A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on improvements needed to track and archive trade agreements, focusing on: (1) the number of trade agreements the United States is party to; (2) the way in which the executive branch notifies Congress when trade agreements are entered into; and (3) the extent to which the public has ready access to information from government sources about trade agreements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Ranking Democratic Member, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, asked GAO to determine (1) whether VA's internal assessments indicate its regional offices are complying with the requirements of the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) of 2000 for obtaining military service records for veterans' disability compensation claims and (2) whether VBA could improve its procedures for obtaining military service records for claims involving post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO surveyed 26 agencies not subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. Overall, the surveyed agencies reported that they either achieved significant benefits or would anticipate achieving such benefits from having audited financial statements. The level of effort to prepare financial statements and prepare for an audit varied significantly with the size and other characteristics of the agencies. In determining whether agencies should prepare financial statements and have them audited, respondents identified a combination of factors to consider, including budget authority, key financial statement amounts, and the type of agency operations. Irrespective of the importance of such factors, 21 of the 26 agencies reported that federal agencies should have their financial statements audited."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Law enforcement officers (LEOs) within the federal government play a key role in maintaining the safety and security of federal property, employees, and the general public. In this report, we describe the number of LEOs that federal civilian law enforcement components employed as of June 30, 2006; the federal job series classifications the components used to employ LEOs; and the sources of their primary legal authorities. To identify federal components that employ LEOs, we consulted, among other sources, the Federal Citizen Information Center's Cabinet Agencies and Independent Agencies and Commissions Directory; a list of organizations included in the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) 2004-2005 List of Agencies Trained at FLETC; and federal agencies listed in Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2002, published by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). We identified 104 federal civilian law enforcement components and administered two Web-based surveys to each--one survey on the primary authorities and the other survey on the job series classifications. We defined an LEO as an individual authorized to perform any of four specific functions: (1) conduct criminal investigations, (2) execute search warrants, (3) make …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the potential differences in treatment patterns for health maintenance organizations (HMO) patients treated by specialists and those treated by generalist physicians, focusing on: (1) the proportion of Medicare heart attack survivors enrolled in HMOs who take cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, and aspirin; and (2) whether Medicare heart attack survivors in HMOs regularly treated by a cardiologist are more likely to take cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, and aspirin than those who do not have regular cardiology appointments."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Thos publication supersedes AIMD-21.2.8, Travel System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, May 2000. GAO published a guide reflecting the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program's revised Travel System Requirements to assist: (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their travel systems; and (2) management and auditors in reviewing their travel systems to determine if they are in substantial compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The latest data show continued increases in rates of childhood obesity. For example, obesity rates for children 6 to 11 years old are estimated to have increased from 15.1 to 18.8 percent between 1999 and 2004. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 20 percent of children and youth in the United States will be obese by 2010. There are numerous negative health outcomes and financial consequences related to childhood obesity. Researchers have found that childhood obesity is associated with a number of disorders including hypertension, insulin resistance, sleep apnea, menstrual abnormalities, and orthopedic problems. According to one estimate, insured children treated for obesity are approximately three times more expensive for the health system than the average insured child. Some researchers have suggested that childhood obesity is largely the result of a decline in regular physical activity. In our October 2005 report, we surveyed experts on the key strategies to include in the design or implementation of a program to prevent or reduce childhood obesity. The program strategy identified by experts as most important was "increasing physical activity." Congress asked us to provide information on the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees Medicaid, estimated that improper payments in the federal-state Medicaid program were $21.9 billion in fiscal year 2011. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 established the Medicaid Integrity Program and gave CMS an expanded role in assisting and improving the effectiveness of state activities to ensure proper payments. Making effective use of this expanded role, however, requires that federal resources are targeted appropriately and do not duplicate state activities. GAO was asked to testify on Medicaid program integrity. GAO's statement focuses on how CMS's expanded role in ensuring Medicaid program integrity (1) poses a challenge because of overlapping state and federal activities regarding provider audits and (2) presents opportunities through oversight to enhance state program integrity efforts. To do this work, GAO reviewed CMS reports and documents on Medicaid program integrity as well as its own and others' reports on this topic. In particular, GAO reviewed CMS reports that documented the results of its state oversight and monitoring activities. GAO also interviewed CMS officials in the agency's Medicaid Integrity Group (MIG), which was established to implement …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The E-Government Act (E-Gov Act) of 2002 was enacted with the general purpose of promoting better use of the Internet and other information technologies to improve government services for citizens, internal government operations, and opportunities for citizen participation in government. Among other things, the act specifically requires the establishment of the Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee implementation of the act's provisions and mandates a number of specific actions, such as the establishment of interagency committees, completion of several studies, submission of reports with recommendations, issuance of a variety of guidance documents, establishment of new policies, and initiation of pilot projects. Further, the act requires federal agencies to take a number of actions, such as conducting privacy impact assessments, providing public access to agency information, and allowing for electronic access to rulemaking proceedings. OMB has linked several of the act's provisions to ongoing e-government initiatives that it has sponsored. While some deadlines specified in the act have passed, many required actions do not have statutory deadlines or have deadlines that have not yet passed. This report responds to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For Census 2010, automation and information technology (IT) are expected to play a critical role. The Census Bureau plans to spend about $3 billion on automation and technology that are to improve the accuracy and efficiency of census collection, processing, and dissemination. From February 2006 through June 2009, the Bureau is holding a ''Dress Rehearsal'' during which it plans to conduct operational testing that includes decennial systems acquisitions. In October 2007, GAO reported on its review of four key 2010 Census IT acquisitions to (1) determine the status and plans, including schedule and cost, and (2) assess whether the Bureau is adequately managing associated risks. This testimony summarizes GAO's report on these key acquisitions and describes GAO's preliminary observations on the performance of handheld mobile computing devices used during the Dress Rehearsal."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a functional requirements document for seized property and forfeited assets systems that will provide the capability for financial managers and others to control and account for seized property and forfeited assets."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 established the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), within the Department of the Interior, to oversee the implementation of management reforms for funds--derived primarily from Interior's leasing of Indian lands--that Interior holds in trust for many Indian tribes and individuals. Specifically, the act directs that an integrated information system be developed that interfaces the trust fund accounting system with the land title records and asset management systems maintained by Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). GAO examined (1) OST's progress in implementing the trust fund management reforms and (2) the extent to which OST has used contractors in implementing these reforms. GAO reviewed OST's strategic plans and contracting documents and interviewed OST and BIA managers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Education's (Education) Institute of Education Sciences (IES) supports high-quality research, but lacks certain key procedures needed to fulfill other aspects of its mission. According to stakeholders, IES has substantially improved the quality of education research since its inception over a decade ago. However, GAO identified concerns with IES's ability to produce timely and relevant research. For example, IES's efforts are slow to respond to stakeholders' needs, in part, because the time IES's products have spent in peer review has substantially increased in recent years--from an average of 117 days in fiscal year 2011 to 150 days in fiscal year 2013--and IES does not monitor some aspects of these timeframes. In addition, IES does not have a structured process for incorporating stakeholder input into its research agenda, which previous GAO work has shown to be key to sound federal research programs. Lastly, IES's performance measures do not fully reflect its current programs, which is not consistent with leading practices GAO has identified for performance management. For example, IES does not publicly report on the overall performance of the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) program, which …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Third party payments represent blank-form financial instruments that government employees use to pay for expenses when traditional payments are not feasible or possible. GAO surveyed government entities on their use of third party payments. Forty of the 86 entities that responded to GAO's survey reported that they had used third party payment instruments at some time during fiscal years 1997 through 1999. Although the number of reported payment transactions declined 3.7 percent for these 40 entities during this period, the reported total dollar amount associated with these transactions rose 13.4 percent. On the basis of the transaction data reported, the average dollar value of each payment rose 17.6 percent. Among the 40 entities, the most common reasons cited for using third party payment instruments were (1) to pay for small purchases of supplies and services; (2) to pay contractors that either could not or would not accept government checks, electronic funds transfers, or credit card payments; (3) to make emergency payments; (4) to provide immediate reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses; or (5) as an alternative to disbursing a cash advance. In response to questions about whether entities used internal …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1998, Congress amended the Higher Education Act (HEA) to enhance the quality of teaching in the classroom by improving training programs for prospective teachers and the qualifications of current teachers. This report focuses on two components of the legislation: one that provides grants and another, called the "accountability provisions," that requires collecting and reporting information on the quality of all teacher training programs and qualifications of current teachers."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for administering and safeguarding its programs from loss of funds. As GAO reported in June 2011, CMS utilizes automated systems and tools to help improve the detection of improper payments for fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive claims. To integrate claims information and improve its ability to detect fraud, waste, and abuse in these programs, CMS initiated two information technology system programs: the Integrated Data Repository (IDR) and One Program Integrity (One PI). GAO was asked to testify on its earlier report that examined CMS's efforts to protect the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs through the use of information technology. In that prior study, GAO assessed the extent to which IDR and One PI have been developed and implemented, and CMS's progress toward achieving its goals and objectives for using these systems to detect fraud, waste, and abuse."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "An annual average of 6.2 percent of noninstitutionalized children in Medicaid nationwide and 4.8 percent of privately insured children took one or more psychotropic medications, according to GAO's analysis of 2007-2009 data from the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). MEPS data also showed that children in Medicaid took antipsychotic medications (a type of psychotropic medication that can help some children but has a risk of serious side effects) at a relatively low rate--1.3 percent of children--but that the rate for children in Medicaid was over twice the rate for privately insured children, which was 0.5 percent. In addition, MEPS data showed that most children whose emotions or behavior, as reported by their parent or guardian, indicated a potential need for a mental health service did not receive any services within the same year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and many states have initiatives under way to help ensure that children receive appropriate mental health treatments. However, CMS's ability to monitor children's receipt of mental health services is limited because CMS does not collect information from states …

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 Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) is the world's largest museum complex. Its funding comes from its own private trust fund assets and federal appropriations. The Smithsonian Board of Regents, the Smithsonian's governing body, is responsible for the long-term stewardship of the Smithsonian. In recent years, GAO and others have documented (1) significant governance and accountability breakdowns at the Smithsonian, which could ultimately put funding and the organization's credibility at risk, and (2) the deterioration of the Smithsonian's facilities and the threat this deterioration poses to the Smithsonian's collections. This testimony discusses (1) the Smithsonian's status in implementing governance reforms recommended by its Governance Committee and by GAO in a 2008 report (GAO-08-632)--as discussed in a GAO report being released today (GAO-10-190R)--and (2) the Smithsonian's progress in implementing facilities and funding recommendations GAO made in a 2007 report (GAO-07-1127). The work for this testimony is based on GAO-10-190R and an analysis of documentary and testimonial evidence from Smithsonian officials. GAO is not making recommendations in this testimony and did not make new recommendations in GAO-10-190R. The Smithsonian and the Board of Regents concurred with the findings of GAO-10-190R."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Chairman, former Chairman, and Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs asked GAO to review the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) efforts to realign its compensation and pension claims processing field structure to improve performance. This report (1) identifies the actions VBA has taken to realign its compensation and pension claims processing field structure to improve performance, and (2) examines whether further changes to its field structure could improve performance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) puts forth tremendous effort to conduct a complete and accurate count of the nation's population and housing; yet some degree of error in the form of persons missed, duplicated, or counted in the wrong place is inevitable due to the complexity in counting a large and diverse population. The Bureau designed two operations, Coverage Follow-up (CFU) and Field Verification (FV), to reduce certain types of counting, or coverage, errors in the 2010 Census. GAO was asked to assess (1) the extent to which the Bureau completed CFU and FV on schedule and within estimated cost and (2) the implications of their key design elements for improving coverage. GAO reviewed Bureau evaluations, planning, and other documents on CFU and FV, and prior GAO work, and interviewed Bureau officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have established policies and procedures for coordinating investments in geospatial data, however, in November 2012, GAO reported that governmentwide committees and federal departments and agencies had not effectively implemented them. The committee that was established to promote the coordination of geospatial data nationwide--the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)--had developed and endorsed key standards and had established a clearinghouse of metadata. GAO found that the clearinghouse was not being used by agencies to identify planned geospatial investments to promote coordination and reduce duplication. In addition, the committee had not yet fully planned for or implemented an approach to manage geospatial data as related groups of investments to allow agencies to more effectively plan geospatial data collection efforts and minimize duplicative investments, and its strategic plan was missing key elements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Many federal assistance programs are funded by formula grants that have historically relied at least in part on population data from the decennial census and related data to allocate funds. In June 2009, the Census Bureau reported that in fiscal year 2007 the federal government obligated over $446 billion through funding formulas that rely at least in part on census and related data. Funding for federal assistance programs continues to increase. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to determine (1) how much the federal government obligates to the largest federal assistance programs based on the decennial census and related data, and how the Recovery Act changed that amount; and (2) what factors could affect the role of population in grant funding formulas. To answer these objectives, GAO identified the 10 largest federal assistance programs in each of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 based on data from the President's fiscal year 2010 budget. GAO reviewed statutes, agency reports, and other sources to obtain illustrative examples of how different factors could affect the role of population data in grant funding."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) is the world's largest museum complex. Its funding comes from its own private trust fund assets and federal appropriations, with the majority of funds for facilities coming from federal appropriations. In 2005, GAO reported that the Smithsonian's current funding would not be sufficient to cover its estimated $2.3 billion in facilities projects through 2013 and recommended that the Smithsonian Board of Regents, its governing body, develop and implement a funding plan. Recently, problems related to a lack of adequate oversight of executive compensation and other issues have raised concerns about governance at the Smithsonian. This testimony discusses GAO's recently issued work on the Smithsonian's real property management efforts and its efforts to develop and implement strategies to fund its facilities projects. In addition, it describes preliminary results of GAO's ongoing work on the Smithsonian's governance challenges. The work for this testimony is based on GAO's September 2007 report, Smithsonian Institution: Funding Challenges Affect Facilities' Conditions and Security, Endangering Collections, which included recommendations. For ongoing governance work, GAO reviewed Smithsonian documents and interviewed Smithsonian officials, academics, and representatives of nonprofit associations."