A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Nonresponse follow-up--in which Census Bureau enumerators go door-to-door to count individuals who have not mailed back their questionnaires--was the most costly and labor intensive of all 2000 Census operations. According to Bureau data, labor, mileage, and administrative costs totaled $1.4 billion, or 22 percent of the $6.5 billion allocated for the 2000 Census. Several practices were critical to the Bureau's timely competition of nonresponse follow-up. The Bureau (1) had an aggressive outreach and promotion campaign, simplified questionnaire, and other efforts to boost the mail response rate and thus reduce the Bureau's nonresponse follow-up workload; (2) used a flexible human capital strategy that enabled it to meet its national recruiting and hiring goals and position enumerators where they were most needed; (3) called on local census offices to identify local enumeration challenges, such as locked apartment buildings and gated communities, and to develop action plans to address them; and (4) applied ambitious interim "stretch" goals that encouraged local census offices to finish 80 percent of their nonresponse follow-up workload within the first four weeks and be completely finished by the end of the eighth week, as opposed …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The estimated $6.5 billion full-cycle cost of the 2000 decennial census is nearly double that of the 1990 census. When the full-cycle cost is divided by the number of American households, the cost per housing unit of the 2000 census was $56 compared to $32 per housing unit for the 1990 census. The primary reasons for the cost increases include the following: (1) in the 1990 census, field data collection cost was $16 per housing unit, while in the 2000 census it was $32 per housing unit; (2) in the 1990 census, technology costs were $5 per housing unit compared to $8 per housing unit for the 2000 census; and (3) the data content and products activity cost $3 per housing unit in 1990 and $5 per housing unit in 2000."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the progress of the nonresponse follow-up operation of the 2000 Census, focusing on the: (1) response rate and its impact on the nonresponse follow-up workload; (2) Bureau of the Census' ability to complete nonresponse follow-up on schedule while maintaining data quality; (3) Bureau's efforts to redeliver questionnaires initially found to be undeliverable; and (4) status of the Bureau's data capture operations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On April 3, 2008, the Secretary of Commerce announced significant changes to how the Census Bureau (Bureau) would conduct nonresponse follow-up, its largest field operation, in which census workers interview households that do not return initial census forms for the 2010 decennial census, and to its Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) contract. The Bureau has since issued a redesigned plan to conduct a paper-based follow-up operation, an integrated 2010 Census project schedule, and is working on revising the FDCA contract. These are major changes late in the decennial census cycle. This testimony discusses (1) the Bureau's plans for conducting a paper-based nonresponse follow-up operation, (2) management of the FDCA contract and its latest cost estimates, and (3) the status of the Bureau's integrated 2010 project schedule. This testimony is based on past work, recent interviews with Bureau officials, and a review of redesign documents."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In preparing for the 2020 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has launched several initiatives aimed at organizational transformation, some of which show particular promise. For example, the Bureau is attempting to develop Bureau-wide, or "enterprise," standards, guidance, or tools in areas such as risk management and information technology (IT) investment management to reduce duplicative efforts across the Bureau. Although the Bureau has made progress in these and other areas, if the Bureau is to transform itself to better control costs and deliver an accurate national headcount in 2020, several areas will require continued oversight: cost estimation, integrated long-term planning, and stakeholder involvement. For example, while the Bureau has made progress with long-term planning by implementing some elements of GAO's recommendation that it develop a road map for 2020 planning, it still needs to pull together remaining planning elements, such as milestones for decisions and estimates of cost, into its roadmap."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The key issues, based on existing GAO work, suggest specific areas for oversight on the following topics:"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A significantly greater proportion of African American children are in foster care than children of other races and ethnicities, according to HHS and other research. Given this situation, GAO was asked to analyze the (1) major factors influencing the proportion of African American children in foster care, (2) extent that states and localities have implemented promising strategies, and (3) ways in which federal policies may have influenced African American representation in foster care. GAO's methodologies included a nationwide survey; a review of research and federal policies; state site visits; analyses of child welfare data; and interviews with researchers, HHS officials, and other experts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Diesel engine emissions pose health risks, but one major source--heavy-duty diesel vehicles--is critical for our economy. To reduce risks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set stringent emissions standards for diesel engines. In 1998, EPA found that some engine makers were violating standards, so they agreed to build engines that meet 2004 standards early, by October 2002. EPA has set even more stringent standards for 2007. GAO was asked to (1) assess the October 2002 deadline's effects on industry and emissions, and (2) obtain stakeholders' views on the readiness of technology for the 2007 standards and EPA's efforts to ensure this. GAO analyzed information from EPA, 10 large trucking companies, the engine makers subject to the early deadline, and other stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Tall smokestacks--stacks of 500 feet or higher, which are primarily used at coal power plants--release air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) high into the atmosphere to help limit the impact of these emissions on local air quality. Tall stacks can also increase the distance these pollutants travel in the atmosphere and harm air quality and the environment in downwind communities. The 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act encourage the use of pollution control equipment over dispersion techniques, such as tall stacks, to meet national air standards. Section 123 of the Act does not limit stack height, but prohibits sources of emissions from using the dispersion effects of stack heights in excess of a stack's good engineering practice (GEP) height to meet emissions limitations. GAO was asked to report on (1) the number and location of tall stacks of 500 feet or higher at coal power plants and when they began operating; (2) what is known about such stacks' contribution to the interstate transport of air pollution and the pollution controls installed at plants with these stacks; and (3) the number …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) implementation of the Display System Replacement (DSR) project, focusing on: (1) the status of FAA's overall modernization program; (2) FAA's progress in implementing DSR, with particular emphasis on events surrounding Boston's implementation; and (3) opportunities for continued success by FAA in completing its modernization projects."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "American Samoa is a U.S. insular area that operates its customs and immigration programs according to its own laws and independent of the United States. As such, U.S. agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, have no roles in operating the customs or immigration programs in American Samoa. U.S. officials have raised questions about how American Samoa operates its customs and immigration programs, and if this introduces any risks to the security of American Samoa or the rest of the United States. GAO was asked to review American Samoa's customs and immigration programs and this report discusses (1) the operations of American Samoa's customs and immigration programs, and (2) the extent to which U.S. and American Samoa agencies have identified potential risks in American Samoa's customs and immigration programs. GAO reviewed available statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures governing American Samoa and U.S. customs and immigration programs. GAO also visited American Samoa and interviewed U.S. and American Samoan officials to obtain insights."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1996, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) executed contracts to build high-speed trainsets (a combination of locomotives and passenger cars) as part of the Northeast High Speed Rail Improvement Project. Since that time, Amtrak has experienced multiple challenges related to this program, including recently removing all trains from service due to brake problems. Amtrak has struggled since its inception to earn sufficient revenues and depends heavily on federal subsidies to remain solvent. The April 2005 action to remove the Acela trainsets--Amtrak's biggest revenue source--from service has only exacerbated problems by putting increased pressure on Amtrak's ridership and revenue levels. This testimony is based on GAO's past work on Amtrak and focuses on (1) background on problems related to the development of the Acela program, (2) summary of issues related to lawsuits between Amtrak and the train manufacturers and the related settlement, (3) key challenges associated with the settlement, and (4) initial observations on possible challenges in Amtrak managing large-scale projects."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) Anthrax Vaccine Program. Many questions have been raised about the program since DOD began vaccinating its 2.4 million active duty and reserve members in 1998. A major concern has been the program's effect on the National Guard and Air Force Reserve's retention of trained and experienced personnel. A questionnaire sent to 1,253 randomly selected Guard and Reserve pilots and others revealed that the anthrax immunization was a key reason these individuals left or otherwise changed their military status. Since September 1998, an estimated 25 percent of the pilots and aircrew members of the Guard and Reserve in this population transferred to another unit, left the military, or moved to inactive status."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO helped the Department of Transportation to determine whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund for fiscal year 2001 was supported by the underlying records. In performing the agreed-upon procedures, GAO did its work in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Instructor shortages are affecting the quality and quantity of Army truck driver training. Fort Leonard Wood, which trains about 90 percent of truck drivers, is especially affected by the instructor shortage. The result is that student drivers are not fully trained in all aspects of the instruction program when they graduate. If formal schools had enough instructors, they would presumably be able to teach the entire instruction program. The student imbalance between the schools at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Bliss creates an ineffective use of resources. If the annual student load were more equally distributed between the two schools, student graduates from Fort Leonard Wood might receive more complete training. The formal schools are not adhering to the instruction program, which calls for some training with trucks carrying cargo. Furthermore, no training is provided on how to pull equipment. Similarly, students are not being trained to drive under different weather and surface conditions. Because annual check rides and sustainment are not always being performed, unsafe driving habits may go undetected. Although performing and recording check rides and sustainment may be time-consuming, these procedures can save …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on real-time disclosure of foreign automated teller machine (ATM) fees levied by the card-issuing bank, focusing on: (1) alterations to the ATM system that would be needed to support real-time foreign fee disclosure; (2) estimated costs and timeframes associated with implementing real-time foreign fee disclosure; (3) potential competitive impact on ATM industry participants, defined to include various sized banks, ATM networks, ATM owners, and third-party processors; (4) potential impact on consumers; and (5) alternatives to real-time foreign fee disclosure."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Automated teller machine (ATM) operators include financial institutions--banks and credit unions--as well as independent firms. Industry representatives GAO spoke with estimate there are approximately 420,000 ATMs in the United States. They estimate that financial institutions operate and set the fees for about half of the market, and independent operators work together with merchants to operate the remainder and to determine the fees incurred by consumers. ATM operators have differing business models that affect the way they set ATM fees for consumers. Financial institutions operate ATMs as a convenience to their own account holders, who generally do not pay fees to use these ATMs, while non-account-holding customers do. At independent ATMs, most consumers incur a surcharge fee, although there are some exceptions, such as when the ATM is part of a surcharge-free ATM network."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (AI) has spread to nearly 60 countries over the past few years, killing millions of birds and more than 170 humans. Controlling the virus in poultry is key to reducing the risk of a human pandemic. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for planning for AI outbreaks in poultry, with states' assistance. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for coordinating the federal response for certain emergencies and developing policy documents that serve as a basis for national emergency planning. GAO described the steps USDA is taking to prepare for highly pathogenic AI and identified key challenges. GAO reviewed response plans, statutes, and regulations; visited poultry operations; interviewed federal, state, and industry officials in five states that experienced outbreaks; and reviewed 19 state plans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000, Congress created general aviation entitlement grants to provide funding up to $150,000 per fiscal year to individual general aviation airports. These grants fund capital improvements and repair projects. GAO was asked to (1) assess the amount of funding airports used, (2) identify the types of projects undertaken, and (3) convey suggestions made by interested parties to improve the grants in preparation for the reauthorization of the legislation in 2003."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the results of GAO's review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) rulemaking process and ways to improve its efficiency. GAO found that the time FAA took to formally initiate a rule in response to a congressional mandate or a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation varied widely. Between fiscal year 1995 and fiscal year 2000, FAA initiated most such rules within two years, but some rules were initiated many years later. During the entire six-year period GAO reviewed FAA's median time for the final rule phase--about 15 months--was comparable to that of four other federal regulatory agencies. Over a shorter, more recent period, FAA took longer to complete this phase. In 1998, FAA developed reforms to address problems the pace of rulemaking, including the timing of management's involvement, the administration of the process, and human capital management issues. However, the reforms have yet to shorten the rulemaking process because they have not been fully or effectively implemented. Shifting priorities, some brought about by external events and some by internal circumstances, have continued to delay the pace of rulemaking. In addition, difficult policy issues have sometimes remained …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken actions to validate the science underlying its behavior-based passenger screening program, the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT, program, but more work remains. GAO reported in May 2010 that (1) TSA deployed SPOT before first determining whether there was a scientifically valid basis for using behavior and appearance indicators to reliably identify passengers who may pose a risk; and (2) it is unknown if the SPOT program has ever resulted in the arrest of anyone who is a terrorist, or who was planning to engage in terrorist related activity, although there is other evidence that terrorists have transited through SPOT airports. GAO recommended in May 2010 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) convene an independent panel of experts to review the methodology of the ongoing validation study on the SPOT program to determine whether it is sufficiently comprehensive to validate the program. DHS concurred and subsequently revised its validation study to include an independent expert review. DHS's study, completed in April 2011, found that SPOT was more effective than random screening to varying degrees; however, DHS noted limitations …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts to evaluate the security of foreign airports and air carriers that service the United States are of great importance, particularly considering that flights bound for the United States from foreign countries continue to be targets of coordinated terrorist activity, as demonstrated by the alleged August 2006 liquid explosives terrorist plot. For this review, GAO evaluated the results of foreign airport and air carrier evaluations; actions taken and assistance provided by TSA when security deficiencies were identified; TSA's oversight of its foreign airport and air carrier evaluation programs; and TSA's efforts to address challenges in conducting foreign airport and air carrier evaluations. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed foreign airport and air carrier evaluation results and interviewed TSA officials, foreign aviation security officials, and air carrier representatives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Explosives represent a continuing threat to aviation security. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeks to ensure through the Electronic Baggage Screening Program (EBSP) that checked-baggage-screening technology is capable of detecting explosives. Generally, the explosives detection system (EDS) is used in conjunction with explosives trace detection (ETD) machines to identify and resolve threats in checked baggage. As requested, GAO assessed the extent to which: (1) TSA revised explosives detection requirements and deployed technology to meet those requirements, and (2) TSA's approach to the current EDS acquisition meets best practices for schedules and cost estimates and includes plans for potential upgrades of deployed EDSs. GAO analyzed EDS requirements, compared the EDS acquisition schedule against GAO best practices, and interviewed DHS officials. This is a public version of a sensitive report that GAO issued in May 2011."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Weather Service's (NWS) weather products are a vital component of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control system. In addition to providing aviation weather products developed at its own facilities, NWS also provides staff on-site at each of FAA's en route centers. This group of NWS meteorologists--called a center weather service unit--provides air traffic managers with forecasts and briefings on regional conditions including turbulence, icing, and freezing precipitation. GAO agreed to (1) determine the status of NWS's plans for restructuring the offices that provide aviation weather services at FAA's en route centers, (2) identify FAA's requirements and its alternative sources for these services, and (3) evaluate both agencies' current abilities to ensure the consistency and quality of these services. To do so, GAO evaluated agency plans for restructuring offices, defining requirements, and ensuring quality products, and interviewed agency officials."