A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivery performance standards and results, which are central to its mission of providing universal postal service, have been a long-standing concern for mailers and Congress. Standards are essential to set realistic expectations for delivery performance and organize activities accordingly. Timely and reliable reporting of results is essential for management, over-sight, and accountability purposes. GAO was asked to assess (1) USPS's delivery performance standards for timely mail delivery, (2) delivery performance information that USPS collects and reports on timely mail delivery, and (3) progress made to improve delivery performance information."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) established a goal to achieve total asset visibility (TAV) over 30 years ago, but to date it has been unsuccessful. GAO was requested to (1) determine whether the Army has a systems strategy for achieving TAV, (2) determine if the Army's business system investment governance structure is consistent with DOD guidance, and (3) evaluate the Army's effort to correct previously reported problems with the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP). GAO obtained an understanding of the Army's efforts to achieve TAV, oversee and manage its business system investments, and address previously reported LMP problems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Disability Insurance (DI) program paid almost $123 billion in benefits in fiscal year 2010 to more than 10 million workers and dependents. The program is poised to grow further as the baby boom generation ages. GAO examined (1) what is known about the extent to which SSA makes overpayments to, and recovers overpayments from, DI beneficiaries who exceed program earnings guidelines, and (2) potential DI program vulnerabilities that may contribute to overpayments to beneficiaries who have returned to work. To answer these questions, GAO reviewed work continuing disability review (work CDR) policies and procedures, interviewed SSA headquarters and processing center officials, visited 4 of 8 processing centers, and reviewed a random nongeneralizable sample of 60 CDR case files across those 4 centers (15 from each)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through the New Starts program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) identifies and recommends new fixed-guideway transit projects for funding. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) created a separate program, commonly called Small Starts, which is intended to offer a streamlined evaluation and rating process for smaller-scale transit projects. FTA subsequently introduced a separate eligibility category within the Small Starts program for "Very Small Starts" projects. These are simple, low-risk projects that qualify for a simplified evaluation and rating process. SAFETEA-LU requires GAO to annually review FTA's New Starts process. This report presents information on (1) FTA's fiscal year 2008 funding recommendations, (2) the extent to which the New Starts pipeline has changed over time, and (3) future projected trends for the New Starts and Small Starts pipelines. To address these objectives, GAO surveyed 215 project sponsors--78 percent of which responded--and interviewed FTA officials, 15 project sponsors, and 3 industry groups."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal and state efforts to prevent telephone slamming, which involves switching a consumer's telephone service from one telephone company to another, and cramming, which involves placing unauthorized charges on a consumer's telephone bill for services and products, focusing on the: (1) number of complaints about slamming and cramming received by state and federal authorities; (2) types of protections implemented by state and federal authorities to increase consumers' ability to protect themselves against slamming and cramming; and (3) state and federal enforcement actions taken against slamming and cramming violations since 1996, including the names of the companies or individuals most frequently subject to such actions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to acquire the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system. As required by law, the agency submitted its fiscal year 2007 expenditure plan to congressional appropriations committees, seeking the release of $23.4 million for the development of the system. GAO's objectives in reviewing the expenditure plan were to (1) determine the extent to which the expenditure plan satisfied the legislative conditions specified in the appropriations act; (2) determine the extent to which NARA has implemented GAO's prior recommendations; and (3) provide any other observations about the expenditure plan and the ERA acquisition. GAO reviewed the expenditure plan and analyzed it against the legislative conditions and assessed NARA's progress in addressing prior recommendations. In May 2007, GAO briefed staff of the Senate subcommittee and sent a copy of the briefing to the House and Senate subcommittee staffs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue. Concerned by reports of significant vulnerabilities in federal computer systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), which permanently authorized and strengthened the information security program, evaluation, and reporting requirements for federal agencies. As required by FISMA to report periodically to Congress, in this report GAO discusses the adequacy and effectiveness of agencies' information security policies and practices and agencies' implementation of FISMA requirements. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed agency, inspectors general (IG), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), congressional, and GAO reports on information security."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "About 7,000 Medicaid providers in three selected states (Florida, New York, and Texas) had approximately $791 million in unpaid federal taxes from calendar year 2009 or earlier. This represents about 5.6 percent of the Medicaid providers reimbursed by the selected states during 2009. These 7,000 Medicaid providers with unpaid federal taxes received a total of about $6.6 billion in Medicaid reimbursements during 2009 (including American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [Recovery Act] funds). The amount of unpaid federal taxes GAO identified is likely understated because Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxpayer data reflect only the amount of unpaid taxes either reported on a tax return or assessed by IRS through enforcement; it does not include entities that did not file tax returns or underreported their income."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, allows recipients of federal research funds the option to retain patents on any inventions they create using those funds. At the same time, the act provides the government with rights intended to ensure that the public benefits from these federal research investments. One of these rights is known as the "march-in" authority, which allows federal agencies to take control of a patent when they have credible information that certain conditions described in the act have been met. Until March 2009, the Bayh-Dole Act required GAO to report periodically on its implementation. To meet that requirement, for select federal agencies, GAO reviewed (1) the policies and procedures used to determine whether march-in authority should be exercised; (2) how the march-in authority has been used; and (3) what barriers and disincentives have been encountered in exercising the march-in authority. GAO selected four agencies for this review that accounted for 89 percent of the federal research funding for fiscal year 2006. These were the Departments of Defense and Energy (DOD and DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Institutes …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's acquisition strategy for its Suite of Integrated Infrared Countermeasures Systems, focusing on whether the requirements of the Army's helicopters."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Americans increasingly rely on wireless phones, with nearly 40 percent of households now using them primarily or solely. Under federal law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for fostering a competitive wireless marketplace while ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful practices. As requested, this report discusses changes in the wireless industry since 2000, stakeholders' perceptions of regulatory policies and industry practices, and the strategies FCC uses to monitor competition. To conduct this work, GAO collected and analyzed data and documents from a variety of government and private sources; conducted case studies in both rural and urban areas of four states; and interviewed stakeholders representing consumers, local and state agencies and officials, and various segments of the industry."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) fiscal year 2005 appropriations act provided $39.6 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) program to modernize its information technology (IT) infrastructure. The goals of the program--which consists of seven projects and is referred to as Atlas--include improving information sharing and strengthening security. As mandated by the appropriations act, the department is to develop and submit for approval an expenditure plan for Atlas that satisfies certain legislative conditions, including a review by GAO. In performing its review of the Atlas plan, GAO was asked to (1) determine whether the plan satisfies certain legislative conditions, (2) determine the status of our prior recommendations, and (3) provide any other observations about the plan and management of the program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prepare for forecasted air traffic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in partnership with other federal agencies and the aviation industry, is planning and implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), a new satellite-based air traffic management system that will replace the current radar-based system and is expected to enhance the safety and capacity of the air transport system. GAO was asked to review FAA's metrics for (1) tracking the status of NextGen programs and the implementation of NextGen capabilities, the reliability of those metrics, and any limitations or gaps and (2) measuring the performance and outcomes of NextGen capabilities that are implemented and any limitations. GAO analyzed FAA program progress reports and associated metrics for monitoring. GAO also reviewed agency performance and accountability reports and discussed internal performance reporting methods with FAA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The virtual elimination of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes is a goal shared by the United States and Canada. While some progress has been made, pollution levels remain unacceptably high. The Great Lakes Initiative (GLI) requires stringent water quality standards for many pollutants in discharges regulated by states administering National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit programs. As requested, this report examines the (1) GLI's focus and potential impact on water quality in the Great Lakes Basin, (2) status of GLI's adoption by the states and any challenges to achieving intended goals, and (3) steps taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for ensuring full and consistent implementation of GLI and for assessing progress toward achieving its goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Following the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) significantly reduced its purchases of small and medium caliber ammunition and reduced the number of government-owned plants that produce small and medium caliber ammunition. Since 2000, however, DOD's requirements for these types of ammunition have increased notably. Because the success of military operations depends in part on DOD having a sufficient national technology and industrial base to meet its ammunition needs, Congress asked GAO to review DOD's ability to assess if its supplier base can meet small and medium caliber ammunition needs. Specifically, we (1) identified changes over the past several years that have increased the requirement for small and medium caliber ammunition, (2) assessed the actions DOD has taken to address the increased requirement, and (3) determined how DOD plans to ensure that it can meet future small and medium caliber ammunition needs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oil in aboveground tanks can leak into soil and nearby water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent certain oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in 1973. EPA estimated that, in 2005, about 571,000 facilities were regulated under this rule. When finalizing amendments to the rule in 2002 and 2006 to both strengthen the rule and reduce industry burden, EPA analyzed the amendments' potential impacts and concluded that the amendments were economically justified. As requested, GAO assessed the reasonableness of EPA's economic analyses of the 2002 and 2006 SPCC amendments, using Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines for federal agencies in determining regulatory impacts, among other criteria, and discussed EPA's analyses with EPA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) provides health care through TRICARE--a regionally structured program that uses civilian contractors to maintain provider networks to complement health care provided at military treatment facilities (MTF). In 2004, DOD implemented extensive changes to its TRICARE contracts and regional structure. A committee report accompanying the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 directed GAO to provide information on implementation issues for (1) the new TRICARE contracts and (2) the new regional structure. This report also provides information on the new management tools used to assess (3) contractors' performance and (4) program performance at the MTF and regional levels."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Individuals applying for health insurance are often denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act appropriated $5 billion to create a temporary pool--known as the Pre- Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program--to provide access to insurance for such individuals until new protections take effect in 2014. Twenty-seven states opted to run their own PCIPs, while 23 states and the District of Columbia opted to let the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) run the PCIPs for their residents. Initial projections of total enrollment varied from 200,000 to 375,000, and questions have been raised about funding, implementation, and oversight of this new program. GAO examined (1) PCIP features, premiums, and criteria for demonstrating a pre-existing condition, (2) trends in PCIP enrollment and spending, including administrative costs, and (3) federal oversight activities. GAO reviewed PCIP benefits and rates; interviewed officials from selected state PCIPs, HHS, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which assists HHS in administering aspects of the federally run PCIP; analyzed data provided by HHS and OPM; and examined contracts and interagency agreements. In its comments, HHS emphasized …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Deepwater Program includes efforts to build or modernize ships and aircraft and to procure other capabilities. After a series of project failures, the Coast Guard announced in 2007 that it was taking over the systems integrator role from Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS). At the same time, a $24.2 billion program baseline was established which included schedule and performance parameters at an overall system level. GAO has previously reported on the Coast Guard's progress in establishing individual baselines for Deepwater assets and has made a number of recommendations, which have largely been addressed. In response to the conference report accompanying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act, 2010, GAO assessed (1) DHS and Coast Guard acquisition policies and approach to managing the program, (2) whether the program is meeting the 2007 baseline, and (3) Coast Guard efforts to manage and build its acquisition workforce. GAO reviewed Coast Guard and DHS policies and program documents, and interviewed officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's progress toward its goal of fielding a digitized division by the end of 2000, focusing on: (1) the high-priority systems needed to accomplish the digitization fielding goal; (2) the acquisition status of these high-priority systems; and (3) any performance uncertainties that could confront the Army after its first digitized division is fielded."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent about $1.9 billion--or about 10 percent of its health care budget--to provide nursing home care to veterans in fiscal year 2000. VA will likely see increasing demand for nursing home care during the next decade. The number of veterans age 85 and older is expected to triple--from 422,000 veterans in 2000 to nearly 1.3 million in 2010. Among the very old, the prevalence of chronic health conditions and disabilities increases markedly. In addition, VA is required to provide long-term care to some veterans, which may further increase veterans' demand for nursing home care. Almost 73 percent of VA's nursing home care in fiscal year 2000 went to VA's 134 nursing homes; the rest went to state-owned and operated veterans' nursing homes (15 percent) or to community nursing homes under local or national contract to VA (12 percent). VA generally requires its medical center staff to conduct annual inspections of state veterans' homes and community nursing homes; it also requires monthly staff visits to veterans in community nursing homes. However, VA plans to change its oversight of community nursing homes, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined for the 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998 elections the total amount of contributions from gambling interests to: (1) federal candidates, including the total number of federal candidates that accepted those contributions; and (2) national political party committees, as well as separate totals for the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United Nations (U.N.) and its affiliated entities face the dual challenge of attracting and retaining staff who meet the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity while maintaining the international character of the organizations by ensuring equitable geographic balance in the workforce. Nevertheless, U.N. organizations have made slow progress in addressing U.S. concerns about underrepresentation, and, except for the U.N. secretariat in New York, the organizations with representation targets that GAO studied have not achieved equitable employment of Americans since 1992. Although the U.N. organizations are ultimately responsible for achieving fair geographic balance among its member countries, the State Department, in coordination with other U.S. agencies, plays a role in ensuring that the United States is fairly represented. U.N. organizations have not fully developed long-range workforce planning strategies, and neither State nor the U.N. agencies have formal recruiting and hiring action plans to improve U.S. representation in the U.N. system. Without these measures, the United States' ability to even maintain the number of Americans employed in the United Nations could be hampered."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Through the impartial and independent investigation of citizens' complaints, federal ombudsmen provide the public with an informal and accessible avenue of redress. Ombudsmen help federal agencies be more responsive to persons who believe that their concerns have not been dealt with fully or fairly through normal problem-solving channels. A national hazardous waste ombudsman was established at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1984. In recent years, that ombudsman has increasingly investigated citizen complaints referred by Members of Congress. As the number and significance of the ombudsman's investigations have increased, so have questions about the adequacy of available resources and whether other impediments exist to fulfilling the ombudsman's responsibilities. This report (1) compares the national ombudsman's operations with professional standards for independence and other factors and (2) determines the relative roles and responsibilities of EPA's national and regional ombudsmen. GAO found that key aspects of EPA's national hazardous waste ombudsman differ from professional standards for ombudsmen who deal with inquiries from the public. For example, an effective ombudsman must have independence from any person who may be the subject of a complaint or inquiry. However, EPA's national …