A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Very little is known about sexual abuse among children that are regularly cared for by more than 1.3 million child care providers every week in the United States. In this context, GAO was asked to (1) provide an overview of federal and state laws related to the employment of sex offenders at child care facilities and (2) examine cases where individuals who were convicted of serious sexual offenses were subsequently employed or present at child care facilities. To provide an overview of selected laws, GAO searched for prohibitions against offenders being present at child care facilities, requirements for conducting criminal-history checks, and penalties for violating these requirements. The cases GAO examined focus only on individuals who were convicted of serious sexual offenses and cannot be generalized to all child care facilities. To identify the cases, GAO reviewed open-source information from 2000 to 2010. GAO also compared the years 2007 to 2009 in employment databases from 20 states and the District of Columbia to data in the National Sex Offender Registry. GAO ultimately selected 10 cases from eight states and the District of Columbia for review. For …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On June 28, 2005, GAO testified before Congress at a hearing on "Access Delayed: Fixing the Security Clearance Process." This letter responds to a Congressional request that GAO provide answers to Senator Frank R. Lautenberg's questions for the record."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is our response to a congressional request concerning carbon trading in the United States and various design and implementation issues to be considered in discussions about a possible national carbon trading program. Industrial activities in the United States emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases each year, substantially affecting the earth's climate, according to the National Academy of Sciences. In an effort to reduce these emissions, some have suggested capping emissions and allowing them to be traded in secondary markets just as other commodities are traded. We briefed congressional committee staff on the results of our work on July 23, 2010. Specifically, we provided information on (1) carbon-related products currently traded in the United States and the extent of trading; (2) risks and challenges posed by these products; (3) the extent to which and how these products are regulated; and (4) issues that market observers identified for policymaker consideration as part of creating a national cap-and-trade carbon market."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The debate over reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant has focused on work requirements and brought attention to the measure of TANF work participation. The measure is used to assess states' performance and determine whether a state is subject to penalty for not meeting TANF work requirements. The 2003 work participation rates ranged from 9 to 88 percent for the 50 states based on data they submit to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). To help Congress understand these rates, GAO looked at (1) how selected states are defining the categories of work activities, (2) whether selected states have implemented internal controls over the work participation data, and (3) what guidance and oversight HHS has provided states."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) new starts program, focusing on identifying those projects that have experienced changes in their baseline cost estimates and the reason for the changes."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has many vacant and underutilized properties that are no longer needed. Retaining unneeded real properties presents federal agencies with significant potential risks for (1) lost dollars because such properties are costly to maintain; and (2) lost opportunities because the properties could be put to more cost-beneficial uses, exchanged for other needed property, or sold to generate revenue for the government. The General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) hold a significant number of real property assets. GAO was asked to provide information on how these agencies identify vacant and underutilized real properties and the numbers, types, and locations of these properties."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has typically counted overseas members of the military, federal civilian employees, and their dependents. However, it usually excluded private citizens residing abroad. In July 2004, the Bureau completed a test of the practicality of counting all overseas Americans. GAO was asked to assess (1) whether the Bureau implemented the test consistent with its design, and (2) the lessons learned from the test results."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) -9 in 2004 to establish a national policy to defend the food and agriculture systems against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. HSPD-9 assigns various emergency response and recovery responsibilities to the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), and others. In addition, Emergency Support Function (ESF) -11 addresses the federal food and agriculture response during emergencies and is coordinated by USDA. GAO was asked to evaluate (1) the extent to which there is oversight of federal agencies' overall progress in implementing HSPD-9; (2) the steps USDA has taken to implement its HSPD-9 responsibilities for response and recovery and challenges, if any; and (3) the circumstances under which USDA has coordinated an ESF-11 response and challenges it faces, if any. GAO reviewed key documents; surveyed states; and interviewed agency, state, and industry officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the General Services Administration's (GSA) Galaxy program for estimating the rental expenses of the Federal Buildings Fund, focusing on whether the: (1) new Galaxy program included the elements needed for tracking actual rental expenditures and forecasting future rental-of-space funding requirements; and (2) additional actions the Public Building Service (PBS) was taking to improve its budget process addressed the causes of its underestimation of the rental-of-space account."