A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of our audits of expenditures reported by one office of independent counsel and one office of special counsel for the 6 months ended March 31, 2006. The Department of Justice and independent counsels are required under 28 U.S.C. 594 (d)(2), (h) and 596 (c)(1) to report on a semiannual basis the expenditures from a permanent, indefinite appropriation established within the Department of Justice to fund independent counsel activities. Under 28 U.S.C. 596 (c)(2), we are required to audit the statements of expenditures prepared by the independent counsels. We also audited the statement of expenditures of Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is authorized by the Department of Justice to fund his operation from the permanent, indefinite appropriation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service (FPS) through its control centers (MegaCenters) helps provide for the security and protection of federally owned and leased facilities. This report (1) identifies the services MegaCenters provide, (2) determines how FPS assesses MegaCenter performance and whether FPS links MegaCenter performance measures to FPS-wide measures, and (3) examines how MegaCenters and selected organizations compare in the services they provide. To address these issues, GAO reviewed FPS's performance measures and past MegaCenter assessments, assessed the MegaCenters' performance measures, and interviewed officials and collected relevant information at FPS, the four MegaCenters, and nine selected security organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is developing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to ensure that only workers that do not pose a terrorist threat are allowed to enter secure areas of transportation facilities. TSA completed TWIC program testing in June 2005 and is moving forward with implementing the program in the maritime sector by the end of this year. To evaluate the status of the TWIC program, GAO examined (1) what problems, if any, were identified during TWIC program testing and what key challenges, if any, do the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and industry stakeholders face in implementing the program; and (2) to what extent, if at all, did TSA experience problems in planning for and overseeing the contract to test the TWIC program. To address these issues, GAO interviewed DHS officials and industry stakeholders, reviewed documentation regarding TWIC testing, and conducted site visits to testing locations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A consolidated watch list managed by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) contains the names of known or suspected terrorists, both international and domestic. Various agencies whose missions require screening for links to terrorism use watch list records. For example, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) screens travelers at ports of entry. Because screening is based on names, it can result in misidentifications when persons not on the list have a name that resembles one on the list. Also, some names may be mistakenly included on the watch list. In either case, individuals can be negatively affected and may express concerns or seek agency action, or redress, to prevent future occurrences. This report addresses: (1) the extent to which the numbers of misidentified persons are known and how they could be affected, (2) the major reasons misidentifications occur and the actions agencies are taking to reduce them or minimize their effects, and (3) the opportunities for redress available to individuals with watch list-related concerns. In conducting work at TSC and the principal federal agencies that use watch list data, GAO reviewed standard operating procedures and other …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As greater numbers of foreign-born persons enter, live, and work in the United States, policymakers need more information--particularly on the undocumented population, its size, characteristics, costs, and contributions. This report reviews the ongoing development of a potential method for obtaining such information: the "grouped answers" approach. In 1998, GAO devised the approach and recommended further study. In response, the Census Bureau tested respondent acceptance and recently reported results. GAO answers four questions. (1) Is the grouped answers approach acceptable for use in a national survey of the foreign-born? (2) What further research may be needed? (3) How large a survey is needed? (4) Are any ongoing surveys appropriate for inserting a grouped answers question series (to avoid the cost of a new survey)? For this study, GAO consulted an independent statistician and other experts, performed test calculations, obtained documents, and interviewed officials and staff at federal agencies. The Census Bureau and DHS agreed with the main findings of this report. DHS agreed that the National Survey of Drug Use and Health is not an appropriate survey for inserting a grouped answers question series."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2005, the inventory of tax debt with collection potential had grown to $132 billion. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not pursued some tax debt because of limited resources and higher priorities. Congress has authorized IRS to contract with private collection agencies (PCA) to help collect tax debts. IRS has developed a Private Debt Collection (PDC) program to start with a limited implementation in September 2006 and fuller implementation in January 2008. As requested, GAO is reporting whether (1) IRS addressed critical success factors before limited implementation, (2) IRS will assess lessons learned before fuller implementation, and (3) IRS's planned study will help determine if using PCAs is the best use of federal funds."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund), and the excise taxes that support the Trust Fund are scheduled for reauthorization at the end of fiscal year 2007. FAA is primarily supported by the Trust Fund, which receives revenues from a series of excise taxes paid by users of the national airspace system (NAS). The Trust Fund's uncommitted balance decreased by more than 70 percent from the end of fiscal year 2001 through the end of fiscal year 2005. The remaining funding is derived from the General Fund. This report focuses on the portion of revenues generated from users of the NAS and addresses the following key questions: (1) What advantages and concerns have been raised about the current approach to collecting revenues from NAS users to fund FAA, and to what extent does available evidence support the concerns? (2) What are the implications of adopting alternative funding options to collect the revenues contributed by users that fund FAA's budget? (3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of authorizing FAA to use debt financing for capital projects? This report is based …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the Department of Defense (DOD) has expanded its involvement in overseas military operations, it has grown increasingly reliant on its federal civilian workforce to support contingency operations. The Senate Armed Services Committee required GAO to examine DOD's policies concerning the health care for DOD civilians who deploy in support of contingency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. GAO analyzed over 3,400 deployment-related records for deployed federal civilians and interviewed department officials to determine the extent to which DOD has established and the military services and defense agencies (hereafter referred to as DOD components) have implemented (1) force health protection and surveillance policies and (2) medical treatment policies and procedures for its deployed federal civilians. GAO also examined the differences in special pays and benefits provided to DOD's deployed federal civilians and military personnel."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has been urged by commissions, legislation, and a panel to make increased use of commercial acquisition to achieve certain benefits. To help ensure the increased use of commercial acquisition, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) established and the Air Force implemented two commercial acquisition goals to be achieved by the end of fiscal year 2005. In setting these goals, OSD expected that the increased use of commercial acquisition would provide DOD with greater access to commercial markets (products and service types) with increased competition, better prices, and new market entrants and/or technologies. The committee asked GAO to identify (1) the extent to which the Air Force has increased its use of commercial acquisition to obtain expected benefits and (2) the risks that are associated with this use."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Research and development (R&D) of cyber security technology is essential to creating a broader range of choices and more robust tools for building secure, networked computer systems in the federal government and in the private sector. The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace identifies national priorities to secure cyberspace, including a federal R&D agenda. GAO was asked to identify the (1) federal entities involved in cyber security R&D; (2) actions taken to improve oversight and coordination of federal cyber security R&D, including developing a federal research agenda; and (3) methods used for technology transfer at agencies with significant activities in this area. To do this, GAO examined relevant laws, policies, budget documents, plans, and reports."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has worked for decades to achieve a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through initiatives such as the 1993 Oslo Accords and the more recent 2003 Roadmap for Peace. During fiscal years 1993 through 2005, the United States provided more than $2 billion in assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, including nearly $275 million in fiscal year 2005, to help achieve this goal. In particular, the 2005 assistance was provided to support the president of the Palestinian Authority, elected in January 2005, and to facilitate the Israeli disengagement from parts of the West Bank and Gaza, among other things. This assistance, primarily administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has been directed mainly toward five development sectors: economic growth, water and infrastructure, democracy and governance, health, and higher education. In recent years, the United States has taken several steps to help ensure that U.S. resources, including its aid to the West Bank and Gaza, do not support terrorist activities. On September 23, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order prohibiting the support of any organization or individuals that have been designated …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Maximizing the extent to which grants achieve their long-term performance goals is critical to successfully addressing the challenges of the 21st century. While performance accountability mechanisms are fairly new to federal grants, they have been used in contracts for some time and lessons learned have begun to inform federal grant design. Given this, GAO was asked to examine (1) challenges to performance accountability in federal grants, (2) mechanisms being used to improve grant performance, and (3) strategies the federal government can use to encourage the use of these mechanisms. GAO performed a content analysis of relevant literature and interviewed experts. To illustrate the mechanisms and strategies found in the literature, GAO used examples from the literature and selected additional case illustrations--two federal grant programs (vocational education and child support enforcement) and two nonfederal contracts--for further study."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, questions remain concerning the availability of hospital inpatient care and emergency department services in the greater New Orleans area--which consists of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes. Because of broad-based congressional interest, GAO, under the Comptroller General's statutory authority to conduct evaluations, assessed efforts to restore the area's hospitals by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and the Louisiana State University (LSU) public hospital system, which operated Charity and University hospitals in New Orleans. GAO examined (1) the availability of hospital inpatient care and the demand for emergency department services, (2) steps taken to reopen Charity and University hospitals, and (3) the activities that HHS has undertaken to help hospitals recover. To fulfill these objectives, GAO reviewed documents and interviewed federal officials and hospital, state, and local officials in the greater New Orleans area. GAO also obtained information on the number of inpatient beds for April 2006, which was the most recent data available when GAO did its work. GAO's work did not include other issues …

Congress authorized the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group as a provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act Of 2003. This provision was sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Orrin Hatch of Utah. The mission of the Working Group has been to provide a nationwide public debate about improving the American health care system so that health care “works for all Americans” and to use the results of that debate to provide recommendations for Congress and the President to consider as they work to achieve high quality, affordable health care. Working Group members were named February 28, 2005 and released various sets of recommendations.

Maintenance of apico-basal polarity in normal breast epithelial acini requires a balance between cell proliferation, cell death, and proper cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix signaling. Aberrations in any of these processes can disrupt tissue architecture and initiate tumor formation. Here we show that the small GTPase Rap1 is a crucial element in organizing acinar structure and inducing lumen formation. Rap1 activity in malignant HMT-3522 T4-2 cells is appreciably higher than in S1 cells, their non-malignant counterparts. Expression of dominant-negative Rap1 resulted in phenotypic reversion of T4-2 cells, led to formation of acinar structures with correct apico-basal polarity, and dramatically reduced tumor incidence despite the persistence of genomic abnormalities. The resulting acini contained prominent central lumina not observed when other reverting agents were used. Conversely, expression of dominant-active Rap1 in T4-2 cells inhibited phenotypic reversion and led to increased invasiveness and tumorigenicity. Thus, Rap1 acts as a central regulator of breast architecture, with normal levels of activation instructing apical polarity during acinar morphogenesis, and increased activation inducing tumor formation and progression to malignancy.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly magazine edition of the daily student newspaper from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas that includes local, state and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Photograph of Kinky Friedman, who appeared at the University of North Texas while he was campaigning for Texas Governor in 2006. This was a private talk with faculty and staff before he appeared in the University Union Lyceum.

Photograph of Kinky Friedman, who appeared at the University of North Texas while he was campaigning for Texas Governor in 2006. This was a private talk with faculty and staff before he appeared in the University Union Lyceum.

The Senate’s presiding officer typically does not have responsibility for pro-actively ensuring that matters under consideration comply with the rules. Instead, Senators may enforce the Senate’s legislative rules and precedents by making points of order whenever they believe that one of those rules or precedents is, or is about to be, violated. This report briefly discusses the process by which a point of order is raised and ruled upon.

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Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.