General Accounting Office Reports & Testimony back issues from Tuesday, January 1:
Business Modernization: NASA Must Consider Agencywide Needs to Reap the Full Benefits of Its Enterprise Management System Modernization Effort.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-691 July 20, 2007 Since 1990, GAO has designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) contract management as an area of high risk in part because it lacked modern systems to provide accurate and reliable information on contract spending. In April ...
Medicaid Demonstration Waivers: Lack of Opportunity for Public Input during Federal Approval Process Still a Concern.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-694R July 24, 2007 States provide health care coverage to about 60 million low-income individuals through Medicaid, a joint federal and state program established under title XIX of the Social Security Act (the Act). Title XIX of the Act established parameters under which ...
Aboveground Oil Storage Tanks: Observations on EPA's Economic Analyses of Amendments to the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-763 July 27, 2007 Oil in aboveground tanks can leak into soil and nearby water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent certain oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in 1973 ....
Medicare Physician Payments: Medicare and Private Payment Differences for Anesthesia Services.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-463 July 27, 2007 In 2005 Medicare paid over $1.4 billion for anesthesia services. These services are generally provided by anesthesia practitioners, such as anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). A government-sponsored study found that ...
Capitol Power Plant: Status of Utility Tunnel Projects.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1150T August 1, 2007 The Architect of the Capitol (AOC), through the Capitol Power Plant, operates five walkable utility tunnels containing steam and chilled water pipes associated with serving the heating and cooling requirements of the U.S. Capitol and over 20 ...
United Nations Organizations: Enhanced Efforts Needed to Increase U.S. Employment at UN Agencies.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1152T August 1, 2007 This testimony discusses ways to improve the representation of American professionals at United Nations (UN) organizations. The U.S. Congress continues to be concerned about the underrepresentation of American professionals employed by some UN ...
State Department: Staffing and Foreign Language Shortfalls Persist Despite Initiatives to Address Gaps.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1154T August 1, 2007 GAO has reported in recent years on a number of human capital issues that have hampered the Department of State's (State) ability to carry out U.S. foreign policy priorities and objectives, particularly at posts central to the war on terror. In 2002, ...
Aviation Finance: Observations on the Current FAA Funding Structure's Support for Aviation Activities, Issues Affecting Future Costs, and Proposed Funding Changes.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1163T August 1, 2007 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates one of the safest air transportation systems in the world, but this system is under growing strain as the demand for air travel increases. Recognizing the need to transform this system, Congress ...
Yucca Mountain: DOE Has Improved Its Quality Assurance Program, but Whether Its Application for a NRC License Will Be High Quality Is Unclear.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1010 August 2, 2007 Nuclear power reactors generate highly radioactive waste. To permanently store this waste, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been working to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a nuclear waste repository at ...
Gulf Coast Rebuilding: Observations on Federal Financial Implications.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1079T August 2, 2007 The devastation caused by the Gulf Coast hurricanes presents the nation with unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities to reexamine shared responsibility among all levels of government. All levels of government, together with the private and ...
Vehicle Fuel Economy: Reforming Fuel Economy Standards Could Help Reduce Oil Consumption by Cars and Light Trucks, and Other Options Could Complement These Standards.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-921 August 2, 2007 Concerns over national security, environmental stresses, and high fuel prices have raised interest in reducing oil consumption. Through the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ...
Financial Management: Long-standing Financial Systems Weaknesses Present a Formidable Challenge.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-914 August 3, 2007 The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with (1) federal financial management systems ...
Highlights of a Forum: Modernizing Federal Disability Policy.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-934SP August 3, 2007 Economic, medical, technological, and social changes have increased opportunities for persons with disabilities to live with greater independence and more fully participate in the workforce. In addition, social and legal changes have promoted the goal ...
Elections: Status of GAO's Review of Voting Equipment Used in Florida's 13th Congressional District.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1167T August 3, 2007 In November 2006, about 18,000 undervotes were reported in Sarasota County in the race for Florida's 13th Congressional District. Following the contesting of the election results in the House of Representatives, the Task Force met and unanimously ...
Military Training: Actions Needed to More Fully Develop the Army's Strategy for Training Modular Brigades and Address Implementation Challenges.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-936 August 6, 2007 The Army considers modular force transformation its most extensive restructuring since World War II. The Army has estimated that restructuring units from a division-based force to a more agile and responsive modular brigade-based force will require a ...
Railroad Bridges and Tunnels: Federal Role in Providing Safety Oversight and Freight Infrastructure Investment Could Be Better Targeted.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-770 August 6, 2007 Freight railroads account for over 40 percent (by weight) of the nation's freight on a privately owned network that was largely built almost 100 years ago and includes over 76,000 railroad bridges and over 800 tunnels. As requested, GAO provides ...
Climate Change: Agencies Should Develop Guidance for Addressing the Effects on Federal Land and Water Resources.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-863 August 7, 2007 Climate change has implications for the vast land and water resources managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (FS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Park ...
NASA: Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future Program Challenges Remain.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1004 August 8, 2007 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is engaged in efforts to replace the Space Shuttle with the next generation of human space flight systems and implement the President's space exploration policy. To do this, NASA must recruit, ...
Homeland Security: Responses to Posthearing Questions Related to the Department of Homeland Security's Integrated Financial Management Systems Challenges.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1157R August 10, 2007 On June 28, 2007, GAO testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, at a hearing entitled, ...
Social Security: Costs Associated with the Administration's Efforts to Promote Program Reforms.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-621R August 10, 2007 Congress requested that GAO identify the official Social Security reform public speaking events and other promotion initiatives involving administration officials, and their costs to the federal government, since January 2005. As you know, the Social ...
Federal Law Enforcement: Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Mandatory Basic Training.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-815 August 10, 2007 Federal law enforcement officers (LEO) are required to complete mandatory basic training in order to exercise their law enforcement authorities. GAO was asked to identify federal mandatory law enforcement basic training programs. This report builds on ...
Federal Law Enforcement Mandatory Basic Training: Results of Surveys of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Components (GAO-07-1066SP), an E-supplement to GAO-07-815.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1066SP August 10, 2007 This is the supporting product to GAO-07-815. This document presents selected results of GAO's mandatory basic training survey of 105 federal civilian components that employ law enforcement officers (LEO). We defined an LEO as a federal employee who ...
Advance Earned Income Tax Credit: Low Use and Small Dollars Paid Impede IRS's Efforts to Reduce High Noncompliance.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1110 August 10, 2007 The Advance Earned Income Tax Credit (AEITC) allows individuals to receive a portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in their paychecks, instead of receiving all of it when filing their year-end tax return. Limited research has been conducted ...
Securities and Exchange Commission: Steps Being Taken to Make Examination Program More Risk-Based and Transparent.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1053 August 14, 2007 After widespread unlawful trading practices surfaced in the mutual fund industry in late 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), through its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), took steps intended to revise its ...
Influenza Pandemic: Further Efforts Are Needed to Ensure Clearer Federal Leadership Roles and an Effective National Strategy.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-781 August 14, 2007 An influenza pandemic is a real and significant potential threat facing the United States and the world. Pandemics occur when a novel virus emerges that can easily be transmitted among humans who have little immunity. In 2005, the Homeland Security ...
Securities and Exchange Commission: Additional Actions Needed to Ensure Planned Improvements Address Limitations in Enforcement Division Operations.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-830 August 15, 2007 The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) ability to conduct investigations and bring enforcement actions for violations of securities laws is critical to its mission to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets. SEC's Division of ...
Legal Services Corporation: Governance and Accountability Practices Need to Be Modernized and Strengthened.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-993 August 15, 2007 The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was federally created as a private nonprofit corporation to support legal assistance for low-income people to resolve their civil matters and relies heavily on federal appropriations. Due to its unique status, its ...
Freight Railroads: Updated Information on Rates and Other Industry Trends.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-291R August 15, 2007 Over 25 years ago, Congress transformed federal freight rail transportation policy. At that time, after almost 100 years of economic regulation, the railroad industry was in serious economic decline, with rising costs, losses, and bankruptcies. In ...
Freight Railroads: Electronic Supplement on Rates and Other Industry Trends, 1985-2005 (GAO-07-292SP), an E-supplement to GAO-07-291R.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-292SP August 15, 2007 This e-publication supplements our report "Freight Railroads: Updated Information on Rates and Other Industry Trends" GAO-07-291R (Washington, D.C.: August 2007) by presenting our analysis of the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) Carload Waybill ...
Chemical Regulation: Comparison of U.S. and Recently Enacted European Union Approaches to Protect against the Risks of Toxic Chemicals.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-825 August 17, 2007 Chemicals play an important role in everyday life. However, some chemicals are highly toxic and need to be regulated. In 1976, the Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control ...
Department of Homeland Security: Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-454 August 17, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent 4 year anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress DHS has made since its establishment. DHS began operations in March 2003 with the mission to prevent terrorist attacks within the ...
Rental Housing: Information on Low-Income Veterans' Housing Conditions and Participation in HUD's Programs.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1012 August 17, 2007 Veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan could increase demand for affordable rental housing. Households with low incomes (80 percent or less of the area median income) generally are eligible to receive rental assistance from the ...
Drug Control: U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts, but Tons of Illicit Drugs Continue to Flow into the United States.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1018 August 17, 2007 The overall goal of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, which is prepared by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is to reduce illicit drug use in the United States. One of the strategy's priorities is to disrupt the ...
Natural Hazard Mitigation: Various Mitigation Efforts Exist, but Federal Efforts Do Not Provide a Comprehensive Strategic Framework.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-403 August 22, 2007 The nation has experienced vast losses from natural hazards. The potential for future events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, demonstrates the importance of hazard mitigation--actions that reduce the long-term risks to life and property from ...
Defense Acquisitions: Navy Faces Challenges Constructing the Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford within Budget.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-866 August 23, 2007 The Navy is investing over $3 billion to develop technologies for a new type of aircraft carrier--the Ford class--and it expects to spend almost $11 billion to design and construct the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)--the lead ship of the class. New ...
Tax Compliance: Inflation Has Significantly Decreased the Real Value of Some Penalties.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1062 August 23, 2007 Civil tax penalties are an important tool to encourage taxpayer compliance with the tax laws. A number of civil tax penalties have fixed dollar amounts--a specific dollar amount, a minimum or maximum amount--that are not indexed for inflation. Because ...
Federal Housing Administration: Agency Should Assess the Effects of Proposed Changes to the Manufactured Home Loan Program.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-879 August 24, 2007 Pending legislation to the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Title I Manufactured Home Loan program would increase loan limits, insure each loan, incorporate stricter underwriting requirements, and set up-front premiums. GAO was asked to review ...
Very Light Jets: Several Factors Could Influence Their Effect on the National Airspace System.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1001 August 24, 2007 For several years, a number of aviation manufacturers have been designing and testing very light jets, a type of small jet aircraft equipped with advanced technologies and priced below other business jets. Aviation forecasters predict that thousands ...
Financial Audit Manual: Volume Three, August 2007.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1173G August 28, 2007 The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) maintain the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM). The FAM provides guidance for performing financial statement audits of federal ...
Motor Carrier Safety: Federal Safety Agency Identifies Many High-Risk Carriers but Does Not Assess Maximum Fines as Often as Required by Law.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-584 August 28, 2007 The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has the primary federal responsibility for reducing crashes involving large trucks and buses. FMCSA uses its "SafeStat" tool to target carriers for reviews of their compliance with the agency's ...
Disaster Housing: Implementation of FEMA's Alternative Housing Pilot Program Provides Lessons for Improving Future Competitions.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1143R August 31, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides direct temporary housing assistance in response to disasters primarily through a combination of travel trailers and manufactured homes and for a period of ...
Homeland Security: U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Program's Long-standing Lack of Strategic Direction and Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1065 August 31, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program known as U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) to collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers, on certain foreign nationals ...
Social Security Administration: Policies and Procedures Were in Place over MMA Spending, but Some Instances of Noncompliance Occurred.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-986 August 31, 2007 The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) created a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit as part of the Medicare program, and appropriated up to $500 million for the Social Security Administration (SSA) ...
Information Security: Selected Departments Need to Address Challenges in Implementing Statutory Requirements.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-528 August 31, 2007 The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) strengthened security requirements by, among other things, requiring federal agencies to establish programs to provide cost-effective security for information and information systems. In ...
Defense Infrastructure: Management Actions Needed to Ensure Effectiveness of DOD's Risk Management Approach for the Defense Industrial Base.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1077 August 31, 2007 The U.S. military relies on the defense industrial base (DIB) to meet requirements to fulfill the National Military Strategy. The potential destruction, incapacitation, or exploitation of critical DIB assets by attack, crime, technological failure, ...
Military Personnel: DOD's Predatory Lending Report Addressed Mandated Issues, but Support Is Limited for Some Findings and Recommendations.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1148R August 31, 2007 Serious financial problems can adversely affect unit morale and readiness as well as servicemembers' credit histories and military careers. If servicemembers experience serious financial problems, they may be subject to adverse actions such as loss ...
Workforce Investment Act: One-Stop System Infrastructure Continues to Evolve, but Labor Should Take Action to Require That All Employment Service Offices Are Part of the System.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1096 September 4, 2007 In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), requiring states and localities to bring together employment and training programs into a single workforce system, the one-stop system. States have flexibility in how they provide these ...
U.S. Patent And Trademark Office: Hiring Efforts Are Not Sufficient to Reduce the Patent Application Backlog.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1102 September 4, 2007 Increases in the volume and complexity of patent applications have lengthened the amount of time it takes the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to process them. In addition, concerns have continued about USPTO's efforts to hire and retain an ...
Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1195 September 4, 2007 Public Law 110-28 requires GAO to report to Congress by September 1, 2007, on whether or not the government of Iraq has met 18 benchmarks contained in the Act, and the status of the achievement of these benchmarks. The benchmarks stem from ...
Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1220T September 4, 2007 This testimony is intended to discuss our report on whether or not the government of Iraq has met 18 benchmarks contained in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 20072 (the Act) ....
National Flood Insurance Program: FEMA's Management and Oversight of Payments for Insurance Company Services Should Be Improved.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1078 September 5, 2007 Extraordinary recent flood events raise serious questions about the solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The NFIP is largely implemented by private ...
No Child Left Behind Act: Education Should Clarify Guidance and Address Potential Compliance Issues for Schools in Corrective Action and Restructuring Status.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1035 September 5, 2007 The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) focused national attention on improving schools so that all students reach academic proficiency by 2014. In the 2006- 2007 school year, about 4,500 of the 54,000 Title I schools failed to make adequate ...
World Trade Center: EPA's Most Recent Test and Clean Program Raises Concerns That Need to Be Addressed to Better Prepare for Indoor Contamination Following Disasters.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1091 September 5, 2007 The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and World Trade Center (WTC) collapse blanketed Lower Manhattan in dust from building debris. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an indoor clean and test program from 2002 to ...
General Services Administration: Improvements Needed in Managing Delegated Authority of Real Property Activities.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1000 September 5, 2007 The General Services Administration (GSA) issues different types of delegations, whereby agencies may request authority to perform certain real property activities, such as leasing space and maintaining property. Effective management of the program ...
Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1221T September 5, 2007 This testimony is intended to discuss our report on whether or not the government of Iraq has met 18 benchmarks contained in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 20072 (the Act) ....
Special Operations Forces: Management Actions Are Needed to Effectively Integrate Marine Corps Forces into the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1030 September 5, 2007 The Department of Defense (DOD) has relied on special operations forces to conduct military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and to perform other tasks such as training foreign military forces. To meet the demand for these forces, DOD established ...
Defense Acquisitions: DOD's Research and Development Budget Requests to Congress Do Not Provide Consistent, Complete, and Clear Information.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1058 September 5, 2007 The Department of Defense (DOD) asked Congress for $73.2 billion in fiscal year 2007 for research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E). DOD organized this request using program element (PE) codes, which are designed to convey key ...
Defense Business Transformation: Achieving Success Requires a Chief Management Officer to Provide Focus and Sustained Leadership.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1072 September 5, 2007 In 2005, GAO added the Department of Defense's (DOD) approach to business transformation to its high-risk list because (1) DOD's improvement efforts were fragmented, (2) DOD lacked an integrated and enterprisewide business transformation plan, and ...
Employer-Sponsored Benefits: Many Factors Affect the Treatment of Pension and Health Benefits in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1101 September 6, 2007 In recent years, considerable debate has centered on companies using the chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process to reduce or eliminate employer-sponsored benefits in an effort to become more competitive. Congress recently enacted several laws, ...
Telecommunications: FCC Should Take Steps to Ensure Equal Access to Rulemaking Information.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1046 September 6, 2007 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established that FCC should promote competition ...
Department of Homeland Security: Progress Report on Implementation of Mission and Management Functions.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1081T September 6, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent 4-year anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress DHS has made. The creation of DHS was one of the largest federal reorganizations in the last several decades, and GAO has ...
Military Base Realignments and Closures: Observations Related to the 2005 Round.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1203R September 6, 2007 This correspondence follows up an August 1, 2007, meeting to discuss concerns about changes in the cost and savings estimates and the potential loss of expertise and experience from the closure of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, among other issues, ...
Unemployment Insurance: Low-Wage and Part-Time Workers Continue to Experience Low Rates of Receipt.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1147 September 7, 2007 The Unemployment Insurance (UI) program has been a key component in ensuring the financial security of America's workforce for more than 70 years. The UI program is a federal-state partnership designed to partially replace lost earnings of ...
Maritime Transportation: Major Oil Spills Occur Infrequently, but Risks to the Federal Oil Spill Fund Remain.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1085 September 7, 2007 When oil spills occur in U.S. waters, federal law places primary liability on the vessel owner or operator--that is, the responsible party--up to a statutory limit. As a supplement to this "polluter pays" approach, a federal Oil Spill Liability ...
Highlights of a Forum: Health Care 20 Years From Now--Taking Steps Today to Meet Tomorrow's Challenges.
Jan 01, 2008 ... GAO-07-1155SP September 7, 2007 "Unless we fix our health care system--in both the public and private sectors--rising health care costs will have severe, adverse consequences for the federal budget as well as the U.S. economy in the future." This is one of the key messages that ...