A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) family housing program. GAO discusses (1) whether DOD has implemented a standard process for determining the required military housing based on housing available in the private sector and (2) how an increase in the housing allowance is likely to affect the need for housing on military installations over the long term. Despite calls from Congress, GAO, and DOD's Inspector General, DOD has not introduced a standard process for determining military housing requirements. DOD and the services have worked to develop the framework for the process, but technical concerns, such as standards for affordable housing and commuting distance, have stalled its adoption. Increasing the housing allowance underscores the urgent need for a consistent process to determine military housing requirements because it is expected to increase demand for civilian housing and lessen the demand for military housing. From a policy standpoint, increasing the allowance better positions DOD to rely on the private sector first for housing because it removes the financial disincentive to living in civilian housing. From a management standpoint, considerable evidence suggests that it is less expensive to …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2009, we issued our opinion on the fiscal year 2009 financial statements of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Our report also included our opinion on the effectiveness of FHFA's internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009, and our evaluation of FHFA's compliance with provisions of selected laws and regulations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) created FHFA and gave it responsibility for, among other things, the supervision and oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the 12 federal home loan banks. Specifically, FHFA was assigned responsibility for ensuring that the regulated entities operate in a fiscally safe and sound manner, including maintenance of adequate capital and internal controls, in carrying out their housing and community development finance mission. HERA requires FHFA to annually prepare financial statements, and requires GAO to audit these statements. HERA established FHFA as an independent agency on July 30, 2008. HERA also abolished, effective within 1 year of the act's enactment, the Office of Federal Housing …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "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 requirements, (2) federal accounting standards, and (3) the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger (SGL). FFMIA also requires GAO to report annually on the implementation of the act. This report, primarily based on GAO and inspectors general reports, discusses (1) the problems that continued to affect agencies systems' FFMIA compliance in fiscal year 2006 and (2) the initiatives under way to help move federal financial management toward FFMIA compliance."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program Non-Income Tax Revenue System Requirements documents is intended to provide a common set of non-income tax revenue financial information requirements with which each agency's integrated financial management system must be consistent. This document delineates those interface requirements between non-income tax revenue and other systems that are critical to the performance of both functions. These requirements are intended to be available to all users who rely on the information to carry out their responsibilities. This document does not address system requirements associated solely with the non-income tax revenue process."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare Part D, the voluntary, outpatient prescription drug benefit for eligible individuals 65 years and older and certain individuals with disabilities, is at risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. Part D is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). All Part D sponsors--private companies that operate Part D benefit plans--are required to have programs to safeguard the Part D program from fraud, waste, and abuse. GAO refers to these programs as fraud and abuse programs. This statement discusses CMS's oversight of Part D sponsors' fraud and abuse programs, including its past efforts and planned oversight activities. It is primarily based on the GAO report, Medicare Part D: Some Plan Sponsors Have Not Completely Implemented Fraud and Abuse Programs, and CMS Oversight Has Been Limited (GAO-08-760). The five Part D sponsors GAO reviewed for that report had not completely implemented all of CMS's elements for Part D fraud and abuse programs at that time. CMS agreed with GAO's recommendation in the report that it conduct timely audits of Part D sponsors' fraud and abuse programs. For the 2008 report, GAO reviewed laws, regulation, and CMS documents, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In our 2003 performance and accountability report on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we continued to identify HUD's single-family (SF) mortgage insurance program as highrisk --an area we have found to be at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Also, for years, GAO and HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) have reported weaknesses in HUD's contract administration and monitoring for both SF and multifamily (MF) programs. Given these known risks and the millions of dollars in disbursements made by the agency each year, GAO was asked to review payments related to the single-family property program and determine whether (1) internal controls provide reasonable assurance that improper payments will not be made or will be detected in the normal course of business and (2) payments are properly supported as a valid use of government funds. We also assessed HUD's monitoring of a major multifamily project with a state housing agency."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Airline travel is one of the safest modes of public transportation in the United States. Furthermore, there are survivors in the majority of airliner crashes, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Additionally, more passengers might have survived if they had been better protected from the impact of the crash, smoke, or fire or better able to evacuate the airliner. As requested, GAO addressed (1) the regulatory actions that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken and the technological and operational improvements, called advancements, that are available or are being developed to address common safety and health issues in large commercial airliner cabins and (2) the barriers, if any, that the United States faces in implementing such advancements."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid, a joint federal-state program, financed the health care for about 59 million low-income people in fiscal year 2006. States have considerable flexibility in deciding what medical services and individuals to cover and the amount to pay providers, and the federal government reimburses a portion of states' expenditures according to a formula established by law. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency responsible for overseeing Medicaid. Growing pressures on federal and state budgets have increased tensions between the federal government and states regarding this program, including concerns about whether states were appropriately financing their share of the program. GAO's testimony describes findings from prior work conducted from 1994 through March 2007 on (1) certain inappropriate state Medicaid financing arrangements and their implications for Medicaid's fiscal integrity and (2) outcomes and transparency of a CMS oversight initiative begun in 2003 to end such inappropriate arrangements."

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security can lead to serious consequences--such as intrusions by malicious individuals, compromised networks, and the theft of sensitive information including personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk area. The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) established information security program, evaluation, and annual reporting requirements for federal agencies. The act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee and report to Congress on agency information security policies and practices, including agencies' compliance with FISMA. FISMA also requires that GAO periodically report to Congress on (1) the adequacy and effectiveness of agencies' information security policies and practices and (2) agencies' implementation of FISMA requirements. To do this, GAO analyzed information security-related reports and data from 24 major federal agencies, their inspectors general, OMB, and GAO."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "All U.S. nuclear power plant sites have had some groundwater contamination from radioactive leaks, and some of these leaks came from underground piping systems. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates nuclear power plants to protect public health and the environment from radiation hazards. GAO was asked to (1) determine experts' opinions on the impacts, if any, of underground piping system leaks on public health and the environment; (2) assess NRC requirements of licensees for inspecting these systems and monitoring and reporting on leaks; (3) identify actions the nuclear power industry, licensees, and NRC have taken in response to leaks; and (4) identify additional NRC requirements, if any, that key stakeholders think could help prevent, detect, and disclose leaks. GAO convened expert discussion groups through the National Academy of Sciences and asked experts to review three case studies, analyzed documents, visited seven plant sites and two NRC regional offices, and interviewed stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) provides contract administration services for DOD buying activities. Its contract management offices (CMO) work with defense contractors to help ensure that goods and services are delivered on time, at projected cost, and that they meet performance requirements. DCMA also supports combatant commanders during contingency operations. As DCMA recovers from years of significant downsizing, GAO was asked to (1) assess how the agency is positioning itself to meet its missions, (2) determine the extent to which contingency missions affect its oversight domestically, and (3) identify other factors that may affect its domestic missions going forward. GAO reviewed regulations, policies, and guidance, analyzed the status of contractor business systems for 17 defense contractors, and interviewed a wide range of DCMA officials."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) the status of the 2001 tax filing season, (2) the status of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) business systems modernization effort, and (3) the security of IRS' electronic filing system. GAO found that although the 2001 filing season appears to be running smoothly, some matters require further attention. For example, IRS has had problems with the personal identification number assigned to electronic filers. Although data indicate that taxpayers are having an easier time reaching IRS to ask questions, concerns persist about the productivity of its telephone assistors. With respect to business systems modernization, GAO has long held that IRS needs to establish fundamental modernization management controls before it begins to build and implement modernized systems. IRS has made some progress in this area, but it is still not where it needs to be. GAO is concerned that IRS is allowing its system acquisition projects to get ahead of its capabilities for managing them. Lastly, GAO's review of IRS' electronic filing systems last year showed that IRS had ineffective controls to ensure the security of those systems and electronically-transmitted taxpayer data. IRS moved promptly to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2008, agencies spent over $300 billion on contracts which include award fees. While many agencies use award fee contracts, over 95 percent of the government's spending using this contract type in fiscal year 2008 occurred at five: the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In December 2007, the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Federal Procurement Policy issued guidance to chief acquisition officers and procurement executives across the government that echoed several recommendations we made in 2005 on the use of award fees and emphasized positive practices to be implemented by all agencies. GAO's statement today is based on our May 29, 2009, report, Federal Contracting: Guidance on Award Fees Has Led to Better Practices But is Not Consistently Applied (GAO-09-630). Like the report, this statement addresses how agencies are implementing OMB's guidance. Specifically, we (1) identified the actions agencies have taken to revise or develop policies and guidance to reflect OMB guidance on using award fees, (2) determined the extent to …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews information system general controls over the financial systems maintained by the Department of the Interior at its National Business Center (NBC) in Denver, Colorado. GAO found that although the Denver center has made progress in correcting previously cited computer security weaknesses, additional weaknesses affect the Denver center's information system control environment. These weaknesses affect the center's ability to prevent and detect unauthorized changes to financial information, control electronic access to sensitive personnel information, and restrict physical access to sensitive computing areas. The Denver center did not adequately limit access granted to authorized users, control all aspects of the system software controls, or secure access to its network. Also, the Denver center had not fully established a comprehensive program to routinely monitor access to its computer facilities and data and to identify and investigate unusual or suspicious access patterns that could indicate unauthorized access. The primary reason for these weaknesses was that the Denver center had not yet fully developed and implemented a comprehensive entitywide program to manage computer security."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Consolidated Appropriations Resolution of 2003 Conference Report mandated that GAO review the Office of Compliance (OOC), an independent legislative branch agency created by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA). OOC, a 15-person office with about $2 million in expenditures during fiscal year 2003, administers and enforces various CAA provisions related to fair employment and occupational safety and health among certain legislative branch agencies. OOC's current Executive Director has been in place since April 2001 and its General Counsel joined the Office in June 2003. The mandate directed GAO to assess the OOC's overall effectiveness and efficiency and to make recommendations, as appropriate."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) schedules and Life-cycle Cost Estimates for the Arizona Border Surveillance Technology Plan (the Plan) reflect some, but not all, best practices. Scheduling best practices are summarized into four characteristics of reliable schedules—comprehensive, well constructed, credible, and controlled (i.e., schedules are periodically updated and progress is monitored). GAO assessed CBP's schedules as of March 2013 for the three highest-cost programs that represent 97 percent of the Plan's estimated cost. GAO found that schedules for two of the programs at least partially met each characteristic (i.e., satisfied about half of the criterion), and the schedule for the other program at least minimally met each characteristic (i.e., satisfied a small portion of the criterion), as shown in the table below. For example, the schedule for one of the Plan's programs partially met the characteristic of being credible in that CBP had performed a schedule risk analysis for the program, but the risk analysis was not based on any connection between risks and specific activities. For another program, the schedule minimally met the characteristic of being controlled in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ferries are a vital component of the U.S. transportation system and 2008 data show that U.S. ferries carried more than 82 million passengers and over 25 million vehicles. Ferries are also potential targets for terrorism in the United States and have been terrorist targets overseas. GAO was asked to review ferry security, and this report addresses the extent to which (1) the Coast Guard, the lead federal agency for maritime security, assessed risk in accordance with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) guidance and what risks it identified; and (2) federal agencies, ferry and facility operators, and law enforcement entities have taken actions to protect ferries and their facilities. GAO reviewed relevant requirements, analyzed 2006 through 2009 security operations data, interviewed federal and industry officials, and made observations at five domestic and one international locations with varying passenger volumes and relative risk profiles. Site visits provided information on security, but were not projectable to all ports. This is the public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in October 2010. Information that DHS deemed sensitive has been redacted."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks raised concerns about the security of Department of Energy (DOE) sites with weapons-grade nuclear material, known as Category I special nuclear material (SNM). To better protect these sites against attacks, DOE has sought to transform its protective forces protecting SNM into a Tactical Response Force (TRF) with training and capabilities similar to the U.S. military. This testimony is based on prior work and has been updated with additional information provided by protective forces' union officials. In a prior GAO report, Nuclear Security: DOE Needs to Address Protective Forces' Personnel System Issues (GAO-10-275), GAO (1) analyzed information on the management, organization, staffing, training, and compensation of protective forces at DOE sites with Category I SNM; (2) examined the implementation of TRF; and (3) assessed DOE's two options to more uniformly manage protective forces; and (4) reported on DOE's progress in addressing protective force issues. DOE generally agreed with the recommendations in GAO's prior report that called for the agency to fully assess and implement, where feasible, measures identified by DOE's 2009 protective forces study group to enhance protective forces' career longevity and retirement …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Mediation Board (NMB) recently updated its strategic plan but is not meeting some federal strategic planning and performance measurement requirements. NMB missed deadlines for updating its strategic plan and lacks performance measures to assess its progress in meeting its goals, even though an agency's strategic plan should form the basis for everything an agency does."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unlike other depository institutions, credit unions are exempt from federal corporate income taxes. Recent legislative and regulatory changes to credit union membership restrictions and allowable products and services have blurred some of the historical distinctions between credit unions and other depository institutions. As a result, some observers have raised questions about whether tax exemption provides credit unions with an advantage over other depository institutions and whether the original basis for tax exemption is still valid. As part of its continuing oversight of the tax-exempt sector, the House Committee on Ways and Means asked GAO to address (1) the historical basis for the tax-exempt status of credit unions; (2) the arguments for and against taxation, including estimates of potential revenue from eliminating the exemption; (3) the extent to which credit unions offer services distinct from those offered by banks of comparable size, and serve low-and moderate-income individuals; and (4) the extent to which credit unions are required to report information on executive compensation and assessments of their internal controls."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Sexual assault is a crime with negative implications to military readiness and esprit de corps. In response to a congressional request, GAO, in 2008, reviewed Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Coast Guard sexual assault prevention and response programs and recommended a number of improvements. GAO was subsequently asked to evaluate the extent to which (1) DOD has addressed GAO's 2008 recommendations and further developed its programs, (2) DOD has established a sexual assault database, and (3) the Coast Guard has addressed GAO's 2008 recommendations and further developed its programs. To do so, GAO analyzed legislative requirements and program guidance, interviewed officials, and compared database implementation efforts to key information technology best practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act requires that all federal agencies with procurement powers establish an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) to advocate for small businesses. Section 15(k)(3) requires that OSDBU directors be responsible only to and report directly to agency or deputy agency heads. GAO was asked to assess agencies' compliance with the reporting structure and identify the functions OSDBUs performed. GAO reviewed compliance with section 15(k)(3) at 16 agencies--the 7 agencies that each procured more than $15 billion in goods and services in 2009 and 9 that it had previously reported were not complying with this requirement. GAO also surveyed the OSDBU directors at 25 agencies that represented more than 98 percent of civilian obligations and 90 percent of DOD obligations in 2009."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the white-collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), focusing on: (1) how shifts in the American economy have affected the exemptions in today's work place; (2) how the regulations underpinning the exemptions have changed in the decades since the enactment of the FLSA; (3) why both employer and employee representatives believe that adjustments are needed to update the regulatory structure; and (4) why the need to balance the interests of both employers and employees suggests that comprehensive review is key to equitable regulatory reform."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the General Services Administration's (GSA) performance report for fiscal year 2000 and its performance plan for fiscal year 2002 to assess GSA's progress in achieving key outcomes important to its mission. GAO found that some goals were met or exceeded and others were not met. For fiscal year 2002, GSA set up a strategy to better meet these goals. Overall, GSA's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 plan were more informative and useful than its report and plan from last year."