Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA), registered nurses who have completed a master's degree program in nurse anesthesia, provide the majority of anesthesia care in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. There are approximately 500 VA-employed CRNAs (VA CRNA) who provide care to veterans in VA medical facilities. While the demand for CRNAs has increased, many employed by VA are nearing retirement eligibility age. Concerns have been raised about the challenges VA may face in making VA CRNA salaries competitive in order to maintain its VA CRNA workforce, particularly in local markets that can be highly competitive. This testimony is based on GAO work reported in VA Health Care: Many Medical Facilities Have Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Nurse Anesthetists, (GAO-08-56, Dec. 13, 2007). This testimony (1) identifies workforce challenges that VA medical facilities experience related to VA CRNAs, and (2) identifies a key mechanism that VA medical facilities have to help make VA CRNA salaries competitive and the extent to which VA facilities use this mechanism. For the December 2007 report, GAO analyzed surveys sent to VA chief anesthesiologists, VA human resources officers, and VA CRNAs. …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has taken a number of steps to facilitate the deployment of innovative, new commercial wireless services to consumers, including authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assign licenses through auctions and requiring more spectrum to be transferred from federal government use to commercial use. In addition, in 2004, Congress passed the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA), which established a Spectrum Relocation Fund (the Fund) to cover the costs incurred by federal entities within certain spectrum bands as they relocate to new frequency assignments or transition to alternative technologies. The Fund is administered by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce. In September 2006, FCC concluded an auction of licenses for Advanced Wireless Services on radio spectrum in the 1710 megahertz (MHz) to 1755 MHz band that is currently used by federal agencies. The auction raised almost $6.9 billion in net winning bids from the sale of these frequencies, which was deposited into the Fund to be available to the federal entities for their eligible relocation expenses. Any auction proceeds remaining in the …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City neither conforms to current building codes nor meets UN technology or security requirements. As the UN's host country and largest contributor, the United States has a substantial interest in the success of the Capital Master Plan (CMP), a project to renovate the complex. In this update, GAO reviewed the following key areas: renovation approach, schedule, cost, funding, risk management, project progress, procurement, and oversight. To perform this work, GAO reviewed UN documents and met with officials from the CMP office and other UN departments. To assess oversight and monitoring, GAO reviewed UN documents and oversight reports and interviewed UN officials from the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and officials from the U.S. Department of State (State)."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 8, 2007, GAO testified before the committee at a hearing entitled "Protecting the Employment Rights of Those Who Protect the United States." This letter responds to the Congressional request that I provide answers to questions for the record. The questions are as follows: (1) Why are the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) claims taking so long to resolve at The Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Office of the Special Council (OSC)? (2) What can each of the agencies do to make this process more efficient and effective for veterans? (3) Is the system as it stands today, ready and able to handle a possible increase in USERRA claims? (4) How can the agencies work proactively to prevent the need for USERRA claims in the future? And (5) Will this new initiative fully address the data concerns GAO raised so that Congress has a more complete picture of the types of USERRA claims being filed?"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Domestic air carriers are responsible for checking passenger names against terrorist watch-list records to identify persons who should be denied boarding (the No Fly List) or who should undergo additional security scrutiny (the Selectee List). The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to assume this function through its Secure Flight program. However, due to program delays, air carriers retain this role. This testimony discusses (1) TSA's requirements for domestic air carriers to conduct watch-list matching, (2) the extent to which TSA has assessed compliance with watch-list matching requirements, and (3) TSA's progress in developing Secure Flight. This statement is based on GAO's report on air carrier watch-list matching (GAO-08-992) being released today and GAO's previous and ongoing reviews of Secure Flight. In conducting this work, GAO reviewed TSA security directives and TSA inspections guidance and results, and interviewed officials from 14 of 95 domestic air carriers."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) estimated the 2010 Census would cost $11.5 billion, including $3 billion on automation and technology. At a March hearing, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) stated that the Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) program was likely to incur significant cost overruns and announced a redesign effort. At that time, GAO designated the 2010 Decennial Census as high risk, citing long-standing concerns in managing information technology (IT) investments and uncertain costs and operations. This testimony is based on past work and work nearing completion, including GAO's observation of the address canvassing dress rehearsal. For IT acquisitions, GAO analyzed system documentation, including deliverables, cost estimates, other acquisitions-related documents, and interviewed Bureau officials and contractors. This testimony describes the implications of redesign for (1) dress rehearsal and decennial operations, (2) IT acquisitions management, and (3) Decennial Census costs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In an effort to increase the quality and security of federal identification (ID) practices, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) in August 2004. This directive requires the establishment of a governmentwide standard for secure and reliable forms of ID. GAO was asked to testify on its report, being released today, assessing the progress selected agencies have made in implementing HSPD-12. For this report, GAO selected eight agencies with a range of experience in implementing ID systems and analyzed actions these agencies had taken. GAO was also asked to summarize challenges in the DOD personnel security clearance process. This overview is based on past work including reviews of clearance-related documents. Military servicemembers, federal workers, and industry personnel must obtain security clearances to gain access to classified information. Long-standing delays in processing applications for these clearances led GAO to designate the Department of Defense's (DOD) program as a high-risk area in 2005. In its report on HSPD-12, GAO made recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to, among other things, set realistic milestones for implementing the electronic authentication capabilities. GAO has also made recommendations to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in March 2003 with missions that include preventing terrorist attacks from occurring within the United States, reducing U.S. vulnerability to terrorism, minimizing damages from attacks that occur, and helping the nation recover from any attacks. GAO has reported that the implementation and transformation of DHS is an enormous management challenge. GAO's prior work on mergers and acquisitions found that successful transformations of large organizations, even those faced with less strenuous reorganizations than DHS, can take at least 5 to 7 years to achieve. This testimony addresses (1) the progress made by DHS in implementing its management functions; and (2) key issues that have affected the department's implementation efforts. This testimony is based on GAO's August 2007 report evaluating DHS's progress between March 2003 and July 2007; selected reports issued since July 2007; and GAO's institutional knowledge of homeland security and management issues."

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; Constitutionality of section 51.413 Natural Resources Code, which would authorize the School Land Board to transfer proceeds from the sale in the permanent school fund to the available school fund (RQ-0638-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; Authority of a county auditor to refuse payment to a former employee of a county hospital on the ground that such payment is unconstitutional (RQ-0640-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 conduct of a constable implicates the resign-to-run provisions of article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution (RQ-0665-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 70.001 of the Texas Property Code, an auto repair shop may assert a mechanic's lien for administrative and overheard charges when the shop does not repair the vehicle (RQ-0667-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NCLBA allows tribal groups to waive all or part of BIE's definition of AYP and propose an alternative, with technical assistance from BIE and the Department of Education, if requested. GAO is providing information on the extent of (1) BIE schools' adoption of BIE's definition of AYP; (2) tribal groups pursuit of alternatives and their reasons, as well as reasons for not pursuing alternatives; and (3) federal assistance to tribal groups pursuing alternatives. To prepare this testimony, GAO relied primarily on information from a recent GAO report, GAO-08-679, and contacted BIE officials for updates on actions taken in response to GAO's prior recommendations."