Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The conference report for the Fiscal Year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act required that we review the past and current methodologies used by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to estimate exchange rates used in preparing the budgets for ABMC's foreign currency fluctuation account. This account is intended to maintain the spending power of funds appropriated for ABMC operations in the event that the U.S. dollar depreciates against the currencies used to pay for these operations, which include designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent American military burial grounds in foreign countries. In light of recent low foreign currency fluctuation account levels, the appropriations committees' conferees were concerned with the failure of OMB to adequately address the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on ABMC in its original budget submission for fiscal year 2005, or through a supplementary budget request. In response to this mandate, we examined (1) ABMC's method of forecasting exchange rates in preparing budgets for the foreign currency fluctuation account prior to its fiscal year 2006 budget submission and OMB guidance on that method; (2) changes that occurred in …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The disastrous hurricanes that have struck the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard in recent years--including Katrina, Rita, Ivan, and Isabel--have focused attention on federal flood management efforts. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), established in 1968, provides property owners with some insurance coverage for flood damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for managing the NFIP. GAO issues a report earlier this week that was mandated by the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. This testimony discusses findings and recommendations from that report and information from past GAO work. Specifically, the testimony discusses (1) the statutory and regulatory limitations on coverage for homeowners under the NFIP; (2) FEMA's role in monitoring and overseeing the NFIP; (3) the status of FEMA's implementation of provisions of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. It also offers observations on broader issues facing the NFIP including its financial structure and updating flood maps."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The July 2005 bombing attacks on London's subway system dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of passenger rail systems worldwide to terrorist attacks, and the need for an increased focus on security for these systems. This testimony provides information on how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), have assessed risks posed by terrorism to the U.S. passenger rail system using risk management principles; actions federal agencies have taken to enhance the security of U.S. rail systems; and rail security practices implemented by domestic and selected foreign passenger rail operators and differences among these practices."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 2001, the National Guard has experienced the largest activation of its members since World War II. Currently, over 30 percent of the Army forces now in Iraq are Army National Guard members, and Guard forces have also carried out various homeland security and large-scale disaster response roles. However, continued heavy use of the Guard forces has raised concerns about whether it can successfully perform and sustain both missions over time. In the short term, the National Guard is seeking additional funding for emergency equipment. GAO was asked to comment on (1) the changing role of the Army National Guard, (2) whether the Army National Guard has the equipment it needs to sustain federal and state missions, and (3) the extent to which DOD has strategies and plans to improve the Army National Guard's business model for the future."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress asked us to provide a briefing on the facilities management and budgeting issues of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that SEC disclosed to Congress in May 2005, which resulted in SEC's requesting a reprogramming of approximately $48 million of 2005 and 2006 funds. The reprogramming was requested to cover unbudgeted costs related to the construction of new facilities in Washington, D.C., and the improvement of new leased facilities in New York City and Boston. Specifically, our objectives were to provide information on (1) the amount of funding for these projects that was not planned; (2) the reasons for the change in budgeted amounts; (3) the related actions taken by SEC since this budgeting issue was uncovered; and (4) any corrective actions to prevent this issue from recurring."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs asked GAO to discuss its work on the consistency of disability compensation claims decisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). GAO has reported wide state-to-state variations in average compensation payments per disabled veteran, raising questions about decisional consistency. In 2003, GAO designated VA's disability programs, along with other federal disability programs, as high risk, in part because of concerns about decisional consistency. Illustrating this issue, GAO reported that inadequate information from VA medical centers on joint and spine impairments contributed to inconsistent regional office disability decisions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In carrying out its mission of serving the nation's veterans and their dependents, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies extensively on information technology (IT), for which it is requesting about $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2006. VA's vision is to integrate its IT resources and streamline interactions with customers, so that it can provide services and information to veterans more quickly and effectively. Fully exploiting the potential of IT to improve performance is a challenging goal for VA, as it is throughout government. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 addressed this challenge by, among other things, establishing the position of chief information officer (CIO) to serve as the focal point for information and technology management within departments and agencies. As agreed with Congress, GAO will discuss the role of CIOs in the federal government and in the private sector, as well as provide a historical perspective on the roles and responsibilities of VA's CIO. In developing this testimony, GAO relied on its previous work at VA and on the CIO role, including a 2004 review of CIOs at major departments and agencies and a 2005 review of CIOs …