Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Land-, air-, and sea-based components form the "fires triad" that is used to support Marine Corps amphibious assault operations. The sea-based part of the fires triad is referred to as Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS). The retirement of the last Iowa class battleship left a void in the NSFS part of the fires triad. To field a replacement NSFS capability, the Navy developed a two-phased plan in 1994. In the near-term to midterm, it would modify the capability of 5-inch guns on existing destroyers and cruisers, and develop extended-range guided munitions for the modified 5-inch gun. In the far term, it would field a sufficient number of new destroyers fitted with an even-longerrange advanced gun system and ultimately a very-long-range electromagnetic gun or "Rail Gun." However, in 1996, congressional authorizers became concerned that the Navy would not be able to produce a replacement NSFS capability comparable to the battleships until well into the twenty-first century. In that year's Defense Authorization Act, the Congress directed the Secretary of the Navy to restore at least two Iowa class battleships to the naval vessel registry until a capability was developed equal …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) 10 major spaceflight projects discussed in this report have not yet fully implemented earned value management (EVM). As a result, NASA is not taking full advantage of opportunities to use an important tool that could help reduce acquisition risk. GAO assessed the 10 projects against three fundamental EVM practices that, according to GAO's best practices cost guide, are necessary for maintaining a reliable EVM system. GAO found shortfalls in two of three fundamental practices. Specifically, we found that"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the past, we have reported concerns about possible inconsistencies in the disability decisions made by the 57 regional offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In 2002, we reported that VA did not systematically assess the consistency of decision making for any specific impairments included in veterans' disability claims. We recommended that VA conduct such assessments to help reduce any unacceptable variations that VA might find among regional offices. VA agreed that decision-making consistency is an important goal and concurred in principle with our recommendation. However, VA did not discuss how it would measure consistency. In January 2003, in part because of concerns about consistency, we designated VA's disability program, along with other federal disability programs, as high-risk. In fiscal year 2005, VA estimates it will pay about $25 billion in disability compensation benefits to about 2.7 million disabled veterans. In this context, we determined (1) the actions that VA has taken to assess the consistency of regional office decisions on disability compensation claims and (2) the extent to which VA program data can be used to measure the consistency of decision making among …

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to provide its views on projected trends in health care costs and their effect on the long-term outlook for state and local governments in the context of the current economic environment. This statement addresses three key points: (1) the state and local government sector's long-term fiscal challenges; (2) rapidly rising health care costs which drive the sector's long-term fiscal difficulties, and (3) the considerations involved in targeting supplemental funds to states through the Medicaid program during economic downturns. To provide Congress and the public with a broader perspective on our nation's fiscal outlook, GAO previously developed a fiscal model of the state and local sector. This model enables GAO to simulate fiscal outcomes for the sector in the aggregate for several decades into the future. GAO first published the findings from the state and local fiscal model in 2007. This statement includes August 2008 data to update the simulations. This Committee and others also asked GAO to analyze strategies to help states address increased Medicaid expenditures during economic downturns. GAO simulated the provision of such supplemental assistance to states. As we previously …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For the past 5 years, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense have been working to exchange health care data and create electronic records for veterans and active duty personnel. Such exchange is seen as a means of reducing the billions of dollars that the departments spend annually on health care services and making such data more readily accessible to those treating our country's approximately 13 million veterans, military personnel, and dependents. This is especially critical when military personnel are engaged in conflicts all over the world, and their health records can reside at multiple locations. GAO has reported on these efforts several times, most recently in September 2002. At the request of the Subcommittee, GAO is updating its observations on the departments' efforts, focusing on (1) the reported status of the ongoing, one-way exchange of data, the Federal Health Information Exchange, and (2) progress toward achieving the longer term two-way exchange under the HealthePeople (Federal) initiative."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy has experienced significant quality problems with several ship classes over the past several years. It has focused on reducing the number of serious deficiencies at the time of delivery, and GAO's analysis shows that the number of deficiencies--particularly "starred" deficiencies designated as the most serious for operational or safety reasons--has generally dropped. Nonetheless, the Navy continues to accept ships with large numbers of open deficiencies. Accepting ships with large numbers of uncorrected deficiencies is a standard practice and GAO found that there are varying interpretations of Navy policy with regard to when the defects should be resolved. In 2009, the Navy organization that oversees ship construction launched the Back to Basics initiative to improve Navy oversight of ship construction. However, a key output of the initiative promoting consistent and adequate quality requirements in Navy contracts has yet to be implemented."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) food service operations, focusing on: (1) the type and volume of food services VA provides; (2) how VA provides food services; (3) the cost VA incurs; and (4) the revenues VA generates from sales of excess food services."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 830 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to compare procedures used for awarding noncompetitive defense contracts for new projects pursuant to (1) congressionally directed spending items or congressional earmarks and (2) the special interests of senior executive branch officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is one of the largest procurement spending agencies in the federal government. In fiscal year 2007, DHS obligated about $12 billion for a wide range of goods and services to meet complex mission needs. Like other federal agencies, DHS has faced challenges in building and sustaining a capable workforce to support its acquisitions. GAO was asked to identify and assess DHS's efforts to build and sustain an effective acquisition workforce and determine the extent to which DHS has planned strategically for the acquisition workforce. To conduct the work, GAO collected and reviewed data and interviewed officials from the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), DHS's nine procurement offices, and nine program offices, and reviewed in detail workforce information and data for acquisition support contracts from selected offices."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At the request of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, in September 2007 we reported on the governmentwide use of premium class travel. As part of the audit and related investigations, we tested premium class transactions at the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of this letter is to provide the Acting Secretary of Agriculture with information on specific matters identified during our work that relate to weaknesses in internal controls at USDA. Further, this letter details the results of investigative work we performed related to allegations forwarded to us by USDA's Office of Inspector General of premium class travel abuses by executives at the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). This letter contains six recommendations that warrant your attention."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Board's and the Emergency Gas and Oil Guaranteed Loan Board's new rules on the Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program and the Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Program. GAO noted that: (1) the rules would establish the procedures for providing guarantees of up to $1 billion in loans for qualified steel and iron ore companies and $500 million in loans for qualified oil and gas companies; (2) both programs will be administered by both Boards; (3) prior to the issuance of the loan guarantee and while any guarantee is outstanding, the company must agree to permit an audit by GAO or its designee, and an independent auditor acceptable to the Boards; (4) audited financial statements are required to be submitted with an application; (5) the final rules have an announced effective date of December 27, 1999; and (6) both the Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Board and the Emergency Oil and Gas Guaranteed Loan Board complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a component of the Department of Commerce, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is organized into five primary offices that offer the public and federal agencies a variety of products and services. As of late October 2012, NTIS was supported by 181 staff, all except 6 of which held full-time positions. NTIS reports its progress toward agency goals to the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, and the Director of NTIS reports to the Director of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. In addition, NTIS receives oversight of its functions and strategic direction from an advisory board with members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. NTIS's product and service offerings include, among other things, subscription access to reports contained in its repository in both print and electronic formats, distribution of print-based informational materials to federal agencies' constituents, and digitization and scanning services."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined: (1) the extent to which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had established adequate loan origination procedures and consistently applied them to determine whether loan applicants comply with the Direct Endorsement (DE) program's statutory, regulatory, and eligibility requirements and have any outstanding delinquent federal debt; and (2) whether HUD's Management and Marketing (M&M) contractors were adequately documenting the actions taken to preserve, protect, and maintain HUD's foreclosed properties."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In light of long-standing problems with delays and backlogs, Congress mandated personnel security clearance reforms through the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). These included requirements related to timeliness, reciprocity, and the creation of a single database to house personnel security clearance information. In 2008, Executive Order 13467 established the Performance Accountability Council. GAO was asked to review the extent to which executive branch agencies (1) investigate and adjudicate personnel security clearance applications in a timely manner, (2) honor previously granted security clearances, and (3) share personnel security clearance information in a single, integrated database. GAO reviewed and analyzed Performance Accountability Council timeliness data for fiscal year 2009 and the first three quarters of fiscal year 2010. GAO also examined key clearance reform documents and conducted interviews with executive branch agencies, including members of the Intelligence Community, to discuss the three stated objectives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received $12.9 billion in fiscal year 2003 for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which helps about 2 million low-income families pay rent for privately owned housing. This amount included $1.1 billion in administrative fee payments to the public housing agencies that administer the program for HUD. In the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution of 2003, Congress included provisions to address a concern that housing agencies may have received more in fees than they needed to run the program. Housing agencies were directed to report to HUD their available reserves as of January 31, 2003. HUD was directed to reduce the fees agencies would receive if these levels were too high and recapture some excess fees. The conference report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004 directed GAO to review compliance with these provisions. This report discusses (1) the extent to which housing agencies complied with the requirement to report to HUD their available administrative fee reserves as of January 31, 2003; (2) how these reported reserves compared with reserves reported in earlier fiscal years and possible reasons for any declines; …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the tax expenses associated with building the Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, focusing on whether it would be less expensive to build the project at any of the other participating national laboratories."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the resources and selected accomplishments of five inspectors general for fiscal years 1992 through 1998."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When a consumer uses a credit card to make a purchase, the merchant does not receive the full purchase amount because a certain portion of the sale is deducted to compensate the merchant's bank, the bank that issued the card, and the card network that processes the transaction. The level and growth of these rates have become increasingly controversial. The 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act directed GAO to review (1) how the fees merchants pay have changed over time and the factors affecting the competitiveness of the credit card market, (2) how credit card competition has affected consumers, (3) the benefits and costs to merchants of accepting cards and their ability to negotiate those costs, and (4) the potential impact of various options intended to lower merchant costs. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed and analyzed relevant studies, literature, and data on the card payment market and interviewed industry participants, including large and small card issuers (including community banks and credit unions), card processors, card networks, large merchants representing a significant proportion of retail sales, and small merchants from a variety of industries, …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) extent to which the accuracy of the 1990 census address counts varied by geographic area; and (2) difficulties that the Bureau of the Census faces in building a quality address list."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Education (Education) awards about $45 billion in grants each year to school districts, states, and other entities. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided an additional $97 billion in grant funding. In a series of reports from 2002 to 2009, Education's Inspector General cited a number of grantees for failing to comply with financial and programmatic requirements of their grant agreements. GAO was asked to determine: (1) what progress Education has made in implementing a risk-based approach to grant monitoring, (2) to what extent Education's program offices have the expertise necessary to monitor grantees' compliance with grant program requirements, and (3) to what extent information is shared and used within Education to ensure the effectiveness of grant monitoring. To do this, GAO reviewed agency documentation related to Education's internal controls and interviewed senior Education officials and staff in 12 of the 34 offices that monitor grants."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) requires recipients of funding from federal agencies to report quarterly on jobs created or retained with Recovery Act funding. The first recipient reports filed in October 2009 cover activity from February through September 30, 2009. GAO is required to comment on the jobs created or retained as reported by recipients. This report addresses (1) the extent to which recipients were able to fulfill their reporting requirements and the processes in place to help ensure data quality and (2) how macroeconomic data and methods, and the recipient reports, can be used to assess the employment effects of the Recovery Act. GAO performed an initial set of basic analyses on the final recipient report data that first became available at www.recovery.gov on October 30, 2009; reviewed documents; interviewed relevant state and federal officials; and conducted fieldwork in selected states, focusing on a sample of highway and education projects."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) implemented the post-deployment health reassessment (PDHRA), which is required to be administered to servicemembers 90 to 180 days after their return from deployment. DOD established the PDHRA program to identify and address servicemembers' health concerns that emerge over time following deployments. This report is the second in response to a Senate Armed Services Committee report directing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review DOD's administration of the PDHRA, and to additional congressional requests. In this report, GAO examined (1) the extent to which DOD's central repository contains PDHRA questionnaires for active and Reserve component servicemembers who returned from deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan and (2) how DOD monitors the administration of the PDHRA to Reserve component servicemembers. To conduct this review, GAO performed a quantitative analysis using DOD deployment and PDHRA data, reviewed relevant PDHRA policies, and interviewed DOD officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to questions from the November 7, 2007, Congressional letter inquiring about issues discussed at the October 17, 2007, hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on the digital television (DTV) transition. The letter asked if we have concerns about the converter box subsidy program. Congress also asked whether the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) should prepare for a potential shortfall in program funding, in part by developing a process to address a potential shortfall. The letter also asked us to elaborate on the statutory provisions that we believe provide the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with the necessary authority to convene an inter-agency task force. We prepared our responses during November 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Our responses are based on our previous and ongoing work and our knowledge of the subjects raised by your questions. Because our responses are based on work for which we sought and incorporated agency comments, we did not seek agency comments on our responses to these questions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Built in the 1940s and 1950s, the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) primary site for enriched uranium activities. Because Y-12 facilities are outdated and deteriorating, NNSA is building a more modern facility--known as the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF). NNSA estimates that the UPF will cost up to $3.5 billion and save over $200 million annually in operations, security, and maintenance costs. NNSA also plans to include more advanced technologies in the UPF to make uranium processing and component production safer. GAO was asked to (1) assess NNSA's estimated cost and schedule for constructing the UPF; (2) determine the extent to which UPF will use new, experimental technologies, and identify resultant risks, if any; and (3) determine the extent to which emerging changes in the nuclear weapons stockpile could affect the UPF project. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed NNSA technology development and planning documents and met with officials from NNSA and the Y-12 plant."