Text about the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas that was published in the "Essentials" section of a July 2004 Texas Highways magazine article.

Minutes from an annual meeting of the Texas Sons of the American Revolution, held on July 5, 2004 at 9:00 a.m., including a summary of activities and business discussed. The meeting was called to order by President General Raymond Musgrave. Included are the minutes from the July 6 and July 7, 2004 meetings, called to order by President General Raymond Musgrave.

Text for an article about the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas that was published in the July 2004 issue of Texas Highways magazine.

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 county judge whom the State Commission on Judicial Conduct has suspended from office with pay is entitled to his full salary (RQ-0160-GA)

Draft of an article published in the July 2004 issue of Texas Highways magazine about Old City Park, the first public park in the city of Dallas.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, Congress has raised concerns about cost growth in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) operating budget. Appropriators noted several expenses in FAA's fiscal year 2004 facilities and equipment (F&E) account budget submission that appeared to be ongoing operating expenses. The House and Senate appropriations subcommittee reports on FAA's fiscal year 2004 budget submission highlighted 17 such budget items and recommended that the expenses for these items either be transferred to the operations budget or not receive funding. As a result of these concerns, the Conference Report accompanying the fiscal year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Act directed us to conduct an audit of FAA's policies and practices for determining whether an expense should be budgeted in its operating accounts or in the capital account. Specifically, this report addresses the following questions: (1) What are FAA's policies for determining whether an expense--including personnel compensation, benefits, travel, and related expenses--belongs in its capital (F&E) or Operations accounts? (2) How did FAA implement its policies for determining whether 17 specific budget line items identified by appropriators belong in its F&E or Operations accounts, including personnel compensation, benefits, travel, and related expenses? …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government has undertaken numerous actions to enhance the nation's homeland security, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). One of the primary reasons for the establishment of DHS was to unify the vast national network of organizations and institutions involved in efforts to protect our nation. Since it began operations on March 1, 2003, DHS has faced enormous challenges to protect the nation from terrorism while it organizes itself into a coherent and integrated agency. We support Congress by reviewing various government programs and activities to help improve their performance and accountability. When our work identifies a significant need for action by the Congress or an agency, we develop recommended solutions. These recommendations identify actions we believe the department, agency, bureau, or office should implement to ensure government programs operate effectively and efficiently. This report responds to a Congressional request that we provide status information on key recommendations we have made to DHS and its legacy agencies. On June 30, 2004, we briefed Congress on the results of our review. This report transmits information provided …

Document about the McKinney chapter of the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO summarized the results of its investigation, performed at Congress' request, of street narcotic sales in the vicinity of certain drug rehabilitation clinics in the District of Colombia. To obtain an overview of the problem, we conducted physical surveillance of five clinics in the District of Columbia and interviewed clinic personnel and law enforcement officials. In brief, we found that a significant amount of illegal drug trafficking activity takes place around these clinics. Patients frequently must navigate their way through a virtual bazaar of illegal drug dealing when they enter and exit the facilities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported on the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial management and business related problems and key elements necessary for successful reform. Although the underlying conditions remain fundamentally unchanged, DOD continues to be confronted with pervasive problems related to its systems, processes (including internal controls), and people (human capital). These problems impede DOD's ability to operate its numerous business operations in an efficient and effective manner. Congress asked GAO to provide its views on (1) the impact that long-standing financial management and related business process weaknesses continue to have on DOD, (2) the underlying causes of DOD business transformation challenges, and (3) DOD's business transformation efforts. The GAO report released today highlights the challenges and impediments facing the department as it continues to transform its financial and business management operations. In addition, GAO reiterates the key elements to successful reform: (1) an integrated business management transformation strategy, (2) sustained leadership and resource control, (3) clear lines of responsibility and accountability, (4) results-oriented performance, (5) appropriate incentives and consequences, (6) an enterprise architecture to guide reform efforts, and (7) effective monitoring and oversight."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the fifth consecutive year that we have reviewed the District of Columbia's performance accountability report as mandated by the Federal Payment Reauthorization Act of 1994. The act requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to submit to the Congress a performance accountability plan containing a statement of measurable and objective performance goals for the coming fiscal year for all significant activities of the District government. After the end of the fiscal year, the District is to submit a performance accountability report on the extent to which the District achieved these goals. This requirement for the District government is similar to the requirements for executive branch federal agencies under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). GAO's report focuses on the continued progress the District has made in performance reporting. Specifically, the objectives of this report were to (1) examine the extent to which the performance accountability report is in compliance with statutory requirements, and (2) summarize some of the District's other significant performance management initiatives and identify additional opportunities for improvement."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Gasoline is subject to dramatic price swings. A multitude of factors cause volatility in U.S. gasoline markets, including world crude oil costs, limited refining capacity, and low inventories relative to demand. Since the 1990s, another factor affecting U.S. gasoline markets has been a wave of mergers in the petroleum industry, several of them between large oil companies that had previously competed with each other. For example, in 1999, Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, merged with Mobil, the second largest. This testimony is based primarily on Energy Markets: Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration in the U.S. Petroleum Industry (GAO-04-96, May 17, 2004). This report examined mergers in the U.S. petroleum industry from the 1990s through 2000, the changes in market concentration (the distribution of market shares among competing firms) and other factors affecting competition in the U.S. petroleum industry, how U.S. gasoline marketing has changed since the 1990s, and how mergers and market concentration in the U.S. petroleum industry have affected U.S. gasoline prices at the wholesale level. To address these issues, GAO purchased and analyzed a large body of data and developed state-of-the art econometric models …

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 abortion facilities that are exempts from licensing under section 245.004 of the Health and Safety Code are subject to regulation by the Texas Department of Health under chapter 245 (RQ-0158-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Views on defense offsets range from beliefs that they are both positive and an unavoidable part of doing business overseas to beliefs that they negatively affect the U.S. industrial base. Defense offsets are often viewed as the key to foreign sales and thus increased business on the prime contractor level. They can also result in reduced unit costs to the U.S. military because of the increased size of production runs. However, the use of a foreign supplier by a U.S. prime contractor as a result of an offset may lead to decreased business opportunities for U.S. suppliers. Additionally, U.S. prime contractors may develop long-term relationships with foreign suppliers, which may lead to the transfer of capability from the U.S. defense industrial base. As a result of congressional concerns about emerging trends in defense offsets, GAO conducted a number of reviews and issued multiple reports. Because of GAO's work in this area, Congress asked us to provide our observations on offset issues. Specifically, GAO is providing observations on (1) what constitutes offsets and how they are used in defense trade, (2) how that use has changed over time, and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported on the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial management and business related problems and key elements necessary for successful reform. Although the underlying conditions remain fundamentally unchanged, DOD continues to be confronted with pervasive problems related to its systems, processes (including internal controls), and people (human capital). These problems impede DOD's ability to operate its numerous business operations in an efficient and effective manner. Congress asked GAO to provide its views on (1) the impact that long-standing financial management and related business process weaknesses continue to have on DOD, (2) the underlying causes of DOD business transformation challenges, and (3) DOD's business transformation efforts. In addition, GAO reiterates the key elements to successful reform: (1) an integrated business management transformation strategy, (2) sustained leadership and resource control, (3) clear lines of responsibility and accountability, (4) results-oriented performance measures, (5) appropriate incentives and consequences, (6) an enterprise architecture to guide reform efforts, and (7) effective monitoring and oversight."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Homeland Security Act of 2002 brought together 22 agencies to create a new cabinet-level department focusing on reducing U.S. vulnerability to terrorist attacks, and minimizing damages and assisting in recovery from attacks that do occur. GAO has previously reported on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) financial management challenges and key elements necessary for reform. DHS continues to be faced with significant financial management challenges, including addressing existing internal control weaknesses and integrating redundant inherited financial management systems. Additionally, DHS is the largest entity in the federal government that is not subject to the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 or the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996. In light of these conditions, Congress asked GAO to testify on the financial management challenges facing DHS."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed its perspective on the process for establishing accounting standards for private-sector entities and then, more specifically, the current proposals for accounting for stock options. We recognize that accounting for stock options is a complex and controversial issue on which reasonable people can and do disagree. As a result, in light of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) current proposed standard for accounting for stock options and other share-based compensation, there has been a renewed interest for the Congress to possibly legislate accounting rules for stock options. FASB is a non-governmental organization empowered to establish financial accounting and reporting standards for private-sector entities. Although this function legally resides with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for public companies as part of its mandate to administer and enforce the provisions of the federal securities laws, the SEC has traditionally relied on FASB since 1973 to fulfill this function. The U.S. capital markets depend on a system of continuously improving financial information about the underlying economic activities of companies. This information is fostered and framed by independently established financial accounting and reporting standards, collectively referred to as generally accepted …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is required to annually audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Proper accounting and reporting practices are essential in the public sector. The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. Its services--homeland security, national defense, Social Security, mail delivery, and food inspection, to name a few--directly affect the well-being of almost every American. But sound decisions on the future direction of vital federal government programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, accurate, and useful financial and performance information. Until the problems discussed in GAO's audit report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements are adequately addressed, they will continue to (1) hamper the federal government's ability to accurately report a significant portion of its assets, liabilities, and costs; (2) affect the federal government's ability to accurately measure the full cost as well as the financial and nonfinancial performance of certain programs while effectively managing related operations; and (3) significantly impair the federal government's ability to adequately safeguard certain significant assets and properly record various transactions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Telework has received significant attention in Congress and the executive branch and is an increasingly popular flexibility among federal employees. In July 2003 GAO reported on the use of telework in the federal government (GAO-03-679). Not only is telework an important flexibility from the perspective of employees, it has also become a critical management tool for coping with potential disruptions in the workplace, including terrorism. This statement highlights key practices GAO research identified as important to implementing successful telework initiatives. The statement then discusses efforts to coordinate and promote telework, and concludes with a review of OPM's May 2004 telework report."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil for Food program was established by the United Nations and Iraq in 1996 to address concerns about the humanitarian situation after international sanctions were imposed in 1990. The program allowed the Iraqi government to use the proceeds of its oil sales to pay for food, medicine, and infrastructure maintenance. The program appears to have helped the Iraqi people. From 1996 through 2001, the average daily food intake increased from 1,300 to 2,300 calories. From 1997-2002, Iraq sold more than $67 billion of oil through the program and issued $38 billion in letters of credit to purchase commodities. GAO (1) reports on our estimates of the illegal revenue acquired by the former Iraqi regime in violation of U.N. sanctions and provides some observations on the administration of the program and (2) suggests areas for additional analysis and summarizes the status of several ongoing investigations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Congressional request that GAO report on the status of our recommendations relating to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) oversight of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and investor education. As requested, this letter also includes information on SIPC's progress in implementing SEC's recommendations from its January 2003 examination of SIPC and the status of excess SIPC coverage. Specifically, GAO'S objectives were to (1) determine the status of our recommendations to SEC and SIPC from our two previous reports on SIPC, (2) review recent actions SIPC has taken to address recommendations from the 2003 SEC examination report, and (3) determine the status of excess SIPC coverage after three U.S. insurers ceased offering the product."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under section 1308 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (P.L. 106-398), the Department of Defense (DOD) is to submit an annual report to Congress on its Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program no later than the first Monday in February of each year. The report should include a 5-year plan that discusses the amount and purpose of funding needed over the term of the plan and a description of efforts conducted by the United States to ensure that CTR assistance is fully accounted for and used for its intended purposes. The act requires the Comptroller General to assess this 5-year plan and the description of efforts to account for CTR assistance within 90 days of the report's submission to Congress. The Department submitted its CTR annual report for fiscal year 2005 to Congress in early February 2004, and we briefed Congressional staff on April 29, 2004. We analyzed the 2005 report to determine whether (1) the 5-year plan addresses legislative requirements and presents accurate information, (2) the accountability section addresses legislative requirements and presents accurate information, and (3) past GAO recommendations have been adopted."

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; Proper procedure, under article III, section 24a of the Texas Constitution, for the Speaker of the House of Representatives to nominate individuals to serve as members of the Texas Ethics Commission (RQ-0194-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 peace officer may simultaneously hold a commission from more than one law enforcement agency (RQ-0163-GA)