Document of a faxed message from Steven K. Cox to Cheryll Martin. The message is written in an informal tone. Cox is requesting Cheryll for two full-page ads of a specific measurement for the Black Tie Dinner's 20th anniversary and the AIDS epidemic.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 encourages tribes to participate in and manage programs that for years had been administered on their behalf by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of the Interior. The act authorizes tribes to take over the administration of such programs through contractual arrangements with the agencies that previously ran them: HHS' Indian Health Service and Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. For the Indian Health Service, the programs include mental health, dental care, hospitals and clinics. For the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the programs that can be contracted by tribes include law enforcement, education, and social services. Under the first 15 years of the Self-Determination Act, tribal contractors generally assumed liability for accidents or torts (civil wrongdoings) caused by their employees. However, in 1990, the federal government permanently assumed this liability when Congress extended the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage to tribal contractors under the Self-Determination Act. Originally enacted in 1946, FTCA established a process by which individuals injured by federal employees could seek compensation from the federal government. As a result of extending this …

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Sweet Home Vocational and Agricultural School, in Seguin, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, narrative, and photographs.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the federal government's strategic human capital management challenges, particularly in the information technology (IT) area. No management issue facing federal agencies could be more critical to the nation than their approach to attracting, retaining, and motivating people. Having enough people with the right mix of knowledge and skills will make the difference between success and failure. This is especially true in the information technology area, where widespread shortfalls in human capital have undermined agency and program performance. The federal government today faces pervasive human capital challenges that are eroding the ability of many agencies--and threatening the ability of others--to economically, efficiently, and effectively carry out their missions. How successfully the federal government acquires and uses information technology will depend on its ability to build, prepare, and manage its information technology workforce. To address the federal government's human capital challenges as a whole, GAO believes that (1) agencies must take all administrative steps available to them under current laws and regulations to manage their people for results; (2) the Administration and Congress should pursue opportunities to put new tools and flexibilities in place that will help …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses how federal agencies conduct fire management under the National Fire Plan. Effective fire management requires coordination, consistency, and agreement among five federal land management agencies in two departments--the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture. Human activities, especially the federal government's decades-old policy of suppressing all wild fires, have led to dangerous accumulations of felled trees and other dead vegetation on federal lands. As a result, conditions on 211 million acres continue to deteriorate. The National Fire Plan represents the latest effort to address wildland fire on federal lands. Two conditions set this effort apart from earlier efforts. First, Congress has to recognize the need to sustain increased funding for wildland fire management in future fiscal years. Second, Congress has issued direction to reduce the risk of wildland fire in the wildland-urban interface. However, many of the policy's guiding principles and recommendations have not been implemented. The failure of the five federal land management agencies to incorporate into …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Richard Bischoff. Bischoff joined the Army in December of 1942. He served with the 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion. They arrived in England in April of 1944. They invaded Normandy on D-Day plus 2. Bischoff and his unit fought across France and into Germany during the summer and early winter of 1944. In December they participated in the Ardennes Campaign, ending the war near the Czechoslovakian border. Bischoff returned to the US and was discharged in December of 1945.

News release about DART and Trinity Railway Express transport to the American Airlines Center, with a focus on the Ringling Bros. Circus performing there.

Document of an email from Ibis Kaba to the Black Tie Dinner Committee. The email is about the program and the entertainment for an upcoming event. Kaba is addressing how they and their assistants will organize the program but is requesting a program outline from the committee.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2001, GAO issued a report (GAO-01-394) on the results of its audit of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) financial statements and on the effectiveness of its internal controls for fiscal year 2000. This report reviews additional matters identified during GAO's fiscal year 2000 audit regarding accounting procedures and internal controls that could be improved. GAO found that IRS had immaterial internal control issues that affected reporting. IRS (1) was unable to determine if its costs for reimbursable activities were accurate and whether it was recouping the costs of the goods or services it provided, (2) lacked procedures to properly record its working capital fund prepaid expenses, (3) accepted information from its contractors for inclusion in its year-end financial reporting without sufficient oversight or review, and (4) did not always follow standard procedures with respect to the transfer of funds between appropriations."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Archie Clark. Clark was born May 19, 1920 in Pulaski County, Indiana, drafted into the Army on July 17, 1942 and was transferred to the 80th Infantry Division. In July 1944 he was shipped across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary with 22,000 other people on the ship. The battalion eventually landed at Utah Beach, 58 days following D-Day. His platoon's first engagement was with the retreating Germans at the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, in Argentan, France. His division was part of Patton's Third Army. During a three day pass to Paris, he recalls the MPs informing members of the 101st Airborne to return to camp, where they headed out for Bastogne, Belgium. When he rejoined the 80th, they were already on their way to Bastogne. He recalls several experiences during the siege, including losing 33 of the 39 men in his platoon, and his Battalion being reduced to 96 men. He recalls that, after Bastogne, his unit advanced into Germany, where he was wounded by an artillery shell. After recovering, he rejoined his unit in Vöcklabruck, Austria, where they were tasked with accepting the surrender 200,000 …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses internal controls weaknesses that left two Navy units in San Diego, California, vulnerable to purchase card fraud and abuse. GAO found a proliferation of purchase cards at the two units in San Diego--the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the Navy Public Works. In the end, more than 1,700 cardholders essentially had the authority to make their own purchase decisions. A serious breakdown in internal controls over the receipt of government property and the certification of monthly statements, coupled with flawed or nonexistent policies and procedures and the failure of Navy employees to adhere to valid policies and procedures, led to (1) the loss, theft, and misuse of government property; (2) the potential abuse of purchase cards; and (3) payments of potentially fraudulent charges. Five fraud cases have already been identified, and the government remains extremely vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse arising from the purchase card program at the two Navy units. This testimony summarized the November report, GAO-02-32."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The General Services Administration (GSA) began its Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) program in 1997 to achieve immediate, substantial, and sustained price reductions for local voice and selected data communications services in selected metropolitan areas. As of June 2001, GSA has awarded 37 MAA contracts for 20 metropolitan areas. The transition from existing GSA contracts to the MAA contracts is still underway. This correspondence answers congressional questions about GAO's June 2001 testimony on MAA implementation issues."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Don Fox. He was born July 3, 1926 in Pulaski, Indiana. He was drafted into the Army on January 9, 1945. Upon completion of basic training he shipped out to Leyte Island in the Philippines where he joined the 24th Division, 34th Regiment. During the transit the war with Japan ended. He recalls in September 1945 taking part in an unopposed amphibious landing on Matsuyama, Japan, where there was a Japanese Army base. He recalls marching through the town where there were starving Japanese children lined up waving American flags, and giving them chocolate. He describes how his unit paid the local Japanese to enter tunnels stocked with munitions, remove them and detonate them safely. He describes his battalion being trucked to Hiroshima five or six weeks after the atomic bomb was dropped. He recalls the desolation of the area. Upon returning to the city of Hiro, he recalls being sent out on patrols into cities where they would interview officials and check on schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. He recalls frequent encounters with starving Japanese seeking employment. He recounts an instance when he volunteered for honor guard …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) handling of appropriated funds from expired appropriation accounts. In 1990, Congress changed the law governing the use of appropriation accounts because it concluded that controls over them were not working. Without adequate controls, Congress was concerned that agencies could disburse money in amounts and for purposes that it had not approved. GAO found that DOD improperly charged appropriation accounts after they were closed. GAO also found that DOD did not establish the requisite systems, controls, and managerial attention required to properly account for its disbursements consistent with the 1990 account closing law, and as a result, DOD made at least $615 million of illegal or otherwise improper adjustments during fiscal year 2000 alone. DOD was aware of the limitations the account closing law placed on the availability of canceled appropriations and that the law was enacted because of previous abuses by DOD's use of old appropriations. DOD also knew that a major system used to control its use of appropriations allowed for disbursements to be charged in a way that was inconsistent with the law. However, DOD did nothing to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2000, Medicare made more than $200 billion in payments to hundreds of thousands of health care providers who served nearly 40 million beneficiaries. Because of the program's vast size and complexity, GAO has included Medicare on its list of government areas at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. GAO first included Medicare on that list in 1990, and it remains there today. GAO has continually reported on the efforts of the Health Care Financing Administration -- recently renamed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) -- to safeguard Medicare payments and streamline operations. CMS relies on its claims administration contractors to run Medicare. As these contractors have become more aggressive in identifying and pursuing inappropriate payments, providers have expressed concern that Medicare has become to complex and difficult to navigate. CMS's oversight of its contractors has historically been weak. In the last two years, however, CMS has made substantial progress. GAO has identified several areas in which CMS still need improvement, especially in ensuring that contractors provide accurate, complete, and timely information to providers on Medicare billing rules and coverage policies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress, the Department of Defense, and GAO have expressed concerns about the readiness of U.S. forces to carry out combat missions. To ensure that Army units can fulfill their missions, the Army decided to staff all active units at 100 percent with personnel at authorized grades and skills over fiscal years 2000-2003. The initiative has had mixed results. On the positive side, some combat divisions that have been routinely staffed at less than authorized levels are now staffed in the aggregate at 100 percent. On the negative side, because of the effort to staff the combat divisions and armored regiments at 100 percent, the staffing levels of some nondivisional units, including early deploying combat support units, have decreased. According to Army officials, some management decisions are affecting the Army's ability to achieve the goals for the manning initiative. The Army's ability to fully achieve and sustain its manning initiative goals will depend on its future management decisions on funding, recruiting, and retention."

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Davis. Davis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in June 1923. In December 1942, he joined the Navy and was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois for boot camp. He was then sent to Norfolk, Virginia and assigned to the USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE-54) to run the ship’s laundry. He recalls an encounter with a German submarine. After serving in the Atlantic for a period of time, the ship returned to the United States and Davis was assigned to the USS Westmorland (APA-104) as a Motor Machinist. After the ship arrived in Hawaii, he was offered the opportunity to be discharged. He returned to the US and was discharged September 1945.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 to reduce the number of uninsured poor children whose families incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. Congress appropriated $40 billion over 10 years (fiscal years 1998 through 2007) for SCHIP. Each state's SCHIP allotment is available as a federal match based on state expenditures. Although the SCHIP statute generally targets children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, 13 states' programs cover children in families above 200 percent of the federal poverty level. This report provides information on (1) enrollment and federal expenditures for SCHIP and estimates of the number of and costs to enroll eligible unenrolled children and income-eligible pregnant women and (2) factors that may influence states' future expenditures for SCHIP and the availability of funding for any program expansion."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) is an important element of the U.S.' strategy to protect the nation's infrastructures from hostile attacks, especially computer-based attacks. This testimony discusses the key findings of a GAO report on NIPC's progress in developing national capabilities for analyzing cyber threats and vulnerability data and issuing warnings, enhancing its capabilities for responding to cyber attacks, and establishing information-sharing relationships with governments and private-sector entities. GAO found that progress in developing the analysis, warning, and information-sharing capabilities has been mixed. NIPC began various critical infrastructure protection efforts that have laid the foundation for future governmentwide efforts. NIPC has also provided valuable support and coordination related to investigating and otherwise responding to attacks on computers. However, the analytical and information-sharing capabilities that are needed to protect the nation's critical infrastructures have not yet been achieved, and NIPC has developed only limited warning capabilities. An underlying contributor to the slow progress is that the NIPC's roles and responsibilities have not been fully defined and are not consistently interpreted by other entities involved in the government's broader critical infrastructure protection strategy. This report summarized an April report …

News release about DART and Trinity Railway Express transportation to events at the American Airlines Center.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress faces critical decisions about the future of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and intercity passenger rail. In GAO's view, the goal of a national system, much like Amtrak's current system, and the goal of operational self-sufficiency appear to be incompatible. In fact, Amtrak was created because other railroads were unable to profitably provide passenger service. In addition, Amtrak needs more capital funding than has been historically provided in order to operate a safe, reliable system that can attract and retain customers. Developing a high-speed rail system is also costly, requiring additional tens of billions of dollars. If intercity passenger rail is to have a future in the nation's transportation system, Congress needs realistic assessments of the expected public benefits and the resulting costs of these investments as compared with investments in other modes of transportation. Such analyses would provide sound bases for congressional action in defining the national goals that will be pursued, the extent that Amtrak and other intercity passenger rail systems can contribute to meeting these goals, and whether federal and state money would be available to sustain such systems over the long term."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the short-term outlook of Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund improved in the last year, Medicare's long-term prospects have worsened. The Medicare Trustee's latest projections, released in March, use more realistic assumptions about health care spending in the years ahead. These latest projections call into question the program's long-term financial health. The Congressional Budget Office also increased its long-term estimates of Medicare spending. The slowdown in Medicare spending growth in recent years appears to have ended. In the first eight months of fiscal year 2001, Medicare spending was 7.5 percent higher than a year earlier. This testimony discusses several fundamental challenges to Medicare reform. Without meaningful entitlement reform, GAO's long-term budget simulations show that an aging population and rising health care spending will eventually drive the country back into deficit and debt. The addition of a prescription drug benefits would boost spending projections even further. Properly structured reform to promote competition among health plans could make Medicare beneficiaries more cost conscious. The continued importance of traditional Medicare underscores the need to base adjustments to provider payments on hard evidence rather than on anecdotal information. Similarly, reforms in the …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Management of Medicare has come under increasing scrutiny. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has had mixed success running the program. The agency has developed payment methods that have contained cost growth, and HCFA has paid fee-for-service claims quickly and at low administrative cost. However, HCFA has had difficulty ensuring that it paid claims appropriately. In addition, Medicare claims administration contractors have done a poor job of communicating with Medicare providers. HCFA has taken important steps to address some of these shortcomings, including strengthening payment safeguards, but several factors have hampered its efforts. Despite its growing responsibilities, HCFA suffers from staffing shortages. The agency also continues to rely on archaic computer systems. At the same time, HCFA has faltered in its attempts to adopt a results-based approach to agency management. Constraints on the agency's contracting authority have limited its use of full and open competition to select claims administration contractors and assign administrative tasks. Rising expectations among Medicare beneficiaries and providers are putting pressure on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to modernize and improve agency operations. Such improvements will require HCFA to begin a performance-based management …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Wallace Dowd. Dowd begins with anecdotes about his father, a Navy officer in the Construction Corps. Dowd was in the ROTC unit at the University of Washington when the war started. He received his commission in the Supply Corps and was assigned aboard the USS Alden (DD-211) for a year. His next duty station was in Savannah and he comments about the segregated South. Afterwards, he went to Philadelphia where the USS Antietam (CV-36) was being built. He went aboard as the Stores Officer. When the war ended, Dowd went to the Bureau of Supply and Accounts. He discusses his involvement in the Korean War. During his career, he went to the Naval War College, served at sea again, served ashore in Italy, etc. and retired as a rear admiral.