Memorandum of Meeting with a delegation representing 186th Air Refueling Wing (ARW), Air National Guard, located at Key Field Air Guard Station (AGS) to discuss BRAC Recommendations Impacting the 186th ARW.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced persistent challenges for many years in managing its grants, which constitute over one-half of the agency's budget, or about $4 billion annually. Among other things, EPA has been criticized for not always promoting competition in awarding grants, including not completely and accurately announcing grant opportunities to the public and potential applicants. One avenue EPA uses to inform the public about grant opportunities is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), the federal government's listing of available grants and other federal funding opportunities. EPA's Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD), among other things, develops grants policy and guidance and compiles grant information for the CFDA. OGD has taken several steps to address criticism regarding the lack of complete and accurate information in the CFDA. In this context the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, asked us to determine whether EPA is providing complete and accurate information on grant opportunities to the public in the CFDA."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Form 5500 is the primary source of information for both the federal government and the private sector regarding the operation, funding, assets, and investments of private pension and other employee benefit plans. Currently, the Department of Labor (Labor) requires about 3 years to provide certain usable Form 5500 information to the public, leading to complaints that the information is not timely. We have prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority, and it is intended to assist Congress in improving the timeliness and content of Form 5500 information. This report is addressed to the congressional committees of jurisdiction. It examines: (1) the information reported on the form and how it is used, (2) factors that affect the timeliness of Form 5500 information, and (3) issues affecting the content of the form."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's private defined benefit (DB) pension system, a key contributor to the financial security of millions of Americans, is in long-term decline. Since 1980, the number of active participants in Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insured single employer DB plans has dropped from 27.3 percent of all national private wage and salary workers in 1980, to about 15 percent in 2002, and more recently the PBGC has assumed billions of dollars in unfunded benefit obligations from bankrupt plan sponsors. Some analysts have identified hybrid DB plans like cash balance (CB) plans as a possible means to revitalize this declining system. However, conversions from traditional DB plans to CB plans have sometimes been controversial because of the effect conversions may have on the benefits of workers of different ages. As House and Senate committees consider comprehensive pension reform legislation that includes efforts to resolve uncertainties about CB plans, GAO was asked to (1) review current research about the implications of CB conversions for employee benefits, (2) describe the prevalence and type of transition provisions used to protect workers' benefits in past CB conversions, and (3) estimate …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The enactment of the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act of 1994, Title 1 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA), authorized appropriations of $8.8 billion to advance the practice of community policing as an effective strategy in communities' efforts to improve public safety. It had as a goal adding 100,000 new police officers nationwide. The Attorney General created the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to administer community policing grants. VCCLEA was enacted shortly after a period of increasing violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In December 1993, the Department of Justice (DOJ) began making community policing grants to state and local law enforcement agencies. By 2001, COPS grants totaling $7.3 billion in obligations had been made to state and local law enforcement agencies, and these agencies had expended about $5 billion of these obligated amounts. The COPS grant expenditures amounted to about 1 percent of total local law enforcement expenditures from 1994 through 2001. During the time that agencies were spending COPS funds, violent crimes declined. One recent study of the effects of COPS grants on crime …

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Chairman, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, asked GAO to submit a statement for the record highlighting findings from an examination of the Veterans Benefit Administration's (VBA) fiscal year 2005 budget justification. In that review, we assessed (1) VBA's determination and justification of claims processing staffing levels, and the role of productivity in such determinations, and (2) VBA's projections of future claims workload and complexity."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More than 5.5 billion pounds of explosives are used each year in the United States by private sector companies and government entities. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has authority to regulate explosives and to license privately owned explosives storage facilities. After the July 2004 theft of several hundred pounds of explosives from a state and local government storage facility, concerns arose about vulnerability to theft. GAO analyzed (1) the extent of explosives thefts from state and local government facilities, (2) ATF's authority to regulate and oversee state and local government explosives storage facilities, (3) the information ATF collects about state and local government storage facilities, and (4) security oversight measures in place at selected state and local government storage facilities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended, authorized a new round of base realignment and closures (BRAC) in 2005, the fifth such round in recent years but the first since 1995. The legislation requires the Secretary of Defense to submit his list of bases recommended for closure and realignment to an independent BRAC commission by May 16, 2005. The Commission is charged with reviewing these recommendations and submitting its report with recommendations to the President for his acceptance or rejection of them in their entirety by September 8, 2005. Subsequently, the Congress has final action to accept or reject the recommendations in their entirety later this year. By law, GAO is mandated to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) process and recommendations and to report its findings by July 1, 2005. For the inaugural hearing of the 2005 BRAC Commission GAO was asked to address: (1) the status of implementing recommendations from previous BRAC rounds, (2) DOD's expectations for the 2005 BRAC round, and (3) the analytical framework for the 2005 BRAC round. GAO offers some suggestions for the Commission to consider as it …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Social Security is the foundation of the nation's retirement income system, helping to protect the vast majority of American workers and their families from poverty in old age. However, it is much more than a retirement program and also provides millions of Americans with disability insurance and survivors' benefits. Over the long term, as the baby boom generation retires and as Americans continue to live longer and have fewer children, Social Security's financing shortfall presents a major program solvency and sustainability challenge that is growing as time passes. The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging asked GAO to discuss the future of the Social Security program. This testimony will address the nature of Social Security's long-term financing problem and why it is preferable for Congress to take action sooner rather than later, as well as the broader context in which reform proposals should be considered."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unlike other depository institutions, credit unions are exempt from federal corporate income taxes. Recent legislative and regulatory changes to credit union membership restrictions and allowable products and services have blurred some of the historical distinctions between credit unions and other depository institutions. As a result, some observers have raised questions about whether tax exemption provides credit unions with an advantage over other depository institutions and whether the original basis for tax exemption is still valid. As part of its continuing oversight of the tax-exempt sector, the House Committee on Ways and Means asked GAO to address (1) the historical basis for the tax-exempt status of credit unions; (2) the arguments for and against taxation, including estimates of potential revenue from eliminating the exemption; (3) the extent to which credit unions offer services distinct from those offered by banks of comparable size, and serve low-and moderate-income individuals; and (4) the extent to which credit unions are required to report information on executive compensation and assessments of their internal controls."

Air Force Logistics Support Centers: COBRA Program USAF

Andrews, MD, Will Rogers AGS, Tinker, OK, and Randolph, TX: COBRA Program USAF

Beale Air Force Base, CA and Selfridge Air National Guard B: COBRA Program USAF

Birmingham International Airport Air Guard Station, AL: COBRA Program USAF

Cannon Air Force Base, NM: COBRA Program USAF

Capital AGS, IL and Hulman Regional APT AGS, IN: COBRA Program USAF

Duluth International Airport Air Guard Station, MN: COBRA Program USAF

Eielson AFB, AK, Moody AFB, GA, and Shaw AFB, SC: COBRA Program USAF

Ellington Air Guard Station, TX: COBRA Program USAF

Close Deseret Chemical Depot

Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, ID: COBRA Program USAF

Bradley IAP, CT, Barnes, MA, Selfridge, MI, Shaw, SC, and M: COBRA Program USAF

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 "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."