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 defendant convicted of multiple class C misdemeanors who defaults on the fines and court costs he or she is sentenced to pay and who is therefore confined discharges the fines and court costs concurrently or consecutively, and related questions (RQ-0338-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 Harris County Hospital District may provide discounted health care to persons residing in Harris County, without regard to their immigration or legal status (RQ-0341-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 district attorney may, by contract, bind the use of county funds, and related question (RQ-0347-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 person who has been pardoned for a felony conviction is subject to section 46.04 of the Penal Code, and related questions (RQ-0349-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 county may pay the employers share of employment taxes on state "supplemental salary compensation" paid to a county judge pursuant to section 26.006(a) of the Government Code from the State provided funds, and related questions(RQ-0356-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 section 25.092 of the Education Code, which relates to minimum attendance for class credit, is applicable to a student who is exempt from compulsory attendance under section 25.086.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO and the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General have issued many reports in recent years on the Department's financial management problems, including internal control weaknesses that put the Department at risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. In an April 2001 assessment of the internal control over Education's payment processes and the associated risks for improper payments, GAO identified four broad categories of internal control weaknesses: poor segregation of duties, lack of supervisory review, inadequate audit trails, and inadequate computer systems' applications controls. This testimony discusses how these weaknesses make Education vulnerable to improper payments in grant and loan payments, third party drafts, and government purchase card purchases. GAO found that Education's student aid application processing system for grants and loans lacks an automated edit check that would identify potentially improper payments from students who were much older than expected, a single social security number associated with two or more dates of birth, grants to recipients in excess of statutory limits, and searches for invalid social security numbers. GAO also found problems with Education's third party draft system. Specifically, Education (1) circumvented a system's application control …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 encourages tribes to participate in and manage programs that for years had been administered on their behalf by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of the Interior. The act authorizes tribes to take over the administration of such programs through contractual arrangements with the agencies that previously ran them: HHS' Indian Health Service and Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. For the Indian Health Service, the programs include mental health, dental care, hospitals and clinics. For the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the programs that can be contracted by tribes include law enforcement, education, and social services. Under the first 15 years of the Self-Determination Act, tribal contractors generally assumed liability for accidents or torts (civil wrongdoings) caused by their employees. However, in 1990, the federal government permanently assumed this liability when Congress extended the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage to tribal contractors under the Self-Determination Act. Originally enacted in 1946, FTCA established a process by which individuals injured by federal employees could seek compensation from the federal government. As a result of extending this …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program and the North American Free Trade Agreement Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) Program are designed to help dislocated workers, communities, and firms adjust to the rapid economic changes that characterize the globalization of national economies. Although globalization has increased the importance of technology and service sector jobs, it has also resulted in the loss of many manufacturing jobs as companies that cannot compete with lower-priced imports go out of business or relocate abroad. The federal government recognizes that although the benefits of increased trade are widely dispersed across the economy, the costs of worker dislocation effects are more localized. This has heightened concerns about the efficacy of federal trade adjustment assistance efforts. This testimony discusses (1) the nature of trade impacts on communities and the use of benefits and services under TAA and the NAFTA-TAA programs, (2) the structural problems that impede effective delivery of those services and benefits, and (3) the longer-term challenges facing trade-impacted communities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses internal controls weaknesses that left two Navy units in San Diego, California, vulnerable to purchase card fraud and abuse. GAO found a proliferation of purchase cards at the two units in San Diego--the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the Navy Public Works. In the end, more than 1,700 cardholders essentially had the authority to make their own purchase decisions. A serious breakdown in internal controls over the receipt of government property and the certification of monthly statements, coupled with flawed or nonexistent policies and procedures and the failure of Navy employees to adhere to valid policies and procedures, led to (1) the loss, theft, and misuse of government property; (2) the potential abuse of purchase cards; and (3) payments of potentially fraudulent charges. Five fraud cases have already been identified, and the government remains extremely vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse arising from the purchase card program at the two Navy units. This testimony summarized the November report, GAO-02-32."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's three-stage approach for addressing the federal government's human capital challenges. First, agencies must take all administrative steps available to them under current laws and regulations to manage their people for results. While much of what agencies need to accomplish these steps is already available to them, they will need the sustained commitment from top management and the support from both the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to do so. Second, the Administration and Congress should pursue selected legislative opportunities to put new tools and flexibilities in place that will help agencies attract, motivate, and retain employees--both overall and, especially, in connection with critical occupations. Third, all interested parties should work together to determine the nature and extent of more comprehensive human capital (or civil service) reforms that should be enacted over time. These reforms should include placing greater emphasis on skills, knowledge, and performance in connection with federal employment and compensation decisions, rather than the passage of time and rate of inflation, as is often the case today."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the budget process established by the Budget Enforcement Act, which will expire in fiscal year 2002. Because the goal of achieving zero deficits has been achieved, the focus of the budget process has shifted to to the allocation of surpluses among debt reduction, spending increases, and tax cuts. The budget process should be designed to avoid what has been described as the year-end "train wreck." A year-end "train wreck" results from a failure to reach agreement--or at least a compromise acceptable to all parties--earlier in the year. Although it is possible that early agreement on some broad parameters could facilitate a smoother process, it is not clear that such an agreement will always prevent gridlock--it may just come earlier. Two ideas that have been proposed to avert the year-end disruption caused by an inability to reach agreement on funding the government include joint budget resolutions and biennial budgeting. In discussing alternatives for improving the budget process, there is a broad consensus among observers and budget analysts that the spending constraints established by the act are necessary even with the advent of actual and projected surpluses. …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made significant progress establishing a national formulary that has generally met with acceptance by prescribers and patients, VA oversight has not fully ensured standardization of its drug benefit nationwide. The three medical centers GAO visited did not comply with the national formulary. Specifically, two of the three medical centers omitted more than 140 required national formulary drugs, and all three facilities inappropriately modified the national formulary list of required drugs for certain drug classes by adding or omitting some drugs. In addition, as VA policy allows, Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) added drugs to supplement the national formulary ranging from five drugs at one VISN to 63 drugs at another. However, VA lacked criteria for determining the appropriateness of the actions networks took to add these drugs. In addition to problems standardizing the national formulary, GAO identified weaknesses in the nonformulary approval process. Although the national formulary directive requires certain criteria for approving nonformulary drugs, it does not prescribe a specific nonformulary approval process. As a result, the processes health care providers must follow to obtain nonformulary drugs differ among …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Management of Medicare has come under increasing scrutiny. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has had mixed success running the program. The agency has developed payment methods that have contained cost growth, and HCFA has paid fee-for-service claims quickly and at low administrative cost. However, HCFA has had difficulty ensuring that it paid claims appropriately. In addition, Medicare claims administration contractors have done a poor job of communicating with Medicare providers. HCFA has taken important steps to address some of these shortcomings, including strengthening payment safeguards, but several factors have hampered its efforts. Despite its growing responsibilities, HCFA suffers from staffing shortages. The agency also continues to rely on archaic computer systems. At the same time, HCFA has faltered in its attempts to adopt a results-based approach to agency management. Constraints on the agency's contracting authority have limited its use of full and open competition to select claims administration contractors and assign administrative tasks. Rising expectations among Medicare beneficiaries and providers are putting pressure on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to modernize and improve agency operations. Such improvements will require HCFA to begin a performance-based management …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the federal government's strategic human capital management challenges, particularly in the information technology (IT) area. No management issue facing federal agencies could be more critical to the nation than their approach to attracting, retaining, and motivating people. Having enough people with the right mix of knowledge and skills will make the difference between success and failure. This is especially true in the information technology area, where widespread shortfalls in human capital have undermined agency and program performance. The federal government today faces pervasive human capital challenges that are eroding the ability of many agencies--and threatening the ability of others--to economically, efficiently, and effectively carry out their missions. How successfully the federal government acquires and uses information technology will depend on its ability to build, prepare, and manage its information technology workforce. To address the federal government's human capital challenges as a whole, GAO believes that (1) agencies must take all administrative steps available to them under current laws and regulations to manage their people for results; (2) the Administration and Congress should pursue opportunities to put new tools and flexibilities in place that will help …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The transportation sector accounts for roughly two thirds of the nation's petroleum consumption and one quarter of the total U.S. energy use. Several steps have been taken during the last 25 years either to reduce petroleum consumption or to increase fuel diversity in the transportation sector, including tax incentives, mandates for alternative fuel vehicles, and laws to promote automobile fuel efficiency. This testimony discusses the extent of alternative fuel vehicle acquisition and fuel use, some of the barriers inhibiting greater use of alternative fuels and vehicles, and the federal tax incentives used to promote the use of alternative motor fuels and vehicles. So far, alternative fuels and vehicles have not made much of a dent in the conventional fuel and vehicle dominance of the U.S. vehicle fleet, primarily because of fundamental economic obstacles, such as the relatively low price of oil, insufficient availability of alternative fuel refueling infrastructure, and the relatively high cost of some alternative fuel vehicles. As GAO reported in February 2000 (RCED-00-59), any significant increase in the use of alternative motor fuels and vehicles by the general public will depend on the following two factors: …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress faces critical decisions about the future of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and intercity passenger rail. In GAO's view, the goal of a national system, much like Amtrak's current system, and the goal of operational self-sufficiency appear to be incompatible. In fact, Amtrak was created because other railroads were unable to profitably provide passenger service. In addition, Amtrak needs more capital funding than has been historically provided in order to operate a safe, reliable system that can attract and retain customers. Developing a high-speed rail system is also costly, requiring additional tens of billions of dollars. If intercity passenger rail is to have a future in the nation's transportation system, Congress needs realistic assessments of the expected public benefits and the resulting costs of these investments as compared with investments in other modes of transportation. Such analyses would provide sound bases for congressional action in defining the national goals that will be pursued, the extent that Amtrak and other intercity passenger rail systems can contribute to meeting these goals, and whether federal and state money would be available to sustain such systems over the long term."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2000, Medicare made more than $200 billion in payments to hundreds of thousands of health care providers who served nearly 40 million beneficiaries. Because of the program's vast size and complexity, GAO has included Medicare on its list of government areas at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. GAO first included Medicare on that list in 1990, and it remains there today. GAO has continually reported on the efforts of the Health Care Financing Administration -- recently renamed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) -- to safeguard Medicare payments and streamline operations. CMS relies on its claims administration contractors to run Medicare. As these contractors have become more aggressive in identifying and pursuing inappropriate payments, providers have expressed concern that Medicare has become to complex and difficult to navigate. CMS's oversight of its contractors has historically been weak. In the last two years, however, CMS has made substantial progress. GAO has identified several areas in which CMS still need improvement, especially in ensuring that contractors provide accurate, complete, and timely information to providers on Medicare billing rules and coverage policies."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Consumer complaints against household good carriers have soared in the last five years, yet the Department of Transportation (DOT) has done little to oversee the industry. Although DOT does not collect nationwide information on consumer complaints against household good movers, it estimates that it receives about 4,000 complaints each year. Consumer protection in the interstate household goods moving industry is a relatively low priority for DOT compared with its primary mission of promoting motor carrier safety. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has fallen behind in its recent efforts to improve industry oversight and consumer protection. FMCSA has failed to meet the milestones for completing many of its efforts and has extended its deadlines by as much as a year. In addition, DOT has not completed a study on the effectiveness of arbitration as a way to settle household goods disputes, even though the law mandated that the study be completed by 1997. DOT now plans to conduct the study between 2003 and 2005. This testimony summarizes a March report (GAO-01-318)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses prisoner releases and reintegration programs and provides some perspectives on the particular challenges posed by the District of Columbia offenders. Nationally, the total inmate population in federal and state prisons increased almost fourfold during the last two decades. Consistent with the trend of larger prison populations, the number of inmates who complete their sentences and return to communities has also risen significantly in recent years, surpassing the half-million mark in 1998. After being released, many individuals--about 40 percent historically--later return to prison for new offenses or parole violations. The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) most recent nationwide survey of prison inmates showed that 40 percent of federal inmates and 55 percent of state inmates in prison in 1997 had served prior sentences. BJS data showed that D.C. offenders, in particular, had more extensive criminal histories than the national averages. For example, 98.3 percent of all adult probationers in D.C. had prior convictions, almost twice the national average of 50 percent. BJS' 1997 survey also showed that the bulk of inmates in prison were drug abusers. The National Institute of Justice noted that 69 percent of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses three issues on selected U.S. Customs Service programs and operations. First, concerning the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), a more capable import processing system designed to replace Customs' current aging and error-prone system, GAO concluded that Customs' plan constituted a reasonable first step on a complex, long-term modernization program. Pursuant to its obligation to review ACE expenditures, GAO plans to continue monitoring Customs' ongoing modernization efforts. Second, GAO found that Customs' Office of Regulations and Rulings headquarters did not issue the majority of its rulings in a timely manner. Finally, GAO found that if proposed legislation on Customs officers' night pay had been in effect during fiscal year 1999, the officers would have received about $6 million in night differential pay. Furthermore, across the five ports GAO reviewed, the impact on officers' pay varied widely because of the differences in shift patterns."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Floods have been, and continue to be, the most destructive natural hazard in terms of economic loss to the nation, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From fiscal years 1969 through 2000, the National Flood Insurance Program--a major federal effort to provide flood disaster assistance paid about $10 billion in insurance claims, primarily from premiums collected from program policy holders. This testimony discusses (1) the financial results of the program's operations since fiscal year 1993, (2) the actuarial soundness of the program, and (3) the impact of repetitive losses and FEMA's strategies for reducing those losses."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) is an important element of the U.S.' strategy to protect the nation's infrastructures from hostile attacks, especially computer-based attacks. This testimony discusses the key findings of a GAO report on NIPC's progress in developing national capabilities for analyzing cyber threats and vulnerability data and issuing warnings, enhancing its capabilities for responding to cyber attacks, and establishing information-sharing relationships with governments and private-sector entities. GAO found that progress in developing the analysis, warning, and information-sharing capabilities has been mixed. NIPC began various critical infrastructure protection efforts that have laid the foundation for future governmentwide efforts. NIPC has also provided valuable support and coordination related to investigating and otherwise responding to attacks on computers. However, the analytical and information-sharing capabilities that are needed to protect the nation's critical infrastructures have not yet been achieved, and NIPC has developed only limited warning capabilities. An underlying contributor to the slow progress is that the NIPC's roles and responsibilities have not been fully defined and are not consistently interpreted by other entities involved in the government's broader critical infrastructure protection strategy. This report summarized an April report …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the (1) federal government's role in ensuring a sound public infrastructure and (2) estimates of future investment requirements developed by seven federal agencies: the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. GAO found that the federal government exerts an important influence on infrastructure investment and development. The seven agencies GAO reviewed each estimate billions of dollars for future investment in infrastructure. The estimates focused on investment in the areas of water resources, hydropower, water supply, wastewater treatment, airports, highways, mass transit, and public buildings. Although these estimates encompass major areas of public infrastructure, they cannot be easily compared or simply "added up" to produce a national estimate of infrastructure investment needs. GAO did not independently verify the seven agencies' investment estimates, but it did rely on past reviews of these data by GAO and others that examined the soundness and completeness of the methodology and data used to develop the estimates. This testimony summarized the July 2001 report (GAO-01-835) and the February 2000 report (RCED/AIMD-00-35)."