A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Deepwater Program includes efforts to build or modernize ships and aircraft and to procure other capabilities. In 2002, the Coast Guard contracted with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) to manage the acquisition as systems integrator. After a series of project failures, the Coast Guard announced in April 2007 that it would take over the lead role, with future work on individual assets bid competitively, and a program baseline of $24.2 billion was set. In June 2008, GAO reported on the Coast Guard's progress and made several recommendations, which the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have addressed. In response to a Senate report accompanying the DHS Appropriations Bill, 2009, GAO addressed (1) efforts to manage Deepwater, (2) changes in cost and schedule of the assets, and (3) efforts to build an acquisition workforce. GAO reviewed Coast Guard and DHS documents and interviewed officials."

This report discusses the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which was created by Title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322). The mission of the COPS program is to advance community policing in all jurisdictions across the United States. Several bills introduced in the 111th Congress would either modify the COPS program, reauthorize appropriations for the program, or both.

This report provides an overview of issues Congress may consider when taking up legislation to reauthorize the Community Oriented Policing Services program.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For over a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have been working on initiatives to share electronic health information. To expedite their efforts, Congress mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 that VA and DOD establish a joint interagency program office to act as a single point of accountability in the development of electronic health records systems or capabilities that allow for full interoperability (generally, the ability of systems to exchange data) by September 30, 2009. In this statement, GAO summarizes findings from its upcoming report, focusing on progress in setting up the interagency program office and the departments' actions to achieve fully interoperable capabilities by September 30, 2009. To do so, GAO analyzed agency documentation on project status and conducted interviews with agency officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The General Mining Act of 1872 helped open the West by allowing individuals to obtain exclusive rights to mine billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and other hardrock (locatable) minerals from federal lands without having to pay a federal royalty. However, western states charge royalties so that they share in the proceeds from the hardrock minerals extracted from their lands. For years, some mining operators abandoned land used in their mining operations, creating environmental and physical safety hazards. To curb further growth in the number of abandoned hardrock mines on federal lands, in 1981, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began requiring mining operators to reclaim BLM land disturbed by these operations."

This report provides background on current International Criminal Court (ICC) cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.

This report reviews the ongoing programs that will affect the expected size and shape of the U.S. strategic nuclear force structure. It includes an overview of this force structure during the Cold War, and summarizes the reductions and changes that have occurred since 1991. It also offers details about each category of delivery vehicle--land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers--focusing on their current deployments and ongoing and planned modernization programs.

Petroleum prices rose sharply in the first half of 2008, at one time reaching more than $140 per barrel of crude oil. This report provides an estimate of the initial impact of the changing oil prices on the nation’s merchandise trade deficit.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Historically, the vast majority of VA patients have been men, but that is changing. VA provided health care to over 281,000 women veterans in 2008--an increase of about 12 percent since 2006--and the number of women veterans in the United States is projected to increase by 17 percent between 2008 and 2033. Women veterans seeking care at VA medical facilities need access to a full range of health care services, including basic gender-specific services--such as cervical cancer screening--and specialized gender-specific services--such as treatment of reproductive cancers. This testimony, based on ongoing work, discusses GAO's preliminary findings on (1) the on-site availability of health care services for women veterans at VA facilities, (2) the extent to which VA facilities are following VA policies that apply to the delivery of health care services for women veterans, and (3) key challenges that VA facilities are experiencing in providing health care services for women veterans. GAO reviewed applicable VA policies, interviewed officials, and visited 19 medical facilities--9 VA medical centers (VAMC) and 10 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC)--and 8 Vet Centers. These facilities were chosen based in part on the number of women …

This report discusses background information on the V-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, as well as procurement and related oversight issues for Congress.

This report discusses issues for Congress in 2008, which include but are not necessarily limited to the Coast Guard's overall management of Deepwater acquisition, the status of certain Deepwater acquisition programs, and the so-called revolving door issue.

This report discusses a category of congressionally chartered nonprofit organizations that have as their purpose the promotion of patriotic, charitable, educational, and other eleemosynary activities. Title 36 of the United States Code, where such corporate organizations are listed with their charters, was recodified by law in 1998 (P.L. 105-225).

This report details the total cost of counterterrorism operations in the Global War on Terror (GWOT) since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. This report also includes descriptions of relevant budgetary legislation.

This report presents an overview of current issues related to foreign direct investment in the economy and the development of U.S. policy toward inward and outward direct investment. This report also assesses the role of foreign direct investment in the economy and the costs and benefits of direct investment.

This report analyzes the extent of foreign portfolio investment in the U.S. economy and assesses the economic conditions that are attracting such investment and the impact such investments are having on the economy.

This report describes U.S. efforts to combat international HIV/AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) including an overview of its implementation structure, key program elements, results, and funding from FY2004 through FY2008. It also details funding for tuberculosis, malaria, and U.S. contributions to the Global Fund during that time. This report discusses similarities and differences between H.R. 5501 and S. 2731 including proposed changes in program authorities and funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On May 22, 2008, we testified before the Congressional subcommittee at a hearing on Security Clearance Reform. This letter responds to three questions for the record. (1) Has GAO noted any efforts in the Joint Reform Team report to address the quality of investigative and adjudicative work and if not, can GAO suggest some steps that might be taken? (2) Since the Department of Defense (DOD) was put on GAO's high-risk list, GAO has been recommending DOD develop methods to better forecast long-term funding needs for the clearance process. What are GAO's thoughts on the steps taken by the Defense Security Service (DSS), including its use of a refined web-based survey, to better forecast its workload? (3) What suggestions does GAO have for the Joint Reform Team and Congress as we move forward with plans to reform the security clearance process?"

This report discusses "phthalates," which refer to a group of chemical compounds that are heavily produced and widely used to make the plastics found in thousands of consumer products.

Document 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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a county commissioner may be paid while working for the county sheriff in jail division (RQ-0661-GA)

Document 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, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Meaning of the term "previously captured" for purposes of section 42.092 of the Penal Code, which prohibits cruelty to nonlivestock animals (RQ-0666-GA)

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Traffic crashes kill thousands of Americans every year--in 2005, it was the leading cause of death among young Americans. To try to improve highway safety, Congress authorized a grant program overseen by the Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2003, GAO recommended that NHTSA improve the consistency of its management reviews, a key aspect of NHTSA's oversight. In response to a legislative mandate, GAO assessed (1) how states have used grant funding to address safety goals, (2) NHTSA's progress in improving consistency in its management reviews, (3) the usefulness of its management review recommendations, and (4) approaches to further improve safety. In performing this work, GAO reviewed traffic safety data, analyzed state spending patterns, conducted site visits with eight states, and interviewed agency officials."

Fish and marine mammals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas; many federal laws and regulations guide their management. This report discusses a variety of laws and legislation pertaining to this issue.

This report covers funding and policy issues related to Foreign Operations, as addressed in the House and Senate, and State Department programs as debated in the Senate. The discussion and accompanying tables are designed to track the House Foreign Operations Appropriation measure, as well as the broader Senate State, Foreign Operations spending bill.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) primary function is to support and strengthen domestic and international anti-money laundering efforts through coordination and partnerships. Since its creation in 1990, FinCEN has been responsible for overseeing the management, processing, storage and dissemination of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data. In 2004, FinCEN embarked on a major initiative intended to improve the sharing of information reported under the Bank Secrecy Act. BSA Direct is an umbrella project intended to provide secure, user-friendly, web-based tools for accessing, analyzing, and filing BSA data. It is part of a broad effort to reengineer data management responsibilities and transition them from the IRS. During the early spring of 2006, it became clear to FinCEN that the Retrieval and Sharing component of the BSA Direct project (BSA Direct R&S) was not going to meet the critical implementation deadline of June 30, 2006. Because FinCEN has experienced problems with development and implementation of the BSA Direct R&S, Congress asked us about the project's current status and to provide observations on FinCEN's IT investment management practices. Our objectives were to (1) describe BSA Direct R&S and the project's current …