A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From the passage of the homosexual conduct policy statute, in fiscal year 1994, through fiscal year 2003 the military services separated about 9,500 servicemembers for homosexual conduct. This represents about 0.40 percent of the 2.37 million members separated for all reasons during this period. Questions have been raised about the costs of separating servicemembers for homosexual conduct. Also, in the post-September 11th environment, there has been concern about the separation of servicemembers with critical occupations or important foreign language skills in, for example, Arabic. GAO was asked to determine (1) the military services' annual financial costs from fiscal year 1994 through fiscal year 2003 for certain activities associated with administering the Department of Defense's (DOD) policy on homosexual conduct--e.g., the recruitment and training of servicemembers to replace those separated under the homosexual conduct statute--and (2) the extent to which the policy has resulted in the separation of servicemembers with critical occupations and important foreign language skills. GAO provided DOD with a draft of this report for comment, and DOD provided additional information on separations for homosexual conduct compared with other unprogrammed separations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Before approving a drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses a drug's effectiveness. This assessment may be based on evidence showing that a drug has a positive impact on a surrogate endpoint--a laboratory measure, such as blood pressure--instead of more direct clinical evidence, like preventing strokes. After approval, FDA often requires or requests a drug sponsor to further study the drug. Concerns have been raised about FDA's reliance on surrogate endpoints and its oversight of postmarketing studies. This report provides information on (1) all drug applications approved based on surrogate endpoints in FDA's accelerated approval process, (2) a subset of applications for potentially innovative drugs approved based on surrogate endpoints under FDA's traditional process, and (3) FDA's oversight of postmarketing studies. GAO identified drugs approved based on surrogate endpoints, obtained the status of related postmarketing studies, and reviewed FDA's oversight of a sample of 35 studies it required under its accelerated approval process, selected to include studies which were at varying levels of completion."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The government produces billions of coins and currency notes each year. Coins are made by the U.S. Mint and issued by the Treasury Department. Currency notes are made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and issued by the Federal Reserve System (Fed). The Fed buys coins from the Mint at face value but pays the Bureau only the costs of printing currency. Coins on the books of the Fed are assets that are issued by the Mint, and notes are liabilities of the Federal Reserve Banks. In recent years congressional hearings have highlighted the confusion over differences in the budgetary and accounting treatment of coins and currency. In addition, the Treasury Inspector General and others have reported problems with Mint and Bureau operations. GAO was asked to review (1) how the costs and earnings from coins and currency are budgeted and accounted for and (2) whether any operational problems at the Mint and Bureau need further action."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The nation faces a complex challenge in addressing recent trends in children's health and eating habits. To address these trends, in 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity among all Americans, especially children. In this statement, schools were identified as one of the key settings for public health strategies to address these issues. The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs provide millions of children with nutritious meals each school day. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers these programs at the federal level, and FNS subsidizes the meals served through these programs in local schools as long as the meals meet certain nutritional guidelines. In the last decade, these nutritional guidelines were amended to require schools to serve meals that adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which limit total and saturated fat and provide specific minimum levels of vitamins and nutrients. Despite these efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals offered through the school meal programs, other foods not provided through these programs are often available to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent about $4.1 billion on long-term care for veterans. VA provides--through VA or other providers--institutional care in nursing homes and noninstitutional care in veterans' homes or the community. In response to a statute, VA published in 2007 a long-term care strategic plan through fiscal year 2013. VA includes long-term care spending estimates in its annual budget justifications for Congress. These estimates are based on workload projections--the amount of care to be provided--and cost assumptions. VA has discretion in allocating appropriated funds among its medical services, such as long-term care. GAO examined (1) VA's reporting of planned workload in its 2007 long-term care strategic plan and (2) VA's long-term care spending estimates, including its cost assumptions and workload projections, in VA's fiscal year 2009 budget justification. GAO analyzed budget and planning documents and interviewed VA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Coast Guard's 110-foot patrol boats are used for a number of missions, such as enforcement of fisheries laws, and the interdiction of migrants and illicit drugs. As part of the Coast Guard's initial plans to replace many of its vessels, it intended to convert its 110-foot patrol boats into 123-foot patrol boats with increased capabilities until the replacement vessel, the Fast Response Cutter (FRC), became operational. However, structural problems on the eight converted 123-foot boats led the Coast Guard to remove these boats from service. Faced with a loss of operational hours, especially in the Coast Guard's Florida-based District 7 where these boats operated, the Coast Guard implemented mitigation strategies to recover lost operational hours. This report provides information on Coast Guard patrol boat operations and, in particular, addresses: (1) operational challenges created by the removal from service of the 123-foot patrol boats and the Coast Guard's strategies for mitigating their loss; (2) effects these mitigation strategies have had on overall Coast Guard operational hours, as well as operating and maintenance costs, patrol boat crews, and mission performance; and (3) issues that could affect the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2001, the Secretary of HHS directed the department to establish a unified accounting system that, when fully implemented, would replace five outdated accounting systems. GAO was asked to review HHS' ongoing effort to develop and implement the Unified Financial Management System (UFMS) and to focus on whether the agency has (1) effectively implemented disciplined processes; (2) implemented effective information technology (IT) investment management, enterprise architecture, and information security management; and (3) taken actions to ensure that the agency has the human capital needed to successfully design, implement, and operate UFMS."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) is estimated to cost about $787 billion over the next several years, of which about $280 billion will be administered through states and localities. The Recovery Act requires GAO to do bimonthly reviews of the use of funds by selected states and localities. In this first report, GAO describes selected states' and localities' (1) uses of and planning of Recovery Act funds, (2) accountability approaches, and (3) plans to evaluate the impact of funds received. GAO's work is focused on 16 states and the District of Columbia--representing about 65 percent of the U.S. population and two-thirds of the intergovernmental federal assistance available through the Recovery Act. GAO collected documents from and interviewed state and local officials, including Governors, "Recovery Czars," State Auditors, Controllers, and Treasurers. GAO also reviewed guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other federal agencies."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is responsible for manufacturing pits, a key component in a nuclear warhead. The department lost its ability to manufacture pits in 1989 with the closing of the Rocky Flats Plant. In 1996, the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was directed to reestablish a pit manufacturing capability, starting with a limited number of pits for the W88 warhead. In recent years, NNSA has considered ways to increase its pit manufacturing capacity, including building a new, large-scale pit manufacturing facility. It has also proposed producing pits for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). GAO was asked to determine the (1) extent to which NNSA achieved its major goals for reestablishing its pit manufacturing capability, (2) factors that currently constrain its ability to increase its pit manufacturing capacity, and (3) status of its plans for future pit manufacturing. For this review, GAO met with NNSA and LANL officials, reviewed agency documents, and visited the nuclear facility used to manufacture pits."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Of the estimated 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, not all are aware of their HIV-positive status. Timely testing of HIV-positive individuals is important to improve health outcomes and to slow the disease's transmission. It is also important that individuals have access to HIV care after being diagnosed, but not all diagnosed individuals are receiving such care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides grants to state and local health departments for HIV prevention and collects data on HIV. In 2006, CDC recommended routine HIV testing for all individuals ages 13-64. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides grants to states and localities for HIV care and services. GAO was asked to examine issues related to identifying individuals with HIV and connecting them to care. This report examines: 1) CDC and HRSA's coordination on HIV activities and steps they have taken to encourage routine HIV testing; 2) implementation of routine HIV testing by select state and local health departments; 3) available information on CDC funding for HIV testing; and 4) available data on the number of HIV-positive individuals not receiving care for HIV. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From homeland security to tracking outbreaks of disease, to investigating the space shuttle disaster to responding to natural disasters, the collection, maintenance, and use of location-based (geospatial) information has become critical to many federal agencies' abilities to achieve their goals. Local governments and the private sector also rely on such data to support essential functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through oversight measures in place at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to identify and reduce redundancies in geospatial data and systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Education (Education) provides more than $2.5 billion annually to the states for a federal-state vocational rehabilitation (VR) program to help individuals with disabilities become employed. This program is among a large number of federal programs intended to assist people with disabilities. In 2003 GAO placed federal disability programs on its list of high-risk programs because many of these programs have not kept up with scientific advances and economic and social changes. GAO prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority as part of an effort to assist policy makers in determining how federal disability programs could more effectively meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and addressed it to each committee of jurisdiction. In this report, GAO assesses the (1) extent to which state VR agencies assist individuals in achieving employment, and (2) performance measures and monitoring practices Education uses to manage this decentralized program and achieve legislative goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To improve the academic achievement of the nation's 48 million school-aged children, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) introduced significant changes to state, district, and school accountability for student performance and teacher qualifications. Congress has raised concerns about difficulties rural districts face implementing NCLBA. GAO is providing NCLBA implementation information on (1) key challenges rural states and districts face, (2) strategies rural districts have developed, (3) expenditures and resources related to rural districts' compliance, and (4) guidance and assistance the Department of Education (Education) is providing. To address these objectives, GAO conducted a nationally representative survey of rural and nonrural school districts. Also GAO interviewed officials in rural states and districts and Education officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, GAO was required to study the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), a federal source of evidence about effective education practices. Operating through a 5-year contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the WWC reviews education research and disseminates its findings. GAO examined: (1) the extent to which the WWC review process meets accepted standards for research evaluation and how the WWC has responded to recommendations and criticism, (2) how WWC output and costs have changed over time and how its performance is measured, and (3) how WWC products are disseminated and how useful educators find them to be. To conduct its work, GAO reviewed WWC-related documents, analyzed cost and performance data, surveyed all states and a nationally representative sample of school districts, and interviewed IES officials, WWC contractors, researchers, and others."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a statement in the Conference Report on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) fiscal year 2004 appropriations directing GAO to study SEC's allocation of its increased funding for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Historically, SEC has faced high staff turnover rates, long stretches of unfilled staff positions, and growing resource needs. Additionally, the agency has faced significant needs in its information technology area. In response to these trends and several high-profile corporate failures and financial scandals, Congress approved significant increases in SEC's appropriations to help improve oversight and increase public confidence in financial markets. This report builds on several reports GAO has issued on these issues. GAO was asked to review SEC's (1) allocation of its fiscal year 2003 and 2004 funds and (2) use of its information technology funding in fiscal year 2003 and its plan for 2004."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy is investing over $3 billion to develop technologies for a new type of aircraft carrier--the Ford class--and it expects to spend almost $11 billion to design and construct the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)--the lead ship of the class. New technologies are to improve the carrier's performance and reduce crew size. The Navy requested authorization of CVN 78 in its fiscal year 2008 budget. GAO was asked to assess the Navy's ability to meet its goals for developing the new carrier. Specifically, this report assesses (1) the extent to which technology development could affect the capability and construction of CVN 78, (2) the status of efforts to achieve design stability, and (3) the challenges to building CVN 78 within budget. To accomplish this, our work includes analysis of test reports, development schedules, and ship progress reviews; interviews with Navy and other officials; and examinations of cost estimates and our own past work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of international efforts to ensure maritime safety and security--and to carry out its mandates under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002--the U.S. Coast Guard is developing an automatic identification system (AIS) that should enable it to monitor ships traveling to and through U.S. waters. For AIS to operate nationwide, ships need equipment to transmit and receive AIS signals, and the Coast Guard needs shore stations and designated radio frequencies to keep track of the ships' identities and movements. Yet unresolved frequency issues between the Coast Guard and a private company, MariTEL, have come before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). GAO reviewed federal agencies' progress in developing AIS nationwide and identified certain challenges and opportunities in completing the work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agencies engaged in export controls use various compliance activities to prevent the diversion or misuse of exported items against U.S. interests or allies and reduce illicit transshipment risk. Compliance activities include (1) vetting transactions prior to export, (2) analyzing shipping data and monitoring the end use of items, and (3) educating companies and foreign governments about illicit transshipment risks. To vet transactions, agencies review license applications for the export of controlled items, consult multiple lists of entities known or suspected of violating export control laws or regulations, and screen foreign end users to determine their eligibility to receive items without a license. Agencies also review shipping records to identify patterns of abuse and to plan end-use checks—visiting foreign companies to verify the approved use and location of exported items on both licensed items and those eligible for export without a license. From 2008 to 2010, Commerce conducted 56 percent of its end-use checks on unlicensed exports. In the 13 transshipment countries, unlicensed exports accounted for about 94 percent of unfavorable end-use check determinations, which indicates that the end use or end user of an export …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), protecting and ensuring the resiliency (the ability to resist, absorb, recover from, or successfully adapt to adversity or changing conditions) of critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) is essential to the nation's security. By law, DHS is to lead and coordinate efforts to protect several thousand CIKR assets deemed vital to the nation's security, public health, and economy. In 2006, DHS created the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) to outline the approach for integrating CIKR and increased its emphasis on resiliency in its 2009 update. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which DHS (1) has incorporated resiliency into the programs it uses to work with asset owners and operators and (2) is positioned to disseminate information it gathers on resiliency practices to asset owners and operators. GAO reviewed DHS documents, such as the NIPP, and interviewed DHS officials and 15 owners and operators of assets selected on the basis of geographic diversity. The results of these interviews are not generalizable but provide insights."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Actual trust-fund revenues fell short of FAA’s revenue forecasts for 9 of the past 11 years, contributing to a decline in the trust fund’s uncommitted balance from over $7 billion in fiscal year 2000 to $770 million in fiscal year 2010. Inaccurate forecasts for the taxes related to domestic passenger tickets, which account for over 70 percent of trust-fund revenues, drove the aggregate overforecast, but inaccurate forecasts for other taxes also had an effect. This inaccuracy is largely attributable to unexpected events affecting aviation, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the recession in 2009; the budget process requiring the forecasts to be developed over a year in advance of the fiscal year; and lags in recognizing structural changes in the airline industry, such as airlines’ increased reliance on ancillary fees for which excise taxes for the trust fund are not collected. Changes in the methodology for forecasting trust-fund revenues and the assumption of forecasting responsibility by Treasury, begun in fiscal year 2011, may also affect the future accuracy of forecasts, but it is too soon to tell what effect the changes will …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provided $23 billion in monthly cash benefits to 3.2 million disabled veterans and their families through its compensation and pension program in fiscal year 2001. In the same year, VBA mailed 1.2 million "notification" letters to veterans and their families, informing them of VBA's decisions on compensation or pension benefits claims filed. VBA also sent 1.2 million "development" letters in fiscal year 2001 requesting information in order to make a decision on claims. VBA found in 1995 that its notification and development letters failed to communicate adequately, and launched an initiative, called Reader-Focused Writing, to improve its written communications. In its letters, VBA clearly explained some, but not all, of the key aspects that claimants needed to understand. Beyond the lack of clarity in these letters, various writing deficiencies, such as sequencing and formatting problems, reduced the value of VBA's letters. First, in many of its rating decision documents and development letters, VBA attempts to achieve more than one objective and, in doing so, compromises clarity for the reader. Second, although VBA's central office and some regional offices have developed boilerplate …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the U.S. Special Operations Command's (USSCOM) acquisition strategy for aircraft electronic warfare systems, focusing on the soundness of USSCOM's electronic warfare acquisition strategy in terms of correcting deficiencies and maximizing commonality in its aircraft survivability equipment."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although Social Security's benefit and contribution provisions are neutral with respect to race, ethnicity, and gender, concerns about the experiences of minority groups under Social Security focus on whether they benefit less than whites, particularly because of the shorter life expectancy of blacks. These concerns are related to the concept of equity, or how benefits compare with taxes. To gain a thorough understanding of the experiences of minority populations under Social Security, GAO was asked to examine (1) what socioeconomic and demographic factors influence Social Security taxes paid and benefits received and (2) how different equity measures compare across racial groups. Because of the current system's projected actuarial deficit, to conduct this study, GAO made its calculations using three policy scenarios, each of which achieves 75-year solvency: a payroll tax increase and a progressive and proportional benefit cut. Further, GAO used three measures of equity: lifetime benefit-to-tax ratios, net lifetime benefits, and real internal rates of return. GAO also examined four birth cohorts: 1931-40, 1941-45, 1946-55, and 1956-64."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed events related to personnel reassignments, appointments, and activities at the Small Business Administration (SBA)."