Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. Army ground forces have been deployed to the Balkans since December 1995. For these personnel, such a tour of duty involves a significant change in living conditions and separation from family and friends. The Army has spent more than $2 billion to build camps and implement services to sustain deployed personnel. Much of what has been spent contributes to enhancing soldiers' quality of life. GAO examined (1) how the Army defines and views the quality of life of deployed soldiers in the Balkans and (2) the quality of life at three base camps in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. GAO found that the Army (1) defines quality of life as the provision of equitable, adequate, and appropriate living, working, and leisure conditions consistent with available resources and political and military considerations and (2) is providing facilities in keeping with its established quality of life standards. GAO also found that most soldiers were satisfied with the living conditions and recreational facilities."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, federal benefit programs make billions of dollars of improper payments, in some cases, due to inaccurate personal and financial information provided by applicants. For federal agencies administering those programs, getting reliable personal and financial information is vital for making good decisions about whether an individual or business is eligible for federal benefits. As one of the largest repositories of personal and financial information in the United States, IRS has a number of data-sharing relationships with federal agencies to help verify applicant-provided information. This letter conveys information Congress requested as a part of work we conducted on verifying financial information at federal agencies, including the IRS. As agreed, we (1) compiled a listing of federal benefit programs with a financial eligibility component and (2) described documentation requirements to qualify for these programs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), which is expected to provide more than $20 billion in refundable tax credits in fiscal year 2002, is intended to offset the burden of the Social Security payroll tax on low-income workers and encourage low-income individuals to work. About 75 percent of the 17.2 million eligible households have claimed the credit. GAO found that the participation rate varied by the number of qualifying children in the household. Participation rates for households with one or two qualifying children were 96 percent and 93 percent respectively. In contrast, the participation rate for households with three or more qualifying children was 62.5 percent. The participation rate for households with no qualifying children was 44.7 percent. Although qualifying households were eligible to claim $22.3 billion in EICs in 1999, the Internal Revenue Service estimates that participating households actually claimed $20.9 billion."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO surveyed 26 agencies not subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. Overall, the surveyed agencies reported that they either achieved significant benefits or would anticipate achieving such benefits from having audited financial statements. The level of effort to prepare financial statements and prepare for an audit varied significantly with the size and other characteristics of the agencies. In determining whether agencies should prepare financial statements and have them audited, respondents identified a combination of factors to consider, including budget authority, key financial statement amounts, and the type of agency operations. Irrespective of the importance of such factors, 21 of the 26 agencies reported that federal agencies should have their financial statements audited."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) receives a great deal of personal information about individuals and businesses. While taxpayers are required to provide this information to IRS under penalty of fine or imprisonment, confidentiality of information reported to IRS is widely held to be a critical element of taxpayers’ willingness to provide information to IRS and comply with the tax laws. As a general rule, anything reported to IRS is held in strict confidence—Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6103 provides that federal tax information is confidential and to be used to administer federal tax laws except as otherwise specifically authorized by law."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Exports of Haitian apparel to the United States under EIAP have increased substantially since we last reported in 2011. Although only three account holders are actively earning credits and two have begun to use them, in the 12-month period ending November 19, 2012, the number of credits OTEXA issued increased to about 42 million SMEs from approximately 8 million SMEs during the same period 1 year earlier. Similarly, over this period, the number of credits redeemed, or used by account holders increased to about 25 million SMEs from approximately million SMEs in 2011. In addition, exports of Haitian apparel to the United States under EIAP have grown faster than non-EIAP exports. Last year, we reported that about $350,000 in Haitian apparel had been exported to the United States under EIAP from January through August of 2011--about 0.07 percent of all Haitian apparel exported to the United States during that period. In contrast, from January through August of 2012, nearly $18 million in Haitian apparel was exported under EIAP--about 4 percent of Haitian apparel exported to the United States during this period. Increased use of the program may be …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Various laws and regulations constrain the ownership of television and radio stations. Five restrictions on the ownership of television and radio stations follow: (1) National television ownership cap - A single entity can own any number of television stations nationwide as long as the stations collectively reach no more than 39 percent of national television households. (2) Local television ownership limit - A single entity can own two television stations in the same DMA if (1) the "Grade B" contours of the stations do not overlap or (2) at least one of the stations is not ranked among the top four stations in terms of audience share and at least eight independently owned and operating full-power commercial and noncommercial television stations would remain in the DMA. (3) Local radio ownership limit - A single entity can own up to 5 commercial radio stations, not more than 3 of which are in the same service (that is, AM or FM), in a market with 14 or fewer radio stations; up to 6 commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the same service, in a market …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of the Navy's proposed dual ship acquisition strategy for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. LCS is envisioned as a vessel able to be reconfigured to meet three different mission areas: mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and antisubmarine warfare. Its design concept consists of two distinct parts--the ship itself (seaframe) and the mission package it carries and deploys. The Navy is procuring the first four ships in two different designs from shipbuilding teams led by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, which currently build their designs at Marinette Marine and Austal USA shipyards, respectively. The Navy's strategy for procuring LCS has evolved over the years. Prior to September 2009, the Navy planned to continue building the class using both ship designs. This strategy changed following unsuccessful contract negotiations that same year for fiscal year 2010 funded seaframes--an outcome attributable to industry proposals priced significantly above Navy expectations. In September 2009, the Navy announced that in an effort to improve affordability, it was revising the LCS program's acquisition strategy and would select one seaframe design before awarding contracts for any additional ships. Following approval of this …

Contains Idaho State Input from the June 17, 2005 Regional Hearing in Portland, OR.

Contains notes from May 18, 2005 Hearing in Washington, DC, by Chairman Principi.

Contains notes and miscellaneous materials-Master Jet Base Hearing-August 4, 2005. Washington, DC.

Contains notes from May 17, 2005 Regional Hearing-Presentation of Recommendations and Methodology-Navy, in Washington, DC.

Contains notes and commission briefing documents by analyst Bob Cook of the INTERAGENCT Team.

Contains notes from May 17, 2005 Hearing-Washington, DC. By Chairman Principi.

Contains notes from May 16, 2005 Hearing-Washington, DC. By Chairman Principi.

Contains notes of May 18, 2005 Hearing-Washington, DC. By Chairman Principi.

Contains notes and research (Naval Base San Diego, CA Broadway Complex #2) by Analyst Brian McDaniel of the Navy Team.

Contains notes and research (Criteria Seven) Fort Monmouth, NJ, By Analyst Wes Hood of the ARMY Team.

Contains notes and research (Data from OSD's Joint E&T Study Group) Various States, by Analyst Syd Carroll of the JOINT CROSS Service Team.

BRAC Analysis - Contains three maps used by Art Beauchamp of the Air Force Team regarding Dyess Air Force Base, TX. (Note: the maps are oversized and only the front is shown.)

Contains notes and research (C0-Locating NTEC and NETPDTC) Florida and Tennessee by Carol Schmidt, Analyst for the Joint Issues Team.

Contains notes of the August 11, 2005 hearing- Washington DC, by Chairman Principi.

Contains NMC10- Community Input-Navy/MC Submarine Base New London, CT. Military Value Handbook.

Contains Procedural Rules of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission-by General Counsel.