Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing in response to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-84), which requires GAO to review Department of Defense (DOD) policies related to year-end spending and the rate of obligations incurred by DOD in the fourth quarter of fiscal years 2006 through 2009, as compared with the obligations incurred in the first three quarters of those fiscal years for both 1-year and multi-year appropriations. GAO is required to report to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives by March 31, 2010."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of our review of the expenses paid from the Department of Justice (DOJ) permanent, indefinite appropriation covering the 7- month period ending September 30, 2009. The expenses we reviewed were those paid out of the permanent, indefinite appropriation by DOJ between March 1, 2009, and September 30, 2009, to cover Independent and Special Counsel administrative activities. With the October 2009 repeal of the requirement for a GAO review and report on such expenses, this represents our final report."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 16, 2009, we issued our opinion on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) fiscal years 2009 and 2008 financial statements. We also issued our opinion on the effectiveness of SEC's internal controls over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009, and our evaluation of SEC's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations during fiscal year 2009. The purpose of this report is to present (1) our recommendations related to the significant deficiencies we reported and discussed in our opinion report; (2) less significant internal control issues we identified during our fiscal year 2009 audit of SEC's internal controls and accounting procedures, along with our related recommended corrective actions; (3) the status of the recommendations reported as open in our April 2, 2009, management report (see enclosure I), and (4) the status of the security weaknesses in information systems controls at SEC that we identified in public and "Limited Official Use Only" reports issued in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009, that were unresolved at the time of our March 16, 2009, information security reports."

This report documents the research that has been undertaken as background for preparation of a marketing campaign for middle and high school students to increase interest in national security careers at the National Nuclear Security Administration. This work is a part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP), being performed under a Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant. Previous research on the development of a properly trained and skilled national security workforce has identified a lack of interest by k-12 students in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Further, participation in these careers by women and minority populations is limited and is not increasing. Added to this are low educational achievement levels in New Mexico, where the marketing campaign will be deployed.

This report documents the inclusion of the STEM focus in the annual competition theme for the Innoventure youth project. The STEM concepts have always played a part in the selection of the theme. However, this year, STEM is intentionally mentioned in the description of the theme to emphasize the importance of these concepts. This work is a part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP), being performed under a Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Earl Morrison. Morrison joined the Navy around 1944. He completed Radio Technician School and was assigned aboard the USS Auriga (AK-98). They traveled to Laguna in the Philippines. In April of 1945 they delivered troops, goods and equipment to Okinawa during the invasion. They also traveled to Kwajalein, Guam and Espiritu Santo where they learned of the Japanese surrendering. Morrison was discharged in 1946.

Transcript of a public hearing held by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq & Afghanistan held March 29, 2010 in Washington, D.C.. This hearing includes testimony from governmental agencies and contractors on the return of 100,000 contractor employees in Iraq as the United States reduces its military forces there.

Minutes for the March 28, 2010 meeting of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, discussing various topics including financial update, booth activities at convention, and other business addressed during the meeting.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key BPD financial systems. As we reported in connection with our audit of the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2009, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. However, we found deficiencies involving information security controls that we do not consider to be significant deficiencies. With regard to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, BPD mitigated the potential effect of such …

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; Concerning a possible defense to prosecution under section 43.24, Penal Code (RQ-0825-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Census a high-risk area in part because of information technology (IT) shortcomings and uncertainty over the ultimate cost of the census, now estimated at around $15 billion. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has since made improvements to various IT systems and taken other steps to mitigate the risks to a successful census. However, last year, GAO noted that a number of challenges and uncertainties remained, and much work remained to be completed under very tight time frames. As requested, this testimony provides an update on the Bureau's readiness for an effective headcount, covering (1) the reliability of key IT systems; (2) a broad range of activities critical to an effective headcount, some of which were problematic in either earlier 2010 operations or in the 2000 Census, and (3) the quality of the Bureau's cost estimates. The testimony is based on previously issued and ongoing GAO work."

The flag store check of $70.36 made on April 25, 2010.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Wheless. Wheless joined the Army Air Forces in the summer of 1942. He served as a C-47 pilot in the Air Transport Command in the China-Burma-India Theater. Wheless was assigned to a base in Assam Valley, northeastern India. He and his squadron flew over the Himalaya Mountains supplying General Stilwell and Merrill’s Marauders in Burma, and Allied forces stationed in Yunnan Province in China. He survived many dangerous missions and was awarded the Air Medal on one occasion for a low-level supply drop to surrounded US troops in enemy territory. He returned to the US and was discharged in the spring of 1945.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Mortgage loan defaults and foreclosures are key factors behind the current economic downturn. In response, Congress passed and the President signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which authorized the Department of the Treasury to establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Under TARP, Treasury created the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) as its cornerstone effort to meet the act's goal of protecting home values and preserving homeownership. This statement focuses on (1) HAMP's program activities to date, (2) status of GAO's July 2009 recommendations to strengthen HAMP's transparency and accountability, (3) preliminary findings from GAO's current work evaluating servicers' implementation of HAMP, and (4) additional challenges HAMP faces going forward. GAO obtained information from 10 HAMP servicers of various sizes that accounted for 71 percent of the TARP funds allocated to participating servicers. GAO reviewed their policies and procedures, interviewed management and quality assurance staff, and observed a sample of phone calls between borrowers and servicers. GAO is also reviewing samples of loan files for borrowers offered and denied HAMP trial modifications. Finally, GAO spoke with officials at Treasury and its financial agents--Fannie Mae and Freddie …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Without proper safeguards, federal computer systems are vulnerable to intrusions by individuals who have malicious intentions and can obtain sensitive information. The need for a vigilant approach to information security has been demonstrated by the pervasive and sustained cyber attacks against the United States; these attacks continue to pose a potentially devastating impact to systems as well as the operations and critical infrastructures that they support. Concerned by reports of weaknesses in federal systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which authorized and strengthened information security program, evaluation, and annual reporting requirements for federal agencies. GAO was asked to testify on federal information security and agency efforts to comply with FISMA. This testimony summarizes (1) federal agencies' efforts to secure information systems and (2) opportunities to enhance federal cybersecurity. To prepare for this testimony, GAO analyzed its prior reports and those from 24 major federal agencies, their inspectors general, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF is critical for recapitalizing tactical air forces and will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $323 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft. This statement draws substantively from GAO's March 19, 2010 report (GAO-10-382). That report discusses JSF costs and schedules, warfighter requirements, manufacturing performance, procurement rates, and development testing plans. This statement also provides an updated analysis of relative costs and benefits from a second (or alternate) engine program. In previous years, we recommended, among other things, that DOD rethink plans to cut test resources, improve reliability of cost estimates, and reduce the number of aircraft procured before testing demonstrates their performance capabilities. In our March 2010 report, we recommended that DOD (1) make a new, comprehensive assessment of the program's costs and schedule and (2) reassess warfighter requirements. DOD concurred with …

Minutes of the Texas Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (TXSSAR) Board of Managers meeting covering the general sessions, held March 24-27, 2010 at the Sheraton Grand DFW Airport Hotel, in Irving, Texas. It includes information about the committees and business covered by the attending members.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For years, in addition to experiencing challenges in making disability claims decisions more quickly and reducing its claims backlog, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has faced challenges in improving the accuracy and consistency of its decisions. GAO was asked to discuss issues surrounding VA's Systematic Technical Accuracy Review (STAR) program, a disability compensation and pension quality assurance program, and possible ways, if any, this program could be improved. This statement focuses on actions VA has taken; including those in response to past GAO recommendations, to (1) address identified weaknesses with STAR and (2) improve efforts to monitor the consistency of claims decisions. This statement is based on GAO's prior work, which examined several aspects of STAR, as well as VA's consistency review activities, and on updated information GAO obtained from VA on quality assurance issues that GAO and VA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) have identified. GAO also reviewed VA's OIG March 2009 report on STAR. GAO is not making any new recommendations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter highlights the results of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government (CFS) for fiscal years 2009 and 2008. GAO is required by the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 to perform an annual audit of the CFS."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the last several years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has planned to invest billions of dollars in development and procurement of unmanned aircraft systems. In its fiscal year 2011 budget request the department indicated a significant increase in these investments, expecting to need more than $24 billion from 2010 through 2015. DOD recognizes that to leverage its resources more effectively, it must achieve greater commonality among the military services' unmanned aircraft system acquisition programs. This testimony is based primarily on GAO's July 2009 report (GAO-09-520) which examined 10 unmanned aircraft acquisition programs: eight unmanned aircraft systems--Global Hawk, Reaper, Shadow, Predator, Sky Warrior, Fire Scout, Broad Area Maritime Surveillance, and Unmanned Combat Aircraft System-Demonstration; and two payload development programs--Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program, and Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload. The testimony focuses on: 1) the cost, schedule, and performance progress of the 10 programs as of July 2009; 2) the extent to which the military services collaborated and identified commonality among the programs; 3) factors influencing the effectiveness of the collaboration; and, 4) recent DOD investment decisions related to these acquisitions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In light of increasing congressional interest in user fee financing, GAO developed a framework for examining user fee design characteristics that may influence the effectiveness of user fees. Specifically, we examined how the four key characteristics of user fees--how fees are set, collected, used, and reviewed--may affect the economic efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and administrative burden of cost-based fees. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for granting or denying the millions of immigration and naturalization applications each year and charges fees to recover all processing costs. In 2007, USCIS completed a fee review to determine the level at which fees should be set to recover the full cost of its services and increased application fees by an average of 86 percent. USCIS is preparing its first fee review since the 2007 fee increase. It is critical that USCIS and the Congress have the best possible information when overseeing these fees and the operations they fund. This testimony focuses on (1) user fee design and implementation characteristics and criteria, (2) cost assignment and trade-offs identified in USCIS's 2007 fee review, and (3) additional considerations for fee-funded …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Iran's oil and gas industry is vital to its economy and government. Oil export revenues have accounted for more than 24 percent of Iran's gross domestic product and between 50 and 76 percent of the Iranian government's revenues in recent years. Iran has the world's third largest oil reserves and second largest gas reserves, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), and is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil, according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. However, Iran has not reached peak crude oil production levels since 1978, does not produce sufficient natural gas for domestic use, and lacks the refining capacity to meet domestic demand for gasoline, according to the Department of Energy (DOE) and IHS Global Insight. IHS Global Insight reports that Iran's priorities for the next five years are to (1) raise oil production and exports as much as possible, (2) increase natural gas production for domestic use, and (3) expand refining capacity if financially and technically possible. CRS reported that the Deputy Minister of the National Iranian Oil Company said in November 2008 that Iran would need about $145 billion …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Departments of Defense (DOD) and State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors, grantees, and cooperative agreement recipients to support troops and civilian personnel and carry out reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This reliance increases the importance of agencies having reliable data to inform decision-making and oversee the work performed. To help increase oversight of activities supporting DOD, State, and USAID's efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, as amended, required the agencies to identify common databases of information on their contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and associated personnel. In their July 2008 memorandum of understanding (MOU), the three agencies designated the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker (SPOT) as their system for tracking the required information. GAO's testimony addresses (1) how a lack of information hinders agencies' management and oversight of contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and associated personnel, (2) the status of the agencies' continued efforts to implement SPOT, and (3) GAO's prior recommendation to improve SPOT's implementation. It is drawn primarily from GAO's prior work on contracting in contingency operations."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Marshall Harris. Harris provides his family???s experiences through the Great Depression. Harris joined the Marine Corps in July of 1943. He completed radio school and volunteered to work with amphibious tanks. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Amphibious Tank Battalion, driving the LVT-A4. He provides details of the LVT. They traveled to Hawaii, where he trained and played on a baseball team. In June of 1944 they participated in the Battle of Saipan, then the Battle of Tinian in July. He served as a radioman and machine gunner. In February of 1945 they participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. He provides vivid details of his experiences through each of these battles. Harris was discharged in November of 1945.