Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the validity of the results of a 1998 study of the Canadian lynx. The Forest Service contracted with Dr. John Weaver of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City to help survey the Canadian lynx in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon. In a March 1999 interim report, Dr. Weaver concluded that the Canadian lynx lives in some forests in Washington and Oregon. In March 2000, the Fish and Wildlife Service placed the lynx on its list of threatened species in the forested portions of 13 states, including Washington and Oregon. Issues have since been raised about whether the study's results were falsified. GAO found no evidence that the study was deliberately falsified."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), which is expected to provide more than $20 billion in refundable tax credits in fiscal year 2002, is intended to offset the burden of the Social Security payroll tax on low-income workers and encourage low-income individuals to work. About 75 percent of the 17.2 million eligible households have claimed the credit. GAO found that the participation rate varied by the number of qualifying children in the household. Participation rates for households with one or two qualifying children were 96 percent and 93 percent respectively. In contrast, the participation rate for households with three or more qualifying children was 62.5 percent. The participation rate for households with no qualifying children was 44.7 percent. Although qualifying households were eligible to claim $22.3 billion in EICs in 1999, the Internal Revenue Service estimates that participating households actually claimed $20.9 billion."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government runs an incentive awards program, consisting of monetary and nonmonetary awards, to recognize individual employees or teams for outstanding contributions that enhance government operations. Congress has placed prohibitions on cash awards to political appointees. Overall, 32 of the 46 agencies reported that 297 political appointees received 373 monetary awards from September 1999 through April 2001. The remaining 14 agencies reported that they did not provide any awards to political appointees during that period. Political appointees in each of the government's pay groups received both monetary and time-off awards less frequently than did regular federal employees, but at a larger mean dollar value. The mean dollar value of all monetary awards to political appointees exceeded that of awards to regular federal employees. The number, rates, and mean dollar value of awards to political and regular federal employees also varied by type of award. Individual political appointees and regular federal employees often received more than one award. Agencies reported that 46 political appointees, or about 17 percent of the appointees who received monetary awards, received multiple awards from September 1999, through May 2000. Six departments--the Departments of …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO surveyed 26 agencies not subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. Overall, the surveyed agencies reported that they either achieved significant benefits or would anticipate achieving such benefits from having audited financial statements. The level of effort to prepare financial statements and prepare for an audit varied significantly with the size and other characteristics of the agencies. In determining whether agencies should prepare financial statements and have them audited, respondents identified a combination of factors to consider, including budget authority, key financial statement amounts, and the type of agency operations. Irrespective of the importance of such factors, 21 of the 26 agencies reported that federal agencies should have their financial statements audited."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To assist the Committee on International Relations evaluate the extent to which five House Interparliamentary Groups' schedules of receipts, disbursements, and fund balance for 2000 and 1999 appropriately reflected the cash receipts and disbursements and fund balance for those years, GAO reviewed documentation supporting each group's recorded receipt and disbursement transactions and related fund balances for evidence that the transactions were properly authorized and recorded. The schedules, prepared by the treasurer of each group, present for 2000 and 1999 the opening fund balance, total receipts, and disbursements by category, and ending fund balance, on a cash basis, for each of the five groups. GAO also recalculated and compared the recalculated amounts to the reported amounts in each group's 2000 and 1999 schedule."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Transportation (DOT) faces critical challenges in achieving its goals of ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people and goods and in making cost-effective investments in the nation's transportation infrastructure. Many of the challenges GAO identified at DOT are long-standing and will require sustained attention by the new administration and Congress. Although the Department has efforts under way to address the shortcomings of its programs, these activities have not been fully implemented. Their success will depend on a strong commitment from DOT's new leadership and a sustained effort to identify and address critical human capital issues. Finally, as they address the problems facing each of the individual components, given the myriad of demands for new resources, the new administration and Congress must think and act to ensure that their transportation decisions reflect an intermodal transportation strategy that addresses the most pressing national needs in a cost-beneficial manner. This testimony summarizes a January GAO report (GAO-01-253)."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO commented on whether the Fish and Wildlife Service's Record of Decision (ROD) entitled "Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration" is a "rule" under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. GAO held that, under CRA, a rule is an agency action that constitutes a statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy. The Trinity ROD clearly constituted a rule since its essential purpose was to set policy for the future."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare faces many challenges. The overarching issue is how to sustain the program for future generations. Meeting that challenge will require difficult decisions that will affect beneficiaries, providers, and taxpayers. However, the financing issue should not obscure other important challenges. Medicare's current cost-sharing arrangements do not encourage the efficient use of services without discouraging necessary care. Moreover, the lack of catastrophic coverage can leave some beneficiaries liable for substantial Medicare expenses. Finally, some aspects of Medicare's program management are inefficient and lag behind modern private sector practices. Changes in Medicare's program management could improve both the delivery of health care to beneficiaries and the program's ability to pay providers appropriately. Some view restructuring of the relationship between parts A and B as an important element of overall Medicare reform. Fundamentally, assessing the program as a whole is an important first step in addressing Medicare's challenges. Solutions to many of these challenges could be crafted without restructuring. However, restructuring may provide opportunities to implement desired reforms--with or without unifying the Hospital Insurance and Supplemental Medical Insurance trust funds--while undoubtedly raising issues that will have to be considered."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's recent work on U.S. nonproliferation programs and comments on S. 673--a bill to establish an interagency committee to review and coordinate such programs. GAO found that the U.S. programs have achieved some success, but more needs to be done to keep nuclear weapons, materials, and technologies out of the hands of terrorists and countries of concern. Furthermore, questions exist about how to sustain the security improvements being made. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of State programs to employ weapons scientists face difficulty in conclusively demonstrating that they are preventing the spread of weapons-related knowledge and expertise. With respect to S. 673, there is some debate among officials about the need for more coordination of U.S. nonproliferation programs. On the basis of the findings of two independent commissions that recently examined these programs, GAO believes that more coordination would be helpful and that the legislation could serve as a vehicle to share information and best practices for addressing problems GAO identified. S. 673 could be strengthened by mandating development of an overarching strategic plan that clearly identifies overall goals, time frames for …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the procedural and analytical rulemaking requirements applicable to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other federal regulatory agencies. GAO found that the rulemaking requirements that have been placed on OSHA and other agencies are voluminous and require a wide range of procedural, consultative, and analytical actions on the part of the agencies. Federal agencies sometimes take years to develop final rules, and the requirements are not as effective as expected or as they could be. This lack of effectiveness can be traced to how the requirements have been implemented and the requirements themselves."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Peruvian government has acted decisively to address the serious problems that affected last year's elections. President Paniagua's administration has committed itself to ensuring the neutrality of the government and the armed forces during the upcoming elections, including prohibiting the use of government resources for political purposes. Also, the government has named new leaders to two electoral agencies--those responsible for overseeing and implementing the elections--and these leaders have emphasized their full commitment to conducting free and fair elections. The Agency for International Development's election-related assistance has been timely, responsive, and coordinated with other donors, and has been responsive to Peru's needs by funding electoral observation efforts before and during the elections; supporting technical assistance efforts to the Peruvian electoral agencies; and funding the delivery of election-related information to voters, journalists, candidates, and political parties. In addition, the agency has coordinated its election-related assistance with the other international donors that are also helping Peru hold democratic elections in 2001. Although Peru appears to be on track to conduct free and fair elections in 2001, Peru faces several important challenges over the next 3-1/2 weeks before the first round of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses fluid milk prices and the factors that impact them. GAO found that although the farm price of milk has some influence on the retail price, other factors may ultimately have a greater impact on the retail price. Given that farm prices account only for about 40 percent of the retail price, other factors, such as wholesale processing costs and retail pricing strategies, can significantly influence the retail price. This testimony summarized an October 1998 report (GAO/RCED-99-4)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Three years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) characterized hepatitis C as a serious national health problem that needs early detection to reduce transmission risks, ensure timely treatment, and prevent progression of liver disease. In a 1988 letter, VA outlined the process clinicians should use when (1) screening veterans for known risk factors for exposure to hepatitis C and (2) ordering tests to detect antibodies and diagnose hepatitis C infection as part of a plan to evaluate and assess risk factors for VA patients. This testimony discusses VA's progress in screening and testing veterans for hepatitis C during fiscal years 1999 and 2000. GAO found that VA missed opportunities to screen as many as three million veterans when they visited medical facilities during fiscal years 1999 and 2000, potentially leaving as many as 200,000 veterans unaware that they have hepatitis C infections. Of those screened, an unknown number likely remain undiagnosed because of flawed procedures. Although the pace of screening and testing appears to be improving, many currently undiagnosed veterans may not be identified expeditiously unless VA (1) establishes early detection of hepatitis C as a standard …

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 Port of Port Arthur Navigation District may adopt a policy limiting the number of years it will consent to allow an existing loading and unloading contract to automatically renew to five (RQ-0298-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; Application of chapter 711 of the Health and Safety Code to cemetaries not dedicated under that chapter, and related questions (RQ-0304-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 406th District Court of Webb County has criminal jurisdiction (RQ-0299-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 hospital district board of managers may appoint its own members to the board of a health maintenance organization created by the district and whether the health maintenance organization's board of directors is subject to the Open Meetings Act.

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 39.9048 of the Utilities Code Requires the Railroad Commission to initiate "a program to keep the costs of fuel, such as natural gas used for generating electricity low "(RQ-0372-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; Furnishing of a social security number as a requirement for Texas driver's license(RQ-0343-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 an emergency communication district may expend funds for an item that is not "attributable to designing a 9-1-1 system and to all equipment and personnel necessary to establish and operate a public safety answering point and other related answering points" (RQ-0365-JC)

Interview with Ammie Rose Hollar Garrett Salter, a retiree who has lived in Kerrville, Texas intermittently over the years. Mrs. Salter discusses visiting her grandparents in Kerrville, meeting her first husband, Julian "Joe" Garrett, a Canadian immigrant, her involvement with planes, her substitute teaching career, and her work with the Audubon Society.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Haschel. Haschel was born in Winamac, Indiana in 1918 and grew up during the Depression. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Navy in September 1941. Upon completing basic training at Great Lakes, he was assigned to the USS Honolulu (CL-48) a few days following the Japanese attack. The Honolulu was damaged in the attack and went to Mare Island for repairs. Over the following months he describes the Honolulu serving as a convoy escort for troop ships sailing back and forth from Pearl Harbor to New Caledonia and Fiji. Next, the ship sailed to the Aleutians in mid-1942 for gunfire support followed by a transit to Espiritu Santo, where the Honolulu provided escort duty for Marine and Army troops landing on Guadalcanal. Haschel recalls the night of 30 November when the Honolulu, with the USS Northampton (CG-26) and other vessels, disrupted an attempt to resupply Japanese troops on Guadalcanal during the Battle of Tassafaronga. His next assignment was shore duty in Miami training sub chaser and patrol boat crews. He was transferred to the USS Augusta (CA-31) in 1945. Haschel was aboard when the …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Sheehan. Sheehan joined the Navy in October of 1942. He was trained as an aviation machinist mate and became a flight engineer on a PBM Mariner. Sheehan discusses engine maintenance and the challenges of minimizing the constant corrosion that threatened the plane. He briefly discusses flying anti-submarine missions along the East Coast and later in the Pacific. Sheehan also describes weathering a typhoon on the water. He returned to the U.S. and was stationed in California at the end of the war. Sheehan left the Navy in November 1945, but returned to the reserves and retired in 1966.

This document describes the data analysis procedures developed to create the Aggregate and Candidate Record Groups using SQL statements. This is the preliminary version of these procedures tested and validated on a sample of decomposed MARC records. (For a description of how the MARC records were decomposed see the Z-Interop document, Decomposing MARC 21 Records for Analysis. A subsequent version may be necessary as the authors move to the procedures for the entire file of decomposed records.