Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Treasury is authorized by Congress to borrow money on the credit of the United States to fund operations of the federal government. Within Treasury, the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) is responsible for prescribing the debt instruments, limiting and restricting the amount and composition of the debt, paying interest to investors, and accounting for the resulting debt. BPD is also responsible for issuing Treasury securities to trust funds for trust fund receipts not needed for current benefits and expenses. In connection with fulfilling its requirement to audit the U.S. government's fiscal year 2001 financial statements, GAO reviewed the general and application computer controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by BPD. BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2001. BPD's internal control, which includes the general and application controls over key BPD systems relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt, provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt for …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This primer on private pensions provides information on the basic features of the private pension plan system and the federal framework that governs how private plans must operate. GAO answers questions about the types of plans that private employers may sponsor, the benefits these plans provide, and the basic requirements that govern how these plans are administered."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. Section 902(k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every six months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the numbers who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children, and unmarried sons or daughters. As of March 31, 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had received a total of 36,420 HRIFA applications and had approved 7,351 of these applications. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had 198 applications filed and had approved 98 of them."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "E-government is critical to the government's ability to effectively communicate with the public. Both Congress and current and past administrations have emphasized the importance of e-government and have put forth proposals to address the challenges associated with this issue. Earlier this year, the Senate passed S. 803, the E-government Act of 2002. To accomplish the goal of enhancing the management and promotion of e-government, S. 803 addresses many of the substantive information resource and management challenges facing the government today. Initiatives contained in this bill represent important steps in creating a government that is more efficient, effective, and focused on citizens' needs. Specifically, the bill would (1) secure the transmission of sensitive information in e-government transactions by promoting the development of electronic signatures, (2) protect individuals' privacy by requiring agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments, and (3) make government information more accessible to the public."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over a year has passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, realigned national priorities. Although most of the early attention following the attacks focused on airport security, emphasis on the other modes of transportation has since grown. Addressing transit safety and security concerns is complicated by the nature and scope of transit in the United States. About 6,000 agencies provide transit services, and each workday, 14 million Americans ride on some form of transit. Transit agencies face significant challenges in making their systems secure. Certain characteristics make them both vulnerable and difficult to secure. The high ridership of some transit agencies makes them attractive targets for terrorists but also makes certain security measures, like metal detectors, impractical. Another challenge is funding identified security enhancements. Despite the formidable challenges in securing transit systems, transit agencies have taken a number of steps to improve the security of their systems. Transit agencies visited by GAO were implementing strategies to improve both safety and security prior to September 11; however, the events of September 11 elevated the importance of security-related activity. Many agencies assessed vulnerabilities, provided additional training on emergency …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the federal government's human capital challenges. The basic problem has been a longstanding lack of a consistent strategic approach to marshalling, managing, and maintaining the government's human capital needs. To overcome this problem, GAO has developed a model of strategic human capital management that highlights the importance of a sustained commitment by agency leaders to maximize the value of their workforce. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget have developed tools to assess human capital management efforts that are conceptually consistent with GAO's model. GAO's model emphasizes two central principles. First, people are assets whose value can be enhanced through investment. As with any investment, the goal is to maximize value while managing risk. Second, an organization's human capital approaches should be designed, implemented, and assessed by how well they help pursue its mission and achieve desired results. GAO has also identified a preliminary list of key practices that will enable agencies to acquire, develop, and retain talent. Successful organizational change depends on a willingness by agency leaders to embrace strategic human capital management and related change management approaches."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since its inception, the Transition Assistance Program has served more than one million separating and retiring military personnel through the coordinated efforts of the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Labor (DOL), and Veterans Affairs. In fiscal year 2001, the military branches and DOL spent $47.5 million to provide transition assistance to 222,000 separating and retiring service members. Although each branch provides required preparation counseling and offers transition assistance workshops to help service members transition to civilian life, not all eligible service members receive transition assistance. Because they have considerable flexibility in designing their programs, transition assistance varies in content and delivery across the military branches. In addition, service members experienced differences in access to transition assistance depending on their unique circumstances. Isolating the impact of transition assistance on employment, education, and other outcomes is difficult because of data inadequacies and methodological challenges."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the attacks of September 11th, 2001, concerns intensified over the vulnerability of U.S. ports to acts of terrorism. One particular concern involves the possibility that terrorists would attempt to smuggle illegal fissile material or a tactical nuclear weapon into the country through a cargo container shipped from overseas. This testimony discusses the programs already in place to counter such attempts, new initiatives now under way to enhance the nation's security against such attempts, and the key challenges faced in implementing these various efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As required by law, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been investigating a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine its suitability for disposing of highly radioactive wastes in a mined geologic repository. If the site is approved, DOE must apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for authorization to construct a repository. If the site is not approved for a license application, or if NRC denies a license to construct a repository, the administration and Congress will have to consider other options for the long-term management of existing and future nuclear wastes. DOE is not prepared to submit an acceptable license application to the NRC within the statutory limits that would take effect if the site is approved. DOE is unlikely to achieve its goal of opening a repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010. Sufficient time would not be available for DOE to obtain a license from NRC and construct enough of the repository to open it in 2010. Another key factor is whether DOE will be able to obtain the increases in annual funding that would be required to open the repository by 2010. DOE currently …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO issued its November 2001 report (GAO-02-182R) on the new Washington Convention Center, the Washington Convention Center Authority (WCCA) and the construction manager have made significant progress in their negotiations to reset the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). The two parties have agreed on the two most critical components of the GMP proposal: price and time frames for completing the new convention center. A special meeting of WCCA's board of directors has been scheduled for early to mid-February to review and officially act on the proposed GMP agreement. The revised GMP amount of $590.7 million represents a $71.3 million, or 13.7 percent, increase over the estimated GMP amount of $519.4 million cited in GAO's report."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Property Asset Management Reform Act of 2002, will enhance federal real and personal property management and bring the policies and business practices of federal agencies into the 21st century. Available data show that the federal government owns hundreds of thousands of properties worldwide, including military installations, office buildings, laboratories, courthouses, embassies, postal facilities, national parks, forests, and other public lands, estimated to be worth billions of dollars. Most of this government-owned real property is under the custody and control of eight agencies--the Department of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and Veterans Affairs; General Services Administration; the Tennessee Valley Authority; and the U.S. Postal Service. Federal property managers have a large deferred maintenance backlog, obsolete and underutilized properties, and changing facility needs due to rapid advances in technology. It is important that real property-holding agencies link their real property strategic plans to their missions and related capital management and performance plans; ensure that senior real property officers have the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to effectively perform their duties; are accountable for the reliability, usefulness, and timeliness of their data; and adopt an effective process to monitor …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses management challenges and program risks that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) faces in maintaining a skilled workforce, controlling costs, and providing effective oversight for important projects. NASA is taking on a major transformation aimed at eliminating stovepipes; becoming more integrated and results oriented; and reducing risks while working more economically, efficiently, and effectively. Successfully addressing each of four challenges will be critical for NASA in making sure that it is equipped to achieve its vision for the future. The first--strengthening human capital--will require a concerted and sustained effort by NASA's leadership to commit to change; ensure an appropriate mix of employees to meet future business needs; implement effective approaches for acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; develop and retain talent; and create a results-oriented culture. The remaining challenges facing NASA--controlling International Space Station costs; implementing a faster, better, cheaper approach to space exploration; and correcting weaknesses in contract management--are equally important. Without better oversight and management over its most important programs and acquisitions, NASA's transformation stands to lose credibility and support among its partners in industry, the international community, and academia as well as …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During fiscal year 2001, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had a number of internal control issues that affected financial reporting, including safeguarding of assets. These concern policies and procedures over (1) receipt of taxpayer payments, (2) courier services that transport taxpayer data, (3) employee fingerprint records, (4) issuance of manual refunds, (5) release of tax liens, (6) recording of property and equipment transactions, (7) linking of property and accounting records, (8) software licenses, (9) reimbursable receivables, and (10) recording changes in administrative account balances."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Comptroller General, is required by the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2002 to study the transportation of hazardous and radioactive materials and its effects on public health and safety, the environment, and the economy. GAO has had no substantive consultation with the Department of Transportation on the study and only received a draft report one week prior to its scheduled delivery date to Congress. Consequently, GAO has not had the opportunity to perform a comprehensive review of the report's contents or to make timely suggestions for modifications."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), through its Accreditation Program, has made considerable progress in achieving uniformity among state insurance regulators. In addition, competitive pressures from further consolidation in the financial services sector and enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act has focused attention on regulator reforms in the insurance industry. NAIC's Producer Licensing Reciprocity and Uniformity initiative aims to streamline the licensing process for selling insurance in multiple states. State regulators are also trying to streamline regulatory processes to bring new insurance products to market more quickly. NAIC's Speed to Market initiative focuses both on developing a more centralized filing and approval process for life and health insurance products and on improving existing state-based approval processes for other types of products. Finally, NAIC's National Treatment of Companies initiative aims to facilitate the licensing process for conducting business on a multistate basis. However, NAIC and the states face significant challenges in implementing their initiatives."

Roster of WASP members attending the reunion. The roster lists each attendee's first and last name, class affiliation, the first name of the attendee's spouse, the number of people attending the reunion, and the number attending the dinner.

List consists of 2002-2004 Officers and Board of Directors' addresses and other contact information with handwritten notes.

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