A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket program). Created by law in 1999, the Ticket program was intended to assist disability beneficiaries in obtaining and retaining employment, and potentially bring about significant savings to the Disability Insurance Trust Fund by reducing or eliminating their benefits. Under the program, SSA provides each eligible beneficiary (ticket holder) with a ticket to obtain services from SSA-approved public or private providers, referred to as employment networks (EN), or from traditional state vocational rehabilitation agencies (VR). When the Ticket program was created, it was estimated that it had the potential to provide significant savings to the Social Security Trust Funds and Treasury. However, our prior work and the work of SSA's Office of the Inspector General and others has questioned the viability of the program due to low participation and costs that are not offset by beneficiaries returning to work and reducing dependency on benefits. In an effort to address these concerns, SSA revised its regulations in 2008 to attract more ticket holders and ENs. This testimony summarizes our report issued in May and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "VA clinicians use expendable medical supplies--disposable items that are generally used one time--and reusable medical equipment (RME), which is designed to be reused for multiple patients. VA has policies that VA medical centers (VAMC) must follow when purchasing such supplies and equipment and tracking--that is, accounting for--these items at VAMCs. GAO was asked to evaluate VA's purchasing and tracking of expendable medical supplies and RME and their potential impact on veterans' safety. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work and provides preliminary observations on (1) the extent of compliance with VA's requirements for purchasing and tracking of expendable medical supplies and RME and (2) steps VA plans to take to improve its oversight of VAMCs' purchasing and tracking of expendable medical supplies and RME. GAO reviewed VA policies and selected three requirements that GAO determined to be relevant to patient safety. At each of the five VAMCs GAO visited, GAO reviewed documents used to identify issues related to the three requirements and interviewed officials to gather further information on these issues. The VAMCs GAO visited represent different surgical complexity groups, sizes of veteran populations served, and geographic …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To accomplish its mission of protecting federal facilities, the Federal Protective Services (FPS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), currently has a budget of about $1 billion, about 1,200 full-time employees, and about 15,000 contract security guards. This testimony is based on completed and ongoing work for this Subcommittee and discusses: (1) challenges FPS faces in protecting federal facilities and (2) how FPS's actions address these challenges. To perform this work, GAO visited FPS's 11 regions, analyzed FPS data, and interviewed FPS officials, guards, and contractors. GAO also conducted covert testing at 10 judgmentally selected level IV facilities in four cities. Because of the sensitivity of some of the information, GAO cannot identify the specific locations of incidents discussed. A level IV facility has over 450 employees and a high volume of public contact."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the nation from terrorist attacks, homeland security stakeholders must more effectively work together to strengthen the process by which critical information can be shared, analyzed, integrated and disseminated to help prevent or minimize terrorist activities. The success of a homeland security strategy relies on the ability of all levels of government and the private sector to communicate and cooperate effectively with one another. Activities that are hampered by organizational fragmentation, technological impediments, or ineffective collaboration blunt the nation's collective efforts to prevent or minimize terrorist acts. The challenges facing the homeland security community require a commitment to focus on transformational strategies, including strengthening the risk management framework, refining the strategic and policy guidance structure to emphasize collaboration and integration among all relevant stakeholders, and bolstering the fundamental management foundation integral to effective public sector performance and accountability. Implementation of these strategies along with effective oversight will be necessary to institutionalize and integrate a long-term approach to sustainable and affordable homeland security."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined the Department of Defense's fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget request and prior years' appropriations for selected weapon system procurement and research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) programs."

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Environmental satellites provide critical data used in weather forecasting and measuring variations in climate over time. In February 2010, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy disbanded the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)--a tri-agency satellite acquisition that had encountered continuing cost, schedule, and management problems--and instructed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to undertake separate acquisitions. Both agencies have begun planning their respective programs--the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and the Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS)--including creating program offices and transitioning contracts. GAO was asked to summarize the status of ongoing work assessing (1) NOAA's and DOD's plans for their separate acquisitions and (2) the key risks in transitioning from NPOESS to these new programs. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on the work supporting previous reports, attended monthly program management meetings, reviewed documentation on both programs, and interviewed agency officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "An accurate decennial census relies on finding and counting people-- only once--in their usual place of residence, and collecting complete and correct information on them. This is a daunting task as the nation's population is growing steadily larger, more diverse, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau), increasingly difficult to find and reluctant to participate in the census. Historically, undercounts have plagued the census and the differential impact on various subpopulations such as minorities and children is particularly problematic. GAO was asked to describe (1) key activities the Bureau plans to use to help reduce the differential undercount and improve participation, (2) the various challenges and opportunities that might affect the Bureau's ability to improve coverage in 2010, and (3) how different population estimates can impact the allocation of federal grant funds. This testimony is based primarily on GAO's issued work in which it evaluated the performance of various Census Bureau operations."

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007, the United States enacted a law incrementally raising the minimum wages in American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) until they equal the U.S. minimum wage. American Samoa's minimum wage increased by $.50 three times, and the CNMI's four times before legislation delayed the increases, providing for no increase in American Samoa in 2010 or 2011 and none in the CNMI in 2011. If further increases are implemented as scheduled, American Samoa's minimum wage will equal the current U.S. minimum wage of $7.25 in 2018, and the CNMI's will reach it in 2016. Recent economic declines in both areas reflect the closure of one of two tuna canneries in American Samoa and the departure of the garment industry in the CNMI. GAO is required to report in 2010, 2011, 2013, and biennially thereafter on the impact of the minimum wage increases. This testimony, requested by Congress, summarizes GAO's June 2011 report, which describes, since the increases began, (1) employment and earnings, and (2) the status of key industries. GAO reviewed federal and local information; collected data from employers through a questionnaire …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO conducted a study on Internet gambling and the use of credit cards to fund Internet gambling activities. Currently, both state and federal laws apply to Internet gambling in the United States. The Wire Act is the federal statute that has been used to prosecute federal Internet gambling cases. The act prohibits gambling businesses from using interstate or international wires to knowingly receive or send certain types of bets or information that would assist in placing bets. Although the Wire Act has been successfully used to prosecute gambling businesses through the Internet, the statute contains certain ambiguities that may limit its applicability. Two types of credit card organizations handle the four major credit cards issued in the United States. Credit card associations are owned by a large network of member financial institutions, which may approve credit card applications and issue credit cards, approve and sign up merchants to accept the cards, or both. Credit card associations have focused primarily on facilitating the blocking of Internet gambling transactions. Credit card companies have focused primarily on prohibiting Internet gambling sites from becoming credit card merchants."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has provided funding for numerous highway demonstration projects in legislation authorizing surface transportation programs as well as annual appropriations acts for the Department of Transportation (DOT). In some cases, the projects are identified in the legislation itself, and in others they are identified in committee reports accompanying the legislation. These projects are generally designated for specific locations within states and for specific purposes, and the funds made available for them generally remain available until expended. As of August 16, 2002, there were 42 highway demonstration projects authorized prior to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) with obligations of less than 15 percent of their total funding amount. For nine of the 42 projects, there are no plans to obligate most of the approved funds by September 30, 2004. These nine projects account for $19.4 million in unobligated funds. Three of the projects have been completed or dropped by the city or state. For the remaining six projects, state and local officials intend to request federal legislation to revise the project description or make the funds available for other projects."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Voluntary organizations have traditionally played a major role in the nation's response to disasters, but the response to Hurricane Katrina raised concerns about their ability to handle large-scale disasters. This testimony examines (1) the roles of five voluntary organizations in providing mass care and other services, (2) the steps they have taken to improve service delivery, (3) their current capabilities for responding to mass care needs, and (4) the challenges they face in preparing for large-scale disasters. This testimony is based on GAO's previous report (GAO-08-823) that reviewed the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Convention, Catholic Charities USA, and United Way of America; interviewed officials from these organizations and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); reviewed data and laws; and visited four high-risk metro areas--Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Labor has spent nearly $900 million on the High Growth Job Training Initiative (High Growth), Community-Based Job Training Initiative (Community Based), and the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED). This testimony addresses 1) the intent of the grant initiatives and the extent to which Labor will be able to assess their effects; (2) the extent to which the process used competition, was adequately documented, and included key players; and (3) what Labor is doing to monitor individual grantee compliance with grant requirements. This testimony is based on GAO's May 2008 report (GAO-08-486) and additional information provided by the agency in response to the report's recommendations. For that report, GAO reviewed Labor's strategic plan, documents related to evaluations of the initiatives, internal procedures for awarding grants, relevant laws, and monitoring procedures, and conducted interviews."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is on the financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (Fund). FHA has helped millions of families purchase homes through its single-family mortgage insurance programs and in recent years, has experienced a dramatic increase in its market role. FHA insures almost all of its single-family mortgages under the Fund, which is reviewed from both an actuarial and budgetary perspective each year. On the basis of an independent actuarial review, FHA reported in November 2009 that the Fund was not meeting the statutory 2 percent capital reserve requirement as of the end of fiscal year 2009, as measured by the Fund's estimated capital ratio--that is, the Fund's economic value divided by the insurance-in-force. Additionally, although the Fund historically has produced budgetary receipts for the federal government, a weakening in the performance of FHA-insured loans has heightened the possibility that FHA will require additional funds to help cover its costs on insurance issued to date. This statement today is based on a report released yesterday, titled Mortgage Financing: Opportunities to Enhance Management and Oversight of FHA's Financial Condition. This statement discusses (1) how …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the U.S. government provides broad protection for intellectual property, intellectual property protection in parts of the world is inadequate. As a result, U.S. goods are subject to piracy and counterfeiting in many countries. A number of U.S. agencies are engaged in efforts to improve protection of U.S. intellectual property abroad. This testimony, based on a recent GAO report, describes U.S agencies' efforts, the mechanisms used to coordinate these efforts, and the impact of these efforts and the challenges they face."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses work done by GAO's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) related to degrees from "diploma mills." For purposes of this overview, we defined "diploma mills" as nontraditional, unaccredited, postsecondary schools that offer degrees for a relatively low flat fee, promote the award of academic credits based on life experience, and do not require any classroom instruction. Over the past 3 years, OSI has purchased degrees from a diploma mill through the Internet, created a diploma mill in the form of a fictitious foreign school, investigated whether the federal government has paid for degrees from diploma mills for federal employees, and determined whether high-level federal employees at certain agencies have degrees from diploma mills. This testimony summarizes our investigative findings."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Electronic government (e-government) refers to the use of information technology (IT), including Web-based Internet applications, to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services, as well as to improve the internal efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is managing five e-government initiatives whose goal is to transform the way OPM oversees the government's human capital functions. These 5 initiatives are among 25 identified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as foremost in the drive toward egovernment transformation. The 25 initiatives have ambitious goals, including eliminating redundant, nonintegrated business operations and systems and improving service to citizens by an order of magnitude. Achieving these results, according to OMB, could produce billions of dollars in savings from improved operational efficiency. In today's testimony, among other things, GAO identifies the challenges facing OPM as it moves forward in implementing the five human capital initiatives."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, concerns have been raised about the adequacy of dental care for low-income children. Attention to this subject became more acute due to the widely publicized case of Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old boy who died as a result of an untreated infected tooth that led to a fatal brain infection. Deamonte had health coverage through Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage, including dental care, for millions of low-income children. Deamonte had extensive dental disease and his family was unable to find a dentist to treat him. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which children in Medicaid experience dental disease, the extent to which they receive dental care, and how these conditions have changed over time. To examine these indicators of oral health, GAO analyzed data, by insurance status, from two nationally representative surveys of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). This statement summarizes the resulting report being released today, Medicaid: Extent of Dental Disease in Children Has Not Decreased, and Millions …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "USAID oversees humanitarian and economic assistance--an integral part of the U.S. global security strategy--to more than 160 countries. GAO recommended in 1993 that USAID develop a comprehensive workforce plan; however, human capital management continues to be a high-risk area for the agency. GAO was asked to testify on how changes in USAID's workforce over the past 10 years have affected its ability to deliver foreign aid, the agency's progress in implementing a strategic workforce planning system, and whether its reported operating expenses reflect the full costs of delivering foreign aid."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our past reviews of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability programs as Congress considers the fundamental issue of eligibility for benefits and the related issue of concurrent receipt of VA disability compensation and Department of Defense (DOD) retirement pay. Our work has addressed these issues in addition to identifying significant program design and management challenges hindering VA's ability to provide meaningful and timely support to disabled veterans and their families. It is especially fitting, with the continuing deployment of our military forces to armed conflict, that we reaffirm our commitment to those who serve our nation in its times of need. Therefore, effective and efficient management of VA's disability programs is of paramount importance. In January 2003, we designated VA's disability compensation programs, as well as other federal disability programs including Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, as high-risk areas. We did this to draw attention to the need for broad-based transformation of these programs, which is critical to improving the government's performance and ensuring accountability within expected resource limits. In March 2003, we cautioned that the proposed modification of concurrent receipt …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) efforts to increase revenues from alternative sources as a way to supplement its medical care appropriations, focusing on trends in third-party collections."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the availability of blood to meet the nation's requirements as well as recent and proposed policy changes regarding blood donation that may affect the future supply."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This supplementary report to GAO-09-1016 provides individual state appendixes for 16 states and the District of Columbia for GAO's work on the third of its bimonthly reviews of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). GAO's work focused on nine federal programs that are estimated to account for approximately 87 percent of federal Recovery Act outlays in fiscal year 2009 for programs administered by states and localities."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A fundamental principle of aviation safety is the need to maintain adequate separation between aircraft and to ensure that aircraft maintain a safe distance from terrain, obstructions, and airspace that is not designated for routine air travel. Air traffic controllers employ separation rules and procedures that define safe separation in the air and on the ground.1 An operational error occurs when the separation rules and procedures are not followed due to equipment or human error. Data maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicate that a very small number of operational errors occur in any given year--on average about three operational errors per day occurred in fiscal year 2002. However, some of these occurrences can pose safety risks by directing aircraft onto converging courses and, potentially, midair collisions. Congress asked us to provide information on FAA's data on operational errors and whether this data can be used to identify types of air traffic control facilities with greater safety risks. Specifically, we were asked to (1) determine what is known about the reliability and validity of the data that FAA maintains on operational errors and (2) identify whether comparisons …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving serious problems in its financial management and related business operations and systems. DOD is required by various statutes to (1) improve its financial management processes, controls, and systems to ensure that complete, reliable, consistent, and timely information is prepared and responsive to the financial information needs of agency management and oversight bodies, and (2) to produce audited financial statements. Over the years, DOD has initiated numerous efforts to improve the department's financial management operations and to try to achieve an unqualified (clean) opinion on the reliability of its reported financial information. These efforts have fallen short of sustained improvement in financial management or financial statement auditability. The Subcommittee has asked GAO to provide its perspective on the status of DOD's financial management weaknesses and its efforts to resolve them."