Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 1945 through 1962, the United States conducted a series of aboveground atomic weapons tests as it built up its Cold War nuclear arsenal. Around this same time period, the United States also conducted underground uranium-mining operations and related activities, which were critical to the production of the atomic weapons. Many people were exposed to radiation resulting from the nuclear weapons development and testing program, and such exposure is presumed to have produced an increased incidence of certain serious diseases, including various types of cancer. To make partial restitution to these individuals, or their eligible surviving beneficiaries, for their hardships associated with the radiation exposure, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was enacted on October 15, 1990. RECA provided that the Attorney General be responsible for processing and adjudicating claims under the act. The Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program (RECP), which is administered by its Civil Division's Torts Branch. RECP began processing claims in April 1992. RECA has been amended various times, including on July 10, 2000, when the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000 (RECA Amendments of 2000) were enacted. The …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Prescription drug spending as a share of national health expenditures increased from 8.9 percent in 2000 to 10.1 percent in 2005--among the fastest growing segments of health care expenditures--and prescription drug prices outpaced inflation during the same period. Rising prescription drug prices can affect consumers, employers, and federal and state governments. Federal policymakers are particularly concerned about rising drug prices as the federal government has assumed greater financial responsibility for prescription drug expenditures with the introduction of a prescription drug benefit to Medicare enrollees in January 2006, known as Medicare Part D. Medicare enrollees are also responsible for a share of drug costs under the Medicare Part D program. As an update to our 2005 report, this report responds to the request from Congress for information on trends in retail prices--known as usual and customary prices--for prescription drugs frequently used by Medicare enrollees and non-Medicare health insurance enrollees. This report focuses on (1) usual and customary price trends from January 2004 through January 2007, and (2) usual and customary price trends from January 2000 through January 2007 for the subset of drugs that were included in both our …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""Unless we fix our health care system--in both the public and private sectors--rising health care costs will have severe, adverse consequences for the federal budget as well as the U.S. economy in the future." This is one of the key messages that Comptroller General David M. Walker has been delivering across the country in town-hall style meetings, in speeches, and on radio and television programs. Using another format to explore issues with health care experts, Mr. Walker convened a forum at GAO on May 17, 2007. Attendees included health policy experts, business leaders, and public officials selected for their subject matter knowledge and representation of various perspectives. Participants examined health care cost, access, and quality challenges in discussion sessions led by distinguished economists Robert Reischauer and Mark Pauly and other leading health care authorities Carolyn Clancy and Suzanne Delbanco. Nationally known health insurance expert Leonard Schaeffer served as the keynote lunchtime speaker. At the conclusion of the forum, participants were polled for their views on points raised during the discussions. The poll was conducted using electronic voting technology that produced real-time, but confidential, results."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is intended to discuss our report on whether or not the government of Iraq has met 18 benchmarks contained in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 20072 (the Act). The Act requires GAO to report on the status of the achievement of these benchmarks. Consistent with GAO's core values and our desire to be fair and balanced, we also considered and used a "partially met" rating for some benchmarks. In comparison, the Act requires the administration to report on whether satisfactory progress is being made toward meeting the benchmarks. The benchmarks cover Iraqi government actions needed to advance reconciliation within Iraqi society, improve the security of the Iraqi population, provide essential services to the population, and promote economic well-being. To complete this work, we reviewed U.S. agency and Iraqi documents and interviewed officials from the Departments of Defense, State, and the Treasury; the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) and its subordinate commands; the Defense Intelligence Agency; the Central Intelligence Agency; the National Intelligence Council; and the United Nations. These officials included Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, and General …

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Hugo and Georgia Gibson House, in Seguin, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Powhatan and Mattie Wren House, in Galveston, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.