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Faith-Based and Community Initiative: Improvements in Monitoring Grantees and Measuring Performance Could Enhance Accountability (open access)

Faith-Based and Community Initiative: Improvements in Monitoring Grantees and Measuring Performance Could Enhance Accountability

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Administration's efforts to improve the federal government's provision of social services through its Faith-Based and Community Initiative have sparked considerable interest. GAO was asked to examine (1) the activities of the initiative-related centers in five federal agencies; (2) the grant award procedures for selected grants; (3) the extent to which selected federal and state agencies are providing information on and ensuring compliance with safeguards designed to protect faith-based organizations (FBO), beneficiaries, and the government; and (4) how the progress of the initiative is being measured. We interviewed government officials administering 10 grant programs and officials from 26 FBOs."
Date: June 19, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improvement Continues in DOD's Reporting on Sustainable Ranges but Additional Time Is Needed to Fully Implement Key Initiatives (open access)

Improvement Continues in DOD's Reporting on Sustainable Ranges but Additional Time Is Needed to Fully Implement Key Initiatives

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Title III, section 366 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, required the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive plan for the sustainment of training ranges using existing authorities available to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments to address training constraints caused by limitations on the use of military lands, marine areas, and airspace available both in the United States and overseas. Section 366 also required the Secretary to submit to Congress a report containing the comprehensive training range sustainment plan, the results of an assessment and evaluation of current and future training range requirements, and any recommendations that the Secretary may have for legislative or regulatory changes to address training constraints. It also directed the Secretary of Defense to develop and maintain an inventory of training ranges for each of the armed forces, which identifies all training capacities, capabilities, and constraints at each training range. The Department of Defense (DOD) was to submit both the report and the training range inventory to Congress at the same time the President submitted the budget for fiscal year 2004 and to provide …
Date: June 20, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wood Utilization: Federal Research and Product Development Activities, Support, and Technology Transfer (open access)

Wood Utilization: Federal Research and Product Development Activities, Support, and Technology Transfer

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More wood is consumed every year in the United States than all metals, plastics, and masonry cement combined. To maximize their use of wood, forest product companies rely on research into new methods for using wood. At least 12 federal agencies have provided support to wood utilization research and product development activities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)-funded wood utilization research centers, which historically have specifically targeted support to these activities. GAO was asked to identify (1) the types of wood utilization research and product development activities federal agencies support and how these activities are coordinated; (2) the level of support federal agencies made available for these activities in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, and changes in the level of support at the Forest Service and at the CSREES-funded wood utilization research centers for fiscal years 1995 through 2005; and (3) how the federal government transfers the technologies and products from its wood utilization research and product development activities to industry. GAO provided a draft of this report to the 12 federal agencies for review …
Date: June 15, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clean Air Act: EPA Should Improve the Management of Its Air Toxics Program (open access)

Clean Air Act: EPA Should Improve the Management of Its Air Toxics Program

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) most recent data indicate that 95 percent of all Americans face an increased likelihood of developing cancer as a result of breathing air toxics--pollutants such as benzene and asbestos that may cause cancer or other serious health problems. Sources of air toxics include large industrial facilities, smaller facilities such as dry cleaners, and cars and trucks. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required EPA to regulate 190 pollutants from these sources through a multifaceted regulatory program. While EPA issues federal standards, state and local agencies generally administer these standards, and some develop their own rules to complement the federal standards. In this context, GAO was asked to assess (1) EPA's progress and challenges in implementing the air toxics program, (2) available information on the program's costs and benefits, and (3) practices of state and local air toxics programs."
Date: June 23, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Assistance: Illustrative Simulations of Using Statistical Population Estimates for Reallocating Certain Federal Funding (open access)

Federal Assistance: Illustrative Simulations of Using Statistical Population Estimates for Reallocating Certain Federal Funding

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Decennial census data need to be as accurate as possible because the population counts are used for, among other purposes, allocating federal grants to states and local governments. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) used statistical methods to estimate the accuracy of 1990 and 2000 Census data. Because the Bureau considered the estimates unreliable due to methodological uncertainties, they were not used to adjust the census results. Still, a key question is how sensitive are federal formula grants to alternative population estimates, such as those derived from statistical methods? GAO was asked to identify (1) the top 20 formula grant programs based on the amount of funds targeted by any means, and (2) the amount of money allocated for Medicaid and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and the prospective impact of estimated population counts from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses on state allocations for these two programs. Importantly, as agreed, GAO's analysis only simulates the formula grant reallocations. We used fiscal year 2004 Medicaid state expenditure and 2005 SSBG state allocation data, the most recent data available."
Date: June 23, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Management: Additional Measures to Reduce Corrosion of Prepositioned Military Assets Could Achieve Cost Savings (open access)

Defense Management: Additional Measures to Reduce Corrosion of Prepositioned Military Assets Could Achieve Cost Savings

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The military services store prepositioned stocks of equipment and material on ships and land in locations around the world to enable the rapid fielding of combat-ready forces. GAO's prior work has shown that the readiness and safety of military equipment can be severely degraded by corrosion and that the Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars annually to address corrosion. GAO was asked to review the impact of corrosion on prepositioned assets. GAO's specific objectives were to assess (1) the measures taken by the Army and the Marine Corps to reduce the impact of corrosion on prepositioned assets and (2) the availability of corrosion-related data to the Army and the Marine Corps to support corrosion prevention and mitigation efforts for prepositioned assets."
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Benefits: Circumstances under Which Petitioners' Sex Offenses May Be Disclosed to Beneficiaries (open access)

Immigration Benefits: Circumstances under Which Petitioners' Sex Offenses May Be Disclosed to Beneficiaries

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2005, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents filed about 730,000 petitions with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to sponsor noncitizen family members, including spouses, fiances, and children, to immigrate to the United States. Those doing the sponsoring are called petitioners; those benefiting from the sponsoring are called beneficiaries. If USCIS approves the petition, overseas beneficiaries must also file a visa application with the Department of State to enter the United States. In January 2002, USCIS started to conduct background security checks on all petitioners in addition to the beneficiaries. These background checks revealed that some of the petitioners had convictions for criminal sex offenses; further, some of those criminal sex offenders were filing family-based petitions for children (those under the age of 21). This report addresses the number of convicted sex offenders who filed family-based petitions in fiscal year 2005 based upon a computer match of USCIS data with individuals in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Sex Offender Registry and discusses USCIS's and the Department of State's framework for disclosing a sponsor's criminal sexual background to the beneficiary. DHS, the …
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
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.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Space System Acquisition Risks and Keys to Addressing Them (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Space System Acquisition Risks and Keys to Addressing Them

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On April 6, 2006, we testified before Congress on the Department of Defense's (DOD) space acquisitions. In fiscal year 2007, DOD expects to spend nearly $7 billion to acquire space-based capabilities to support current military and other government operations as well as to enable DOD to transform the way it collects and disseminates information, gathers data on its adversaries, and attacks targets. Despite its growing investment in space, however, DOD's space system acquisitions have experienced problems over the past several decades that have driven up costs by hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars; stretched schedules by years; and increased performance risks. In some cases, capabilities have not been delivered to the warfighter after decades of development. Within this context, Congress requested that we provide additional comments regarding the need for better program management, space acquisition policy, and DOD's Space Radar and Transformational Satellite Communications System acquisitions."
Date: June 1, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Managing Sensitive Information: DOD Can More Effectively Reduce the Risk of Classification Errors (open access)

Managing Sensitive Information: DOD Can More Effectively Reduce the Risk of Classification Errors

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Misclassification of national security information impedes effective information sharing, can provide adversaries with information to harm the United States and its allies, and incurs millions of dollars in avoidable administrative costs. As requested, GAO examined (1) whether the implementation of the Department of Defense's (DOD) information security management program, effectively minimizes the risk of misclassification; (2) the extent to which DOD personnel follow established procedures for classifying information, to include correctly marking classified information; (3) the reliability of DOD's annual estimate of its number of classification decisions; and (4) the likelihood of DOD's meeting automatic declassification deadlines."
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Management: Attention Is Needed to Improve Oversight of DLA Prime Vendor Program (open access)

Defense Management: Attention Is Needed to Improve Oversight of DLA Prime Vendor Program

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2005, prime vendor sales accounted for approximately $9 billion of the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) total sales and service of $32 billion. Under the prime vendor concept, the Department of Defense (DOD) relies on a distributor of a commercial product line, who provides that product line and incidental services to customers in an assigned region or area of responsibility. Products or services are to be delivered within a specified period of time after order placement. Since 1991, we have identified the use of prime vendors as a best commercial practice for inventory management. Nonetheless, media reports in October 2005, and a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on November 9, 2005, raised concerns about the use of the prime vendor concept and the prices that DLA was paying for items acquired through a prime vendor. The use of prime vendor contracts is governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. DLA manages the program and the Director of DLA reports to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics through the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense …
Date: June 19, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Logistics: Lack of a Synchronized Approach between the Marine Corps and Army Affected the Timely Production and Installation of Marine Corps Truck Armor (open access)

Defense Logistics: Lack of a Synchronized Approach between the Marine Corps and Army Affected the Timely Production and Installation of Marine Corps Truck Armor

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The increasing threat of improvised explosive devices (IED) in Iraq has led to widespread interest by Congress and the public regarding the availability of critical force protection equipment. GAO initiated a series of engagements under the Comptroller General's authority to address these concerns. In March 2006, GAO reported on factors that affected the production and installation of armor for the Army's medium and heavy trucks. This engagement examines issues affecting the production and installation of armor for the Marine Corps' medium and heavy trucks. The objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which truck armor was produced and installed to meet identified requirements, (2) identify what factors affected the time to provide truck armor, and (3) identify what actions the Marine Corps and DOD have taken to improve the timely availability of truck armor."
Date: June 22, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Airline Deregulation: Reregulating the Airline Industry Would Likely Reverse Consumer Benefits and Not Save Airline Pensions (open access)

Airline Deregulation: Reregulating the Airline Industry Would Likely Reverse Consumer Benefits and Not Save Airline Pensions

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 phased out the government's control over fares and service and allowed market forces to determine the price and level of domestic airline service in the United States. The intent was to increase competition and thereby lead to lower fares and improved service. In 2005, GAO reported on the tenuous finances of some airlines that have led to bankruptcy and pension terminations, in particular among those airlines that predated deregulation (referred to as legacy airlines). The House Report accompanying the 2006 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriation Act expressed concern about airline pension defaults and charged GAO with analyzing the impact of reregulating the airline industry on reducing potential pension defaults by airlines. GAO subsequently agreed to address the pension issue within a broad assessment of the airline industry since deregulation. Specifically, GAO is reporting on, among other things, (1) broad airline industry changes since deregulation, (2) fare and service changes since deregulation, and (3) whether there is evidence that reregulation of entry and fares would benefit consumers or the airline industry, or save airline pensions. DOT agreed with the conclusions in …
Date: June 9, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internal Revenue Service: Status of Recommendations from Financial Audits and Related Financial Management Reports (open access)

Internal Revenue Service: Status of Recommendations from Financial Audits and Related Financial Management Reports

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its role as the nation's tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a demanding responsibility in annually collecting over $2 trillion in taxes, processing hundreds of millions of tax and information returns, and enforcing the nation's tax laws. Since its first audit of IRS's financial statements in fiscal year 1992, GAO has identified a number of weaknesses in IRS's financial management operations. In related reports, GAO has recommended corrective action to address those weaknesses. Each year, as part of the annual audit of IRS's financial statements, GAO not only makes recommendations to address any new weaknesses identified but also follows up on the status of weaknesses GAO identified in previous years' audits. The purpose of this report is to (1) assist IRS management in tracking the status of audit recommendations and actions needed to fully address them and (2) demonstrate how the recommendations fit into IRS's overall management and internal control structure."
Date: June 6, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOE Contracting: Better Performance Measures and Management Needed to Address Delays in Awarding Contracts (open access)

DOE Contracting: Better Performance Measures and Management Needed to Address Delays in Awarding Contracts

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE), the largest civilian contracting agency in the federal government, spends over 90 percent of its annual budget on contracts to operate its facilities and carry out its diverse missions. Federal law and regulations outline the steps DOE must follow in planning and carrying out the contract award process and emphasize the importance of awarding contracts in a timely manner. Several of DOE's recent contracts have taken much longer than anticipated to award. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which DOE has experienced delays in awarding contracts and factors contributing to delays, (2) the impacts of any such delays, and (3) the extent to which DOE has taken steps to address the delays."
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Coordination between FEMA and the Red Cross Should Be Improved for the 2006 Hurricane Season (open access)

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Coordination between FEMA and the Red Cross Should Be Improved for the 2006 Hurricane Season

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Red Cross played a key role in providing relief to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, mounting its largest ever disaster response. Under the National Response Plan, and its emergency support function-6 (ESF-6), the Red Cross and FEMA are tasked with working together to coordinate federal mass care assistance in support of voluntary organizations, as well as state and local governments, as they meet mass care needs--such as shelter, food, and first aid. Questions have been raised about how the Red Cross and FEMA operated following the Gulf Coast hurricanes and what improvements can be made for the 2006 hurricane season. This report includes GAO's interim findings on the Red Cross and FEMA's hurricane operations. GAO will continue to analyze federal and charitable hurricane relief efforts."
Date: June 8, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Working Capital Fund: Military Services Did Not Calculate and Report Carryover Amounts Correctly (open access)

Defense Working Capital Fund: Military Services Did Not Calculate and Report Carryover Amounts Correctly

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2006 budget estimates, working capital fund activity groups (depot maintenance, ordnance, and research and development) will have about $6.3 billion of funded work that will be carried over from fiscal year 2006 into fiscal year 2007. The congressional defense committees recognize that these activity groups need some carryover to ensure smooth work flow from one fiscal year to the next. However, the committees have previously raised concern that the amount of carryover may be more than is needed. GAO was asked to determine (1) if the military services' carryover calculations were in compliance with DOD's new carryover policy and (2) if customers were submitting orders to working capital fund activities late in the fiscal year and, if so, the effect this practice has had on carryover."
Date: June 27, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
VA and DOD Health Care: Efforts to Provide Seamless Transition of Care for OEF and OIF Servicemembers and Veterans (open access)

VA and DOD Health Care: Efforts to Provide Seamless Transition of Care for OEF and OIF Servicemembers and Veterans

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As of the end of March 2006, over 1.3 million U.S. military servicemembers had served or were serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). These servicemembers, including members of the reserves and National Guard, may be eligible to receive health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) while serving on active duty or upon separating from active duty. Although the Department of Defense (DOD) provides health care services to servicemembers under TRICARE, legislation passed by the Congress in May 1982 authorized VA to provide health care services to servicemembers in time of war or national emergency, when DOD may have insufficient resources to care for casualties. Through December 16, 2005, DOD had arranged for 193 active duty servicemembers with serious injuries--traumatic brain injuries and other complex trauma, such as missing limbs--to receive medical and rehabilitative care at VA polytrauma rehabilitation centers (PRC). In addition, about 30 percent (over 144,000) of the servicemembers who had separated from active duty following service in OEF or OIF have sought VA health care, including over 4,000 who received inpatient care at VA medical facilities. In September 2005, …
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Contract Management and Oversight for Visitor and Immigrant Status Program Need to Be Strengthened (open access)

Homeland Security: Contract Management and Oversight for Visitor and Immigrant Status Program Need to Be Strengthened

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a multibillion-dollar program--U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)--to control and monitor the pre-entry, entry, visa status, and exit of foreign visitors. To deliver system and other program capabilities, the program relies extensively on contractors, some of whom are managed directly by US-VISIT and some by other agencies (including both DHS agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection, and non-DHS agencies, such as the General Services Administration). Because of US-VISIT's heavy reliance on contractors to deliver program capabilities, GAO was asked to determine whether DHS has established and implemented effective controls for managing and overseeing US-VISIT-related contracts."
Date: June 9, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonprofit Hospital Systems: Survey on Executive Compensation Policies and Practices (open access)

Nonprofit Hospital Systems: Survey on Executive Compensation Policies and Practices

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a part of Congress's continuing efforts to oversee the activities of the nonprofit sector, it asked us to review executive compensation issues at selected private, nonprofit hospital systems to gain an understanding of the policies and practices related to the salaries, benefits, travel, gifts, and entertainment expenses paid by these hospital systems. Our study's key questions were as follows: (1) What corporate governance structure do selected hospital systems report as having in place over executive compensation? (2) What is the basis for the compensation and benefits earned by, awarded to, or paid to the executives as reported by selected hospital systems? (3) What internal controls do selected hospital systems report as having in place over the approval, payment, and monitoring of executive travel and entertainment expenses, gifts, and other perquisites? On June 5, 2006, we briefed Congressional staff on the results of our work. This report transmits the briefing provided to Congressional staff, as amended to reflect some additional observations."
Date: June 30, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agreed-Upon Procedures: Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund Fiscal Years 2003-2005 (open access)

Agreed-Upon Procedures: Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund Fiscal Years 2003-2005

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We performed the agreed-upon procedures requested by the Secretary of the Senate related to receipt and disbursement processing and related procedures applicable to the Office of Public Records Revolving Fund's (the Fund's) fiscal years 2003-2005. In summary, the procedures we agreed to perform involved inspecting supporting documentation for Fund-related receipt and disbursement activities processed through the Office of Public Records (OPR) and Senate Disbursing Office (SDO) and reconciliation procedures performed by OPR."
Date: June 27, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Homeland Security's Use of Special Streamlined Acquisition Authorities in Section 833 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (open access)

Department of Homeland Security's Use of Special Streamlined Acquisition Authorities in Section 833 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the wake of September 11, 2001, some in Congress were concerned that the Department might not be able to conduct acquisitions with sufficient speed, particularly in an emergency. To that end, Congress enacted section 833 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which provides DHS with special streamlined acquisition authorities. Before those authorities could be used, however, the Secretary of Homeland Security or a delegate would have to determine in writing that the DHS mission would be seriously impaired without the use of the authorities. The special streamlined acquisition authorities including the following three items. First, increasing the micro-purchase threshold from $2,500 to $7,500. Purchases below the micro-purchase threshold do not require competitive quotes or compliance with the "Buy America" act. Only certain employees would be authorized to make procurements under this authority. Second, increasing the limit on the use of simplified acquisition procedures from $100,000 to $200,000 for contracts awarded and performed within the United States, and to $300,000 for contracts awarded and performed outside the United States. Simplified acquisition procedures permit agencies to use streamlined techniques to …
Date: June 20, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Liabilities: Hardrock Mining Cleanup Obligations (open access)

Environmental Liabilities: Hardrock Mining Cleanup Obligations

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Key federal environmental statutes, such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which established the Superfund program, require that parties statutorily responsible for pollution bear the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites. In many cases, liable parties meet their cleanup responsibilities. However, many parties responsible for hardrock mining sites include businesses that no longer exist, having been liquidated through bankruptcy or otherwise dissolved. Under these circumstances, some hardrock mining companies that have caused environmental contamination have left the problem for others, typically the government, to address. We were asked to provide a statement for the record on the cleanup of contamination resulting from hardrock mining as it relates to our August 2005 report, Environmental Liabilities: EPA Should Do More to Ensure that Liable Parties Meet Their Cleanup Obligations (GAO-05-658). We made nine recommendations in this report aimed at reducing the government's financial burden for costly environmental cleanups. The agency generally agreed with many of the recommendations, stating its intent to further evaluate some of them."
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human Capital: Trends in Executive and Judicial Pay (open access)

Human Capital: Trends in Executive and Judicial Pay

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Critical to the success of the federal government's transformation are its people--human capital. Yet, the government has not transformed, in many cases, how it classifies, compensates, develops, and motivates its employees to achieve maximum results within available resources and existing authorities. GAO has reported that the federal government as a whole may face challenges in offering competitive compensation to its senior leaders who have reached a statutory pay cap. As requested, GAO (1) provided trend data for basic pay rates of selected federal executive and judicial pay plans from 1970 to 2006, (2) identified elements of total compensation for the selected pay plans in 2006, and (3) identified principles for any possible restructuring of these pay plans. We selected 1970 as a baseline because salary increases went into effect in 1969 for executive-level positions as recommended by the Commission on Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Salaries. The pay plans cover the following--career Senior Executive Service (SES), administrative law judges (ALJ), senior-level (SL), Executive Schedule (EX), scientific or professional (ST), and members of Boards of Contract Appeals (BCA), as well as federal justices and judges--the Chief Justice, associate …
Date: June 22, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library