Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Beginning in the 1980s, the National Park Service spent $11 million to develop and implement a maintenance management system. The system was eventually terminated because it failed to provide park managers with all the information they needed to manage their deferred maintenance workload. In 1998, the Park Service started a new asset management process to provide a systematic method for documenting deferred maintenance needs and tracking progress in reducing the amount of deferred maintenance. GAO found that the Park Service has made progress in developing a new asset management process. When finally implemented, the process should provide the agency with a (1) reliable inventory of its assets; (2) process for reporting on the condition of each asset; and (3) systemwide methodology for estimating deferred maintenance costs for each asset. Although the new process is promising, its success cannot be determined until staff in each of the park units are trained and the new asset management process is fully and properly implemented."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A 1992 GAO report found that the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) use of the pay-as-you-go basis of accounting for the postretirement health benefit costs of employers participating in multiemployer plans was in accordance with existing private sector generally accepted accounting principles. GAO recently concluded that that report did not adequately consider the potential accounting ramifications of USPS's unique statutory obligations, which are not applicable to other multiemployer plans--both pension and other postretirement benefit plans. Given this, combined with the economic and competitive environment USPS now faces, ongoing efforts to transform USPS to address its financial and operational challenges, and both the Congress's and the public's call for more information and transparency in financial reporting, GAO concludes that now is an opportune time for USPS to reassess how best to account for and disclose this significant financial obligation."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare has paid higher than market rates for various medical equipment and supplies and often considerably higher than provider acquisition costs for Medicare-covered outpatient drugs. Congress has enacted a series of legislative changes affecting payment methods and payment adjustment authority for medical equipment and supplies and outpatient drugs since the late 1980s. However, progress in setting appropriate rates has been mixed, owing, in part, to various constraints faced by the agency responsible for administering Medicare--the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Because of the program's size, scope, and role as a public payer, Medicare has limited options to set and adjust payments for medical equipment, supplies and outpatient drugs. Medicare's method of paying for medical equipment and supplies is through fee schedules that remain tied to suppliers' historical charges to Medicare rather than market prices. Medicare's payment approaches lack flexibility to keep pace with market changes, and, as a result, Medicare often pays higher prices than other public payers. Previous efforts to lower Medicare's overly generous payments suggest several lessons. First, payment changes are most effectively implemented when the process used to set or adjust a rate …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Enhancing homeland security is a complex effort that involves all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories; thousands of municipalities; and countless private entities. Since September 11, the nation has taken many actions to combat terrorism and enhance homeland security. It is well known that the U.S. military is conducting operations in Afghanistan. Various legislative and executive branch actions to enhance homeland security have been taken or were underway prior to and since September 11. Government and nongovernment activities are looking to the Office of Homeland Security for further guidance on how to better integrate their missions and more effectively contribute to the overarching homeland security effort. Having a common definition can help avoid duplication of effort and gaps in coverage by identifying agency roles and responsibilities. Although the agencies are looking for guidance, they also want to ensure that their unique missions are factored in as guidance is developed. At the same time, some agencies are unsure what they should be doing beyond their traditional missions. Once the national strategy is issued, federal, state, and local government agencies and private sector groups will need to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) brought most federally funded employment and training services into a single, one-stop center system. Coordination between Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and one-stop centers has increased since the act was implemented in 2000. Nearly all states reported some coordination at either the state or the local level. Most often, coordination took one of two forms: colocation, in which a client accesses TANF programs at the local one-stop, or referrals and electronic links to off-site programs. Despite progress, states and localities continue to report problems because of infrastructure limitations and varying program definitions and reporting requirements. Some of these challenges could be overcome through state and local innovation, but others will be resolved only through federal intervention. Early evidence suggests that states and localities are increasing their efforts to bring services together to fit local needs. As states and localities have begun to recognize the shared goals of the workforce and welfare systems, they have developed ways to coordinate services."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies' foreign language needs have increased during the past decade because of increasing globalization and the changing security environment. At the same time, agencies have seen significant reductions-in-force and no-growth or limited-growth environments during the last decade. As a result, some agencies now confront an aging core of language-capable staff while recruiting and retaining qualified new staff in an increasingly competitive job market. The four agencies GAO reviewed reported shortages of translators and interpreters and other staff, such as diplomats and intelligence specialists, with foreign language skills. These shortfalls varied depending on the agency, job position, language, and skill level. The agencies reported using a range of strategies to address their staffing shortfalls, such as providing employees with language training and pay incentives, recruiting employees with foreign language skills, hiring contractors, or taking advantage of information technology. One of the four agencies has adopted a strategic approach to its workforce planning efforts. In contrast, the other three agencies have yet to pursue overall strategic planning in this area."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses privatizing the management of the Internet domain name system. This system is a vital aspect of the Internet that works like an automated telephone directory, allowing users to reach Web sites using easy-to-understand domain names like www.senate.gov, instead of the string of numbers that computers use when communicating with each other. The U.S. government supported the development of the domain name system, and, in 1997, the President charged the Department of Commerce with transitioning it to private management. The Department issued a policy statement, called the "White Paper," that defined the four guiding principles for the privatization effort as stability, competition, representation, and private, bottom-up coordination. After reviewing several proposals from private sector organizations, the Department chose the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a not-for-profit corporation, to carry out the transition. In November 1998, the Department entered into an agreement with ICANN in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under which the two parties agreed to collaborate on a joint transition project. Progress on and completion of each task is assessed by the Department on a case-by-case basis, with input …

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 creating unit must review a development corporation's dissolution plan when the corporation is dissolving under article 5190.6, section 4A(k) of the Revised Civil Statutes, and related questions (RQ-0527-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 towing company may provide certain services for the owner of a parking facility, and related questions (RQ-0528-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: Confidentiality of disability information collected by the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners, and related questions (RQ-0529-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 particular special district must notify or obtain various political subdivisions’ consent before laying new or preparing existing water or sewer facilities located in county or municipal right-of-way, and related questions (RQ-0530-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; Effect on a constable's duties when his precinct is abolished by redistricting(RQ-0432-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; Disposition of funds previously accumulated under pretrial diversion agreements(RQ-0437-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 article 3, section 19 of the Texas Constitution requires a Texas Department of Economic Development governing board member to resign from office in order to run for the Texas Legislature(RQ-0457-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 commissioners court may establish and fund a courthouse security force and related questions.(RQ-0418-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; Applicability of section 154.155(d) of the Finance Code to insurance-funded ,prepaid funeral benefits contracts(RQ-0434-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 State Board of Education is Authorized to control the adoption or development of statewide assessment instruments under chapter 39 of the Education Code and related questions(RQ-0436-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 certain eligibility requirements for a bail bond license application filed on May 28, 2001.

Contact information for the officers and board of directors of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus.