Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is an important sponsor of math and science education for elementary and secondary school students. GAO identified at least 61 federally funded projects that are designed to improve students' skills in these key areas. The materials in these projects are taught over the course of a partial school year, single school year, or multiple school years. Algebra, calculus, and basic math are a few of the subjects being taught students through grade 12. In the science programs, students are exposed to biology, astronomy, and natural science. Federal agencies generally support programs that are relevant to their own agency missions. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency funds programs that teach students about water quality and conservation, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration funds the Astronomy Village, a multimedia program that teaches students about stars and stellar evolution."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed 31 completed Department of the Interior (DOI) contracts with outstanding balances, focusing on whether the outstanding balances were not needed for contract closeout and could be deobligated."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the fiscal year (FY) 2001 budget for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, focusing on determining the status of the Board's: (1) organization; (2) operations; and (3) efforts to update and develop plans, policies, and procedures for accomplishing the Board's mission."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO investigated a complaint about improper activities at the Keystone Job Corps Training Center in Drums, Pennsylvania. The complaint alleged the center was enrolling individuals who were at a state prison facility, the Youth Services Agency. The complaint alleged that these individuals posed a threat to the safety and well being of the regular student population at the Keystone Job Corps Training Center. GAO found that, contrary to the allegations, the Youth Services Agency is not a state prison. It is a facility for youths convicted of delinquency-related offenses. GAO also found that enrollees were screened to determine whether they were disruptive or dangerous."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed issues related to the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command's decision to exercise, and then terminate, a contract option for a prelubrication system manufactured under the trademark Pre-Luber, focusing on whether the: (1) Pre-Luber offers significant savings in maintenance and repair costs in comparison to the awarded engine without the Pre-Luber; (2) contract was administered fairly, lawfully, and economically; and (3) lubrication system on the subcontractor's engine may infringe on the patent held by Engine Lubrication Systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has been providing assistance to Colombia since the early 1970s to help the Colombian National Police and other law enforcement agencies, the military, and civilian agencies reduce illegal drug production and trafficking. Recognizing that illegal drug activities are a serious problem, the Colombian government announced a counternarcotics plan known as Plan Colombia. This testimony reviews the U.S. counternarcotics efforts in Colombia. Although U.S.-provided assistance has enhanced Colombian counternarcotics capabilities, its usefulness has sometimes been limited because of long-standing problems in planning and implementation. For example, little progress has been made in launching a plan to have Colombia's National Police assume a larger role in managing the aerial eradication program, which requires costly U.S. contractor assistance. The governments of the United States and Colombia face continuing and new financial and management challenges in implementing Plan Colombia. The costs and activities needed to implement the plan are unknown at this time, and it will take years before any significant reduction in the drug trade is seen. Colombia must resolve problems with its political and economic stability and improve its management of counternarcotics funding in order to successfully …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed: (1) the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claims history for tribal self-determination contracts for fiscal years 1997 through 1999; and (2) FTCA coverage issues that are unique to tribal contractors."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the feasibility of allowing some families with children with disabilities to purchase Medicaid coverage, focusing on: (1) what role Medicaid plays in providing health care coverage for children with disabilities; (2) the extent to which private insurance offers coverage of needed services for children with disabilities; and (3) the benefits and services available to children under the Medicaid program."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed aspects of S. 2805--the Federal Property Asset Management Reform Act--and H.R. 3285--the Federal Asset Management Improvement Act."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the creation of a federal chief information officer (CIO), focusing on the: (1) structure and responsibilities of existing state and foreign governmentwide CIO models; (2) federal CIO approaches proposed by two bills; and (3) type of leadership responsibilities that a federal CIO should possess."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its assessment of the Army Corps of Engineers' draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Lower Snake River dams, focusing on whether the Corps: (1) followed applicable procedures and guidelines in preparing the draft EIS; and (2) used a reasonable methodology to analyze and present the effects of breaching, specifically with respect to electricity costs, transportation costs, and air quality."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) efforts to process discrimination complaints, focusing on the: (1) timeliness and ability of USDA's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to process employment discrimination complaints; and (2) reasons for delays in the implementing GAO's previous recommendations."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) new rule on the irradiation of meat and meat food products. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule amends the FSIS rules to permit the use of ionizing radiation for treating refrigerated or frozen uncooked meat, meat byproducts, and certain other meat food products to reduce levels of foodborne pathogens and to extend shelf-life; (2) the rule revises existing regulations governing the irradiation of poultry products so that they will be as consistent as possible with the regulations for the irradiation of meat food products; and (3) FSIS complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) efforts to improve the measurement of improper payments in the Medicare fee-for-service program."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), focusing on: (1) the changes in federal paperwork burden since last year's hearing, with particular attention to changes at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (2) IRS burden-relief initiatives that are directed at small businesses; and (3) PRA violations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the regulation of the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSE)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the financial health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, focusing on: (1) the activities of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) home mortgage insurance program; (2) how the reserves of the Fund are estimated; (3) GAO's views on determining an adequate level of reserves; (4) actions that Congress and the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have taken or could take to influence the level of reserves; and (5) the impact that actions affecting the level of reserves could have on the federal budget."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the: (1) challenges and uncertainties facing the Department of Energy (DOE) in cleaning up its Paducah, Kentucky, uranium enrichment site; and (2) effectiveness of DOE's oversight and management of its in-tank precipitation (ITP) project."

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: Constitutionality of “early exit” plan for school district employees, and related questions (RQ-0055-JC)

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 the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority may by rule exempt single interest insurance policies from the fee imposed by article 4413(37), section 10(b) of the Texas Revised Civil Statutes (RQ-0087-JC)

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 the Parker County Commissioners Court is authorized to appoint a purchasing agent or procurement officer pursuant to section 262.001 of the Local Government Code and related questions (RQ-0146-JC)

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 the County Purchasing Act, TEX. LOC. GOV’T CODE ANN. §§ 262.021-.035 (Vernon 1999 & Supp. 2000), applies to the purchases of a local government corporation created by a county under subchapter D, chapter 431 of the Transportation Code (RQ-0139-JC)

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 school district may charge tuition for students attending a prekindergarten program, and related question (RQ-0107-JC)

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 police officer who secretly records or broadcasts a suspect's conversation in a police car violates section 16.02 of the Penal Code.