A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other extremists have used safe havens along Pakistan's Western Frontier (border) region to attack Pakistani, Afghan, U.S., and coalition troops; plan and train for attacks against U.S. interests and the U.S. homeland; destabilize Pakistan, a nuclear-armed U.S. ally; and spread radical Islamic ideologies that threaten U.S. interests. A key U.S. national security objective is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its violent extremist affiliates in Pakistan and to deny them a safe haven. Since 2002, the United States has provided over $18 billion in assistance and reimbursement to Pakistan including (1) reimbursements to the Pakistani government for costs incurred in direct support of U.S. counterterrorism operations; (2) security assistance such as grants to Pakistan for the acquisition of military equipment; and (3) development, economic, and humanitarian assistance. Since 2006, this assistance has included $1.5 billion to improve the counterterrorism and counterinsurgency capabilities of Pakistani security forces operating along the country's border with Afghanistan, including $400 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund (PCF) and $700 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capabilities Fund (PCCF). The President has requested an additional $1.2 billion for …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2010, auto manufacturers recalled more vehicles than any other year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal oversight authority for vehicle recalls. However, many recalled vehicles are never fixed, posing a risk to vehicle operators, other drivers, and pedestrians. After the recent recalls of Toyota vehicles, Congress raised questions about the auto safety defect recall process, including the sufficiency of NHTSA's oversight authorities and whether vehicle owners are being effectively motivated to comply with recalls. In response, GAO reviewed laws and documents and interviewed NHTSA and stakeholders about the (1) extent of NHTSA's role in the recall process, and how its authorities compare to selected federal and foreign agencies that oversee recalls; (2) benefits and challenges of the recall process for NHTSA and manufacturers; and (3) options for improving the recall process. GAO also conducted focus groups with vehicle owners to better understand their perspectives."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that the nearly 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico is vulnerable to cross-border illegal activity. The Office of Border Patrol (Border Patrol), within DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is responsible for securing the border between U.S. ports of entry and has divided responsibility for southwest border miles among nine Border Patrol sectors. CBP reported spending about $3 billion on Border Patrol's southwest border efforts in fiscal year 2010, apprehending over 445,000 illegal entries. This testimony provides preliminary observations on (1) the extent to which DHS reported progress in achieving operational control--Border Patrol was able to detect, respond, and interdict cross-border illegal activity--of the southwest border; (2) the extent to which operational control reflects Border Patrol's ability to respond to illegal activity at the border or after entry into the United States; and (3) how DHS reports the transition to new border security measures will change oversight and resource requirements for securing the southwest border. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work for the House Committee on Homeland Security. GAO analyzed DHS border security documents and data supporting border security …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securing the nation's borders from illegal entry of aliens, contraband, terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, is a long-term challenge. In November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the Secure Border Initiative network (SBInet)--a program which was to provide the Border Patrol, within DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with the tools to detect breaches and make agent deployment decisions by installing surveillance systems along the border. Alternative (Southwest) Border Technology is DHS's new plan to deploy a mix of technology to protect the border. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work conducted for the House Committee on Homeland Security and provides preliminary observations on (1) the status of SBInet and user views on its usefulness, and (2) the Alternative (Southwest) Border Technology plan and associated costs. GAO reviewed planning, budget, and system documents, observed operations along the southwest border, and interviewed DHS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Chesapeake Bay, with its watershed in parts of six states and the District of Columbia (watershed states), is an important economic and natural resource that has been in decline. Over decades, federal agencies and watershed states have entered into several agreements to restore the bay, but its health remains impaired. In May 2009, Executive Order 13508 established a Federal Leadership Committee, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and directed the committee to issue a strategy by May 2010 to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay (the Strategy). GAO was directed by the explanatory statement of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, to conduct performance assessments of progress made on bay restoration, and this first assessment examines (1) the extent to which the Strategy includes measurable goals for restoring the bay that are shared by stakeholders and actions to attain these goals; (2) the key factors, if any, federal and state officials identified that may reduce the likelihood of achieving Strategy goals and actions; and (3) agency plans for assessing progress made in implementing the Strategy and restoring bay health. GAO reviewed the Strategy, surveyed federal …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Carbon offsets are reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in one place to compensate for emissions elsewhere. Examples of offset projects include planting trees, developing renewable energy sources, or capturing emissions from landfills. Recent congressional proposals would have limited emissions from utilities, industries, or other "regulated entities," and allowed these entities to buy offsets. Research suggests that offsets can significantly lower the cost of a program to limit emissions because buying offsets may cost regulated entities less than making the reductions themselves. Some existing international and U.S. regional programs allow offsets to be used for compliance with emissions limits. A number of voluntary offset programs also exist, where buyers do not face legal requirements but may buy offsets for other reasons. Prior GAO work found that it can be difficult to ensure offset quality--that offsets achieve intended reductions. One quality criterion is that reductions must be "additional" to what would have occurred without the offset program. This report provides information on (1) key challenges in assessing the quality of different types of offsets and (2) options for addressing key challenges associated with offset quality if the U.S. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The extent to which the federal and state governments regulate the death care industry—funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, pre-need funeral plans, and third party sales of funeral goods—varies, as does the extent to which regulation has changed since GAO last reported on the regulation of the death care industry in 2003. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to annually conduct undercover shopping at various funeral homes to test compliance with the Funeral Rule. Of the over 2,400 funeral homes that the FTC shopped since 1996, the FTC reported an overall compliance rate of about 85 percent. With respect to state regulation, consistent with GAO’s findings in 2003, the way in which states regulate the industry varies across industry segments and states. Also, the extent to which state regulators reported that they had specific rules or regulations for each industry segment in both 2003 and 2011 varied. Most consistent across states in both years was reporting that there were specific rules or regulations for funeral homes (94 and 95 percent in 2003 and 2011, respectively). In contrast, 77 percent of state regulators of cemeteries reported that their states …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, GAO has reported on challenges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has faced in effectively managing major acquisitions, including programs which were deployed before appropriate testing and evaluation (T&E) was completed. In 2009 and 2010 respectively, DHS issued new T&E and acquisition directives to address these challenges. Under these directives, DHS Science and Technology Directorate's (S&T) Test & Evaluation and Standards Office (TES) is responsible for overseeing T&E of DHS major acquisition programs--that is, those with over $300 million in life-cycle costs--to ensure that T&E and certain acquisitions requirements are met. GAO was asked to identify (1) the extent to which TES oversees T&E of major acquisitions; and (2) what challenges, if any, TES officials report facing in overseeing T&E across DHS components. GAO reviewed DHS directives and test plans, interviewed DHS officials, and reviewed T&E documentation from a sample of 11 major acquisition programs from each of 11 different DHS components. The results of the sample cannot be generalized to all DHS programs, but provided insights."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended, is the largest federal education funding source for kindergarten through grade 12. In fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated $14.5 billion for Title I grants to school districts to improve educational programs in schools with high concentrations of students from lowincome families. ESEA includes accountability requirements for schools and districts that focus primarily on measuring academic outcomes rather than prescribing exactly how Title I funds are to be spent. ESEA, as amended, includes a mandate that requires GAO determine how selected districts expend Title I funds. In response, GAO addressed (1) how selected school districts spent their Title I funds and (2) what federal mechanisms are in place to oversee how Title I funds are used and what is known about the extent of noncompliance with relevant requirements. To do this, GAO visited a nongeneralizable sample of 12 school districts in 4 states and analyzed their Title I expenditures for the 2008-2009 school year. GAO also reviewed federal and local audit findings for a wider range of states and districts. Districts were selected based on …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses small business participation in Gulf Coast rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Federal agencies directly awarded $20.5 billion in contracts nationwide between fiscal years 2005 and 2011 for recovery efforts related to these hurricanes. These contracts are subject to federal procurement regulations and, in most cases, are generally subject to certain goals to increase participation by small businesses. This statement is based on a report we issued in July 2010, which discussed the extent to which Gulf Coast small businesses received federal contract funds for recovery efforts, with data on contract funds updated through fiscal year 2011 where possible. More specifically, the statement discusses (1) the amounts that small businesses nationwide and small businesses in four Gulf Coast states received directly from federal agencies through contracts for relief and recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and (2) the extent to which four agencies--the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DOD) excluding the Corps, and General Services Administration (GSA)--monitored subcontracting accomplishment information as required for selected contracts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Long-standing weaknesses in Department of Defense (DOD) business processes, systems, and controls have hindered efforts to achieve financial audit readiness. Because DOD relies heavily on budget information for day-to-day management decisions, in August 2009, the DOD Comptroller designated the Statement of Budgetary Resources (SBR) as an audit priority. The U.S. Marine Corps was identified as the pilot military service for an SBR audit. GAO was asked to determine (1) the primary reasons the Marine Corps was unable to obtain an opinion on its fiscal year 2010 SBR; (2) the effectiveness and status of the Marine Corps' remediation plan, and (3) military service efforts to leverage Marine Corps SBR audit lessons. GAO reviewed auditor findings and recommendations, evaluated the Marine Corps corrective action plans, and reviewed documentation on military service audit readiness and lessons learned efforts. During its work, GAO met with DOD, Marine Corps, military service, and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) officials and the auditors.."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has initiated several efforts over the years to address its long-standing financial management weaknesses and ultimately achieve unqualified (clean) opinions on its financial statements. In 2005, the DOD Comptroller first issued the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Plan for improving financial management and reporting. In May 2010, the DOD Comptroller issued the FIAR Guidance to provide standardized guidance to DOD components for developing Financial Improvement Plans (FIP) to implement the FIAR Plan. GAO's testimony focuses on (1) progress made by the DOD Comptroller in developing and issuing the FIAR Guidance, (2) challenges faced by DOD components in implementing the FIAR Guidance, and (3) improvements needed in DOD's oversight and monitoring of FIAR implementation efforts. This statement is based on four audits that were undertaken at the request of this subcommittee and other congressional requesters to evaluate the progress DOD is making in implementing its FIAR Plan and FIAR Guidance. GAO addresses findings and recommendations from two reports being issued this week (GAO-11-830 and GAO-11-851) and preliminary information from two ongoing audits. Each audit demonstrates some of the challenges DOD faces in improving …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help guide the nation's workforce development system, the Department of Labor's (Labor) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) conducts research in areas related to job training and employment. Building upon our earlier work, GAO examined the following: (1) To what extent do ETA's research priorities reflect key national employment and training issues and how useful were the studies funded under them? (2) What steps has ETA taken to improve its research program? (3) How has ETA improved the availability of its research since our last review in January 2010? To answer these questions, GAO reviewed ETA's research reports disseminated between January 2008 and March 2010 costing $1 million or more, as well as ongoing studies costing $2 million or more. GAO also convened a virtual expert panel, interviewed Labor and ETA officials, and reviewed relevant documents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) plan to spend about $15 billion for launch services from fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2017 through DOD's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The program launches satellites for military, intelligence, civil, and commercial customers. In 2009, DOD and the NRO decided the program's business model needed improvement, and initiated studies to determine the best approach. The studies addressed potential business models, cost reductions, and the nation's assured access to space. Given expected changes to the EELV acquisition strategy, GAO was asked to (1) determine whether DOD has the knowledge it needs to develop a new EELV acquisition strategy, and (2) identify issues that could benefit future launch acquisitions. To address these questions, GAO reviewed launch studies, a supplier survey, and interviewed DOD and other officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government invests billions in information technology (IT) each year to help agencies accomplish their missions. Federal law, particularly the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, has defined the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) as the focal point for IT management within agencies. Given the longstanding challenges the government faces in managing IT and the continued importance of the CIO, GAO was asked to (1) determine the current roles and responsibilities of CIOs, (2) determine what potential modifications to the Clinger-Cohen Act and related laws could be made to enhance CIOs' authority and effectiveness, and (3) identify key lessons learned by CIOs in managing IT. To do this, GAO administered a questionnaire to 30 CIOs, compared responses to legislative requirements and the results of a 2004 GAO study, interviewed current CIOs, convened a panel of former agency CIOs, and spoke with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Federal CIO."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2009, President Obama directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to provide guidance to the 24 largest agencies to save $40 billion annually in contracting by fiscal year 2011 and reduce the share of dollars obligated under new high-risk contracts by 10 percent in fiscal year 2010. Agencies were to submit plans for meeting these goals to OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), which implemented the initiative. GAO was asked to assess (1) the extent to which the OMB initiative yielded the intended savings from contracting, (2) how effectively agencies reduced obligations on new high-risk contracts, and (3) the savings and risk reduction strategies to identify those that have the potential to yield long-term savings or improve acquisition outcomes. GAO reviewed agencies' savings and risk reduction plans and agency-reported data, and met with OFPP and senior procurement officials at each agency.."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Many federal programs and initiatives involve shared responsibilities--and benefits--for the federal, state, local and tribal governments, and the private sector. Federal statutes and rules often require nonfederal parties to expend their resources in support of certain national goals. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) was enacted to address some of the concerns about federal statutes and regulations that require nonfederal parties to expend resources to achieve these goals without being provided funding to cover the costs. UMRA generates information about how these potential federal mandates could affect other levels of government and the private sector as Congress and agency decision makers consider proposed legislation and regulations. Congress has asked GAO to evaluate the effectiveness of UMRA procedures and requirements several times since it was enacted. Based on that body of work, this testimony focuses on Title II of UMRA regarding federal mandates in rules and (1) describes the exceptions and exclusions in the act when identifying a federal mandate and (2) summarizes GAO findings on UMRA's implementation over the years and views of knowledgeable parties on potential improvements. GAO is not making recommendations in this testimony."