A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent events, such as the seaborne terrorist attack on Mumbai in 2008 and the pirate attack on the Quest in February 2011, highlight maritime threats to the United States. The maritime domain presents a range of potential security threats--including naval forces of adversary nations, piracy, and the use of vessels to smuggle people, drugs, and weapons--which could harm the United States and its interests. The Department of Defense (DOD) has also identified homeland defense as one of its highest priorities. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which DOD has (1) planned to conduct maritime homeland defense operations, (2) identified and addressed capability gaps in maritime homeland defense, and (3) made progress with interagency partners, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, in addressing information sharing challenges related to maritime domain awareness. To conduct this work, GAO examined national and DOD guidance and interviewed officials from DOD, Joint Staff, combatant commands, the military services, and others."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Asbestos litigation arose out of millions of Americans' lengthy occupational exposure to asbestos which is linked to malignant and nonmalignant diseases. To date, about 100 companies have declared bankruptcy at least partially due to asbestos-related liability. In accordance with Chapter 11 and 524(g) of the federal bankruptcy code, a company may transfer its liabilities and certain assets to an asbestos personal injury trust, which is then responsible for compensating present and future claimants. Since 1988, 60 trusts have been established to pay claims with about $37 billion in total assets. GAO was asked to examine asbestos trusts set up pursuant to 524(g). This report addresses: (1) How much asbestos trusts have paid in claims and how trusts are administered, (2) How trust claim and payment information is made available to outside parties, and (3) Stakeholder--plaintiff and defense attorneys, trust officials, and other interested parties--views on whether more trust and claimant information should be made available to outside parties and efforts to change the trust system and processes. GAO analyzed trust agreements for 44 of 60 trusts and trust distribution procedures for 52 of 60 trusts, as …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), within in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), oversees the 340B Drug Pricing Program, through which participating drug manufacturers give certain entities within the health care safety net--known as covered entities--access to discounted prices on outpatient drugs. Covered entities include specified federal grantees and hospitals. The number of covered entity sites has nearly doubled in the past 10 years to over 16,500. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) mandated that GAO address questions related to the 340B program. GAO examined: (1) the extent to which covered entities generate 340B revenue, factors that affect revenue generation, and how they use the program; (2) how manufacturers' distribution of drugs at 340B prices affects covered entities' or non-340B providers' access to drugs; and (3) HRSA's oversight of the 340B program. GAO reviewed key laws and guidance, analyzed relevant data, and conducted interviews with 61 340B program stakeholders selected to represent a range of perspectives, including HRSA, 29 covered entities, 10 manufacturers and representatives, and 21 others. Selection of stakeholders was judgmental and thus, responses are not generalizable."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for storing and managing a total of about 13,000 metric tons of nuclear waste--spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste--at five DOE sites in Colorado, Idaho, New York, South Carolina, and Washington. Also, a joint DOE-Navy program stores spent nuclear fuel from warships at DOE's Idaho site. DOE and the Navy intended to permanently dispose of this nuclear waste at a repository planned for Yucca Mountain in Nevada. However, that plan is now in question because of actions taken to terminate the site. This report assesses (1) agreements DOE and the Navy have with states at the five sites and the effects a termination of the Yucca Mountain repository would have on their ability to fulfill these agreements; (2) the effects a termination would have on DOE's and the Navy's operations and costs for storing the waste; and (3) DOE's and the Navy's plans to mitigate these potential effects. GAO reviewed state agreements and DOE plans, visited waste facilities, and interviewed federal and state officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For most individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), Medicare purchases a bundle of dialysis-related services using a single payment. In 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to include in this bundled payment "oral-only" ESRD drugs used to treat mineral and bone disorder. Currently, Medicare generally pays for these drugs only if the beneficiary has Part D prescription drug coverage. This report (1) describes the rationales for including oral-only ESRD drugs in the bundled payment, (2) examines dialysis organizations' recent experience providing oral-only ESRD drugs and their future ability to provide these drugs, (3) examines the data sources that CMS could use to account for oral-only ESRD drugs in the bundled payment, and (4) examines CMS's ability to monitor treatment of mineral and bone disorder. GAO interviewed CMS officials, experts in mineral and bone disorder, and representatives of 4 large and 16 small dialysis organizations. GAO also reviewed ESRD payment regulations, related reports, clinical guidelines, and state pharmacy licensure requirements in 10 selected states."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007, following reports of poor case management for outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) jointly developed the Federal Recovery Coordination Program (FRCP) to coordinate the clinical and nonclinical services needed by severely wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers and veterans. The FRCP, which continues to expand, is administered by VA, and the care coordinators, called Federal Recovery Coordinators (FRC), are VA employees. This report examines (1) whether servicemembers and veterans who need FRCP services are being identified and enrolled in the program, (2) staffing challenges confronting the FRCP, and (3) challenges facing the FRCP in its efforts to coordinate care for enrollees. GAO reviewed FRCP policies and procedures and conducted over 170 interviews of FRCP officials, FRCs, headquarters officials and staff of DOD and VA case management programs, and staff at medical facilities where FRCs are located."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2000, the annual number of new international parental child abduction cases reported to the Department of State--many of which likely involved air travel--has nearly tripled. Such abductions occur when a parent, family member, or person acting on behalf thereof, takes a child to another country in violation of the custodial parent's or guardian's rights. Once a child is abducted, the laws, policies, and procedures of the foreign country determine the child's return. Thus, preventing such abductions can help keep parents and children from being separated for a long period or indefinitely. As requested, this report addresses (1) the policies and measures airlines, federal agencies, and others have to prevent international parental child abductions on airline flights and (2) options federal agencies, airlines, and others could consider for helping prevent such abductions on airline flights, as well as the advantages and limitations of those options. To perform this work, GAO reviewed applicable laws and policies, interviewed government officials, and surveyed airlines and nonprofit associations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress enacted the Electronic Government (E-Gov) Act in 2002 to promote better use of the Internet and other information technologies (IT), thereby improving government services for citizens, internal government operations, and opportunities for citizen participation in government. Among other things, the act established the E-Gov Fund to support projects that expand the government's ability to carry out its activities electronically. The act also created the Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Administrator of this office is to assist the OMB Director in approving projects to be supported by the E-Gov Fund. The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for administering the fund and notifying Congress of how the funds are to be allocated to projects approved by OMB. GAO was asked to (1) identify and describe the projects supported by the E-Gov Fund, including the distribution of fiscal year 2010 funds among the projects and their expected benefits; and (2) for selected projects, identify their progress against goals. To do this, GAO reviewed project and funding documentation, analyzed project goals, and interviewed agency officials.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Food Security Act of 1985, Congress has authorized monetization--the sale of U.S. food aid commodities in developing countries to fund development. In fiscal year 2010, more than $300 million was used to procure and ship 540,000 metric tons of commodities to be monetized by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through analysis of agency data, interviews with agency officials, and fieldwork in three countries, this report (1) assesses the extent to which monetization proceeds cover commodity and other associated costs and (2) examines the extent to which U.S. agencies meet requirements to ensure that monetization does not cause adverse market impacts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. When care at an IHS-funded facility is unavailable, IHS's contract health services (CHS) program pays for care from external providers if the patient meets certain requirements and funding is available. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires GAO to study the adequacy of federal funding for IHS's CHS program. To examine program funding needs, IHS collects data on unfunded services--services for which funding was not available--from the federal and tribal CHS programs. GAO examined (1) the extent to which IHS ensures the data it collects on unfunded services are accurate to determine a reliable estimate of CHS program need, (2) the extent to which federal and tribal CHS programs report having funds available to pay for contract health services, and (3) the experiences of external providers in obtaining payment from the CHS program. GAO surveyed 66 federal and 177 tribal CHS programs and spoke to IHS officials and 23 providers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1994, FCC has made over 520 megahertz (a measure of quantity) of spectrum available for new uses, such as wireless broadband, through a process that can be lengthy. Because most of the usable spectrum in the United States has been allocated to existing uses, FCC must change its rules to move spectrum from an existing use to a new use, a process known as repurposing spectrum. Yet, this process can be lengthy—from 7 to 15 years for the six repurposings that GAO reviewed. Four factors contribute to the time it takes FCC to repurpose spectrum: the regulatory nature of the process, which to some extent is guided by statute; opposition of incumbent users, who could be required to vacate spectrum; coordination challenges between FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees federal agencies’ use of spectrum, on the repurposing of federal spectrum for commercial use; and concerns about interference from users of spectrum in adjacent bands of spectrum. FCC has identified voluntary approaches that it thinks could speed the process, but these approaches generally require congressional approval and face some stakeholder opposition."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Limited VA data show the number of women veterans it has identified as homeless more than doubled, from 1,380 in fiscal year 2006 to 3,328 in fiscal year 2010. Although these data are not generalizable to the overall population of homeless women veterans, we identified some characteristics of these women. For example, almost two-thirds were between 40 and 59 years old and over one-third had disabilities. In addition, many of these women resided with their minor children."

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

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, consumers have become responsible for a growing proportion of the costs of their health care. Health care price information that is transparent--available before consumers receive care--may help consumers anticipate these costs. Research identifies meaningful types of health care price information, such as estimates of what the complete cost will be to the consumer for a service. GAO defines an estimate of a consumer's complete health care cost as price information on a service that identifies a consumer's out-of-pocket cost, including any negotiated discounts, and all costs associated with a service or services. GAO examined (1) how various factors affect the availability of health care price information for consumers and (2) the information selected public and private health care price transparency initiatives make available to consumers. To do this work, GAO reviewed price transparency literature; interviewed experts; and examined a total of eight selected federal, state, and private insurance company health care price transparency initiatives. In addition, GAO anonymously contacted providers and requested the price of selected services to gain a consumer's perspective."

Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America has intensified, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. This report discusses the issue in relation to the U.S. State Department's April 2009 Country Report on Terrorism; Colombian President Hugo Chávez's sympathies with terrorist groups and lack of cooperation on antiterrorism efforts; growing U.S. concern over activities of terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay; and various legislative initiatives related to Latin American terrorism issues being considered by the 112th Congress.

This report discusses the current political and foreign policy status of Morocco, especially with regard to its relationship with the United States and its struggles combating terrorism.

he federal government's basic procurement or acquisition process involves an agency identifying the goods and services it needs (also known as the agency's "requirements"), determining the most appropriate method for purchasing these items, and carrying out the acquisition. Although this process is simple in theory, any given procurement can be complex, involving a multitude of decisions and actions. This report describes the most common elements of the federal procurement process and resources that may be used in that process.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Most U.S. households have access to television broadcast programming through cable or satellite services. Cable and satellite operators offer this programming by providing a secondary transmission of the over-the-air programming from television broadcast stations. Three statutory licenses permit operators to offer copyrighted broadcast programming in return for paying a government-set royalty fee. Although Congress created the licenses as a cost-effective way for operators to clear the copyrights to the programming, some policymakers and others believe the licenses should be phased out and a market-based approach adopted. The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 directed GAO to study and evaluate possible effects if Congress phased out the statutory licenses. This report addresses (1) the potential implications for the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regulations if such a phaseout were enacted; as well as how such a phaseout might affect (2) the market and regulatory environment and (3) consumer prices for cable and satellite television service and access to television programming. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed price, carriage, and royalty data; reviewed relevant laws; and interviewed industry stakeholders. GAO provided FCC and the U.S. Copyright Office …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More than 300 insured depository institutions have failed since the current financial crisis began in 2007, at an estimated cost of almost $60 billion to the deposit insurance fund (DIF), which covers losses to insured depositors. Since 1991, Congress has required federal banking regulators to take prompt corrective action (PCA) to identify and promptly address capital deficiencies at institutions to minimize losses to the DIF. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires GAO to study federal regulators' use of PCA. This report examines (1) the outcomes of regulators' use of PCA on the DIF; (2) the extent to which regulatory actions, PCA thresholds, and other financial indicators help regulators address likely bank trouble or failure; and (3) options available to make PCA a more effective tool. GAO analyzed agency and financial data to describe PCA and DIF trends and assess the timeliness of regulator actions and financial indicators. GAO also reviewed relevant literature and surveyed expert stakeholders from research, industry, and regulatory sectors on options to improve PCA."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Providing drinking water and wastewater services are two key functions needed to support an urban lifestyle. To provide these services, energy is needed to extract, use, and treat water and wastewater. As the demand for water increases, the energy demands associated with providing water services are similarly expected to grow. GAO was asked to describe what is known about (1) the energy needed for the urban water lifecycle and (2) technologies and approaches that could lessen the energy needed for the lifecycle and barriers that exist to their adoption. To address these issues, GAO reviewed scientific studies, government-sponsored research, and other reports and interviewed specialists from a variety of organizations, including drinking water and wastewater utilities; federal, state, and local government offices responsible for water or energy; and relevant nonprofit groups, about the energy needed to move, use, and treat water. GAO also selected three cities--Memphis, Tennessee; San Diego, California; and Washington, D.C.--as illustrative case studies to help understand the energy demands of the lifecycle in different areas of the country. GAO is not making any recommendations in this report. A draft was provided to the …

This report discusses section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the specific requirements of which must be met in order for the United States to engage in civilian nuclear cooperation with other states. The AEA also provides for exemptions to these requirements, export control licensing procedures, and criteria for terminating cooperation.

Two separate but closely related issues confront Congress each time the President introduces armed forces into a situation abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether or not Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. A longer-term issue is whether the War Powers Resolution is an appropriate and effective means of assuring congressional participation in actions that might get the United States involved in war.

This report is divided into two segments. The first section provides the most recent information on the FY2011 continuing resolution. The second segment focuses on the (1) history and recent trends, including the nature, scope, and duration of CRs during the past 35 years; (2) CR types by duration; (3) major substantive legislative provisions included in some CRs; and (4) funding gaps.

This report discusses the current political and foreign policy status of Morocco, especially with regard to its relationship with the United States and its struggles combating terrorism.