Newsletter of the Texas Department of Health discussing the news, activities, and events of the organization and other information related to health in Texas.

This report discusses the advantages and limitations of proposed approaches to stewardship contracting to reduce threats to national forests exacerbated by unnaturally high amounts of biomass.

This report examines the methods and formulas used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives following a Census. Although modern Congresses have rarely considered the issue of the formula used in the calculations, this report describes apportionment options from which Congress could choose and the criteria that each method satisfies.

This report discusses the Congressional Review Act of 1996, which established expedited (or "fast track") procedures by which Congress may disapprove a broad range of regulatory rules issued by federal agencies by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. For initial floor consideration, the Act provides an expedited procedure only in the Senate.

This report addresses assessments and policy implications related to China-U.S. aircraft collision incident of April 2001.

This report is categorized into four categories: (I) Some Basic Facts About the Child Care Workforce, (II) Job Growth and Turnover Among Child Caregivers, (III) Child Caregiver Wager and Wage Growth and (IV) Initiatives to improve the Compensation of the Child Care Workforce.

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

This proposed research addresses one of the long outstanding fundamental problems in materials science, the mechanisms of deformation in amorphous metals. Due to the lack of long-range translational order, details of structural defects and their behaviors in metallic glasses have not been accessible in experiments. In addition, the small dimensions of the amorphous alloys made early by rapid quenching impose severe limit on many standard mechanical and microscopy testing. As a result, the microscopic mechanism of deformation in the amorphous materials has not been established. The recent success in synthesis of bulk metallic glass overcomes the difficulty in standard testing; but the barrier for understanding the defect process and microscopic mechanisms of deformation still remains. Amorphous metals deform in a unique way by shear banding. As a result, there is no work hardening, little macroscopic plasticity, and catastrophic failure. To retain and improve the inherent high strength, large elastic strain, and high toughness in amorphous metals, a variety of synthesis activities are currently underway including making metallic glass matrix composites. These new explorations call for a quantitative understanding of deformation mechanisms in both the monolithic metallic glasses as well as their composites. The knowledge is expected to give insight and …

Monthly newsletter discussing news and activities related to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, articles about weather and atmospheric phenomena, and other related topics.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the progress of the new 155mm Lightweight Howitzer program. GAO found that since July 2000, all key program milestones have continued to slip. Only the initial fielding date for the howitzer remains unchanged. Since July 2000, the total program cost estimates have increased from $1,129.9 million to $1,250.2 million, an increase of $120.3 million. In addition, GAO found four technical problems yet to be addressed in the program: (1) cracking of the spades used to anchor the howitzer, (2) loose spade latches that create difficulties in removing the spades from the ground, (3) the spade damper--a device intended to help the spade dig into the soil to stabilize the gun--does not work properly in all soil types, and (4) the durability of the optical sight being developed for the gun. Design solutions have been identified for each of these problems, according to the Army-Marine Corps Lightweight Howitzer Joint Program Office. These design changes have not been fully incorporated and field tested to date."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been growing about the supply of health care workers and the future needs of an aging population. Shortages of nurses and nurse aides, the two largest categories of health care workers, are of particular concern. Although the number of pharmacists has grown during the past decade, the increasing demand for pharmacy services is outpacing the growth in supply, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Provider and professional associations have reported high vacancy rates and a decline in new entrants to the laboratory and radiologic fields. However, employment and earnings data for laboratory and radiologic technologists and technicians do not indicate a balance of supply and demand for these workers. Demographic changes, technological advances, and management decisions on how staff and technology are used will affect the future demand for health care workers."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As part of its audit of the U.S. government's fiscal year 2000 financial statements, GAO reviewed computer controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) and the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD). GAO identified opportunities to improve general controls related to access at two data centers; access, system software, and service continuity at a third data center; and access and system software at a fourth data center. GAO also identified opportunities to improve authorization controls over four key applications and accuracy controls over one of these key applications. FRB had corrected or mitigated the risks associated with all vulnerabilities discussed in earlier GAO reports. Although the general and application controls identified do not pose significant risks to the FMS and BPD financial systems, they warrant action to decrease the risk of inappropriate disclosure and modification of sensitive data and programs, misuse of or damage to computer resources, and disruption of critical operations."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Service (RDS) long-standing problems with estimating the cost of its credit programs in accordance with the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 and federal accounting standards continues to be a major factor in preventing Agriculture from achieving an unqualified opinion on its consolidated financial statements. This correspondence focuses on RDS's efforts to improve its credit program cost estimates for its major non-housing direct loan programs. Reliable data is essential if RDS is to prepare reasonable subsidy cost estimates. GAO found that the data in RDS's three loan accounting systems that are used to calculate key cash flow assumptions for the major non-housing direct loan programs are generally accurate. The assumptions that RDS has determined to be key for calculating the subsidy cost estimates for these programs are the average borrower interest rate and average loan term. For this program, RDS staff identified the average borrower interest rate as the key cash flow assumption."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Farm Service Agency (FSA) within the Department of Agriculture provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who are unable to obtain commercial credit at reasonable rates and terms. FSA provides direct government-funded loans and repayment guarantees on farm loans made by commercial lenders. During the 1990s, GAO issued a series of reports highlighting the substantial financial risk associated with FSA's farm loan programs and multibillion-dollar portfolio. GAO recently reviewed FSA's farm loan programs to determine the outstanding principal owed on direct and guaranteed farm loans at the end of fiscal year 2000 and the losses incurred by FSA on direct and guaranteed farm loans in the same year. GAO found that FSA had more than $16.6 billion in outstanding farm loans as of September 2000. Farm loan losses incurred by FSA during fiscal year 2000 totalled about $486 million. Both figures represent a significant decrease when compared to figures for earlier years."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1994, the United States has appropriated $227 million to support two multilateral science centers in Russia and Ukraine. The science centers pay scientists who once developed nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile systems for the Soviet Union to conduct peaceful research. By employing scientists at the science centers, the United States seeks to reduce the risks that these scientists could be tempted to sell their expertise to terrorists. This report examines the (1) selection procedures the State Department uses to fund projects that meet program objectives and (2) monitoring procedures the State Department uses to verify that scientists are working on the peaceful research they are paid to produce. GAO found that State lacks complete information on the total number and locations of senior scientists and has not been granted access to senior scientists at critical research institutes under the Russian Ministry of Defense. GAO also found that State has designed an interagency review process to select and fund research proposals submitted by weapons scientists to the science centers in Russia and Ukraine. The overall goal is to select projects that reduce proliferation risks …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant represents an opportunity to re-examine the fiscal balance between the federal government and the states in providing services to needy families. Since the enactment of federal welfare reform, there has been much discussion of the fiscal implications of these sweeping changes in national welfare policy. A particularly contentious issue has been the extent to which states have replaced, rather than supplemented, their own spending with federal TANF dollars, thereby freeing up state funds for other budget priorities. This report reviews (1) the degree to which states have used the flexibility afforded in the federal TANF grant to supplant, rather than supplement, state spending for low-income families; (2) the changes that have occurred in the states' use of different funding sources (including their TANF funds) on programs that help the poor; (3) the effects of state funding choices on the amounts of TANF funds the states have left unspent at the U.S. Treasury; and (4) the measures states are taking to save a portion of the TANF grant or set aside their funds for a …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During the last several years, the United States has criticized Germany's handling of international parental child abduction cases that have been filed by U.S. parents. Both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government have criticized Germany for not fully and consistently following the criteria and procedures established under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which governs such cases. The primary criticisms include the inappropriate use by German courts of certain provisions of the Hague Convention to justify retaining abducted children in Germany, the length of time it has taken to adjudicate cases, and the failure to enforce left-behind parents' visitation rights. GAO examined the actions that Germany has taken or plans to take to reform its handling of international parental child abduction cases and how these actions may affect U.S. cases. GAO found that German authorities have pledged their commitment to take steps to improve the handling of Hague Convention cases and Germany has taken action to address two of the three primary criticisms. Germany has established a task force to monitor German reforms and active cases, initiated …

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined how best practices could help the Department of Defense (DOD) maximize the benefits of integrated product teams in its development of weapon systems. GAO conducted eight case studies--three from leading commercial firms; four from DOD programs experiencing cost, schedule, and performance problems; and one from a DOD program that has been meeting its objectives. GAO found that effective integrated product teams can make significant development decisions quickly and without relying on heavy consultations with organizations outside of the team. These teams have developed and delivered superior products within predicted time frames and budgets--often cutting calendar time in half compared with earlier products delivered without such teams. Officials from the more successful programs GAO reviewed--three commercial and one from DOD--all cited integrated product teams as a main factor in achieving such results. GAO found that the teams did not operate as effectively in the four DOD programs that were not meeting cost and schedule objectives. Their decision-making processes were sequential and involved many outside consultations for information and approval."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) believes it is increasingly likely that an adversary will use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. forces to degrade superior U.S. conventional warfare capabilities, placing servicemembers' lives and effective military operations at risk. To reduce the effects of such an attack on military personnel, DOD has determined the quantity of chemical and biological protective suits, masks, breathing filters, gloves, boots, and hoods that are needed based on projected wartime requirements. DOD's assessment process is unreliable for determining the risk to military operations. DOD's 2000 report is inaccurate because it includes erroneous inventory data and wartime requirements. Inadequate inventory management is an additional risk factor because readiness can be compromised by DOD's inventory management practices, which prevent an accurate accounting of the availability or adequacy of its protective equipment."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "States provide health care coverage to low-income uninsured children largely through two federal-state programs--Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Medicaid was established in 1965 to provide health care coverage to low-income adults and children. Medicaid expenditures for health services to 22.3 million children totaled $32.4 billion in 1998. Congress established SCHIP in 1997 to provide health care coverage to children living in poor families whose incomes exceed the eligibility requirements for Medicaid. SCHIP expenditures for health services to nearly 2 million children totaled $2 billion in 1999. In implementing SCHIP, states could opt to expand their Medicaid programs or establish a separate child health program distinct from Medicaid that uses specified public or private insurance plans offering a minimum benefit package. Thirty-five states have chosen SCHIP approaches that are, to varying degrees, separate from their Medicaid programs. Because eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP can vary with a child's age, children may, at different ages, need to move from one program to the other. Access to care, therefore, is affected by the extent to which health plans and providers are available and participate in …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To disguise illegally obtained funds, money launderers have traditionally targeted banks, which accept cash and arrange domestic and international fund transfers. However, criminals seeking to hide illicit funds may also be targeting the U.S. securities markets. Although few documented cases exist of broker-dealer or mutual fund accounts being used to launder money, law enforcement agencies are concerned that criminals may increasingly try to use the securities industry for that purpose. Most broker-dealers or firms that process customer payments for mutual funds are subject to U.S. anti-money laundering requirements. However, unlike banks, most of these firms are not required to report suspicious activities. The Treasury Department is now developing a rule requiring broker-dealers to report suspicious activities. Treasury expects that the rule will be issued for public comment by the end of this year. Various intergovernmental groups, such as the Financial Action Task Force, have been working on recommendations that call for member nations to take various steps to combat money laundering through their financial institutions, including requiring securities firms to report suspicious activities. Although many members countries report that they have issued all or many of …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "According to the current National Military Strategy the United States should be prepared to fight and win two nearly simultaneous wars in different parts of the world. Military policy calls for each of the services to acquire and maintain enough war material inventories to sustain a two-war scenario until the industrial base can resupply our armed forces. Because of limitations in the Army's process for determining war reserve spare parts requirements, however, the accuracy of the war reserve spare parts requirements and funding needs are uncertain. These limitations include (1) not using the best available data on the rate at which spare parts would be consumed during wartime for its war reserve spare parts requirements calculations, (2) having a potential mismatch between the Army's process for determining spare parts requirements for war reserves and how the Army plans to repair equipment on the battlefield, and (3) lacking a fact-based assessment of industrial base capacity to provide needed parts for the two-war scenario. Uncertainties are likely to persist for some time as the Army contemplates a significant transformation of its forces and other changes are considered affecting …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under TRICARE, the Department of Defense's (DOD) managed care program, military-operated hospitals and clinics are supplemented by contracted civilian services. Since the inception of TRICARE, DOD has made many changes to these contracts via contract change orders. Since July 1997, when GAO reported that DOD was trying to improve its change order process, the backlog of change orders has continued to grow. This report evaluates (1) the status of the change order backlog and how DOD addressed it, (2) factors that contributed to the growth of the backlog, and (3) DOD's new initiative to improve the change order process. GAO found that as of June, 2000, the number of change orders issued had almost tripled, while the number of unsettled change orders had more than doubled since July 1997. Despite recommendations to devote high-level attention to managing improvements to the change order process, this was not done. Until recently, none of TRICARE Management Activity's (TMA) many initiatives significantly improved the process or reduced the backlog. The current small backlog is the result of recent concerted effort, not better management over time. TMA's new Change Management Process …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's hospitals and nursing homes rely heavily on the services of nurses. Concerns have been raised about whether the current and projected supply of nurses will meet the nation's needs. This report reviews (1) whether evidence of a nursing shortage exists, (2) the reasons for current nurse recruitment and retention problems, and (3) what is known about the projected future supply of and demand for nurses. GAO found that national data are not adequate to describe the nature and extent of nurse workforce shortages, nor are data sufficiently sensitive or current to compare nurse workforce availability across states, specialties, or provider types. Multiple factors affect recruitment and retention problems, including the aging of the nurse workforce fewer younger people are entering the profession. A serious shortage of nurses is expected in the future as demographic pressures influence both demand and supply."