Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of widespread congressional and public interest in the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we conducted a limited investigation into allegations that military Meal, Ready-To-Eat (MRE) rations intended for use in the hurricane relief efforts were instead sold to the public on the Internet auction site eBay. We focused our efforts on confirming whether selected MREs being offered for sale on eBay were military issue and, if so, interviewing the sellers to determine how they obtained the MREs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of widespread congressional and public interest in the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, GAO conducted an audit of the Individuals and Households Program (IHP) under Comptroller General of the United States statutory authority. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed homes and displaced millions of individuals. In the wake of these natural disasters, FEMA faced the challenge of providing assistance quickly and with minimal "red tape," while having sufficient controls to provide assurance that benefits were paid only to eligible individuals and households. In response to this challenge, FEMA provided $2,000 in IHP payments to affected households via its Expedited Assistance (EA) program. Victims who received EA may qualify for up to $26,200 in IHP assistance. As of mid-December 2005, IHP payments totaled about $5.4 billion, with $2.3 billion provided in the form of EA. These payments were made via checks, electronic fund transfers, and a small number of debit cards. GAO's testimony will provide the results to date related to whether (1) controls are in place and operating effectively to limit EA to qualified applicants, (2) indications exist of fraud and abuse in the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains approximately 2.5 million security clearances on servicemembers, federal DOD civilian employees, industry personnel for DOD and 23 other federal agencies, and employees in the legislative branch. Delays in determining eligibility for a clearance can heighten the risk that classified information will be disclosed to unauthorized sources, increase contract costs, and pose problems in attracting and retaining qualified personnel. In this statement, GAO addresses: (1) the status of DOD's efforts to improve its projections of the numbers of clearances needed for industry personnel, and (2) other long-standing challenges that have a negative effect on the efficiency and effectiveness of DOD's personnel security clearance program for industry personnel. This statement is based on a report GAO is issuing today (GAO-08-350) and other prior work, which included reviews of clearance-related documents and interviews of senior officials at DOD and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The use of information technology (IT) is crucial to the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) mission to promote the health, welfare, and dignity of all veterans in recognition of their service to the nation. In this regard, the department's fiscal year 2009 budget proposal includes about $2.4 billion to support IT development, operations, and maintenance. VA has, however, experienced challenges in managing its IT projects and initiatives, including cost overruns, schedule slippages, and performance problems. In an effort to confront these challenges, the department is undertaking a realignment to centralize its IT management structure. This testimony summarizes the department's actions to realign its management structure to provide greater authority and accountability over its IT budget and resources and the impact of these actions to date. In developing this testimony, GAO reviewed previous work on the department's realignment and related budget issues, analyzed pertinent documentation, and interviewed VA officials to determine the current status and impact of the department's efforts to centralize the management of its IT budget and operations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 London subway bombings and 2006 rail attacks in Mumbai, India highlighted the vulnerability of passenger rail and other surface transportation systems to terrorist attack and demonstrated the need for greater focus on securing these systems. This testimony is based primarily on GAO's September 2005 passenger rail security report and selected program updates obtained in January 2007. Specifically, it addressees (1) the extent to which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assessed the risks facing the U.S. passenger rail system and developed a strategy based on risk assessments for securing all modes of transportation, including passenger rail; (2) the actions that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other federal agencies have taken to enhance the security of the U.S. passenger rail system, improve federal coordination, and develop industry partnerships; and (3) the security practices that domestic and selected foreign passenger rail operators have implemented to enhance security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in March 2003 with missions that include preventing terrorist attacks from occurring within the United States, reducing U.S. vulnerability to terrorism, minimizing damages from attacks that occur, and helping the nation recover from any attacks. GAO has reported that the implementation and transformation of DHS is an enormous management challenge and that the size, complexity, and importance of the effort make the challenge especially daunting and critical to the nation's security. GAO's prior work on mergers and acquisitions found that successful transformations of large organizations, even those faced with less strenuous reorganizations than DHS, can take at least 5 to 7 years to achieve. This testimony is based on GAO's August 2007 report evaluating DHS's progress between March 2003 and July 2007, selected reports issued since July 2007, and our institutional knowledge of homeland security issues."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), established in November 2001, has developed and implemented a variety of programs to secure the commercial aviation system. To implement these efforts, TSA funding related to aviation security has totaled about $20 billion since fiscal year 2004. Other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components, such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), also play roles in securing commercial aviation. In this testimony, we address the efforts TSA has taken or planned to strengthen aviation security, and the challenges that remain, in three key areas: airline passenger prescreening, airline passenger and checked baggage screening, and air cargo screening. GAO's comments are based on issued GAO reports and testimonies and our preliminary observations from ongoing work on TSA's passenger checkpoint screening procedures and technologies, and staffing standards for Transportation Security Officers (TSO)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Easily concealed and transported, and virtually untraceable to their original source, diamonds are often used in lieu of currency in arms deals, money laundering, and other criminal activity. U.S. controls over diamond imports only require certification from the country of last import--and thus cannot identify diamonds from conflict sources. Although the United States bans diamonds documented as coming from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, and Liberia--all of which are subject to U.N. sanctions--this does not prevent such diamonds from being shipped to a second country and mixed into parcels destined for the United States. GAO found that the Kimberley Process's proposal for international diamond certification incorporated some elements of accountability. However, it is not based on a risk assessment, and some high-risk activities are subject only to "recommended" controls. Also, from the time when rough diamonds enter the first foreign port until the final point of sale, there exists only a voluntary industry participation and self-regulated monitoring and enforcement system. These and other shortcomings significantly undermine efforts to deter trade in questionable diamonds."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While aviation accidents in the United States are relatively infrequent, recent incidents have heightened concerns about safety on airport runways. As the nation's aviation system becomes more crowded every day, increased congestion at airports may exacerbate ground safety concerns. This statement discusses (1) the trends in runway incursions, (2) what FAA has done to improve runway safety, and (3) what more could be done. This statement is based on GAO's November 2007 report issued to this committee on runway safety. GAO's work on that report included surveying experts on the causes of runway incidents and accidents and the effectiveness of measures to address them, reviewing safety data, and interviewing agency and industry officials. This statement also contains information from FAA on recent incursions and actions taken since November 2007."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Caribbean Division was alleged recently to have taken inappropriate credit for arrests to gain more resources. To claim credit for drug-related arrests, DEA agents must be directly involved in domestic arrests and provide "substantial assistance" to host-country law enforcement officials in foreign arrests. DEA's Agents Manual defines substantial assistance as active participation or furnishing of information or funds that lead to an arrest. Agents must complete a "Personal History Report" on each person arrested and complete a "Report of Investigation" on the investigative activities leading to the arrest. DEA uses the Personal History Report to track the number of arrests. DEA officials told GAO that arrest data do not serve as a basis for requesting additional resources in the budget development process. DEA's internal control procedures and inspection programs include (1) on-site inspections of its domestic and foreign offices and (2) annual self-inspections by divisional offices. To ensure the validity of its arrest data, in August 2001, the then acting administrator changed DEA's inspection programs--from a review of a random sample of arrests to a comprehensive review of all arrests. GAO's reviews of …

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Education code section 54.208's exemption from tuition for students enrolled in fire science courses (RQ-0371-GA)

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Eligibility of former and retires judges to sit by assignment (RQ-0377-GA)

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether section 241.154(b) of the health and Safety Code or section 408.025(d) of the Labor Code governs the fees a hospital may charge a workers'compensation carrier to provide certain records in a workers' compensation proceeding (RQ-0382-GA)

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether, under Local Government Code chapter 334, Terrell County may borrow money to construct an approved venue project, to be repaid from the venue project fund.

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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Appropriate calculation of the market value of the permanent school fund for making distributions to the available school fund (RQ-0448-GA)

An invoice from Elida Barraza, the Printing Services Coordinator at the Printing Services department to Mr. Stallings of $12.98 on February 13, 2009.

Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus First Biennial Statewide Conference registration form from Saturday, February 28 - Sunday, March 1, 2009.

An invoice from Elida Barraza, the Printing Services Coordinator at the Printing Services department to Mr. Stallings of $7.22 on February 13, 2009.

A document advertising an event called SEX (Successfully Experience the X factor) hosted by the UNT Multicultural Center on campus. Jordan K. Spradley is the speaker. At the bottom is a short description of the purpose of the event and its purpose.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In early December 2005, wholesale natural gas prices topped $15 per million BTUs, more than double the prices seen last summer and seven times the prices common during the 1990s. For the 2005-2006 heating season, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that residences heating with gas will pay 35 percent more, on average, than they paid last winter. This testimony addresses the following: (1) the factors causing natural gas price increases, (2) how consumers are affected by these higher prices, and (3) the roles federal government agencies play in ensuring that natural gas prices are determined in a competitive and informed marketplace. This testimony is based on GAO's 2002 published work in this area, updated through interviews, examination of data, and review of relevant publications. GAO's new work was conducted from December 2005 through February 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards."

This document includes supplemental material to an article titled "Enthalpy of solvation correlations for gaseous solutes dissolved in benzene and in alkane solvents based on the Abraham model," published in QSAR & Combinatorial Science.

Email from Kaye Gooch to multiple recipients on February 13, 2009, congratulating Scott and Andy on their election on the Executive Board. Another email from Scott Bellon to Dan on February 13, 2009 about the list of officers and their contact information.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Glen Cleckler. Cleckler was born in Roscoe, Texas. While a senior in high school, he and several friends, including Harlon Block, joined the US Marine Corps. After completing boot camp at San Diego, he was assigned to the 1st Defense Battalion, 5th Amphibious Corps. After spending nine months on Palmyra Atoll he was sent to the Marshall Islands to set up a radar site on Majuro Atoll. He then returned to Pearl Harbor where he was assigned to a pack howitzer unit of the 4th Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 14th Marines. On 18 December 1944 he boarded a troopship bound for Iwo Jima. He describes the conditions encountered when landing on the beach during the second day of the invasion. Cleckler recalls a DC-3 flew over the island spraying a pesticide to combat conditions caused by exposed corpses. He remembers American ships firing star shells throughout the nights in attempts to expose Japanese infiltrators and tells of seeing damaged B-29s landing on the air strip before the island was secured. Upon returning to the United States, Cleckler attended college followed by thirty-seven years in the teaching profession.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Tom Stephens. Stephens was born 17 August 1916. He joined the Army and was assigned into the 33rd Infantry Division. After being a machine gun instructor, Stephens was selected for officer training. After receiving his commission at Fort Benning, Georgia he was assigned as a rifle platoon leader. He tells of the division arriving on Morotai, Indonesia on 18 December 1945 and although they conducted aggressive patrols, very little resistance was encountered. During February 1945 the division landed at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Stephens describes an incident of combat in which he received wounds that required hospitalization and two months of recovery. On 25 September the division landed on Honshu Island, Japan and after three months occupational duty he returned to the United States and was discharged.