A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to develop the policies and plans to build the Electronic Records Archives (ERA), a major information system that is intended to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types and formats of electronic records. Senate Report 108-146 directed GAO to provide a progress report on NARA's development of the ERA system. Specifically, GAO's objective was to determine the agency's progress in implementing recommendations from previous assessments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To preserve and provide access to all types of electronic records, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been developing an Electronic Records Archive (ERA), including a base system for federal records and a separate system for presidential records, known as the Executive Office of the President (EOP) system. As mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, NARA must submit an expenditure plan to the Congress that satisfies six conditions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which NARA's fiscal year 2008 expenditure plan satisfies the conditions and provide any other observations about the plan and the ERA acquisition. To do this, GAO reviewed the expenditure plan, interviewed NARA and contractor officials, and reviewed additional documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Agencies are to store federal records in three types of facilities:"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Much of the nearly $2 billion annual climate change research budget supports grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Science Foundation (NSF). Some of the data generated by this research are stored in online archives, but much remains in a less accessible format with individual researchers. As a result, some researchers are concerned about the availability of data. GAO analyzed (1) the key issues that data-sharing policies should address; (2) the data-sharing requirements, policies, and practices for external climate change researchers funded by DOE, NASA, NOAA, and NSF; and (3) the extent to which these agencies foster data sharing. GAO examined requirements, policies, and practices and surveyed the 64 officials managing climate change grants at these agencies."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since its establishment in 2009, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) has provided comments on proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations for 18 of 99 federal agencies that administer FOIA, as well as a number of Privacy Act system of records notices. While OGIS has suggested improvements to a number of those regulations and notices, it has not performed the reviews of regulations and notices in a proactive, comprehensive manner, and has not conducted any reviews of agencies' compliance with the law. In addition, since it was established 4 years ago, the office has not developed a methodology for conducting reviews of agencies' FOIA policies and procedures, or for compliance with FOIA requirements. OGIS is in the early stages of developing a methodology for conducting such reviews, but has not established a time frame for completion. Until OGIS establishes a methodology and time frame for proactively reviewing agencies' FOIA policies, procedures, and compliance, the office will not be positioned to effectively execute its responsibilities as required by the act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Until the mid-nineteenth century, Spain made land grants to towns and individuals to promote development in the frontier lands that now constitute the American Southwest. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War, the United States agreed to recognize ownership of property of every kind in the ceded areas. Many people, including grantee heirs, scholars, and legal experts, still claim that the United States did not protect the property of Mexican-Americans and their descendants, particularly the common lands of community grants. Land grant documents contain no direct reference to "community land grants," nor do Spanish and Mexican laws define or use this term. GAO did find, however, that some grants refer to lands set aside for general communal use or for specific purposes, including hunting, pasture, wood gathering, or watering. Scholars, the land grant literature, and popular terminology commonly use the phrase "community land grants" to denote land grants that set aside common lands for the use of the entire community. GAO adopted this broad definition in determining which Spanish and Mexican land grants can be identified as community land grants. GAO identified …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) and how it enables citizens to interact with the federal government electronically, focusing on: (1) the status of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) efforts to develop guidance implementing GPEA; and (2) major challenges or impediments that might affect successful GPEA implementation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other agencies have taken steps to carry out leadership and organizational responsibilities as called for by the E-Government Act. Specifically, OMB's Office of Electronic Government has issued key guidance for agencies on complying with the requirements of the act and coordinated annual reporting to Congress on agency compliance with the act. In addition, the Federal Chief Information Officers Council has taken actions, such as publicizing best practices and recommendations for more efficient use of information technology and assisting in the implementation of the act's requirements. Further, executive branch agencies have made significant progress in carrying out leadership responsibilities under the act, including designating officials with responsibility for ensuring compliance with the act, issuing internal policy and guidance, and developing performance measures. However, while OMB and agencies have reported annually on their compliance with the act as required, OMB did not always require agencies to report on all of the act's provisions and has not been explicit in communicating to Congress provisions that it is not reporting on and the reasons why. For example, from fiscal year 2006 to …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From the end of the seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, Spain made land grants to individuals, towns, and groups to promote development in what is now the American Southwest. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War, the United States agreed to recognize ownership of property of every kind in the ceded areas. Many persons, including grantee heirs, scholars, and legal experts, still claim that the United States did not protect the property of Mexican-Americans and their descendants, particularly the common lands of community grants. Land grant documents contain no direct reference to "community land grants" nor do Spanish and Mexican laws define or use this term. GAO did find, however, that some grants refer to lands set aside for general communal use or for specific purposes, including hunting, pasture, wood gathering, or watering. Scholars, the land grant literature, and popular terminology commonly use the phrase "community land grants" to denote land grants that set aside common lands for the use of the entire community. GAO adopted this broad definition in determining which Spanish and Mexican land grants can be identified as …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government invests heavily in information technology (IT). In recent years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has made efforts to improve the transparency, oversight, and management of the federal government's IT investments. More recently, in June 2009, OMB deployed the IT Dashboard, a Web-based system that provides detailed performance information on federal IT investments. GAO was asked to (1) describe the current number and types of IT investments reported by federal agencies on the IT Dashboard, (2) evaluate the adequacy of OMB's guidance to federal agencies in reporting on IT investments, and (3) evaluate efforts to identify and address potentially duplicative investments. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed data from the IT Dashboard, analyzed 10 federal agencies' investment guidance and reports, and interviewed agency officials."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-01-238G, Grant Financial System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, January 2001. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996 requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management systems requirements. The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) seeks to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems to support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems. This checklist reflects JFMIP's first functional requirements document issued for grant financial systems to assist (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring agency grant financial systems and (2) managers and auditors in reviewing their grant financial systems to determine if they substantially comply with FFMIA. This checklist is not required to be used in assessing grant financial systems. Rather, it is provided as a tool for use by experienced staff and is one in a series of documents GAO has issued to help agencies improve or maintain effective operations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is the nation's single largest energy consumer, spending approximately $17 billion in fiscal year 2007. A number of statutes and executive orders have established and revised goals directing agencies to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--such as carbon dioxide, which results from combustion of fossil fuels and natural processes, among other things--and increase renewable energy use. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) federal agencies met energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission, and renewable energy goals in fiscal year 2007; (2) federal agencies have made progress in each of these areas in the recent past; and (3) six selected agencies are poised to meet energy goals into the future. For this review, GAO, among other things, conducted site visits for six agencies and reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) annual reports to Congress on federal energy management."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Electronic government (e-government) refers to the use of information technology (IT), including Web-based Internet applications, to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services, as well as to improve the internal efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is managing five e-government initiatives whose goal is to transform the way OPM oversees the government's human capital functions. These 5 initiatives are among 25 identified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as foremost in the drive toward egovernment transformation. The 25 initiatives have ambitious goals, including eliminating redundant, nonintegrated business operations and systems and improving service to citizens by an order of magnitude. Achieving these results, according to OMB, could produce billions of dollars in savings from improved operational efficiency. In today's testimony, among other things, GAO identifies the challenges facing OPM as it moves forward in implementing the five human capital initiatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To obtain government services, members of the public must often provide agencies with personal information, which includes both identifying information (such as name or Social Security number, which can be used to locate to identify someone) and nonidentifying information (such as age or gender). GAO was asked to review agencies' handling of the personal information they collect and whether this handling conforms with federal law, regulation, and agency guidance."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) supports high-quality research, according to stakeholders, but lacks certain key procedures needed to fulfill other aspects of its mission. Since its inception, IES has substantially improved the quality of education research. However, stakeholders expressed some concerns about IES's ability to produce timely and relevant research that meets their various needs. For example, IES's efforts to respond quickly to its stakeholders are slowed, in part, because the time IES's products have spent in peer review substantially increased this past year, 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 GAO's leading practices for performance management. IES officials said, however, that they have begun to develop new performance measures for all of their programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on whether agencies were adhering to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) memorandum requiring federal agencies to post privacy policies on their Internet Websites, focusing on: (1) whether agencies have clearly labelled and easily accessed privacy policies posted on their principal Web sites; (2) whether agencies' privacy policies posted on their principal Web sites inform visitors about what information an agency collects, why the agency collects it, and how the agency will use the information; (3) how selected agencies have interpreted the requirement to post privacy policies at major entry points; and (4) whether selected agencies have posted privacy policies on Web pages where the agency collects substantial personal information or when applicable, notices that refer to the Privacy Act of 1974."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "E-government is critical to the government's ability to effectively communicate with the public. Both Congress and current and past administrations have emphasized the importance of e-government and have put forth proposals to address the challenges associated with this issue. Earlier this year, the Senate passed S. 803, the E-government Act of 2002. To accomplish the goal of enhancing the management and promotion of e-government, S. 803 addresses many of the substantive information resource and management challenges facing the government today. Initiatives contained in this bill represent important steps in creating a government that is more efficient, effective, and focused on citizens' needs. Specifically, the bill would (1) secure the transmission of sensitive information in e-government transactions by promoting the development of electronic signatures, (2) protect individuals' privacy by requiring agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments, and (3) make government information more accessible to the public."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) required GAO to report on the relative independence, effectiveness, and expertise of the inspectors general (IG) established by the IG Act of 1978, as amended (IG Act), including IGs appointed by the President with Senate confirmation and those appointed by their agency heads in designated federal entities (DFE). GAO was also required to report on the effect that provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act have on IG independence. The objectives of this report are to provide information as reported by the IGs on (1) the implementation of provisions intended to enhance their independence in the IG Reform Act of 2008 (Reform Act), the IG Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act; (2) their measures of effectiveness, including oversight of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) funds; and (3) their expertise and qualifications in areas specified by the IG Act. GAO relied primarily on responses to its survey received from 62 IGs established by the IG Act. GAO also obtained information from the President's fiscal year 2011 budget, the IGs' annual report to the President for …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the implementation of seven key amendments to the Single Audit Act of 1984."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "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 2003. In 2003, EPA's Inspector General (IG) recommended improvements to the program and identified lessons learned for EPA's preparedness for future disasters. In 2004, EPA formed an expert panel to, among other goals, guide EPA in developing a second voluntary program; EPA announced this program in 2006. As requested, GAO's report primarily addresses EPA's second program, including the (1) extent to which EPA incorporated IG and expert panel member recommendations and input; (2) factors, if any, limiting the expert panel's ability to meet its goals; (3) completeness of information EPA provided to the public; (4) way EPA estimated resources for the program; and (5) extent to which EPA has acted upon lessons learned regarding indoor contamination from disasters."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Civilian agencies did not fully comply with statutory requirements for compiling fiscal year 2011 service contract inventories. For example, because the information is not currently readily available, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the 49 agencies that were required to submit inventories to defer the collection of three statutorily required data elements for each contract--the role the services played in achieving agency objectives, the total dollar amount invoiced for services under the contracts, and the number and work locations of contractor and subcontractor personnel. Progress, however, is being made to collect this information for future inventories. OMB directed agencies to start collecting information on the role services play in achieving agency objectives for new contracts awarded on or after March 1, 2012. A proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation rule was published in April 2011 to start collecting the remaining two data elements directly from contractors. We also found several instances where agencies significantly underreported obligations in their inventories, either because they misinterpreted or did not follow OMB guidance. For example, the General Services Administration underreported obligations by approximately $6.4 billion. Without complete and accurate service …

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This guide is superseded by GAO-09-946SP, "Understanding the Primary Components of the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government." U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. Useful, timely, and reliable financial and performance information is needed to make sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal programs and polices. The Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, annually prepares the Financial Report of the United States Government, hereafter referred to as the Consolidated Financial Report (CFR). The CFR is a general-purpose report of accountability intended internally for members of Congress, federal executives and federal program managers, and externally primarily for citizens and citizen intermediaries who are interested in and have a reasonable understanding of federal government activities and are willing to study the information with reasonable diligence. Citizen intermediaries include members of the news media, analysts, and others who analyze and interpret for the general public the more complex and detailed information in the CFR. The goal of the CFR, and the subject of this guide, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Based on GAO’s previous work and the information obtained from other agencies, GAO identified eight individual practices that can be combined and considered steps within an overall lessons-learned process—that is, a systematic means for agencies to learn from an event and make decisions about when and how to use that knowledge to change behavior. Not all of the agencies with which GAO spoke used all of the practices, and the application of the practices varied among agencies. For example, to collect information about an incident—the first step of the process—the Bureau of Diplomatic Security within the Department of State collects incident reports, footage from security cameras, and interviews witnesses. To disseminate lessons learned—the fifth step—the Los Angeles Police Department produces a formal document after a critical incident that captures the lessons learned and disseminates the document to its units for use in planning, preparation, and coordination exercises."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The E-Government Act of 2002 requires regulatory agencies, to the extent practicable, to ensure there is a Web site the public can use to comment on the numerous proposed regulations that affect them. To accomplish this, the Office of Management and Budget named the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the managing partner for developing a governmentwide e-Rulemaking system that the public can use for these purposes. Issues GAO was asked to address include: (1) EPA's basis for selecting a centralized system, (2) how EPA collaborated with other agencies and agency views of that collaboration, and (3) whether EPA used key management practices when developing the system."