Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 1085 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 authorized the military department secretaries to (1) charge fees to persons requesting information from the primary military archives and (2) retain collected fees to help defray costs associated with providing the information. The military archives also have authority under the User Charge Statute and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to charge for general information provided to the public. The Conference Report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 directs the Comptroller General to provide a report 1 year after implementation of the act on the fees collected and the associated costs of providing historical information. GAO found that Section 1085 authorizes but does not require action by the four primary military archives. Because of this, only the Army Military History Institute has implemented a fee schedule. Officials of the other three archives stated that the archives have no plans to implement a fee schedule under Section 1085. The Army Military History Institute first implemented a Section 1085 fee schedule in October 2001 and modified it in April 2002 to simplify some of …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare provided health care coverage to 40 million people age 65 and over and to qualifying disabled persons at a cost of $240 billion in fiscal year 2001. In 1990, GAO designated the program as "high risk" for fraud and abuse because of its vast size, complex structure, and program management weaknesses. GAO issued two reports in 2000 that discussed weaknesses in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) oversight of Medicare contractors' financial operations and the guidance it provides contractors in carrying out Medicare financial activities. GAO also cited CMS for deficiencies in its accounting procedures and improper payment measurement projects. GAO determined that CMS implemented corrective actions to substantially address four of the eight recommendations included in the 2000 reports and has made good progress in addressing the remaining four. Actions taken by CMS include the implementation of more in-depth internal control reviews at Medicare contractors as well as the development of an accounting procedures manual to guide its financial management staff in consistent accounting and reporting for Medicare. CMS has also tested several innovative analysis techniques for identifying improper payments. These actions have helped …

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: Consequences of the defeat of a ballot proposition confirming the creation of the Southeast Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, 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 the Rural Foundation created by the Seventy-seventh Texas Legislature in chapter 110 of the Health and Safety Code may finance rural programs that are not health programs.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States/Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement expired in March 2001. As part of the preparation process for renegotiating the agreement, the United States Trade Representative requested public comment on softwood lumber trade issues between the United States and Canada and on Canadian softwood lumbering practices. The comments received included allegations that Canadian lumbering and forestry practices were affecting animal species with U.S./Canadian ranges that are listed as threatened or endangered in the United States. To consider these comments as well as provide useful information to the U.S. Trade Representative in the renegotiations, the Department of the Interior, with the Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) assistance, prepared a conservation status report on selected species that may be affected by the new agreement. GAO reviewed the FWS' preliminary conclusions and found that, in compiling the information for the Department of the Interior's 2001 conservation report for the U.S. Trade Representative, FWS relied chiefly on previously published material and internal agency documents, such as individual species recovery plans, Federal Register listing information, other administrative records, and public comments received. The report underestimates the extent of cooperation between U.S. and …

News release about DART and the T providing free rides on Election Day.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ned Simes. Simes joined the Marine Corps in March of 1942. He completed Radio Operators School, and served with 2nd Tank Battalion in light tanks. In October, they deployed to New Zealand and New Caledonia. In 1943 they landed on Saipan. While stationed there, Simes transferred to the artillery battalion, assisting with road construction, and continued to serve as a radio operator at headquarters. He returned to the US in July of 1945, and was in a victory parade tour in Houston, Texas. Simes was discharged in early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gilbert Vera. Vera was born in Benavides, Texas 5 March 1918. After graduating from high school in 1937, he worked various jobs until being drafted into the Army. After his induction, he was sent to Camp Wallace, Texas for three months of basic training. Vera was then sent to Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia for six months training on communication equipment including the switchboard and telephone lines. Upon completion of the training he went to Fort Dix, New Jersey for debarkation. After a twelve day journey traveling in convoy, he landed at Casablanca, North Africa as part of the 15th Air Force. Soon after arrival, Vera was subjected to attack by German aircraft. He tells of the work he did in the communications center. After a year the unit moved to Manduria, Italy where they remained until Germany surrendered. Vera returned to the United States and was discharged September 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Joe Snyder. Snyder was born in Kansas City, Missouri on 8 July 1918. He was working for the Kansas City Star newspaper when he was drafted in November 1941. After completing basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, he applied for Officer Candidate School. He was accepted and sent to the Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky for training. Upon graduating, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and ordered to report to the 14th Armored Division at Camp Chafee, Arkansas. After participating in maneuvers he was named Public Information Officer for the division. Soon thereafter, he went to New Caledonia with the 25th Infantry Division. While there, he wrote hometown stories about various servicemen and sent them to their hometown newspapers for publication. Leaving New Caledonia, he joined General MacArthur’s Headquarters at Hollandia, New Guinea. Snyder was present during the invasions of Morotai, Leyte and Corregidor and describes the combat he observed. He recalls landing at Atsugi Airfield, Japan and being aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) when the Surrender Agreement was signed by members of the Japanese delegation. Following the ceremony, Snyder visited Nagasaki, Japan and vividly describes the …

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 business located in an enterprise zone and presently designated an "enterprise project" and allocated the maximum jobs and tax benefits may receive an additional and concurrent enterprise project designation in the same zone and receive an additional maximum job allocation and the related tax benefits.

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 county commissioners court may set the daily reimbursement rate of grand jurors' expenses at a rate different from petit jurors' expenses, and related question.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dwight A. Dahmes. Dahmes was born 18 July 1918 in Clements, Minnesota. In 1936 he attended Westmar College in Lemars, Iowa where he joined the 133rd Infantry Regiment of the Iowa National Guard (part of the 34th Infantry Division). On 1 February 1941 the unit went to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Soon after, Dahmes was made sergeant of a weapons platoon and trained with various weapons. Upon completion of training the unit moved to New Orleans to perform guard duty at water purification plants and energy centers. On 1 February, the unit went to Fort Dix, New Jersey to await shipment overseas. The regiment went aboard the Duchess of Atholl and Dahmes describes the conditions aboard the overcrowded ship. They landed in Belfast and trained until June 1942, when they went to England and continued training. In December 1942 the unit boarded the Empress of Australia and landed in Oran, North Africa. He was involved in a number of battles and comments on the many casualties. In September 1943 the unit invaded Salerno and Dahmes recalls his admiration for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was assigned to his …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Alva B. Sampson. Sampson was born in May 1926 in Columbus, Ohio. He entered the Army in September 1944 and took basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Upon completion, he went aboard RMS Queen Mary, disembarking at Glasgow, Scotland. Sampson tells of being assigned to the 4th Armored Division, 37th Tank Battalion even though he had no experience in tanks. He was assigned as a replacement in a light tank. He describes what he saw as his unit liberated several concentration camps. He recalls being in Czechoslovakia when an estimated 20,000 Germans surrendered to his unit rather than the Russians. Three tanks were assigned to guard the prisoners. Sampson remembers the captives were turned over to the Russian Army as they were ordered to do. After the surrender of Germany, he was assigned to a military police unit in Lorch, Germany, until he returned to the United States.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George T. Chandler. Chandler was born in Wichita, Kansas on 1 February 1921. Attending Wichita State University, he joined the US Army Aviation Cadet Program November, 1941. He describes his training in various aircraft and graduation from fighter training. In July 1943 he reported to the 347th fighter group on Guadalcanal flying P-38 fighters. In a well narrated tale, he describes various incidents of individual aerial combat missions during which he shot down five enemy aircraft thus qualifying him as a Fighter Ace.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Nilo Inciardi. Inciardi joined the Army Air Corps in January of 1941. He served as a P-40 pilot with the 67th Fighter Squadron. He received his commission in October of 1941. They flew patrol missions over New Caledonia. In the fall of 1942, they participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign, dive bombing and strafing. He returned to the US in April of 1943, and prepared to go to Europe. Inciardi joined the 366th Fighter Squadron and arrived in England in October of 1943. He does not speak of his experiences in Europe. Inciardi returned home and was discharged in late 1945. He remained in the Reserves and was recalled for active duty in the Korean War.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Hanger. Hanger was born 15 May 1919 and enlisted in 1942. He was ordered to Lowery Field, Colorado to attend armament school. Upon completion of his training, he went aboard the USS Rochambeau (AP-63) and sailed to New Caledonia where he was assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron. Operation Vengeance occurred while he was with the squadron and he recalls the success of the mission and of personally knowing some of those who participated. One of his duties was assistant mess officer. During his time on New Caledonia he underwent navigator training. Returning to the United States in November 1943 he began pilot training. He tells of the various bases to which he was assigned and of piloting B-24’s in conjunction with the training of radar students. He was discharged September 1945.

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; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. As of September 30, 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had received a total of 36,774 HRIFA applications and had approved 8,410 of these applications. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had 339 applications filed and had approved 117 of them."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James Dukes. Born in Alabama, Dukes quit school in 1937 to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In March 1941, he joined the Marine Corps, and was sent to San Diego for boot camp. Dukes was then assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines where he received mortar training. On 6 June 1942, he boarded the SS Lurline bound for Pago Pago, Samoa. During November 1942 the unit merged with the 2nd Marine Division when they landed on Guadalcanal. He was assigned to the Matanikau River and tells of subsequent actions in which some of his men were killed. Dukes was wounded and sent to the Silver Stream Hospital in New Zealand. Following surgery, he was sent to the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. Dukes struggled with malaria. Throughout the interview, he expresses his admiration for the people of New Zealand. He returned to the US and received his discharge on 12 August 1945.

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 130.908 of the Local Government Code applies when an incumbent county commissioner is not renominated to office in a primary election, and related question (RQ-0540-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: Procedure for certification of foreign educators by State Board for Educator Certification.

The connectivity interface for UnstructuredMapping has been rewritten to provide a more thorough interface to the mesh. This new design also resembles the TSTT mesh query interface. While data is still stored in array form, indexed by integers, the interface provides iterators through the mesh entities and adjacencies. This document describes the additions to the UnstructuredMapping class as well as the definition and use of the UnstructuredMappingIterator and UnstructuredMappingAdjacencyIterator classes.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Events preceding and following the attacks of September 11, 2001, spotlighted ineffective information sharing, particularly related to intelligence and law enforcement activities, as a serious weakness. Poor information sharing hinders effectively identifying vulnerabilities and coordinating efforts to detect attacks. GAO monitored the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) efforts to enhance the security of the tax filing process, to study how terrorist-related threat information is shared with IRS. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses task forces and electronic means to share terrorist-related threat information with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). More specifically, it shares information through its involvement with TIGTA and others in Joint Terrorism Task Forces and through electronic arrangements such as the National Threat Warning System. For its part, TIGTA uses formal communications to disseminate threat information to IRS. TIGTA and IRS officials were satisfied with the FBI's and TIGTA's information-sharing procedures, respectively."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Melvin Harmon. He discusses becoming a paratrooper, his time on Guadalcanal, Bougainville and other battles in the Solomon Islands and getting malaria.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Benjamin Muller. Muller was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1924. Upon joining the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was sent to radio school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was then sent to Savannah, Georgia where he trained for one year as a member of the 92nd Airdrome Squadron. He then went to Pittsburg, California where he boarded the USAT Klipfontein bound for Lae, New Guinea. He then went to Nadzab, where he joined the 34th Bomb Group, 300th Bomb Squadron as the radio operator/gunner on a B-25. He tells of the various locations they were based and describes some of the thirty-seven missions he flew. He recalls a bombing mission over Indochina where flak from Japanese antiaircraft created a fire aboard his plane resulting in a crash landing in the sea. The pilot did not survive the crash and the co-pilot disappeared in the water wearing his life vest. Muller had been burned, the navigator had a back injury and the engineer was severely burned. On 3 April 1945, they were picked up by a Japanese patrol boat and taken to Samah, Hainan Island, China where …