Wildland Fire Rehabilitation and Restoration: Forest Service and BLM Could Benefit from Improved Information on Status of Needed Work (open access)

Wildland Fire Rehabilitation and Restoration: Forest Service and BLM Could Benefit from Improved Information on Status of Needed Work

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress and federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have recognized the importance of rehabilitating and restoring lands unlikely to recover on their own after wildland fires. However, while funding has increased for fire prevention, suppression, and first-year emergency stabilization, it has decreased for rehabilitation (work up to 3 years after fires) and restoration (work beyond the first 3 years). GAO was asked (1) how the Forest Service and BLM plan postfire rehabilitation and restoration projects, (2) how much needed rehabilitation and restoration work they have completed for recent wildland fires, and (3) what challenges the agencies face in addressing their needs."
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wildland Fire Suppression: Better Guidance Needed to Clarify Sharing of Costs between Federal and Nonfederal Entities (open access)

Wildland Fire Suppression: Better Guidance Needed to Clarify Sharing of Costs between Federal and Nonfederal Entities

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Wildland fires can burn or threaten both federal and nonfederal lands and resources, including homes in or near wildlands, an area commonly called the wildland-urban interface. Agreements between federal and nonfederal firefighting entities provide the framework for working together and sharing the costs of fire suppression efforts. GAO was asked to (1) review how federal and nonfederal entities share the costs of suppressing fires that burn or threaten both of their lands and resources and (2) identify any concerns that these entities may have with the existing cost-sharing framework. This testimony is based on GAO's May 2006 report Wildland Fire Suppression: Lack of Clear Guidance Raises Concerns about Cost Sharing between Federal and Nonfederal Entities (GAO-06-570)."
Date: June 21, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wildland Fire Suppression: Lack of Clear Guidance Raises Concerns about Cost Sharing between Federal and Nonfederal Entities (open access)

Wildland Fire Suppression: Lack of Clear Guidance Raises Concerns about Cost Sharing between Federal and Nonfederal Entities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Wildland fires burn millions of acres each year, requiring substantial investments of firefighting assets. Since 2000, federal suppression costs alone have averaged more than $1 billion annually. Wildland fires can burn or threaten both federal and nonfederal lands and resources, including homes in or near wildlands, an area commonly called the wildland-urban interface. Cooperative agreements between federal and nonfederal firefighting entities provide the framework for working together and sharing costs. GAO was asked to (1) review how federal and nonfederal entities share the costs of suppressing wildland fires that burn or threaten both of their lands and resources and (2) identify any concerns that these entities may have with the existing cost-sharing framework."
Date: May 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wind Energy: Offshore Permitting (open access)

Wind Energy: Offshore Permitting

This report discusses the disputes over Corps jurisdiction prior to enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as well as the current law applicable to siting offshore wind facilities.
Date: January 25, 2006
Creator: Flynn, Aaron M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wood Utilization: Federal Research and Product Development Activities, Support, and Technology Transfer (open access)

Wood Utilization: Federal Research and Product Development Activities, Support, and Technology Transfer

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More wood is consumed every year in the United States than all metals, plastics, and masonry cement combined. To maximize their use of wood, forest product companies rely on research into new methods for using wood. At least 12 federal agencies have provided support to wood utilization research and product development activities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)-funded wood utilization research centers, which historically have specifically targeted support to these activities. GAO was asked to identify (1) the types of wood utilization research and product development activities federal agencies support and how these activities are coordinated; (2) the level of support federal agencies made available for these activities in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, and changes in the level of support at the Forest Service and at the CSREES-funded wood utilization research centers for fiscal years 1995 through 2005; and (3) how the federal government transfers the technologies and products from its wood utilization research and product development activities to industry. GAO provided a draft of this report to the 12 federal agencies for review …
Date: June 15, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Workforce Investment Act: Employers Found One-Stop Centers Useful in Hiring Low-Skilled Workers; Performance Information Could Help Gauge Employer Involvement (open access)

Workforce Investment Act: Employers Found One-Stop Centers Useful in Hiring Low-Skilled Workers; Performance Information Could Help Gauge Employer Involvement

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) required that many federal workforce employment and training programs for low-income individuals, the unemployed, and other job seekers provide their services through a streamlined delivery system. WIA also promoted greater employer engagement in this delivery system by, among other things, calling for it to help meet employers' workforce needs with services provided through one-stop centers. In 2005, we found that about half of employers were aware of their local one-stop centers. However, questions remained about how employers use them. In this report, GAO addressed (1) the extent to which employers, both large and small, hire their employees through one-stops; (2) the extent to which these employers view one-stop services as useful; and (3) factors that may affect one-stop service to employers. To answer these questions we surveyed employers who had used the one-stop system, visited eight one-stops, and talked to one-stop and Labor officials."
Date: December 22, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA): Reauthorization of Job Training Programs in the 109th Congress (open access)

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA): Reauthorization of Job Training Programs in the 109th Congress

This report discusses the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), P.L. 105-220, which is the nation’s chief job training legislation, authorizes several job training programs, including Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Activities; and Job Corps.
Date: August 2, 2006
Creator: Lordeman, Ann
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2007 Funding of Title I Training Programs (open access)

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and FY2007 Funding of Title I Training Programs

This report tracks current appropriations and related legislation for Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (P.L. 105-220). Following a brief summary of each WIA program, the report presents the status of legislative proposals contained in the Administration’s FY2007 budget request and compares WIA funding in the FY2006 appropriation, the FY2007 budget request, and the FY2007 House and Senate Appropriations Committee reports.
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Naughton, Blake Alan & Lordeman, Ann
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Workforce Planning Guide (open access)

Workforce Planning Guide

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to assisting agencies with their workforce planning processes and in developing their workforce plans.
Date: February 2006
Creator: Texas. Office of the State Auditor.
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History
Workplace Safety and Health: OSHA Could Improve Federal Agencies' Safety Programs with a More Strategic Approach to Its Oversight (open access)

Workplace Safety and Health: OSHA Could Improve Federal Agencies' Safety Programs with a More Strategic Approach to Its Oversight

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal workers' compensation costs exceeded $1.5 billion in 2004, with approximately 148,000 new claims filed that year. Because of concerns for the safety of federal workers, as well as the costs associated with unsafe workplaces, GAO described the characteristics of federal agencies' safety programs and the implementation challenges they face, and assessed how well the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees and assists federal agencies' efforts to develop and administer their safety programs."
Date: April 21, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
World Trade Organization: Limited Progress at Hong Kong Ministerial Clouds Prospects for Doha Agreement (open access)

World Trade Organization: Limited Progress at Hong Kong Ministerial Clouds Prospects for Doha Agreement

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. officials often call the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Development Agenda or "Round" of global trade talks, launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, a "once in a generation opportunity" to expand trade. President Bush has identified their success as his administration's top trade priority. Due to various U.S. notification and consultation requirements, concluding the negotiations in 2006 is essential for a Doha agreement to qualify for congressional consideration under U.S. Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which expires July 1, 2007. A ministerial meeting among the WTO's 149 members was held on December 13-18, 2005, in Hong Kong, China, to make decisions needed to advance the talks. Given the importance of the WTO Doha Round to the United States, GAO was asked to provide an update on the status of the negotiations. In this report, the latest in a series on the negotiations, we (1) provide the status of the Doha negotiations on the eve of the Hong Kong ministerial, (2) review the outcome of the Hong Kong ministerial, and (3) discuss the prospects for concluding the Doha Round before TPA expires in July 2007."
Date: April 26, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
World Trade Organization Negotiations: The Doha Development Agenda (open access)

World Trade Organization Negotiations: The Doha Development Agenda

This report discusses the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, begun in November 2001, which has entered its 11th year. It includes background on Doha and the significance of the negotiations, as well as a breakdown of issues on the Doha agenda and the role of the Congress.
Date: July 10, 2006
Creator: Fergusson, Ian F.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Yucca Mountain: DOE's Planned Nuclear Waste Repository Faces Quality Assurance and Management Challenges (open access)

Yucca Mountain: DOE's Planned Nuclear Waste Repository Faces Quality Assurance and Management Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In 2004, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. This testimony, which summarizes GAO's March 2006 report (GAO-06-313), provides information on (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."
Date: April 25, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Yucca Mountain: Quality Assurance at DOE's Planned Nuclear Waste Repository Needs Increased Management Attention (open access)

Yucca Mountain: Quality Assurance at DOE's Planned Nuclear Waste Repository Needs Increased Management Attention

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In a 2004 report, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced the discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems, including possible falsification of records. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. GAO was asked to examine (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."
Date: March 17, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Zapata County Independent School District, May 2006 (open access)

Zapata County Independent School District, May 2006

Report describing the performance of Zapata County Independent School District including accomplishments and recommendations for all of the departments in the school district.
Date: May 2006
Creator: Texas. Legislative Budget Board.
Object Type: Report
System: The Portal to Texas History