Recently added articles from General Accounting Office Reports & Testimony:

U.S.-China Trade: USTR's China Compliance Reports and Plans Could Be Improved.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-405 April 14, 2008 Congress mandated that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) annually assess China's trade compliance and report its findings to Congress. In addition, USTR conducted an interagency "top-to-bottom review" of U.S. trade policies toward China. ...

2010 Census: Bureau Needs to Specify How It Will Assess Coverage Follow-up Techniques and When It Will Produce Coverage Measurement Results.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-414 April 15, 2008 An accurate decennial census relies on finding and counting people--only once--in the right place and collecting complete and correct information. GAO reviewed the Department of Commerce's U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) plans to (1) improve the census's ...

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: DOE Should Reassess Its Approach to Designing and Building Spent Nuclear Fuel Recycling Facilities.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-483 April 22, 2008 The Department of Energy (DOE) proposes under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) to build facilities to begin recycling the nation's commercial spent nuclear fuel. GNEP's objectives include reducing radioactive waste disposed of in a geologic ...

Department of Homeland Security: Better Planning and Assessment Needed to Improve Outcomes for Complex Service Acquisitions.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-263 April 22, 2008 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relied on service acquisitions to meet its expansive mission. In fiscal year 2006, DHS spent $12.7 billion to procure services. To improve service acquisition outcomes, federal procurement law establishes a ...

Natural Catastrophe Insurance: Analysis of a Proposed Combined Federal Flood and Wind Insurance Program.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-504 April 25, 2008 Disputes between policyholders and insurers after the 2005 hurricanes highlight the challenges of determining the cause and extent of damages when properties are subject to both high winds and flooding. Additionally, insurers want to reduce their ...

Food and Drug Administration: Agency Complied with Statutory Requirement to Reexamine Condom Labels.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-565R April 25, 2008 Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) affect men and women of all backgrounds and economic levels and remain a major public health challenge in the United States. While substantial progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain ...

Supply Chain Security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Enhanced Its Partnership with Import Trade Sectors, but Challenges Remain in Verifying Security Practices.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-240 April 25, 2008 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for ensuring the security of cargo containers shipped into the United States. To strike a balance between security and commerce, CBP oversees the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or ...

Organ Transplant Programs: Federal Agencies Have Acted to Improve Oversight, but Implementation Issues Remain.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-412 April 29, 2008 Media reports in 2005 and 2006 highlighted serious problems at organ transplant programs, calling attention to possible deficits in federal oversight. Two agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversee organ transplant programs: ...

Digital Television Transition: Majority of Broadcasters Are Prepared for the DTV Transition, but Some Technical and Coordination Issues Remain.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-510 April 30, 2008 The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, requires all full-power television stations in the United States to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, 2009, known as the digital television (DTV) transition. Prior to the ...

Digital Television Transition: GAO DTV Broadcaster Survey, (GAO-08-528SP, April 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-510.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-528SP April 30, 2008 This is an E-supplement to GAO-08-510, which was released April 30, 2008. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires all full-power television stations in the United States to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, ...

Aboveground Oil Storage Tanks: More Complete Facility Data Could Improve Implementation of EPA's Spill Prevention Program.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-482 April 30, 2008 Oil leaks from aboveground tanks have contaminated soil and water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent damage from oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule ...

Utility Regulation: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-752T May 1, 2008 Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) and other laws, federal agencies and state commissions have traditionally regulated utilities to protect consumers from supply disruptions and unfair pricing. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 ...

Higher Education: Multiple Higher Education Tax Incentives Create Opportunities for Taxpayers to Make Costly Mistakes.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-717T May 1, 2008 Federal assistance helps students and families pay for postsecondary education through several policy tools--grant and loan programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and more recently enacted tax preferences. This testimony ...

U.S. Capitol Police: Status of Efforts to Address Prior GAO Recommendations on Administrative and Management Operations.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-540T May 1, 2008 The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is responsible for securing the 276-acre Capitol Complex, including protecting Members of Congress, visitors, and congressional facilities. In response to heightened security concerns, various requests, and ...

Defense Infrastructure: Planning Efforts for the Proposed Military Buildup on Guam Are in Their Initial Stages, with Many Challenges Yet to Be Addressed.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-722T May 1, 2008 To reduce the burden of the U.S. military presence on Japanese communities while maintaining a continuing presence of U.S. forces in the region, in 2005 and 2006 the U.S.-Japan Defense Policy Review Initiative outlined the effort to relocate American ...

Employment Verification: Challenges Exist in Implementing a Mandatory Electronic Employment Verification System.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-729T May 6, 2008 In 1996, the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, now within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) began operating a voluntary pilot program, recently named the E-Verify program, to provide ...

Medicare: Competitive Bidding for Medical Equipment and Supplies Could Reduce Program Payments, but Adequate Oversight Is Critical.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-767T May 6, 2008 For more than a decade, GAO has reported that Medicare has paid higher than market rates for medical equipment and supplies provided to beneficiaries under Medicare Part B. Since 1989, Medicare has used fee schedules primarily based on historical charges ...

Aviation and the Environment: NextGen and Research and Development Are Keys to Reducing Emissions and Their Impact on Health and Climate.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-706T May 6, 2008 Collaboration between the federal government and the aviation industry has led to reductions in aviation emissions, but growing air traffic has partially offset these reductions. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), together with the National ...

Employment and Training Program Grants: Evaluating Impact and Enhancing Monitoring Would Improve Accountability.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-486 May 7, 2008 Since 2001, Labor has spent nearly $900 million on three workforce employment and training grant initiatives: High Growth Job Training Initiative (High Growth), Community-Based Job Training Initiative (Community Based), and the Workforce Innovation in ...

Human Capital: Corps of Engineers Needs to Update Its Workforce Planning Process to More Effectively Address Its Current and Future Workforce Needs.

Jun 01, 2008 ... GAO-08-596 May 7, 2008 With a workforce of about 35,000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) provides engineering services for civil works and military programs in the United States and overseas. Recently, the Corps' focus has shifted to also support contingency ...