Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Department of the Army request for our views on whether certain payment procedures included in the Defense Department's (DOD) proposed Families First Personal Property Program conform with relevant criteria in GAO's Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies. Families First is a DOD initiative to reengineer its processes for transporting household goods and personal property for its service members and civilians. Army's request is in response to a Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) recommendation that DOD seek our views specifically on whether the proposed procedures for electronic billing and payment meet the supporting documentation requirements in Title VII of GAO's Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies. While the General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for issuing federal regulations for transportation, including moves of household goods and personal property as well as agency prepayment and postpayment audit requirements for transportation payments, we are responsible for issuing fiscal guidance based on authorities in the U.S. Code. We considered DOD's proposed process of electronic billing and payment in light of our requirements established in Title VII for disbursements and related …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is Appendix IV for GAO-05-454, entitled "Unfunded Mandates: Views Vary About Reform Act's Strengths, Weaknesses, and Options for Improvement.""

In May 2002, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) signed Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC09-02CH11109 with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) to support the Environmental Biosciences Program (EBP). This funding instrument replaces DOE Assistance Instrument Number DE-FC02-98CH10902. EBP is an integrated, multidisciplinary scientific research program, employing a range of research initiatives to identify, study and resolve environmental health risks. These initiatives are consistent with the MUSC role as a comprehensive state-supported health sciences institution and with the nation's need for new and better approaches to the solution of a complex and expansive array of environment-related health problems. The intrinsic capabilities of a comprehensive health sciences institution enable MUSC to be a national resource for the scientific investigation of environmental health issues. EBPs success as a nationally prominent research program is due, in part, to its ability to task-organize scientific expertise from multiple disciplines in addressing these complex problems Current research projects have focused EBP talent and resources on providing the scientific basis for risk-based standards, risk-based decision making and the accelerated clean-up of widespread environmental hazards. These hazards include trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and low-dose ionizing radiation. A project is also being conducted in the use of …

Keynote address for the 2005 University of Scholars Day delivered by Dr. Eugenie C. Scott. This keynote speaker discusses an overview of the foundations of the creation/evolution debate in the United States today.