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; Application of nepotism law, chapter 573, Government Code, to a school superintendent's reassignment of his spouse, a school district counselor (RQ-0991-GA)

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; Jurisdiction of the Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board over a property tax appraiser's uniform and equal analysis (RQ-0992-GA)

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 a member of the State Committee of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments may sell hearing instruments at retail as part of his practice of otolaryngology (RQ-0984-GA)

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 subsection 52.072(e) of the Election Code applies to all elections, including those governed by section 130.037 of the Education Code (RQ-1006-GA)

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: Identity of the proper prosecutorial entity to prosecute violations of criminal regulations enacted by the Commodore Cover Improvement District (RQ-1007-GA)

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: Evidence that must be submitted with regard to an application for a residence homestead exemption under section 11.43, Tax Code (RQ-1008-GA)

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; Proper date for holding an election in Navarro County to establish an emergency services district (RQ-1010-GA)

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 a website may charge a fee to participants who answer questions for the opportunity to win prizes (RQ-1011-GA)

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 article 4.19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits a child under the age of seventeen who has been transferred to criminal court for prosecution to be detained in a facility that does not comply with subsection 51.12(f) of the Family Code (RQ-1012-GA)

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our reviews of open sources published between January 1, 2009 and September 30, 2012 identified a total of 17 foreign firms that were reported to have sold refined petroleum products to Iran during that same time period. Our review of open sources published from January 2012 through September 2012 indicated that only 1 of these 17 firms--Sytrol--was reported to have sold refined petroleum products to Iran during that same time period. In addition, our open source review and communication with firms indicated that 12 of the 17 firms were reported to have stopped selling these products to Iran before September 30, 2012; however, our review did not identify sufficient information to indicate either that the remaining 4 firms had continued to sell or ceased selling refined petroleum products to Iran at some point between January 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Mobility Capabilities and Requirements Study 2016 (MCRS-16) provided some useful information concerning air mobility systems—such as intratheater airlift, strategic airlift, and air refueling—but several weaknesses in the study raised questions about its ability to fully inform decision makers. In particular, the MCRS-16 did not provide decision makers with recommendations concerning shortfalls and excesses in air mobility systems. In evaluating capabilities, the MCRS-16 used three cases that it developed of potential conflicts or natural disasters and identified the required capabilities for air mobility systems. Based on data in the MCRS-16, GAO was able to discern possible shortfalls or potential capacity that could be considered excess or an operational reserve, even though the MCRS-16 was ambiguous regarding whether actual shortfalls or excess capabilities exist. It also did not identify the risk associated with potential shortfalls or excesses. Identifying the risk associated with specific mobility systems could help with decisions to allocate resources."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the Medicaid program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the states have taken some actions related to GAO’s four key strategies but more needs to be done."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of its efforts to identify high-risk cargo for inspection, CBP uses various sources of information to screen containers in advance of their arrival in the United States. For example, in 2009, CBP implemented the Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements to collect additional information for targeting. The additional cargo information required, such as country of origin, is to be provided to CBP in advance of arrival of the cargo containers at U.S. ports. In September 2010, GAO recommended that CBP establish milestones and time frames for updating its targeting criteria to include additional information. In response, CBP updated its targeting criteria in January 2011."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013. GAO very much appreciates the confidence Congress has shown in the efforts to help support the Congress in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve government performance and accountability for the benefit of the American people."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Contracting officials from Air Force and Interior generally did not perform lease versus purchase analyses for selected contracts. Based on contract file reviews and discussions with contracting officials, we found that analyses were not performed and that contracting officials had not considered the alternative acquisition method for 24 of the 32 selected contracts. For the 8 contracts with lease versus purchase analyses, 5 were documented in the contract files and 3 were performed but were not documented, according to contracting officials. In most cases, contract files did not contain basic information to make lease or purchase decisions, such as the length of time the equipment would be used. Even files containing documentation of analyses generally did not address the full range of criteria specified in the FAR. For example, the analyses typically lacked a discussion of the financial and operating advantages of alternate approaches that would help contracting officials determine the appropriate acquisition method. Contracting officials noted that their decision to lease or purchase equipment often depends on the nature of the requirement, such as a short-term need for equipment, based on documents or other correspondence from the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies reported an estimated $115.3 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2011, a decrease of $5.3 billion from the prior year reported estimate of $120.6 billion. The $115.3 billion estimate was attributable to 79 programs spread among 17 agencies. Ten programs accounted for about $107 billion or 93 percent of the total estimated improper payments agencies reported for fiscal year 2011. The reported decrease in fiscal year 2011 was primarily related to three programs—decreases in program outlays for the Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance program, and decreases in reported error rates for the Earned Income Tax Credit program and the Medicare Advantage program. Further, the Office of Management and Budget reported that agencies recaptured $1.25 billion in improper payments to contractors, vendors, and healthcare providers in fiscal year 2011. Over half of this amount, $797 million, can be attributed to the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program which identifies Medicare overpayments and underpayments."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We found that the likelihood that a small employer will sponsor a retirement plan largely depends on the size of the employer’s workforce and the workers’ average wages. Small employers, retirement experts, and other stakeholders also identified a number of challenges— such as plan complexity and resource constraints—to starting and maintaining retirement plans. In addition, stakeholders offered options for addressing some challenges to plan sponsorship, which included simplifying federal requirements for plan administration and increasing the tax credit for plan startup costs. Although Labor, IRS, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) collaborate in conducting education and outreach on retirement plans, agencies disseminate information online through separate websites and in a largely uncoordinated fashion. In addition, IRS currently does not have the means to collect information on employers that sponsor a certain type of IRA plan. As a result of our findings, we are recommending efforts for greater collaboration among federal agencies to foster small employer plan sponsorship and more complete collection of IRA plan sponsorship data."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Utilization of ESRD drugs in 2011 was about 23 percent lower, on average, than it was in 2007, driven largely by a decline in the utilization of ESAs. As a result, Medicare may have paid more than necessary for dialysis care in 2011 because the bundled payment rate in that year was based on 2007 utilization levels. We estimated that Medicare expenditures on dialysis would have been about $650 million to $880 million lower in 2011 if the bundled payment rate were rebased to reflect the 2011 utilization level of ESRD drugs. Furthermore, this estimate of potential savings could be larger in future years if the level of ESRD drug utilization at the end of 2011 declines further, as preliminary data suggest. Rebasing the bundled payment rate to account for changes in ESRD drug utilization could help ensure that Medicare pays appropriately for dialysis services and also yield savings to Medicare. However, CMS officials indicated that they did not have immediate plans to rebase the rate and that the statute does not provide CMS with explicit authority to do so. Therefore, Congress should consider requiring the Secretary of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Governmentwide fraud prevention control weaknesses over the SDVOSB program leave it vulnerable to fraud and abuse. In October 2009, GAO reported on 10 selected firms that misrepresented their status as SDVOSBs, which allowed them to win approximately $100 million in SDVOSB set-aside and sole-source contracts. Cases like this happen because the SDVOSB program relies on firms to self-certify annually in the federal government’s contractor registry that they are owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, but most agencies do not validate this information. In fact, GAO found that the program lacks key fraud prevention framework elements, which include preventing firms from fraudulently entering the program, detecting and monitoring for continuing compliance, and investigating firms that abuse the program."

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise status update for value-added products (VAP) implemented by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) new VAPs for which development has begun, (2) progress on existing VAPs, (3) future VAPs that have been recently approved, (4) other work that leads to a VAP, and (5) top requested VAPs from the archive. New information is highlighted in blue text. New information about processed data by the developer is highlighted in red text. The upcoming milestones and dates are highlighted in green.