Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the baby boomers age, spending on long-term care for the elderly could quadruple by 2050. The growing demand for long-term care will put pressure on federal and state budgets because long-term care relies heavily on public financing, particularly Medicaid. Nursing home care traditionally has accounted for most Medicaid long-term care expenditures, but the high costs of such care and the preference of many individuals to stay in their own homes has led states to expand their Medicaid programs to provide coverage for home- and community-based long-term care. GAO found that a Medicaid-eligible elderly individual with the same disabling conditions, care needs, and availability of informal family support could find significant differences in the type and intensity of home and community-based services that would be offered for his or her care. These differences were due in part to the very nature of long-term care needs--which can involve physical or cognitive disabling conditions--and the lack of a consensus as to what services are needed to compensate for these disabilities and what balance should exist between publicly available and family-provided services. The differences in care plans were also due to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In March of this year, GAO testified before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, about the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) information technology (IT) program, and the strides that the Secretary had made in improving departmental leadership and management of this critical area--including the hiring of a chief information officer. At the Subcommittee's request, GAO evaluated VA's new IT organizational structure, and provided an update on VA's progress in addressing other specific areas of IT concern and our related recommendations pertaining to enterprise architecture, information security, the Veterans Benefits Administration's replacement compensation and pension payment system and maintenance of the Benefits Delivery Network, and the government computer-based patient record initiative."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Interstate Highway System has become central to transportation in the United States. It extends over 46,000 miles in length and includes 210,000 lane miles. The System carries over 24 percent of all vehicle miles traveling in the nation, while making up just 2.5 percent of total lane miles. Funding for the Interstate Highway System has been a major part of total highway funding since 1954 when interstate highway construction began. From 1954 through 2001, federal funding for interstates total over $370 billion (2001 dollars)--46 percent of all apportionments administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) during this period. Congestion on interstate highways has increased over the last decade; the physical condition of interstate highways has generally improved, and the level of safety has remained steady. Some of the factors states expect to negatively affect the conditions of their interstate highways in the future include increases in passenger and freight traffic, aging infrastructure, and financial constraints. FHWA's estimates of future annual interstate highway investment requirements vary depending on the goal transportation officials have for performance of the interstate system. In 2000, GAO evaluated the model that FHWA uses …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Increasingly, the issues of distance education and federal student aid intersect. About one in every 13 postsecondary students enrolls in at least one distance education course, and the Department of Education estimates that the number of students involved in distance education has tripled in just 4 years. As the largest provider of financial aid to postsecondary students, the federal government has a considerable interest in distance education. Overall, 1.5 million out of 19 million postsecondary students took at least one distance education course in the 1999-2000 school year. The distance education students differ from other postsecondary students in a number of respects. Compared to other students, they tend to be older and are more likely to be employed full-time while attending school part-time. They also have higher incomes and are more likely to be married. Many students enrolled in distance education courses participate in federal student aid programs. As distance education continues to grow, several major aspects of federal laws, rules, and regulations may need to be reexamined. Certain rules may need to be modified if a small, but growing, number of schools are to remain eligible for …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Coleman Harrington. Harrington joined the Navy in 1944. He completed Communications School, and stevedore training. He traveled to Okinawa, offloading supplies from ship to shore, where he remained through the end of the war. He traveled to Hong Kong. Harrington returned to the US and was discharged in January of 1946.