Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (the act) extended the federal age standard for pilots of large commercial aircraft from 60 to 65 years of age. The act also requires us to report--no later than 24 months after its enactment--on the effect, if any, of this change on aviation safety. This report responds to that requirement."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare program for nearly 45 million beneficiaries, including beneficiaries with limited English proficiency (LEP)--meaning they may not be proficient or are limited in their ability to communicate in the English language. Medicare beneficiaries face a complex set of health care choices that require them to obtain information about the comparative benefits, costs, and quality of available options. CMS is responsible for providing clear, accurate, and timely information about this program and making the information accessible to beneficiaries. Under section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, entities that receive federal financial assistance are prohibited from discriminating against or otherwise excluding individuals from their programs or activities on the basis of race, color, or national origin. In 1964, as directed under section 602 of Title VI, HHS first published regulations applying these prohibitions to entities receiving federal financial assistance from HHS, including health care organizations. In 2000, Executive Order 13166 was published, requiring federal agencies to take certain step to clarify Title …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On December 22, 2008, a breach in a surface impoundment (or storage pond) dike at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee resulted in the release of 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash--also referred to as coal combustion residue (CCR)--into the nearby Emory River. The spill covered more than 300 acres and made 3 homes uninhabitable; it damaged 23 other homes, plus roads, rail lines, and utilities. TVA estimated the cleanup will cost between $933 million and $1.2 billion and take 2 to 3 years to complete. In light of the spill in Kingston, Congress asked us to identify: (1) the number of surface impoundments for storing CCR in the United States and their location; (2) problems, if any, with the storage of coal ash, and how those problems are being addressed; and (3) the type of federal oversight that exists for CCR and what, if any, issues need to be resolved. We briefed your staffs on October 1, 2009, and September 28, 2009, respectively, on the results of this work. This report summarizes and transmits that briefing. The full briefing is reprinted in …

Registration form filled out by David H. Plylar for the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus Statewide Conference in Austin, including contact information and workshop selections in Making Your Endorsements Matter, Maximize Your Contact With Elected Officials, and Legal Tips for Political Action Committees. Also, there is an envelope addressed to the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus at Dallas, Texas from David H. Plylar at San Antonio, Texas.

Registration form filled out by Dawnetta Miller for the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus Statewide Conference in Austin, including contact information and workshop selections in How To Run An Effective Meeting, Building A Bigger Club, and Maximize Your Contact With Elected Officials. Also, there is an envelope addressed to the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus at Dallas, Texas from D. Miller at Plano, Texas.

Registration form filled out by Jeanne S. Rubin for the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus Statewide Conference in Austin, including contact information and workshop selections in Raise Money Without Even Trying, Making Your Endorsements Matter, and Technology Tips for Clubs. Also, there is an envelope addressed to the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus at Dallas, Texas from Jeanne Rubin at Frisco, Texas.

News release about a Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) training conference hosted by DART.

News release about DART's efforts to keep their vehicles and passenger facilities clean to help combat the spread of swine flu.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of its major weapon acquisitions as a high-risk area; however DOD's problems delivering weapon systems on time, at the estimated cost, in the planned amounts, and with the promised performance go back decades. Congress and DOD have continually explored ways to improve acquisition outcomes, yet problems persist. The committee asked GAO to testify on measures needed to reform the acquisition of major weapon systems and related legislative proposals. Specifically, this statement will describe the poor outcomes on weapon system investments that make reform imperative; attributes of the requirements, funding, and acquisition processes that will need to change for reform to be effective; and positive steps that Congress and DOD have taken to improve weapon program outcomes. The statement will also examine other factors that should be considered as the committee moves forward with its reform efforts. The testimony is drawn from GAO's body of work on DOD's requirements, funding, and acquisition processes. GAO has made numerous recommendations aimed at improving DOD's management of its major weapon acquisitions, but it is not making any new recommendations in this …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Civil Rights Division (Division) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is the primary federal entity charged with enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin in such areas as voting, employment, housing, public accommodations, the rights of institutionalized persons, and education. Each year, the Division initiates thousands of matters, which may consist of the investigation of an allegation of discrimination, and participates in hundreds of cases to carry out its broad enforcement responsibilities. Over the past 20 years, the Division has used various case management systems to manage its workload. In October 2000, the Division implemented the Interactive Case Management System (ICM) as its official system to track, count, and capture performance measurement information for all matters and cases from their inception to their conclusion and to assist staff in their casework. According to Division documentation, ICM was also designed to serve as a tool for senior management to oversee the work of the Division and to assist senior managers in reporting accurate matter and case data at all levels of the organization, improving accountability, analyzing the Division's performance, …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A comprehensive system to alert the American people in times of hazard allows people to take action to save lives. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for the current Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the development of the new Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). In this testimony, based on its report released today, GAO discusses (1) the current status of EAS, (2) the progress made by FEMA in implementing an integrated alert and warning system, and (3) coordination issues involved in implementing an integrated alert and warning system. GAO conducted a survey of states, reviewed FEMA and other documentation, and interviewed industry stakeholders and officials from federal agencies responsible for public alerting."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent increases in prescription drug costs have been fueled in part by the high and rising cost of specialty prescription drugs. Specialty prescription drugs are typically used to treat chronic or life-threatening conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer, for which few other treatment options exist. The drugs typically have few competitors or generic alternatives and may require frequent dosage adjustment, special storage, patient education, or special methods of administration, such as by injection. Costs for specialty prescription drugs are usually high, typically ranging from $1,200 to $40,000 for a 30-day supply. Health plans--including those participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which covers nearly 8 million federal employees, dependents, and retirees-- provide coverage for many specialty drugs. Enrollees may be required to pay a portion of specialty drug costs through a copayment--a flat dollar amount--or coinsurance--a percentage share of the drug's actual costs. To manage the high and rising costs of these drugs, some health plans have begun to require enrollees to contribute a greater share of their costs, such as by increasing the use of coinsurance. Congress asked us to examine the costs that …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to congressional request that GAO address additional questions arising from the May 19, 2009, hearing on federal information security held by the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement. In that hearing, we discussed the current state of information security throughout the federal government and agency efforts to comply with the requirements of the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). Congress had the following two questions: (1) Please comment on the need for improved cyber security relating to S.773, the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009; and (2) Please provide recommendations to improve the Federal Information Security Management Act."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Biennially, the Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary's principal policymaking body, assesses the need for additional judges. The assessment is based on a variety of factors, but begins with quantitative case-related workload measures. This statement focuses on (1) whether the judiciary's quantitative case-related workload measures from 1993 were reasonably accurate; and (2) the reasonableness of any proposed methodologies to update the 1993 workload measures. This statement is based on work completed and reported in 2003 and discussed in testimony on June 17, 2008."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing slides in response to section 1119 of Pub. L. No. 110-315, the Higher Education Opportunity Act. This act mandated GAO study the financial and compliance audits and reviews required or conducted for the Federal Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan Programs. On August 6 and 7, 2009, we briefed the staff of congressional committees on the types of audits, reviews, agreed-upon procedures, and reconciliations that are required or conducted for these programs. At congressional request, we have incorporated additional information on the agreed-upon procedures engagements required by the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act and the reconciliations performed by the Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid. In a forthcoming report, we will provide an assessment of whether these audits and reviews as designed provide comparable coverage of the two loan programs. That report will also discuss how the Department of Education ensures that these audits and reviews comply with statutory and regulatory requirements and how the Department uses them to oversee these loan programs."

Article printed from www.military.com/news, written by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, describing the experiences of three Women Airforce Service Pilots: Ruth Shafer Fleisher, Frances Rohrer Sargent, and Helen Wyatt Snapp--at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony in South Florida. It describes their role in military and women's history, their history and love for aviation, and their current marital statuses.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with about $808 billion in supplemental and annual appropriations, as of March 2009, primarily for military operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). DOD's reported annual obligations for GWOT have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to about $162.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. For fiscal year 2009, Congress provided DOD with about $65.9 billion in supplemental appropriations for GWOT as of March 2009 and the President plans on requesting an additional $75.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for GWOT for the remainder of the fiscal year. A total of $31.0 billion has been obligated in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 through December 2008. The United States' commitments to GWOT will likely involve the continued investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The magnitude of future costs will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables and, in some cases, decisions that have not yet been made. DOD's future costs will likely be affected by …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health centers funded through grants under the Health Center Program--managed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--provide comprehensive primary care services for the medically underserved. The statement GAO is issuing today summarizes an August 2008 report, Health Resources and Services Administration: Many Underserved Areas Lack a Health Center Site, and the Health Center Program Needs More Oversight (GAO-08-723). In that report, GAO examined to what extent medically underserved areas (MUA) lacked health center sites in 2006 and 2007. To do this, GAO obtained and analyzed HRSA data and grant application"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was created in 1956 to finance the construction of the Interstate Highway System. This system, built in partnership with state and local governments for over 50 years, has become central to transportation in the United States. Over these 50 years, the federal role in surface transportation has expanded to include broader goals and more programs. Although most surface transportation funds remain dedicated to highway infrastructure, federal surface transportation programs now serve additional transportation, environmental, and societal purposes such as construction of pedestrian walkways and safety enforcement facilities along border regions. The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized $244.1 billion over 5 years for highways, highway safety, and public transportation, with the HTF serving as the funding source for most of the act's programs. In addition to authorizing funds for construction and maintenance of highways and bridges, the act specifies other purposes for which funding must or may be used, including, but not limited to, safety; metropolitan planning; transit; and transportation enhancement activities, such as trails for transportation purposes, pedestrian walkways, bicycle lanes and parking, and …

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Ingenhuett-Kargar Saloon, in Comfort, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is an e-supplement to GAO-09-347. This document presents a bibliography of a literature review conducted as part of our work on emergency department crowding (GAO-09-347). As part of our work to analyze and report on information made available since 2003 about (1) three indicators of emergency department crowding--ambulance diversion, wait times, and patient boarding, and (2) factors that contribute to emergency department crowding, we conducted a literature review of 197 articles, including articles published in peer-reviewed and other periodicals, publications from professional, research, and other organizations, and reports issued by federal and state agencies. In examining the information made available since 2003 about indicators of crowding during our literature review, we also analyzed articles for what was reported on the effect of crowding on patient quality of care and proposed strategies to address crowding. In order to obtain these articles, we conducted structured searches of 16 research databases and obtained articles identified as a result of interviews with federal officials, professional and research organizations, and subject-matter experts, and through searches of related Web sites. We reviewed 197 articles, publications, and reports (which we call articles) …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Until mid-2008, prices for a broad range of physical commodities, from crude oil to crops such as wheat, had increased dramatically for several years--raising concerns and leading to a debate over the possible causes. Some market participants and observers have attributed the price increases to fundamental economic factors related to supply and demand. Others have suggested that the price increases resulted from speculation in the futures contracts by hedge funds and investors in commodity indexes. Like stock indexes, commodity indexes track the composite price of a basket of long futures positions in physical commodities. The indexes' investment strategy is passive, remaining the same regardless of whether prices are falling, rising, or flat. Two commonly referenced commodity indexes are the Standard & Poor's Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S&P GSCI) and Dow Jones-American International Group Commodity Index (DJ-AIGCI), which are based on a broad range of physical commodities, including energy products, agricultural products, and metals. Since around the mid-2000s, pension plans, endowments, and other institutional investors increasingly have used investments in commodity indexes to obtain exposure to commodity prices as an asset class, typically to diversify their portfolios or hedge …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government spends about $10 billion each year to provide meals to over 30 million students through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. However, a 2007 study estimated that of this amount, $860 million (8.6 percent) in school year 2005-2006 was paid improperly because of errors in the number of meals counted and claimed for reimbursement. These programs are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) through state agencies that, in turn, oversee local school food authorities (SFA). SFAs that participate in the lunch and breakfast programs receive federal cash reimbursements through the state agency for each meal served, and in the lunch program they also receive USDA commodity donations based on the number of meals served. In return, SFAs must serve meals that meet federal nutrition requirements and offer meals free or at a reduced price to students whose family's income falls below certain thresholds. While most of the roughly 13,700 SFAs in traditional public school districts in the United States manage their own programs, about 13 percent choose to contract with private companies known as food service …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The five largest insular areas of the United States--American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands--receive federal funding through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), joint federal-state programs that finance health care for certain low-income individuals. These programs are administered and funded differently in the insular areas when compared to the states. For example, while states must extend Medicaid eligibility to certain individuals whose incomes are at or below a percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL), the insular areas are not required to cover this population. In addition, under both Medicaid and CHIP, the federal government matches state or local government spending. However, federal law establishes the federal matching rate for expenditures by the insular areas at the lowest rate available to states, while matching rates for the states are determined each year based on a formula that takes into account variations in per capita income in each state. Furthermore, federal Medicaid spending in the insular areas is subject to an annual limit that does not apply to the states. Finally, while CHIP funding …