A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford site in Washington State is one of the most contaminated nuclear waste sites in North America. The Columbia River flows through about 50 miles of the site. Radioactive and hazardous contamination from decades of producing nuclear materials for the nation's defense have migrated through the soil into the groundwater, which generally flows toward the river. In November 2005, GAO reported on the potential for the Hanford site to contaminate the Columbia River. To address continuing concerns, GAO reviewed the status of DOE's efforts to (1) understand the risk to the Columbia River from Hanford site contamination and to deploy effective technologies to address contamination near the river and (2) strengthen the management of its river protection program. To assess DOE's efforts, GAO reviewed numerous reports by DOE and others, and discussed the problem with federal and state regulators and DOE officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) established its Training Transformation Program to ensure combatant commanders that forces deploying to their theaters have had experience operating jointly. The centerpiece of this effort is the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) initiative, which accounts for 84 percent of the $2 billion the department plans to invest by 2011 to provide a persistent global network that will increase the level of joint training. GAO assessed the extent to which (1) JNTC has improved the ability of the services and combatant commands to train jointly, (2) the reserve components are benefiting from the JNTC initiative, and (3) the Joint Forces Command has developed an accreditation process to facilitate program goals. To address these objectives, GAO obtained and analyzed key DOD and JNTC documents. GAO also reviewed and analyzed 5 of 16 events selected in 2005 as JNTC training events, and observed 2 of those events firsthand."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Transportation's (DOT) research, development, and technology (RD&T) budget totaled $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2005. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)--which includes the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)--oversees DOT's RD&T activities. GAO examined (1) how RITA's responsibilities for overseeing DOT's RD&T activities differ from those of its predecessor, the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA); (2) RITA's practices for coordinating, facilitating, and reviewing RD&T activities; (3) the progress DOT has made in implementing GAO's 2003 recommendations on how to improve the coordination and evaluation of RD&T activities; and (4) how BTS identifies and monitors how well it serves its users. To address these issues, GAO reviewed relevant documentation and interviewed officials from RITA, BTS, and three operating administrations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Within the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) is responsible for managing the 53 immigration courts located throughout the United States where over 200 immigration judges adjudicate individual cases involving alleged immigration law violations. This report addresses: (1) in recent years, what has been the trend in immigration courts' caseload; (2) how does OCIJ assign and manage the immigration court caseload; and (3) how does EOIR/OCIJ evaluate the immigration courts' performance? To address these issues, GAO interviewed EOIR officials; reviewed information on caseload trends, caseload management, and court evaluations; and analyzed caseload data, case completion goal data, and OCIJ court evaluation reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A well-defined enterprise architecture is an essential tool for leveraging information technology (IT) to transform business and mission operations. GAO's experience has shown that attempting to modernize and evolve IT environments without an architecture to guide and constrain investments results in operations and systems that are duplicative, not well integrated, costly to maintain, and ineffective in supporting mission goals. In light of the importance of enterprise architectures, GAO developed a five stage architecture management maturity framework that defines what needs to be done to effectively manage an architecture program. Under GAO's framework, a fully mature architecture program is one that satisfies all elements of all stages of the framework. As agreed, GAO's objective was to determine the status of major federal department and agency enterprise architecture efforts."

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, which is intended to address critical issues in the creation, management, and use of federal electronic records. As required by law, the agency submitted its fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan to the congressional appropriations committees, seeking the release of about $22 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. We reviewed the expenditure plan and analyzed it against the legislative conditions and assessed NARA's progress in addressing prior recommendations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Reports in recent years have indicated that increasing numbers of migrants attempting to enter the United States illegally die while crossing the southwest border. The Border Patrol implemented the Border Safety Initiative (BSI) in 1998 with the intention of reducing injuries and preventing deaths among migrants that attempt to cross the border illegally. GAO assessed: (1) Trends in the numbers, locations, causes, and characteristics of border-crossing deaths. (2) Differences among the Border Patrol sectors in implementing the BSI methodology. (3) The extent to which existing data allow for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the BSI and other efforts to prevent border-crossing deaths."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Reserve System's Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) serve as fiscal agents of the U.S. government when they are directed to do so by the Secretary of the Treasury. In this capacity, the FRBs operate and maintain several mainframe and distributed-based systems--including the systems that support the Department of the Treasury's auctions of marketable securities--on behalf of the department's Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD). Effective security controls over these systems are essential to ensure that sensitive and financial information is adequately protected from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, disclosure, or destruction. In support of its audit of BPD's fiscal year 2005 Schedule of Federal Debt, GAO assessed the effectiveness of information system controls in protecting financial and sensitive auction information on key mainframe and distributed-based systems that the FRBs maintain and operate for BPD. To do this, GAO observed and tested FRBs' security controls."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the Korean language summary of GAO-06-807. Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Broadcasting Board of Governors' (BBG) broadcasting services, Radio Sawa, and the Alhurra satellite television networks--collectively known as the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN)--currently aim to reach Arabic speakers in 19 countries and areas throughout the Middle East. Annual spending for current activities amounts to about $78 million. GAO reviewed MBN's (1) strategic planning to address competition in the Middle Eastern media market, (2) implementation of internal control, (3) procedures MBN has developed to ensure compliance with its journalistic standards, and (4) performance indicators and whether targets have been met."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The importance and widespread use of federal information makes its accuracy imperative. The Information Quality Act (IQA) required that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issue guidelines to ensure the quality of information disseminated by federal agencies by fiscal year 2003. GAO was asked to (1) assess OMB's role in helping agencies implement IQA; (2) identify the number, type, and source of IQA correction requests agencies received; and (3) examine if IQA has adversely affected agencies' overall operations and, in particular, rulemaking processes. In response, GAO interviewed OMB and agency officials and reviewed agency IQA guidelines, related documents, and Web sites."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has a demanding responsibility enforcing banking laws, regulating financial institutions, and protecting depositors. The corporation relies extensively on computerized systems to support and carry out its financial and mission-related operations. As part of the audit of the calendar year 2005 financial statements, GAO assessed (1) the progress FDIC has made in correcting or mitigating information security weaknesses previously reported and (2) the effectiveness of the corporation's information system controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its key financial information and information systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health savings accounts (HSA) and the high-deductible health insurance plans that are eligible to be coupled with them are a new type of consumer-directed health plan attracting interest among employers and consumers. Employers and plan enrollees may contribute to tax-advantaged HSAs, and enrollees can use the accounts to pay for health care expenses. Because HSAs and HSA-eligible plans are new, there is interest in the experiences of plan enrollees, as well as in comparing the plan features and enrollee characteristics with those of traditional plans, such as preferred provider organization (PPO) plans. GAO reviewed (1) the financial features of HSA-eligible plans in comparison with those of traditional plans, (2) the characteristics of HSA-eligible plan enrollees in comparison with those of traditional plan enrollees, (3) HSA funding and use, and (4) enrollees' experiences with HSA-eligible plans. GAO analyzed data regarding HSA-eligible and traditional plans and enrollees from national employer health benefits surveys, three selected employers, and a national broker of health insurance. GAO compared Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data for tax filers reporting HSA contributions with corresponding data for all tax filers under 65 years old. GAO …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the Chinese language summary of GAO-06-807. Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) requires districts with schools that have not met state performance goals for 3 consecutive years to offer their low-income students supplemental educational services (SES), such as tutoring, if these schools receive Title I funds. SES are provided outside of the regular school day by a state-approved provider, with responsibility for implementation shared by states and districts. GAO examined (1) how SES participation changed between school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005; (2) how SES providers are working with districts to deliver SES; (3) how states are monitoring and evaluating SES; and (4) how the Department of Education (Education) monitors and supports state implementation of SES. To collect data on SES, GAO surveyed all states and a nationally representative sample of districts with schools required to offer SES. We also visited 4 school districts, interviewed 22 SES providers, reviewed SES-related research, and interviewed Education staff."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress authorized the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), operated by the Department of Energy (DOE), to release oil to the market during supply disruptions and protect the U.S. economy from damage. The reserve can store up to 727 million barrels of crude oil, and currently contains enough oil to offset 59 days of U.S. oil imports. GAO answered the following questions: (1) What factors do experts recommend be considered when filling and using the SPR? (2) To what extent can the SPR protect the U.S. economy from damage during oil supply disruptions? (3) Under what circumstances would an SPR larger than its current size be warranted? As part of this study, GAO developed oil supply disruption scenarios, used models to estimate potential economic harm, and convened 13 experts in conjunction with the National Academy of Sciences."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the Vietnamese language summary of GAO-06-807. Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has reported in recent years on a number of human capital issues that have hampered the Department of State's ability to carry out U.S. foreign policy priorities and objectives, particularly at posts central to the war on terror. In 2002, State implemented the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative (DRI) to address shortfalls in the number and skills of State employees. This report discusses State's progress in (1) addressing staffing shortfalls since the implementation of DRI and (2) filling gaps in the language proficiency of foreign service officers and other staff. To accomplish these objectives, GAO analyzed staffing and language data and met with State officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Between 1998 and 2004, Congress appropriated over $1.2 billion to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The campaign aimed to prevent the initiation of or curtail the use of drugs among the nation's youth. In 2005, Westat, Inc., completed a multiyear national evaluation of the campaign. GAO has been mandated to review various aspects of the campaign, including Westat's evaluation which is the subject of this report. Applying generally accepted social science research standards, GAO assessed (1) how Westat provided credible support for its findings and Westat's findings about (2) attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of youth and parents toward drug use and (3) youth self-reported drug use."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Using performance measures, the Coast Guard explains how well its programs are performing. To do so, it reports one "primary" measure for each program (such as percent of mariners rescued) and maintains data on other, "secondary" measures (such as percent of property saved). Concerns have been raised about whether measures for non-homeland security programs accurately reflect performance, that is, they did not rise or fall as resources were added or reduced. For the six non-homeland security programs, GAO used established criteria to assess the soundness of the primary measures--that is, whether measures cover key activities; are clearly stated; and are objective, measurable, and quantifiable--and the reliability of data used to calculate them. GAO also used these criteria to assess the soundness of 23 selected secondary measures. Finally, through interviews and report review, GAO assessed challenges in using measures to link resources to results."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Competition in the electricity industry is expected to intensify, and restructuring legislation may dramatically change the way electric utilities do business in the future. To be competitive, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) needs to reduce fixed costs and increase its flexibility in order to meet market prices for power. TVA plans to reduce its financing obligations, which include statutory debt and other financing arrangements, by $7.1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2015. GAO was asked to (1) describe how TVA plans to meet its goal for reducing financing obligations, (2) assess the reasonableness of TVA's approach in developing its plan, (3) identify key factors that could impact TVA's ability to successfully carry out its plan, and (4) identify how TVA's plans for meeting the growing demand for power in the Tennessee Valley may impact its ability to reduce financing obligations. To fulfill these objectives, GAO interviewed TVA officials and others, and reviewed budget submissions, financial projections, and other documentation supporting the plan."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a component within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for overseeing the Medicare and Medicaid programs--the nation's largest health insurance programs--which benefit about one in every four Americans. CMS relies on a contractor-owned and operated network to facilitate communication and data transmission among CMS business related entities. Effective information security controls are essential to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this sensitive information. At Congress's request, GAO assessed the effectiveness of information security controls over the communication network used by CMS by conducting a technical assessment of the information security controls that are currently in place."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the Spanish Language summary of GAO-06-807. Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the participation of these children in programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Head Start, (2) the challenges these families face in accessing programs, (3) assistance that selected state and local entities provide to them, and (4) actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure program access. To obtain this information, GAO analyzed program and national survey data, interviewed officials in 5 states and 11 counties, held 12 focus groups with mothers with limited English proficiency, and interviewed experts and HHS officials."