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Rail Transit: Observations on FTA's State Safety Oversight Program
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. rail transit system is a vital component of the nation's transportation infrastructure, carrying millions of people daily. Unlike most transportation modes, safety and security oversight of rail transit is the responsibility of state-designated oversight agencies following Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements. In addition, in 2001, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, giving the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authority for security over all transportation modes, including rail transit. This testimony is based on ongoing work for this subcommittee's committee--the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I describe (1) how the State Safety Oversight program is designed; (2) what is known about the impact of the program on rail safety and security; and (3) challenges facing the program. I also provide information about oversight of transit systems that cross state boundaries. To address these issues, we reviewed program documents and interviewed stakeholders including officials from FTA, TSA, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the American Public Transportation Association. We also surveyed state oversight and transit agencies covered by FTA's program, interviewing 24 of the 25 oversight agencies and 37 of 42 transit agencies across the country."
Date:
July 19, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Physician Payments: Trends in Service Utilization, Spending, and Fees Prompt Consideration of Alternative Payment Approaches
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the system Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees--the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system--reduced fees by almost 5 percent. Subsequent administrative and legislative actions averted fee declines in 2003 through 2006. Absent additional actions, fee reductions are projected for 2007 through 2015. Consequently, the appropriateness of the SGR system has been questioned. At the same time, there are concerns about the impact of increased physician services spending on the long-term fiscal sustainability of Medicare. GAO was asked to discuss the SGR system and Medicare physician payments. This statement addresses (1) how the SGR system is designed to moderate the growth in spending for physician services, (2) why physician fees are projected to decline under the SGR system, (3) trends in the use of services provided by physicians and spending for those services from 2000 through 2005, and (4) options for revising or replacing the SGR system. This statement is based on two GAO reports: Medicare Physician Services: Use of Services Increasing Nationwide and Relatively Few Beneficiaries Report Major Access Problems (GAO-06-704, July 21, 2006), and Medicare Physician Payments: Concerns about Spending Target System Prompt …
Date:
July 25, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Global War on Terrorism: Observations on Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the President announced a Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), requiring the collective instruments of the entire federal government to counter the threat of terrorism. Ongoing military and diplomatic operations overseas, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, constitute a key part of GWOT. These operations involve a wide variety of activities such as combating insurgents, civil affairs, capacity building, infrastructure reconstruction, and training military forces of other nations. The U.S. has reported substantial costs to date for GWOT related activities and can expect to incur significant costs for an unspecified time in the future, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces increasing long-range fiscal challenges. GAO has issued several reports on current and future financial commitments required to support GWOT military operations, as well as diplomatic efforts to stabilize and rebuild Iraq. This testimony discusses (1) the funding Congress has appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) and other U.S. government agencies for GWOT-related military operations and reconstruction activities since 2001; (2) costs reported for these operations and activities and the reliability of DOD's reported costs, and (3) …
Date:
July 18, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Investigators Transported Radioactive Sources Across Our Nation's Borders at Two Locations
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Given today's unprecedented terrorism threat environment and the resulting widespread congressional and public interest in the security of our nation's borders, GAO conducted an investigation testing whether radioactive sources could be smuggled across U.S. borders. Most travelers enter the United States through the nation's 154 land border ports of entry. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors at ports of entry are responsible for the primary inspection of travelers to determine their admissibility into the United States and to enforce laws related to preventing the entry of contraband, such as drugs and weapons of mass destruction. GAO's testimony provides the results of undercover tests made by its investigators to determine whether monitors at U.S. ports of entry detect radioactive sources in vehicles attempting to enter the United States. GAO also provides observations regarding the procedures that CBP inspectors followed during its investigation. GAO has also issued a report on the results of this investigation (GAO-06-545R)."
Date:
July 5, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Nutrigenetic Testing: Tests Purchased from Four Web Sites Mislead Consumers
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Scientists increasingly believe that most, if not all, diseases have a genetic component. Consequently, genetic testing is becoming an integral part of health care with great potential for future test development and use. Some genetic tests are sold directly to the consumer via the Internet or retail stores, and purport to use genetic information to deliver personalized nutrition and lifestyle guidance. These tests require consumers to self-collect a sample of genetic material, usually from a cheek swab, and then forward the sample to a laboratory for analysis. Companies that market this type of test claim to provide consumers with the information needed to tailor their diet and exercise programs to address their genetically determined health risks. GAO was asked to investigate the "legitimacy" of these claims. This testimony reflects the findings of GAO's investigation of a nonrepresentative selection of genetic tests. Specifically, GAO purchased tests from four Web sites and created "fictitious consumers" by submitting for analysis 12 DNA samples from a female and 2 samples from an unrelated male, and describing this DNA as coming from adults of various ages, weights, and lifestyle descriptions. GAO also consulted …
Date:
July 27, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Rebuilding Iraq: More Comprehensive National Strategy Needed to Help Achieve U.S. Goals and Overcome Challenges
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2005, the National Security Council (NSC) issued the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq (NSVI) to clarify the President's strategy for achieving U.S. political, security, and economic goals in Iraq. The U.S. goal is to establish a peaceful, stable, and secure Iraq. In addition, in June 2006, the administration issued a fact sheet at Camp David discussing current progress and goals in Iraq. This testimony (1) discusses the extent to which the NSVI and its supporting documents address the six characteristics of an effective national strategy, and (2) assesses how security, political, and economic factors will affect achieving the U.S. strategy for Iraq. In this testimony, the NSVI and supporting documents are collectively referred to as the U.S. strategy for Iraq."
Date:
July 11, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
DOD's High-Risk Areas: Challenges Remain to Achieving and Demonstrating Progress in Supply Chain Management
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains a military force with unparalleled logistics capabilities, but it continues to confront decades-old supply chain management problems. The supply chain can be the critical link in determining whether our frontline military forces win or lose on the battlefield, and the investment of resources in the supply chain is substantial. Because of weaknesses in DOD's supply chain management, this program has been on GAO's list of high-risk areas needing urgent attention and transformation since 1990. Last year, DOD developed a plan to resolve its long-term supply chain problems in three focus areas: requirements forecasting, asset visibility, and materiel distribution. In October 2005, GAO testified that the plan was a good first step. GAO was asked to provide its views on DOD's progress toward (1) implementing the supply chain management improvement plan and (2) incorporating performance measures for tracking and demonstrating improvement, as well as to comment on the alignment of DOD's supply chain management improvement plan with other department logistics plans. This testimony is based on prior GAO reports and ongoing work in this area. It contains GAO's views on opportunities to improve …
Date:
July 25, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Challenges in Creating an Effective Acquisition Organization
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has some of the most extensive acquisition needs within the U.S. government. In fiscal year 2005, the department reported that it obligated almost $17.5 billion to acquire a wide range of goods and services. DHS's acquisition portfolio is broad and complex, including procurements for sophisticated screening equipment for air passenger security; technologies to secure the nation's borders; trailers to meet the housing needs of Hurricane Katrina victims; and the upgrading of the Coast Guard's offshore fleet of surface and air assets. This testimony summarizes GAO reports and testimonies, which have reported on various aspects of DHS acquisitions. It addresses (1) areas where DHS has been successful in promoting collaboration among its various organizations, and (2) challenges it still faces in integrating the acquisition function across the department; and (3) DHS' implementation of an effective review process for its major, complex investments. The information in this testimony is based on work that was completed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards."
Date:
July 27, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Internet Infrastructure: Challenges in Developing a Public/Private Recovery Plan
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1990s, growth in the use of the Internet has revolutionized the way that our nation communicates and conducts business. While the Internet originated as a U.S. government-sponsored research project, the vast majority of its infrastructure is currently owned and operated by the private sector. Federal policy recognizes the need to prepare for debilitating Internet disruptions and tasks the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with developing an integrated public/private plan for Internet recovery. GAO was asked to summarize its report being released today--Internet Infrastructure: DHS Faces Challenges in Developing a Joint Public/Private Recovery Plan, GAO-06-672 (Washington, D.C.: June 16, 2006). This report (1) identifies examples of major disruptions to the Internet, (2) identifies the primary laws and regulations governing recovery of the Internet in the event of a major disruption, (3) evaluates DHS plans for facilitating recovery from Internet disruptions, and (4) assesses challenges to such efforts."
Date:
July 28, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Maritime Security: Information-Sharing Efforts Are Improving
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Sharing information with nonfederal officials is an important tool in federal efforts to secure the nation's ports against a potential terrorist attack. The Coast Guard has lead responsibility in coordinating maritime information sharing efforts. The Coast Guard has established area maritime security committees--forums that involve federal and nonfederal officials who identify and address risks in a port. The Coast Guard and other agencies have sought to further enhance information sharing and port security operations by establishing interagency operational centers--command centers that tie together the efforts of federal and nonfederal participants. This testimony is a summary and update to our April 2005 report, Maritime Security: New Structures Have Improved Information Sharing, but Security Clearance Processing Requires Further Attention, GAO-05-394. It discusses the impact the committees and interagency operational centers have had on improving information sharing and identifies any barriers that have hindered information sharing."
Date:
July 10, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Individual Disaster Assistance Programs: Framework for Fraud Prevention, Detection, and Prosecution
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies spend billions of dollars annually to aid victims of natural and other disasters and acts of terrorism. Managers of federal disaster assistance programs face a dual challenge--delivering aid as quickly as possible while at the same time ensuring that relief payments go only to those who are truly in need. Due to the very nature of the government's need to quickly provide assistance to disaster victims, federal disaster relief programs are vulnerable to significant risk of improper payments and fraudulent activities. On February 13, 2006, and on June 14, 2006, GAO testified concerning extensive fraud, waste, and abuse in the Individuals and Household Program (IHP), a component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster assistance programs. GAO identified significant internal control weaknesses that resulted in FEMA making tens of thousands of Expedited Assistance payments that were based on bogus registration data. GAO also found numerous other internal control failures in FEMA's IHP disaster assistance program, resulting in an estimate that FEMA made $600 million to $1.4 billion in improper and potentially fraudulent payments to registrants. The purpose of this testimony is to establish a framework …
Date:
July 12, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave DHS Highly Vulnerable to Fraudulent, Improper, and Abusive Activity
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the wake of the 2005 hurricanes in the Gulf Region, GAO and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) initiated a number of audits and investigations addressing the federal government's response to those events. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cardholders made thousands of transactions related to hurricane rescue and relief operations. GAO, working with DHS OIG, interviewed DHS personnel and reviewed purchase card policies and procedures to assess the control environment. GAO and DHS OIG conducted statistical tests from a random sample of transactions and performed data mining on all DHS purchase card transactions for a 5-month period beginning in June 2005. GAO and DHS OIG looked at all transactions in this period because the database did not distinguish hurricane related from routine purchases. GAO and DHS OIG used the testing results to determine the extent of control weaknesses and identify instances of fraud, waste, and abuse. This testimony addresses whether (1) DHS's control environment and management of purchase card usage were effective; (2) DHS's key internal control activities operated effectively and provided reasonable assurance that purchase cards were used appropriately; and (3) …
Date:
July 19, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Tax-Exempt Organizations: Collecting More Data on Donor-Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations Could Help Address Compliance Challenges
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Donor-advised funds and supporting organizations are two charitable-giving options that have received attention from Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for their potential to facilitate noncompliance with tax law. As requested, GAO is providing information on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations related to (1) federal laws and regulations, compared to private foundations; (2) financial and organizational characteristics; and (3) types of noncompliance and promotion methods and challenges identifying them."
Date:
July 27, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Stronger Actions Needed to Assess and Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver Program
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens of 27 countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. In fiscal year 2004, more than 15 million people entered the country under the program. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the risks that aliens would exploit the program to enter the United States became more of a concern. In this report, we (1) describe the Visa Waiver Program's benefits and risks, (2) examine the U.S. government's process for assessing potential risks, and (3) assess actions taken to mitigate these risks. We met with U.S. embassy officials in six program countries, and reviewed relevant laws, procedures, and reports on participating countries."
Date:
July 28, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Human Trafficking: Better Data, Strategy, and Reporting Needed to Enhance U.S. Antitrafficking Efforts Abroad
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Human trafficking is a worldwide form of exploitation in which men, women, and children are bought, sold, and held against their will in involuntary servitude. In addition to the tremendous personal damage suffered by individual trafficking victims, this global crime has broad societal repercussions, such as fueling criminal networks and imposing public health costs. In 2000, Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to combat trafficking and reauthorized this act twice. This report reviews U.S. international antitrafficking efforts by examining (1) estimates of the extent of global trafficking, (2) the U.S. government's strategy for combating the problem abroad, and (3) the Department of State's process for evaluating foreign governments' antitrafficking efforts."
Date:
July 18, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Physician Services: Use of Services Increasing Nationwide and Relatively Few Beneficiaries Report Major Access Problems
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress, policy analysts, and groups representing physicians have periodically raised concerns that Medicare's efforts to control spending on physician services by limiting annual updates to physician fees could have an adverse impact on beneficiaries' access to physician services. These concerns were heightened in 2002 when Medicare's formula for setting physician fees required a 5.4 percent reduction in fees to help moderate rapid spending increases. From 2003 to 2006, fees have not grown as rapidly as the estimated cost to physicians of providing services, and concerns about access have remained. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 requires GAO to study access to physician services by beneficiaries in the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program. This report focuses on (1) trends and patterns in beneficiaries' perceptions of the availability of physician services from 2000 through 2004, (2) trends in beneficiaries' utilization of physician services from 2000 through 2005, and (3) indicators of physician supply and willingness to serve Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 through 2005. GAO analyzed the most recent data available, including several years of data from an annual survey of FFS Medicare beneficiaries as well …
Date:
July 21, 2006
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Impacts of Toll Roads on the Regional Economy: Suggested Measures
This report, by the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research, examines the type of metrics that can be employed in evaluating the economic, developmental, and fiscal impacts of toll roads.
Date:
July 2006
Creator:
Clower, Terry L. & Weinstein, Bernard L.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
[Photograph 2012.201.B0162.0578]
Photograph used for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "David Brown Birthday Party"
Date:
July 26, 2006
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Gateway to Oklahoma History
[Letter from the BRAC to the Department of Defense Clearinghouse - July 22, 2005]
Letter from the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to the Department of Defense requesting responses to a list of questions regarding army depots.
Date:
July 22, 2006
Creator:
Dinsick, R. Gary
Object Type:
Letter
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Environmentally Benign Stab Detonators
The coupling of energetic metallic multilayers (a.k.a. flash metal) with energetic sol-gel synthesis and processing is an entirely new approach to forming energetic devices for several DoD and DOE needs. They are also practical and commercially viable manufacturing techniques. Improved occupational safety and health, performance, reliability, reproducibility, and environmentally acceptable processing can be achieved using these methodologies and materials. The development and fielding of this technology will enhance mission readiness and reduce the costs, environmental risks and the necessity of resolving environmental concerns related to maintaining military readiness while simultaneously enhancing safety and health. Without sacrificing current performance, we will formulate new impact initiated device (IID) compositions to replace materials from the current composition that pose significant environmental, health, and safety problems associated with functions such as synthesis, material receipt, storage, handling, processing into the composition, reaction products from testing, and safe disposal. To do this, we will advance the use of nanocomposite preparation via the use of multilayer flash metal and sol-gel technologies and apply it to new small IIDs. This work will also serve to demonstrate that these technologies and resultant materials are relevant and practical to a variety of energetic needs of DoD and DOE. The goal …
Date:
July 7, 2006
Creator:
Gash, A. E.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Elastic electron scattering from formic acid
Following our earlier study on the dynamics of low energy electron attachment to formic acid, we report the results of elastic low-energy electron collisions with formic acid. Momentum transfer and angular differential cross sections were obtained by performing fixed-nuclei calculations employing the complex Kohn variational method. We make a brief description of the technique used to account for the polar nature of this polyatomic target and compare our results with available experimental data.
Date:
July 31, 2006
Creator:
Trevisan, Cynthia S.; Orel, Ann E. & Rescigno, Thomas N.
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library
First Principles Study of Double Photoionization of H2 UsingExterior Complex Scaling
Exterior complex scaling provides a practical path forfirst-principles studies of atomic and molecular ionizationproblemssince it avoids explicit enforcement of asymptotic boundary conditionsfor 3-body Coulomb breakup. We have used the method of exterior complexscaling, implemented with both the discrete variable representation andB-splines, to obtain the first-order wave function for molecular hydrogencorresponding to a single photon having been absorbed by a correlatedinitial state. These wave functions are used to construct convergedtriple differential cross sections for double photoionization of alignedH2 molecules.
Date:
July 21, 2006
Creator:
Rescigno, Thomas N.; Vanroose, Wim; Horner, Daniel A.; Martin,Fernando & McCurdy, C. William
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A fast contour descriptor algorithm for supernova imageclassification
We describe a fast contour descriptor algorithm and its application to a distributed supernova detection system (the Nearby Supernova Factory) that processes 600,000 candidate objects in 80 GB of image data per night. Our shape-detection algorithm reduced the number of false positives generated by the supernova search pipeline by 41% while producing no measurable impact on running time. Fourier descriptors are an established method of numerically describing the shapes of object contours, but transform-based techniques are ordinarily avoided in this type of application due to their computational cost. We devised a fast contour descriptor implementation for supernova candidates that meets the tight processing budget of the application. Using the lowest-order descriptors (F{sub 1} and F{sub -1}) and the total variance in the contour, we obtain one feature representing the eccentricity of the object and another denoting its irregularity. Because the number of Fourier terms to be calculated is fixed and small, the algorithm runs in linear time, rather than the O(n log n) time of an FFT. Constraints on object size allow further optimizations so that the total cost of producing the required contour descriptors is about 4n addition/subtraction operations, where n is the length of the contour.
Date:
July 16, 2006
Creator:
Aragon, Cecilia R. & Aragon, David Bradburn
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Fine-scale Horizontal Structure of Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds.
Recent in situ observations in stratiform clouds suggest that mixed phase regimes, here defined as limited cloud volumes containing both liquid and solid water, are constrained to narrow layers (order 100 m) separating all-liquid and fully glaciated volumes (Hallett and Viddaurre, 2005). The Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's (DOE-ARM, Ackerman and Stokes, 2003) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) recently started collecting routine measurement of radar Doppler velocity power spectra from the Millimeter Cloud Radar (MMCR). Shupe et al. (2004) showed that Doppler spectra has potential to separate the contributions to the total reflectivity of the liquid and solid water in the radar volume, and thus to investigate further Hallett and Viddaurre's findings. The Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (MPACE) was conducted along the NSA to investigate the properties of Arctic mixed phase clouds (Verlinde et al., 2006). We present surface based remote sensing data from MPACE to discuss the fine-scale structure of the mixed-phase clouds observed during this experiment.
Date:
July 10, 2006
Creator:
Rambukkange,M.; Verlinde, J.; Elorante, E.; Luke, E.; Kollias, P. & Shupe, M.
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library