Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 8102 of the Department of Defense (DOD) and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2011 directed us to evaluate the effect on national security resulting from the section's requirements. These requirements, as well as those previously included in Section 8116 of the DOD Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010, prohibit DOD's use of funds appropriated by the respective acts for any contract over $1 million unless the contractor agrees not to use or enforce mandatory arbitration agreements to resolve specified employee claims, such as those under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These statutes also provide that the Secretary of Defense can waive the application of these restrictions on mandatory arbitration to avoid harm to U.S. national security interests."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March 2003, two legacy enforcement agencies--the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Customs Service (USCS)--were among the 22 federal agencies brought together within DHS. This transformation in turn merged the legacy INS and USCS investigators into the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations (OI), and legacy INS and USCS inspectors, among others, into Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It has been nearly 3 years since the merger and efforts to integrate thousands of federal employees within ICE and CBP continue. Congress raised questions about ongoing human capital challenges brought about by the integration of legacy enforcement employees within ICE and CBP. In prior work, we have reported on the management and human capital challenges DHS faces as it merges the workforces of legacy agencies, including the need to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the new agencies, the difficulty of legacy staff operating from separate locations, and how it decides to allocate investigative resources. This report addresses the following objectives: (1) How many investigative work years were dedicated to immigration enforcement …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ten states concentrated in the western, midwestern, and southeastern United States--areas where the housing market had experienced strong growth in the prior decade--each experienced 10 or more commercial bank or thrift (bank) failures between 2008 and 2011. The failures of small banks (those with less than $1 billion in assets) in these states were largely driven by credit losses on commercial real estate (CRE) loans, particularly loans secured by real estate to finance land development and construction. Many of the failed banks had often pursued aggressive growth strategies using nontraditional, riskier funding sources and exhibited weak underwriting and credit administration practices. The Department of the Treasury and the Financial Stability Forum's Working Group on Loss Provisioning observed that earlier recognition of credit losses could have potentially lessened the impact of the crisis. The accounting model used for estimating credit losses is based on historical loss rates, which were low in the prefinancial crisis years. In part due to these accounting rules, loan loss allowances were not adequate to absorb the wave of credit losses that occurred once the financial crisis began. Banks had to recognize these losses through …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report evaluates how the Small Business Administration (SBA) has managed its Women's Business Center Program. GAO found that the two offices that run the program--the Office of WOmen's Business Ownership (program office) and the Office of Procurement and Grants (grants office)--have addressed the weaknesses cited in GAO's 1999 report. For example, files from the program office that GAO reviewed were generally complete, and the few documents that GAO could not locate were provided promptly. The program office was also able to provide various historical documents for 1999 and 2000, and the program office and grants office had tried to improve coordination with each other, such as through better recordkeeping."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with hundreds of billions of dollars in supplemental and annual appropriations for military operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). DOD's reported annual obligations for GWOT have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to about $139.8 billion in fiscal year 2007. To continue GWOT operations, the President requested $189.3 billion in appropriations for DOD in fiscal year 2008. As of May 2008, Congress has provided DOD with about $86.8 billion of this request, including $16.8 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Congress has not finalized action on the remaining $102.5 billion. In addition, the President also requested about $66 billion in appropriations for DOD in fiscal year 2009 for GWOT, which was submitted along with DOD's annual budget request. The United States' commitments to GWOT will likely involve the continued investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The magnitude of future costs will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables and, in some cases, …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Costs for nursing home care have almost doubled since 1990, from $53 billion to $92 billion in 2000. Much of that spending has been financed with public monies. Under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the federal government financed 39 percent of the nation's nursing home spending in 2000, up from 28 percent in 1990. As federal outlays have grown, Congress has focused attention on the quality of care delivered and the level of staffing in nursing homes. Nursing home expenditures per resident day varied considerably across Ohio, Mississippi, and Washington--the 3 states covered in GAO's survey. Although the total level of spending varied, the average share devoted to resident-care activities, such as nursing care and medical supplies, was relatively stable. The share of spending devoted to buildings and equipment, by comparison, was more variable. Homes in Ohio and Washington that provided more nursing hours per resident day, especially nurses' aide hours, were less likely than homes providing fewer nursing hours to have repeated serious or potentially life-threatening quality problems. However, GAO found no clear relationship between a nursing home's spending per resident day and the number of serious …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This is a follow up to our April 30, 2003, testimony on the proposed Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA). Because our testimony was based on a section-by-section analysis of the proposed legislation, the House Committee on Government Reform requested that we review the specific provisions of the bill as introduced and provide any additional comments."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "China's December 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) signified that the world's seventh largest economy and the United State's fourth largest trading partner would be subject to the multilateral organization's trade liberalizing requirements. China's accession agreement is a set of legal documents totaling more than 800 pages. In order to fulfill its WTO commitments, China will have to undertake numerous actions over the next 10 years, ranging from reducing or eliminating tariffs to improving the transparency of trade-related rules and regulations. GAO released its database of its analysis to assist Congress in analyzing, monitoring, and enforcing China's WTO commitments."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "There has been limited improvement in bridge conditions in the past decade, but a substantial number of bridges remain in poor condition. Of the 607,380 bridges on the nation's roadways in 2012, 1 in 4 was classified as deficient. Some are structurally deficient and have one or more components in poor condition and others are functionally obsolete and may no longer be adequate for the traffic they serve. Data indicate that the number of deficient bridges has decreased since 2002 even as the number of bridges has increased. The impact of the federal investment in bridges is difficult to measure. For example, while Department of Transportation (DOT) tracks a portion of bridge spending on a state-by-state basis, the data do not include state and local spending, thus making it difficult to determine the federal contribution to overall expenditures. Understanding the impact of federal investment in bridges is important in determining how to invest future federal resources."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported in June 2005 that EPA has historically faced the following challenges in implementing the provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ex-Im's Business Plan concluded that the exposure limits in the Reauthorization Act were appropriate, but GAO’s May 2013 report found weaknesses in the methodology Ex-Im used to justify that conclusion. The Reauthorization Act increased the Ex-Im exposure limit to $120 billion in 2012, with provisions for additional increases to $130 billion in 2013 and $140 billion in 2014. Ex-Im forecast that its year-end exposure would be $120.2 billion in 2013 and $134.9 billion in 2014, below the congressionally determined limits. However, the buffer between the exposure limit and Ex-Im's exposure forecast for 2013 and 2014 is small in comparison with recent historical experience."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) reported that under its current policy, beneficiaries eligible for both TRICARE and the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) health care (dual eligible beneficiaries) are not allowed to utilize the services offered by both health care systems for treatment for the same episode of care. For example, if a beneficiary experiences back pain and seeks treatment from VA, the beneficiary must then receive all care related to that back pain from VA. Should the beneficiary then decide to seek treatment for the back pain from TRICARE, any claims related to that care would be denied. According to DOD, this policy was established to ensure continuity of care for beneficiaries and to ensure that there was no duplication of care or of payments from TRICARE or VA. Under the policy, if beneficiaries are dissatisfied with the care provided by VA, they are unable to switch to TRICARE to receive services for the same episode of care. On April 16, 2003, DOD reported to the Congress on a proposal to change its policy and promulgate regulations for coordinating care between DOD and VA. As agreed, we …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Corporate income taxes are expected to bring in about $277 billion in 2006 to help fund the activities of the federal government. Besides raising revenue, the tax alters investment decisions and raises concerns about competitiveness in an environment of increasing global interdependency. The complexity of the tax breeds tax avoidance, including an estimated $32 billion of noncompliance detected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This testimony provides information on trends in corporate taxes and opportunities to improve corporate tax compliance. Congress also asked that GAO discuss recent work on the misreporting of capital gains income from securities sales and options to improve compliance. This statement is based largely on previously published GAO work."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Medicaid program served 33.4 million low-income families as well as elderly, blind, and disabled persons at a cost of $119 billion to the federal government and $88 billion to the states in fiscal year 2000. States are responsible for safeguarding Medicaid funds by making proper payments to providers, recovering misspent funds, and accurately reporting costs for federal reimbursement. At the federal level, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for overseeing state financial activities and ensuring the propriety of expenditures reported for federal reimbursement. Audits of state Medicaid finances have identified millions of dollars of questionable or unallowable costs. In addition, annual financial statement audits have identified many internal control weaknesses in CMS oversight of state Medicaid operations. CMS has only recently begun to assess areas at greatest risk for improper payments. As a result, controls that focus on the highest risk areas and resources had not yet been deployed for areas of greatest risk. Since 1998, auditors have noted that CMS failed to institute an oversight process that effectively reduced the risk of inappropriate medical claims and payments. CMS attributed most of the …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the implementation and management of the General Services Administration's (GSA) Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) program, which encourages competition for telecommunication services in large cities. GAO found that as of June 2001, GSA had awarded 37 MAA contracts for 20 metropolitan areas. Existing GSA contracts were to become MAA contracts within nine months after contractors were authorized to begin work. This goal was met in only two of the 14 metropolitan areas in which authorization was given. GSA charges customer agencies two types of fees to recover the costs of their contract management and administration activities. Although GSA does not yet allow MAA contractors to offer FTS2001 services, it is taking steps to allow crossover between the two programs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During GAO's recent work on services available for women veterans (GAO-10-287), several clinicians expressed concern about the physical safety of women housed in mental health programs at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility. GAO examined (1) the volume of sexual assault incidents reported in recent years and the extent to which these incidents are fully reported, (2) what factors may contribute to any observed underreporting, and (3) precautions VA facilities take to prevent sexual assaults and other safety incidents. This testimony is based on recent GAO work, "VA Health Care: Actions Needed To Prevent Sexual Assaults and Other Safety Incidents," (GAO-11-530) (June 2011). For that report, GAO reviewed relevant laws, VA policies, and sexual assault incident documentation from January 2007 through July 2010. In addition, GAO visited five judgmentally selected VA medical facilities that varied in size and complexity and spoke with the four Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) that oversee them."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As of June 2007, more than 100,000 military and civilian personnel are engaged in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in 15 locations in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. In 2006, the United States provided the UN with about $1 billion to support peacekeeping operations. Given that thousands of U.S. troops are intensively deployed in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, UN peacekeeping operations are an important element in maintaining a secure international environment. As requested, this testimony discusses (1) the costs of the current UN mission in Haiti compared with the estimated cost of a hypothetical U.S. operation and (2) the strengths and limitations of the United States and the UN in leading peace operations. This testimony is based on our prior report and information we updated for this hearing. To estimate U.S. costs, we developed parameters for a U.S. mission similar to the UN mission in Haiti, which the Joint Staff validated as reasonable. We then applied DOD's official cost estimating model. However, it is uncertain whether the United States would implement an operation in Haiti in the same way as the UN."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors' major rule on the privacy of consumer financial information. GAO noted that the: (1) final rule implements notice requirements and restrictions on a financial institution's ability to disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties; (2) rule also prohibits a financial institution from disclosing such information to nonaffiliated third parties unless the institution satisfies various notice and opt-out requirements and the consumer has not elected to opt out of the disclosure; (3) final rule requires institutions to provide its customers with a notice of its privacy policies and practices; and (4) Board of Governors complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to address (1) the extent to which coordination between the U.S. military and private security providers has improved since GAO's 2005 report, (2) the ability of private security providers and the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct comprehensive background screenings of employees, and (3) the extent to which U.S. or international standards exist for establishing private security provider and employee qualifications. For this testimony, GAO drew from its July 2005 report on private security providers, and its preliminary observations from an ongoing engagement examining contractor screening practices."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Of the 25 areas on GAO's 2005 high-risk list of federal programs or activities that are at risk for waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement, 8 are Department of Defense (DOD) programs or operations and 6 are governmentwide high-risk areas for which DOD shares some responsibility. These high-risk areas relate to DOD's major business operations. DOD's failure to effectively resolve these high-risk areas results in billions of dollars of waste each year, ineffective performance, and inadequate accountability. At a time when DOD is competing for resources in an increasingly fiscally constrained environment, it is critically important that DOD get the most from every defense dollar. DOD has taken several positive steps and devoted substantial resources toward establishing key management structures and processes to successfully transform its business operations and address its high-risk areas, but overall progress by area varies widely and huge challenges remain. This testimony addresses (1) DOD's progress in developing a strategic, integrated, enterprise-wide business transformation plan and its related leadership approach, (2) the extent to which DOD has complied with legislation that addresses business systems modernization and improving financial management accountability, and (3) selected additional DOD …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The over accumulation of vegetation is a serious problem, particularly in the interior West, where it is causing an increasing number of uncontrollable and destructive wildfires. The policy response to this was the development of the National Fire Plan--a long-term multibillion dollar effort to address wildland fire threats. GAO's work on wildland fires identified three needs: (1) a cohesive strategy to address growing threats to national forest resources and nearby communities from catastrophic wildfires, (2) clearly defined and effective leadership to carry out that strategy in a coordinated manner, and (3) accountability to ensure that progress is being made toward accomplishing the goals of the National Fire Plan. Two years ago, the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior developed strategies to address these problems, and recently established a leadership entity to respond to the need for greater contingency coordination. Whether the strategy and the council will serve as the framework and mechanism to effectively deal with the threat of a catastrophic wildland fire will depend on how well the National Fire Plan is implemented. To determine the effectiveness of this effort, a sound performance accountability framework …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) major rule on emergency core cooling system evaluation models. GAO noted that the: (1) final rule amends the NRC's regulations to allow holders of operating licenses for nuclear power plants to reduce the assumed reactor power level used in evaluations of emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) performance; (2) final rule provides licensees the option to apply a reduced margin for ECCS evaluation or to maintain the value of reactor power that had been mandated in the regulation; and (3) NRC complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Memorandum of Meeting to discuss the RC-PAT organization and USAR Participation.

A press release from the National Organization for Women announcing a march at the National NOW Conference during the Rust v. Sullivan trial.