of DART Rail to transport passengers to the Blackland Prairie Festival, a 1900s historical reenactment festival.

Handwritten notes were taken during a Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDs organization meeting, October 10, 2006.