Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Election-day problems in Florida and elsewhere in November 2000 raised concerns about voting systems that included, among other things, alleged voting irregularities that may have affected voter access to the polls. The term voting irregularities generally refers to a broad array of complaints relating to voting and/or elections that may involve violations of federal voting rights and/or federal criminal law for which the Department of Justice (DOJ) has enforcement responsibilities. The Ranking Minority Members of several Congressional committees requested that we review activities at DOJ to help ensure voter access to the polls and actions to address allegations of voting irregularities. This report (1) identifies and describes changes DOJ has made since November 2000 to help ensure voter access to the polls; (2) identifies and describes actions that the Voting Section in DOJ's Civil Rights Division has taken to track, address, and assess allegations of election-related voting irregularities received between November 2000 and December 2003; and (3) assesses the Voting Section's internal control activities to help ensure relevant, accurate, and reliable recording and documentation of allegations of voting irregularities to accurately track actions taken in response to allegations …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a request by the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, that we provide answers to questions relating to our March 17, 2004, testimony. At that hearing, we discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) and Department of Defense's (DOD) progress toward defining a detailed strategy and developing the capability for a two-way exchange of patient health information."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia's (the District) transportation system is critical to the District's residents and businesses, the federal government, and the millions of tourists who visit the nation's capital annually. To help build and maintain its bridges and roads, the District receives federal highway funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). All of the District's bridges and about 30 percent of its roads are eligible for these funds; the remaining roads are maintained under the local transportation program using District funds. In 2003, the District expended a total of about $242 million on its bridge and road infrastructure, of which almost $158 million were federal-aid expenditures. To better manage its transportation services, the District reorganized its transportation infrastructure functions, creating a stand-alone Department of Transportation in 2002. According to the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), a lack of resources and inadequate attention to emerging infrastructure problems allowed local road conditions to decay to the point that in 1999, nearly 50 percent of local roads were rated fair or poor by FHWA. In addition, the District Department of Transportation's (DDOT) stakeholders believed that the organization was reactive, …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health care is an information-intensive industry that remains highly fragmented and inefficient. Hence, the uses of information technology (IT)--in delivering clinical care, performing administrative functions, and supporting the public health infrastructure--have the potential to yield both cost savings and improvements in the care itself. In 2003, GAO reported on benefits to health care that could result from using IT--both cost savings and measurable improvements in the delivery and quality of care. GAO also reported on federal agencies' existing and planned information systems intended to support our nation's preparedness for and ability to respond to public health emergencies and the status of health care standards setting initiatives. Congress has asked GAO to summarize our work on reported benefits of the use of IT for health care delivery and on IT initiatives supporting public health preparedness and response."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent discovery of commercial nuclear power plants on a list of possible terrorist targets have focused considerable attention on the plants' capabilities to defend against a terrorist attack. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent agency established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to regulate the civilian use of nuclear materials, is responsible for regulating and overseeing security at commercial nuclear power plants. GAO was asked to review (1) NRC's efforts since September 11, 2001, to improve security at nuclear power plants, including actions NRC has taken to implement some of GAO's September 2003 recommendations to improve security oversight and (2) the extent to which NRC is in a position to assure itself and the public that the plants are protected against terrorist attacks. This testimony reflects the preliminary results of GAO's review. GAO will issue a more comprehensive report in early 2005."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has performed extensive work and gained experience on government transformation and the critical role that human capital management can play in driving this change. Valuable lessons from these efforts could help guide the proposed reforms in the intelligence community envisioned by the 9/11 Commission. This statement focuses on (1) the lessons GAO has learned from successful mergers and organizational transformations; particularly the need for committed and sustained leadership and the role of performance management systems in these changes; (2) human capital flexibilities that can be used as essential tools to help achieve these reforms; (3) how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is using these lessons and human capital flexibilities to transform to meet its evolving mission in the post 9/11 environment, and (4) GAO's findings to date on the factors that must be considered in the approach to the government's security clearance process, as a means to accelerate the process for national security appointments."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On February 18, 2004, we issued a report updating the appropriations and expenditure data for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program that we included in our July 2003 report on the status of the program. To supplement this information, Congress requested that we provide a breakdown of the appropriations data, showing the amounts for the Superfund program, amounts designated for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Brownfields program. Superfund program operations are funded by appropriations from the general revenue fund and the Superfund trust fund. Historically, a tax on crude oil and certain chemicals and an environmental tax on corporations were the primary sources of revenues for the trust fund; however, the authority for these taxes expired in 1995. The trust fund continues to receive revenues in the form of cost recoveries, interest on the fund balance, fines and penalties, and general revenue fund appropriations that supplement the trust fund balance."

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of January 14, 2004. The document is redacted and includes the BRAC 2005 Military Value Analysis Training Module brief (PowerPoint slides).

The bulletin from the funeral service for Fanny Mae Tyson Caldwell at St. John Regular Baptist Association Tabernacle. Mrs. Caldwell was a long-time educator in Pflugerville, TX. Included in the bulletin are: one of her favorite poems, "The House by the Side of the Road", the order of the service, her obituary, a Litany of Gratitude in her honor, and a family tribute.

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 the Texas Military Facilities Commission may make a lump sum payment for accumulated sick leave to an individual whose state employment has been terminated (RQ-0149-GA).

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, under section 22.0512 of the Education Code, a school district may bring a disciplinary proceeding against a professional employee of the district for violating the district’s corporal punishment policy, although the employee’s use of force was justified under section 9.62 of the Penal Code (RQ-0150-GA)

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, in accordance with an order from the board of county court at law judges, a county clerk may redact Social Security numbers from documents available on the county clerk’s website, although the numbers are not redacted from the hard copies of the same documents filed in the clerk’s office (RQ-0154-GA)

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 article XI, section 11(A) of the Texas Constitution applies to city officers with two year terms or city police officers, and whether a home-rule city with two year terms may provide in its charter that a mayor or council member who becomes a candidate for another office automatically vacates the current office (RQ-0168-GA)

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 the Texas Real Estate Commission may establish by rule minimum service standards for a real estate broker who enters into an exclusive agency relationship with a party to a real estate transaction (RQ-0224-GA)

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 Tax Code section 6.025(d) requires chief appraisers in overlapping appraisal districts to enter on the tax roll either the property’s lowest market value or lowest appraised value established by the two districts, but not both the lowest market value and the lowest appraised value (RQ-0239-GA)

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 bail bond licensee may operate under one or more assumed names, and whether a bail bond board may regulate the number of names under which a licensee operates (RQ-0075-GA)

Texas Daily Newspaper Associations' 2004 Elections for 2005 Board of Directors document. The document states that the nomination committee must elect 3/4 new people depending on who is elected treasurer to fill their unexpired term if they're nominated to change positions.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has typically excluded from the census private citizens residing abroad, but included overseas members of the military, federal civilian employees, and their dependents (in the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, these individuals were included in the numbers used for apportioning Congress). The Bureau recently tested the practicality of counting all overseas Americans. GAO was asked to testify on the test's initial results. Our statement is based on our published reports, one of which is being released at today's hearing."

Official statement issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States describing preliminary findings regarding the performance of the Intelligence Community against the danger of Islamic extremist terrorism before the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Official statement issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States describing preliminary findings regarding on the FBI's current capacity to detect and prevent terrorist attacks upon the United States.

Transcript of the tenth public hearing held by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States held April 13-14, 2004 in Washington, D.C. The two-day hearing examined the performance of law enforcement and the Intelligence Community prior to September 11 and evaluated post-9/11 reforms in these areas. The Commission heard from current and former top-level officials from our nation's law enforcement and intelligence communities. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet, and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III testified before the Commission, as well as former Attorney General Janet Reno, former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, and former Acting FBI Director Thomas J. Pickard. In addition to witness testimony, four staff statements were delivered during the course of the proceedings.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Knox. Knox joined the Navy in February of 1944. He served aboard the USS Worden (DD-352) as a cook and as a gunner on a 5-inch gun. He provides detail of the food served and how it was served to 100 plus men each day. He also discusses general life on board the ship. Knox served a total of 21 combined years in the Navy and the reserves.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Everett E Knebel. Knebel joined the Navy in January 1942 as an experienced carpenter. He received basic training at Great Lakes and was among the first Seabees to be deployed in the war. When his unit left the island, Knebel stayed behind to have an appendectomy. He returned to duty on the island, climbing 40 feet in the air to construct a parachute drying tower, and operating the backhoe to install a sewage system. His working hours were ordinary and regular, just as in civilian life, only he would pause to make way for Polynesian natives whenever they held a traditional burial ceremony. He describes their singing in the procession, carrying a body wrapped in yellow on their shoulders. After two years, Knebel returned to the States. He was stationed at Port Hueneme when the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Thomas Loftin. Loftin joined the Army Air Corps in early 1941. He had flight training at various bases all over Texas and earned his wings and commission in August, 1942. His first assignment was at New Orleans where he flew anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico with the 124th Observation Squadron. IN 1944, he became a flight instructor in Florida. In April, 1945, Loftin went overseas to England and was assigned to the 95th Bomb Group with whom he flew on one bomb mission before moving to operations. He returned home in July, 1945 and was training in B-29s when the war ended. Loftin stayed in the Reserves until 1972.