Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-87G, Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs, November 2003. The federal government of the United States--the largest and most complex organization in the world--expended approximately $15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. To that end, federal agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that (1) the goals and objectives of the purchase card program are met and (2) safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. Recent congressional testimony and Inspector General and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. Without effective internal control, management has little assurance that fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are being prevented or, if occurring, are being promptly detected with appropriate corrective actions taken. A key element of internal control is monitoring that assesses the quality of performance over time and ensures that the findings …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling the requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, GAO audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2002 and 2001. As part of these audits, GAO performed a review of the general and application computer controls over key BPD financial systems."

In the 1990s, a subsidiary of the Citation Corporation, Interstate Forging, implemented a compressed air system improvement project at its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, forging plant. This improvement enabled the plant to maintain an adequate and stable pressure level using fewer compressors, which led to improved product quality and lower production downtime. The project also yielded annual energy savings of 820,000 kWh and$45,000. With a total project cost of$67,000, the plant achieved a simple payback of just 1.5 years.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "DOD is in the midst of a major transformation effort including a number of initiatives to transform its forces and improve its business operations. DOD's legislative initiative would provide for major changes in civilian and military human capital management, make major adjustments in the DOD acquisition process, affect DOD's organization structure, and change DOD's reporting requirements to Congress, among other things. DOD's proposed National Security Personnel System (NSPS) would provide for wide-ranging changes in DOD's civilian personnel pay and performance management, collective bargaining, rightsizing, and a variety of other human capital areas. The NSPS would enable DOD to develop and implement a consistent DOD-wide civilian personnel system. This testimony provides GAO's preliminary observations on aspects of DOD's legislative proposal to make changes to its civilian personnel system and discusses the implications of such changes for governmentwide human capital reform. This testimony summarizes many of the issues discussed in detail before the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives on April 29, 2003."

Fact sheet features the success stories of four fleets covered under the EPAct State& Alternative Fuel Provider and Federal Fleets Programs

Text about attractions between New York and Paris, Texas that was published in the "Essentials" section of a May 2003 Texas Highways magazine article.

We can help you attain your goal of brining secure, clean, and reliable energy to your community.

Small businesses are the cornerstone of the American economy. Over 22 million small businesses account for approximately 99% of employers, employ about half of the private sector workforce, and are responsible for about two-thirds of net new jobs. Many small businesses fared better than the Fortune 500 in 2001. Non-farm proprietors income rose 2.4% in 2001 while corporate profits declined 7.2%. Yet not all is rosy for small businesses, particularly new ones. One-third close within two years of opening. From 1989 to 1992, almost half closed within four years; only 39.5% were still open after six years. Why do some new businesses thrive and some fail? What helps a new business succeed? Industry knowledge, business and financial planning, and good management. Small geothermal businesses are no different. Low- and medium-temperature geothermal resources exist throughout the western United States, the majority not yet tapped. A recent survey of ten western states identified more than 9,000 thermal wells and springs, over 900 low- to moderate-temperature geothermal resource areas, and hundreds of direct-use sites. Many opportunities exist for geothermal entrepreneurs to develop many of these sites into thriving small businesses. The ''Geothermal Small Business Workbook'' (''Workbook'') was written to give geothermal entrepreneurs, small …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Jenkins Act requires any person who sells and ships cigarettes across a state line to a buyer, other than a licensed distributor, to report the sale to the buyer's state tobacco tax administrator. The act establishes misdemeanor penalties for violating the act. Compliance with this federal law by cigarette sellers enables states to collect cigarette excise taxes from consumers. However, some state and federal officials are concerned that as Internet cigarette sales continue to grow, particularly as states' cigarette taxes increase, so will the amount of lost state tax revenue due to noncompliance with the Jenkins Act. One research firm estimated that Internet tobacco sales in the United States will exceed $5 billion in 2005 and that the states will lose about $1.4 billion in tax revenue from these sales."

This report analyze the impacts of linking JI and CDM to the future European Emission Allowance Trading System (ETSy). The result indicate that the volume of credits obtained through JI and CDM projects by the enlarged EU Emission Allowance Trading Scheme, as well as the magnitude of cost savings and allowance price impacts will crucially depend on how much competition there will be from EU Member States and other countries in JI and CDM credits.

Research for an article about the towns surrounding New York and Paris, Texas that was published in the May 2003 issue of Texas Highways magazine.

Itinerary for a daytrip from New York to Paris, Texas taken as personal experience research for an article that was published in the May 2003 issue of Texas Highways magazine.

Resource list for an article about the towns surrounding New York and Paris, Texas that was published in the May 2003 issue of Texas Highways magazine.

Draft of an article about the towns surrounding New York and Paris, Texas that was published in the May 2003 issue of Texas Highways magazine.

As advances in renewable technologies grow and costs continue to decline, more and more U.S communities are turning not only to solar power, but to wind and geothermal energy and bio-based fuels, as well.

Progressive Powder Coating in Mentor, Ohio, is a metal finishing plant that uses a convection oven in its manufacturing process. In an effort to save energy and improve production, the company installed an infrared oven in between the powder coating booth and the convection oven on its production line. This installation allowed the plant to increase its conveyor line speed and increase production by 50 percent. In addition, the plant reduced its natural gas consumption, yielding annual energy savings of approximately$54,000. With a total project cost of$136,000, the simple payback is 2.5 years.

Report summary describing the work completed at Louisiana State University, Center for Energy Studies for 'Modeling the Economic Impacts of Offshore Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico: Methods and Applications'. It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings.

SafePatch for Windows provides automated analysis of network-based Microsoft Windows{trademark} computer systems to determine the status of security patches. SafePatch determines what patches need to be installed on a system or group of systems. SafePatch collects and packages the necessary patches and the script to install those patches for the selected remote systems. SafePatch for Windows also supports browsing the Microsoft{trademark} patch database and the viewing of the bulletins associated with the patches.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the role of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Disaster Loan Program in responding to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, general performance measures for the program, and the effects of SBA's program to sell loans to private investors on disaster loans and their borrowers. In reviewing SBA's loan sales program, which includes disaster loans, we identified three areas needing improvement: tracking borrower inquiries and complaints; sales budgeting and accounting which affect the reliability of SBA financial statements and budget information; and reporting on the operational benefits of the loans sales. This testimony focuses on SBA's (1) response to the September 11 terrorist attacks; (2) performance plans and measures for its Disaster Loan program; and (3) loan assets sales program, which involves selling disaster and other loans."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Social Security covers about 96 percent of all US workers; the vast majority of the rest are state, local, and federal government employees. While these noncovered workers do not pay Social Security taxes on their government earnings, they may still be eligible for Social Security benefits. This poses difficult issues of fairness, and Social Security has provisions that attempt to address those issues, but critics contend these provisions are themselves often unfair. Congress asked GAO to discuss these provisions as well as the implications of mandatory coverage for public employees."

The Hawaii Strategic Industry Division administers DOE's State Energy Program in Hawaii. The division's current accomplishments include establishing a Model Energy Code for the state, instituting a successful solar program, and making energy performance contracts available for government facilities.

This two-page fact sheet describes Clean Cities' Technical Assistance (Tiger Teams) projects, both completed and ongoing.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Numerous federal government programs provide assistance to "transportation-disadvantaged" individuals--those who are unable to provide their own transportation as a result of a disability, an age-related condition, or an income constraint. The assistance is provided to help these populations connect with services such as health and medical care, employment and training activities, and education programs. Coordination of this assistance--through such steps as pooling resources, consolidating transportation services under a single state or local agency, and sharing information about available services--has been found to improve the cost-effectiveness and quality of service. GAO was asked to identify (1) the federal programs that provide these transportation services and the amount spent on these programs; (2) the effect of coordination--or lack of coordination--on the delivery of transportation services for the transportation-disadvantaged; and (3) any obstacles that may impede effective coordination and potential ways to overcome such obstacles."

Under an extreme national disaster scenario, schools could provide a safe haven for up to 25 to 50 million citizens, or about 9%-18% of the U.S. resident population.