This report provides an overview of guidelines that have governed planning for Department of Defense (DOD) operations over the last 30 years in the event of a funding lapse. It also discusses the implications of the guidelines for a possible impending shutdown and briefly reviews what is known about current DOD planning for a shutdown.

This report includes a discussion of the impact of women in Congress as well as historical information, including the number and percentage of women in Congress over time, means of entry to Congress, comparisons to international and state legislatures, records for tenure, firsts for women in Congress, women in leadership, and African American and Asian Pacific American women in Congress.

This report includes biographical information, including the names, committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 297 women who have served in Congress.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This month, Hurricanes Ike and Gustav struck the Gulf Coast producing widespread damage and leading to federal major disaster declarations. Earlier this year, heavy flooding resulted in similar declarations in seven Midwest states. In response, federal agencies have provided millions of dollars in assistance to help with short- and long-term recovery. State and local governments bear the primary responsibility for recovery and have a great stake in its success. Experiences from past disasters may help them better prepare for the challenges of managing and implementing the complexities of disaster recovery. GAO was asked to identify insights from past disasters and share them with state and local officials undertaking recovery activities. GAO reviewed six past disasters-- the Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California (1989), Hurricane Andrew in south Florida (1992), the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, California (1994), the Kobe earthquake in Japan (1995), the Grand Forks/Red River flood in North Dakota and Minnesota (1997), and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast (2005). GAO interviewed officials involved in the recovery from these disasters and experts on disaster recovery. GAO also reviewed relevant legislation, policies, and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars annually to clean up nuclear wastes at sites that produced nuclear weapons. Cleanup projects decontaminate and demolish buildings, remove and dispose of contaminated soil, treat contaminated groundwater, and stabilize and dispose of solid and liquid radioactive wastes. Ten of these projects meet or nearly meet DOE's definition of major: costs exceeding $1 billion in the near term--usually a 5-year window of the project's total estimated life cycle. GAO was asked to determine the (1) extent to which the cost and schedule for DOE's major cleanup projects have changed and key reasons for changes, and (2) factors that may hinder DOE's ability to effectively manage these projects. GAO met with project directors and reviewed project documents for 10 major cleanup projects: 9 above the near-term $1 billion threshold, and 1 estimated to cost between $900 million and $1 billion over the near term."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Approximately two-thirds of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) major information technology (IT) investments are meeting their cost and schedule commitments (i.e., goals). Specifically, out of 68 major IT investments in development, 47 were meeting cost and schedule commitments. The remaining 21—which total about $1 billion in spending—had one or more subsidiary projects that were not meeting cost and/or schedule commitments (i.e., they exceeded their goals by at least 10 percent, which is the level at which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers projects to be at increased risk of not being able to deliver planned capabilities on time and within budget.)"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, the Department of Defense (DOD) began an effort to implement a standard departmentwide travel system. The Defense Travel System (DTS) is envisioned as DOD's standard end-to-end travel system. This report is a follow-up to GAO's January 2006, report which highlighted DTS implementation problems. Because of continued congressional interest in DTS, GAO initiated this follow-up audit under the Comptroller General's statutory authority. GAO determined whether (1) two key assumptions made in the September 2003 economic analysis were reasonable, (2) DOD is taking action to ensure full utilization of DTS and gathering the data needed to monitor DTS utilization, and (3) DOD has resolved the previously identified problems with DTS flight information. To address the above objectives, GAO (1) reviewed the September 2003 DTS economic analysis, (2) analyzed DTS utilization data, and (3) analyzed DTS flight information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Drug effectiveness and adverse events can vary between children and adults and among racial and ethnic groups. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is authorized under the pediatric exclusivity provision to grant drug sponsors 6 months of additional exclusive marketing rights for conducting clinical drug studies in children. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act of 2002 (BPCA) expanded this provision to require FDA to take into account the adequacy of minority representation in pediatric exclusivity studies. BPCA also directed GAO to evaluate the representation of minorities in such studies. GAO examined the extent to which minority children are represented, whether drugs that treat diseases disproportionately affecting minority groups are studied under the provision, and FDA's monitoring of the representation of minority children in the studies. GAO reviewed related FDA documents, FDA requests for pediatric studies and final study results, and interviewed FDA officials and other experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The September 11, 2001, attacks significantly affected the financial markets that the U.S. Treasury (Treasury) relies on. To understand how Treasury could obtain funds during a future potential wide-scale financial market disruption GAO examined (1) steps Treasury and others took during the September 11 attacks and after to assure required debt obligations and payments were made on time and ensure liquidity in the markets, (2) major actions Treasury and others have taken since the attacks to increase the resiliency of the auction process, and (3) the opinions of relevant parties on the main design features of any backup funding options. We conducted interviews with Treasury officials and others and reviewed appropriate documents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD), in its response to unconventional threats from terrorists, uses biometrics technologies that identify physical attributes, including fingerprints and iris scans. However, coordinating the development and implementation of biometrics and ensuring interoperability across DOD has been difficult to achieve. Biometrics also is an enabling technology for identity management, a concept that seeks to manage personally identifiable information to enable improved governmentwide sharing and analysis of identity information. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which DOD has established biometrics goals and objectives, implementing guidance for managing biometrics activities, and a designated budget. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed documentation, including DOD biometrics policy and directives, and interviewed key DOD officials involved with making policy and funding decisions regarding biometrics."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Contracting is a prevalent means of providing transit services. About 61 percent of the 463 transit agencies responding to GAO's survey reported they contract out some or all operations and services, while the rest reported that they do not contract out at all. According to GAO's survey, paratransit (services for the disabled), demand response (also known as dial-a-ride), and commuter rail service are most often contracted out, and fixed-route bus, heavy rail, and light rail service are most often operated by the transit agency. Operations are most frequently contracted out, followed by maintenance services. Transit agencies most consistently cite reducing costs as a factor influencing their decision to contract. Contracting can reduce costs because contractors' workforces are more flexible, with more employees working in part-time positions, and lower insurance costs, among other things. Transit agencies also frequently cited starting new service, improving efficiency, and allowing for more flexible service as reasons for contracting. State laws are generally not a reason for contracting, according to GAO's survey. Transit agencies that do not contract most often cited one of these three reasons: desire to maintain control over operations, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Household energy use accounts for nearly one-fourth of all energy consumed in the United States, amounting to more than $200 billion per year spent by consumers. Recent increases in energy prices have heightened consumers' interest in making their households more energy efficient. To this end, the federal government manages two key efforts--EnergyGuide and Energy Star--to inform consumers about the energy consumed by certain household products. EnergyGuide is a mandatory labeling program created under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) and administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with assistance from the Department of Energy (DOE). It requires manufacturers to label and prominently display information about the energy consumption and annual energy costs of 11 categories of household products. In recent years, manufacturers have used adhesive backed labels adhered to appliances and so-called "hang tags" loosely attached to the interior or exterior of appliances. In its August 2007 revisions to the rule, FTC, among other things, prohibited the use of hang tags on the exterior of appliances, but continues to allow them on the inside. The law requires retailers to provide this information in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Senate Report No. 110-77 directed GAO to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) procedures for Antideficiency Act (ADA) violations. GAO focused on whether (1) existing DOD funds control systems, processes, and internal controls provide reasonable assurance that ADA violations will be prevented or detected and whether key funds control personnel are trained; (2) investigations of ADA violations are processed in accordance with applicable DOD regulations; and (3) DOD tracks and reports metrics pertaining to its ADA investigations and what disciplinary actions are taken when ADA violations have occurred. GAO's review included all 54 ADA military service case files closed in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. GAO did not assess the appropriateness of the conclusions reached or of the disciplinary actions taken for the ADA cases."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The ability to produce the financial information needed to efficiently and effectively manage the day-today operations of the federal government and provide accountability to taxpayers continues to be a challenge for most federal agencies. To help address this challenge, the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with (1) federal financial management systems requirements, (2) federal accounting standards, and (3) the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger at the transaction level. FFMIA also requires GAO to report annually on the implementation of the act."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars annually to build and maintain information technology (IT) systems intended to support its mission. For decades, DOD has been challenged in modernizing its systems environment to reduce duplication and increase integration. Such modernizations can be guided by an enterprise architecture--a blueprint that describes an organization's current and target state for its business operations and supporting IT systems and a plan for transitioning between the two states. DOD has long sought to employ enterprise architectures and has defined an approach for doing so that depends in large part on the military departments developing architectures of their own. In light of the critical role that military department enterprise architectures play in DOD's overall architecture approach, GAO was requested to assess the status of the Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy (DON) enterprise architecture programs. To do so, GAO obtained and analyzed key information about each department's architecture relative to the 59 core elements contained in stages 1 through 6 of GAO's Enterprise Architecture Management Maturity Framework."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) provided information on all 12 required reporting elements in its fiscal year 2012 prepositioning report; however, 3 of these elements were only partially addressed. For example, DOD provided a list of non-standard items slated for inclusion in its prepositioned stocks but did not include a specific plan for funding those items as required by the law. Federal internal control standards state that decision makers need complete and relevant information to manage risks and achieve efficiency and effectiveness goals. However, GAO found that DOD's report contained some inconsistencies in information across the services as well as several inaccuracies and omissions. For example, DOD's report included funding information for 6 or 7 fiscal years for most of the services but only 2 fiscal years for the Navy's stocks. Service information was also presented in different formats in the report, which makes it difficult to compare data. Because the Joint Staff did not provide specific guidance to the services to ensure consistency when requesting data, the services adopted separate approaches to reporting information to the Joint Staff for compilation in the report. In addition, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is likely to spend $460 million annually on missiles used as targets for flight tests. Executing these tests depends on the quality and availability of targets. Congress asked GAO to assess (1) if MDA is providing reliable targets; (2) the causes of any deficiencies; and (3) if resolutions exist for any problems identified. To do this, GAO analyzed acquisition policies and procedures; flight test data; and budget, program execution, and acquisition materials; and interviewed MDA and DOD officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For the fiscal year 2014 budget formulation process, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implemented a new process that uses templates to help screen, prioritize, and select new initiatives before detailed business cases are developed to support funding requests. The template information that GAO reviewed varied in detail and scope; for some, IRS guidance may have contributed to incomplete submissions to senior leadership. According to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-94, in order to evaluate and compare funding initiatives, decision-makers need to be aware of benefits, costs, and strategies related to achieving program goals. By improving guidance on the type of data to include, IRS could help ensure the templates are fully completed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Financial Management Service's (FMS) computer controls in fiscal year (FY) 1999, focusing on: (1) the significant weaknesses GAO identified in its limited official use report and the recommendations that GAO had made; and (2) a follow-up on previously reported weaknesses."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) assessment of potential governance options for its Military Health System (MHS) did not provide complete information on the options' total cost impact and their strengths and weaknesses. As part of DOD's assessment, it identified 13 potential governance options for the MHS and included a limited analysis of the options' estimated costs savings and their strengths and weaknesses. All of the options would create a shared services concept to consolidate common services, such as medical logistics, acquisition, and facility planning, under the control of a single entity. DOD selected an option that would create a defense health agency to, among other things, assume the responsibility for creating and managing shared services, and leave the longstanding military chain of command intact with the services in control of the military hospitals. The National Defense Authorization Act (Act) for Fiscal Year 2012 required DOD to submit a report to congressional committees that would, among other things, estimate the cost savings and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each option. Using key principles derived from federal guidance, including cost estimating and economic analysis documents, GAO determined …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To preserve and provide access to all types of electronic records, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been developing an Electronic Records Archive (ERA), including a base system for federal records and a separate system for presidential records, known as the Executive Office of the President (EOP) system. As mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, NARA must submit an expenditure plan to the Congress that satisfies six conditions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which NARA's fiscal year 2008 expenditure plan satisfies the conditions and provide any other observations about the plan and the ERA acquisition. To do this, GAO reviewed the expenditure plan, interviewed NARA and contractor officials, and reviewed additional documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, both domestic and imported produce have been linked to reported outbreaks of foodborne illness. Contamination in produce is of particular concern because produce is often consumed raw. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of both domestic and imported fresh produce. GAO was asked to examine (1) the resources FDA has spent on fresh produce safety and how it has allocated those resources, (2) the effectiveness of FDA's actions to oversee fresh produce safety, and (3) the extent to which FDA's planned actions to enhance fresh produce oversight address identified challenges. For this review, GAO analyzed FDA spending data and estimates and FDA activities data, reviewed FDA plans, and interviewed FDA officials and others."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor (DOL) is in the early stages of implementing several of the 2010 report's recommendations, but implementation of the remaining recommendations has not occurred. The agency has begun to take steps to respond to three of the report's six recommendations: improve interagency collaboration, create an advisory subcommittee for Native American veterans, and conduct a needs assessment. To increase collaboration, DOL has conducted several listening sessions with tribal leadership and begun collaborating with agencies that serve veterans, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, to learn more about how to better serve Native American veterans. With regard to an advisory subcommittee, DOL is developing a proposal to establish a subgroup for Native American veterans on its existing veterans' employment and training advisory committee, and is considering appointing a representative from the Native American veterans' community to serve on that committee. To assess need, DOL has identified a potential source for data within DOD that provides race and ethnicity and address information for returning veterans that could help better target visits to tribal land, but …