Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) BPD relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt. As we reported in connection with our audit of the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2009, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. However, we found deficiencies involving information security controls that we do …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "IRS’s appropriations have declined to below fiscal year 2009 levels and FTEs have been reduced by about 8,000 since fiscal year 2009. Planned performance in enforcement and taxpayer service has decreased or fluctuated; for example, in the fiscal year 2014 congressional justification the audit coverage target for individual examinations was 1.0 percent for fiscal year 2014, however, the target was lowered to 0.8 percent in the fiscal year 2015 congressional justification. Amidst lower demand, IRS’s telephone level of service performance (the percentage of callers seeking live assistance and receiving it) was 73 percent from January 1 through March 15, 2014 compared to 69 percent during the same period last year. However, between fiscal years 2009 and 2013, IRS’s telephone level of service fluctuated between 61 percent and 74 percent. Average wait times have almost doubled since fiscal year 2009—from 8.8 minutes to 16.8 minutes as of mid-March 2014."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prepare for future air traffic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including its Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) and Air Traffic Organization, is planning and implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in partnership with other federal agencies, such as the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security, and the aviation industry. NextGen will transform the current radar-based air traffic control system into a satellite-based system. As FAA begins implementing near-and midterm NextGen capabilities, a key challenge will be the extent to which FAA is able to integrate near and midterm improvements (those between 2012 and 2018) with long-term plans (beyond 2018). Furthermore, coordination among federal partner agencies and among various lines of business within FAA is important to ensure that NextGen implementation efforts are aligned. GAO's testimony focuses on (1) current mechanisms for and challenges to coordination among FAA and its partner agencies in implementing NextGen, (2) challenges and ongoing efforts to improve coordination across offices within FAA, and (3) issues related to integrating near- and midterm implementation plans with long-term NextGen plans. This statement is based on past and ongoing GAO work, and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), established in 1968, provides policyholders with insurance coverage for flood damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for managing NFIP. Unprecedented losses from the 2005 hurricane season and NFIP's periodic need to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to pay flood insurance claims have raised concerns about the program's long-term financial solvency. Because of these concerns and NFIP's operational issues, NFIP has been on GAO's high-risk list since March 2006. As of April 2010, NFIP's debt to Treasury stood at $18.8 billion. The Subcommittee asked GAO to discuss (1) NFIP's financial challenges, (2) FEMA's operational and management challenges, and (3) actions needed to address these challenges. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its past work on NFIP and GAO's ongoing review of FEMA's management of NFIP focused on information technology and contractor oversight issues."

A Supplemental Ancestor certificate for Ned Gordan Myers certifying that he is a member of The Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution, as a descendant of Thomas Mansfield. The NSSAR seal is attached and the certificate is signed by NSSAR's President General and Secretary General and the TXSSAR State President and State Secretary.

A membership certificate for Allan John Husch certifying that he is a member of The Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution, as a descendant of Adam Wise, Sr. The NSSAR seal is attached and the certificate is signed by NSSAR's President General and Secretary General and the TXSSAR State President and State Secretary.

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: Implementation of Senate Bill 1678, relating to the Major Events Trust Fund (RQ-1159-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, Ken Paxton, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the deposit of net sales tax revenue into the state highway fund as required under article VIII, subsection 7-c(a) of the Texas Constitution may be made after the close of the fiscal year when deposit before the close of the fiscal year is not possible (RQ-0157-KP).

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Terrorist attacks on surface transportation facilities in Moscow, Mumbai, London, and Madrid caused casualties and highlighted the vulnerability of such systems. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the primary federal agency responsible for security of transportation systems. This testimony focuses on the extent to which (1) DHS has used risk management in strengthening surface transportation security, (2) TSA has coordinated its strategy and efforts for securing surface transportation with stakeholders, (3) TSA has measured the effectiveness of its surface transportation security-improvement actions, and (4) TSA has made progress in deploying surface transportation security inspectors and related challenges it faces in doing so. GAO's statement is based on public GAO products issued from January to June 2009, selected updates from September 2009 to April 2010, and ongoing work on pipeline security. For the updates and ongoing work, GAO analyzed TSA's pipeline risk assessment model, reviewed relevant laws and program management documents, and interviewed TSA officials."

Transcript of an oral interview with Ralph H. Ketcham. Born in 1923, he joined the Marine Corps in September, 1942. He describes boot camp in San Diego, California. He was assigned to the 3rd Division, 19th Marine Regiment, 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion. He describes conditions aboard the MS Bloemfontein en route to New Zealand. He was transported on the USS President Polk (AP-103) to Guadalcanal where he constructed roads and unloaded ammunition. He talks about the fire at the Hell’s Point Ammunition Dump. He describes landing as part of the first wave in the battle for Guam. He shares stories about the time he spent on both Guadalcanal and Guam. He also describes landing and fighting on Iwo Jima. He discusses the use of spider holes and antiaircraft guns by the Japanese. He also describes the weather, terrain, and living conditions on Guam and Iwo Jima. He was hospitalized due to the shock of explosions from 155mm shells. After his hospitalization, he was discharged in July, 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clyde Dahlin. Dahlin was drafted into the Army in 1943. He was sent to the Pacific and joined the 25th Infantry Division as a replacement rifleman. Dahlin discusses the combat conditions that he faced in Northern Luzon. He tells of an incident where he helped evacuate a wounded soldier and hiding in fox holes from enemy fire. Dahlin was removed from the frontlines toward the end of the war because he was only 18. He became an MP and tells of interactions that he witnessed between Filipinos and Japanese POWs. Dahlin then tells of his experiences during the year that he served in occupied Japan.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Louis Wolfort. Wolfort was drafted into the Army in January of 1941. He completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky in July of 1942. He was then sent to Camp Funston, Kansas to start the 9th Armored Division. He was a light tank instructor at Camp Funston, then went back to Fort Knox, and provides detail of the equipment he used in training. From there he was sent to the West Coast and shipped out as a replacement officer. He served overseas as a company commander at Headquarters, Southern Islands Area Command under General Robert L. Eichelberger, and provides some detail of that experience. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with John E Montgomery. Montgomery joined the Army in February 1943. He studied navigation and mathematics at Clarion State Teachers College, Pennsylvania, then graduated from flying school in Douglas, Georgia in May of 1944. He transferred to Sarasota, Florida in September and completed P-51 gunnery school. In early 1945, Montgomery was deployed to Hawaii to join the 20th Air Force. Beginning in April, he traveled to Iwo Jima, Guam, Tokyo and Saipan, completing 10 bombing missions over Japan and Chichi-Jima. He describes living on Iwo Jima and Saipan. He remained in Saipan from December through April of 1946, then returned home and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dell Sheftall. Sheftall joined the Army in May 1943 and received basic training at Camp Maxey. Upon completion, he was assigned to the 103rd Infantry Division and sent to France. There he was part of a night combat team, capturing German officers for interrogation. He narrowly escaped the Battle of the Bulge, replaced by a unit that was annihilated by the enemy soon after Sheftall left. While at a rest camp in the Bavarian Alps, he discovered and liberated a makeshift camp made up of prisoners from Dachau. The war ended while Sheftall was stationed in Le Havre awaiting deployment to the Pacific; he returned home shortly thereafter.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Ernest W. Sears. When Sears graduated from high school in 1942 he received a farm deferment and did not enter the Navy unitl 1944. He trained as a radioman for beach landings. He was home on leave when his unit shipped out, so he was assigned to the USS Lexington (CV-16) and joined her at Bremerton, Washington in March, 1945. He served in the radio control room aboard the Lexington for the duration of the war and speaks about being on duty during the signing of the peace accords, and dropping food and supplies to the Allied POWs in Japan. Welson Sears (Ernest's son) fills in some details during the interview. When he was dischaerged from the Navy, Sears enrolled at Texas Tech University and went to school using the G.I. Bill.

News release about the winners of DART's annual student poster art contest.

News release about DART's annual senior health fair.

Minutes for the April 21, 2016 TXSSAR meeting, held by the McKinney chapter.

News release about a DART Police awards ceremonies.