Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Without proper safeguards, federal agencies' computer systems are vulnerable to intrusions by individuals and groups who have malicious intentions and can obtain sensitive information, commit fraud, disrupt operations, or launch attacks against other computer systems and networks. Concerned by reports of significant weaknesses in federal systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), which permanently authorized and strengthened information security program, evaluation, and annual reporting requirements for federal agencies. GAO was asked to testify on its draft report on (1) the adequacy and effectiveness of federal agencies' information security policies and practices and (2) their implementation of FISMA requirements. To prepare for this testimony, GAO summarized its draft report where it analyzed agency, inspectors general, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), congressional, and GAO reports on information security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, questions have been raised about the capacity of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement (Enforcement) to manage its resources and fulfill its law enforcement and investor protection responsibilities. This testimony focuses on (1) the extent to which Enforcement has an appropriate mix of resources; (2) considerations affecting penalty determinations, and recent trends in penalties and disgorgements ordered; and (3) the adoption, implementation, and effects of recent penalty policies. The testimony is based on the GAO report, Securities and Exchange Commission: Greater Attention Needed to Enhance Communication and Utilization of Resources in the Division of Enforcement (GAO-09-358, March 31, 2009). For this work, GAO analyzed information on resources, enforcement actions, and penalties; and interviewed current and former SEC officials and staff, and others."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Information security is a critical consideration for any organization that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission or business. It is especially important for government agencies, where maintaining the public's trust is essential. The need for a vigilant approach to information security has been demonstrated by the pervasive and sustained computerbased (cyber) attacks against the United States and others that continue to pose a potentially devastating impact to systems and the operations and critical infrastructures that they support. GAO was asked to describe (1) cyber threats to federal information systems and cyberbased critical infrastructures and (2) control deficiencies that make these systems and infrastructures vulnerable to those threats. To do so, GAO relied on its previous reports and reviewed agency and inspectors general reports on information security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is the Department of Defense's (DOD's) most costly acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop, produce, and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The total expected U.S. investment is now more than $300 billion to develop and procure 2,456 aircraft over the next 25 years. GAO's most recent report in March of this year discussed increased development costs and schedule estimates, plans to accelerate procurement, manufacturing performance and delays, and development test strategy. A recurring theme in GAO's work has been concern about what GAO believes is undue concurrency of development, test, and production activities and the heightened risks it poses to achieving good cost, schedule, and performance outcomes. This testimony discusses: (1) current JSF cost and schedule estimates; (2) engine development; (3) manufacturing performance; (4) contracting issues for procurement of aircraft; (5) and test plans. This statement draws from GAO's March 2009 report, updated to the extent possible with new budget data and a recently revised procurement profile directed by the Secretary of Defense."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The possibility of storing refined petroleum products as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been contemplated since the SPR was created in 1975. The SPR, which currently holds about 700 million barrels of crude oil, was created to help insulate the U.S. economy from oil supply disruptions. However, the SPR does not contain refined products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, or jet fuel. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the SPR's capacity from 727 million barrels to 1 billion barrels, which it plans to do by 2018. With the possibility of including refined products as part of the expansion of the SPR, this testimony discusses (1) some of the arguments for and against including refined products in the SPR and (2) lessons learned from the management of the existing crude oil SPR that may be applicable to refined products. To address these issues, GAO relied on its 2006 report on the SPR (GAO-06-872), 2007 report on the globalization of petroleum products (GAO-08-14), and two 2008 testimonies on the cost-effectiveness of filling the SPR (GAO-08-512T and GAO-08-726T). GAO also …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite a growing investment in space, the majority of large-scale acquisition programs in the Department of Defense's (DOD) space portfolio have experienced problems during the past two decades that have driven up cost and schedules and increased technical risks. The cost resulting from acquisition problems along with the ambitious nature of space programs has resulted in cancellations of programs that were expected to require investments of tens of billions of dollars. Along with the cost increases, many programs are experiencing significant schedule delays--at least 7 years--resulting in potential capability gaps in areas such as positioning, navigation, and timing; missile warning; and weather monitoring. This testimony focuses on (1) the condition of space acquisitions, (2) causal factors, and (3) recommendations for better positioning programs and industry for success. In preparing this testimony, GAO relied on its body of work in space and other programs, including previously issued GAO reports on assessments of individual space programs, common problems affecting space system acquisitions, and DOD's acquisition policies."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO recently testified before the Committee regarding allegations of death and abuse at residential programs for troubled teens. Recent reports indicate that vulnerable children are being abused in other settings. For example, one report on the use of restraints and seclusions in schools documented cases where students were pinned to the floor for hours at a time, handcuffed, locked in closets, and subjected to other acts of violence. In some of these cases, this type of abuse resulted in death. Given these reports, the Committee asked GAO to (1) provide an overview of seclusions and restraint laws applicable to children in public and private schools, (2) verify whether allegations of student death and abuse from the use of these methods are widespread, and (3) examine the facts and circumstances surrounding cases where a student died or suffered abuse as a result of being secluded or restrained. GAO reviewed federal and state laws and abuse allegations from advocacy groups, parents, and the media from the past two decades. GAO did not evaluate whether using restraints and seclusions can be beneficial. GAO examined documents related to closed cases, including police …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under personnel reform legislation enacted in 1995, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a new personnel management system. The system is exempt from most governmentwide personnel laws, but is subject to change only if the Administrator consults and negotiates those changes with the exclusive bargaining representatives of FAA's employees. When FAA and labor cannot reach an agreement regarding changes in the personnel management system, the legislation requires that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service be used to reach an agreement, and if that step is unsuccessful, FAA's proposed changes become effective 60 days after FAA transmits its proposed changes, along with labor's objections and its reasons for the objections, to Congress. FAA's first labor negotiation following the reform legislation was with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which represents, among others, FAA's 15,000 Air Traffic Controllers, Traffic Management Coordinators, and Traffic Management Specialists. Congress' letter asked us to review FAA's human capital system. Congress also raised several questions, including (1) How personnel reforms have affected FAA's budget and how compensation for FAA's unionized workforce compares with other government employees? and (2) What has FAA …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is required, by law, to maintain a core logistics capability that is government owned and government operated to meet contingency and other emergency requirements. Military depots play a key role in maintaining this "core capability," although in recent years DOD has significantly increased its use of contractors. At the subcommittee's request, GAO examined the extent to which (1) DOD has accurately assessed whether it has the required core capabilities in military depots and (2) DOD is preparing to support future core requirements for new and modified systems. GAO reviewed DOD's biennial process for determining core capability requirements and the associated workloads for fielded systems. GAO also reviewed whether DOD had identified and established core capability in a timely manner for new and modified systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal law restricts noncitizens' access to public benefits, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Further, when noncitizens who legally reside in this country through sponsorship of a family member apply for these benefits, they are subject to sponsor deeming, which requires benefit agencies to combine noncitizens' incomes with those of their sponsors to determine eligibility. Sponsors are also financially liable for benefits paid to the noncitizen, and benefit agencies must seek repayment for these costs. GAO was asked to analyze (1) what is known about the size of the noncitizen population potentially affected by the sponsor deeming requirements for TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, and SSI; (2) to what extent have agencies implemented sponsor deeming; (3) to what extent have agencies implemented sponsor repayment. To address these, GAO analyzed federal data, surveyed states, and interviewed federal, state, and local officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over 80 percent of the approximately 200 billion mail pieces processed and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) last year was sent by commercial mailers that barcode, sort, or transport mail to get lower postage rates. Starting in May 2009, USPS will encourage these mailers to use new barcodes that have increased capabilities as part of Intelligent Mail, a new program. According to USPS, Intelligent Mail is the most complex change it has ever undertaken. GAO was asked to describe (1) the Intelligent Mail program and the status of implementation efforts and (2) the key risks to implementing Intelligent Mail and how USPS is addressing these risks. GAO reviewed USPS and regulatory documents, public comments, and interviewed USPS officials, mailers, and mailer representatives involved in developing this program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Cost growth is a prevalent problem in Navy shipbuilding programs, particularly for the first ships in new classes. In response to a mandate in the conference report accompanying the Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008, GAO undertook this review to (1) identify key practices employed by leading commercial ship buyers and shipbuilders that ensure satisfactory cost, schedule, and ship performance; (2) determine the extent to which Navy shipbuilding programs employ these practices; and (3) evaluate how commercial and Navy business environments incentivize the use of best practices. To address these objectives, GAO visited leading commercial ship buyers and shipbuilders, reviewed its prior Navy work, and convened a panel of shipbuilding experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is testing new advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) radiation detection monitors. DNDO expects ASPs to reduce both the risk of missed threats and the rate of innocent alarms, which DNDO considers to be key limitations of radiation detection equipment currently used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at U.S. ports of entry. Congress has required that the Secretary of DHS certify that ASPs provide a significant increase in operational effectiveness before obligating funds for full-scale procurement. GAO was asked to review (1) the degree to which DHS's criteria for a significant increase in operational effectiveness address the limitations of existing radiation detection equipment, (2) the rigor of ASP testing and preliminary test results, and (3) the ASP test schedule. GAO reviewed the DHS criteria, analyzed test plans, and interviewed DHS officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter provides answers to questions for the record. Questions from Chairman Ortiz include: (1) What steps could have been taken to roll out NSPS in a more orderly and fair fashion and if NSPS continues, what steps should now be taken to move forward? (2) As DOD and OPM leadership hold discussions to determine the overall framework, scope, and timeline of the review, what guidance or suggestions would you give to DOD and OPM to include in the methodology of this study? (3) Under the GS system, an employee steadily moves up through the various grades and can actually monitor actual career progression. There appears to be no such similar movement in NSPS; an employee, while receiving pay increases and bonuses, may remain in the same pay band for his/her entire career. If this is a valid concern, how can it be addressed, if NSPS continues? Questions from Representative Forbes include: (1) Based on the GAO testimony, one safeguard GAO believes needs to be implemented to increase employee confidence in the pay for performance system is for DOD to have a third party analyze the pay-pool recommendations …

The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is a trilateral initiative that was launched in March 2005 for the purpose of increasing and enhancing security and prosperity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This initiative promoted communication and cooperation across several key policy areas of mutual interest, such as improving certain sectors of the economy, developing higher health and safety standards, and addressing environmental concerns. This report describes this initiative in brief detail, including summaries of several SPP-related meetings between the three countries' leaders.

This report discusses the emerging development of nationwide alert systems to recover missing adults, such as those with mental impairment (such as Alzheimer's disease), developmental disabilities, or suicidal tendencies. This report provides an overview of such alert systems in 11 states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. This report also provides a discussion of issues for Congress to consider with respect to the federal role, if any, in developing state alert programs for missing adults.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners accurately reports key performance measures to the Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST), and has adequate controls in place over the collection, calculation, and reporting of performance measures.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Commission on Fire Protection accurately reported selected key performance measures to ABEST and had adequate control systems over the collection, calculation, and reporting of the Commission's key performance measures.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining the implementation status of selected recommendations from "An Investigative Report on the Texas Youth Commission," reviewing abuse and neglect allegations and documentation to ensure that the allegations were properly screened and investigated and that appropriate action was taken, and determining whether selected expenditures at the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) comply with state law and are properly authorized and reasonable for the performance of TYC functions and the facilitation of legislative reform efforts.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the School for the Deaf (School) accurately reports selected key performance measures to the Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST) and has adequate control systems in place over the collecting, calculating, and reporting of selected key performance measures.

This report provides information on the Conference Committee Senate Bill No. 1 report.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the participation in state travel service contracts by certain local governmental entities.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to adoption of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the powers and duties of the Liberty Lakes Fresh Water Supply District No. 1; providing authority to impose a tax and issue bonds; granting the power of eminent domain.