Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of drug shortages remains high. Although reports of new drug shortages declined in 2012, the total number of shortages active during a given year—including both new shortages reported and ongoing shortages that began in a prior year—has increased since 2007. Many shortages are of generic sterile injectable drugs. Provider association representatives reported that drug shortages may force providers to ration care or face difficulties finding alternative drugs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The West Refrigeration Plant Expansion (WRPE) project is the centerpiece of an effort to expand the capacity of the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) to meet the U.S. Capitol's growing heating and cooling needs and to update plant equipment, some of which dates to the 1950s. CPP generates steam and chilled water to provide heating and cooling for the Capitol and 23 surrounding facilities that, together, encompass about 16 million square feet of space. CPP will also serve the 580,000-square-foot Capitol Visitor Center (CVC), which is under construction. When completed, the WRPE project will increase CPP's chilled water production capacity by about 23 percent and enable central operation of CPP's chillers. The WRPE construction contract was awarded in March 2003, work is ongoing, and the project is now scheduled for completion in March 2006. Future contract changes may, however, extend this date to June 2006. The budget for the WRPE project and associated administrative expenses is $81.7 million. Several modifications have been made to the WRPE contract to incorporate other capital improvements at CPP. The budget for these modifications is $19.2 million, bringing the total budget for the base …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) loan origination policies and procedures for making generation and transmission (G&T) loans, focusing on: (1) what RUS' loan origination policies and procedures are for making G&T loans and whether these policies and procedures are effectively designed to mitigate future loan losses to the government; and (2) whether these loan origination policies and procedures for G&T loans have been changed since fiscal year (FY) 1994 to prevent problems with the existing loan portfolio from occurring in the future."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Prescription drug spending in 2009 totaled approximately $250 billion, of which $78 billion--or about 31 percent--was spent by the federal government. Prescription drug spending by the federal government, patients, and third-party payers, including employers, is driven by many factors, including the prices paid for drugs. In 2007 we reported on trends in retail prices--known as usual and customary (U&C) prices--for prescription drugs. We found that the average U&C price for the commonly used brand-name prescription drugs we reviewed increased about 6 percent per year from January 2000 through January 2007. Some media reports have suggested that prescription drug prices may have increased more during the debate leading up to passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in March 2010 compared to other recent years. We were requested to examine recent trends in drug prices for brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals. In this report, we (1) examine U&C price trends for commonly used prescription drugs from 2006 through the first quarter of 2010, the latest available data at the time of our analysis, and compare these trends to those of other medical consumer goods and services, and …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The anthrax incidents during the fall of 2001 raised concerns about the nation's ability to respond to bioterrorist events and other public health threats. The incidents strained the public health system, including surveillance and laboratory workforce capacities, at the state and local levels. Several months after the incidents, the Congress appropriated funds to strengthen state and local bioterrorism preparedness. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) distributed the funds in 2002 through two cooperative agreement programs with state, municipal, and territorial governments. To strengthen preparedness, the two cooperative agreement programs--CDC's Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism Program and HRSA's National Bioterrorism Hospital Preparedness Program--require participants to complete specific activities designed to build public health and health care capacities. The 2002 cooperative agreements for both programs ended on August 30, 2003. For the 2002 cooperative agreements, CDC's and HRSA's programs distributed approximately $918 million and approximately $125 million, respectively. The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 directs us to report on federal programs that support preparedness efforts at …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges facing the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, focusing on IRS' need to: (1) address complex staffing and operational issues within the Advocate's Office; (2) strengthen efforts within the Advocate's Office to determine the causes of taxpayer problems; and (3) develop performance measures that the National Taxpayer Advocate needs to manage operations and measure effectiveness."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) efforts to prepare to meet its future service delivery challenges, focusing on: (1) the extent and seriousness of these challenges; (2) SSA's strategy to meet them; (3) the status of the agency's efforts to use information technology to cope with the challenges; (4) the agency's efforts to prepare its workforce for the future; and (5) the implications of SSA's plans and efforts for its readiness to meet future challenges."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal real property portfolio, comprising over 900,000 buildings and structures and worth hundreds of billions of dollars, presents management challenges. In January 2003, GAO designated the management of federal real property as a high-risk area in part due to the presence of unneeded property. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for reviewing agencies' progress on federal real property management. The General Services Administration (GSA), often referred to as the federal government's landlord, controls more square feet of buildings than any other civilian federal agency. GSA funds real property acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal through the rent it collects from tenant agencies that is deposited into the Federal Buildings Fund (FBF). This testimony discusses (1) the scope and costs of the excess real property held by GSA and other federal agencies; and (2) the challenges GSA and other federal agencies face in disposing of excess and underutilized real property. GAO analyzed GSA data from a centralized real property database, reviewed GSA real property plans and previous GAO reports, and interviewed GSA and OMB officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) regulatory process for recognizing tribes was established in 1978. The process requires groups that are petitioning for recognition to submit evidence that they meet certain criteria--basically that the petitioner has continuously existed as an Indian tribe since historic times. Critics of the process claim that it produces inconsistent decisions and takes too long. Congressional policymakers have struggled with the tribal recognition issue for over 27 years. H.R. 4933 and H.R. 5134, introduced in the 108th Congress, and H.R. 512, which was introduced last week, have focused on the timeliness of the recognition process. This testimony is based in part on GAO's report, Indian Issues: Improvements Needed in Tribal Recognition Process (GAO-02-49, November 2, 2001). Specifically, this testimony addresses (1) the timeliness of the recognition process as GAO reported in November 2001 and (2) the actions the Department of the Interior's Office of Federal Acknowledgment has taken since 2001 to improve the timeliness of the recognition process."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns were raised about the system Medicare uses to determine annual changes to physician fees--the sustainable growth rate (SGR) system--when it reduced physician fees by almost 5 percent in 2002. Subsequent administrative and legislative actions modified or overrode the SGR system to avert fee declines in 2003, 2004, and 2005. However, projected fee reductions for 2006 to 2012 have raised new concerns about the SGR system. Policymakers question the appropriateness of the SGR system for updating physician fees and its effect on physicians' continued participation in the Medicare program if fees are permitted to decline. At the same time, there are concerns about the impact of increased spending on the long-term fiscal sustainability of Medicare. GAO was asked to discuss the SGR system. Specifically, this statement addresses the following: (1) how the SGR system is designed to moderate the growth in spending for physician services, (2) why physician fees are projected to decline under the SGR system, and (3) options for revising or replacing the SGR system and their implications for physician fee updates and Medicare spending. This statement is based on GAO's most recent report on the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At the center of any agency transformation, such as the one envisioned for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are the people who will make it happen. Thus, strategic human capital management at DHS can help it marshal, manage, and maintain the people and skills needed to meet its critical mission. Congress provided DHS with significant flexibility to design a modern human capital management system. DHS and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have now jointly released the final regulations on DHS's new human capital system. Last year, with the release of the proposed regulations, GAO observed that many of the basic principles underlying the regulations were consistent with proven approaches to strategic human capital management and deserved serious consideration. However, some parts of the human capital system raised questions for DHS, OPM, and Congress to consider in the areas of pay and performance management, adverse actions and appeals, and labor management relations. GAO also identified multiple implementation challenges for DHS once the final regulations for the new system were issued. This testimony provides preliminary observations on selected provisions of the final regulations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Access to broadband service--a highspeed connection to the Internet--is seen as vital to economic, social, and educational development, yet many areas of the country lack access to, or their residents do not use, broadband. To expand broadband deployment and adoption, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided $7.2 billion to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for grants or loans to a variety of program applicants. The Recovery Act required the agencies to award all funds by September 30, 2010. This testimony addresses (1) NTIA's and RUS's efforts to award Recovery Act broadband funds and (2) the remaining risks that NTIA and RUS face in providing oversight for funded projects. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed and summarized information from prior GAO work. GAO also reviewed NTIA and RUS reports on the status of the agencies' programs and gathered information from the agencies on steps taken to respond to prior GAO recommendations. In past work, GAO recommended that the agencies take several actions, such as developing contingency plans to ensure sufficient …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the E-Verify program, which provides employers a tool for verifying an employee's authorization to work in the United States. The opportunity for employment is one of the most powerful magnets attracting immigrants to the United States. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in early 2009 approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the country, and an estimated 7.8 million of them, or about 70 percent, were in the labor force. Congress, the administration, and some states have taken various actions to better ensure that those who work here have appropriate work authorization and to safeguard jobs for authorized employees. Nonetheless, opportunities remain for unscrupulous employers to hire unauthorized workers and for unauthorized workers to fraudulently obtain employment by using borrowed or stolen documents. Immigration experts have noted that deterring illegal immigration requires, among other things, a more reliable employment eligibility verification process and a more robust worksite enforcement capacity. E-Verify is a free, largely voluntary, Internet-based system operated by the Verification Division of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). The goals of E-Verify …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established government sponsored enterprises (GSE)-- such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHLBank System, and the Farm Credit System--to facilitate the development of mortgage and agricultural lending in the United States. Although the federal government does not explicitly guarantee the GSEs' approximately $4.4 trillion in financial obligations, the potential exists that the government would provide financial assistance in an emergency as it has done in the past. Recent financial reporting problems at Freddie Mac have raised concerns about the quality of the GSEs' corporate governance and regulatory oversight. To assist Congress in reviewing the adequacy of GSE oversight, this testimony provides information on GSE corporate governance, regulatory oversight, and mission compliance measures."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the adequacy of the data that the Environmental Protection Agency and the states have for making critical water quality decisions required by the Clean Water Act, focusing on: (1) the adequacy of the data for identifying waters for states' 303(d) lists; (2) the adequacy of data for developing total maximum daily loads (TMDL) for those waters; and (3) key factors that affect the states' abilities to develop TMDLs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the barriers and opportunities for generating revenue on lands managed by the Forest Service."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed minorities and Social Security, focusing on: (1) how minorities currently fare under social security; (2) how they might be affected by some of the proposed changes in benefits to restore the program's solvency; and (3) how minorities might fare under a system restructured to include individual accounts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 1999 ministerial conference, focusing on the: (1) outcome of the ministerial conference; (2) factors contributing to the outcome; and (3) the lessons learned from the meeting."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed airport funding issues, focusing on: (1) the amount airports are spending on capital development and the sources of those funds; (2) comparing airports' plans for development with current funding levels; and (3) what effect will various proposals to increase or make better use of existing funding have on airports' ability to fulfill their capital development plans."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the major challenges faced by the government in improving its performance and strengthening accountability, focusing on agencies' need to: (1) adopt an effective results orientation; (2) improve the use of information technology to achieve results; (3) strengthen financial management decision-making and accountability; and (4) build, maintain, and marshal the human capital needed to achieve results."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether drug pricing information collected by the Department of Health and used by the Interagency Council on Pharmaceuticals Bulk Purchasing is subject to disclosure under the Public Information Act (RQ-0585-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the Board of Chiropractic Examiners may by rule allow an individual whose license has expired to take a different licensing examination from that required under section 201.354(e) of the Occupations Code (RQ-0586-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Waggoner Carr, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the fees made taxable to the Defendant under Article 53.01, Vernon’s Code of Criminal Procedure, Acts of the 59th Legislature, 1965, may be taxed against a defendant irregardless of whether the duties relating thereto are actually performed.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Crawford Martin, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a Savings and Loan Corporation can serve as a county depository.