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."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2005, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported the discovery of a series of e-mail messages written in the late 1990s by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) employees working under a contract with DOE on the Yucca Mountain Project. These e-mails alerted DOE that USGS workers may have falsified records for scientific work on the project and may have been disdainful of the project's quality assurance program and its requirements. In March 2006, we reported that DOE was engaged in a detailed review of these and other project e-mails and was reworking technical documents to ensure the credibility of the USGS's scientific analyses, particularly its conclusions on water infiltration. At Congress' request, we undertook follow-on work to determine the estimated costs incurred in DOE's response, which also included additional management and quality assurance training for project personnel. We briefed Congressional staff on October 23, 2006, on the results of this work. As Congress requested, we also briefed Congressional staff on the estimated cost of completing the Yucca Mountain Project, based on DOE's new schedule for receiving a license and opening the nuclear waste repository by 2017."

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."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1994, Congress enacted the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act, Pub. L. No. 103-412, recognizing the federal government's fiduciary responsibilities toward American Indians. The act called for more effective management of the Department of the Interior's (Interior) fiduciary responsibilities, required an annual audit of Indian trust funds, and created the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) in Interior. In 1996, the Secretary of the Interior ordered the transfer of responsibility for trust fund management, including preparation of the financial statements of the Tribal and Other Trust Funds and Individual Indian Monies Trust Funds (Indian trust funds), from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to OST. Since then, OST has prepared and independent public accountants have audited the financial statements of the Indian trust funds. The auditors have issued qualified audit opinions each year since 1996 because of inadequacies in Interior's trust-related systems, controls, and processes, disagreements between Interior and the trust funds' beneficiaries on amounts owed, and potential claims against the government. Congress expressed concern about deficiencies identified and reported in the Indian trust funds' annual financial statement audits for fiscal years 1996 through …

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 "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 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."