A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal law enforcement officers (LEO) are required to complete mandatory basic training in order to exercise their law enforcement authorities. GAO was asked to identify federal mandatory law enforcement basic training programs. This report builds on GAO's prior work surveying federal civilian law enforcement components regarding their functions and authorities (see GAO-07-121, December 2006). GAO defined an LEO as an individual authorized to perform any of four functions: conduct criminal investigations, execute search warrants, make arrests, or carry firearms. In this report GAO describes (1) the mandatory basic law enforcement training that the components reported requiring their LEOs to complete and the federal law enforcement job series classifications for which basic training programs are mandatory; and (2) a breakdown of the delivery of the of basic training programs, by type of organization providing the training and location. To conduct this work, GAO administered a Web-based survey to 105 federal civilian law enforcement components. Each was requested to self-report on, required basic training programs for LEOs, the organizations conducting the training, training locations, and the job series for which programs are mandatory. GAO is not making recommendations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Academy), a component of the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD), is one of five U.S. service academies. The Academy is affiliated with 14 non-appropriated fund instrumentalities (NAFI) and two foundations. GAO was asked to determine whether there (1) were any potentially improper or questionable sources and uses of funds by the Academy, including transactions with its affiliated organizations; (2) was an effective control environment with key controls in place over the Academy's sources and uses of funds; and (3) were any actions taken, under way, or planned to improve controls and accountability. GAO analyzed selected transactions from fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008 to identify improper or questionable sources and uses of funds and reviewed documents and interviewed cognizant officials to assess the Academy's internal controls, and identify corrective actions to improve controls."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is in response to a Congressional request that we examine our advice to executive branch agencies regarding commercial managed service public key infrastructure (PKI) solutions to see if the advice is consistent with current federal policy and private sector best practices. Specifically, over the past several years, staff from various agencies has asked for informal advice on these matters. Our informal advice was based on the control environment described to us by the agencies. This control environment, which is discussed later in this letter, resulted in the informal advice that the agencies may incur a greater burden in ensuring that a contract certification authority whose certificates are used in financial management applications has implemented an adequate system of internal controls than would be necessary if the certification authority were implemented internally. However, if agencies are willing to accept this potential increased burden by accepting and mitigating the potential risks (not all of which may be known and understood at this time) associated with commercial certification authorities contracting out, a certification authority may be able to provide the same level of security assurances as an internal certification …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When employers improperly classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, those workers do not receive protections and benefits to which they are entitled, and the employers may fail to pay some taxes they would otherwise be required to pay. The Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are to ensure that employers comply with several labor and tax laws related to worker classification. GAO was asked to examine the extent of misclassification; actions DOL and IRS have taken to address misclassification, including the extent to which they collaborate with each other, states, and other agencies; and options that could help address misclassification. To meet its objectives, GAO reviewed DOL, IRS, and other studies on misclassification and DOL and IRS policies and activities related to classification; interviewed officials from these agencies as well as other stakeholders; analyzed data from DOL investigations involving misclassification; and surveyed states."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1998, about 100 million Americans were covered in private pension plans with assets totaling about $4 trillion. The retirement security of plan participants can be affected by how certain issues are voted on during company stockholders meetings. Fiduciaries, having responsibility for voting on such issues on behalf of some plan participants (proxy voting), are to act solely in the interest of participants. Recent corporate scandals reveal that fiduciaries can be faced with conflicts of interest that could lead them to breach this duty. Because of the potential adverse effects such a breach may have on retirement plan assets, we were asked to describe (1) conflicts of interest in the proxy voting system, (2) actions taken to manage them, and (3) DOL's enforcement of proxy voting requirements."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On June 28, 2007, GAO testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, at a hearing entitled, "Financial Management Systems Modernization at the Department of Homeland Security: Are Missed Opportunities Costing Us Money?" At the hearing, we discussed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) failed efforts to implement the Electronically Managing Enterprise Resources for Government Effectiveness and Efficiency (eMerge2) program that was expected to integrate financial management systems across the entire department. Our testimony and related report focused on (1) DHS's financial management systems modernization efforts, (2) key financial management system transformation challenges, and (3) the four building blocks that form the foundation for successful financial management system implementation efforts. This letter responds to Congress's July 10, 2007, request for responses to follow-up questions relating to our June 28, 2007, testimony. The responses are based on work associated with previously issued GAO products."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant represents an opportunity to re-examine the fiscal balance between the federal government and the states in providing services to needy families. Since the enactment of federal welfare reform, there has been much discussion of the fiscal implications of these sweeping changes in national welfare policy. A particularly contentious issue has been the extent to which states have replaced, rather than supplemented, their own spending with federal TANF dollars, thereby freeing up state funds for other budget priorities. This report reviews (1) the degree to which states have used the flexibility afforded in the federal TANF grant to supplant, rather than supplement, state spending for low-income families; (2) the changes that have occurred in the states' use of different funding sources (including their TANF funds) on programs that help the poor; (3) the effects of state funding choices on the amounts of TANF funds the states have left unspent at the U.S. Treasury; and (4) the measures states are taking to save a portion of the TANF grant or set aside their funds for a …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) reorganization plans, focusing on: (1) what factors, complicate the interactions between small businesses and IRS; and (2) whether IRS' reorganization plans address those factors."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the steps the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking to help ensure departmentwide information systems security."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) review and approval of drug manufacturers' applications to market seven drugs that would be covered by H.R. 1598 and S.1172, focusing on: (1) the review and approval times for the seven pipeline drugs in comparison with other drugs and the factors that contributed to the time FDA required to approve the three of the seven drugs for which the manufacturers agreed to supply GAO with information; and (2) whether Congress based the 2-year patent extension granted to pipeline drugs on the assumption that FDA action on these drugs' applications would occur within the average length of time for FDA approval of new drug applications."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress requested that GAO identify the official Social Security reform public speaking events and other promotion initiatives involving administration officials, and their costs to the federal government, since January 2005. As you know, the Social Security Board of Trustees is projecting in its 2007 report that as early as 2017 Social Security benefit payments will exceed tax revenues. After that time, the gap between costs and tax revenues grows continuously, and unless action is taken to close this gap, it is currently estimated that the Social Security trust funds will be depleted by 2041. In his 2005 State of the Union Address, the President emphasized the need to reform Social Security, and he announced his intention to work with the Congress to achieve reforms. On March 2, 2005, the Secretary of the Treasury announced the "60 Stops in 60 Days" tour in which the President and other administration officials would speak to the public about the need for reform in a series of town hall meetings across the country in an attempt to gain popular support for program reforms. Congress asked us to include events such as those …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Advance Earned Income Tax Credit (AEITC) allows individuals to receive a portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in their paychecks, instead of receiving all of it when filing their year-end tax return. Limited research has been conducted on the AEITC since GAO last examined it in the early 1990s. GAO was asked to determine (1) how many individuals received the AEITC compared with the EITC in tax years 2002 through 2004, what actions, if any, have been taken to increase use, and the potential for increases in use in the future; (2) the extent of noncompliance, if any, associated with the AEITC; and (3) how well the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) procedures address the areas of noncompliance. To address these questions, GAO analyzed Forms W-2 and tax return data and interviewed IRS and Social Security Administration (SSA) officials."