Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through the New Starts program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) identifies and recommends new fixed-guideway transit projects for funding--including heavy, light, and commuter rail; ferry; and certain bus projects. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the New Starts program through fiscal year 2009 and made a number of changes to the program, including creating a separate program commonly called Small Starts. This program is intended to offer an expedited and streamlined evaluation and rating process for smaller-scale transit projects. FTA subsequently introduced a separate eligibility category within the Small Starts program for "Very Small Starts" projects. Very Small Starts projects are simple, low-risk projects that FTA has determined qualify for a simplified evaluation and rating process. This testimony discusses GAO's preliminary findings on (1) FTA's implementation of SAFETEA-LU changes to the New Starts program, (2) the extent to which the New Starts pipeline (i.e., projects in the preliminary engineering and final design phases) has changed over time, and (3) future trends for the New Starts and Small Starts pipelines. To address these objectives, GAO surveyed 215 project sponsors and interviewed …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a key role in leading and coordinating--with stakeholders in the federal, state, local, and private sectors--the nation's homeland security efforts. GAO has conducted numerous reviews of DHS management functions as well as programs including transportation and border security, immigration enforcement and service delivery, and disaster preparation and response. This testimony addresses: (1) why GAO designated DHS's implementation and transformation as a high-risk area, (2) specific management challenges that DHS continues to face, (3) examples of the program challenges that DHS faces, and (4) actions DHS should take to strengthen its implementation and transformation efforts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to discuss--based on Medicare: Focus on Physician Practice Patterns Can Lead to Greater Program Efficiency, GAO-07-307 (Apr. 30, 2007)--the importance in Medicare of providing feedback to physicians on how their use of health care resources compares with that of their peers. GAO's report discusses an approach to analyzing physicians' practice patterns in Medicare and ways the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could use the results. In a related matter, Medicare's sustainable growth rate system of spending targets used to moderate physician spending growth and annually update physician fees has been problematic, acting as a blunt instrument and lacking in incentives for physicians individually to be attentive to the efficient use of resources in their practices. GAO's statement focuses on (1) the results of its analysis estimating the prevalence of inefficient physicians in Medicare and (2) the potential for CMS to profile physicians in traditional fee-for-service Medicare for efficiency and use the results in ways that are similar to other purchasers' efforts to encourage efficiency."

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 Angleton-Danbury Hospital District of Brazoria County is authorized to house private imaging business in the district's hospital facility and to manage the private imaging business.

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: Validity of a rule adopted by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners that prohibits a Board licensee from dispensing any controlled substance unless the licensee is registered with the Texas Department of Public Safety (RQ-0553-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is relying more and more on contractors to provide billions of dollars in services. Congress has pushed DOD to employ sound business practices when using the private sector for services. This testimony discusses DOD's (1) increasing reliance on contractors; (2) efforts to follow sound business practices when acquiring services; and (3) actions to improve its management and oversight of services. This testimony is based on GAO's work spanning several years as well as recent reports issued by the Inspectors General."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for coordinating the federal government's homeland security communications with all levels of government, the private sector, and the public. In support of its mission, the department has deployed a Web-based information-sharing application--the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN)--and operates at least 11 homeland security networks. The department reported that in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, these investments cost $611.8 million to develop, operate, and maintain. In view of the significance of information sharing for protecting homeland security, GAO was asked to testify on the department's efforts to coordinate its development and use of HSIN with two key state and local initiatives under the Regional Information Sharing Systems--a nationwide information-sharing program operated and managed by state and local officials. This testimony is based on a recent GAO report that addresses, among other things, DHS's homeland security networks and HSIN. In performing the work for that report, GAO analyzed documentation on HSIN and state and local initiatives, compared it against the requirements of the Homeland Security Act and federal guidance and best practices, and interviewed DHS officials and state and local officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Senior Executive Service (SES) generally represents the most experienced and senior segment of the federal workforce. Having a diverse SES corps can be an organizational strength that contributes to the achievement of results by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to bear on policy development and implementation, strategic planning, problem solving, and decision making. In a January 2003 report (GAO-03-34), GAO provided data on career SES members by race, ethnicity, and gender as of October 2000. In March 2000, we reported similar data for the Postal Career Executive Service as of September 1999 (GAO/GGD-00-76). In response to a request for updated information on diversity in the top levels of government, GAO is providing information obtained from the Office of Personnel Management's Civilian Personnel Data File and the Postal Service on the representation of women and minorities in (1) the federal government's career SES, (2) the developmental pools from which the vast majority of potential successors for career senior level positions will come (i.e., GS-14 and GS-15), (3) the Postal Service's career officer and senior executive positions in the Postal Career Executive Service, and (4) the …