Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement the national strategy …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the economic state of the airline industry. Many, but not all, major U.S. passenger airlines are experiencing their second consecutive year of record financial losses. In 2001, the U.S. commercial passenger airline industry reported losses in excess of $6 billion. For 2002, some Wall Street analysts recently projected that U.S. airline industry losses will approach $7 billion, and noted that the prospects for recovery during 2003 are diminishing. Carriers have taken many actions to lower their costs and restructure their operations. Since September 2001, carriers have furloughed 100,000 staff, renegotiated labor contracts, and streamlined their fleets by retiring older, costlier aircraft. Carriers have reduced capacity by operating fewer flights or smaller aircraft. In some cases, carriers eliminated all service to communities. As the aviation industry continues its attempts to recover, Congress will be confronted with a need for increased oversight of a number of public policy issues. First, airlines' reactions to financial pressures will affect the domestic industry's competitive landscape. Second, airlines' reductions in service will likely place additional pressure on federal programs supporting air service to small communities, where travel options are already limited. …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 1308 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 requires the Comptroller General to provide Congress with an assessment of the Department of Defense's annual report on the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program within 90 days of the submission of the annual report to Congress. The Department of Defense submitted its CTR annual report for Fiscal Year 2002 to Congress on September 3, 2002 almost 19 months after the submission date mandated by law. GAO found that the report (1) did not clearly set forth future funding data required by Congress, (2) did not include certain important planning elements, (3) in some instances asserted the use of a more rigorous methodology than was actually used, and (4) incorporated some but not all prior GAO recommendations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Last year, President Bush proposed that the World Bank and other development banks replace half of all future loans to the world's poorest countries with grants. The goal of the proposal was to relieve poor countries' long term debt burdens. The World Bank estimates that the proposal would result in a financial loss of $100 billion dollars to it during the next 40 years. GAO found that the proposal would help poor countries reduce their debt burdens and that the World Bank would lose only $15.6 billion, which could be financed through relatively small increases in donor contributions. This testimony is based on an April report. (See GAO-02-593.)"

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report has been superseded by GAO-05-35G, GAO's Agency Protocols. This document contains GAO's Agency Protocols that GAO is launching in a pilot phase starting in December 2002. These protocols are intended to govern GAO's work with executive branch agencies and to provide clearly defined and transparent policies and practices on how GAO will interact with agencies in the performance of its work."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The challenges posed by homeland security exceed the capacity and authority of any one level of government. Protecting the nation against these threats calls for a truly integrated approach, bringing together the resources of all levels of government. The proposed Department of Homeland Security will have a central role in efforts to enhance homeland security. The proposed consolidation of homeland security programs has the potential to reduce fragmentation, improve coordination, and clarify roles and responsibilities. However, formation of a department should not be considered a replacement for the timely issuance of a national homeland security strategy to guide implementation of the complex mission of the department. Appropriate roles and responsibilities within and between the government and private sector need to be clarified. New threats are prompting a reassessment and shifting of long-standing roles and responsibilities, but these shifts are being considered on a piecemeal and ad hoc basis without benefit of an overarching framework and criteria. A national strategy could provide guidance by more systematically identifying the unique capacities and resources at each level of government to enhance homeland security and by providing increased accountability within the intergovernmental …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 reauthorizes and expands the information security, evaluation, and reporting requirements enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001. Concerned that pervasive information security weaknesses place federal operations at significant risk of disruption, tampering, fraud, and inappropriate disclosures of sensitive information, Congress enacted the Government Security Reform Act (GISRA) for more effective oversight. The Federal Information Security Management Act also changes and clarifies information security issues noted in the first-year implementation of GISRA. In particular, the bill requires the development, promulgation of, and compliance with minimum mandatory management controls for securing information and information systems; requires annual agency reporting to both the Office of Management and Budget and the Comptroller General; and defines the evaluation responsibilities for national security systems. To ensure that information security receives appropriate attention and resources and that known deficiencies are addressed, it will be necessary to delineate the roles and responsibilities of the numerous entities involved; obtain adequate technical expertise to select, implement, and maintain controls; and allocate enough agency resources for information security."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with D.W. Haskin. Haskin joined the Army Air Forces before December 1941. He was trained as a radio operator and was assigned to a B-25. Haskin discusses his duties as a radio operator and gunner. He describes a typical mission skip-bombing enemy shipping. Haskin mentions serving in Australia, the Aleutians, the Philippines, and Burma.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Felix Ysturiz. Ysturiz joined the Merchant Marine in January of 1943. He trained to serve as a Radio Officer. In 1943, he served as a radioman aboard the SS Oliver Wendell Holmes. They traveled to Hawaii, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands transporting cargo for the Navy, including PT boats and Seabee construction materials. Around mid-1944 through 1945, Ysturiz served aboard a C-2 ship, transporting cargo for the Army, traveling to New Guinea, Leyte and Manila. He was discharged around late 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with J.B. Pryor. Born in Oklahoma in 1922, Pryor attended the University of Wyoming on a football scholarship. Upon entering the Navy in 1941, he was selected for pilot training and tells of being at various bases training in different types of single engine planes until September 1942. He then entered multi-engine aircraft training, flying B-24s as a co-pilot. In November 1943 he was assigned to Patrol Bomber Squadron 106 flying anti-submarine patrol over the Panama Canal Zone for a six month period. The squadron returned to California for training in the PB4Y-2. Upon completion, the squadron was sent to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, then to Java. He describes the various types of missions they flew and tells of the casualties which occurred among the crewmembers.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jacqueline Redstone and Christiane Jenkins. In 1940, Jenkins’ family moved to Tientsin, North China, where her father, Paul Henri Brabant, had taken a job overseeing a coal mine. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, they recall what life was like when the Japanese invaded. They were allowed to remain in their home, though had several encounters with the Japanese soldiers. They recall the soldiers being shipped back to Japan after the atomic bombs were dropped. After the war, they traveled to the US, then returned to China and later moved to Hong Kong.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John C. James. He joined the Army in 1943 and went to training at Camp Crowder, Missouri, where the Signal Corps trained. He then went to the east coast and intercepted German Army radio traffic for a while before heading to California to listen for coded Japanese radio messages. He eventually was transferred to New Delhi, India. After the war ended, he was shipped to Eritrea, Africa for a few months before going back to the US.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John F. Kidd. Kidd enlisted in the US Navy in 1938. After boot camp, he was assigned to the USS Nevada (BB-36) and was later transferred to the USS Blackhawk as a yeoman striker. After a short time he was assigned to the staff of Admiral Thomas C. Hart and stationed at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. He tells of the Japanese attack on 8 December 1941 and of commandeering civilian automobiles to carry wounded military personnel from Cavite Navy Yard. He also mentions shortages of food and water. He was sent to Corregidor and recalls the surrender of American forces. He was sent to Cabanatuan. From there he went aboard a Japanese hell ship for transfer to the Yodogawa Bunsho prison camp in Japan. He describes the hellacious conditions aboard the ship. He tells of the death of a friend and the frequent deaths among the prisoners. He relates the experience of being one of ten prisoners selected for experimental surgery of which only two survived. He recalls the unsanitary conditions of the operating room, the experience of undergoing surgery without proper sedation and the lack of medication …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John Ream. Ream was born in the Philippines on 28 November 1943. His parents and three older sisters were originally from the United States, but his father had previously taught in agricultural schools in the Philippines and eventually returned and moved his family there, working near Baguio as a manager of a bus and taxi company, as well as a mining-equipment salesman. On Christmas Day in 1941, after the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Ream and his family were taken to various camps, including Camp Holmes, Old Bilibid Prison and Santo Tomas. They remained imprisoned from late 1941 through their liberation in February of 1945. After the war, their family traveled to San Francisco and established life in the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Kyle Thompson. Thompson was born in Nevada County, Arkansas in 1922. He joined the Texas National Guard in 1939. In November 1941, Thompson’s unit was bound for the Philippines, but was diverted to Australia after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After a stop at Darwin, they were escorted to Java by the USS Houston (CA-36) in January 1942. There they assisted crews of the 10th Bomb Group. After the surrender the group was joined by Houston survivors and was moved to a prisoner of war camp in Batavia. Thompson recalls cruel treatment by their captors. In October 1942 they were loaded onto a Japanese ship and taken to Camp Changi, Singapore. There they were transported by small crowded freight cars to Penang, Malaysia and put aboard the Dainichi Maru. He recalls attempts by American bombers to sink the vessel before reaching Burma. Once there in early 1943, they began work on the Thai-Burma Railroad. Thompson describes POWs working under horrible conditions of mistreatment, malnourishment and tropical diseases. He suffered from jungle rot as well as malaria while confined. After fourteen months the railroad was completed and he was …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ted T. Yenari. He was born in Tacoma, Washington on 29 September 1919 to parents who had immigrated from Japan. His family was sent to Rohwer War Relocation Center in March 1942. In May 1943 he left the camp to volunteer for the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage, Minnesota. In November 1944, following completion of his Japanese language studies, he was sent to Military Intelligence School in Alabama for basic training. He completed basic training in April 1945 and shipped out to Manila. He recounts several of his experiences while in Manila. Yenari then volunteered as a linguist for the US Army 11th Airborne and flew to Okinawa. From there he flew to Atsugi Airport, near Yokohama, Japan, following the surrender. He gives several anecdotes of his experiences in Yokohama and Tokyo interpreting for the Americans. He recalls that he returned to the States in May 1946 and was discharged from the Army.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with William Findley. Findley served with the Navy ROTC V-12 program at the University of Texas at Austin. From there he was commissioned an ensign and called to active duty. He was sent to the University of California at Berkeley for engineering, science and management war training in marine power plants. Upon graduation in August 1944, he was assigned to the USS Wyandot (AKA-92) as the Engineering Officer in the Pacific Theater. They traveled to Pearl Harbor, Guam, Eniwetok, the Philippines and Okinawa. He shares details of his work as Engineering Officer, and his experiences through the Battle of Okinawa beginning March of 1945. Findley was discharged around the spring of 1946 as a lieutenant (j.g) and returned to the University of Texas at Austin.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We assessed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) rationale and documentation to support its decision to relocate Space Shuttle Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) work from Palmdale, California, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. OMM work entails alterations to improve the Space Shuttle's Safety, operational quality, and long-term support and to extend its life."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration (SSA) provided $450 billion in benefits to 50 million recipients in fiscal year 2001. Since 1995, when SSA became an independent agency, GAO has called for effective leadership and sustained management attention to several unresolved management challenges, including the redesign of its disability claims process, management and oversight problems with its SSI program, future service delivery demands, and implementing its information technology and research and policy development capacity. SSA has much more to do and will need to take bolder action or make more fundamental changes to existing programs."

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 Lottery Commission is authorized to approve or disapprove secondary components or features of an electronic bingo cardminding device unrelated to the game of bingo that allow a player to play various games, such as video poker, during a bingo occasion, and related questions (RQ-0383-JC)