Resource Type

The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress (open access)

The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress

In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed a set of domestic source restrictions which became known as the Berry Amendment. Specialty metal represented one of fourteen items previously covered under the Berry Amendment. Congress took action in the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act to move the specialty metal provision from the Berry Amendmgent into a separate section of Title 10. This report examines the specialty metal provision, potential oversight issues for Congress, and options that Congress may choose to consider.
Date: October 5, 2010
Creator: Grasso, Valerie Bailey
System: The UNT Digital Library
Civil Air Patrol: Proposed Agreements With the Air Force Are Intended to Address Identified Problems (open access)

Civil Air Patrol: Proposed Agreements With the Air Force Are Intended to Address Identified Problems

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Civil Air Patrol, focusing on the: (1) nature of the relationship between the Air Force and the Patrol; (2) Air Force's oversight of the Patrol; (3) Patrol's management and oversight of its own activities; and (4) plans to resolve identified problems."
Date: June 5, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Justice Impact Evaluations: One Byrne Evaluation Was Rigorous; All Reviewed Violence Against Women Office Evaluations Were Problematic (open access)

Justice Impact Evaluations: One Byrne Evaluation Was Rigorous; All Reviewed Violence Against Women Office Evaluations Were Problematic

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Discretionary grants awarded under the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Byrne Program help state and local governments make communities safe and improve criminal justice. Discretionary grants awarded under BJA's Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) programs are aimed at improving criminal justice system responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded $6 million for five Byrne Program and five VAWO discretionary grant program evaluations between 1995 and 2001. Of the 10 programs evaluated, all five VAWO evaluations were designed to be both process and impact evaluations of the VAWO programs. Only one of the five Byrne evaluations was designed as an impact evaluation and the other four evaluations were process evaluations. GAO's in-depth review of the four impact evaluations since fiscal year 1995 showed that only one of these--the evaluation of the Byrne Children at Risk Program--was methodologically sound. The other three evaluations, all of which examined VAWO programs, had methodological problems."
Date: March 5, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security: Issues in Comparing Rates of Return With Market Investments (open access)

Social Security: Issues in Comparing Rates of Return With Market Investments

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) examined the estimates of social security's implicit rates of return for different birth years, earning levels, household configurations, and other demographic groupings; (2) examined rates of return available on private market investments; and (3) discussed the issues that arise from comparing social security and market investment returns."
Date: August 5, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: Restated Financial Statements: Agencies' Management and Auditor Disclosures of Causes and Effects and Timely Communication to Users (open access)

Financial Audit: Restated Financial Statements: Agencies' Management and Auditor Disclosures of Causes and Effects and Timely Communication to Users

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO continues to have concerns about restatements to federal agencies' previously issued financial statements. During fiscal year 2005, at least 7 of the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies restated certain of their fiscal year 2004 financial statements to correct misstatements. To study this trend, GAO reviewed the nature and causes of the restatements made by certain CFO Act agencies in fiscal year 2004 to their fiscal year 2003 financial statements. Eleven CFO Act agencies had restatements for fiscal year 2003. Nine of those 11 received unqualified opinions on their originally issued fiscal year 2003 financial statements. GAO's view is that users of federal agencies' financial statements and the related audit reports need to be provided at least a basic understanding of why a restatement was necessary and its effect on the agencies' previously issued financial statements and related audit reports. This report communicates GAO's observations on the transparency and timeliness of the 9 federal agencies' and their auditors' restatement disclosures."
Date: October 5, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oil and Gas: Information on Shale Resources, Development, and Environmental and Public Health Risks (open access)

Oil and Gas: Information on Shale Resources, Development, and Environmental and Public Health Risks

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Estimates of the size of shale oil and gas resources in the United States by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Potential Gas Committee--three organizations that estimate the size of these resources--have increased over the last 5 years, which could mean an increase in the nation's energy portfolio. For example, in 2012, EIA estimated that the amount of technically recoverable shale gas in the United States was 482 trillion cubic feet--an increase of 280 percent from EIA's 2008 estimate. However, according to EIA and USGS officials, estimates of the size of shale oil and gas resources in the United States are highly dependent on the data, methodologies, model structures, and assumptions used to develop them. In addition, less is known about the amount of technically recoverable shale oil than shale gas, in part because large-scale production of shale oil has been under way for only the past few years. Estimates are based on data available at a given point in time and will change as additional information becomes available. In addition, domestic shale oil and gas production has experienced substantial growth; …
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview (open access)

Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview

This report describes perjury under federal law, including a definition as well as in-depth explorations of the three general federal perjury laws. This report is available in abbreviated form - without footnotes, quotations, or citations - as CRS Report 98-807, Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements.
Date: November 5, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Issues to Be Considered as DOD Modernizes Its Fleet of Tactical Wheeled Vehicles (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Issues to Be Considered as DOD Modernizes Its Fleet of Tactical Wheeled Vehicles

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is acquiring two new tactical wheeled vehicles (TWV): the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The $12.5 billion M-ATV is for use in Afghanistan; JLTV is the future replacement for vehicles like the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). GAO was asked to assess (1) DOD's progress in rapidly acquiring and fielding M-ATVs, (2) JLTV's expected features and cost compared to other TWV, and (3) the extent to which the current plans for M-ATV and JLTV are consistent with the services' TWV investment strategies. GAO reviewed documents and held discussions with key officials to determine program strategies, costs, performance, and anticipated features; and compared M-ATV and JLTV plans with service strategies."
Date: November 5, 2010
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements (open access)

Perjury Under Federal Law: A Sketch of the Elements

This report discusses the three general federal perjury laws. This report is an abbreviated version of CRS Report 98-808, Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview, by Charles Doyle, stripped of most footnotes, quotations, citations, and bibliography.
Date: November 5, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Equal Employment Opportunity: DOD's EEO Pilot Program Under Way, but Improvements Needed to DOD's Evaluation Plan (open access)

Equal Employment Opportunity: DOD's EEO Pilot Program Under Way, but Improvements Needed to DOD's Evaluation Plan

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Delays in processing of equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaints have been a long-standing concern. In 2000, as part of the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2001 authorization act, Congress authorized DOD to carry out a 3-year pilot program for improving processes to resolve complaints by civilian DOD employees by testing procedures that would reduce EEO complaint processing times and eliminate redundancy, among other things. The act requires two reports from GAO--90 days after the first and last fiscal years of the pilot program's operation. In December 2005 and January 2006, we provided briefings on our initial review of the pilot program. This report (1) describes key features and status of the three programs and (2) assesses DOD's plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program."
Date: May 5, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highway Infrastructure: FHWA's Model for Estimating Highway Needs Is Generally Reasonable, Despite Limitations (open access)

Highway Infrastructure: FHWA's Model for Estimating Highway Needs Is Generally Reasonable, Despite Limitations

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on how the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) determines highway investment requirements, focusing on the: (1) methodology the Highway Economic Requirements System (HERS) computer model uses to generate its estimates of the nation's highway investment requirements; (2) strengths and limitations of the model; and (3) usefulness of the HERS estimates for deciding on federal investments in highway infrastructure."
Date: June 5, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emerging Infectious Diseases: Consensus on Needed Laboratory Capacity Could Strengthen Surveillance (open access)

Emerging Infectious Diseases: Consensus on Needed Laboratory Capacity Could Strengthen Surveillance

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the nation's infectious diseases surveillance network, focusing on the: (1) extent to which states conduct public health surveillance and laboratory testing of selected emerging infectious diseases; (2) problems state public health officials face in gathering and using laboratory-related data in the surveillance of emerging infectious diseases; and (3) assistance that the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides to states for laboratory-related surveillance and the value of this assistance to state officials."
Date: February 5, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Assets and Income Are Both Important in Subsidy Denials, and Access to State and Manufacturer Drug Programs Is Uneven (open access)

Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Assets and Income Are Both Important in Subsidy Denials, and Access to State and Manufacturer Drug Programs Is Uneven

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help defray the cost of prescription drugs for beneficiaries with limited means, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) included the low-income subsidy (LIS) in the Part D prescription drug insurance program. To qualify for the LIS, beneficiaries must be enrolled in a Part D plan and their assets and income must be less than the thresholds established by the law. Part D is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the eligibility determination for the LIS. The MMA directed GAO to compare the utilization of and access to Part D prescription drugs among beneficiaries who received the LIS with those who were denied it because of the amount of their assets. This report focuses on beneficiaries' access to prescription drugs by examining (1) the importance of assets and income in LIS denials in 2006 and 2007, and (2) state and manufacturer programs providing access to prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. To do this, GAO analyzed data from SSA, reviewed information on state and drug manufacturer pharmaceutical programs, and interviewed officials …
Date: September 5, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ford-Class Carriers: Lead Ship Testing and Reliability Shortfalls Will Limit Initial Fleet Capabilities (open access)

Ford-Class Carriers: Lead Ship Testing and Reliability Shortfalls Will Limit Initial Fleet Capabilities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy faces technical, design, and construction challenges to completing Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) that have led to significant cost increases and reduced the likelihood that a fully functional ship will be delivered on time. The Navy has achieved mixed progress to date developing CVN 78's critical technologies, such as a system intended to more effectively launch aircraft from the ship. In an effort to meet required installation dates aboard CVN 78, the Navy has elected to produce some of these systems prior to demonstrating their maturity--a strategy that GAO's previous work has shown introduces risk of late and costly design changes and rework, and leaves little margin to incorporate additional weight growth in the ship. In addition, progress in constructing CVN 78 has been overshadowed by inefficient out-of-sequence work, driven largely by material shortfalls, engineering challenges, and delays developing and installing critical technology systems. These events are occurring in a constrained budget environment, even as lead ship costs have increased by over 22 percent since construction authorization in fiscal year 2008--to $12.8 billion. Additional increases could follow due to uncertainties facing critical technology systems …
Date: September 5, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring (open access)

Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Genetically engineered (GE) crops--including crops engineered to resist pests or tolerate herbicides--are widespread in the United States and around the world. Taking direction from the 1986 Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate GE crops to ensure that they are safe. The unauthorized mixing of some GE crops with non-GE crops has caused controversy and financial harm. GAO examined (1) unauthorized releases of GE crops, (2) coordination among the three agencies, and (3) additional actions they have proposed to improve oversight. GAO gathered data from agencies and stakeholders; used criteria from prior GAO work to assess coordination; and reviewed agency proposals."
Date: November 5, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Systems Modernization: Planned Investment in the Naval Tactical Command Support System Needs to be Reassessed (open access)

DOD Systems Modernization: Planned Investment in the Naval Tactical Command Support System Needs to be Reassessed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because it is important that the Department of Defense (DOD) adheres to disciplined information technology (IT) acquisition processes to successfully modernize its business systems, GAO was asked to determine whether the Naval Tactical Command Support System (NTCSS) is being managed according to important aspects of DOD's acquisition policies and guidance, as well as other relevant acquisition management best practices. NTCSS was started in 1995 to help Navy personnel effectively manage ship, submarine, and aircraft support activities. To date, about $1 billion has been spent to partially deploy NTCSS to about one-half its intended ashore and afloat sites."
Date: December 5, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010 Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened (open access)

Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010 Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Decennial Census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and provides vital data that are used, among other things, to reapportion and redistrict congressional seats. In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Decennial Census a high-risk area, citing a number of long-standing and emerging challenges, including weaknesses in the Census Bureau's (Bureau) management of its information technology (IT) systems and operations. In conducting the 2010 census, the Bureau is relying on both the acquisition of new IT systems and the enhancement of existing systems. Thoroughly testing these systems before their actual use is critical to the success of the census. GAO was asked to determine the status of and plans for testing key decennial systems. To do this, GAO analyzed testing documentation, interviewed Bureau officials and contractors, and compared the Bureau's efforts with recognized best practices."
Date: March 5, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Safety: Enhanced Oversight and Improved Availability of Risk- Based Data Could Further Improve Safety (open access)

Aviation Safety: Enhanced Oversight and Improved Availability of Risk- Based Data Could Further Improve Safety

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Takeoffs, landings, and movement around the surface areas of airports (the terminal area) are critical to the safe and efficient movement of air traffic. The nation's aviation system is arguably the safest in the world, but close calls involving aircraft or other vehicles at or near airports are common, occurring almost daily. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides oversight of the terminal area and has taken action to improve safety, but has been called upon by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and others to take additional steps to improve its oversight. As requested, this report addresses (1) recent actions FAA has taken to improve safety in the terminal area, (2) recent trends in terminal area safety and factors contributing to those trends, and (3) any additional actions FAA could take to improve safety in the terminal area. To address these issues, GAO analyzed data from FAA data; reviewed reports and FAA documents; and interviewed federal and industry officials."
Date: October 5, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Special Operations Forces: Management Actions Are Needed to Effectively Integrate Marine Corps Forces into the U.S. Special Operations Command (open access)

Special Operations Forces: Management Actions Are Needed to Effectively Integrate Marine Corps Forces into the U.S. Special Operations Command

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has relied on special operations forces to conduct military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and to perform other tasks such as training foreign military forces. To meet the demand for these forces, DOD established a Marine Corps service component under the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to integrate Marine Corps forces. Under the authority of the Comptroller General, GAO assessed the extent to which (1) the Marine Corps special operations command has identified its force structure requirements, (2) the Marine Corps has developed a strategic human capital approach to manage personnel in its special operations command, and (3) USSOCOM has determined whether Marine Corps training programs are preparing its forces for assigned missions. GAO performed its work with the Marine Corps and USSOCOM and analyzed DOD plans for this new command."
Date: September 5, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contract Management: DOD Needs Measures for Small Business Subcontracting Program and Better Data on Foreign Subcontracts (open access)

Contract Management: DOD Needs Measures for Small Business Subcontracting Program and Better Data on Foreign Subcontracts

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "More small businesses are turning to subcontracting as a way to participate in the federal government's $250 billion procurement program. DOD, accounting for about two-thirds of federal procurements, has a critical role in providing opportunities to small businesses through subcontracting programs such as the Test Program for Negotiation of Comprehensive Small Business Subcontracting Plans (Test Program). In addition, Congress raised concerns about the potential for small businesses to lose opportunities to firms performing work outside of the United States. GAO was asked to review (1) DOD's assessment of the Test Program's effectiveness, (2) the performance of contractors participating in the Test Program, (3) the Defense Contract Management Agency's (DCMA) oversight of contractors' small business subcontracting efforts, and (4) the extent and reasons contractors are subcontracting with businesses performing outside the U.S."
Date: April 5, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Changes in Global Hawk's Acquisition Strategy Are Needed to Reduce Program Risks (open access)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Changes in Global Hawk's Acquisition Strategy Are Needed to Reduce Program Risks

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Global Hawk offers significant military capabilities to capture and quickly transmit high-quality images of targets and terrain, day or night, and in adverse weather--without risk to an onboard pilot. Global Hawk first flew in the late 1990s as a demonstrator and supported recent combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2001, the Air Force began an acquisition program to develop and produce improved Global Hawks. In 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) restructured and accelerated the program to include a new, larger and more capable air vehicle. GAO was asked to review the program and discuss (1) the restructuring's effect on the Air Force's ability to deliver new capabilities to the warfighter and (2) whether its current business case and management approach is knowledge-based and can help forestall future risks."
Date: November 5, 2004
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
World Trade Organization: Congress Faces Key Decisions as Efforts to Reach Doha Agreement Intensify (open access)

World Trade Organization: Congress Faces Key Decisions as Efforts to Reach Doha Agreement Intensify

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "President Bush has identified the success of global trade talks launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001 as one of the United States' top trade policy priorities. Known as the Doha Development Agenda, the talks are an important means of spurring global growth and development. Completing the talks in 2006 was considered essential for an agreement to qualify for streamlined congressional consideration under the U.S. Trade Promotion Authority. However, the talks collapsed in late July 2006 in the face of wide differences over the extent of agricultural reform and how best to promote economic development in poor countries. Efforts to break the deadlock continue. Given the tenuous state of this central plank of U.S. trade policy, GAO updated its series of prior reports. In this report, we assess (1) the overall status of the Doha Round negotiations now and the progress that had been made prior to and since the breakdown of the talks, (2) the substantive divisions among key World Trade Organization (WTO) members that led to an environment of deadlock and the eventual suspension of the negotiations, and (3) the possible economic and other …
Date: March 5, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Water: How States Allocate Revolving Loan Funds and Measure Their Benefits (open access)

Clean Water: How States Allocate Revolving Loan Funds and Measure Their Benefits

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Communities will need hundreds of billions of dollars in coming years to construct and upgrade wastewater treatment facilities, sewer systems, and other water infrastructure. To finance these efforts, they will rely heavily on low-interest loans from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program to supplement their own funds. Through fiscal year 2005, states have used their CWSRFs to provide communities over $52 billion for a variety of water quality projects. The Clean Water Act allows states to use their CWSRFs to (1) construct or improve conventional wastewater infrastructure, (2) control diffuse (nonpoint) sources of pollution such as agricultural runoff and leaking septic systems, and (3) protect federally-designated estuaries. Given the states' flexibility in determining how to spend CWSRF dollars, GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which states use their CWSRF dollars to support conventional wastewater treatment infrastructure versus other qualifying expenses, (2) the strategies states use to allocate their CWSRF dollars among qualifying expenses, and (3) the measures states use to ensure that their allocation strategies result in the most efficient and effective use of CWSRF dollars. EPA …
Date: June 5, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student Consolidation Loans: Potential Effects of Making Fiscal Year 2006 Consolidation Loans Exclusively through the Direct Loan Program (open access)

Student Consolidation Loans: Potential Effects of Making Fiscal Year 2006 Consolidation Loans Exclusively through the Direct Loan Program

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP), the government guarantees and makes consolidation loans to help borrowers manage their student loan debt. By combining loans into one and extending repayment, monthly repayments are reduced. Unlike other student loans, consolidation loans carry a fixed interest rate. Recently, trends in interest rates and consolidation loan volume have increased overall federal costs, leading Congress to consider cost reduction proposals. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act, the government calculates, for budgetary purposes, the net cost, or "subsidy cost," of extending or guaranteeing credit over the life of loans. Agencies generally reestimate, subsidy costs annually to include actual results and adjust future program estimates. GAO was asked to provide information on the budgetary effects of making consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP. We developed information to answer the following questions: (1) What would be the estimated budgetary effect of providing consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP in fiscal year 2006? (2) To what extent and for what reasons might this estimated budgetary effect change as subsidy costs are reestimated in future years? (3) How might …
Date: December 5, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library