Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Defense offsets are the full range of industrial and commercial benefits that firms give to foreign governments as conditions for the purchase of military goods and services. They have gained attention because of the potential impact they may have on the economy and national security. In 1984 and 1999, data collection and reporting requirements were levied by Congress to obtain information on the impact of offsets on the U.S. industrial base; the Departments of Commerce, State, and Defense are all required to report to Congress on defense offsets. GAO found that although coordination of data collection is limited, it may not be significant because the agencies collecting offsets cover different time periods or situations. Additional coordination may occur after the National Commission on the Use of Offsets begins its work."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) assessment of the performance, efficiency, and effectiveness of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) operations, focusing on whether: (1) ONDCP performs its statutory and regulatory responsibilities in an efficient, effective, and results-oriented manner; (2) ONDCP optimizes human resources in fulfilling its primary objectives of policy, anti-drug program coordination, and compliance; and (3) ONDCP's internal control systems are strategically deployed to enhance business processes throughout the organization."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on college tuition and fees, focusing on the changes in the 1995-1996 and 1999-2000 period compared with median household income."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 7(a) General Business Loan Program, focusing on: (1) the general characteristics of the 7(a) program, including how the program operates; (2) certain issues, such as the lack of coordinated lender oversight, that have been identified in recent studies and reports on the program; and (3) how SBA has responded to these issues."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with GAO's audit of the U.S. Government's financial statement, GAO reviewed the Financial Management Service's (FMS) internal control actions to improve the monitoring of lockbox bank operations."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) new rule on supplemental security income for childhood disabilities. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would revise and finalize the interim rule published on February 11, 1997, which implemented the childhood disabilities provisions of Public Law 104-193; and (2) SSA 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 challenges of developing effective information sharing and coordination strategies needed to deal with computer security threats."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the letters the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends to the public, focusing on: (1) awarding Social Security benefits; (2) adjusting Social Security benefits; (3) awarding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, benefits; and (4) adjusting SSI benefits."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed issues the Department of Defense (DOD) faces in its acquisition of weapon systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Railroad Passenger Corporation's (Amtrak) intercity passenger rail, focusing on: (1) Amtrak's progress toward achieving operating self-sufficiency; (2) its capital investment needs and how these capital needs compare with expected federal funding; and (3) the future of Amtrak and intercity passenger rail."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the management challenges facing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), focusing on: (1) HUD's progress in addressing the major management challenges identified in the past and GAO's plans for updating the risk status of HUD's programs; (2) issues HUD faces in ensuring that the reforms it has implemented are sustainable and will result in its becoming a high-performing federal agency, including GAO's plans for monitoring HUD's activities; and (3) the importance of congressional oversight in ensuring that federal agencies like HUD, successfully manage for results in the 21st century."

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) processes for monitoring the quality of dialysis facilities for end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed export controls for high performance computers, focusing on how the executive branch: (1) assesses the national security risks associated with the export of high performance computers going to countries of concern; (2) determines when the exports of computers at existing performance levels can no longer be controlled; and (3) has addressed arrangements for post-shipment verifications of high performance computer exports."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the threat of terrorist attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) materials, focusing on: (1) the threat and risk assessments to help develop a national strategy and help prioritize and focus program investments to combat terrorism; and (2) observations on how other countries allocate resources and determine funding priorities to combat terrorism."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) proposed rule on the confidentiality of patient health care information, focusing on: (1) the authoritative basis in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) statute for some of the approaches taken by HHS in the proposed rule; (2) the overall pattern of public responses to the rule among a selected group of 40 organizations representing different constituencies affected by the rule; (3) the views expressed by those organizations with respect to sections of the rule that prompted an especially large volume of comments; and (4) concerns that would require legislative action to address."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO updated its long-term economic model using the latest economic and budget assumptions from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)."

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 "compelling state interest" analysis applies to a state agency's interference with a parent's right to direct the upbringing of his or her children (RQ-0205-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 recent amendment to article 42.01,section 2 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure precludes a code clerk from preparing a judgement(RQ-0198-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 section 232.0015(a) of the Local Government Code permits a county to except ""specific divisions of land from the subdivision plat requirement in section 232.001, and related questions(RQ-0200-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 salary cap established by section 659.0115 of the Government Code applies to a retired state employee who is reemployed by the state agency to perform the same services he performed for the agency for the last six months prior to his retirement and related questions.

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 an area of northeastern Bexar County may be disannexed from the Alamo Community College district (RQ-0202-JC).

Interview with Sibyl Bennett Sutherland, a teacher from Kerrville, Texas. Mrs. Sutherland talks about growing up in Center Point, her teaching career, and her father's book, "Kerr County Texas, 1856 to 1956." The interview includes excerpts from Sibyl's journal, documenting 43 years of her life.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lyle Tennis. Tennis joined the Naval Reserve while attending college. He graduated in March of 1944, and then completed Officer Training School at Plattsburg, New York in June of 1944. Tennis served in the Navy aboard the USS LSM(R)-190. He provides detail of his travels through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific. He and his crew participated in the invasion of Okinawa, and Tennis describes his experiences, including launching 480 5-inch rockets against Japanese shore defenses. He was aboard the ship when it was hit and sunk by a Japanese kamikaze. He provides details of this event, for which he received the Navy Cross. He continued to serve in the Reserves until 1970 when he retired as a commander.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ross Taggart. Taggart was born 21 May 1921 in Twin Falls, Idaho. He joined the Navy in 1938. He was assigned to the USS Langley (CV-1) and was wounded when she was attacked by Japanese aircraft and sank in February, 1942. He was rescued by the USS Whipple (DD-217) and transferred to the USS Pecos (AO-6). Two days later, the Pecos was attacked and sank. He was wounded again in the attack and transferred back to the Whipple, which went to Australia. After a stay in the hospital in Australia, Taggart returned to duty and was assigned to the USS Bullwheel (YO-46). Taggart was transferred to shore duty on Iwo Jima where he was severely wounded and placed aboard the hospital ship USS Bountiful (AH-9) for return to the United States. He traveled by hospital train to the Great Lakes Naval Hospital and spent 18 months recovering. He received a medical discharge and went to school using the GI Bill where he received a degree in chemical engineering.