A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "How to fund public television has been a concern since the first noncommercial educational station went on the air in 1953. The use of federal funds to help support public television has been a particular point of discussion and debate. This report reviews (1) the organizational structure of public television, (2) the programming and other services that public television provides, (3) the current funding sources for public television, (4) the extent to which public television stations are increasing their nonfederal funding sources and developing new sources of nonfederal support, and (5) the extent to which public television benefits financially from business ventures associated with programming and how this compares with commercial broadcasters. GAO reviewed revenue, membership, and programming data for all public television licensees. GAO also interviewed officials from 54 of public television's 173 licensees, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Public Broadcasting Service, federal agencies, and producers of commercial and public television programming"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Much of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) funding is provided in supplemental appropriations when a disaster is declared, but funds to staff, manage, and operate other FEMA programs and underlying support functions--what GAO refers to as its day-to-day operations--compete with other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal priorities for limited resources. In this environment, FEMA must strategically plan for and manage its day-to-day operations to ensure they efficiently and effectively support the agency's disaster relief mission. To analyze this issue, GAO examined resource trends and management related to FEMA's day-to-day operations from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2000, the Department of Agriculture's Food Stamp Program, administered jointly by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and the states, provided $15 billion in benefits to an average of 17.2 million low-income persons each month. FNS, which pays the full cost of food stamp benefits and half of the states' administrative costs, promulgates program regulations and oversees program implementation. The states run the program, determining whether households meet eligibility requirements, calculating monthly benefits the households should receive, and issuing benefits to participants. FNS assesses the accuracy of states' efforts to determine eligibility and benefits levels. Because of concerns about the integrity of Food Stamp Program payments, GAO examined the states' efforts to minimize food stamp payment errors and what FNS has done and could do to encourage and assist the states reduce such errors. GAO found that all 28 states it examined had taken steps to reduce payment errors. These steps included verifying the accuracy of benefit payments calculated through supervisory and other types of casefile reviews, providing specialized training for food stamp workers, analyzing quality control data to determine causes of errors …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Accessing and retaining high-quality officers in the current environment of increasing deployments and armed conflict may be two of the all volunteer force's greatest challenges. The military services use three programs to access officer candidates: (1) military academies, (2) the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), and (3) Officer Candidate Schools (OCS). In addition to accessing new officers, the services must retain enough experienced officers to meet current operational needs and the services' transformation initiatives. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which the services are accessing and retaining the officers required to meet their needs. GAO also identified steps that the Department of Defense (DOD) and the services have taken and the impediments they face in increasing officers' foreign language proficiency. For this report, GAO examined actual accession and retention rates for officers in fiscal years (FYs) 2001, 2003, and 2005 as well as projections for later years. Also, GAO reviewed documents on foreign language training and plans."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the military to operate in environments contaminated by chemical and biological warfare agents, the Department of Defense (DOD) has developed collective protection equipment to provide a protected environment for group activities. GAO previously reported persistent problems in providing collective protection for U.S. forces in high threat areas overseas. In this report, GAO examined (1) current intelligence assessments of chemical and biological threats, (2) the extent to which DOD has provided collective protection at critical overseas facilities and major expeditionary warfighting assets, and (3) DOD's framework for managing installation protection policies and prioritizing critical installations for funding. In conducting this review, GAO developed criteria to identify critical sites in the absence of a DOD priority listing of such sites in overseas high threat areas--areas at high risk of terrorist or missile attack."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Membership in a terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from owning a gun under current law. Thus, during presale screening of prospective firearms purchasers, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System historically did not utilize terrorist watch list records. However, for homeland security and other purposes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and applicable state agencies began receiving notices (effective February 3, 2004) when such screening involved watch lists records. GAO determined (1) how many checks have resulted in valid matches with terrorist watch list records, (2) procedures for providing federal counterterrorism officials relevant information from valid-match background checks, and (3) the extent to which the FBI monitors or audits the states' handling of such checks."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to security and management weaknesses, in 1999 the Congress created the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy (DOE). NNSA is responsible for the nation's nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactors programs. Since its creation, NNSA has continued to experience security problems, such as unauthorized access to a NNSA unclassified computer system, and cost and schedule overruns on its major projects, such as the National Ignition Facility. GAO reviewed the extent to which NNSA has taken steps to (1) improve security at its laboratories and plants and (2) improve its management practices and revise its organizational structure. To carry out its work, GAO reviewed legislation; NNSA policies, plans and budgets; and interviewed current and former NNSA and DOE officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review Report states that the Department of Defense (DOD) must be prepared to respond to and mitigate the effects of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) attacks at home or overseas. Moreover, the Secretary of Defense directed the U.S. military to define the nature and potential requests for military capabilities needed to respond to 15 National Planning Scenarios issued by the Homeland Security Council. The Army's chemical units are key players in this mission. GAO was asked to evaluate the preparedness of the Army's chemical and biological units, including the extent to which (1) units tasked with providing chemical and biological defense support to combat units and commands are adequately staffed, equipped, and trained and (2) units also tasked with a homeland defense mission--especially National Guard and Reserve units--are adequately prepared for this mission. During this review, we analyzed readiness data and other preparedness indicators for 78 Army chemical units."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "California is the nation's fourth largest producer of crude oil and has the third largest oil refining industry (behind Texas and Louisiana). Because crude oil is a globally traded commodity, natural and geopolitical events can affect its price. These fluctuations affect state revenues because a share of the royalty payments from companies that lease state or federal lands to produce crude oil are distributed to the states. Because there are many varieties and grades of crude oil, buyers and sellers often price their oil relative to another abundant, highly traded, and high quality crude oil called a benchmark. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a light crude oil, is the most commonly used benchmark in the United States. The price difference between a crude oil and its benchmark is commonly expressed as a price differential. In fall 2004, crude oil price differentials between WTI and California's heavier, and generally lower valued, crude oil rose sharply. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which crude oil price differentials in California have fluctuated over the past 20 years and (2) the factors that may explain the recent changes …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the agency responsible for the federal government's human capital initiatives, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must have the capacity to successfully guide human capital transformations necessary to meet the governance challenges of the 21st century. Given this key role, GAO was asked to assess OPM's capacity to lead further reforms. In June 2006, GAO testified on several management challenges that OPM faces. This report--the second in a series--supplements that testimony and, using the new senior executive performance-based pay system as a model for understanding OPM's capacity to lead and implement reform, identifies lessons learned that can inform future reforms. GAO analyzed relevant laws and documents, and obtained views from the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council and human resource directors, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staff, and OPM officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Archer-Shaw Social Security reform proposal, focusing on: (1) the extent to which the proposal achieves sustainable solvency and how it would affect the U.S. economy and the federal budget; (2) the balance struck between the twin goals of income adequacy (level and certainty of benefits) and individual equity (rates of return on individual contributions); and (3) how readily such changes could be implemented, administered, and explained to the public."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) shift to a risk-informed regulation, focusing on the: (1) views of NRC's staff on the quality of the work that NRC performs, the management of and staff's involvement in changes occurring in the agency, and the move to a risk-informed regulatory approach; and (2) status of NRC's efforts to develop a strategy to implement a risk-informed regulatory approach."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has an annual, governmentwide procurement goal of at least five percent for small disadvantaged businesses (SDB). SDBs are eligible for various price and evaluation benefits when being considered for federal contract awards. SDB firms must have their SDB status certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Because of concerns over reports that fewer businesses were receiving SDB certification than expected, GAO examined the SBA certification processes to (1) determine the number of businesses that SBA had certified as socially and economically disadvantaged since the implementation of the Small Disadvantaged Business Certification program and (2) obtain views on reasons for the current difference in the number of SDB certifications from the number that had previously self-certified as SDBs. SBA records show that 9,034 small business firms were certified as SDBs as of August 24, 2000. According to SDB officials, 6,405 of these were automatically certified because of their 8(a) certification. The number of SDBs that have been certified by SBA is significantly lower than the 30,000 projected by SBA based on the number of firms that had self-certified as SDBs. Possible reasons for this …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To improve acquisition outcomes, in 1997 the District established the Office of Contracting and Procurement under the direction of a newly created chief procurement officer (CPO). Since then, the District's inspector general and auditor have identified improper contracting practices. This report examines whether the District's procurement system is based on procurement law and management and oversight practices that incorporate generally accepted key principles to protect against fraud, waste, and abuse. GAO's work is based on a review of generally accepted key principles identified by federal, state, and local procurement laws, regulations, and guidance. GAO also reviewed District audit reports and discussed issues with current and former District officials as well as select state and local officials."

This report expressed growing concerns about America's ability to compete in the technological global market place.

The report discusses the factors affecting airport and airspace capacity, Impact of Under-capacity on flight Operations and Impact on congestion on aviation safety.

On April 6, 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a final rulemaking for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and light duty trucks beginning with model year (MY) 2008. The rule restructures the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program for light trucks to establish standards based upon vehicle size, as opposed to the current program with one average standard for all light trucks. It marks a significant change to the CAFE program for trucks.

This report provides information about the Implications of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit for Dual Eligibles and State Medicaid Programs. The report states the changes to eligibility for dual eligibles, changes to the scope of prescription coverage of the drugs.

This report discusses the brownfields tax incentive, which expires on December 31, 2007. Enacted in 1997, the provision allowed a taxpayer to fully deduct the costs of environmental cleanup in the year the costs were incurred, rather than spreading the costs over a period of years.

This report discusses appropriations for EPA water infrastructure programs, focusing on congressional earmarks in the account that funds these programs. Information on the programmatic history of EPA involvement in assisting wastewater treatment and drinking water projects is provided in two appendixes.

This report summarizes, in chronological order, congressional activity to fund items in the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account since 1987. In appropriations legislation, funding for EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) wastewater assistance is contained in the measure providing funds for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

This report provides context for the debate concerning international population planning based on principles of volunteerism and informed choice that gives participants access to information on all methods of birth control and discusses funding levels.

This report examines what we currently know about preprimary programs, including numbers of children served and their family characteristics; as well as data on the efficacy of preprimary programs in enhancing later learning and other life skills. It also discusses federal programs that serve preschool age children are described, and policy issues which may arise as the federal role in early childhood education.

This report discusses the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA, P.L. 108-173), which added a new Medicare prescription drug benefit, implemented in January 2006. This report focuses on MMA provisions that added a voluntary prescription drug benefit under a new Medicare Part D, and the effect of this new benefit both on individuals who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, and on state Medicaid programs.