Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to House Report 111-491 to accompany a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (H.R. 5136). The House Report noted that according to the environmental impact statement for the proposed homeporting of additional ships at Naval Station, Mayport, Florida, homeporting of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier would result in temporary surges of maintenance employees associated with the 3-year depot-level maintenance cycle for the aircraft carrier. The homeporting of the aircraft carrier at Mayport is projected to begin in fiscal year 2019. Also, the House report raised questions about the potential impact that the additional depot-level workload would have on the sustainability, efficiency, capabilities, and stability of the maintenance employees who would travel from Navy depots to Mayport to perform the maintenance. To examine these issues, the House report directed GAO to provide an assessment of the readiness and cost impacts of the aircraft carrier homeporting and maintenance at Mayport on the Navy's traveling workforce. In response, our objectives were to determine the extent to which (1) the Navy has identified potential workforce-related costs associated with the planned move and used cost-estimating best …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing in response to a mandate in the conference report (No. 111-298) and senate report (No. 111-31) to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010. In accordance with the direction in those reports, and in consultation with congressional staff, we are reporting on (1) actions taken by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) to establish the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center (ECPC) and (2) challenges OEC and ECPC officials reported that could affect interagency coordination through ECPC. Based on the results of our review, we are not making any recommendations for congressional consideration or agency action."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recovery from major disasters is a complex undertaking that involves the combined efforts of federal, state, and local government in order to succeed. While the federal government provides a significant amount of financial and technical assistance for recovery, state and local jurisdictions work closely with federal agencies to secure and make use of those resources. This testimony describes lessons and insights that GAO has identified from review of past disasters, which may be useful to inform recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as well as disasters yet to come. These lessons come from two reports GAO recently released last fall on disaster recovery. The first draws on the experiences of communities that have recovered from previous major disasters in order to help inform recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav as well as the 2008 Midwest floods. The second examines the implementation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance grant program and identifies several actions that the Department of Homeland Security can take to improve operations of that program. These include improving information sharing and enhancing continuity and communication. …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) whether the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) systems can accurately account for and control inventory quantities; and (2) how FAA identifies and manages excess inventory quantities."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Boy Scouts of America, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the General Services Administration's (GSA) Cooperative Purchasing Program, which was established under the 1994 National Defense Authorization Act to allow state and local governments to purchase Department of Defense (DOD) equipment for use in counter-drug activities, focusing on four program issues: (1) sales data; (2) suitability of items sold; (3) alternative supply sources; and (4) administrative fees charged."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to a congressional mandate to assess the reasons why the Department of Defense (DOD) is not fully in compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) related to DOD travel expenditures, GAO issued two reports in 2007. In May 2007, we issued an initial report that provided an overview of DOD's IPIA reporting for fiscal years 2003 through 2006 and a discussion of the reasons reported by the DOD Office of Inspector General why the department was not in compliance with IPIA for fiscal year 2006. In December 2007, we issued our final report on our assessment of the completeness and accuracy of DOD's fiscal year 2006 IPIA disclosures related to travel expenditures, as well as DOD's planned efforts to improve and refine its processes for estimating and reporting on travel improper payments. The purpose of this letter is to bring to Congress's attention and action a matter that we discovered while preparing our final report. This letter is based on work performed during our assessment of the completeness and accuracy of DOD's fiscal year 2006 IPIA disclosures related to travel expenditures and DOD's …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America, Incorporated, for the 11 months ended June 30, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published its third annual assessment of selected large-scale NASA projects. During this assessment we identified several issues that merit NASA's management attention. The federal government faces real fiscal limitations and will have to make difficult choices about upcoming priorities. This reality makes it more important than ever that NASA manage its programs and projects as efficiently and effectively as possible and within a budget that over recent years has remained relatively constant. It will also require that NASA make tough decisions about which projects to fund among core missions in science, aeronautics, and human space flight and exploration. Our work over the past three years has shown that NASA's major projects are frequently approved without evidence of a sound business case--ensuring a match between requirements and resources--and, therefore, cost more and take longer to develop than planned. Our March 2011 assessment found that 13 NASA projects that established baselines prior to fiscal year 2009 had experienced an average cost growth of almost 55 percent, with a combined increase in development costs of almost $2.5 billion from their baselines established at their Confirmation Review. While NASA has taken …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the American National Theater and Academy, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 1997 and 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Civil Air Patrol, Incorporated, for the fiscal years ended September 30, 1996 and 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reduce fuel demand at its forward-deployed locations, particularly those that are not connected to local power grids. In 2008, more than 68 million gallons of fuel, on average, were supplied by DOD each month to support U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Transporting large quantities of fuel to forward-deployed locations presents an enormous logistics burden and risk. Long truck convoys moving fuel to forward-deployed locations have encountered enemy attacks, severe weather, traffic accidents, and pilferage. For example, DOD reported that in June 2008 alone, 44 trucks and 220,000 gallons of fuel were lost due to attacks or other events while delivering fuel to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. High fuel demand, coupled with the recent volatility of fuel prices, also have significant implications for DOD's operating costs. The fully burdened cost of fuel--that is, the total ownership cost of buying, moving, and protecting fuel in systems during combat--has been reported to be many times higher than the price of a gallon of fuel itself. While DOD's weapon systems require large amounts of fuel, the department reports that …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the results of our prior investigation of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program. SBA's 8(a) program, named for a section of the Small Business Act, is a development program created to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy and access the federal procurement market. To participate in the program, a firm must be certified as meeting several criteria, including: be a small business as defined by SBA; be unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of the United States; and show potential for success. Upon certification, firms can obtain federal contracts without competing fully and openly for the work. For example, agencies are permitted to enter into sole-source contracts after soliciting and negotiating with only one 8(a) company. They also can participate in restricted competitions for federal contracts, known as set-asides, open to only 8(a) companies. In March 2010, GAO issued two companion reports on the 8(a) program, one focused on internal control procedures and processes that SBA has implemented to ensure that only eligible firms participate …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Air Force's 50-percent ceiling waiver, focusing on the basis for the waiver and the likelihood that the Air Force will need additional waivers in the future."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has consistently designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of its major weapon acquisitions as a high-risk area. A broad consensus exists that weapon system problems are serious, but efforts at reform have had limited impact. Last year, GAO reported that DOD's portfolio of weapon programs experienced cost growth of $295 billion from first estimates, were delayed by an average of 21 months, and delivered fewer quantities and capabilities to the warfighter than originally planned. At a time when DOD faces increased fiscal pressures from ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the federal budget is strained by a growing number of priorities, it is critical that the department effectively manage its substantial investment in weapon system programs. Every dollar wasted or used inefficiently on acquiring weapon systems means that less money is available for the government's other important budgetary demands. This testimony describes the systemic problems that contribute to the cost, schedule, and performance problems in weapon system programs, recent actions that DOD has taken to address these problems, proposed reform legislation that the committee recently introduced, and additional steps needed to improve future …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is required to audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Proper accounting and reporting practices are essential in the public sector. The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. Its services--homeland security, national defense, Social Security, mail delivery, and food inspection, to name a few--directly affect the well-being of almost every American. But sound decisions on the future direction of vital federal government programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, accurate, and useful financial and performance information. Until the problems discussed in GAO's audit report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements are adequately addressed, they will continue to (1) hamper the federal government's ability to accurately report a significant portion of its assets, liabilities, and costs; (2) affect the federal government's ability to accurately measure the full cost as well as the financial and nonfinancial performance of certain programs while effectively managing related operations; and (3) significantly impair the federal government's ability to adequately safeguard certain significant assets and properly record various transactions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implement a broad range of U.S. government activities and programs overseas, including the conduct of diplomacy, development and security assistance, and efforts to combat terrorism and narcotics trafficking, among others. The President has requested approximately $55.7 billion for State and USAID in fiscal year 2012, an increase of nearly 8 percent over fiscal year 2010 funding levels. This testimony discusses four cross-cutting areas of U.S. foreign policy as implemented by State and USAID: (1) investments in key partner nations, (2) building the capacity of U.S. agencies to advance foreign policy priorities, (3) contractor oversight and accountability, and (4) strategic planning and performance measurement. This statement is based on GAO's extensive body of work on foreign operations issues, including fieldwork in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, and numerous other locations ."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created in March 2003 as part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From fiscal year 2003 through fiscal year 2007, the average daily population of detainees in ICE custody increased by about 40 percent, with the most growth occurring since fiscal year 2005. In fiscal year 2007, ICE held over 311,000 detainees at more than 500 detention facilities. Most of these were Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) facilities--state and local jails under contract with ICE to hold detainees. Some ICE detainees received health care services from IGSA staff, IGSA contractors, or community medical providers, and other ICE detainees received health care provided or arranged by the Division of Immigration Health Services (DIHS). DIHS is mainly composed of contract employees and officers from the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps--a uniformed service of public health professionals who are part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and who provide services in different settings, including ICE detention facilities. In light of questions about the health care provided to detainees in ICE custody, Congress requested information about ICE's organizational structure and its …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed its authority to audit private funds used by a private organization in connection with the annual United States Capitol concert series. GAO held that 40 U.S.C. 193 authorizes it to audit the private funds a private organization uses to perform services or conduct activities on United State Capitol grounds."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F/A-22 and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)--two of the Department of Defense's (DOD) major tactical aircraft fighter programs--are intended to replace aging tactical fighter aircraft with highly advanced, stealthy aircraft. The two programs combined have a potential future investment of more than $240 billion. Later this month, GAO plans to issue comprehensive reports on the numerous setbacks each of these programs has experienced since they were initiated and their effect on the F/A-22 and JSF business cases. This testimony highlights key concerns in the F/A-22 and JSF programs and discusses the implications of these concerns on DOD's overall investment strategy for modernizing its tactical fixed wing aircraft."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare Part D, the voluntary, outpatient prescription drug benefit for eligible individuals 65 years and older and certain individuals with disabilities, is at risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. Part D is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). All Part D sponsors--private companies that operate Part D benefit plans--are required to have programs to safeguard the Part D program from fraud, waste, and abuse. GAO refers to these programs as fraud and abuse programs. This statement discusses CMS's oversight of Part D sponsors' fraud and abuse programs, including its past efforts and planned oversight activities. It is primarily based on the GAO report, Medicare Part D: Some Plan Sponsors Have Not Completely Implemented Fraud and Abuse Programs, and CMS Oversight Has Been Limited (GAO-08-760). The five Part D sponsors GAO reviewed for that report had not completely implemented all of CMS's elements for Part D fraud and abuse programs at that time. CMS agreed with GAO's recommendation in the report that it conduct timely audits of Part D sponsors' fraud and abuse programs. For the 2008 report, GAO reviewed laws, regulation, and CMS documents, …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In October 2003, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a request for information describing its plans for a new governmentwide telecommunications program known as Networx, which is to replace expiring contracts. The program consists of two simultaneous acquisitions: Networx Universal, which is to provide a full range of national and international network services across the United States, and Networx Enterprise, which is to provide agencies with mainly Internet-based services with less extensive geographic coverage In September 2004, GAO testified on GSA's actions to address challenges related to this program and made recommendations intended to improve transition planning, performance measures, and billing procedures. GSA subsequently issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) in October 2004. In response, the telecommunications industry and federal agencies provided more than 2,500 comments, covering technical issues such as the inclusion of certain standards and more general topics, such as the level of small business set-asides. GAO was requested to provide a progress report on GSA's planning for this program."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Energy's (DOE) management of the Spallation Neutron Source Project, focusing on the: (1) project's cost and schedule; and (2) effectiveness of the collaborating laboratories' coordination."