Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has subsidized the development of about 1.7 million rental units in over 23,000 privately owned properties by offering owners favorable long-term mortgage financing, rental assistance payments, or both in exchange for owners' commitment to house low-income tenants. When owners pay off mortgages--the mortgages "mature"--the subsidized financing ends, raising the possibility of rent increases. Based on a report issued in January 2004, this testimony discusses (1) the number and selected characteristics of HUD-subsidized rental properties with mortgages scheduled to mature in the next 10 years, (2) the potential impact on tenants upon mortgage maturity, and (3) the tools and incentives that HUD, the states, and localities offer owners to keep HUD properties affordable upon mortgage maturity."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced persistent challenges in managing its grants, which constitute over one-half of the agency's budget, or about $4 billion annually. These challenges include achieving and measuring environmental results from grant funding. It is easier to measure grant activities (outputs) than the environmental results of those activities (outcomes), which may occur years after the grant was completed. In 2003, EPA issued a 5-year strategic plan for managing grants that set out goals, including identifying and achieving environmental outcomes. This testimony describes persistent problems EPA has faced in addressing grants' environmental results and the extent to which EPA has made progress in addressing problems in achieving environmental results from its grants. It summarizes and updates two reports GAO issued on EPA's grant management in August 2003 and March 2004."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Interstate pipelines carrying natural gas and hazardous liquids (such as petroleum products) are safer to the public than other modes of freight transportation. The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), the federal agency that administers the national regulatory program to ensure safe pipeline transportation, has been undertaking a broad range of activities to make pipeline transportation safer. However, the number of serious accidents--those involving deaths, injuries, and property damage of $50,000 or more--has not fallen. When safety problems are found, OPS can take enforcement action against pipeline operators, including requiring the correction of safety violations and assessing monetary sanctions (civil penalties). This testimony is based on ongoing work for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and for other committees, as required by the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002. The testimony provides preliminary results on (1) the effectiveness of OPS's enforcement strategy and (2) OPS's assessment of civil penalties."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Lives of first responders and those whom they are trying to assist can be lost when first responders cannot communicate effectively as needed. This report addresses issues of determining the status of interoperable wireless communications across the nation, and the potential roles that federal state, local governments can play in improving these communications."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is in a period of profound transition, forcing agencies to transform their cultures to enhance performance, ensure accountability, and position the nation for the future. Strategic human capital management is at the center of this government transformation. Federal agencies will need the most effective human capital systems to succeed in their transformation efforts. At the request of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, this statement summarizes GAO's findings to date on agencies' use of human capital flexibilities, provides an overview of the most relevant human capital management developments, and discusses GAO's recently enacted human capital flexibilities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The technology used to cast and count votes is one aspect of the multifaceted U.S. election process. GAO examined voting technology, among other things, in a series of reports that it issued in 2001 following the problems encountered in the 2000 election. In October 2002, the Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act, which, among other things, established the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to assist in the administration of federal elections. The act also established a program to provide funds to states to replace older punch card and lever machine voting equipment. As this older voting equipment has been replaced with newer electronic voting systems over the last 2 years, concerns have been raised about the vulnerabilities associated with certain electronic voting systems. Among other things, GAO's testimony focuses on attributes on which electronic voting systems can be assessed, as well as design and implementation factors affecting their performance. GAO also describes the immediate and longer-term challenges confronting local jurisdictions in using any type of voting equipment, particularly electronic voting systems."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In light of GAO's November 2003 report highlighting significant pay problems experienced by Army National Guard soldiers mobilized to active duty in support of the global war on terrorism and homeland security, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Reserve soldiers provided assurance that such pays were accurate and timely. GAO's audit used a case study approach to focus on controls over three key areas: processes, people (human capital), and automated systems."

Fax from Al Daniels to Kim and Mazin concerning double charges to account.