Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU), showed that the consequences of an incident on an offshore energy facility can be significant. A key way to ensure that offshore energy facilities are meeting applicable security, safety, and production standards is through conducting periodic inspections of the facilities. The Coast Guard and the Department of the Interior (Interior) share oversight responsibility for offshore energy facilities. The Coast Guard is to conduct security inspections of such facilities, whereas based on an agreement between the two agencies, Interior is to conduct safety compliance inspections on some offshore facilities on behalf of the Coast Guard as well as its own inspections to verify production. This testimony addresses: (1) the extent to which the Coast Guard has conducted security inspections of offshore energy facilities, and what additional actions are needed; (2) the extent to which Interior has conducted inspections of offshore energy facilities, including those on behalf of the Coast Guard, and challenges it faces in conducting such inspections; and (3) the Coast Guard's oversight authority of MODUs. This testimony is based on GAO products issued …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Illicit drug use endangers public health and safety and depletes financial resources. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), each day in this country, an estimated 8,000 Americans illegally consume a drug for the first time and the risks posed by their drug use--like that of the estimated 20 million individuals that already use illicit drugs--will radiate to their families and the communities in which they live. Efforts to combat drug abuse and its consequences also represent a considerable financial investment. ONDCP, which is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the national drug policy, reported that, for fiscal year 2010, about $22 billion was allocated for drug control programs and other related drug control activities across 49 federal agencies, departments, components, or programs. ONDCP was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to enhance national drug control planning and assist Congress in overseeing that effort. In this role, ONDCP provides advice and governmentwide oversight of drug programs and coordinates the development of the National Drug Control Strategy (Strategy). By statute, the Director of ONDCP is to annually (1) develop a National Drug …

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-05-739SP, Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and Relationships, June 2005. Both the executive branch and congressional committees need evaluative information to help them make decisions about the programs they oversee--information that tells them whether, and why, a program is working well or not. In enacting the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Congress expressed frustration that executive and congressional decisionmaking was often hampered by the lack of good information on the results of federal program efforts. To promote improved federal management and greater efficiency and effectiveness, GPRA instituted a governmentwide requirement that agencies set goals and report annually on performance. Many analytic approaches have been employed over the years by the agencies and others to assess the operations and results of federal programs, policies, activities, and organizations. Most federal agencies now use performance measures to track progress towards goals, but few seem to regularly conduct indepth program evaluations to assess their programs' impact or learn how to improve results. Individual evaluation studies are designed to answer specific questions about how well a program is working, and GPRA explicitly encourages a complementary role for …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States imposes antidumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duties to remedy unfair foreign trade practices that cause injury to domestic industries. Evasion of AD/CV duties weakens protections for U.S. industry and reduces U.S. revenues. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sometimes detects such evasion after the merchandise has been "liquidated," i.e., the goods have entered commerce and the agency has completed processing the entry. Congress requested that we examine CBP's options for attempting to collect revenues in such cases. In this report, we examine (1) options available to CBP to assess revenues on entries of goods subject to AD/CV duties that entered the United States through evasion and have already been liquidated and (2) factors that affect the amount of revenues collected by CBP through the use of these options."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our October 11 opinion concerning the Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) use of appropriations for bilateral activities with the government of the People's Republic of China."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior oversees oil and gas activities on leased federal lands and waters. Revenue generated from federal oil and gas production is one of the largest nontax sources of federal government funds, accounting for about $9 billion in fiscal year 2009. Since the April 2010 explosion on board the Deepwater Horizon, Interior has been in the midst of restructuring the bureaus that oversee oil and gas development. Specifically, Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees onshore federal oil and gas activities; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE)--created in May 2010--oversees offshore oil and gas activities; and the newly established Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is responsible for collecting royalties on oil and gas produced from both onshore and offshore federal leases. Prior to BOEMRE, the Minerals Management Service's (MMS) Offshore Energy and Minerals Management Office oversaw offshore oil and gas activities and revenue collection. In 2011, GAO identified Interior's management of oil and gas resources as a high risk issue. GAO's work in this area identified challenges in five areas: (1) reorganization, (2) balancing responsibilities, (3) human capital, (4) revenue …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) oversight of its Military Tuition Assistance (TA) Program. In fiscal year 2010, the TA Program provided $531 million in tuition assistance to approximately 302,000 service members who elected to pursue off-duty postsecondary education. DOD offers these benefits to service members in order to help them fulfill their academic goals and enhance their professional development. Program oversight for voluntary education programs is the responsibility of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In addition, the military services are responsible for establishing, maintaining, operating, and implementing the programs at 350 education centers on military installations worldwide. Education centers are managed by an education services officer (ESO) and staff, such as education guidance counselors. This testimony discusses (1) DOD's oversight of schools receiving TA funds and (2) the extent to which DOD coordinates with accrediting agencies and the Department of Education (Education) in its oversight activities. This testimony is based on GAO's recent report, titled DOD Education Benefits: Increased Oversight of Tuition Assistance Program Is Needed. Our report and testimony are based on work we performed between August 2010 and February 2011."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, including the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Since the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) first announced the framework for its MHA program over 2 years ago, the number of homeowners facing potential foreclosure has remained at historically high levels. HAMP, the key component of MHA, provides financial incentives to servicers and mortgage holders/investors to offer modifications on first-lien mortgages. The modifications are intended to reduce borrowers' monthly mortgage payments to affordable levels to help these homeowners avoid foreclosure and keep their homes. Since HAMP's inception, concerns have been raised that the program is not reaching the expected number of homeowners. In two prior reports, we looked at the implementation of the HAMP first-lien modification program, noted that Treasury faced challenges in implementing it, and made several recommendations intended to address these challenges. In addition, our ongoing work examines the extent to which additional MHA programs have been successful at reaching struggling homeowners, the characteristics of homeowners who have been assisted by the HAMP first-lien modification program, and the outcomes for borrowers who do not complete HAMP …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses ending elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Each day, news reports cite instances of older adults across the U.S. being abused and denied needed care, often by those they depend on the most. Neglect and abuse often go hand in hand with financial exploitation, which can rob older adults of the life savings and property they count on to support them in old age. In addition to the physical, psychological, and economic harm elder abuse inflicts on older adults, it can impose an economic burden on all Americans, increasing public expenditures on health care and the demand for a range of supportive services. A 2009 study estimated that 14.1 percent of non-institutionalized older adults nationwide had experienced some form of elder abuse in the past year. In all likelihood, this underestimated the full extent of elder abuse, however, because older adults who are highly cognitively impaired may be underrepresented in this study. States are primarily responsible for protecting older adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. In each state, an Adult Protective Services (APS) program aims to identify, investigate, resolve, and prevent such abuse. On the federal …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) overarching mission is to protect human health and the environment by implementing and enforcing the laws intended to improve the quality of the nation's air, water, and lands. EPA's policies and programs affect virtually all segments of the economy, society, and government. As such, it operates in a highly complex and controversial regulatory arena. In recent years, GAO's work has identified several significant and persistent challenges across a range of EPA programs and activities and has proposed corrective actions to enable the agency to more effectively accomplish its mission. Based on this work, this testimony highlights some of the major management challenges facing EPA today, the agency's efforts to address them, and the work GAO believes remains to be done."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses state oversight of health insurance premium rates in 2010 and changes that states that received Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rate review grants have begun making to enhance their oversight of premium rates. In 2009, about 173 million nonelderly Americans, about 65 percent of the U.S. population under the age of 65, had private health insurance coverage, either through individually purchased or employer-based private health plans. The cost of this health insurance coverage continues to rise. In a 2010 survey, over three-quarters of U.S. consumers with individually purchased private health plans reported health insurance premium increases. Of those reporting increases, the average premium increase was 20 percent. A separate survey found that premiums for employerbased coverage more than doubled from 2000 to 2010. Policymakers have raised questions about the extent to which these increases in health insurance premiums are justified and could adversely affect consumers. Oversight of the private health insurance industry is primarily the responsibility of individual states. This includes oversight of health insurance premium rates, which are actuarial estimates of the cost of providing coverage over a period of time to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the February 2011 High-Risk Series update, GAO continued designation of Medicare as a high-risk program because its complexity and susceptibility to improper payments, combined with its size, have led to serious management challenges. In 2010, Medicare covered 47 million people and had estimated outlays of $509 billion. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated fiscal year 2010 improper payments for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage of almost $48 billion. This statement focuses on the nature of the risk in the program, progress made, and specific actions needed. It is based on GAO work developed by using a variety of methodologies--including analyses of Medicare claims, review of policies, interviews, and site visits--and information from CMS on the status of actions to address GAO recommendations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) financial condition and outlook are deteriorating because revenues are not sufficient to cover its expenses and financial obligations. These challenges continue to threaten USPS's financial viability and GAO has therefore retained USPS on its high risk list issued in February 2011. USPS also faces cost pressures from maintaining a national network of processing, retail, and delivery operations. This testimony discusses (1) updated information on USPS's financial condition and outlook and (2) actions needed to modernize and restructure USPS. It is based primarily on GAO's past and ongoing work, as well as GAO's review of USPS's recent financial results and the President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Identity theft is a serious and growing problem in the United States. Taxpayers are harmed when identity thieves file fraudulent tax documents using stolen names and Social Security numbers. In 2010 alone, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identified over 245,000 identity theft incidents that affected the tax system. The hundreds of thousands of taxpayers with tax problems caused by identity theft represent a small percentage of the expected 140 million individual returns filed, but for those affected, the problems can be quite serious. GAO was asked to describe, among other things, (1) when IRS detects identity theft based refund and employment fraud, (2) the steps IRS has taken to resolve, detect, and prevent innocent taxpayers' identity theft related problems, and (3) constraints that hinder IRS's ability to address these issues. GAO's testimony is based on its previous work on identity theft. GAO updated its analysis by examining data on identity theft cases and interviewing IRS officials."