Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2000, the Navy has undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve greater efficiencies and reduce costs. For example, it reduced the workforce requirements for some of its ships and transitioned away from instructor-led training programs to more computer-based training. In June 2010, we reported the Navy lacked a firm analytical basis for some of the reductions it made to ship crew sizes and therefore could not be assured it had appropriately sized its crews to maintain material readiness and accomplish necessary tasks aboard its ships. We also reported the Navy lacked outcome-based performance measures to evaluate the impact of changes to training on trainees' job performance, knowledge, skills, and abilities once they report to their ships and therefore could not fully determine the effectiveness of the training changes it implemented and whether further adjustments were necessary. We recommended the Navy validate the underlying assumptions and standards it uses to calculate workforce requirements and, as necessary, based on this assessment, reevaluate its cruiser and destroyer workload requirements. We also recommended the Navy develop additional metrics to measure the effectiveness of its training. The Navy concurred with our recommendations. …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the use of test facilities as a means of leveraging public, private, and academic resources to deliver technologies for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). NextGen will affect nearly every aspect of air transportation and will transform the way in which the air transportation system operates today. It is a complex undertaking that requires new technologies--including new integrated ground and aircraft systems--as well as new procedures, processes, and supporting infrastructure. The result will be an air transportation system that relies on satellite-based surveillance and navigation, data communications, and improved collaborative decision making. Transforming the nation's air transportation system affects and involves the activities and missions of several federal agencies, though the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the lead implementer. In addition, NextGen was designed and planned to be developed in collaboration with aviation stakeholders--airlines and other airspace users, air traffic controllers, and avionics, aircraft, and automation systems manufacturers--in order to facilitate coordinated research activities, transfer technologies from FAA and partner agencies to the private sector, and take advantage of research and technology developed by the private sector that could meet NextGen needs, as appropriate. …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees Medicaid, estimated that improper payments in the federal-state Medicaid program were $21.9 billion in fiscal year 2011. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 established the Medicaid Integrity Program and gave CMS an expanded role in assisting and improving the effectiveness of state activities to ensure proper payments. Making effective use of this expanded role, however, requires that federal resources are targeted appropriately and do not duplicate state activities. GAO was asked to testify on Medicaid program integrity. GAO's statement focuses on how CMS's expanded role in ensuring Medicaid program integrity (1) poses a challenge because of overlapping state and federal activities regarding provider audits and (2) presents opportunities through oversight to enhance state program integrity efforts. To do this work, GAO reviewed CMS reports and documents on Medicaid program integrity as well as its own and others' reports on this topic. In particular, GAO reviewed CMS reports that documented the results of its state oversight and monitoring activities. GAO also interviewed CMS officials in the agency's Medicaid Integrity Group (MIG), which was established to implement …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Defense (DOD) spent billions of dollars to move troops and materiel into Afghanistan, a mountainous, land-locked country with poorly developed infrastructure. The increase of 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan as of August 2010, along with thousands of civilians and contractors supporting U.S. efforts, have required further development of DOD's already-complex distribution network to support and sustain U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. GAO conducted this review to assess distribution issues in Afghanistan, including (1) DOD's oversight of distribution operations; (2) DOD's performance in providing supplies and equipment; and (3) challenges that have affected DOD's ability to provide supplies and equipment. GAO reviewed joint doctrine and DOD policies on distribution, analyzed DOD delivery data, and interviewed DOD officials in the United States and in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the status of efforts to enhance emergency preparedness in the National Capital Region (NCR). The NCR is a partnership among the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, area local governments, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office for National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC) within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and nonprofit organizations and private sector interests. The partnership aims to help the region prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from "all-hazards" threats or events. Gridlock and hazardous conditions during recent events like the January 26, 2011, snow and ice storm and the August 23, 2011, earthquake demonstrate the importance of regional communication and coordination in the NCR and that challenges remain. Well-crafted and executed operational plans are critical for effective response to emergencies, but sound strategic planning is also important. A coordinated strategy to establish and monitor the achievement of regional goals and priorities is fundamental to enhancing emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the NCR. We reported on this issue repeatedly from 2004 through 2006. This testimony focuses on the extent to which strategic planning …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Every year, many people diagnosed with diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma require transplants of stem cells from umbilical cord blood or other sources. The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 authorized funding for banking 150,000 new units of high quality and genetically diverse cord blood and directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with cord blood banks to assist in cord blood collection. HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), established the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) program to support banking of cord blood units and contracted with 13 cord blood banks to bank these units. The 2010 reauthorization required GAO to report on efforts to increase cord blood unit collection for the NCBI. As of May 2011, HRSA had reimbursed banks for over 41,000 units banked for the NCBI. In this report, GAO describes (1) practices identified to increase banking of cord blood units for the NCBI and related challenges and (2) practices cord blood banks are using to lower costs and improve the efficiency of cord blood banking and associated challenges. To do so, GAO reviewed …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars to purchase, manage, store, track, and deliver spare parts and other supplies needed to keep military equipment ready and operating. Given the need to support ongoing U.S. military operations, DOD reported that it currently manages more than 4 million secondary inventory items valued at more than $91 billion as of September 2009. However, DOD reported that $10.3 billion (11 percent) of its secondary inventory has been designated as excess and categorized for potential reuse or disposal. According to DOD, another $15.2 billion (17 percent) of its secondary inventory exceeds the approved acquisition objective and is being retained because it was determined to be more economical to retain than to dispose of it or it might be needed in the future. Since 1990, we have identified DOD supply chain management as a high-risk area due in part to ineffective and inefficient inventory management practices and procedures, weaknesses in accurately forecasting demand for spare parts, and challenges in achieving widespread implementation of key technologies aimed at improving asset visibility. These factors have contributed to the accumulation of billions of dollars in …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for administering and safeguarding its programs from loss of funds. As GAO reported in June 2011, CMS utilizes automated systems and tools to help improve the detection of improper payments for fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive claims. To integrate claims information and improve its ability to detect fraud, waste, and abuse in these programs, CMS initiated two information technology system programs: the Integrated Data Repository (IDR) and One Program Integrity (One PI). GAO was asked to testify on its earlier report that examined CMS's efforts to protect the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs through the use of information technology. In that prior study, GAO assessed the extent to which IDR and One PI have been developed and implemented, and CMS's progress toward achieving its goals and objectives for using these systems to detect fraud, waste, and abuse."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led to profound changes in government agendas, policies and structures to confront homeland security threats facing the nation. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003 with key missions that included preventing terrorist attacks from occurring in the United States, reducing the country's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimizing the damages from any attacks that may occur. DHS is now the third-largest federal department, with more than 200,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $50 billion. Since 2003, GAO has issued over 1,000 products on DHS's operations in such areas as border and transportation security and emergency management, among others. As requested, this testimony addresses DHS's progress and challenges in implementing its homeland security missions since it began operations, and issues affecting implementation efforts. This testimony is based on a report GAO is issuing today, which assesses DHS's progress in implementing its homeland security functions and work remaining."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Indian tribes are among the most economically distressed groups in the United States. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate among American Indian and Alaska Natives was almost twice as high as the population as a whole--27 percent compared with 15 percent. Residents of tribal lands often lack basic infrastructure, such as water and sewer systems, and sufficient technology infrastructure. Without such infrastructure, tribal communities often find it difficult to compete successfully in the economic mainstream. This testimony statement summarizes GAO's observations on (1) five broad categories of unique issues that may create uncertainty and therefore affect economic activity in Indian country and (2) tribes' use of special gaming and small business contracting provisions. It is based on prior GAO reports."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the findings from our recent work on fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federally funded employment and training programs and our prior work on the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). We recently issued two reports addressing fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federal programs--one that outlined opportunities to reduce potential duplication across a wide range of federal programs and another that focused more specifically on employment and training programs. This work and our larger body of work in the area will help government policymakers address the rapidly building fiscal pressures facing our nation's government--pressures that stem, in part, from our mounting debt and sustained high unemployment. Our work to examine fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in employment and training programs has a long history. As early as the 1990s we issued a series of reports that raised questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of the federally funded employment and training system, and we concluded that a structural overhaul and consolidation of these programs was needed. Partly in response to these concerns, Congress passed WIA. The purpose of WIA, in part, was to transform the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) manages the Visa Waiver Program, which allows nationals from 36 member countries to apply for admission to the United States as temporary visitors for business or pleasure without a visa. From fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2010, over 98 million visitors were admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. During that time period, the Department of State issued more than 36 million nonimmigrant visas to other foreign nationals for temporary travel to the United States. DHS is also responsible for investigating overstays--unauthorized immigrants who entered the country legally (with or without visas) on a temporary basis but then overstayed their authorized periods of admission. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act) required DHS, in consultation with the Department of State, to take steps to enhance the security of the program. This testimony is based on GAO reports issued in September 2008, April 2011, and May 2011. As requested, it addresses the following issues: (1) challenges in the Visa Waiver Program, and (2) overstay enforcement efforts."

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; Authority of a county judge to unilaterally grant access to county financial records to a volunteer financial consultant (RQ-0908-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 an individual may simultaneously serve as Director of Judicial Support Services for Bexar County and as a visiting statutory county court judge in that county (RQ-0909-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 part-time municipal court judge may simultaneously serve as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7 (RQ-0911-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 local civil service commission may impose a fee for an applicant to take a fire department promotional civil service examination (RQ-0912-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; Scope of "enlargement of powers" authority granted state-chartered credit unions in section 123.003(a) of the Finance Code (RQ-0942-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; Treatment of existing debt after consolidation of municipal utility districts pursuant to section 54.728 of the Water Code (RQ-0961-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; Appointment of counsel in criminal cases for non-indigent defendants (RQ-0962-GA)

The Department of Energy conducted the Cloud-Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) in Poncha City Oklahoma, in June 2007. The purpose of the experiment was to study the influence of different surface conditions on properties of small cumulus clouds. The Oklahoma site provided climatologically arid surface in the western part of the state, and lush green conditions in the eastern part. The summer of 2007, however, was exceptionally wet, with flooded fields and rivers flowing over their banks. This had seriously adverse effect on the experiment. CIRPAS participated in this with its instrumented Twin Otter aircraft, flight crew and scientist. The CIRPAS instruments measured temperature, dewpoint temperature, pressure, winds, aerosol particle concentrations, aerosol size distribution, cloud droplet concentration, cloud droplet size spectra, total scatter coefficients and absorption coefficients at three different wavelengths. Additionally, CIRPAS provided measurements of aircraft location, velocity and attitude. CIRPAS reduced all the data to engineering units, quality assured the data, and submitted a coherent data set to the project’s archive. The Twin Otter flew 15 sorties from the airport in Ponca City, and characterized meteorological, aerosol and cloud conditions as well as the temperature of the underlying surface in a wide variety of conditions. Conditions ranged from …

Blank probation data survey containing a series of questions related to the probationary population in a particular location, with instructions for filling out the survey.

Interview with Rene Martinez, an educator who has held roles as a teacher, campus administrator, and adjunct professor. Martinez discusses his upbringing and family life, his membership in the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), his experiences as a civil rights activist in Dallas, as well as his efforts in desegregation in Dallas schools.

Blank parole data survey containing a series of questions related to the parole population in a particular location, with instructions for filling out the survey.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Reverend J.B. Young. Young enlisted in the Army Air Corps in December 1936. He became a cook and then was trained as an airplane mechanic. Young was sent to Hickam Field in Hawaii to serve as a crew chief on a B-17. He describes the attack on 7 December and how he taxied his plane out of danger and the patrols that they flew in the immediate aftermath. Young was then sent to New Caledonia where his plane flew photo reconnaissance missions for three months. They traveled to Australia and flew missions against Rabaul and Japanese ships in the Coral Sea. Young describes some notable incidents from this time. He returned to the US after 66 missions and remained there until the end of the war. Young retired from the Air Force in 1959.