Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) report to Congress recommending that it award a contract to an alternate contractor for the development of its Alaska National Airspace System Interfacility Communications System, focusing on whether the findings were properly supported. FAA's report compared the alternate contractor's costs to the costs of two other commercial telecommunications providers."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's oversight has been comprehensive. To date, we have issued 65 products on the Troubled Asset Relief Programs (TARP) and activities and we have made 99 performance and financial statement audit recommendations. Our reviews have focused on several key areas, including the activities initiated under TARP and the challenges encountered in implementing them, Treasury's process for deciding how to unwind TARP programs and investments and the actions taken to terminate the programs and exit the investments, indicators of credit conditions in markets targeted by TARP programs, the management infrastructure for TARP programs, and the status of our recommendations to Treasury. Some of our reports have identified findings related to the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of Treasury's management of TARP programs and its communication strategy."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On March 9, 2006, we testified before Congress at a hearing entitled, "Reporting Improper Payments: A Report Card on Agencies' Progress." At the hearing, we discussed our findings on federal agencies' challenges in meeting the requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA) of 2002 based on our review of agencies' fiscal year 2005 performance and accountability reports (PAR) and annual reports. We were asked to provide answers to the following follow-up questions relating to our March 9, 2006, testimony: (1) What concerns does GAO have regarding not only DHS' inability to comply with the Improper Payments Information Act; but on a greater scale with their overall financial management? (2) About which Agencies that reported in their fiscal year 2005 Performance and Accountability Report that they had no programs susceptible to significant improper payments does GAO have concerns about? (3) Should "unavoidable overpayment" statistics at the Social Security Administration (SSA) be reported to the Office of Management and Budget, and if so why would this be important, and how could the Social Security Administration implement such a process? (4) What concerns does GAO have with the Agency for …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence follows up an August 1, 2007, meeting to discuss concerns about changes in the cost and savings estimates and the potential loss of expertise and experience from the closure of Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, among other issues, since the recommendation to close Fort Monmouth as part of the Department of Defense's (DOD) 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round became effective. The work since the independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's (the Commission) recommendations became effective has been done under the authority of the Comptroller General to conduct reviews on his own initiative and has focused on the implementation of realignment and closure actions. This brief summary reviews our public observations made in 2005 about the 2005 BRAC round, specifically those related to Fort Monmouth. Also reviewed, under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct reviews on his own initiative, is the methodology of a forthcoming DOD report on the transfer of technical capabilities from Fort Monmouth to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Financial Accountability Act, Public Law Number 108-330, requires DHS management to provide an assertion on the internal control that applies to financial reporting for fiscal year 2005 and to obtain an auditor's opinion on the department's internal control over its financial reporting for fiscal year 2006. The act also directs the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) to conduct a joint study, and report to the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States, on the potential costs and benefits of requiring agencies subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 to obtain audit opinions of their internal control over financial reporting. The DHS Financial Accountability Act also requires that the Comptroller General of the United States review the joint study and report the results of this analysis to the Congress. In December 2005, we briefed available committee staff on our preliminary analysis of the joint study. This report provides further details on our review and on our views regarding a requirement for federal agencies to obtain audit opinions on their …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States is currently undergoing a transition from analog to digital broadcast television. This transition offers the promise of more television programming options, interactive television, and high-definition television. An additional goal of the digital television (DTV) transition is for the federal government to reclaim radiofrequencies--or spectrum--that broadcasters currently use to transmit analog television signals. Because of the virtual explosion of wireless applications in recent years, there is considerable concern that future spectrum needs--both for commercial as well as government purposes--will not be met. The spectrum that will be cleared at the end of the DTV transition is considered to be highly valuable spectrum because of its particular technical properties. In all, the DTV transition will clear 108 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum, which is a fairly significant amount. In the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, the Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reallocate 24 MHz of the reclaimed spectrum to public safety uses. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been a greater sense of urgency to free spectrum for public safety purposes. The remaining returned spectrum will be auctioned for use in advanced …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (NDAA 2001) directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop and implement a plan to make a chiropractic benefit available to all active duty personnel in the U.S. armed forces. The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily, the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. In August 2001, DOD submitted to Congress an implementation plan that described how it planned to develop a chiropractic benefit within the military health system. The plan addressed patient eligibility, access to care, the location of chiropractic clinics, projected costs, staffing, and the marketing and monitoring of the benefit. The NDAA 2001 directed DOD to develop the implementation plan in consultation with the Oversight Advisory Committee (OAC), which was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (NDAA 1995). The OAC was directed by the NDAA 1995 to oversee a 3-year DOD chiropractic demonstration project at no fewer than 10 military treatment facilities (MTF). The NDAA 1995 directed that the OAC …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) rationale for waiving the competitive prototyping requirement in the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, as amended (WSARA), for the VXX program addresses one of the two bases provided in the statute; namely that the cost of producing competitive prototypes exceeds the expected life-cycle benefits (in constant dollars) of producing the prototypes. The VXX program's acquisition strategy provided the primary justification for the prototyping waiver. According to the waiver, VXX requirements can be met by integrating an existing, in-production, flight-proven aircraft with mature mission systems. The Navy in its waiver request also concluded that the integration activities planned for the VXX program do not require additional technology maturation or risk reduction beyond that already being accomplished by the government through its own prototyping of certain critical mission subsystems. Recognizing that the intent of competitive prototyping is to reduce cost and risk, DOD took other actions that could arguably achieve these goals. Specifically, DOD decided to reduce requirements, use an existing aircraft, and mature critical subsystems before integrating them on the aircraft. In the waiver, DOD also found reasonable the Navy's cost-benefit analysis, …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Telecommuting refers to work that is done at an employee's home or at a job site other than a traditional business office. Perhaps the biggest challenge to establishing and expanding telecommuting programs in both the public and private sectors is management's concerns about the types of positions and employees suitable for telecommuting, protecting proprietary and sensitive data, and establishing cost-effective telecommuting programs. Some federal and state laws and regulations, including those governing taxes, workplace safety, workforce recordkeeping, and liability for home workplace injuries, are also potential obstacles to telecommuting. Overall, the application of state tax laws to telecommuting arrangements, as well as other laws and regulations enacted before the transition to a more technological and information based economy, is evolving and their ultimate impact remains unclear."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "By the end of this fiscal year--in less than one month--the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) projects that it will incur a $9 billion loss; reach its $15 billion borrowing limit; not make its $5.5 billion retiree health benefits payment; and thus, become insolvent. USPS recently summarized this situation as the equivalent of facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In August 2011, USPS outlined new proposals to address the crisis. USPS seeks legislation to remove itself from the federal health benefit program and sponsor its own program; change pension benefits for new employees; and eliminate the layoff provisions it negotiated with its unions in collective bargaining to accelerate its delivery, processing, and retail network and workforce downsizing. Other USPS proposals, such as moving to 5-day delivery, and pending legislation include additional options for consideration. This statement discusses (1) updated information on USPS's financial crisis and (2) GAO's review and analysis of proposals to address this crisis, including USPS's new proposals, and options in current legislation. The testimony is based primarily on GAO's review of pending legislation, past and ongoing work related to postal issues, as well as USPS's recent financial results …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 authorizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It promotes the ABC model (Abstain, be faithful, or use Condoms); recommends that 20 percent of funds appropriated pursuant to the act be spent on prevention; and requires that, starting in fiscal year 2006, 33 percent of prevention funds appropriated pursuant to the act be spent on abstinence-until-marriage activities. The Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) oversees PEPFAR and administers the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative (GHAI) account, the main repository for PEPFAR funds. For our April 2006 report, GAO reviewed PEPFAR prevention funding trends; described the PEPFAR strategy to prevent sexual transmission of HIV; and examined related challenges. The report recommended that the Coordinator collect and report information on the effects of the abstinence-until-marriage spending requirement and use it to, among other things, assess whether the requirement should apply only to the GHAI account. OGAC agreed to collect information but disagreed with applying the requirement only to certain funds; GAO modified the recommendation. GAO also suggested Congress use the information to assess how well the requirement supports …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) recent 4-year anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress DHS has made. The creation of DHS was one of the largest federal reorganizations in the last several decades, and GAO has reported that it was an enormous management challenge and that the size, complexity, and importance of the effort made the challenge especially daunting and critical to the nation's security. Our prior work on mergers and acquisitions has found that successful transformations of large organizations, even those faced with less strenuous reorganizations than DHS, can take at least 5 to 7 years to achieve. This testimony is based on our August 2007 report evaluating DHS's progress since March 2003. Specifically, it addresses DHS's progress across 14 mission and management areas and key themes that have affected DHS's implementation efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the federal government's role in helping pay for Medicaid, focusing on how: (1) the current financing scheme works; and (2) it compromises the agreement for federal/state sharing of Medicaid financing."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In August 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space shuttle program was at a critical juncture. Its workforce had declined significantly since 1995, its flight rate was to double to support the assembly of the International Space Station, and costly safety upgrades were planned to enhance the space shuttle's operation until at least 2012. Workforce reductions were jeopardizing NASA's ability to safely support the shuttle's planned flight rate. Recognizing the need to revitalize the shuttle's workforce, NASA ended its downsizing plans for the shuttle program and began to develop and equip the shuttle fleet with various safety and supportability upgrades. NASA is making progress in revitalizing the shuttle program's workforce. NASA's current budget request projects an increase of more than 200 full-time equivalent staff through fiscal year 2002. NASA has also focused more attention on human capital management in its annual performance plan. However, considerable challenges still lie ahead. Because many of the additional staff are new hires, they will need considerable training and will need to be integrated into the shuttle program. Also, NASA still needs to fully staff areas critical to shuttle safety; deal …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has supported the creation of independent inspector general (IG) offices in appropriate federal departments, agencies, and entities through the Inspector General Act of 1978. Under the act, the Export-Import Bank is not required to have IG offices but must report its annual audit and investigative activity to both the Office of Management and Budget and Congress. IG oversight of the Export-Import Bank could be established in several ways. First, the IG Act could be amended to establish an IG appointed either by the President or by the Export-Import Bank Chairman. Also, an already existing IG office could provide independent audits and investigations of the bank. Finally, a memorandum of understanding, which acts as a contract for outside IG services and would not require an amendment to the IG Act, could be created. In the final analysis, the placement of IGs in specific agencies is a policy decision to be decided by Congress."

IEG Briefing Schedule -

Scenario/Activities with Certified Data

Thank You Note from Texas Congressman Ralph M. Hall to Commissioner Hansen dtd 2 Sep 2005 concerning the Red River Army Depot.

Collection of BRAC related articles and news clippings. Produced for Commission staff review.

Collection of BRAC related news articles and clippings. Produced for Commission staff review.

Collection of BRAC related news articles and clippings. Produced for Commission staff review.

108th Air Refueling Wing Future Missions Military Value. Community Input from McGuire AFB local area.

Press release announcing NMAC's new campaign to help people of color with HIV/AIDS live healthier, longer lives, especially through using common drugs to battle PCP.

Letter opinion 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, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification.