Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past few years, the United States has increased its emphasis on training and equipping foreign police as a means of supporting a wide range of U.S. foreign-policy goals, including countering terrorists overseas and stopping the flow of narcotics to the United States. Funding for these activities has increased significantly since we last reported on these issues in 1992. In response to congressional request, this report provides estimates of the funding the U.S. government provided for activities to train and equip foreign police, hereafter referred to as "police assistance," during fiscal year 2009. We defined "police" as all law-enforcement units or personnel with arrest, investigative, or interdiction authorities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the potential for overlap, duplication and fragmentation in economic development programs. In March 2011 and more recently in May 2011 we reported on potential duplication among federal economic development programs; this statement discusses this work. We are involved in ongoing work focusing on economic development programs; if they are administered efficiently and effectively, they can contribute to the well-being of our nation's economy at the least cost to taxpayers. Absent a common definition for economic development, we had previously developed a list of nine activities most often associated with economic development. These activities include planning and developing strategies for job creation and retention, developing new markets for existing products, building infrastructure by constructing roads and sewer systems to attract industry to undeveloped areas, and establishing business incubators to provide facilities for new businesses' operations. Our recent work includes information on 80 economic development programs at four agencies--the Departments of Commerce (Commerce), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Agriculture (USDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Commerce administers 11 of the 80 programs. According to the agencies, funding provided for these 80 programs in fiscal year …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides cash benefits to eligible low-income disabled individuals, including children, as well as certain others. Children may generally qualify for SSI benefits if they meet certain financial requirements and are deemed to have a qualifying medically determinable physical or mental impairment of a specified duration or severity that results in a functional limitation. In 2010, SSA paid more than $9 billion to about 1.2 million disabled children. Over the past decade, the overall number of children receiving SSI benefits has continued to rise. In this statement, GAO discusses initial observations from its ongoing review and examines (1) the trends in the rate of children receiving SSI benefits due to mental impairments over the past decade; (2) the role that medical and nonmedical information, such as medication and school records, play in the initial determination of a child's medical eligibility; and (3) the steps SSA has taken to monitor the continued medical eligibility of these children. To examine these issues, GAO analyzed program data, interviewed SSA officials, conducted site visits to SSA field offices and state disability determination services …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, the bilateral U.S. and Japanese Security Consultative Committee began a series of sustained security consultations to strengthen the U.S.-Japan security alliance by establishing a framework for the future of the U.S. force structure in Japan. The United States and Japan agreed to reduce the U.S. force structure in Japan while maintaining the U.S. force presence in the Pacific theater by relocating units to other areas, including Guam. As part of this effort, called the Defense Policy Review Initiative, about 8,600 Marines and 9,000 dependents were to move from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam by a projected date of 2014, as described in the bilateral agreement. On June 21, 2011, however, United States and Government of Japan officials noted that completion of the Marine relocation will not meet the previously targeted date of 2014, but confirmed their commitment to complete the relocation at the earliest possible date after 2014. 2 The Department of Defense (DOD) also plans to move other military forces and equipment to Guam on different schedules in implementing a new strategic approach in the Pacific as part of its worldwide Integrated Global Presence and Basing …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has numerous programs designed to improve Americans' financial literacy, some of which are targeted at helping consumers determine whether and when to purchase a home, how to manage a mortgage, and how to deal with setbacks that could limit their ability to make timely mortgage payments. However, as we have reported, little is known about the effectiveness of specific strategies for improving financial literacy. In the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), Congress created a pilot program to provide grants to providers of financial education and counseling services to prospective homebuyers. Pursuant to HERA, the goals of this education and counseling include increasing the knowledge and decision-making capabilities of prospective homebuyers, identifying successful methods resulting in positive behavioral change for financial empowerment, and educating prospective homebuyers about options for building savings. HERA also mandated that we submit a report to Congress evaluating this grant program, which was later named the Financial Education and Counseling (FEC) Pilot Program. Accordingly, the objectives of this report are to describe (1) the characteristics of the organizations providing services under the FEC program and how they were selected, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates a regional office in the Republic of the Philippines--the only one of its 57 regional offices that is located in a foreign country. Over the last two decades, Congress has periodically reauthorized the office for an average of 3 years each time. The Philippines was a U.S. territory prior to World War II and was granted independence in 1946. Congress authorized limited benefits for Filipino veterans who served under the command of the United States during the war, and authorized VA to operate a regional office to administer these benefits. In 1958, the office expanded to include an outpatient health clinic. VA estimates that about 18,000 Filipino WWII veterans were alive as of 2010, down from an estimated 452,000 in 1977. In light of this declining population eligible for benefits, maintaining the office may no longer be warranted at some point. Public Law 111-275 extended the authority for VA to operate this office until December 31, 2011, and directed GAO to submit this report. Our objectives are to (1) describe the primary activities undertaken by the VA regional office in the …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2010 and 2009. As part of these audits, we performed a review of information systems controls over key BPD financial systems. As we reported in connection with our audit of the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2010 and 2009, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt as of September 30, 2010, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. However, we identified information systems deficiencies affecting internal control over financial reporting, which, while we do not consider them to be collectively either a material weakness or significant deficiency, nevertheless warrant BPD management's attention and action. This report presents the control deficiencies we identified during our …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies rely on a multisector workforce of federal employees and contractor personnel to perform services needed to carry out their missions. Determining whether to obtain services through insourcing with current or new federal employees, outsourcing with private-sector contractors, or sourcing with a combination of the two is an important economic and strategic decision essential to the federal government's effective and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Since fiscal year 2006, civilian agencies have obligated over $100 billion annually to obtain a range of services from contractors. Almost 80 percent of contract obligations made by civilian agencies in fiscal year 2010 were for service contracts. Since the mid-1950s, the executive branch has encouraged federal agencies to obtain commercially available services from the private sector when outsourcing is cost effective. In 2009, however, the President issued a memorandum on government contracting that expressed concern about whether agencies have become overly reliant on contractors and have appropriately outsourced services. In particular, the President noted that the line between inherently governmental functions--those that must be performed by federal employees--and commercial activities that may be contracted for has been blurred. In the memorandum, …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving its long-standing financial and related business operations and system problems. DOD is in the process of implementing modern multifunction enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to replace many of its outdated legacy systems. The ERPs are intended to perform business-related tasks such as general ledger accounting and supply chain management. Modernizing DOD's business systems is a critical part of transforming the department's business operations, addressing high-risk areas, and providing more-accurate and reliable financial information to Congress on DOD's operations. The Panel requested that GAO provide its perspective on DOD's ERP implementation efforts and the impact implementation problems could have on DOD's efforts to improve financial management and be audit ready by fiscal year 2017. This statement is based on GAO's prior work, reports issued by the Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG), and GAO's ongoing oversight of selected DOD ERP efforts. Over the years, GAO has made numerous recommendations to improve the department's financial management operations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses lifetime costs of supporting the newest generation of veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates one of the largest health care delivery systems in the nation, providing care to a diverse population of veterans. VA operates about 150 hospitals, 130 nursing homes, and 820 outpatient clinics through 21 regional health care networks called Veterans Integrated Service Networks. VA is responsible for providing health care services to various populations--including an aging veteran population and a growing number of younger veterans returning from the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Budgeting for this vital health care mission is inherently complex. It is based on current assumptions and imperfect information, not only about program needs, but also on future economic and policy actions that may affect demand and the cost of providing these services. Adding to this complexity, VA has recognized over the years the need to plan and budget for facility modernization, and realign its real property portfolio to provide accessible, high-quality, and cost-effective access to its services. The statement today addresses VA's real property realignment efforts and VA's approach to developing budget estimates for health …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving serious problems in its financial management and related business operations and systems. DOD is required by various statutes to (1) improve its financial management processes, controls, and systems to ensure that complete, reliable, consistent, and timely information is prepared and responsive to the financial information needs of agency management and oversight bodies, and (2) produce audited financial statements. Over the years, DOD has initiated numerous efforts to improve the department's financial management operations and achieve an unqualified (clean) opinion on the reliability of its reported financial information. These efforts have fallen short of sustained improvement in financial management or financial statement auditability. The Subcommittee has asked GAO to provide its perspective on the status of DOD's financial management weaknesses and its efforts to resolve them; the challenges DOD continues to face in improving its financial management and operations; and the status of its efforts to implement automated business systems as a critical element of DOD's Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness strategy."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Traffic fatalities and fatality rates have substantially decreased over the last 10 years, yet far too many people continue to be killed or injured on the nation's roadways. In addition, auto safety defect recalls are on the rise. On average, about 70 percent of vehicles subject to a recall are fixed, leaving the remainder to continue posing risks to vehicle owners, passengers, and pedestrians. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administers programs that provide grants to states to improve traffic safety and oversees the identification and remedy of vehicle and equipment defects that could pose an unreasonable risk to safety. The upcoming reauthorization of surface transportation programs affords Congress an opportunity to strengthen these grant programs in several ways and to address gaps GAO identified in NHTSA's auto recall process. This statement addresses (1) NHTSA's progress in improving oversight and performance measurement for traffic safety grant programs, (2) NHTSA's oversight of the auto safety defect process, and (3) issues for Congress to consider in reauthorizing funding for traffic and vehicle safety programs. This statement is based primarily on reports GAO has issued since enactment of the Safe, …

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; Requirements for real property to qualify as an "ecological laboratory" under section 23.51, Tax Code (RQ-0934-GA)

The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) field campaign will provide a detailed set of observations with which to (1) perform radiative and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) closure studies, (2) evaluate a new retrieval algorithm for aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the presence of clouds using passive remote sensing, (3) extend a previously developed technique to investigate aerosol indirect effects, and (4) evaluate the performance of a detailed regional-scale model and a more parameterized global-scale model in simulating particle activation and AOD associated with the aging of anthropogenic aerosols. To meet these science objectives, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility will deploy the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) and the Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for a 12-month period starting in the summer of 2012 in order to quantify aerosol properties, radiation, and cloud characteristics at a location subject to both clear and cloudy conditions, and clean and polluted conditions. These observations will be supplemented by two aircraft intensive observation periods (IOPs), one in the summer and a second in the winter. Each IOP will deploy one, and possibly two, aircraft depending on available resources. The first aircraft will be equipped with a suite of in situ …

Interview with La'Vette Lipscomb Dudley, who worked as a mortician and is now involved with ICDC. Dudley discusses growing up in Dallas and her education, having a politically involved parent (Al Lipscomb), and her current work in the community through ICDC.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ky Putnam. Putnam enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 in El Paso, Texas. After training, he was assigned to the 414th Night Fighter Squadron. His squadron was based in Italy and Putnam describes his living conditions, his squadron mates, and several of his combat experiences. Putnam tells the story of the time he got shot down in February, 1945. He and his radar man both parachuted out of the damaged P-61 and landed separately in the mountains. Putnam fell in with some Italian partisans and was eventually reunited with his radar man, John Marunovich, at the crash site. Putnam goes into considerable detail about his 22-day ordeal after his plane crashed. As Putnam and Marunovich made their way south, they encountered several friendly Italians, even one dressed in a German infantryman's uniform who traveled with the Americans for a while. After a while, Putnam and his radar man encountered an Allied unit from South Africa. They finally found a guide to get them through the lines and back to the Allied side. After a hike over a ridge at night, the group made it into Allied …

Transcript of an oral interview with James Reed. Reed was drafted and went into the Army 11 Nov 1943. After basic training in Waco, Texas he was sent overseas, landing in England. He was put in a tank destroyer outfit to start with but got separated from them. After a hospital stay, he was put in the 101st Airborne Division, 327th Glider Infantry. He was wounded by shrapnel on 20 Dec 1944 in his right leg during the Battle of the Bulge. He was at Bastogne. Once wounded, he was sent back to France and then to England. He stayed at a hospital in England for nine months and then was shipped home. After a 4-5 month stay at a hospital in the States, he was discharged. He receives disability from the Army for his injuries. Reed was discharged 18 Sep 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Matthew Lynch. Lynch joined the Navy in September of 1942. He completed advanced electric hydraulic school, concentrating primarily on the 5"/38 caliber gun. Beginning June of 1943, he served as Third-Class Gunner’s Mate aboard USS Conner (DD-582). Lynch participated in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, a pre-invasion attack on the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He returned to the US and was discharged in February of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Nelsen. Nelsen joined the Navy in 1940. He was trained as a corpsman and was assigned to LST-347. He took part in the invasion of Sicily and was awarded the Bronze Star for treating wounded soldiers. He was transferred to USS LST-72 and participated in landings at Italy and discusses transporting 90 wounded soldiers to Bizerte. He was part of a landing by British troops behind enemy lines in Burma. Nelsen was also a part of the landings at Normandy and describes some of his experiences. He describes an incident where he witnessed a V-1 bomb land in London and helped treat the wounded. Nelsen remained in the reserves after the war and organized many reunions for his shipmates. He also describes visiting the WWII Memorial.

Transcript of an oral interview with Paul G. Johnson. Johnson finished high school in 1938 and was working when he joined the US Army Air Corps in early 1942. He qualified for flight training and ultimately trained in Florida on B-17 bombers. He was assigned to the 412th Squadron, 95th Bomb Group i nthe 8th Air Force and sent to the European Theater of Operations. Johnson flew 35 missions and describes his job as a pilot. Toward the end of the war, Johnson was stationed on Guam. He was there when the wasr ended and sailed back to San Francisco.

Transcript of an oral interview with James "Jim" Joyce. When Joyce finished high school, he joined the Navy in January, 1943. Soon, he was training with a naval construction battalion (Seabees), and was assigned to Banika Island in the Russell Islands in the Solomons where he served in a bakery and as a stevedore. He was attached to the 11th Construction Battalion. Eventually, Joyce headed for Okinawa and was there on D-day (1 April 1945). He escorted Japanese prisoners of war to Saipan and headed back to Okinawa where he continued performing his bakery and stevedore duties. He stayed on Okinawa until November before returning home to the US.

News release about DART's new budget for fiscal year 2012, which includes plans for cutting staff positions to make up for higher operating costs following light rail expansions couples with shrinking revenue from sales taxes and the rising costs of healthcare.

News release about a special DART train wrapped in advertisements for a basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.

News release about a cooperation agreement between DART and the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority geared towards establishing more rail connections between North and East Texas.