Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) created the strategy for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project in 2005, the space landscape has changed significantly--the Space Shuttle program is retiring and the Ares I will not be available--increasing the importance of the timely development of COTS vehicles. The lack of alternatives for supplying the International Space Station and launching science missions have all contributed to an increased need for the COTS vehicles. The two COTS project partners, Orbital and SpaceX, have made progress in the development of their respective vehicles; however, both providers are behind schedule. As a result, the project recently received an additional $300 million to augment development efforts with risk reduction milestones. This testimony focuses on: (1) COTS development activities, including the recent funding increase; (2) the extent to which any COTS demonstration delays have affected commercial resupply services (CRS) missions and NASA's plans for meeting the space station's cargo resupply needs; and (3) lessons learned from NASA's acquisition approach for COTS. To prepare this statement, GAO used its prior relevant work and conducted additional audit work, such as analyzing each partner's agreement …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Dissatisfaction with the federal tax system has led to a debate about U.S. tax reform, including proposals for a national consumption tax. One type of proposed consumption tax is a value-added tax (VAT), widely used around the world. A VAT is levied on the difference between a business's sales and its purchases of goods and services. Typically, a business calculates the tax due on its sales, subtracts a credit for taxes paid on its purchases, and remits the difference to the government. While the economic and distributional effects of a U.S. VAT type tax have been studied, GAO issued a report in 2008 that looked at lessons learned from VAT administration in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These countries provided a range of VAT designs from relatively simple to more complex. This statement, which is based on the 2008 report, focuses on (1) the effect VAT design choices, such as exemptions and enforcement mechanisms, have on compliance, administrative costs, and compliance burden; (2) Canada's experience with administering a VAT in conjunction with several different subnational consumption tax arrangements; and (3) the experience that some …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Increasing computer interconnectivity, such as the growth of the Internet, has revolutionized the way our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. However, this widespread interconnectivity poses significant risks to the government's and the nation's computer systems, and to the critical infrastructures they support. These critical infrastructures include systems and assets--both physical and virtual--that are essential to the nation's security, economic prosperity, and public health, such as financial institutions, telecommunications networks, and energy production and transmission facilities. Because most of these infrastructures are owned by the private sector, establishing effective public-private partnerships is essential to securing them from pervasive cyber-based threats. Federal law and policy call for federal entities, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to work with private-sector partners to enhance the physical and cyber security of these critical infrastructures. GAO is providing a statement describing (1) cyber threats facing cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; (2) recent actions the federal government has taken, in partnership with the private sector, to identify and protect cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; and (3) ongoing challenges to protecting these infrastructures. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our past work examining the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) progress and efforts in planning, developing, and deploying its global nuclear detection architecture (GNDA). The overall mission of the GNDA is to use an integrated system of radiation detection equipment and interdiction activities to combat nuclear smuggling in foreign countries, at the U.S. border, and inside the United States. Terrorists smuggling nuclear or radiological material into the United States could use these materials to make an improvised nuclear device or a radiological dispersal device (also called a "dirty bomb"). The detonation of a nuclear device in an urban setting could cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and devastate buildings and physical infrastructure for miles. While not as damaging, a radiological dispersal device could nonetheless cause hundreds of millions of dollars in socioeconomic costs as a large part of a city would have to be evacuated--and possibly remain inaccessible--until an extensive radiological decontamination effort was completed. Accordingly, the GNDA remains our country's principal strategy in protecting the homeland from the consequences of nuclear terrorism. The GNDA is a multi-departmental effort coordinated by DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses issues related to possible changes to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program, a topic that we have reported on in the past. At the end of chargeback year 2010, the FECA program, administered by the Department of Labor (Labor) had paid more than $1.88 billion in wage-loss compensation, impairment, and death benefits, and another $898.1 million for medical and rehabilitation services and supplies. Currently, FECA benefits are paid to federal employees who are unable to work because of injuries sustained while performing their federal duties, including those who are at or older than retirement age. Concerns have been raised that federal employees on FECA receive benefits that could be more generous than under the traditional federal retirement system and that the program may have unintended incentives for beneficiaries to remain on the FECA program beyond the traditional retirement age. Over the past 30 years, there have been various proposals to change the FECA program to address this concern. Recent policy proposals to change the way FECA is administered for older beneficiaries share characteristics with past proposals we have discussed in prior work. In August …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Today, and in the foreseeable future, military operations require U.S. personnel, in particular Army and Marine Corps ground forces, to communicate and interact with multinational partners and local populations. The committee report accompanying a proposed bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 directed GAO to review several issues related to language and culture training for Army and Marine Corps general purpose forces. For this report, GAO evaluated (1) the extent to which the Army and Marine Corps had developed strategies with elements such as goals, funding priorities, and metrics to guide training approaches and investments that were aligned with Department of Defense (DOD) planning efforts and (2) DOD's approach for identifying training requirements for Army and Marine Corps forces that will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. To do so, GAO analyzed Army and Marine Corps strategies and training requirements and interviewed cognizant officials."

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Justice Department has reported that Indians are at least twice as likely to be raped or sexually assaulted as all other races in the United States. Indians living in remote areas may be days away from health care facilities providing medical forensic exams, which collect evidence related to an assault for use in criminal prosecution. The principal health care provider for Indians, which operates or funds tribes to operate 45 hospitals, is the Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service (IHS). In response to a Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 mandate, GAO examined (1) the ability of IHS and tribally operated hospitals to collect and preserve medical forensic evidence involving cases of sexual assault and domestic violence, as needed for criminal prosecution; (2) what challenges, if any, these hospitals face in collecting and preserving such evidence; and (3) what factors besides medical forensic evidence contribute to a decision to prosecute such cases. GAO surveyed all 45 IHS and tribally operated hospitals and interviewed IHS and law enforcement officials and prosecutors.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is primarily responsible for preparing the financial report of the U.S. government, which contains the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS). Since GAO's first audit of the fiscal year 1997 CFS, certain material weaknesses in internal control and other limitations on the scope of GAO's work have prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the CFS, exclusive of the Statement of Social Insurance (SOSI). Also, GAO was unable to express an opinion on the 2010 SOSI because of significant uncertainties primarily related to the achievement of projected reductions in Medicare cost growth reflected in the 2010 SOSI. As part of the fiscal year 2010 CFS audit, GAO identified material weaknesses and other control deficiencies in the processes used to prepare the CFS. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide details on new financial statement preparation control deficiencies GAO identified during its audit of the fiscal year 2010 CFS, (2) recommend improvements, and (3) provide the status of corrective actions taken to address GAO's recommendations in this …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. has devoted an increasing proportion of its economy and federal budget to the provision of health care services, but high levels of spending do not guarantee good care. Policymakers, health practitioners, and others have implemented numerous health care interventions that make discrete changes in the organization of health care services in order to enhance the value of health care--that is, improve the quality of care while reducing costs. Examples include programs to reduce bloodstream infections and to coordinate patient care following hospital discharges. This report (1) examines the availability of evidence on the effect of selected interventions on quality of care and costs; (2) identifies key dimensions for assessing the strength of such evidence; and (3) examines factors that can facilitate the implementation and replication of health care interventions. GAO identified a broad and diverse set of health care interventions using published and unpublished sources. For 127 of those interventions, GAO analyzed responses to a questionnaire that it sent to persons knowledgeable about available information on the effect of that particular intervention on quality of care and costs. GAO's questionnaire also asked respondents to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Cyclone Nargis hit Burma's impoverished Irrawaddy Delta on May 2, 2008, leaving nearly 140,000 people dead or missing and severely affecting about 2.4 million others, according to the UN. The Burmese military government initially blocked most access to the affected region; however, amid international pressure, it slowly began allowing international aid workers entry into the region. Since 1997, the United States has imposed sanctions to prohibit, among other things, the exportation of financial services to Burma and transactions with Burmese officials. In response to a congressional mandate, GAO (1) described the assistance UN and U.S. agencies have provided in response to Cyclone Nargis, (2) assessed USAID actions to help ensure funds are used as intended and do not benefit sanctioned entities, and (3) described the challenges responders experienced and the lessons learned. GAO reviewed financial and program documents; interviewed U.S., UN, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) officials; and traveled to Thailand and Burma."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Road, rail, and waterway freight transportation is vital to the nation's economy. Government tax, regulatory, and infrastructure investment policies can affect the costs that shippers pass on to their customers. If government policy gives one mode a cost advantage over another, by, for example, not recouping all the costs of that mode's use of infrastructure, then shipping prices and customers' use of freight modes can be distorted, reducing the overall efficiency of the nation's economy. As requested, this report (1) describes how government policies can affect competition and efficiency within the surface freight transportation sector, (2) determines what is known about the extent to which all costs are borne by surface freight customers, and (3) discusses the use of the findings when making future surface freight transportation policy. GAO reviewed the transportation literature and analyzed financial and technical data from the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and the Environmental Protection Agency to make cross-modal comparisons at a national level. Data limitations and assumptions inherent in an aggregate national comparison are noted in the report."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The unprecedented growth at 26 military installations across the country due to the implementation of several concurrent Department of Defense (DOD) initiatives is expected to stress transportation needs for surrounding communities. The Defense Access Roads program, while small when compared to other transportation funding sources, provides a means for DOD to pay a share of the cost of highway improvements due to unusual and sudden DOD-generated activities. In response to a congressional request to review the program, GAO (1) assessed the use of the program to mitigate transportation needs and (2) identified additional steps that may be necessary to address unmet transportation needs. GAO conducted extensive interviews with 26 growth installations and visited installations and state authorities in Maryland, Texas, and Virginia to discuss transportation issues."

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the Army canceled the Future Combat System in June of 2009, it began developing modernization plans, including developing a new Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and additional network capability. At the same time, the Army was considering options on how to improve its light tactical vehicles. This statement addresses potential issues related to developing (1) the new GCV, (2) a common information network, and (3) the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in a constrained budget environment. The statement is based largely on previous GAO work conducted over the last year in response to congressional requests and results of other reviews of Army modernization. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed program documentation, strategies, and test results; interviewed independent experts and Army and Department of Defense (DOD) officials; and witnessed demonstrations of current and emerging network technologies. DOD reviewed the facts contained in this statement and provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Diversion Control Program is responsible for enforcing the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and ensuring the availability of prescription drugs such as pain relievers and stimulants while preventing their diversion for abuse. The CSA requires entities handling controlled substances--such as manufacturers, pharmacies, and physicians, among others-- to register with DEA, which conducts regulatory investigations of registrants, as well as criminal investigations. GAO was asked (1) how DEA manages diversion investigation efforts, and (2) how DEA ensures policies and procedures are followed for investigations and the extent to which it determines the results of its efforts. GAO reviewed DEA policies and procedures, and interviewed DEA, state, and local officials at eleven locations which were selected on the basis of volume of cases handled, geographic diversity, and other considerations. These observations are not generalizable, but provided insights on DEA operations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Today, GAO issued a correspondence identifying the internal controls that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has in place for reimbursable Space Act agreements and assessing to what extent the agency is adhering to those controls. Specifically, our review focused on NASA's internal controls related to (1) fair reimbursement from agreement partners; (2) interference between agreement partners' work and NASA's use of its facilities; and (3) alignment of agreement partners' work with NASA's mission. In that correspondence, we reported that NASA was generally adhering to its controls for entering into reimbursable Space Act agreements. In our review, however, we also found several instances in which agreements were not completely and accurately recorded in the Space Act Agreement Maker (SAAM) database. In addition, we identified one instance where NASA awarded a reimbursable agreement when similar services may have been available in the private sector. This action appears contrary to the National Space Policy and may have also been contrary to the Commercial Space Competitiveness Act. Federal government standards for internal controls state that control activities should help ensure that all transactions are completely and accurately recorded. NASA's SAAM …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September 2009, the President announced a revised approach for ballistic missile defense (BMD) in Europe. The European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) is designed to defend against existing and near-term ballistic missile threats and build up defenses over four phases as threats mature and new BMD technologies become available. Although the approach will include capabilities such as radars and landand sea-based BMD assets, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not yet established EPAA life-cycle costs. EPAA is DOD's first implementation of its new, regional approach to BMD. GAO was asked to evaluate DOD's plans for implementing EPAA. GAO reviewed the extent to which: (1) DOD has developed guidance and addressed management of cost and schedule for EPAA, and (2) DOD planning for EPAA is informed by operational performance data. GAO reviewed key legislation, policy and guidance, and initial plans for implementation and asset allocation."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last few years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has increasingly relied on its authority under the Space Act of 1958 to enter into agreements, commonly referred to as Space Act agreements (SAA), to stimulate private sector development of systems capable of transporting cargo and crew to the International Space Station and to assist partner firms in developing their technologies. Reimbursable Space Act agreements involve the use of NASA's facilities, personnel, or equipment primarily for the benefit of the agreement partner. NASA undertakes reimbursable work when it has unique goods, services, or facilities which can be made available to another party in a manner that does not interfere with NASA mission requirements and is consistent with the agency's mission. According to NASA guidance, the agency generally collects full reimbursement for costs associated with a reimbursable agreement. These types of agreements are known as fully reimbursable SAAs. However, NASA can accept less than full reimbursement in certain instances, such as when the reimbursement is fair and reasonable when compared to the benefits NASA receives from the work. When NASA waives costs under a reimbursable SAA, NASA …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars annually to build and maintain information technology (IT) systems intended to support its mission. For decades, DOD has been challenged in modernizing its systems environment to reduce duplication and increase integration. Such modernizations can be guided by an enterprise architecture--a blueprint that describes an organization's current and target state for its business operations and supporting IT systems and a plan for transitioning between the two states. DOD has long sought to employ enterprise architectures and has defined an approach for doing so that depends in large part on the military departments developing architectures of their own. In light of the critical role that military department enterprise architectures play in DOD's overall architecture approach, GAO was requested to assess the status of the Departments of the Air Force, Army, and Navy (DON) enterprise architecture programs. To do so, GAO obtained and analyzed key information about each department's architecture relative to the 59 core elements contained in stages 1 through 6 of GAO's Enterprise Architecture Management Maturity Framework."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Mutual funds are one of the most widely held investment products by Americans and advertising is one method by which investors may obtain information on funds. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires GAO to conduct a review of mutual fund advertising, focusing on the advertising of past performance information. This report examines (1) what is known about the impact of fund advertisements on investors, (2) the extent to which performance information is included in advertisements, and (3) the regulatory requirements for fund advertisements and how they are administered and enforced. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed existing and proposed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules, conducted a literature review of studies related to mutual fund advertising's impact on investors, and reviewed a random sample of 300 fund advertisements. GAO also met with regulators, fund companies, academics, and industry and investor protection groups."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our recent reviews of U.S counternarcotics programs in Mexico and Afghanistan highlighted the need to improve the programs' performance measures to track progress. The Department of State (State) received over $1 billion in its fiscal year 2010 appropriation for international counternarcotics assistance programs. The vast majority of this funding--about 90 percent in fiscal year 2010--supports counternarcotics programs in five countries--Mexico, Afghanistan, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is primarily responsible for implementing U.S. assistance programs involving eradication of illicit crops, interdiction of drug trafficking, and drug demand reduction, which represented about 85 percent of State's counternarcotics appropriation in fiscal year 2010. INL implements a large share of its funding through contractors, primarily for aviation support for eradication and interdiction efforts. Congress asked us to review State's performance measures for its counternarcotics programs. On March 10, 2011, we briefed congressional staff on our preliminary findings in which we described State's performance management system, including State's standard indicators for measuring the performance of counternarcotics assistance in recipient countries and requirements for posts to develop project-specific performance measures. Following the briefing, in subsequent …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report is in response to a request from congressional subcommittees to evaluate the design of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) fraud prevention controls within the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) verification program instituted in response to Public Law 111-275. This work is part of our ongoing audit of the SDVOSB program governmentwide, which, in part, assesses the design of the three areas of a fraud prevention framework including preventive controls, detection and monitoring controls, and investigations and prosecutions. We will report the results of the larger audit at a later date.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the United States, payday lending is estimated to be a slightly less than $40 billion a year industry. A payday loan is a small-dollar loan that is usually from $100 to $500 and repayable in a short term, usually 2 weeks. Consumers can pay fees of $15-20 for every $100 borrowed. In 2006 the Department of Defense (DOD) reported on predatory lending, including payday lending, and found that these loans impacted military readiness and troop morale. Concerns were raised about payday lending to federal employees in law enforcement and national security positions at four components--Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). GAO examined (1) how these federal law enforcement agencies become aware of employees who are potential security risks due to financial problems, including payday lending, and (2) various alternatives to payday lending. GAO reviewed federal policies and procedures for collecting financial information and reviewed data from and interviewed representatives of the payday loan industry, depository institutions, consumer groups, nonprofits, and trade organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal law sets timelines for states' decisions about placing foster care children in permanent homes, and, in some cases, for filing to terminate parental rights. Some policymakers have questioned the reasonableness of these timelines for children of incarcerated parents and expressed interest in how states work with these families. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the number of foster care children with incarcerated parents, (2) strategies used by child welfare and corrections agencies in selected states that may support contact or reunification, and (3) how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have helped these agencies support affected children and families. GAO analyzed national data, reviewed federal policies, interviewed state child welfare and corrections officials in 10 selected states that contain almost half of the nation's prison and foster care populations, and visited local child welfare agencies and prisons."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The interstate commercial motor carrier industry moves thousands of truckloads of goods every day, and any disruption in one truckload's delivery schedule can have a ripple effect on others. Some waiting time at shipping and receiving facilities--commonly referred to as detention time--is to be expected in this complex environment. However, excessive detention time could impact the ability of drivers to perform within federal hours of service safety regulations, which limit duty hours and are enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This report discusses: (1) How regularly do truck drivers experience detention time and what factors contribute to detention time? (2) How does detention time affect the commercial freight vehicle industry? (3) What federal actions, if any, could be taken to address detention time issues? GAO analyzed federal and industry studies and interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of truck drivers, as well as other industry stakeholders and FMCSA officials."