A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Deficiencies exposed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007 served as a catalyst compelling the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to address a host of problems for wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers and veterans as they navigate through the recovery care continuum. This continuum extends from acute medical treatment and stabilization, through rehabilitation to reintegration, either back to active duty or to the civilian community as a veteran. In spite of 5 years of departmental efforts, recovering servicemembers and veterans are still facing problems with this process and may not be getting the services they need. Key departmental efforts included the creation or modification of various care coordination and case management programs, including the military services' wounded warrior programs. However, these programs are not always accessible to those who need them due to the inconsistent methods, such as referrals, used to identify potentially eligible servicemembers, as well as inconsistent eligibility criteria across the military services' wounded warrior programs. The departments also jointly established an integrated disability evaluation system to expedite the delivery of benefits to servicemembers. However, processing times for disability determinations …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Established in 1934 to enforce the securities laws and protect investors, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the U.S. securities markets. Pursuant to the Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 2002, SEC is required to prepare and submit to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget audited financial statements. GAO agreed, under its audit authority, to perform the audit of SEC's financial statements to determine whether (1) the financial statements are fairly stated, and (2) SEC management maintained effective internal control. GAO also tested SEC's compliance with selected provisions of significant laws and regulations."

This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) identified three material internal control weaknesses over financial reporting--financial management system functionality, IT security controls, and financial management oversight. VA is developing a new financial system--FLITE--but full implementation is not expected until 2014. Therefore, the Subcommittee asked us to determine whether VA corrective action plans and oversight are appropriately focused on near-term actions to provide improved financial information. This report addresses (1) the nature of the internal control weaknesses identified in the VA fiscal year 2008 financial audit report and how long they have been outstanding, (2) whether VA had plans appropriately focused on near-term corrective actions, and (3) whether VA had appropriate oversight mechanisms in place to help assure that near-term corrective action plans are implemented on schedule. GAO reviewed corrective action plans for significant deficiencies underlying 2 of the 3 material weaknesses and performed additional analysis for two underlying significant deficiencies."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "American workers are increasingly relying on 401(k) plans, which allow pre-tax contributions to individual accounts, for their retirement income. As workers accrue earnings on their investments, they also pay a number of fees that may significantly decrease their retirement savings. Because of concerns about the effects of fees on participants' retirement savings, GAO examined (1) the types of fees associated with 401(k) plans and who pays these fees, (2) how information on fees is disclosed to plan participants, and (3) how the Department of Labor (Labor) oversees plan fees and certain business arrangements. GAO reviewed industry surveys on fees and interviewed Labor officials and pension professionals about disclosure and reporting practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United Nations (UN) estimated in 2005 that renovating its headquarters will cost up to $1.75 billion. As the UN's host country and largest contributor, the United States has a substantial interest in the project's success. In this report, we (1) determine whether the development of the Capital Master Plan (CMP) has been consistent with leading industry practices, (2) examine factors that led to changes in the cost estimate and determine whether the 2005 estimate was updated using industry practices, (3) review the status of financing of the renovation, (4) identify decisions needed for the renovation to proceed, and (5) review UN oversight and State monitoring efforts. To address these objectives, we reviewed UN design and planning documents, including the latest cost estimate, to compare them with industry standards. To assess oversight, we reviewed Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and UN Board of Auditors reports and met with UN officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) created the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and gave it responsibility for, among other things, the supervision and oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 12 federal home loan banks. Specifically, FHFA was assigned responsibility for ensuring that each of the regulated entities operates in a fiscally safe and sound manner, including maintenance of adequate capital and internal controls, and carries out its housing and community development finance mission. HERA also requires FHFA to annually prepare financial statements, and further requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit these statements. Pursuant to HERA's requirement, GAO audited FHFA's fiscal year 2009 financial statements to determine whether (1) the financial statements were fairly stated and (2) FHFA management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting. GAO also tested FHFA's compliance with selected laws and regulations. GAO is not making any recommendations in this report. In commenting on a draft of this report, FHFA noted the challenges it faced in establishing the new agency while working to stabilize the housing market. It noted that it would continue to work …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Women's Business Center (WBC) Program provides training and counseling services to women entrepreneurs, especially those who are socially and economically disadvantaged. In fiscal year 2007, the Small Business Administration (SBA) funded awards to 99 WBCs. However, Congress and WBCs expressed concerns about the uncertain nature of the program's funding structure. Concerns have also been raised about whether the WBC and two other SBA programs, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and SCORE programs, duplicate services. This report addresses (1) uncertainties associated with the funding process for WBCs; (2) SBA's oversight of the WBC program; and (3) actions that SBA and WBCs have taken to avoid duplication among the WBC, SBDC, and SCORE programs. GAO reviewed policies, procedures, examinations, and studies related to the funding, oversight, and services of WBCs and interviewed SBA, WBC, SBDC, and SCORE officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000, Congress authorized the purchase of the Valles Caldera (the Caldera) in north-central New Mexico. The Valles Caldera Trust (Trust), a wholly owned government corporation, is to become financially self-sustaining and to manage the Caldera for multiple purposes while sustaining the land's valuable natural resources. GAO was mandated to assess the progress the Trust is making in meeting its statutory goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since February 2004, GAO has reported that weaknesses in the federal programs and controls that allowed thousands of federal contractors, tax exempt entities, and Medicare providers to receive government money while owing taxes. GAO was asked to determine if these problems exist for entities who receive federal grants or direct assistance and (1) describe the magnitude of taxes owed, (2) provide examples of grant recipients involved in abusive and potentially criminal activity, and (3) assess efforts to prevent delinquent taxpayers from participating in such programs. To perform this work, GAO analyzed data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), three of the largest grant and direct assistance payment systems, representing over $460 billion in payments in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 tenant-based housing program. GAO investigated 20 cases to provide examples of grant recipients involved in abusive activity."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. If FDA identifies a violation of laws or regulations in a DTC advertising material, the agency may issue a regulatory letter asking the drug company to take specific actions. GAO was asked to discuss (1) trends in drug company spending on DTC advertising and other activities; (2) what is known about the relationship between DTC advertising and drug spending and utilization; (3) the DTC advertising materials FDA reviews; (4) the number of regulatory letters that cited DTC materials and FDA's process for issuing those letters; and (5) the effectiveness of these letters at limiting the dissemination of violative DTC advertising. GAO reviewed research literature, analyzed FDA's processes, and examined FDA documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Access to broadband service is seen as vital to economic, social, and educational development, yet many areas of the country lack access to, or their residents do not use, broadband. To expand broadband deployment and adoption, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) provided $7.2 billion to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for grants or loans to a variety of program applicants. The agencies must award all funds by September 30, 2010. This report addresses the challenges NTIA and RUS face; steps taken to address challenges; and remaining risks in (1) evaluating applications and awarding funds and (2) overseeing funded projects. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed relevant laws and program documents and interviewed agency officials and industry stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health care delivery in the United States often lacks coordination and communication across providers and settings. This fragmentation can lead to poor quality of care, medical errors, and higher costs. Providers have formed integrated delivery systems (IDS) to improve efficiency, quality, and access. The Health Care Safety Net Act of 2008 directed GAO to report on IDSs that serve underserved populations--those that are uninsured or medically underserved (i.e., facing economic, geographic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to care, including Medicaid enrollees and rural populations). In October 2009, GAO provided an oral briefing. In this follow-on report, GAO describes (1) organizational features IDSs use to support strategies to improve care; (2) approaches IDSs use to facilitate access for underserved populations; and (3) challenges IDSs encounter in providing care, including to underserved populations. GAO selected a judgmental sample of 15 private and public IDSs that are clinically integrated across primary, specialty, and acute care; they vary in their degree of integration, specific organizational features, and payer mix (e.g., extent to which they serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and the uninsured). GAO interviewed chief medical officers or other system officials …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President's Management Agenda (PMA) focuses attention on ensuring resources entrusted to the federal government are well managed and used wisely. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) developed standards to measure success and a PMA scorecard that gives a "green", "yellow" or "red score" by agency. Green indicates success, yellow indicates mixed results, and red indicates unsatisfactory results. For the Improved Financial Performance Initiative, GAO was asked to (1) study and evaluate OMB's process and criteria for awarding a green score for current status and progress and (2) provide examples of how agency managers use financial data to better manage on a day-to-day basis. To fulfill these objectives, GAO interviewed OMB and agency officials and examined OMB and agency documentation relevant to OMB's scoring process."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, resulting in an estimated 230,000 deaths, including more than 16,000 Haitian government personnel, and the destruction of many ministry buildings. In addition to immediate relief efforts, in July 2010, Congress appropriated $1.14 billion in supplemental funds for reconstruction, most of which was provided to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State (State). USAID and State are administering about $412 million in supplemental and regular fiscal year appropriations for infrastructure construction activities. In May 2011, in response to a congressional mandate, GAO reported on overall U.S. plans for assistance to Haiti. This report addresses infrastructure construction activities, including (1) USAID and State obligations and expenditures; (2) USAID staffing; (3) USAID planning; and (4) potential sustainability challenges USAID faces. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., and Haiti, and visited ongoing and planned construction sites in Haiti.."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Army has begun to transform itself into a more rapidly deployable and responsive force better able to meet the diverse defense challenges of the future. These far-reaching organizational and operational changes, which will affect virtually every aspect of the Army, will take decades to implement. Funding the transformation, from developing future combat systems to modernizing aging equipment, will be difficult. The Army has developed a Transformation Campaign Plan, which is a mechanism for integrating transformation efforts within the Army and for achieving the goal of transforming the Army over 30 years. The Army's Transformation Campaign plan serves as a common frame of reference for officials throughout the Army. It defines transformation goals, sets milestones for achieving them, and assigns lines of responsibilities for each aspect of the plan. The Army has established several forums at various levels to discuss evolving issues and address matters of concern. However, the lack of an overall DOD transformation strategy has led the Army to proceed with its transformation plans solely on the basis of broad departmental guidance rather than a clear understanding of how its efforts fit into an …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To promote U.S. interests in the face of rapid economic, political, technological, and environmental change, 24 federal agencies are engaged in foreign affairs activities at 255 overseas locations in 162 countries. The Department of State is responsible for coordinating and supporting federal agencies' international activities and providing a means for effective interagency information sharing. State is leading a multiagency program to modernize the information technology (IT) environment supporting federal agencies' overseas operations. State is in the early, formative stage of a long-term plan to acquire and deploy a common knowledge management system for overseas-based agencies. This system is to provide basic Internet access and e-mail to mission-critical policy formulation and crisis management support. In the near-term, State is using informal management controls, which are adequate given the department's stated purposes and scope of these activities. However, acquiring and deploying system capabilities for operational use, particularly a system that involves multiple agencies and performs mission-critical functions, requires a much greater level of management discipline than that needed for system prototyping and pilot testing. It is appropriate that State has not yet established these rigorous management controls because …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The impending retirement of the "baby boom" generation is receiving considerable attention. The number of older workers will grow substantially during the next two decades, and they will become an increasingly significant share of the U.S. workforce. Although older workers are less likely than younger workers to lose a job, when they do lose a job, they are less likely than younger workers to find other employment. To retain older workers and extend their careers, some public and a few private employers are providing options, including flexible hours and financial benefits, reduced workloads through the use of part-time or part-year schedules, and job-sharing. Most employers are not yet facing labor shortages or other economic pressures that would require them to consider flexible employment arrangements because the retirement of the baby boom generation will occur gradually during the next several decades."

This report provides a brief overview of the Peace Corps and discusses how the 111th Congress is considering the President's annual funding request for the Peace Corps and efforts to reauthorize the Peace Corps. Current issues for Congress include the extent to which there is available funding for Peace Corps expansion, whether the Peace Corps has the institutional capacity to expand, and whether volunteers are able to function in a safe and secure environment.

This report provides information on the current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) life insurance programs available for servicemembers and veterans, management and administration issues, and associated policy issues and legislation.

Congressional interest in facilitating U.S. technological innovation led to the passage of P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act, commonly referred to as the "Bayh-Dole Act" after its two main sponsors former Senators Robert Dole and Birch Bayh. Under this 1980 law, as amended, title to inventions made with government support is provided to the contractor if that contractor is a small business, a university, or other non-profit institution. This report discusses the rationale behind the passage of P.L. 96-517, its provisions, and implementation of the law.

This report discusses the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which provides economic assistance through a competitive selection process to developing nations that are pursuing political and economic reforms in three areas: ruling justly, investing in people, and fostering economic freedom. This report also discusses several concerns related to MCC implementation, including the level of funding to support MCC programs.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy's four public shipyards--Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard--are critical in maintaining fleet readiness and supporting ongoing operations worldwide. The Navy requests funds for the shipyards' restoration and modernization as infrastructure condition may affect their mission and workforce. GAO was asked to review (1) the extent to which the shipyards have plans for their restoration and modernization needs; (2) the extent to which the Navy has a process to capture and calculate these needs; (3) the Navy's process to prioritize and fund projects to meet these needs; and (4) the extent to which the shipyards resolve infrastructure-related safety, health, and quality-of-life issues. GAO assessed the Navy's shipyard plans against elements of a federal strategic planning framework; evaluated its process for determining its restoration and modernization needs and addressing safety, health, and quality-of-life issues; visited the shipyards; and interviewed Navy command and shipyard officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Security cooperation officials report three major types of challenges--training and workforce structure, defining partner country requirements, and obtaining acquisition and delivery status information--in conducting assistance programs. Ongoing Department of Defense (DOD) reforms address challenges that DOD security cooperation officials reported in meeting staff training needs and achieving the optimum workforce structure. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has also initiated efforts to respond to challenges in developing assistance requests resulting from the limited expertise of partner countries and U.S. Security Cooperation Organization (SCO) staff in identifying country assistance requirements and the equipment that can meet them. However, according to DOD security cooperation officials, information gaps in the acquisition and delivery phases of the security assistance process continue to hinder the effectiveness of U.S. assistance. Nearly all of GAO's focus groups and interviews reported persistent difficulties obtaining information on the status of security assistance acquisitions and deliveries because information systems are difficult to access and contain limited information. DOD's existing delivery tracking system provides only limited data on the status of equipment deliveries because partner country agents and DOD agencies are not entering the needed data into …