Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Last year, GAO reported that the demilitarization liability for excess ammunition was not reflected in the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial statements although required by federal financial accounting standards. The Army, as the single manager for conventional ammunition, calculated a liability of $1.2 billion and prepared a voucher recognizing this amount. Although consistent with GAO's recommendation that DOD include the total liability for demilitarizing excess ammunition in its annual financial statements, this amount does not reflect the full extent of future costs. Specifically, the Army does not recognize a liability for costs associated with the demilitarization of (1) excess ammunition overseas or (2) excess Army-owned war reserve ammunition, excess retail ammunition, and excess ammunition not stored at an Army installation. GAO found that the total liability that should be reflected in fiscal year 2002 financial statements could amount to $3 billion, or $1.8 billion more than the Army's calculation. The Army needs to submit an additional voucher and include in its and DOD's fiscal year 2002 consolidated balance sheets the future liability associated with the demilitarization of excess Army ammunition at overseas and military storage locations."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The recent sudden and largely unexpected bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, and financial difficulties experienced by several other large corporations have resulted in substantial losses to employees and shareholders. Many believe that the decline of Enron and other instances of financial statement earnings restatements and bankruptcies have seriously undermined investor confidence in the nation's financial markets and external auditors. The findings from GAO's forum on corporate governance, transparency, and accountability."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) has made progress in improving its overall management of information technology, including centralization of information technology functions, programs, and funding under the department-level chief information officer (CIO). The department has also made progress in developing an enterprise architecture, improving information security, and managing important information systems initiatives being pursued by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). GAO reviewed (1) whether VA's proposed business and enabling functions provide the management tools necessary to start the process for implementing VA's enterprise architecture; (2) how veterans have benefited from the VETSNET Program; (3) what must be done to assure successful implementation of the Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE); and (4) whether VA can realistically implement HealtheVet-Vista by the end of 2005. GAO found that the Federal CIO's Council's guidance on enterprise architecture advises organizations to develop a set of controls to help them successfully manage the process of creating, changing, and using an enterprise architecture. Although the enterprise business functions and key enabling functions are essential components of the architecture that VA is developing, they cannot be considered a primary …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has provided funding for numerous highway demonstration projects in legislation authorizing surface transportation programs as well as annual appropriations acts for the Department of Transportation (DOT). In some cases, the projects are identified in the legislation itself. In others, they are identified in committee reports accompanying the legislation. These projects are all designated for specific locations within states and for specific purposes, and funds made available for them generally remain available until expended. As of March 31, 2002, there were 30 highway demonstration projects with unobligated balances no longer needed by the states totaling $5.6 million. These unobligated funds were provided in authorization or appropriations acts enacted from 1978 through 1994. Eight of the 30 projects have very small unobligated balances of less than $1.50 each."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "There are over 30 police forces currently operating in the District of Columbia, many of which have authority or jurisdiction within the Capitol Hill area. Three of these, the Library of Congress (LOC) Police, the Government Printing Office (GPO) Police, and the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), are part of the legislative branch. Merging the LOC Police and/or the GPO Police with the USCP is feasible for several reasons. First, although each force has unique responsibilities, their overall missions are similar enough that a merged force could assume both the unique and common responsibilities. Another reason is their common geographic area with overlapping jurisdictions. USCP officials also believe it is possible to merge the other forces into its existing force, and the labor committees of the departments support a merger. Nevertheless, if LOC and/or GPO police were to be merged with the USCP, issues to be addressed include gaining LOC and/or GPO management support, resolving differences in retirement systems, and integrating training and security systems. A merger between the LOC and/or GPO police forces and the USCP would incur significant costs if the intent of a merger is to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia Superior Court has made progress in planning the transition of its Family Division to a Family Court, but some challenges remain. The Superior Court's transition plan addresses most, but not all, of the required elements outlined in the District of Columbia Family Court Act of 2001. Significantly, the completion of the transition hinges on timely completion of a complex series of interdependent plans intended to obtain and renovate physical space to house the court and its functions. All required space may not be available, as currently planned, to support the additional judges the Family Court needs to perform its work in accordance with the act, making it uncertain as to when the court can fully complete its transition. Although not required as part of its transition plan efforts, the Superior Court has begun to coordinate its activities with social services agencies in the District. However, the court and agencies face challenges in achieving coordinated services in the longer term. Finally, the development and application of the District of Columbia Courts' Integrated Justice Information System will be critical for the Family Court to be able …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The rapid failure and bankruptcy of Enron has prompted severe criticism of the nation's financial reporting and auditing systems, which are fundamental to maintaining investor confidence in U.S. capital markets. This report focuses on four areas in which the Enron failure revealed serious problems: corporate governance, the independent audit of financial statements, oversight of the accounting profession, and accounting and financial reporting issues. Effectively addressing these issues should be a shared responsibility between top management, boards of directors, various board committees, stock exchanges, the accounting profession, standard setters, regulatory/oversight agencies, analysts, investors, and Congress."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although most of the attention following the September 11 terrorist attacks focused on airport security, an increasing emphasis has since been placed on ports. Ports are inherently vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of their size, generally open accessibility by water and land, metropolitan area location, the amount of material being transported through ports, and the ready transportation links to many locations within the country's borders. Since September 11, federal, state, and local authorities, and private sector stake holders have addressed vulnerabilities in the security of the nation's ports. The Coast Guard has acted as a focal point for assessing and addressing security concerns, anticipating many of the requirements that Congress and the administration are contemplating or have already put into place. Although the proposal to consolidate the federal agencies responsible for border security may offer some long-term benefits, overcoming three challenges will be key to successfully enhancing security at the nation's ports: standards, funding, and collaboration."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) is an independent, professional, nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch that is commonly referred to as the investigative arm of Congress. Congress created GAO in the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to assist in the discharge of its core constitutional powers--the power to investigate and oversee the activities of the executive branch, the power to control the use of federal funds, and the power to make laws. All of GAO's efforts on behalf of Congress are guided by three core values: (1) Accountability--GAO helps Congress oversee federal programs and operations to ensure accountability to the American people; (2) Integrity--GAO sets high standards in the conduct of its work. GAO takes a professional, objective, fact-based, non-partisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced approach on all activities; and (3) Reliability--GAO produces high-quality reports, testimonies, briefings, legal opinions, and other products and services that are timely, accurate, useful, clear, and candid."

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: What constitutes a "recognized member of clergy" for purposes of section 501.004(4) of the Occupations Code, which governs exemptions from the Psychologists Licensing Act (RQ-0503-JC)

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a public accounting firm with owners who are not certified public accounts may incorporate under the Texas Business Corporation Act or the general provisions of the Texas Limited Liability Company Act (RQ-0508-JC)

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a member of a school district board of trustees may serve as a county or precinct chair of a political party, or may be a candidate for the position of county chair (RQ-0516-JC)

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a Worker's Compensation Commission rule requiring that written communications be sent to both a claimant and the claimant's attorney creates an exception to Rule 4.02(a) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits an attorney from communicating with a person who is represented by counsel.

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether any action is required of the Court Reporters Certification Board in the implementation of section 57.021(d) of the Government Code.