A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Bi-state tolling authorities have broad authority to set toll rates and use revenues for a range of purposes, including maintaining, repairing, and improving their infrastructure. In setting tolls, bi-state tolling authorities are primarily influenced by debt obligations and maintain specific operating revenues to repay their debt. A federal statute requiring bridge tolls to be "just and reasonable" has less influence on tolling decisions, in part, because no federal agency has authority to enforce the standard."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress mandated in 2000 that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conduct the Physician Group Practice (PGP) Demonstration to test a hybrid payment methodology for physician groups that combines Medicare fee-for-service payments with new incentive payments. The 10 participants, with 200 or more physicians each, may earn annual bonus incentive payments by achieving cost savings and meeting quality targets set by CMS in the demonstration that began in April 2005. In July 2007, CMS reported that in the first performance year (PY1), 2 participants earned combined bonuses of approximately $7.4 million, and all 10 achieved most of the quality targets. Congress mandated that GAO evaluate the demonstration. GAO examined, for PY1, the programs used, whether the design was reasonable, and the potential challenges in broadening the payment approach used in the demonstration to other physician groups. To do so, GAO reviewed CMS documents, surveyed all 10 groups, and conducted interviews and site visits."

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 "Pervasive and sustained computer-based attacks pose a potentially devastating impact to systems and operations and the critical infrastructures they support. Addressing these threats depends on effective partnerships between the government and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure. Federal policy, including the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan, calls for a partnership model that includes public and private councils to coordinate policy and information sharing and analysis centers to gather and disseminate information on threats to physical and cyber-related infrastructure. GAO was asked to determine (1) private sector stakeholders' expectations for cyber-related, public-private partnerships and to what extent these expectations are being met and (2) public sector stakeholders' expectations for cyber-related, public-private partnerships and to what extent these expectations are being met. To do this, GAO conducted surveys and interviews of public and private sector officials and analyzed relevant policies and other documents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While FDA has taken several important steps toward modernizing its IT environment, much remains to be done. FDA reported spending about $400 million for IT investments in fiscal year 2011; however, the agency currently lacks a comprehensive IT inventory that identifies and provides key information about the systems it uses and is developing. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and GAO guidance call for federal agencies to maintain such an inventory in order to monitor and manage their IT investments. This inventory should include information on each system, such as costs, functionality or purpose, and status. However, FDA does not have such a comprehensive list of its systems. Instead, the agency points to budget documents required by OMB, which included information on 44 IT investments for fiscal year 2011. The agency also provided a partial list of 21 mission-critical systems and modernization initiatives. Nonetheless, agency officials acknowledged that these documents do not identify all FDA’s systems or the complete costs, purpose, or status of each system. Until the agency has a complete and comprehensive inventory, it will lack critical information needed to effectively assess its IT …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "S corporations are one of the fastest growing business types, accounting for nearly 4 million businesses in 2006. However, long-standing problems with S corporation compliance produce revenue losses in individual income taxes and employment taxes. GAO was asked to (1) describe the reasons businesses choose to become S corporations, (2) analyze types of S corporation noncompliance, what IRS has done to address noncompliance, and options to improve compliance, and (3) further analyze the extent of shareholder compensation noncompliance and identify options for improving compliance. GAO analyzed IRS research and examination data; interviewed IRS officials, examiners and other knowledgeable stakeholders; and reviewed relevant literature."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Authorization for several conservation programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expires in 2007, raising questions about how these programs may be modified, including how they can better support conservation of threatened and endangered species. Private landowners receive funding under these programs to implement conservation projects directed at several resource concerns, including threatened and endangered species. In this report, GAO discusses (1) stakeholder views on the incentives and disincentives to participating in USDA programs for the benefit of threatened and endangered species and their suggestions for addressing identified disincentives and (2) coordination efforts by USDA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to benefit threatened and endangered species. In performing this work, GAO conducted telephone surveys with a nonprobability sample of over 150 federal and nonfederal officials and landowners."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 1995, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Center) has been responsible and received federal funding for implementing capital improvement projects and operations and maintenance activities. The Kennedy Center's Comprehensive Building Plan identifies capital projects needed to renovate the Center and bring it into compliance with current life safety and accessibility codes. The Kennedy Center currently is planning to construct, with private funds, two new buildings to open in 2013 on a new plaza to be built adjacent to the existing facility. The Kennedy Center expects federal funding to operate and maintain these buildings. GAO was asked to examine (1) how much the Center has received in federal appropriations for capital projects, (2) the status of the Comprehensive Building Plan and updates, and (3) the potential impact of the Center's plaza project on the need for future operations and maintenance funding."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not been successful in repeated attempts to modernize its timeworn business systems and operations. In 1995, we first designated DOD's business systems modernization as "high risk," and we continue to designate it as such today. As our research on successful public and private sector organizations has shown, attempting a large-scale systems modernization program in a large organization such as DOD without, among other things, a well-defined enterprise architecture and the associated investment management controls for implementing it often results in systems that are duplicative, stovepiped, non-integrated, and unnecessarily costly to manage, maintain, and operate. In May 2001, we made recommendations to the Secretary of Defense that provided the means for effectively developing and implementing an enterprise architecture and limiting systems investments until the department had a well-defined architecture and a corporate approach to investment control and decision making. In July 2001, the department initiated a business management modernization program to, among other things, develop a business enterprise architecture and establish the investment controls needed to effectively implement it. This effort was begun as part of the Secretary of …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was federally created as a private nonprofit corporation to support legal assistance for low-income people to resolve their civil matters and relies heavily on federal appropriations. Due to its unique status, its governance and accountability requirements differ from those of federal entities and nonprofits. This report responds to a congressional request that GAO review LSC board oversight of LSC's operations and whether LSC has sufficient governance and accountability. GAO's report objectives are to (1) compare LSC's framework for corporate governance and accountability to others', (2) evaluate LSC's governance practices, and (3) evaluate LSC's internal control and financial reporting practices. We reviewed the LSC Act, legislative history, relevant standards and requirements, and LSC documentation and accountability requirements and interviewed board and staff."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force is on the verge of making a major commitment to the multi-billion dollar E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft program. Due to the substantial investment needed and technological challenges in developing the aircraft, the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces asked GAO to examine the soundness of the E-10A business case as well as the risks associated with the current acquisition strategy."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid, jointly funded by the federal government and the states, finances health care for about 56 million low-income people at an estimated total cost of about $298 billion in fiscal year 2004. Congress intended Medicaid to be the payer of last resort: if Medicaid beneficiaries have another source of health care coverage--such as private health insurance or a health plan purchased individually or provided through an employer--that source, to the extent of its liability, should pay before Medicaid does. This concept is referred to as "third-party liability." When such coverage is used, savings accrue to the federal government and the states. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the states, GAO examined (1) the extent to which Medicaid beneficiaries have private health coverage and (2) problems states face in ensuring that Medicaid is the payer of last resort, including the extent to which the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 may help address these problems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "About 5,000 people die and more than 120,000 are injured each year from crashes involving large trucks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has several enforcement programs to improve truck safety and funds similar enforcement programs in states through its Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Following concern by Congress and others in 1999 that FMCSA's enforcement approach was ineffective, the agency committed to take stronger actions. This study reports on how FMCSA's enforcement approach has changed, how it makes decisions about its enforcement approach, and how it ensures that its grants to states contribute to the agency's mission of saving lives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has been a recognized safe haven for al Qaeda leadership and a base for the Taliban to launch cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. The United States, in an effort to assist Pakistan in addressing this threat, pledged $750 million between 2007 and 2011 to support development activities in the FATA region. This report focuses on (1) the extent U.S. development objectives align with U.S. national security goals and Pakistan's objectives, (2) U.S. efforts to track the pledge, (3) U.S. efforts to measure program performance in the FATA, and (4) efforts to monitor assistance in the FATA. GAO reviewed U.S. and Pakistani documents and interviewed U.S. and Pakistani officials in Washington, D.C., and Pakistan. GAO has prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative."

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 "Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are an alternative to the original Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program. Private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans--one type of MA plan--give beneficiaries an option that is more like Medicare FFS than other MA plans, with a wider choice of providers and less plan management of services and providers. PFFS enrollment increased from about 35,000 beneficiaries in June 2004 to about 2.3 million in June 2008. This report compares PFFS plans to other MA plans and Medicare FFS in three areas: (1) characteristics of beneficiaries, (2) financial risks for beneficiaries who do not contact their plans before receiving services, and (3) disenrollment rates. To do this work, GAO reviewed materials from a selected sample of nine PFFS plan sponsors, analyzed Medicare data, and interviewed officials from CMS, which administers the Medicare program, and other organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO previously testified that federal contractors abused the tax system with little consequence. While performing those audits, GAO noted that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records sometimes contained inaccurate or outdated tax information that prevented IRS from taking appropriate collection actions against those contractors, including submitting their tax debt to the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) for collection. As a result, GAO was asked to review IRS's coding of tax debt excluded from the FPLP to determine whether (1) IRS tax records contain inaccurate status or transaction codes that exclude tax debt from the FPLP, (2) IRS's monitoring could be strengthened to ensure the accuracy of its status and transaction codes, and (3) other opportunities exist to increase the amount of tax debt included in the FPLP."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), requires applicants for California business licenses in three industries--farm labor contracting, garment manufacturing, and car washing and polishing--to be in compliance with federal employment tax obligations to qualify. Based on questions about whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is fully using data from state and local governments to reduce the tax gap, GAO was asked to analyze (1) the extent to which requiring a demonstration of federal tax compliance to qualify for a state business license has the potential to improve federal tax compliance and (2) what opportunities exist for increasing arrangements that require federal tax compliance to qualify for state business licensing. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed IRS administrative and tax data. GAO identified California as a case study. GAO interviewed IRS and state officials and contacted revenue officials in the 50 states and the District of Columbia."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation (the Foundation) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007, and 2006. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Foundation. This report also presents (1) our opinion on the effectiveness of the Foundation's related internal control as of September 30, 2007, and (2) the results of our tests of the Foundation's compliance in fiscal year 2007 with selected provisions of laws and regulations. We conducted our audit pursuant to section 107 of the Congressional Award Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 807), and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Originally established in 2002 to fight terrorism, the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), based at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, is the military's main operational presence in Africa. The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), created in 2007 to focus on stability in Africa, has been assessing existing activities--as well as CJTF-HOA--against its mission of sustained security engagement in Africa. This report discusses: (1) AFRICOM's decisions on CJTF-HOA's future and whether CJTF-HOA's activities align with the command's mission, and (2) benefits of the task force and challenges it faces. For its review, GAO analyzed AFRICOM and CJTF-HOA guidance, conducted interviews at the command's and task force's headquarters, and obtained perspectives from U.S. embassies in the region."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recognizing the importance of human capital to information technology (IT) and the need to improve the skills of federal IT workers, Congress created the Information Technology Exchange Program (ITEP) as part of the E-Government Act of 2002. ITEP aims to improve federal IT skills through exchanges of staff between the government and the private sector. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was required to issue implementing regulations, which it did in September 2005, and to report semiannually to the Congress. OPM's regulations require that each participating agency develop an ITEP plan before proceeding with exchanges. Agencies' opportunity to begin exchanges ends in December 2007. GAO is required to evaluate the program by December 2006. As agreed, GAO's objectives were to determine (1) the status of the program and (2) challenges facing agencies. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed key documents and interviewed OPM, participating agencies, and others."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oceangoing cargo containers play a vital role in global trade but can also pose a risk of terrorist exploitation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), oversees security of the supply chain--the flow of goods from manufacturer to retailer. CBP anticipates that adoption of uniform, international customs security standards could eventually lead to a system of mutual recognition whereby the customs security-related practices and programs taken by one customs administration are recognized and accepted by another administration. In response to congressional requesters, GAO determined (1) actions CBP has taken to develop and implement international supply chain security standards, (2) actions CBP has taken with international partners to achieve mutual recognition of customs security practices, and (3) issues CBP and foreign customs administrations anticipate in implementing 100 percent scanning of U.S.-bound container cargo. To conduct its work, GAO analyzed CBP documents on supply chain security programs and international cooperation initiatives and met with CBP officials and foreign customs officials from various trading partner nations. Also, GAO drew upon its related reports and testimony on supply chain security issued earlier this …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Before the passage of federal environmental legislation in the 1970s and 1980s, Department of Defense (DOD) activities contaminated millions of acres of soil and water on and near DOD sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certain oversight authorities for cleaning up contaminants on federal property, and has placed 1,620 of the most contaminated sites--including 141 DOD installations--on its National Priorities List (NPL). As of February 2009, after 10 or more years on the NPL, 11 DOD installations had not signed the required interagency agreements (IAG) to guide cleanup with EPA. GAO was asked to examine (1) the status of DOD cleanup of hazardous substances at selected installations that lacked IAGs, and (2) obstacles, if any, to cleanup at these installations. GAO selected and visited three installations, reviewed relevant statutes and agency documents, and interviewed agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, GAO first designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) business systems modernization program as "high risk," and GAO continues to do so today. To assist in addressing this high-risk area, the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 contains provisions that are consistent with prior GAO investment management and enterprise architecture-related recommendations, and requires the department to submit annual reports to its congressional committees on its compliance with these provisions. The act also directs GAO to review each annual report. In response, GAO assessed the actions taken by DOD to comply with requirements of the act. To do so, GAO leveraged its recent reports on various aspects of the department's modernization management controls, and it reviewed, for example, the latest version of its business enterprise architecture and the associated transition plan and architecture federation strategy. GAO also interviewed key officials."