A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mission is to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the United States airspace system, commonly referred to as the National Airspace System (NAS). To maintain its ability to effectively carry out this mission FAA embarked, in 1981,on a multi-billion dollar effort to modernize its aging air traffic control (ATC) system, the principle technology component of the NAS. Yet the NAS modernization has continued to be plagued by cost increases, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. To gain insight into how FAA is meeting its management challenges, congressional requesters asked GAO to evaluate FAA's processes for making IT investment management decisions. The objectives of this review included (1) evaluating FAA's capabilities for managing its IT investments and (2) determining what plans, if any, the agency might have for improving these capabilities."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In light of GAO's November 2003 report highlighting significant pay problems experienced by Army National Guard soldiers mobilized to active duty in support of the global war on terrorism and homeland security, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Reserve soldiers provided assurance that such payments are accurate and timely. GAO's audit used a case study approach to focus on controls over three key areas: processes, people (human capital), and automated systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of borrowers consolidating their federal student loans has increased substantially in recent years, with the total amount of loans being consolidated rising from $13 billion in fiscal year 1999 to over $41 billion in fiscal year 2003. This increase in consolidation loan volume and recent interest rate trends have increased the overall estimated long-term cost to the federal government of providing consolidation loans under the Department of Education's (Education) two major student loan programs--the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). GAO is providing information on (1) the differences that exist between FFELP and FDLP consolidation loans and borrowers, (2) the extent to which borrowers with student loans under one program obtain consolidation loans under the other, and (3) how FFELP and FDLP borrower and loan characteristics and the movement of loans between the two programs are incorporated into Education's budgetary cost estimates for consolidation loans."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past few years, several food recalls, such as for beef and peanut products, have affected schools. It is especially important that recalls affecting schools be carried out efficiently and effectively because young children have a higher risk of complications from food-borne illnesses. GAO was asked to determine how federal agencies (1) notified states and schools about food recalls, (2) advised states and schools about disposal and reimbursement of recalled food, and (3) ensured that recalls were being carried out effectively. To do this, GAO reviewed and analyzed relevant documents and interviewed federal and state officials, as well as officials from 23 school districts that had experience with at least one of four recent cases involving the safety of food in the school lunch program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has continuing interest in commercial activities in U.S. public schools. These include product sales, advertising, market research, and the commercial use of personal data about students (such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers) by schools. To update information about commercial activities in schools, Congress asked us to answer the following questions: (1) Since 2000, what statutes and regulations have states enacted and proposed to govern commercial activities in schools? (2) To what extent have districts developed policies implementing amended provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) in the No Child Left Behind Act on the use of student data for commercial purposes? (3) What guidance has the Department of Education (Education) disseminated? To answer these questions, we researched state laws, surveyed a national sample of school districts, analyzed policies provided by districts, interviewed officials at Education, and examined its guidance. In addition, we updated findings from the districts we visited in 2000."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Last year, employer-sponsored group health plans (EGHP) were responsible for most of the nearly $183 million in outstanding Medicare secondary payer (MSP) debt. MSP debts arise when Medicare inadvertently pays for services that are subsequently determined to be the financial responsibility of another. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administers Medicare with the assistance of about 50 contractors that, as part of their duties, are required to recover MSP debt. GAO was asked to determine whether Medicare contractors are appropriately recovering MSP debt. GAO (1) assessed the cost-effectiveness of the current debt recovery system and (2) identified CMS's plans to enhance the recovery process. GAO analyzed workload and budget information and assessed plans to develop a new debt recovery system--the Recovery Management and Accounting System (ReMAS)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To take a more complete and accurate count of the nation's population in the 2000 Census, the Bureau of the Census partnered with other federal agencies, as well as with state, local, and tribal governments; religious, community, and social service organizations; and private businesses. According to the Bureau, about 140,000 organizations participated in the partnership program by assisting in such critical activities as reviewing and updating the Bureau's address list, encouraging people--especially hard-to-count populations--to participate in the census, and recruiting temporary census employees. GAO found that the Bureau spent about $142.9 million on its partnership program, or about two percent of the estimated $6.5 billion the Bureau allocated for the census and an average of about $1.19 for each of the 120 million households that the Bureau estimates are in the nation. The Bureau staffed the partnership program with 594 full-time positions, of which 560 were allocated to the field, while the remaining slots were located in the Bureau's headquarters. Decisions on which organizations to partner with and what events to attend were governed by unwritten guidelines and criteria and were driven by the Bureau's desire …

A chapter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1981, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been working to modernize its aging air traffic control (ATC) system. Individual projects have suffered cost increases, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls of large proportions, leading GAO to designate the program a high-risk information technology initiative in 1995. Because the program remains a high risk initiative, GAO was requested to assess FAA's progress in several information technology management areas. This report, one in a series responding to that request, has two objectives: (1) to evaluate FAA's capabilities for developing and acquiring software and systems on its ATC modernization program and (2) to assess the actions FAA has under way to improve these capabilities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Developing fire protection standards and testing products against them are critical to promoting fire safety. Business offices, including federal facilities, experience thousands of fires, more than $100 million in property losses, and dozens of casualties each year. Knowing the number and types of fires in the workplace, as well as their causes, is critical to understanding and reducing fire risks. Some private-sector groups track the number and causes of fires in different types of buildings. Such information is used to manage risk and reduce property damage, injuries, and deaths. However, the federal government collects little information on the fire risks in its facilities. As a result, the federal government cannot provide standards-development organizations with timely information that could be used to develop or revise fire safety standards, testing procedures, and certification decisions. Collecting and analyzing such data would help the government to better protect its employees and would contribute to the production of better standards to protect the public from fire."

This report looks at ways to overhaul the Social Security system due to a projected lack of system funds, which are estimated to become exhausted in 2041.

This report provides background on the revised environmental rules, the previous Clean Water Act rules and the Clinton Administration proposal, and perspectives of key interest groups on the proposal and final regulations.

This report discusses the legislative oversight that is most commonly conducted through congressional budget, authorization, appropriations, confirmation, and investigative processes, and, in rare instances, through impeachment.

This report consists of California's waiver request to control greenhouse gases under the clean air act.

This report briefly describes the Agriculture Committees' jurisdiction over forestry, with examples of legislation addressed by the committees. It discusses forestry issues likely to be debated in the upcoming farm bill and presents information on the forestry provisions in the Administration's proposal for the 2007 farm bill, followed by the forestry provisions in the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (H.R. 2419).

This report examines the issues surrounding the Walter Reed public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A- 76 and its potential impact on future Department of Defense (DOD) competitions.

This report discusses the foreign tax credit's interest allocation rules, which alleviate the double-taxation that would result if U.S. investors' overseas income were to be taxed by both the United States and a foreign country.

This report examines the extent of price increases in gasoline and oil, focuses on the linkage between the two, and analyzes the causes of the price increases, and the likelihood that they might be reversed through market responses, or policy measures.

This report provides a brief explanation on tax credit bonds (TCBs). The first section of this report examines the mechanics of TCBs in more detail. The second section of this report analyzes the market for TCBs relative to municipal and corporate bonds.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This mandated report responds to Congressional concerns that provisions in section 43 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) are not being enforced. Since 1991, section 43 has required, among other things, depository institutions lacking federal deposit insurance to conspicuously disclose that deposits in these institutions are not federally insured. GAO's objectives were to (1) determine the current status of the enforcement of provisions in section 43; (2) determine the extent of compliance with each provision and the potential impact on consumers if the provisions were not enforced; and (3) evaluate which federal agency could most effectively enforce the provisions."

The report first examines several benefit-constraint options. Among them are raising the age at which full Social Security retirement benefits can be received, changing the way initial benefits are computed, and constraining cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). It also illustrates the effects of creating new personal savings accounts and presents their projected impact as a supplement to, or partial replacement of, the existing system, or as a means to close the gap between the benefit levels promised by the existing system and what can be paid under its projected future income. Finally, because across-the-board cuts may be seen as too severe for several types of recipients, other options that would ameliorate their effects, including one that would raise revenue, are also illustrated.

This report describes the various forms of tax conduit organizations found in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), or the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations and discusses how the form of organization affects the tax situation of the owners. It is organized according to the major types of conduit organization.

This report discusses the radio frequency spectrum that is used for all forms of wireless communications, including cellular telephony, paging, personal communications service, radio and television broadcast, telephone radio relay, aeronautical and maritime radio navigation, and satellite command and control. The issues discussed here refer principally to spectrum management for terrestrial technologies.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security program (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, or OASDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and provides administrative support to Medicare and several other federal programs. Total SSA spending in FY2008 was about $658 billion, about 99% of which was mandatory spending on benefit payments. This report focuses on SSA’s administrative spending, which is discretionary and amounts to about 1% of SSA’s total spending. This funding is provided in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.

This report provides a brief background of the history leading up to the litigation, a review of the issues that have proven so difficult for the judiciary to resolve, and a brief description of the method used by the trial court to determine the amount of the restitution.