The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Acencion Fernandez. Fernandez, a Texas farm boy born in 1924, was drafted when he was 18 years old. He was based in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was assigned to the USS LCI-80 where he served as a loader on a 40-inch gun. At the Mariana Islands of Saipan and Tinian and at Iwo Jima, he was involved in strafing the beaches to enable Marines to land. Later his LCI landed Marines on Okinawa. He briefly mentions the presence of Navajo code talkers on the ship.

Interview with Richard Jennings, a member of a bomber squadron that flew missions during World War II in Europe, and a squadron commander during the Korean War, born near Charleston, West Virginia. Jennings answers questions concerning how he came to be in the Army, and where all he was stationed and trained. Most of his answers contain details of bombing missions he was a part of as well as his experiences during the Korean War.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Department of Defense (DOD) has increased its reliance on its National Guard and reserve forces to support the Global War on Terrorism, and particularly Operation Iraqi Freedom. Congress has been interested in making improvements and enhancements to compensation and benefit programs for reserve component members. When reserve component members are activated for more than 30 days under federal authorities, they are covered under TRICARE, DOD's health care system. While reserve component members are automatically covered by TRICARE when activated, their spouses and other dependents have the option of using either TRICARE or their private health insurance. However, our prior work found that dependents of reserve component members who had dropped their private health insurance reported problems accessing the TRICARE system--such as difficulty finding a health care provider, establishing eligibility, understanding TRICARE benefits, and knowing where to go when questions and problems arise. In addition, maintaining continuity of care with the same health care providers, especially for dependents with chronic medical conditions, may be problematic after switching to TRICARE. To address these concerns, some legislative proposals would give reserve component members …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to Congress' request of June 22, 2005, that we provide answers to questions relating to our June 14 testimony on the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). At the June hearing, we discussed the estimates of government paperwork burden provided in the annual PRA report (known as the Information Collection Budget) that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released, as well as results from our report on agencies' PRA processes and compliance."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On June 28, 2005, GAO testified before Congress at a hearing on "Access Delayed: Fixing the Security Clearance Process." This letter responds to a Congressional request that GAO provide answers to Senator Frank R. Lautenberg's questions for the record."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Beginning in the 1990s, there was a substantial increase in the number of short-term acute care hospitals that primarily treat patients with specific medical conditions or who need surgical procedures. Advocates of such hospitals, commonly referred to as specialty hospitals, contend that their focused missions and dedicated resources can both improve quality and reduce health care costs. Critics contend that specialty hospitals siphon off the most profitable procedures and patient cases, typically without providing emergency care or other vital community services, and thus erode the financial health of neighboring general hospitals. Critics also contend that the ability of physicians to invest in a specialty hospital and then refer patients to that hospital creates financial incentives that may inappropriately affect physicians' clinical and referral behavior. In 2003, we issued two reports on the growth, characteristics, and performance of specialty hospitals. More than two-thirds of the 100 specialty hospitals we identified as being in existence in June 2003 had opened their doors since the beginning of 1990. The specialty hospitals in existence in fiscal year 2000, the most recent year for which we then had data, accounted for about 1 …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Authoritative bodies have promulgated laws, accounting standards, information system requirements, and related guidance to emphasize the need for cost information and cost management in the federal government. For example, the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990, contains several provisions related to managerial cost accounting, one of which states that an agency's CFO should develop and maintain an integrated accounting and financial management system that provides for the development and reporting of cost information. Statement of Federal Accounting Standards No. 4, Managerial Cost Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government, and the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program's (JFMIP) Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems established accounting standards and system requirements for managerial cost accounting (MCA) information at federal agencies. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 built on this foundation and required, among other things, CFO Act agencies' systems to comply substantially with federal accounting standards and federal financial management systems requirements. MCA involves the accumulation and analysis of financial and nonfinancial data, resulting in the allocation of costs to organizational pursuits such as performance goals, programs, activities, and outputs. The data analyzed depend on the …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A Congressional letter, dated June 30, 2004, to the Comptroller General expressed concern that the federal government may not have a uniform approach to protecting its facilities from lightning strikes. As a result, Congress requested a GAO study on issues related to whether the federal government should adopt a uniform standard for lightning protection systems. We selected four agencies for this study--the General Services Administration (GSA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and the Department of Defense (DOD). These agencies hold over 80 percent (in terms of square footage) of the government's owned and leased property. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) to what extent these selected federal agencies use applicable lightning protection standard(s) to help protect buildings they own from lightning strikes; (2) how these selected federal agencies assess the need for lightning protection systems on their buildings; (3) what practices and lightning protection standard(s) the General Services Administration uses when leasing privately owned buildings; and (4) what data exist related to the financial impact of lightning protection and damage to the federal government, such as the number of buildings …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2002, the Department of the Navy launched the DD(X) Destroyer program to develop a stealthy, multi-mission ship that would provide advanced land attack capability to support forces ashore and contribute to military dominance in shallow coastal waters. Numbers and costs for the DD(X) have changed since the inception of the program. According to the program's official cost estimate, the first ship is expected to cost $3.3 billion, with per unit costs decreasing as production progresses. DD(X) is approaching Milestone B and critical design review--two key decision points that will shape the future of both the program and the Navy itself. This testimony focuses on (1) the challenges the DD(X) program is expected to encounter, (2) the program's approach and progress in managing attendant risks, and (3) potential consequences if program progress falls short of expectations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to conserve endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. This law currently protects more than 1,260 animal and plant species. Within the Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the act. In addition, all federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Land Management, must ensure that their activities do not jeopardize a protected species' continued existence or adversely modify or destroy habitat that has been designated as critical to its survival. The Endangered Species Act and its implementation can be controversial when there are conflicting uses for a natural resource as, for example, when timber on federal lands is both habitat for endangered and threatened species and a valuable commodity to be harvested. Conflicts also occur over the adequacy or interpretation of scientific information in making species protection decisions. GAO has issued numerous reports on the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. This testimony is based primarily on four of these reports and addresses (1) collaboration among federal agencies to conserve threatened and endangered species and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the passage of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has faced the challenge of managing its resources to simultaneously improve service to taxpayers, assure taxpayers' compliance with the tax laws, and modernize its antiquated information systems. As requested, this statement provides our assessment of IRS's current performance in the areas of taxpayer service, tax law enforcement, and systems modernization. Looking ahead, this statement also describes the challenges that IRS faces in addressing resource constraints as well as realizing efficiency and information systems improvements."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is in support of the fiscal year 2006 budget request for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This request is necessary to help us continue to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We are grateful to the Congress for providing us with the support and resources that have helped us in our quest to be a world-class professional services organization. We believe that investing in GAO produces a sound return and results in substantial benefits to the Congress and the American people. In the years ahead, our support to the Congress will likely prove even more critical because of the pressures created by our nation's current and projected budget deficit and long-term fiscal imbalance. These fiscal pressures will require the Congress to make tough choices regarding what the government should do, how it will do its work, who will help carry out its work in the future, and how government will be financed in the future. We summarized the larger challenges facing the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that more than 12,000 servicemembers have been injured in combat. While many return to active duty, others with more serious injuries are likely to be discharged from the military. To ensure the continuity of medical care and access to all other Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) benefits, such as vocational rehabilitation, VA formed its Seamless Transition Task Force. In January 2005, GAO reported that VA had given high priority to OEF/OIF servicemembers, but faced challenges in identifying, locating, and following up with seriously injured servicemembers. GAO recommended that VA and DOD reach an agreement for VA to obtain systematic data from DOD, and the departments concurred. However, DOD raised privacy concerns. GAO was asked to review VA's efforts to expedite vocational rehabilitation services to seriously injured servicemembers and to determine the status of an agreement between DOD and VA to share health data. GAO relied on its prior work; interviewed VA and DOD officials; and reviewed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the HIPAA …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Following the 1991 Persian Gulf War, research and investigations into the causes of servicemembers' unexplained illnesses were hampered by a lack of servicemember health and deployment data, including inadequate occupational and environmental exposure data. In 1997, the Department of Defense (DOD) developed a militarywide health surveillance framework that includes occupational and environmental health surveillance (OEHS)--the regular collection and reporting of occupational and environmental health hazard data by the military services. This testimony is based on GAO's report, entitled Defense Health Care: Improvements Needed in Occupational and Environmental Health Surveillance during Deployment to Address Immediate and Long-term Heath Issues (GAO-05-632). The testimony presents findings about how the deployed military services have implemented DOD's policies for collecting and reporting OEHS data for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and the efforts under way to use OEHS reports to address both immediate and long-term health issues of servicemembers deployed in support of OIF."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Increasing computer interconnectivity has revolutionized the way that our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. While the benefits have been enormous, this widespread interconnectivity also poses significant risks to our nation's computer systems and, more importantly, to the critical operations and infrastructures they support. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and federal policy established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the focal point for coordinating activities to protect the computer systems that support our nation's critical infrastructures. GAO was asked to summarize previous work, focusing on (1) DHS's responsibilities for cybersecurity-related critical infrastructure protection (CIP), (2) the status of the department's efforts to fulfill these responsibilities, (3) the challenges it faces in fulfilling its cybersecurity responsibilities, and (4) recommendations GAO has made to improve cybersecurity of our nation's critical infrastructure."

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; Authority of the Railroad Commission to use monies from the Oil Field Cleanup Fund to plug oil and gas wells and perform other activities (RQ-0253-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: Operation of the ex officio road commissioner system and allocation of road and bridge funds in Denton County (RQ-0254-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 the Texas Commission of Fire Protection may provide reimbursement for room and board as part of a Fire Department Emergency Program tuition scholarship for students who attend a training school (RQ-0255-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 Local Government Code section 214.212(c)(1), which permits a municipality to adopt local amendments to the International Residential Code, limits the municipality to adopting only amendments that are equivalent to or more stringent than the the standards of the International Residential Code (RQ-0256-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 commissioners court may pay a vendor who has rendered goods or services to the county for the reasonable value of a benefit the county has recieved under an implied contract when the county auditor has rejected the claim (RQ-0354-GA)

Disregard Restriction of Header and Footer: O-MM-0282-v Provision of Certified DON Data to ETJCSG. Navy memo dtd January 18, 2005. PROVISION OF CERTIFIED DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DATA TO THE BRAC 2005 EDUCATION AND TRAINING JOINT CROSS SERVICE GROUP - RANGES SUBGROUP. Scenario/Activities with Certified Data.

Disregard Restriction of Header and Footer: O-MM-0282-w Provision of Certified DON Data to ET JCSG. Navy memo dtd April 1, 2005. PROVISION OF CERTIFIED DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DATA TO THE BRAC 2005 EDUCATION AND TRAINING JOINT CROSS SERVICE GROUP - FLIGHT TRAINING SUBGROUP. Scenario/Activities with Certified Data.

Disregard Restriction of Header and Footer: O-MM-0282-x Provision of Certified DON Data to ET JCSG. Navy memo dtd April 1, 2005. PROVISION OF CERTIFIED DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DATA TO THE BRAC 2005 EDUCATION AND TRAINING JOINT CROSS SERVICE GROUP - RANGE SUBGROUP FOR E&T-0038A. Scenario Certified Data.

Disregard Restriction of Header and Footer: O-MM-0288 Provision of Certified Data to BRAC 05 Ind JCSG. Navy memo dtd December 6, 2004. PROVISION OF CERTIFIED DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DATA TO THE BRAC 2005 INDUSTRIAL JOINT CROSS SERVICE GROUP - INDUSTRIAL JCSG SHIPOVERHAUL & REPAIR. Scenarios/Activities with Certified Data.