Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-08-81G, Audit Manual: Volume 1, Exposure Draft, October 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 entities. The FAM is a key tool for enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "About 75 percent of casualties in current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are attributed to improvised explosive devices (IED). To mitigate the threat from these weapons, the Department of Defense (DOD) initiated the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, which uses a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field the vehicles. In May 2007, the Secretary of Defense affirmed MRAP as DOD's single most important acquisition program. To date, more than $22 billion has been appropriated to acquire more than 15,000 MRAP vehicles, and about 6,600 of the vehicles have been fielded. In view of the importance of this program and the significant cost involved, Congress asked us to (1) describe DOD's approach for and progress in implementing its strategy for rapidly acquiring and fielding MRAP vehicles, and (2) identify the challenges remaining for the program."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2006, we reported on significant internal control deficiencies related to contractor payments and property accountability associated with the development of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Trilogy information technology (IT) modernization project. In that audit, we found FBI's invoice review and approval process did not provide an adequate basis to verify that goods and services billed were actually received and that amounts billed were appropriate. We also found that FBI relied extensively on Trilogy contractors to purchase and account for Trilogy equipment without controls or data to verify the accuracy and completeness of the contractor records. Additionally, once FBI took possession of the Trilogy equipment, it did not have adequate controls to safeguard those assets. FBI is now acquiring and deploying a new automated case management system, known as Sentinel, to replace the case management system that was to be delivered as part of the Trilogy project. Sentinel is being developed in four phases at an estimated cost of $425 million and is scheduled to be completed in May 2010. Phase 1 of the project was completed in June 2007. In light of the problems we …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, are estimated to have resulted in insured losses amounting to $32.5 billion. Subsequent to the attacks, insurers largely stopped offering terrorism insurance coverage to commercial property owners, which raised significant concerns about potential negative economic consequences. To help restore confidence and stability in property insurance markets, Congress enacted and the President signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA). Under TRIA, the federal government assumed significant responsibility for the potential insured financial losses associated with future terrorist attacks. While TRIA, which was reauthorized in 2005 and again in 2007, has been credited with stabilizing markets for commercial property insurance, some building owners, Members of Congress, and other industry participants remain concerned that there may still be gaps in coverage. In particular, they have expressed concerns about the ability of policyholders located in large urban areas that are viewed as being at high risk of attack to obtain terrorism insurance coverage. Under the 2007 statute that reauthorized TRIA coverage, GAO was required to conduct a study …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, Congress directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a comprehensive policy to prevent and respond to sexual assaults involving servicemembers. Though not required to do so, the Coast Guard has established a similar program. This statement addresses the extent to which DOD and the Coast Guard (1) have developed and implemented policies and programs to prevent, respond to, and resolve sexual assault incidents involving servicemembers; (2) have visibility over reports of sexual assault; and (3) exercise oversight over reports of sexual assault. This statement draws on GAO's preliminary observations from an ongoing engagement examining DOD's and the Coast Guard's programs to prevent and respond to sexual assault. In conducting its ongoing work GAO reviewed legislative requirements and DOD and Coast Guard guidance, analyzed sexual assault incident data, and obtained through surveys and interviews the perspective on sexual assault matters of more than 3,900 servicemembers stationed in the United States and overseas. The results of GAO's survey and interviews provide insight into the implementation of the programs but are nongeneralizable. GAO expects to issue its final report in August 2008 and to make a number of …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in four Americans lives within 3 miles of a hazardous waste site. To clean up these highly contaminated sites, the Congress established the Superfund program under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980. EPA, the principal agency responsible for administering the Superfund program, has since identified more than 47,000 hazardous waste sites potentially requiring cleanup actions and has placed some of the most seriously contaminated sites on its National Priorities List (NPL). Through the end of fiscal year 2007, EPA had classified 1,569 sites as NPL sites. Cleanup efforts at NPL sites are typically expensive and can take many years. There are two basic types of cleanup actions: (1) removal actions--generally short-term or emergency cleanups to mitigate threats--and (2) remedial actions--generally long-term cleanup activities. Among other efforts, EPA may respond to and provide technical support for emergency actions, collect and analyze site data, and design and construct remedies, or oversee the work of others. However, the parties responsible for contributing to the contamination of a hazardous waste site are also primarily responsible for conducting or paying …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Public safety concerns require that criminal history records and the systems that maintain them be accurate, complete, and accessible. Such records and systems enable local, state, and federal authorities, among other things, to identify individuals prohibited from purchasing firearms or ineligible to hold positions of responsibility involving children, the elderly, or disabled; enable criminal justice agencies to make decisions prosecuting and sentencing offenders; assist in completing background checks; and assist law enforcement officials in criminal investigations. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) administers the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). The goal of the NCHIP grant program is to improve the nation's safety and security by enhancing the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information and by ensuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and noncriminal justice background check systems. This report responds to a provision in the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, which requires us to review certain grant funding related to criminal history records. Specifically, this report provides information on grant funds awarded by BJS, updates certain information from our 2004 report on progress made in improving national criminal …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Navy is about to begin construction of the first Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG 1000) amid considerable uncertainties and a high likelihood of cost and schedule growth. Significant cost growth and schedule delays are persistent problems that continue to compromise the Navy's shipbuilding goals. This testimony focuses on (1) the challenges faced by the DDG 1000 program and (2) the strain such challenges portend for long term shipbuilding plans."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States faces potentially dangerous biological threats that occur naturally or may be the result of a terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is developing two major initiatives to provide early detection and warning of biological threats: the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC), a center for integrating and coordinating information on biological events of national significance, and the BioWatch program that operates systems used to test the air for biological agents. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 requires DHS to establish a fully operational NBIC by September 30, 2008. This statement discusses the status of DHS's efforts to (1) make NBIC fully operational by the mandated deadline, and (2) improve the BioWatch program's technology. GAO's preliminary observations of these two programs are based on our ongoing work mandated by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to review U.S. biosurveillance efforts. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed related statutes; federal directives; and DHS planning, development, and implementation documents on these two initiatives. We also interviewed DHS program officials to obtain additional information about NBIC and BioWatch. DHS reviewed …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States and the international community have stressed that a coordinated response is required to address the global threat from transnational terrorism. Multilateral engagements provide opportunities to foster relationships with traditional and nontraditional partner countries. Partnerships also can raise common awareness of the threat and build the trust necessary to share information that could prevent and detect terrorist acts. GAO convened a forum on April 22, 2008, to advance the dialogue on how partnerships can mitigate the conditions that foster transnational terrorism and to identify potential strategies for overcoming challenges faced in engaging in such partnerships. Participants included representatives from U.S. government agencies, foreign embassies, nongovernmental and multilateral organizations, policy institutes, the private sector, and academia. The forum focused on (1) the partnership efforts and key practices of the U.S. government and its partners, (2) challenges to these efforts and practices, and (3) strategies to overcome the challenges. Comments expressed during the proceedings do not necessarily represent the views of all participants, the organizations they represent, or GAO. Participants reviewed a draft of this summary, and their comments were incorporated, as appropriate."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Millions of state and local government employees are promised pension benefits when they retire. Although these benefits are not subject, for the most part, to federal laws governing private sector benefits, there is a federal interest in ensuring that all American have a secure retirement, as reflected in the special tax treatment provided for private and public pension funds. Recently, new accounting standards have called for the reporting of liabilities for future retiree health benefits. It is unclear what actions state and local governments may take once the extent of these liabilities become clear but such anticipated fiscal and economic challenges have raised questions about the unfunded liabilities for state and local retiree benefits, including pension benefits. GAO was asked to report on (1) the current structure of state and local government pension plans and how pension benefits are protected and managed, and (2) the current funded status of state and local government pension plans. GAO spoke to a wide range of public experts and officials from various federal and nongovernmental entities, made several site visits and gathered detailed information about state benefits, and analyzed self-reported data on …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to implement a system to physically screen 100 percent of cargo on passenger aircraft by August 2010. To fulfill these requirements, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) TSA is developing the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP), which would allow the screening of cargo to occur prior to placement on an aircraft. This testimony addresses four challenges TSA may face in developing a system to screen 100 percent of cargo: (1) deploying effective technologies; (2) changing TSA air cargo screening exemptions; (3) allocating compliance inspection resources to oversee CCSP participants; and (4) securing cargo transported from a foreign nation to the United States. GAO's comments are based on GAO products issued from October 2005 through February 2008, including selected updates conducted in July 2008."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The private sector is increasingly involved in financing and operating highway facilities under long-term concession agreements. In some cases, this involves new facilities; in other cases, firms operate and maintain an existing facility for a period of time in exchange for an up-front payment to the public sector and the right to collect tolls over the term of the agreement. In February 2008 GAO reported on (1) the benefits, costs, and trade-offs of highway public-private partnerships; (2) how public officials have identified and acted to protect the public interest in these arrangements; and (3) the federal role in highway public-private partnerships and potential changes in this role. The Senate Finance Committee asked GAO to testify on this report and to highlight its discussion of tax issues. GAO reviewed the experience of projects in the U.S. (including the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road agreements), Australia, Canada, and Spain."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's economic vitality and the quality of life of its citizens depend significantly on the availability, dependability, and security of its surface transportation network. Our nation has built a vast surface transportation system of roads, railways, ports, and transit systems that facilitate commerce and improve our quality of life. The flow of people and goods is enormous: The nation moved about 5 trillion ton miles of freight and 5 trillion passenger miles of people in 2004. In total, about 4 million miles of roads, 117,000 miles of rail, 600,000 bridges, 19,000 airports, 11,000 miles of transit lines, and 500 train stations make up the surface transportation network. For the past several decades, demand has outpaced the capacity of the surface transportation system, and population growth, technological change, and the increased globalization of the economy will further strain the system. For example, according to the Transportation Research Board, an expected population growth of 100 million people could double the demand for passenger travel. Moreover, this population growth will be concentrated in certain regions and states, intensifying the demand for transportation in these areas. Likewise, freight traffic is projected …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report formally transmits a briefing in response to Senate Report No.110-77, which accompanied the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The Senate Report directed GAO to review the department's efforts to prevent, identify, investigate, and report Antideficiency Act (ADA) violations and disciplinary actions taken when violations occur. On July 22, 2008, we provided our preliminary observations to staff of Congressional committees in response to the mandate. We will be reporting details on the information presented in the briefing in a future report."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A buildup of foreign debt throughout the 1970s and 1980s--combined with low growth, falling commodity prices, and other economic difficulties--left many poor countries with significantly more debt than they could repay. International efforts to provide debt relief to 41 such heavily indebted poor countries have been ongoing for over a decade, and these efforts culminated in the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), which was announced in 2005. MDRI eliminates eligible debt that countries owe to four international financial institutions--the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank's African Development Fund (ADF), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB). To receive MDRI debt relief, countries must first complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which the World Bank and IMF created in 1996 to relieve the debt burden of poor countries. In response to concerns over the continuing vulnerability of these countries, the World Bank and IMF enhanced the initiative to provide additional debt relief in 1999. Recognizing that recipient countries needed further assistance, MDRI was created to help accelerate countries' progress toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Of the …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the passage of the General Mining Act of 1872, miners have extracted billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, copper, and other hardrock (locatable) minerals from federal lands without having to pay a royalty. Congress is now considering amending the General Mining Act to, among other things, assess a royalty to ensure that the public is compensated for hardrock minerals extracted from federal lands, as more recently enacted laws require for oil, gas, and other minerals. The vast majority of the federal lands where hardrock mining operations occur are in 12 western states, including Alaska (hereafter referred to as the 12 western states). These western states have statutes governing hardrock mining operations on lands in their state. However, unlike the federal government, these states charge royalties that allow them to share in the proceeds from hardrock minerals extracted from state-owned lands. In addition, most of these states charge taxes, such as severance taxes, mine license taxes, or resource excise taxes, on hardrock mining operations that occur on private, state, and federal lands. Although states may use similar names for functional royalties they assess, there can be wide …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report formally transmits a briefing in response to section 1045 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The Act required GAO to review and report on the adjudication of claims filed as a result of the 2003 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of Butterbaugh v. Department of Justice. In that case, the Court decided that federal employees who are members of the military reserves should not have been charged military leave for reserve duty days that occurred outside their civilian work schedule. Under existing federal law, employees are entitled to seek restoration of leave or monetary compensation. On July 8, 16, and 22, 2008, we provided briefings on the status of the adjudication of such claims by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and selected other agencies to cognizant committee staff to satisfy the mandate. Based on the results of our review, we are not making any recommendations for agency action."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "New Orleans faces many challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina including the challenge of reestablishing the health care system and hospitals within the system. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005, and the subsequent flooding caused by the failure of the New Orleans levee systems, resulted in the sudden closure, damage, or disruption in services at many of the New Orleans hospitals. On August 1, 2007, officials representing five New Orleans hospitals that have been the main health care providers in the region since the hurricane, testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The officials stated that since the hurricane they have experienced significant operating losses and that they expect the losses to continue. The official from one of the hospitals that was designated to present an overview of the specific problems facing the five hospitals stated in his testimony that the hospitals expected to experience a combined operating loss of $135 million in calendar year 2007. This operating loss estimate was calculated using operating revenue and expense amounts for all five hospitals for January through May 2007 …

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-08-82G, Financial Audit Manual: Volume Two, Exposure Draft--October 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 entities. The FAM is a key tool for enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2008, we issued our opinions on the calendar year 2007 financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and the FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF). We also issued our opinion on the effectiveness of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and compliance as of December 31, 2007, and our evaluation of FDIC's compliance with provisions of selected laws and regulations for the two funds for the year ended December 31, 2007. The purpose of this report is to present issues identified during our audits of the 2007 financial statements regarding certain internal controls and accounting procedures and to recommend actions to address these issues. Although these issues were not material in relation to the financial statements, we believe that they warrant management's attention. We are making five recommendations for strengthening FDIC's internal controls and accounting procedures. We conducted our audits in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Reserve Board's (FRB) Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 (ECOA), generally prohibits lenders from collecting certain data from loan applicants, such as their race or gender, for nonmortgage loans (e.g., small business loans). FRB has stated that this provision of Regulation B minimizes the chances that lenders would use such data in an unlawful and discriminatory manner. However, others argue that the prohibition limits the capacity of researchers and regulators to identify possible discrimination in nonmortgage lending. This testimony is based on the GAO report, Fair Lending: Race and Gender Data Are Limited for Nonmortgage Lending (GAO-08-698, June 27, 2008). Specifically, GAO analyzes (1) studies on possible discrimination in nonmortgage lending and the data used in them, (2) FRB's 2003 decision to retain the prohibition of voluntary data collection, and (3) the benefits and costs of a data collection and reporting requirement. For this work, GAO conducted a literature review; reviewed FRB documents; analyzed issues involving the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which requires lenders to collect and publicly report data on personal characteristics for mortgage loan applicants; and interviewed FRB …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Members of the Committee requested that GAO provide additional comments to a number of post-hearing questions after GAO testified before the Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Preparedness for Catastrophic Disasters. The responses are generally based on work associated with previously issued GAO products, which were conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Because the responses are based on prior work, we did not obtain comments from DHS."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On May 22, 2008, we testified before the Congressional subcommittee at a hearing on Security Clearance Reform. This letter responds to three questions for the record. (1) Has GAO noted any efforts in the Joint Reform Team report to address the quality of investigative and adjudicative work and if not, can GAO suggest some steps that might be taken? (2) Since the Department of Defense (DOD) was put on GAO's high-risk list, GAO has been recommending DOD develop methods to better forecast long-term funding needs for the clearance process. What are GAO's thoughts on the steps taken by the Defense Security Service (DSS), including its use of a refined web-based survey, to better forecast its workload? (3) What suggestions does GAO have for the Joint Reform Team and Congress as we move forward with plans to reform the security clearance process?"