A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the past 8 years, since the first audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), certain material weaknesses in internal control and in selected accounting and financial reporting practices have resulted in conditions that prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the CFS. Specifically, GAO has reported that the U.S. government did not have adequate systems, controls, and procedures to properly prepare the CFS. In December 2004, GAO reported on weaknesses identified during its fiscal year 2004 audit of the CFS, including weaknesses relating to the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) preparation of the CFS. The purpose of this report is to (1) discuss the details of the weaknesses relating to Treasury's preparation of the CFS, (2) recommend improvements to address those weaknesses, and (3) provide the status of corrective actions to address the 142 open recommendations GAO previously reported."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has estimated that as many as 250,000 veterans may be homeless on any given day. Many other veterans are also considered at risk for homelessness because of poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and precarious living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. One federal program designed to help these veterans is the Department of Labor's (DOL) Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP)--a grant program that provides funding for employment and training services for homeless veterans. GAO was asked to assist Congress with its consideration of HVRP reauthorization by providing information on DOL's (1) expenditures on HVRP grants and (2) measures and goals for assessing the effectiveness of HVRP. GAO reviewed VA and DOL documentation that included the amounts DOL expended for HVRP as well as information on HVRP grantees and performance goals. GAO also interviewed DOL program officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund) was established in 1970 to help fund the development of a nationwide airport and airway system and to fund investments in air traffic control facilities. It provides all of the funding for FAA's accounts such as the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides grants for construction and safety projects at airports, the Facilities and Equipment (F&E),which funds technological improvements to the air traffic control system, and the Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D). In addition, the Trust Fund provides some funding for FAA's operations account. To fund these accounts, the Trust Fund relies on a number of taxes for revenue, including passenger ticket, fuel, and cargo taxes that are paid by passengers and airlines. Since 1970, revenues have generally exceeded expenditures--resulting in a surplus or an uncommitted balance. In 2004, the Trust Fund's year end uncommitted balance was about $2 billion. A number of structural changes in the aviation industry and external events have affected revenues flowing into and out of the Fund and have caused some aviation stakeholders to speculate about the Fund's financial condition. The various taxes that accrue …

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: Whether an independent school district may enter into a 50-year lease with a private entity to use and improve the entity’s land for school purposes in exchange for $1.00 per year and the agreement to lease excess school district land to the private entity for 50 years (RQ-0292-GA)

This report discusses potential changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that may occur during the 109th Congress.

This report discusses the legal issues considered by Congress on whether to permit drilling for oil and gas in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

This report discusses the budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which would be a decrease of $2.8 billion, or almost 9%, from FY2005.

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