Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The decennial census is a Constitutionally-mandated activity that produces critical data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. The Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates the 2010 Census will cost $11.3 billion, making it the most expensive in the nation's history after adjusting for inflation. This testimony, based primarily on GAO's issued reports and preliminary observations from our ongoing work, discusses the extent to which the Bureau has (1) developed a comprehensive project plan with the most current cost data; (2) incorporated lessons learned from Dress Rehearsal activities; (3) managed automation and technology for the reengineered census; and (4) planned for an accurate census in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

Report delineating the performance of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to President Obama's Executive Orders that commit Departments of the Federal Government to address the threats of climate change. Well defined goals and strategies promote sustainability and address ways to mitigate the impact of climate change on human health and well-being.

Report that discusses the American Community Survey (ACS) and the gathering of detailed socioeconomic and housing data from a representative population sample in conjunction with the once-a-decade count of the population of the United States.

The distribution of wealth (net worth) across households has been an underlying consideration in congressional deliberations on various issues, including taxation and social welfare. This report analyzes the change over time in the concentration of net worth (assets minus liabilities) to help inform those policy deliberations.

This report discusses auction-rate securities (ARSs), which most are long-term bonds, although some ARS are structured as preferred shares and so have no maturities.

Patent for "a new and useful improvements in automatic air-brake couplers to enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, the invention also relates to improvements in automatic air-brake couplings in cars". (lines 5-10) including instructions and illustrations.

Patent for "improvements in baling presses: and it consists in a press having a suitable frame, a box mounted thereon having a hinged front and a hinged side." (lines 11-14) including instructions and illustrations.

Patent for a new and improved meat tenderizer. This design consists in "the combination, with the triangular end plates having the bearing-notches, the detachable connecting-bar provided with the threaded ends and shoulders, the thumb-nuts, the smooth rollers, and the coiled springs, of the crank-handle and the [other] roller provided with the teeth having square flat faces and flat sides at right angles to said faces and arranged in aligned longitudinal series and spirally arranged circumferentially, the areas of the teeth being one-fourth of an inch" (lines 7-18).

Patent for a bridle rod that will be longitudinally adjustable for taking up the space that would be likely to occur between the switch points and the rails so that both of the switch points will, when the switch is operated, move to the proper position for presenting a smooth and even surface for the wheel flange of the railway rolling stock when the same pass over the switch.

Report that provides an overview of the "digital divide", which is a term used to describe a perceived gap between those Americans who use or have access to telecommunications and information technologies and those who do not.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During a 5-year period--fiscal years 2008 through 2012--costs for inmate mental health services in institutions run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rose in absolute dollar amount, as well as on an annual per capita basis. Specifically, mental health services costs rose from $123 million in fiscal year 2008 to $146 million in fiscal year 2012, with increases generally due to three factors--inmate population increases, general inflationary increases, and increased participation rates in psychology treatment programs such as drug abuse treatment programs. Additionally, the per capita cost rose from $741 in fiscal year 2008 to $821 in fiscal year 2012. It is projected that these costs will continue to increase with an estimated per capita cost of $876 in fiscal year 2015, due, in part, to increased program funding and inflation."

This report briefly discusses the applicable law and policy regarding government-issued firearms for personal protection of servicemembers on duty.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite a recent decline in the population that smokes, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2 million deaths in the 5-year period from 1995 through 1999 were attributable to cigarette smoking. CDC, part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a primary source of information on the health consequences of smoking tobacco. CDC reported its most recent estimates of selected health consequences of cigarette smoking in an April 2002 issue of its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths, 5.6 million years of potential life lost, $82 billion in mortality-related productivity losses, and $76 billion in medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from 1995 through 1999. CDC and others tasked with making such estimates face challenges. They build estimates on a set of assumptions and make choices about the data sources and methods used, each of which may have limitations that must be weighed against its advantages. Policymakers at both the state and federal levels have relied on …

This document provides information on an amended telecom rule that is applicable to telecommunications service providers.

This report provides a brief overview of the existing statutory authority and implementing regulation, as well as a description of several policy issues raised in previous debates regarding chemical facility security. It also identifies policy options for congressional consideration.

This report provides an overview of the child tax credit under current law, as well as a legislative history of this tax benefit, which helps explain its purpose and current structure.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent news articles in over 30 states and prominent mental health advocacy organizations have described the difficulty many parents have in accessing mental health services for their children. As these reports documented, some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the mental health services that their children need. Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs asked GAO to testify on: (1) the number and characteristics of children voluntarily placed in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to receive mental health services, (2) the factors that influence such placements, and (3) promising state and local practices that may reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice placements. This testimony is based on our April 2003 report on the results of a study addressing these same objectives. For that report, we surveyed state child welfare directors in all states and the District of Columbia and juvenile justice officials in 33 counties in the 17 states with the largest populations of children under age 18. We surveyed juvenile justice officials at the …

Coalition Correspondence – Letter dtd 06/22/05 to Commission R&A analyst Timothy MacGregor from the Robins AFB 21st Century Partnership forwarding information in support of Robins AFB and Middle Georgia.

Coalition Correspondence – Letters dated 06/30/05 to Chairman Principi and all the Commissioners from the Clovis Board of Realtors thanking them for visiting Clovis and Touring Cannon AFB on 06/23/05.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of its more than $24 billion Deepwater program to replace aging vessels and aircraft with new or upgraded assets, the Coast Guard is preparing the National Security Cutter (NSC) for service. GAO previously reported on Deepwater assets' deployment delays and the Coast Guard's management of the Deepwater program. GAO was legislatively directed to continue its oversight of the Deepwater program. As a result, this report addresses: (1) the operational effects, if any, of delays in the delivery of the NSC and its support assets of unmanned aircraft and small boats; (2) Coast Guard plans for mitigating any operational effects and any associated costs of these plans; and (3) the extent to which the Coast Guard has plans, to include cost estimates, for phasing in logistics support of the NSC while phasing out support for the High Endurance Cutter (HEC) it is replacing. GAO's work is based on analyses of the (1) operational capabilities and maintenance plans of the NSC and its support assets and (2) data on the HECs' condition; comparison of an NSC and HEC; and, interviews with Coast Guard officials."

Patent for " a new coin holder that holds coins of different denominations in given amounts for circulating purposes," (lines 8-9) including instructions and illustrations.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed efforts being undertaken by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reduce the number of truck-related fatalities, focusing on: (1) the motor carrier administration's overall strategy for reducing fatalities resulting from crashes involving large trucks; (2) specific actions the motor carrier administration is taking to meet this goal; (3) the extent to which the motor carrier administration has considered additional improvements suggested by the safety community, industry, and others; and (4) the bases for the motor carrier administration's estimates for the expected number of lives to be saved as a result of proposed revisions to its hours of service rules."

Community Correspondence - a letter signed by 500 citizens from midtown Tucson, Arizona, a map depicting the completed and planned development encroachment and letter written in 1978 by Colonel L.E. Seminare, Jr.

Community Correspondence - Individual letters from concerned citizens in the Community surrounding Cannon AFB, New Mexico