Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Threats to national security--such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and high-profile espionage cases--underscore the need for timely, high-quality determinations of who is eligible for a personnel security clearance which allows an individual to access classified information. The Department of Defense (DOD) needs an effective and efficient clearance program because it is responsible for about 2 million active clearances and provides clearances to more than 20 other executive agencies as well as the legislative branch. Despite these imperatives, DOD has for more than a decade experienced delays in completing hundreds of thousands of clearance requests and impediments to accurately estimating and eliminating its clearance backlog. In January 2005, GAO designated DOD's personnel security clearance program as a high-risk area. In February 2005, DOD transferred its personnel security investigative functions and about 1,800 positions to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), after 2 years of negotiation between the agencies. This testimony provides an update on the challenges that led to GAO's high-risk designation. It identifies both the positive steps that have been taken to address previously identified challenges and some of the remaining hurdles. GAO will continue to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since it was established in 1982, GAO has consistently reported on the success of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in benefiting small, innovative companies, strengthening their role in federal research and development (R&D), and helping federal agencies achieve their R&D goals. However, through these reviews GAO has also identified areas where action by participating agencies or the Congress could build on the program's successes and improve its operations. This statement for the record summarizes the program's successes and improvements over time, as well as the continuing challenge of assessing the long term results of the program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid--the federal-state health care financing program covering nearly 54 million low-income people at a cost of $276 billion in fiscal year 2003--is by its size and structure at risk of waste and exploitation. Because of challenges inherent in overseeing the program, administered federally by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), GAO in 2003 added Medicaid to its list of high-risk federal programs. To help administer the program, states may employ consultants in a number of roles, sometimes under contracts whereby payment is contingent upon the consultant's performance. GAO was asked to report on states' use of contingency-fee consultants. GAO examined the extent to which (1) states are using contingency-fee consultants for projects to maximize federal Medicaid reimbursements, (2) claims from contingency-fee projects in selected states are consistent with federal law and policy, and (3) states and CMS are overseeing claims from such projects."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Today's hearing addresses fraud and abuse control in Medicaid, a program that provides health care coverage for eligible low-income individuals and is jointly financed by the federal government and the states. In fiscal year 2003, Medicaid covered nearly 54 million people and the program's benefit payments totaled roughly $261 billion, of which the federal share was about $153 billion. States are primarily responsible for ensuring appropriate payments to Medicaid providers through provider enrollment screening, claims review, overpayment recoveries, and case referrals. At the federal level, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for supporting and overseeing state fraud and abuse control activities. Last year, GAO reported that CMS had initiatives to assist states, but the dollar and staff resources allocated to oversight suggested that CMS's level of effort was disproportionately small relative to the risk of federal financial loss. Concerned about the stewardship of federal Medicaid funds, Congress has raised questions about CMS's commitment to Medicaid fraud and abuse control. This statement focuses on (1) the level of resources CMS currently applies to helping states prevent and detect fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid--the federal-state health care financing program covering almost 54 million low-income people at a cost of $276 billion in fiscal year 2003--is by its size and structure at significant risk of waste and exploitation. Because of challenges inherent in overseeing the program, which is administered federally by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), GAO added Medicaid to its list of high-risk federal programs in 2003. Over the years, states have found various ways to maximize federal Medicaid reimbursements, sometimes using consultants paid a contingency fee to help them do so. From earlier work and a report issued today (GAO-05-748), GAO's testimony addresses (1) how some states have inappropriately increased federal reimbursements; (2) some ways states have increased federal reimbursements for school-based Medicaid services and administrative costs; and (3) how states are using contingency-fee consultants to maximize federal Medicaid reimbursements and how CMS is overseeing states' efforts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and subsequent legislation authorized about $13.5 billion in guaranteed funding for the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) New Starts program, which is used to select fixed guideway transit projects, such as rail and trolley projects, and to award full funding grant agreements (FFGA). GAO assessed the New Starts process for the fiscal year 2006 cycle. GAO identified (1) the number of projects that were evaluated, rated, and proposed for new FFGAs and the proposed funding commitments in the administration's budget request; (2) changes FTA has made to the New Starts application, evaluation, rating, and oversight processes since the fiscal year 2001 evaluation cycle and how these changes have been communicated to project sponsors; and (3) how FTA developed the measures used to evaluate and rate projects from the criteria outlined in TEA-21 and how those measures are used in the rating process."