Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On October 16, 2003, GAO testified before Congress at a hearing on whether DOD and VA are providing seamless health care coverage to transitioning veterans. This letter responds to a request thst we provide answers to follow-up questions from the hearing."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2003, we issued two reports that provide insight regarding the share-in-savings (SIS) provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002: one on critical elements of training for new acquisition initiatives and one on commercial practices that foster successful SIS contracting. As follow-up to these reports, we are writing to underscore the need for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to ensure (1) that members of the federal acquisition workforce understand and appropriately apply this new authority and (2) that appropriate data are collected and available to meet mandated reporting requirements regarding the effective use of SIS contracting. SIS contracting represents a significant change in the way the federal government acquires information technology. In our report on improving training for new acquisition initiatives, we emphasized the importance that industry and government experts place on training to successfully implement such change. Training on this information technology acquisition initiative will be essential to its effective implementation. In our report on SIS contracting, we highlighted the federal government's limited experience with SIS contracting as well as conditions that fostered successful implementation in commercial SIS contracts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO appeared before the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, House Committee on the Judiciary to discuss the results of our review and assessment of case-related workload measures for district court and courts of appeals judges. Biennially, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's principal policymaking body, assesses the judiciary's needs for additional judgeships. If the Conference determines that additional judgeships are needed, it transmits a request to Congress identifying the number, type (courts of appeals, district, or bankruptcy), and location of the judgeships it is requesting. In assessing the need for additional district and appellate court judgeships, the Judicial Conference considers a variety of information, including responses to its biennial survey of individual courts, temporary increases or decreases in case filings, and other factors specific to an individual court. However, the Conference's analysis begins with the quantitative case-related workload measures it has adopted for the district courts and courts of appeals--weighted case filings and adjusted case filings, respectively. These two measures recognize, to different degrees, that the time demands on judges are largely a function of both the number and complexity of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) faces many risks in its use of globally networked computer systems to perform operational missions--such as identifying and tracking enemy targets--and daily management functions--such as paying soldiers and managing supplies. Weaknesses in these systems, if present, could give hackers and other unauthorized users the opportunity to modify, steal, inappropriately disclose, and destroy sensitive military data. GAO was asked, among other things, to discuss DOD's efforts to protect its information systems and networks from cyber attack, focusing on its reported progress in implementing statutory information security requirements."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent challenges, such as the SARS outbreak and the anthrax incidents in the fall of 2001, have raised concerns about the nation's preparedness for a large-scale infectious disease outbreak or bioterrorism event. In order to be adequately prepared for such a major public health threat, state and local public health agencies need to have several basic capabilities, including disease surveillance systems, laboratory facilities, communication systems and a sufficient workforce. GAO was asked to examine the capacity of state and local public health agencies and hospitals to detect and report illnesses or conditions that may result from a large-scale infectious disease outbreak or bioterrorism event. This testimony is based largely on recent work, including a report on state and local preparedness for a bioterrorist attack; preliminary findings from current work on updates of bioterrorism preparedness at the state and local levels; and findings from a survey GAO conducted on hospital emergency department capacity and emergency preparedness."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2003, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a revised Circular A-76, which represents a comprehensive set of changes to the rules governing competitive sourcing--one of five governmentwide items in the President's Management Agenda. Determining whether to obtain services in-house or through commercial contracts is an important economic and strategic decision for agencies, and the use of Circular A-76 is expected to grow throughout the federal government. In the past, however, the A-76 process has been difficult to implement, and the impact on the morale of the federal workforce has been profound. Concerns in the public and private sectors were also raised about the timeliness and fairness of the process for public-private competitions. It was against this backdrop that the Congress enacted legislation mandating a study of the A-76 process, which was carried out by the Commercial Activities Panel, chaired by the Comptroller General of the United States. This testimony focuses on how the new Circular addresses the Panel's recommendations reported in April 2002, the challenges agencies may face in implementing the new Circular A-76, and the need for effective workforce practices to help ensure …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, resulted in one of the largest catastrophes this country has ever experienced. The federal government has been a key participant in the efforts to provide aid after the attacks, and it has been providing the New York City area with funds and other forms of assistance. The magnitude of the disaster in New York and the size and scope of the federal government's response in aiding the city has generated significant interest in the nature and progress of this federal assistance. This testimony focuses on (1) how much and what types of assistance the federal government provided to the New York City area following the September 11 terrorist attacks, (2) how the federal government's response to this disaster differed from previous disaster response efforts, and (3) the ongoing challenges FEMA faces as it, and its mission, are subsumed into the Department of Homeland Security."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration (SSA) has had difficulty in conducting timely reviews of beneficiaries' cases to ensure they are still eligible for disability benefits. SSA has been taking steps to improve the cost-effectiveness of its review process. SSA has linked the review process to eligibility for a new benefit that provides return-to-work services. This testimony looks at SSA's ability to stay current with future reviews, identifies potential improvements to the review process, and assesses the review process--return-to-work link."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Providing benefits to disabled individuals is one of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) most important service delivery obligations--touching the lives of about 10 million individuals. In recent years, however, providing this benefit in a timely and efficient manner has become an increasing challenge for the agency. This past January, in fact, GAO designated SSA's disability programs as highrisk. Following a prior unsuccessful attempt, the agency is now in the midst of a major initiative to automate its disability claims functions, taking advantage of technology to improve this service. Seeking immediate program improvements, SSA is using an accelerated approach--called AeDib--to develop an electronic disability claims processing system. At the request of the Subcommittee on Social Security, House Committee on Ways and Means, GAO is currently assessing the strategy that underlies SSA's latest initiative to develop the electronic disability system. For this testimony, GAO was asked to discuss its key observations to date regarding the AeDib initiative, including strategy, risks, and stakeholder involvement. GAO plans to discuss more fully the results of this continuing review in a subsequent report"

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has long reported that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) faces a number of performance and accountability challenges that affect its ability to implement its foreign economic and humanitarian assistance programs. These major challenges include human capital, performance measurement, information technology, and financial management. Effective financial management as envisioned by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) and other financial management reform laws is an important factor to the achievement of USAID's mission. USAID is one of the federal agencies subject to the CFO Act. In light of these circumstances, the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management, House Committee Government Reform asked GAO to testify on the financial management challenges facing USAID, as well as the keys to reforming USAID's financial management and business practices and the status of ongoing improvement efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Buses form the backbone of the nation's mass transit systems. About 58 percent of all mass transit users take the bus, and even in many cities with extensive rail systems, more people ride the bus than take the train. In recent years, innovative Bus Rapid Transit systems have gained attention as an option for transit agencies to meet their mass transit needs. These systems are designed to provide major improvements in the speed, reliability, and quality of bus service through barrier-separated bus-ways, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, or reserved lanes or other enhancements on arterial streets. The characteristics of Bus Rapid Transit systems vary considerably, but may include (1) improved physical facilities or specialized structures such as dedicated rights-of-way; (2) operating differences such as fewer stops and higher speeds; (3) new equipment such as more advanced, quieter, and cleaner buses; and (4) new technologies such as more efficient traffic signalization and real-time information systems. This testimony, which updates a report GAO issued in September 2001, provides (1) information on federal support for Bus Rapid Transit systems and (2) an overview of factors affecting the selection of Bus Rapid Transit as …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1996, GAO has reported that poor information security in the federal government is a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences. Further, GAO has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue in reports to the Congress since 1997--most recently in January 2003. To strengthen information security practices throughout the federal government, information security legislation has been enacted. This testimony discusses efforts by federal departments and the administration to implement information security requirements mandated by law. In so doing, it examines overall information security weaknesses and challenges that the government faces, and the status of actions to address them, as reported by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). GAO's evaluation of agency efforts to implement federal information security requirements and correct identified weaknesses. New requirements mandated by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Both the Congress and the Department of Defense are concerned about the age of the U.S. aerial refueling fleet and its potential impact on the military services' ability to meet operational requirements. Aerial refueling provides a key capability that is essential to the mobility of U.S. forces. At present, the Air Force is in the early stages of planning for modernizing its aging fleet. In this testimony, GAO was asked to present its initial observations on (1) the status of the KC-135 fleet, including its age, projected life limits, and mission capable rates (i.e., the percent of time on average that the aircraft are available to perform their assigned mission); and (2) Air Force aerial refueling requirements."

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of September 24, 2003. The document is redacted.

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of November 24, 2003. The document is redacted.

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 offices of county commissioner and city council member in the same county are incompatible as a matter of law (RQ-0581-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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the Exchange of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® are "authorized insurers" that are required to file withdrawal plans under article 21.49-2C of the Texas Insurance Code; whether their proposed refusal to renew policies of homeowners in Texas would violate state law; and whether the Commissioner of Insurance may impose a moratorium on the approval of a plan for withdrawal (RQ-0620-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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Reporting and investing child sexual abuse (RQ-0032-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 Long Island, a spoil island directly south of the City of Port Isabel, is within that city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (RQ-0061-GA)

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Gonzales Memorial Museum and Amphitheatre, in Gonzales, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, narrative, and photographs.