A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the past, governments worldwide owned, operated, and regulated air navigation services, viewing air traffic control as a governmental function. But as nations faced increasing financial strains, many governments decided to shift the responsibility to an independent air navigation service provider (ANSP) that operates as a business. As of March 2005, 38 nations worldwide had commercialized their air navigation services, fundamentally shifting the operational and financial responsibility for providing these services from the national government to an independent commercial authority. GAO selected five ANSPs--in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom--to develop, as requested, a descriptive analysis of commercialized ANSPs that illustrated similarities and differences in ownership, length of experience with commercialization, and size and scope of operations. This report addresses the following questions: (1) What are common characteristics of commercialized ANSPs in selected foreign countries? (2) What do available data show about how the safety, cost, and efficiency of air navigation services have changed since commercialization? (3) What are some key lessons learned about the commercialization of air navigation services?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Homeland Security Act of 2002 required that the Department of Homeland Security's on-site personnel in Saudi Arabia review all visa applications. The act also authorized the expansion of the Visa Security Program to other embassies and consulates to provide expert advice and training to consular officers, among other things. Given the congressional interest in effective implementation of the Visa Security Program, we assessed (1) the Visa Security Officers' activities in Saudi Arabia, and (2) DHS's plans to expand its Visa Security Program to other consular posts overseas."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Congress enacted welfare reform legislation in 1996, child care assistance has served as a key support for work efforts among low-income families. Researchers have found that reliable, high-quality child care is critical to sustaining parents' ability to work, while safeguarding their children's health and intellectual development. States have flexibility in determining which low-income families are provided child care subsidies funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and related state resources. States must balance the funds available for subsidies with the number of families who want subsidized child care. In doing so, states may find it necessary to change child care policies that affect program access or the amount of subsidy that eligible families receive. As Congress considers reauthorizing CCDF and TANF, we updated our previous report "Child Care: Recent State Policy Changes Affecting the Availability of Assistance for Low-Income Families" by providing current information on (1) the choices states have made for providing child care assistance to (a) TANF families, (b) families transitioning off TANF, and (c) other lowincome families; (2) the extent to which states …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government strives to make postsecondary education accessible and affordable, primarily by providing financial aid to students and their families. Given that nearly half of undergraduates receive federal financial aid, Congress is interested in the overall cost of attendance, including the cost of textbooks. We were asked to determine (1) what has been the change in textbook prices, (2) what factors have contributed to changes in textbook prices, and (3) what factors explain why a given U.S. textbook may retail outside the United States for a different price. We received technical comments from the Department of Labor. The Department of Education had no comments. The National Association of College Stores generally agreed with the report's findings. The Association of American Publishers agreed with some findings but expressed concern about the data sources we used and the characterizations made by retailers and wholesalers regarding the impact of publisher practices on students. We carefully reviewed the data sources available on college textbook pricing and found the data we used to be the most complete and reliable data available for our purposes. Additionally, we sought perspectives from publishers, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For over 125 years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), within the Department of the Treasury, has relied on a single contractor to supply the paper for U.S. currency. Such a long-term contracting relationship could contribute to higher costs and other risks. Another federal agency that relied on a single contractor, the U.S. Mint, decided to obtain a second supplier for coin metal. In solicitations for currency paper contracts in 1999 and 2003, BEP took steps to address barriers to competition that GAO had identified in 1998 through a survey of paper manufacturers. This report updates GAO's 1998 report using data from a second survey. It addresses (1) the changes BEP made to encourage competition and the results of its efforts, (2) the steps BEP took to ensure that it paid fair and reasonable prices, and (3) the analysis BEP has done of the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining a second supplier."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Iraq conflict began in March 2003, the Departments of Defense (DOD) and State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other federal agencies have issued contracts to perform reconstruction activities in Iraq. The large number of contractors working amid continued violence has raised concerns over the use of contractors to support U.S. military and civilian operations overseas, including the cost of workers' compensation insurance provided to contractor employees in Iraq under the Defense Base Act (DBA). We have received requests from over 100 members of Congress asking us to review a number of Iraq-related issues, including issues associated with DBA insurance. Because of the level of interest in issues dealing with Iraq, the Comptroller General initiated this review under his statutory authority. The objectives of our review were to identify the cost to the U.S. government of insurance coverage purchased under DBA and to assess the act's implementation. DBA provides disability and medical benefits for contractors' and subcontractors' employees injured on the job and death benefits to survivors when those employees are killed."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Department of Defense (DOD) spent more than $200 billion to purchase goods and services. To help ensure defense contracts are awarded fairly and current and former employees do not use their knowledge of DOD acquisition activities to gain financial or other benefits, DOD personnel are required to conduct themselves in a manner that meets federal ethics rules and standards. Regulations require DOD to implement an ethics program and provide that contractors meet certain ethics standards. For this report, GAO assessed (1) DOD's efforts to train and counsel its workforce to raise awareness of ethics rules and standards as well as DOD measures of the effectiveness of these efforts and (2) DOD's knowledge of defense contractors' programs to promote ethical standards of conduct."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The fiscal year 1993 National Defense Authorization Act established the National Guard Youth Challenge Program as a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of providing military based training to improve the life skills of high school dropouts. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, under the authority of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, is responsible for overall policy for the program. The National Guard Bureau (NGB) provides direct management and oversight. In 1998, Congress permanently authorized the program and began decreasing the federal cost share until it reached its current level of 60 percent in 2001. Conference Report 108-767 directed GAO to review the program. Specifically, GAO reviewed (1) historical trends of the program; (2) the extent of analyses performed to determine program costs and the need to adjust the federal and state cost share; and (3) NGB oversight of the program. GAO is also providing information on Reserve Affairs' and states' efforts to obtain funding from alternative sources."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Airlift is a flexible, but expensive, transportation method. From September 2001 to April 2005, the Department of Defense (DOD) has spent about $9.5 billion using airlift to transport equipment, supplies, and troops for Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF). As of December 2004, airlift accounted for about 13 percent of all cargo and passengers transported for these operations. DOD has stated that high demand for available airlift assets requires the department to use airlift assets as efficiently as possible. However, DOD's primary objective emphasizes delivering "the right items to the right place at the right time" over using aircraft capacity as efficiently as possible. Under the Comptroller General's authority, GAO sought to determine whether DOD used capacity on strategic military aircraft transporting cargo and passengers between the United States and overseas theaters for OEF and OIF as efficiently as possible."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite its significant investment in business systems, the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to have long-standing financial and business management problems that preclude the department from producing reliable and timely information for making decisions and for accurately reporting on its billions of dollars of assets. GAO was asked to (1) identify DOD's fiscal year 2005 estimated funding for its business systems and (2) determine whether DOD has effective control and accountability over its business systems modernization investments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) difficulty in implementing business systems that are efficient and effective continues despite the billions of dollars that it invests each year. For a decade now--since 1995--we have designated DOD's business systems modernization as "high-risk." GAO was asked to (1) provide a historical perspective on the planning and costs of the Navy's four Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) pilot projects, and the decision to merge them into one program; (2) determine if the Navy has identified lessons from the pilots, how the lessons are being used, and challenges that remain; and (3) determine if there are additional best business practices that could be used to improve management oversight of the Navy ERP."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has been working to develop and implement a standard end-to-end travel system for the last 10 years. Congress has been at the forefront in addressing issues related to DOD's travel management practices with the hearing today being another example of its oversight efforts. Because of widespread congressional interest in the Defense Travel System (DTS), GAO's current audit is being performed under the statutory authority given to the Comptroller General of the United States. GAO's testimony is based on the preliminary results of that audit and focuses on the following three key questions: (1) Has DOD effectively tested key functionality in DTS related to flights and fare information? (2) Will DTS correct the problems related to DOD travel previously identified by GAO and others? and (3) What challenges remain in ensuring that DTS achieves its goal as DOD's standard travel system? In addition, the Subcommittee asked that GAO provide a description of the intellectual property rights of DOD in DTS. Subsequent to this testimony, GAO plans to issue a report that will include recommendations to the Secretary of Defense aimed at improving the department's …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has created a framework to provide for EEO by prohibiting unlawful discrimination based on such factors as race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability, and offers redress when discrimination and retaliation have occurred. To further EEO and help bring about a diverse workforce, federal agencies are required to carry out affirmative employment and minority recruitment programs. EEOC and OPM have primary responsibility for ensuring that the government's policies for a fair, equitable, and inclusive workplace are carried out. In response to a congressional request that GAO provide information on the federal government's performance in promoting EEO and managing its diverse workforce, this report provides information on (1) the statutory and policy framework relating to EEO, affirmative employment, and workforce diversity and (2) the roles and responsibilities of EEOC and OPM within the framework and how these agencies carry out these roles and responsibilities."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mission is to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the U.S. airspace system. To this end, FAA is modernizing its air traffic control systems, a multibillion dollar effort that GAO has designated as a high-risk program. GAO's research into the practices of successful public- and private-sector organizations has shown that developing and using an enterprise architecture, or blueprint, to guide and constrain systems investments is crucial to the success of such a modernization effort. GAO was asked to determine whether FAA has established effective processes for managing the development and implementation of an enterprise architecture."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal government purchases of contracted goods and services have grown to more than $300 billion annually. To protect the government's interests, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provides that agencies can suspend or debar contractors for causes affecting present responsibility--such as serious failure to perform to the terms of a contract. The FAR provides flexibility to agencies in developing a suspension or debarment process. GAO was asked to (1) describe the general guidance on the suspension and debarment process and how selected agencies have implemented the process, and (2) identify any needed improvements in the suspension and debarment process. We examined the FAR and the regulations of 24 agencies that have FAR supplements governing suspension and debarment procedures. We selected 6 defense and civilian agencies representing about 67 percent of fiscal year 2003 federal contract spending for in-depth review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the federal government made or guaranteed about $84 billion in loans for postsecondary education through two loan programs--the Federal Family Education Loan Progam (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). Under FFELP, private lenders fund the loans and the government guarantees them a minimum yield and repayment if borrowers default. When the interest rate paid by borrowers is lower than the guaranteed minimum yield, the government pays lenders special allowance payments (SAP). Under FDLP, the U.S. Treasury funds the loans that are originated through participating schools. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) of 1990 the government calculates, for purposes of the budget, the net cost of extending or guaranteeing credit over the life of a loan, called a subsidy cost. Agencies generally update, or reestimate, subsidy costs annually to include actual program results and adjust future program estimates. GAO examined (1) whether reestimated subsidy costs have differed from original estimates for FFELP and FDLP loans disbursed in fiscal years 1994 through 2004, (2) what factors explain changes between reestimated and original subsidy rates--that is subsidy cost estimates per $100 disbursed; …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center exposed the vulnerability of the financial markets to disruption by such events. As part of a series of reviews we have performed at the request of Members of Congress, we have examined and reported on the adequacy of the steps that financial market participants have taken to reduce their vulnerability to attacks and to be better able to recover from such events when they occur. In addition to taking steps to reduce the likelihood that physical attacks will damage their facilities, financial market organizations must also implement protections to reduce the potential for electronic attacks to disrupt their operations. Electronic attacks can be the result of individuals (such as hackers) or groups, such terrorist organizations or foreign governments, attempting to gain unauthorized access to a specific organization's networks or systems or from malicious computer programs or codes, such as viruses or worms, that seek to damage data or deny access to legitimate users. Given the importance of this topic, Congress asked us to review the measures taken by selected critical financial market organizations, including exchanges, clearing organizations, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, the Army began transforming its force into modular brigade-based units, thus expanding the number of units available for deployment and creating new command and support units. The Army is transforming while engaged in the Global War on Terrorism and developing other high-cost capabilities. This prompted congressional concern about the affordability of Army plans. Thus, under the Comptroller General's statutory authority, GAO examined the Army's restructuring. This report addresses (1) the extent of change in costs and areas of uncertainty that could affect those costs, (2) the Army's plan for funding modularity and factors that may affect affordability, and (3) whether the Army has an adequate approach to track modularity obligations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A dramatic increase in freight moving on the nation's highways and rail lines, coupled with growing congestion and infrastructure limitations, has prompted DOT to explore new mobility-enhancing options like short sea shipping (SSS)--transporting freight by water between domestic ports, either along the coast or on inland waterways. This report describes (1) why SSS is being considered and factors affecting its viability, (2) the department's role in the development of this option, and (3) issues that should be considered by public transportation decision makers when making investment decisions about this option or other types of projects for addressing freight mobility challenges. This report is based on a review of pertinent studies, federal activities, and an examination of two new SSS operations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health care delivery in the United States has long-standing problems with medical errors and inefficiencies that increase costs. Hence, health information technology (IT) has great potential to improve the quality of care, bolster preparedness of our public health infrastructure, and save money on administrative costs. The threats of natural disasters and terrorist attacks further underscore the need for interoperable information systems, and the critical importance of defining and implementing standards that would enable such interoperability. GAO has reported on the quality of care benefits derived by using IT, federal agencies' existing and planned information systems to support national preparedness for public health emergencies, and the status of health IT standards settings initiatives. The House Committee on Government Reform asked GAO to summarize (1) its previously issued reports and recommendations on health IT standards and (2) recent actions taken by HHS to facilitate the development of health IT standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because of the susceptibility of health care programs to fraud and abuse, Congress enacted the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) program as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Pub. L. No. 104-191. HIPAA requires that the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice (DOJ) issue a joint annual report to Congress on amounts deposited to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and amounts appropriated from the trust fund for the HCFAC program. It also requires GAO to submit reports biennially. This, our final report required by law, provides the results of our review of amounts reported as (1) deposits to the trust fund, (2) appropriations from the trust fund and justification for expenditure of such amounts by HHS and DOJ, and (3) savings resulting from expenditures from the trust fund. We also report on the repeated late issuance of the annual HCFAC report as well as the status of our prior recommendations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) organizations are expected to work together to protect the United States from terrorism. To support this primary mission, DHS has been acquiring billions of dollars worth of goods and services. DHS also has been working to integrate the disparate acquisition processes and systems that organizations brought with them when DHS was created 2 years ago. GAO was asked to identify (1) areas where DHS has been successful in promoting collaboration among its various organizations and (2) areas where DHS still faces challenges in integrating the acquisition function across the department. GAO was also asked to assess DHS's progress in implementing an effective review process for major, complex investments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Independent media development led by the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the national security goal of developing sustainable democracies around the world. Independent media institutions play a role in supporting commerce, improving public health efforts, reducing corruption, and providing civic education. According to the Freedom House's Freedom of the Press 2005 survey, despite important gains in some countries, the overall level of press freedom worldwide continued to worsen in 2004. GAO was asked to examine (1) U.S. government funding for independent media development overseas; (2) the extent to which U.S. agencies measure performance toward achieving results; and (3) the challenges the United States faces in achieving results. The Department of State generally concurred with our report and USAID offered technical comments that were incorporated, as appropriate. In addition, State indicated that it plans to develop additional performance indicators and promote best practices in the future."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest user of other federal agencies' contracting services. The availability of these contracting services has enabled DOD and other departments to save time by paying other agencies to award and administer contracts for goods and services on their behalf. DOD can access these contracting services a number of ways, such as ordering directly from interagency contracts for commonly needed items. DOD also can pay someone else to do the work. For example, DOD uses franchise funds, which are government-run, fee-for-service organizations that provide a portfolio of services, including contracting services. As part of a congressional mandate, GAO assessed whether franchise funds ensured fair and reasonable prices for goods and services, whether DOD analyzed purchasing alternatives, and whether DOD and franchise funds ensured value by defining contract outcomes and overseeing contractor performance."