Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2007, GAO reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had made little progress in integrating its existing financial management systems and made six recommendations focused on the need for DHS to define a departmentwide strategy and embrace disciplined processes. In June 2007, DHS announced its new financial management systems strategy, called the Transformation and Systems Consolidation (TASC) program. GAO's testimony provides preliminary analysis of the status of its prior recommendations and whether there were additional issues identified that pose challenges to the successful implementation of the TASC program. GAO reviewed relevant documentation, such as the January 2009 Request for Proposal and its attachments, and interviewed key officials to obtain additional information. GAO provided a draft report that this testimony is based on to DHS on September 29, 2009, for review and comment. After reviewing and considering DHS' comments, GAO plans to finalize and issue the report including providing appropriate recommendations aimed at improving the department's implementation of the TASC program."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Improvised explosive devices (IED) are the number-one threat to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, accounting for almost 40 percent of the attacks on coalition forces in Iraq. Although insurgents' use of IEDs in Iraq has begun to decline, in Afghanistan the number of IED incidents has significantly increased. The Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) was created to lead, advocate, and coordinate all DOD efforts to defeat IEDs. Its primary role is to provide funding to the military services and DOD agencies to rapidly develop and field counter-IED solutions. Through fiscal year 2009, Congress has appropriated over $16 billion to JIEDDO. In addition, other DOD components, including the military services, have devoted at least $1.5 billion to the counter-IED effort--which does not include $22.7 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. This testimony is based on a report that GAO is issuing today as well as preliminary observations from ongoing work that GAO plans to report in early 2010. In the report being issued today, GAO is recommending that JIEDDO (1) improve its visibility of counter-IED efforts across DOD, (2) develop a complete plan to guide the transition of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Cyber security is a critical consideration for any organization that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission or business. Organizations are faced with a variety of information security threats, such as fraudulent activity from cyber criminals, unauthorized access by disgruntled or dishonest employees, and denial-of-service attacks and other disruptions. The recent dramatic increase in reports of security incidents, the wide availability of hacking tools, and steady advances in the sophistication and effectiveness of attack technology all contribute to the urgency of ensuring that adequate steps are taken to protect the federal government's information and the systems that contain and process it. The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which was enacted in 2002, sets forth a comprehensive framework for ensuring the effectiveness of security controls over information resources that support federal operations and assets. The act assigns specific responsibilities to federal agencies, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It also requires agencies and OMB to annually report on the adequacy and effectiveness of agency information security programs and compliance with the provisions of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the single-employer insurance program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) may become the trustee of underfunded plans that are terminated and assume responsibility for paying benefits to participants as they become due, up to certain legal limits. From its inception in 1974 through the end of fiscal year 2008, PBGC has terminated and trusteed a total of 3,860 single-employer plans covering some 1.2 million workers and retirees. Since 2008, the economic downturn has brought a new influx of pension plan terminations to PBGC, and more are expected to follow. The committee asked GAO to discuss our recent work on PBGC. Specifically, this testimony describes: (1) PBGC's process for determining the amount of benefits to be paid; and (2) PBGC's recoupment process when the estimated benefit provided is too high and a retiree receives an overpayment that must be repaid. To address these objectives, GAO relied primarily on a recent report titled Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: More Strategic Approach Needed for Processing Complex Plans Prone to Delays and Overpayments (GAO-09-716, Aug. 2009). In that report, GAO made numerous recommendations. PBGC generally agreed and is taking steps to address …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whose reauthorization is the subject of today's hearing, plays a vital role in advancing transportation safety by investigating accidents, determining their causes, issuing safety recommendations, and conducting safety studies. To support the agency's mission, NTSB's Training Center provides training to NTSB investigators and others. From 2006 through 2008, GAO made 21 recommendations to NTSB that address management, information technology (IT), accident investigation criteria, safety studies, and Training Center use. This testimony addresses NTSB's progress in implementing recommendations that it (1) follow leading management practices, (2) conduct aspects of its accident investigations and safety studies more efficiently, and (3) increase the use of its Training Center. This testimony is based on GAO's assessment from July 2009 to October 2009 of plans and procedures NTSB developed to address these recommendations. NTSB provided technical comments that GAO incorporated as appropriate."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of undernourished people worldwide now exceeds 1 billion, according to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of food insecurity, with 1 out of every 3 people undernourished. Global targets were set at the 1996 World Food Summit and reaffirmed in 2000 with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) when the United States and more than 180 nations pledged to halve the number and proportion of undernourished people by 2015. In a May 2008 report, GAO recommended that the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Secretaries of Agriculture, State, and the Treasury, (1) develop an integrated governmentwide U.S. strategy that defines actions with specific time frames and resource commitments, enhances collaboration, and improves measures to monitor progress and (2) report annually to Congress on the implementation of the first recommendation. USAID concurred with the first recommendation but expressed concerns about the vehicle of the annual reporting. The Departments of Agriculture, State, and Treasury generally concurred with the findings. In this testimony, based on prior reports and ongoing work, GAO discusses (1) host …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last few years, the total underfunding in the defined-benefit pension system has deteriorated to the point where the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency responsible for protecting private sector defined benefit plan benefits, estimates that total plan underfunding grew to more than $400 billion as of December 31, 2002, and still exceeded $350 billion as of September 4, 2003. PBGC itself faced an estimated $8.8 billion accumulated deficit as of August 31, 2003. Deficiencies in current funding and related regulations have contributed to several large plans recently terminating with severely underfunded pension plans. This testimony provides GAO's observations on a variety of regulatory and legislative reforms that aim to improve plan funding and better protect the benefits of millions of American workers and retirees while minimizing the burden to plan sponsors of maintaining defined-benefit plans."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The decennial census is a constitutionally-mandated activity that produces critical data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. This testimony discusses (1) the various measures of population used to allocate federal grant funds (2) how the accuracy of the population count and measurement of accuracy have evolved and the U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) plan for coverage measurement in 2010; and (3) the potential impact that differences in population estimates can have on the allocation of grant funds. This testimony is based primarily on GAO's issued work in which it evaluated the sensitivity of grant formulas to population estimates."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with (1) federal financial management systems requirements, (2) federal accounting standards, and (3) the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger. Most federal agencies face long-standing challenges, which are discussed in greater detail in our mandated September 2003 report, Sustained Efforts Needed to Achieve FFMIA Accountability (GAO-03-1062). In light of these circumstances, Congress asked GAO to testify about recurring financial management systems problems and agencies' efforts to upgrade their systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since its inception, the International Space Station has experienced numerous problems that have resulted in significant cost growth and assembly schedule slippages. Following the Columbia accident and the subsequent grounding of the shuttle fleet in February 2003, concerns about the future of the space station escalated, as the fleet has been key to the station's assembly and operations. In August 2003, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board drew a causal link between aggressive space station goals--supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) current culture--and the accident. Specifically, the Board reported that, in addition to technical failures, Columbia's safety was compromised in part by internal pressures to meet an ambitious launch schedule to achieve certain space station milestones. This testimony discusses the implications of the shuttle fleet's grounding on the space station's schedule and cost, and on the program's partner funding and agreements--findings we reported on in September 2003. The testimony also proposes a framework for providing NASA and the Congress with a means to bring about and assess needed cultural changes across the agency."

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a business located in an enterprise zone and presently designated an "enterprise project" and allocated the maximum jobs and tax benefits may receive an additional and concurrent enterprise project designation in the same zone and receive an additional maximum job allocation and the related tax benefits.

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a county commissioners court may set the daily reimbursement rate of grand jurors' expenses at a rate different from petit jurors' expenses, and related question.

Photocopy of an envelope addressed to Al Daniels from SDD, postmarked on October 29, 2009.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd Overmyer. Overmyer graduated from high school in Monterey, Indiana in 1943 and was drafted into the Army on 20 June 1945. He was undergoing basic training in Little Rock, Arkansas when the war in Europe ended. Following military police training, he embarked on the troop ship USAT George Washington, which sailed to Bremerhaven, Germany. He provides several anecdotes of his transit and was training for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. At the Dachau concentration camp, Overmyer was assigned to guard SS soldiers awaiting trial and repatriated German POWs. He describes an unpleasant encounter with General Omar Bradley while serving occupation duty in Germany. He remembers seeing local German citizens being forced to the camp to see for themselves the conditions there and to help clean the facilities.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Pete Rocha. Rocha joined the Navy and trained at Great Lakes. He served as a storekeeper in Florida and Texas for a while before receiving amphibious training in Virginia. Rocha was assigned to LSM-262 as a storekeeper. Rocha recalls combat experiences at Okinawa and the Philippines. His battle station was on a 40mm gun at the bow. After the war, while ashore at Yokahama, Rocha encountered his brother.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bob McMahon. He enrolled in the Flying Cadet program while in college. After completing initial training in San Antonio, he was transferred to the 21st Pursuit Squadron at Hamilton Field in California where he trained in P-36s and P-40s. In November 1941 he embarked on the troop ship, USS Republic (AP-33) which was underway in the South Pacific on December 7. He arrived in Australia on December 21. In February, 1942 his squadron took off from Darwin to Indonesia when they encountered heavy weather and returned to the airfield, where he was attacked by Japanese fighter planes. He shot down three Japanese fighters before being wounded and forced to bail out of his damaged plane. He landed in a mangrove swamp and was rescued. McMahon watched hundreds of Japanese bombers destroy the Darwin airport and the adjacent RAAF field. The Australians evacuated Darwin and he was flown to Brisbane to recover from his wounds. After recovering, he joined the 39th Fighter Squadron operating out of New Guinea. He recalls escorting a B-26 during a flight out of Port Moresby, New Guinea on which Congressman Lyndon Johnson was embarked. …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Lloyd C. Fons. After completing midshipman's school and earning a commission, Fons served aboard patrol torpedo (PT) boats in the Philippines. He served in Squadron 17 aboard three different boats - 229, 230 and 231. He eventually became the commanding officer of PT 229 in July, 1945. His primary assignment seemed to be delivering guerrillas to various locations in Mindoro and Luzon. After the war, Fons was transferred to Hong Kong where he was commaning officer aboard a yard patrol boat, YP 641, for 11 months. Here, his primary duty seemed to be delivering frozen and refrigerated food to other ships.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Elnora Geer. Geer finished high school in 1933 and went to work as a telephone operator in McKinney, Texas. When the war started, Geer was married and had one child with another on the way when her husband was drafted in early 1944. Before her husband shipped overseas, she moved out to California with her babies. He was en route to the Philippines when the war ended and she was on hand to greet him upon his return to New Orleans.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Pedro De La Garza. De La Garza was drafted into the Army in December of 1942. He was assigned to the 329th Medical Battalion, 104th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Timberwolf Division. His military occupation specialty was ambulance orderly. From September of 1944 through July of 1945 he participated on the front lines in the European Theater. He traveled to France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, crossed the Rhine River and was located at the Elbe River when Germany surrendered. He provides details of his work, his travels and his experiences during nighttime combat. He was discharged in late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gilbert Vera. Vera was born in Benavides, Texas 5 March 1918. After graduating from high school in 1937, he worked various jobs until being drafted into the Army. After his induction, he was sent to Camp Wallace, Texas for three months of basic training. Vera was then sent to Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia for six months training on communication equipment including the switchboard and telephone lines. Upon completion of the training he went to Fort Dix, New Jersey for debarkation. After a twelve day journey traveling in convoy, he landed at Casablanca, North Africa as part of the 15th Air Force. Soon after arrival, Vera was subjected to attack by German aircraft. He tells of the work he did in the communications center. After a year the unit moved to Manduria, Italy where they remained until Germany surrendered. Vera returned to the United States and was discharged September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Snyder. Snyder was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 8 July 1918. He was working for the Kansas City Star newspaper when he was drafted in November 1941. After completing basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, he applied for Officer Candidate School. He was accepted and sent to the Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky for training. Upon graduating, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and ordered to report to the 14th Armored Division at Camp Chafee, Arkansas. After participating in maneuvers he was named Public Information Officer for the division. Soon thereafter, he went to New Caledonia with the 25th Infantry Division. While there, he wrote hometown stories about various servicemen and sent them to their hometown newspapers for publication. Leaving New Caledonia, he joined General MacArthur’s Headquarters at Hollandia, New Guinea. Snyder was present during the invasions of Morotai, Leyte and Corregidor and describes the combat he observed. He recalls landing at Atsugi Airfield, Japan and being aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) when the Surrender Agreement was signed by members of the Japanese delegation. Following the ceremony, Snyder visited Nagasaki, Japan and vividly describes the …