Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO helped the Department of Transportation to determine whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund for fiscal year 2001 was supported by the underlying records. In performing the agreed-upon procedures, GAO did its work in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants."

This law, passed by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), sets environmental policy for Taiwan and stipulates that economic and technological development will emphasize environmental protection based on long-term national interests, and that development must be sustainable in the interest of future national security and quality of life.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite years of effort to provide debt relief to the world's poorest countries, these countries' debt problems still have not been resolved. In response to this situation, Congress introduced Senate Bill 2210, the Debt Relief Enhancement Act of 2002, to reduce these countries' debt service payments to manageable levels. The act proposes that no qualified country pay more than 10 percent of its revenue on external debt service or no more than 5 percent if the country suffers a public health crisis. GAO found that the act would immediately lower the debt service of countries that qualify for relief. It would cost $2.7 billion for 26 countries over the next 3 years and have no effect on long-term debt sustainability. If applied over a 20-year period, the act's provisions would address the long-term debt sustainability of these countries. However, the cost of the proposal would grow to between $7 billion and $12 billion for those 26 countries. An alternative debt proposal, proposed by the Bush administration, is to convert up to 50 percent of future multilateral concessional loans to grants. This proposal does not address the short-term debt …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Supply Service (FSS) and Federal Technology Service (FTS) help agencies to purchase telephone and computer systems, motor vehicles, travel, and everyday supplies valued at more than $30 billion annually. FSS and FTS take different approaches to filling agency customers' requirements but, in the information technology area, they provide similar goods and services and deal with many of the same vendors. Although overlapping programs with similar services would appear to create the potential for inefficiencies, GSA has little hard data with which to assess the situation. GSA has begun to provide more useful information on the performance of FSS and FTS and to identify more efficient operations. If successful, these initiatives also may provide a road map for assessing the performance of other interagency purchasing programs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 738 in the fiscal year 2001 Agriculture Appropriation Act prohibits the Department of State from selling residences purchased to house agricultural attaches without approval from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and requires the department to use the proceeds from such sales to purchase residences for these attaches. Legislation currently before Congress would repeal section 738 since it limits the Department of State's authority to implement cost-effective decisions about sales of unneeded overseas property and the use of sales proceeds. Because of section 738's restrictions, State has delayed two property sales valued at nearly $4 million that appear to be in the government's best interests. FAS is concerned that if section 738 is repealed, selling these properties will result in increased costs since it would have to lease housing for attaches who previously lived rent-free in government-owned housing. Although section 738 applies only to residences purchased for agricultural attaches, the Office of Management and Budget and State are concerned that it could lead to fragmented and less cost-effective management of overseas property if other agencies seek similar treatment for their senior representatives. Section 738's restrictions do not appear …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts an infrastructure needs assessment every four years to estimate the future capital investment needs of local drinking water systems. In its most recent survey, EPA estimated that nearly $151 billion will be needed during the next 20 years to repair, replace, and upgrade the nation's 55,000 community water systems. The needs assessment survey serves as the basis for EPA's grants to the states under the drinking water revolving fund program. To ensure that it collected valid data to estimate drinking water infrastructure needs EPA conducted site visits to selected systems and had states review supporting documentation. However, EPA cannot tell how closely the estimates reflect actual state-by-state needs because it did not calculate the precision of estimates. GAO found that 31 out of 50 states surveyed established revolving loan funds programs to assist disadvantaged communities. In fiscal years 1991 through 2000, nine federal agencies made available about $44 billion in grants, loans, and loan guarantees for drinking water and wastewater capital improvements."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, Congress directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify products made with recycled waste materials or solid waste by-products and to develop guidance for purchasing these products. The act also requires procuring agencies to establish programs for purchasing these products. Procuring agencies, which can include contractors and state and local government grantees, are exempt from this requirement only under certain conditions and must document their reasons for not purchasing recycled-content products. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is responsible for coordinating the act's requirements with other federal procurement policies, and for reporting to Congress every 2 years on federal agencies' progress in implementing these requirements. Twenty-five years after passage of the act, the success of this effort is largely uncertain. EPA accelerated its designation of recycled-content products in the 1990s. However, procuring agencies acknowledge that EPA's designation of recycled-content products, by itself, cannot ensure that the products are purchased, and efforts to promote awareness have been limited."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century changes the budgetary treatment of programs financed by the Highway Trust Fund. In particular, the act guaranteed annual funding levels for most highway and transit programs and linked highway user tax receipts, such as those from motor fuel and truck tire taxes, to the annual funding levels for highway programs. Revenue aligned budget authority adjustments are made to the annual guaranteed funding level provided in the act as highway account receipt levels change. For the first time, the adjustment for fiscal year 2003 is negative--decreasing the guaranteed level of highway funding by $4.369 billion. GAO found that the amounts distributed to the Highway Trust Fund for the first nine months of fiscal year 2001, as adjusted based on the Internal Revenue Service's certifications, were reasonable and adequately supported based on available information."

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the White House Cafe and Saloon, in Floresville, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, narrative, and photographs.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Administration took several steps to strengthen homeland security, including the creation of an Office of Homeland Security (OHS). The success of a homeland security strategy requires all levels of government and the private sector to communicate and cooperate with one another. The federal government must formulate realistic budget and resource plans to support the implementation of an efficient and effective homeland security program. A fundamental review of existing programs and operations can create the necessary fiscal flexibility by weeding out out-dated, poorly targeted, or inefficient programs. Although Congress called upon GAO to evaluate the effectiveness of OHS programs, GAO has experienced difficulty in gaining access to this information."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on the income ranges of taxpayers who may have overpaid federal taxes by not itemizing. GAO found that of the returns filed for tax year 1998, 53 percent of taxpayers who may have overpaid federal taxes by not itemizing, had adjusted gross incomes of $50,000 or less. Eleven percent showed adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000. The median adjusted gross income for these returns was about $47,000. The median adjusted gross income for all returns filed in tax year 1998 was about $27,000."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Because of Amtrak's worsening financial condition, there is growing agreement that the current mission, funding, and structure for providing intercity passenger rail needs to be changed. Intercity passenger rail has the potential to complement other more heavily used modes of transportation in markets where rail transport can be competitive. The potential benefits include reduced air and highway congestion, reduced pollution caused by automobiles, reduced fuel consumption and energy dependency, and greater safety. Intercity passenger rail systems, like other intercity transportation systems, are expensive. Amtrak has called for $30 billion in federal capital support over 20 years to upgrade its operations and to invest in high-speed rail corridors. Amtrak also estimates that the cost to fully develop the 10 federally designated high-speed rail corridors and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor could exceed $50 billion over 20 years. Congress must determine if and how intercity passenger rail fits into the nation's transportation system. and what level of federal investment should be made in light of other competing national priorities. Key initial steps in this framework could include (1) establishing clear, non-conflicting goals for federal support of intercity passenger rail systems; (2) establishing …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Estimating the extent of abusive tax schemes used by individual taxpayers is difficult because they are often hidden. Nevertheless, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) believes that the number and dollar consequences of these schemes has grown recently. IRS estimates that 740,000 taxpayers used abusive schemes in tax year 2000. IRS caught $5 billion in improper tax avoidance or tax credit and refund claims, but estimates that another $20 to $40 billion went undetected. Recent developments suggest that the number of individuals using an abusive tax scheme involving offshore accounts may be greater than estimated and potential lost revenues may be higher than estimated. Because no one individual or office could provide an agencywide perspective on IRS's strategy, goals, objectives, performance measures, or program results, it is difficult to provide a clear picture of IRS's efforts to address abusive tax schemes. IRS has created new offices, reemphasized and reorganized earlier efforts, and plans to assign at least 200 additional staff to its efforts. Limited data suggest that IRS's enhanced efforts have helped to successfully convict those promoting and taking advantage of abusive schemes, publicize these results, and uncover previously …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the advent of the all-volunteer Army in 1973, the number of servicemembers with spouses and children has grown significantly. Although the Department of Defense (DOD) has responded positively to this change, GAO believes that some current family benefits could be strengthened. For example, despite improvements to the quality of military child care centers, DOD needs to further expand child care capacity. Moreover, DOD faces challenges in increasing awareness and use of these benefits. GAO compared the military's benefits with those of the private sector, including retirement pay, health care, life insurance, and paid time-off, and found no significant gaps in the benefits offered to active duty servicemen and women. In fact, some military benefits exceed those offered by the private sector."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement the national strategy …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Albert Schlemmer. Schlemmer joined the Marine Corps in January of 1942. He was assigned to G Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. In late 1942 he deployed to New Zealand and participated in the Battles of Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester. He returned to the US in md-1944 to complete Officer Candidates School. He served as an instructor, teaching about jungle warfare. He then joined the 3rd Division, 9th Marines in preparation to invade Japan. Schlemmer was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Harding. Born in 1919, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. He describes his time in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He was attached to the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as part of the Lend-Lease Program. He trained RAF pilots to fly B-25 Mitchell bombers. He recounts his capture and escape from German soldiers while serving in Egypt. He also trained Russian pilots to fly Bell P-39 Airacobras in Russia. In 1943 he was assigned to the 9th Tactical Air Command, 9th Air Force in England. In spring 1944, he flew aerial photography missions over the Normandy coastline. Additionally, he flew celebrities, such as Spike Jones and Joe Louis, to entertain the troops. Prior to the war?s end, he was employed as a civil servant.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Crescencio Trevino. Trevino joined the Army in April 1944 and received basic training at Fort Robinson. He deployed to Metz, France, as a rifleman with the 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division. Locals referred to them as The Iron Men of Metz. Trevino lost half of his platoon in Metz and survived combat on the Siegfried Line, moving on to clear out German holdouts in the Ruhr Pocket. Although he had only fired a bazooka once during training, he became the bazooka man for his unit. He describes in detail the technique of using hand grenades to clear pillboxes. Trevino turned down the Purple Heart for a minor injury to his finger, worrying that his family would be troubled by the news. After the ceasefire, Trevino was placed on occupation duty, under strict orders not to fraternize with German women, although everyone was friendly. He celebrated V-E Day with former Russian POWs who provided their own vodka. Trevino returned home in June 1945 and was discharged as a staff sergeant in April 1946. After reenlisting in 1948, he served in Corpus Christi as a recruiting sergeant until 1951.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Jack Whetsel. Whetsel graduated from Baylor in 1941, volunteered for the Navy and went into the V-7 Program. He trained at Northwestern University, received his commission after 90 days, and reported to Newport, Rhode Island Naval Operating Base. Their mission was to protect the ships coming out of New York on their way to Boston to from a convoy to England. After almost 18 months at Newport, he got orders to go to Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet. From there he went to San Francisco, went aboard the USS Enterprise which sailed to Pearl Harbor at which time Whetsel reported to Commander Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet, Adm Turner. Whetsel was on his staff from Tarawa through the end of the war. He talks about the smoke generators on the ship which they used to cover the fleet when the Japanese planes came over. Adm Turner's flagship was originally the USS Pennsylvania and then it switched to the USS Eldorado, an AGC. Whetsel also discusses the staff's move from Pearl Harbor to Guam. He was in Manila Bay when the atomic bombs were dropped. Whetsel talks very highly of Adm …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John H. Brand. Brand was born in Vienna, Austria in 1923. He was attending New York University at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He shares his memory of learning about the attack. He joined the Army in 1942 and became a U.S. citizen in 1943. He trained with tank destroyers at Camp Hood, Texas. Then he trained at Camp Howze, Texas and was assigned to Company E, 410th Regiment, 103rd Infantry Division. In late 1944 he was sent to Marseilles, France. He shares an anecdote about being arrested in Marseilles as well as hearing a broadcast by Axis Sally. He recounts his experiences of battle outside the town of St. Di?. He was wounded by shrapnel and developed trench foot. He discusses his experiences in both a field hospital and a general hospital. Because he was fluent in German, he finished his military career assigned to military government operations in Germany. He recounts the capture and arrest of an assistant to Ilsa Koch. He also shares an anecdote about the Hitler Youth. He was discharged in Berlin in December 1945. He took a position with …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Roger Goff. Goff joined the Navy on 19 December 1941. He served as Quartermaster aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6). Goff participated in every Enterprise naval battle from February of 1942 through the end of the war. He shares details of his experiences through the battles of Midway, Eastern Solomons and the Philippine Sea. He was honorably discharged in October of 1945.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and information collection authorizations from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that either expired or were otherwise inconsistent with the act. GAO found that federal paperwork rose by 290 million burden hours during fiscal year 2001--the largest one-year increase since the act was amended and recodified in 1995. This occurred largely because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) increased its paperwork estimate by about 250 million burden hours during the year. Most of the paperwork increase at IRS resulted from changes made by the agency--not because of new statutes. Federal agencies providing information to OMB identified more than 400 violations of the act during fiscal year 2001. Some of these violations have been going on for years, and they collectively represent substantial opportunity costs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) has given the go ahead to a gun sale, it is still possible for the FBI to receive information from local law enforcement, the courts, or other sources that would prohibit a purchaser from owning a firearm. In these cases, the licensed dealer must be contacted to verify whether the purchaser received the firearm. If so, the local police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are then notified. In these case, ATF guidance requires an investigation and the retrieval of the firearm in coordination with state or local law enforcement. Retained records that were more than one day old but less than 90 days old were used to initiate more than 100 firearm retrievals in the four-month period beginning July 2001, according to FBI officials. As a result, next-day destruction of NICS records could impair the ability of law enforcement to retrieve firearms from persons who were wrongly approved to purchase them."

News release about Trinity Railway Express service to the annual Fort Worth Livestock Show & Rodeo.