A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Foreign students and scholars have made substantial contributions to U.S. research efforts and technology development. However, according to a federal government intelligence assessment, foreign access to sensitive U.S. technology has imposed a significant but unquantifiable cost to the United States. Given this risk, GAO was asked to (1) describe the nature of the research at universities and identify steps they take to comply with export controls and (2) assess efforts by the Departments of Commerce and State--the key export control agencies--to determine the risk of export violations in university research. GAO reviewed Commerce and State export control programs and met with officials from 13 universities, selected based on their foreign student populations, applications for export licenses, and federal grants and contracts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because it is important that the Department of Defense (DOD) adheres to disciplined information technology (IT) acquisition processes to successfully modernize its business systems, GAO was asked to determine whether the Naval Tactical Command Support System (NTCSS) is being managed according to important aspects of DOD's acquisition policies and guidance, as well as other relevant acquisition management best practices. NTCSS was started in 1995 to help Navy personnel effectively manage ship, submarine, and aircraft support activities. To date, about $1 billion has been spent to partially deploy NTCSS to about one-half its intended ashore and afloat sites."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP), the government guarantees and makes consolidation loans to help borrowers manage their student loan debt. By combining loans into one and extending repayment, monthly repayments are reduced. Unlike other student loans, consolidation loans carry a fixed interest rate. Recently, trends in interest rates and consolidation loan volume have increased overall federal costs, leading Congress to consider cost reduction proposals. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act, the government calculates, for budgetary purposes, the net cost, or "subsidy cost," of extending or guaranteeing credit over the life of loans. Agencies generally reestimate, subsidy costs annually to include actual results and adjust future program estimates. GAO was asked to provide information on the budgetary effects of making consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP. We developed information to answer the following questions: (1) What would be the estimated budgetary effect of providing consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP in fiscal year 2006? (2) To what extent and for what reasons might this estimated budgetary effect change as subsidy costs are reestimated in future years? (3) How might …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, a concern has been that terrorists or their supporters would seek to immigrate to the United States (i.e., seek lawful permanent residency (LPR)). The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts background checks and the FBI conducts name checks for those applying for LPR. GAO was asked to review USCIS's processes for screening individuals applying for LPR. GAO assessed: (1) what available data show about the extent to which national security concerns were discovered during USCIS background checks for LPR applications, (2) what issues USCIS has encountered in its background check processes and what actions have been taken to resolve those issues, and (3) the extent to which USCIS has addressed fraud vulnerabilities in its adjudication procedures for LPR. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed USCIS background check and adjudication procedures, USCIS data on adjudications, and its assessments of fraud in applications for LPR, and interviewed USCIS and FBI officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The current economic downturn has brought significant financial stress to the auto manufacturing industry. Recent deteriorating financial, real estate, and labor markets have reduced consumer confidence and available credit, and automobile purchases have declined. While auto manufacturers broadly have experienced declining sales in 2008 as the economy has worsened, sales of the "Big 3" (General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford) have also declined relative to those of some other auto manufacturers in recent years because higher gasoline prices have particularly hurt sales of sport utility vehicles. In addition to causing potential job losses at auto manufacturers, failure of the domestic auto industry would likely adversely affect other sectors. Officials from the Big 3 have requested, and Congress is considering, immediate federal financial assistance. This testimony discusses principles that can serve as a framework for considering the desirability, nature, scope, and conditions of federal financial assistance. Should Congress decide to provide financial assistance, we also discuss how these principles could be applied in these circumstances. The testimony is based on GAO's extensive body of work on previous federal rescue efforts that dates back to the 1970s."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government controls exports of defense-related goods and services by companies and the export of information associated with their design, production, and use, to ensure they meet U.S. interests. Globalization and communication technologies facilitate exports of controlled information providing benefits to U.S. companies and increase interactions between U.S. and foreign companies, making it challenging to protect such exports. GAO assessed (1) how the government's export control processes apply to the protection of export-controlled information, and (2) steps the government has taken to identify and help mitigate the risks in protecting export-controlled information. To do this, GAO analyzed agency regulations and practices and interviewed officials from 46 companies with a wide range of exporting experiences."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This document focuses on the Department of Defense's (DOD) kinetic energy anti-satellite (KE-ASAT) program. GAO found the program is in a state of disarray. Problem areas include funding, limited management, and poor record keeping. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence had recommended that DOD complete the existing contracts, place the weapon system in storage, and pursue no further development of the program. If DOD decides to continue the program, however, considerable work will be needed to make the system ready for operational testing. Furthermore, DOD will need to strengthen its internal and financial controls to ensure that government resources are used in compliance with government regulations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 60 years, the United Services Organization (USO), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DOD), has provided support and entertainment to U.S. armed forces, relying heavily on private contributions and on funds, goods, and services from DOD. To assist USO, Congress, beginning in fiscal year 2000, provided a total of $23.8 million in grants to be awarded through DOD as seed money for an endowment fund. The availability of these funds to USO, along with DOD's ongoing support funded in its regular annual appropriations, represents a substantial financial commitment. GAO determined (1) the source and amount of DOD's support to USO in fiscal years 2000-2002 and (2) the sufficiency of internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that federal funds are used in an appropriate manner. GAO focused its audit on USO World Headquarters' activities and audited a limited selection of USO transactions for the 3 fiscal years."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The testimony discusses debt collection efforts by two major components at the Department of Agriculture--the Rural Housing Service (RHS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 requires agencies to (1) notify the Department of the Treasury of debts more than 180 days delinquent for the purposes of administrative offset against any amounts that might otherwise be due and (2) refer such debts to Treasury for centralized collection. To facilitate collection, agencies can administratively garnish the wages of delinquent debtors throughout government. GAO found that agencies are excluding most reported debt more than 180 days delinquent from referral requirements. To more fully realize the benefits of debt collection, agencies need to improve their implementation of the act. The Financial Management Service is making steady progress in collecting delinquent federal non-tax debt through the Treasury Offset Program--a mandatory governmentwide debt collection program that compares delinquent debtor debt to federal payment data. Agriculture and other agencies still have not used administrative wage garnishment to collect delinquent non-tax debt even though experts have testified that it can be an extremely powerful tool for debt collection. If …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal assistance helps students and families pay for postsecondary education through several policy tools--grant and loan programs authorized by title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and more recently enacted tax preferences. This testimony summarizes and updates our 2005 report on (1) how title IV assistance compares to that provided through the tax code (2) the extent to which tax filers effectively use postsecondary tax preferences, and (3) what is known about the effectiveness of federal assistance. This hearing is an opportunity to consider whether any changes should be made in the government's overall strategy for providing such assistance or to the individual programs and tax provisions that provide the assistance. This statement is based on previously published GAO work and reviews of relevant literature."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) was enacted in 2000 to compensate Department of Energy employees and contractors who developed work-related illnesses such as cancer and lung disease. Energy administered Subtitle D of the program. Subtitle B of the program is administered by the Department of Labor, which uses estimates of workers' likely radiation exposure to make compensation decisions. The estimates, known as dose reconstructions, are performed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The act specified that the President establish an Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to review the scientific validity of NIOSH's dose reconstructions and recommend whether workers should be part of special exposure cohorts whose claimants can be compensated without dose reconstructions. A recent memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to Labor has raised concern about potential efforts to unduly contain the cost of benefits paid to claimants. This testimony presents GAO's past work on program performance and the work of the advisory board. It also highlights GAO's ongoing work relevant to issues raised by …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has, in the past, lacked a strategic approach to human capital management. In April 2002, DOD issued two human capital strategic plans for military personnel. One plan addresses military personnel management and policies; the second addresses quality of life issues affecting service members and their families. As a follow-on to its recent work on benefits for military personnel, GAO reviewed the extent that these two plans, in addressing military benefits, promote (1) the integration and alignment of human capital approaches to meet organizational goals and (2) the use of reliable data to make human capital decisions--two critical success factors for human capital planning. GAO also reviewed DOD's plans for overseeing the progress and implementation of its human capital plans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) matches information returns filed by third parties, including federal agencies, with taxpayers' income tax returns to determine whether taxpayers have filed a return and/or reported all of their income. A correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) is necessary to enable IRS to match these returns. Prior GAO reviews have shown that federal agency payment records often include invalid TINs, particularly for vendors. GAO was asked to study federal agencies' compliance with filing information returns for service payments made to vendors, IRS's efforts to improve agencies' compliance, and whether additional measures could improve their compliance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Demographic changes pose serious challenges for employers, the economy, and older Americans. As the baby boomers near traditional retirement ages, the loss of experienced workers could have adverse effects on productivity and economic growth. Also, many older Americans face less-secure retirements due to rising health care costs, pension coverage changes, and fiscal pressures on the nation's retirement programs. Due to the growing importance of workers aged 55 or older, GAO examined: (1) areas of the labor market affected by the aging of the workforce; (2) factors that influence the timing of retirement; and (3) what employers are doing to hire and retain older workers."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing in response to the explanatory statement accompanying the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-161, Division E). The statement directed the Comptroller General to report on its assessment of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) report to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives on the anticipated security benefits and vulnerabilities associated with TSA's decision to suspend enforcement of the prohibition on butane lighters onboard aircraft."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report compares prices for prescription drugs purchased using drug discount cards with prices available at local pharmacies or over the Internet. Using a list of 17 widely prescribed drugs, GAO documents prices from (1) five companies that administer large drug discount card programs, (2) five Internet pharmacies, and (3) several retail pharmacies in four different areas."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Capitol Preservation Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007, and 2006. It also discusses our consideration of the Fund's internal controls and our tests of compliance with laws and regulations during fiscal years 2007 and 2006. We conducted our audits pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 2084 and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. We appreciate the cooperation and assistance of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and the staff of the Library of Congress during our audits."

Contains notes and research (TECH 10) Various States by David Epstein of the NAVY Team.

Executive Correspondence from Rumu Sarkar, General Counsel, 2005 BRAC Commission, to the Honorable Tim Murphy concerning his letter of October 19, 2005. The correspondence is regarding the clarification of the Commission's actions with respect to the number of C-130's to be located at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport (IAP) Air Reserve Station (ARS).

Executive Correspondence from Anthony J. Principi, Chairman, 2005 BRAC Commission, to the Honorable Carl Levin to thank members of the Senate Armed Services Committee staff.

Contains notes and research (Naval Surface Warfare Center) NWS Seal Beach, CA by David Epstein of NAVY Team. Part 2 of 2.

Executive Correspondence from Rumu Sarkar, General Counsel, 2005 BRAC Commission, to the Honorable Melissa A. Hart concerning her letter of October 19, 2005, seeking clarification of the Commission's actions with respect to the number of C-130's to be located at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport (IAP) Air Reserve Station (ARS).

Executive Correspondence from Rumu Sarkar, General Counsel, 2005 BRAC Commission, to the Honorable Arlen Spector concerning his letter of October 19, 2005. The correspondence is regarding the clarification of the Commission's actions with respect to the number of C-130's to be located at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport (IAP) Air Reserve Station (ARS).

Executive Correspondence from Rumu Sarkar, General Counsel, 2005 BRAC Commission, to the Honorable Rick Santorum concerning his letter of October 19, 2005. The correspondence is regarding the clarification of the Commission's actions with respect to the number of C-130's to be located at the 911th Airlift Wing, Pittsburgh International Airport (IAP) Air Reserve Station (ARS).