Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found (1) the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) the Office of Financial Stability (OFS) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2012; and (3) no reportable noncompliance in fiscal year 2012 with provisions of laws and regulations GAO tested."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) subsidiary, NASD Dispute Resolution (DR), failed to update its arbitrator disclosure system in a timely manner. As a result, several parties in an arbitration did not receive timely information on their arbitrator. To reduce the potential for further errors, NASD-DRplans to: (1) introduce a form that will allow arbitrators to submit updated information electronically, and (2) centralize processing of the information in itsDepartment of Neutral Management. In 1992 and 1998, NASD-DR also used other measures to ensure that arbitrator background information was current. Because NASD-DR has made these changes and plans to make additional improvements to its procedures for updating arbitrator disclosure information, GAO is not making any further recommendations at this time."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2005, we issued a report on the environment within which the Department of Defense (DOD) program managers perform their work. We identified areas where program managers believe they are insufficiently empowered to execute programs, and therefore, because much is beyond their control, accountability is difficult. We also compared department policies and practices to those of leading commercial companies we visited and discussed actions DOD could take to improve program manager accountability, while also providing them with timely support as they manage the development of weapon systems. We recommended that DOD take a number of actions to ensure program managers are well positioned to successfully execute acquisitions and be held accountable. The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 directed the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive strategy for enhancing the role of DOD program managers in developing and carrying out defense acquisition programs and to revise guidance for major defense acquisition programs to address the qualifications, resources, responsibilities, tenure, and accountability of program managers for the program development and execution periods. In addition, GAO was directed to report on the actions taken …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report focuses on GAO's review of the South Boston Piers Transitway Finance Plan. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is building a 1.5 mile underground transitway to connect its existing transit system with the South Boston Piers area, which is undergoing significant economic development. The project is experiencing cost increases and schedule delays, which have led to concerns over funding. GAO notes that although MBTA has shown that it has the financial capacity to complete the project, it has not yet clearly demonstrated to the Federal Transit Administration's financial management oversight contractor that funding the transitway project will not impair its ability to operate and maintain its overall transit system."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Because the military's weapon systems, particularly communication systems, have not been sufficiently interoperable, the services have experienced difficulty in operations ranging from the Gulf War to Kosovo. In Joint Vision 2020, a strategic statement on the transformation efforts of U.S. military forces, the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff recognizes that a joint force is essential to operational success and envisions an interoperable joint force with technologically advanced warfighting capabilities able to dominate any adversary by 2020. This vision also emphasizes the importance of experimenting with new joint warfighting concepts. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council plays a key role in advancing the joint warfighting capabilities of U.S. forces in support of Joint Vision 2020. The Council oversees the joint requirements process by assessing and approving the services' joint requirements and deficiencies. The Council also reviews and approves plans for correcting those deficiencies. Finally, the Council ensures interoperability and that the services have linked their capabilities to Joint Vision 2020. The Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and others have identified and begun to address several weaknesses. Because these efforts are in the early stages, it is …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed money laundering in relation to private banking and highlighted some regulatory issues related to the vulnerability of selected offshore jurisdictions to money laundering, focusing on: (1) regulators' oversight of private banking in general; (2) regulators' oversight of private banking in selected offshore jurisdictions; (3) barriers that have hampered regulators' oversight of offshore banking; and (4) future challenges that confront regulators' efforts to combat money laundering in offshore jurisdictions."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony provides information on fraud-prevention controls for the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program. According to the Department of Labor (Labor), in fiscal year 2010 about 251,000 federal and postal employees and their survivors received wage- loss compensation, medical and vocational rehabilitation services, and death benefits through FECA. Administered by Labor, the FECA program provides benefits to federal employees who sustained injuries or illnesses while performing their federal duties. Employees must submit claims to their employing agency, which are then reviewed by Labor. For those claims that are approved, employing agencies reimburse Labor for payments made to their employees, while Labor bears most of the program's administrative costs. Wage-loss benefits for eligible workers-- including those who are at, or older than, retirement age--with total disabilities are generally 66.67 percent of the worker's salary (with no spouse or dependent) or 75 percent for a worker with a spouse or dependent. FECA wage loss compensation benefits are tax free and not subject to time or age limits. Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) estimated that future actuarial liabilities for governmentwide FECA compensation payments to those …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is responsible for maintaining approximately 40,000 pieces of air traffic control equipment, such as radars, navigation beacons, communication systems, and instrument landing systems that are essential to the safe operation of the national airspace system (NAS). Currently, ATO engineers and technicians conduct routine maintenance, periodic inspections, and performance checks on air traffic control equipment to ensure that it functions properly. Recently, ATO identified another process called reliability centered maintenance (RCM) that it plans to add to the other methods it uses to maintain the equipment. RCM is a data-driven, analytical process used to determine the most value-added maintenance requirements that are needed to keep equipment functioning properly. RCM processes are used by federal and private organizations because they reduce unnecessary maintenance. ATO believes that RCM's data-driven analyses for identifying maintenance needs, combined with the equipment manufacturers' maintenance recommendations and engineers' knowledge of the air traffic control equipment, will enhance the ways that ATO maintains the equipment. Senate Report 109-109, which accompanied the Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations Act for the Department of Transportation, asked us to analyze FAA's plans to …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its 1998 investigation of alleged illegalities involving Raul Salinas de Gotari, brother of the former President of Mexico, Carlos Salinas de Gotari, and a U.S. bank, Citibank."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 that authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. Section 902 (k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been finally adjudicated. This is our fifteenth report. Our objectives for this report were to determine (1) the number and categories of applicants who filed applications with USCIS or EOIR and (2) the number and categories of applicants whose applications were approved by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans area is from hurricane-induced storm surges, waves, and rainfalls. A hurricane surge that can inundate coastal lowlands is the most destructive characteristic of hurricanes and accounts for most of the lives lost from hurricanes. Hurricane surge heights along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts can exceed 20 feet. The effects of Hurricane Katrina flooded a large part of New Orleans and breeched the levees that are part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Lake Pontchartrain, and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project. This project, first authorized in 1965, was designed to protect the lowlands in the Lake Pontchartrain tidal basin from flooding by hurricane-induced sea surges and rainfall. GAO is providing information on (1) the purpose and history of the Lake Pontchartrain, and Vicinity, Louisiana Hurricane Protection Project and (2) funding of the project. GAO is not making any recommendations in this testimony."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies rely extensively on computer systems and electronic data to support their missions. The security of these systems is essential to avoiding disruptions in critical operations and to prevent data tampering, fraud, and inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information. GAO analyzed information security audits and evaluations at 24 major federal departments and agencies since July 2000. This testimony summarizes (1) the pervasive weaknesses that led GAO to begin reporting information security as a government-wide high-risk issue in 1997, (2) the serious risks that these weaknesses pose at selected agencies and common weaknesses that agencies need to address to improve their information security programs, and (3) the importance of establishing strong agency-wide security management programs and developing a comprehensive government-wide strategy for improvement."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has embarked on a series of efforts to transform its business operations, including modernizing underlying information technology (business) systems. GAO has reported on inefficiencies and inadequate accountability across DOD's major business areas, resulting in billions of dollars of wasted resources annually. Of the 25 areas on GAO's 2005 list of high-risk federal programs and operations that are vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement and in need of reform, 8 are DOD programs or operations, and 6 are government-wide high risk areas for which DOD shares responsibility. The Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 required DOD to satisfy several conditions relative to its approach to managing its business system modernization program, including developing an enterprise transition plan, which GAO is currently assessing. DOD also recently established a Business Transformation Agency intended to advance defense-wide business transformation. GAO was asked to testify on DOD's business transformation, including its preliminary observations on 1) DOD's efforts to satisfy fiscal year 2005 defense authorization act requirements; 2) the Business Transformation Agency; and 3) DOD's efforts to provide the leadership, structures, …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new rule on the lowering of reporting thresholds for certain persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would lower the reporting thresholds for certain PBTs that are subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990; (2) among other actions, the final rule adds other chemicals to the EPCRA section 313 list of toxic chemicals; and (3) EPA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unauthorized disclosure of classified information can cause up to exceptionally grave damage to national security. The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for about 2 million personnel with clearances that allow them access to classified information. While most of these clearances are for servicemembers and DOD's employees and contractors, DOD is also responsible for contractors' clearances for more than 20 other agencies, as well as for congressional staff. Due to long-standing problems with DOD's clearance program, GAO designated it a high-risk area in January 2005. In February 2005, when DOD transferred its personnel security investigative functions to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the average wait for a top secret clearance governmentwide was over 1 year. In June 2005, Executive Order 13381 gave the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) authority to retain or assign to any executive agency any process relating to determinations of eligibility for access to classified information. OPM is assisting OMB with the development of the plan. GAO was asked to assess the government plan. This testimony will provide GAO's preliminary review of how well the government plan (1) adheres to the standards of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed ways to combat fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program, focusing on: (1) an overview of the problem; (2) key components of fraud control; and (3) the importance of federal and state cooperation."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the President's proposal for Social Security financing, focusing on: (1) the extent to which the proposal achieves sustainable solvency and how the proposal would affect the economy and the federal budget; (2) whether the proposal balances individual equity and income adequacy; and (3) how readily changes could be implemented, administered, and explained to the public."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) new rule on wireless radio services. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would permit wireless carriers the use of handset-based solutions, or hybrid solutions that require changes both to handsets and wireless networks in providing caller location information as part of Enhanced 911 services; and (2) FCC complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the nation's leading research and development organization in the fields of space and aeronautics. Each year, NASA spends almost 90 percent of its annual budget on the acquisition of supplies and services in order to fulfill the agency's mission to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. NASA purchases these supplies and services from both U.S. and foreign contractors. Although most contracts were awarded to U.S. contractors, NASA, in fiscal year 2004, also awarded contracts to vendors in 23 countries. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 requires the NASA Administrator to annually report to Congress on NASA's contracts and subcontracts performed overseas and purchases from foreign entities. The report should also indicate contracts and subcontracts and their dollar values for goods and services that are only available from foreign sources as well as items and their dollar values for which the Buy American Act was waived pursuant to obligations of the United States under international agreements. According to the reporting requirement, the first annual report is due no later than January 2007. …

Air Force Team - David Combs - Portland ANGS, Portland, OR

List of horse equipment that is issued. Equipment consists of: saddle with stirrups, stirrup leathers, coat straps, saddle bags, saddle blanket, bridle, horse brush, watering bridle.

Announcement for varied entertainment provided by the teachers and pupils of Miss Bass' School under the direction of Madame Richard at the Opera House on November 9, 1883.

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, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification;Whether a county may make a pay rise retroactiv to time when funds were budgeted for pay rises(RQ-1722).

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, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Constitutionality of delegation of authority to General 1700 Land Office in article 5414a-2, V.T.C.S., to select a tract of state-owned land for placement in the permanent school fund in "exchange" for a tract to be patented out under the bill's provisions.