A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for improving commercial vehicle safety and uses education and outreach as part of its efforts. The House report accompanying the fiscal year 2005 Department of Transportation (DOT) appropriations bill asked GAO to report on FMCSA's education and outreach programs to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. GAO (1) describes FMCSA's education and outreach programs and how they relate to FMCSA's goals (2) identifies the extent to which FMCSA has evaluated its education and outreach programs and (3) describes the extent to which FMCSA's education and outreach programs are effective."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations' actual medical expenses, nonmedical expenses (such as marketing, sales, and administration) and profits as a percentage of total revenue were, on average, similar to projected values for plans available to all beneficiaries in 2011, the most recent year for which data were available at the time of the request for this work. MA organizations' actual medical expenses, nonmedical expenses, and profits were 86.3 percent, 9.1 percent, and 4.5 percent of total revenue, respectively. As a percentage of revenue, all three categories were within 0.3 percentage points of what MA organizations had projected. In addition, MA organizations received, on average, $9,893 in total revenue per beneficiary, slightly higher than the projected amount of $9,635."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Agency officials told us that enhanced use leases (EUL) help them utilize their underutilized property better; commonly cited benefits include enhanced mission activities, cash rent revenue, and value received through in-kind consideration. However, some agencies we reviewed do not include all costs associated with their EULs when they assess the performance of their EUL programs. Guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) does not specify what costs agencies should include in their EUL evaluations, resulting in variance among agencies. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of State do not consistently attribute EUL-related costs of consultant staff who administer the leases, and VA does not attribute various administrative costs that offset EUL benefits. Without fully accounting for all EUL costs, agencies may overstate the net benefits of their EUL programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Surveys suggest that as many as two-thirds of American households have donated money to charitable organizations to aid in the response to the September 11 disasters. To provide the public with information on the role of charitable aid in assisting those affected by the attacks, GAO was asked to report on the amount of donations charities raised and distributed, the accountability measures in place to prevent fraud by organizations and individuals, and lessons learned about how to best distribute charitable aid in similar situations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 protects plant and animal species that are either facing extinction (endangered species) or are likely to face extinction in the foreseeable future (threatened species) and protects the ecosystems upon which they depend. The act includes provisions for listing species that need protection, designating habitat deemed critical to a listed species' survival, developing recovery plans, and protecting listed species against certain harms caused by federal and nonfederal actions. Since the act's inception, more than 1,300 species occurring in the United States or its territories have been placed on the list of threatened and endangered species. The Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)--collectively referred to as "the services"--are responsible for administration and implementation of the ESA, but all federal agencies have responsibilities for protecting species under the act. The act has long been a lightning rod for political debate about the extent to which the nation's natural resources should be protected and how best to protect them. Proponents of the act believe that it is important to preserve the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To develop a national benchmark for retail pharmacy acquisition costs of Medicaid covered outpatient prescription drugs--known as the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC)--the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) surveys each month randomly selected retail community pharmacies for invoice data on their actual drug acquisition costs. CMS then calculates an average acquisition cost for each drug based on invoice data received from about 500 to 600 pharmacies. CMS officials expressed confidence in their current process, but noted that some limitations may exist. For example, CMS officials stated the extent to which NADACs reflect rebates and discounts is limited because most occur off-invoice or are not tied to a specific drug purchase. CMS has developed and published more than 5,000 NADACs, which CMS has estimated apply to more than 90 percent of the drug claims reimbursed by Medicaid."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The livestock industry, which contributes over $100 billion annually to the national economy, is vulnerable to foreign animal diseases that, if introduced in the United States, could cause severe economic losses. To protect against such losses, critical research and diagnostic activities are conducted at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) was responsible for Plum Island until June 2003, when provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred the facility to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under an interagency agreement, USDA continues to work on foreign animal diseases at the island. GAO examined (1) DHS and USDA coordination of research and diagnostic activities, (2) changes in research and diagnostic priorities since the transfer, and (3) long-term objectives of joint activities at Plum Island."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act) makes federal funds available to assist those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Through the CARE Act, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awards grants (known as Part D grants) to provide services to women, infants, children, and youth with HIV/AIDS and their families. These grantees incur administrative expenses and indirect costs, such as rent and utilities. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment and Modernization Act of 2006 (RWTMA), which took effect in fiscal year 2007, capped at 10 percent the amount that Part D grantees could spend on administrative expenses. According to HRSA, there is no cap on indirect costs, but grantees must have an indirect cost rate to use funds for indirect costs. RWTMA directed GAO to examine Part D spending. In this report GAO describes (1) the services that Part D grantees provide and what effect, if any, the administrative expense cap has had on those services and on grantee programs; (2) how Part D grantees report on administrative expenses, indirect costs, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has inconsistently overseen and enforced its rail security incident reporting requirement because it does not have guidance and its oversight mechanisms are limited, leading to considerable variation in the types and number of incidents reported. Though some variation is expected in the number and type of incidents reported because of differences in rail agency size, location, and ridership, local TSA inspection officials have provided rail agencies with inconsistent interpretations of the reporting requirement. For example, local TSA officials instructed one rail agency to report all incidents related to individuals struck by trains. However, local TSA officials responsible for another rail agency said these incidents would not need to be reported as they are most often suicides with no nexus to terrorism. Providing guidance to local TSA inspection officials and rail agencies on the types of incidents that are to be reported could improve consistency across different TSA field offices. GAO also found inconsistency in TSA compliance inspections and enforcement actions because TSA has not utilized limited headquarters-level mechanisms as intended for ensuring consistency in these activities. TSA's rail security inspection policies …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) identified performance based logistics (PBL) as the preferred weapon system support strategy. Within DOD, PBL is the purchase of performance outcomes, such as system availability, rather than the purchase of individual elements of logistics support--such as parts, repairs, and engineering support. Although PBL initially arose from efforts to reduce support costs, questions have arisen about whether PBL has reduced support costs as originally intended. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which DOD has used business case analyses to guide decisions related to PBL arrangements and the impact PBL arrangements have had on weapon system support costs. In conducting the review, GAO analyzed the implementation of PBL arrangements for 29 weapon system programs. GAO also looked at the use and characteristics of performance-based contracting in the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Law enforcement officers (LEOs) within the federal government play a key role in maintaining the safety and security of federal property, employees, and the general public. In this report, we describe the number of LEOs that federal civilian law enforcement components employed as of June 30, 2006; the federal job series classifications the components used to employ LEOs; and the sources of their primary legal authorities. To identify federal components that employ LEOs, we consulted, among other sources, the Federal Citizen Information Center's Cabinet Agencies and Independent Agencies and Commissions Directory; a list of organizations included in the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) 2004-2005 List of Agencies Trained at FLETC; and federal agencies listed in Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2002, published by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). We identified 104 federal civilian law enforcement components and administered two Web-based surveys to each--one survey on the primary authorities and the other survey on the job series classifications. We defined an LEO as an individual authorized to perform any of four specific functions: (1) conduct criminal investigations, (2) execute search warrants, (3) make …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) faces significant technical challenges in successfully constructing and operating the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) project that is to treat millions of gallons of highly radioactive liquid waste resulting from the production of nuclear weapons. DOE and Bechtel National, Inc. identified hundreds of technical challenges that vary in significance and potential negative impact and have resolved many of them. Remaining challenges include (1) developing a viable technology to keep the waste mixed uniformly in WTP mix tanks to both avoid explosions and so that it can be properly prepared for further processing; (2) ensuring that the erosion and corrosion of components, such as tanks and piping systems, is effectively mitigated; (3) preventing the buildup of flammable hydrogen gas in tanks, vessels, and piping systems; and (4) understanding better the waste that will be processed at the WTP. Until these and other technical challenges are resolved, DOE will continue to be uncertain whether the WTP can be completed on schedule and whether it will operate safely and effectively."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) conducts a program for developing small businesses that are owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Participants can receive contracts under acquisitions that federal agencies offer to the 8(a) program as well as business development assistance from SBA. A firm that receives a supply contract under the 8(a) program or a small business set aside can be either a manufacturer or a nonmanufacturer of a product. Under SBA's rules, however, a nonmanufacturer who receives one of these contracts must agree to supply the product of a domestic small manufacturer or processor. SBA can waive this requirement when there are no small manufacturers or processors available to supply the product. There are two types of waivers to the nonmanufacturer rule: (1) individual waivers, which apply only to a specific contract and are effective for the life of that contract, and (2) class waivers, which apply to categories of items and continue in effect unless revoked by SBA. Once a waiver of the nonmanufacturer rule is approved, a firm may supply the product of a large manufacturer. …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence provides our preliminary assessment of the timeliness and quality of the Department of Defense's (DOD) personnel security clearance program. These findings are based on an ongoing engagement that we have been conducting since February 2008 under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative. In 2009, we plan to issue a report providing more details regarding these findings. In response to a draft of this briefing report, DOD provided written comments and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provided comments via email. Our summary and evaluation of DOD's and OPM's comments and DOD's written comments are included. We are addressing this product to Congress at Congress' request due to Congress' continued interest in the DOD personnel security clearance program."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 16, 2006, GAO testified before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on the results of our audit on the Defense Travel System (DTS). This letter responds to a question from Senator Coburn that we were asked to answer for the record. The question and our response follow."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Collectively, the Department of Defense (DOD) gives its contractors the opportunity to earn billions of dollars through monetary incentives--known as award fees and incentive fees. These fees are intended to motivate excellent contractor performance in areas deemed critical to an acquisition program's success, with award fees being appropriate when contracting and program officials cannot devise objective incentive fee targets related to cost, technical performance, or schedule. GAO was asked to determine whether award and incentive fees have been used effectively as a tool for achieving DOD's desired acquisition outcomes. To do this, GAO selected a probability sample of 93 contracts from the study population of 597 DOD award- and incentive-fee contracts that were active and had at least one contract action valued at $10 million or more from fiscal year 1999 through 2003."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Authoritative bodies have promulgated laws, accounting standards, information system requirements, and related guidance to emphasize the need for cost information and cost management in the federal government. For example, the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990, contains several provisions related to managerial cost accounting, one of which states that an agency's CFO should develop and maintain an integrated accounting and financial management system that provides for the development and reporting of cost information. Statement of Federal Accounting Standards No. 4, Managerial Cost Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government, and the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program's (JFMIP) Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems established accounting standards and system requirements for managerial cost accounting (MCA) information at federal agencies. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 built on this foundation and required, among other things, CFO Act agencies' systems to comply substantially with federal accounting standards and federal financial management systems requirements. MCA involves the accumulation and analysis of financial and nonfinancial data, resulting in the allocation of costs to organizational pursuits such as performance goals, programs, activities, and outputs. The data analyzed depend on the …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Special needs plans (SNP) reported having higher profit margins and spending a lower percentage of total revenues on medical expenses, on average, than Medicare Advantage (MA) plans available to all beneficiaries in 2011. For instance, SNPs' average profit margin was 4.0 percentage points higher than plans available to all beneficiaries--8.6 percent vs. 4.6 percent. SNPs also had a higher plan-level median profit margin compared to MA plans available to all beneficiaries--7.1 percent vs. 3.2 percent. All three types of SNPs--dual-eligible SNPs, chronic condition SNPs, and institutional SNPs--spent, on average, a lower percentage of total revenue on medical expenses and had higher profit margins relative to MA plans available to all beneficiaries. SNPs also spent a lower percentage of total revenue on medical expenses and had higher profit margins relative to MA plans available to all beneficiaries after accounting for whether a plan had a high or low enrollment-weighted average benchmark--the maximum amount Medicare will pay plans to serve an average beneficiary in a given area. Similarly, SNPs spent a lower percentage of total revenue on medical expenses and had higher profit margins relative to MA plans available to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. source income flows to recipients offshore through foreign financial institutions and U.S. withholding agents. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) established the Qualified Intermediary (QI) program to improve tax withholding and reporting on such income. QIs are foreign financial institutions that contract with IRS to withhold and report U.S. tax. GAO was asked to (1) describe program features, (2) assess whether weaknesses exist in the U.S. withholding system for U.S. source income, and (3) identify any weaknesses in QI external reviews and IRS's use of program data. GAO interviewed agency officials and private practitioners and reviewed the latest IRS data on U.S. source income flowing offshore."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Of the 71 nonmajor projects that the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed or had under way from fiscal years 2008 to 2012, 21 met or are expected to meet their performance targets for scope, cost, and completion date. These projects included a $22 million EM project to expand an existing waste disposal facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee and a $199 million NNSA project to equip a radiological laboratory and office building at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Another 23 projects did not meet or were not expected to meet one or more of their three performance targets for scope, cost, and completion date. Among these, 13 projects met or are expected to meet two targets, including a $548 million NNSA project to shut down a nuclear reactor in Russia for nonproliferation purposes; 8 projects met or are expected to meet one target; 1 project did not meet any of its targets; and 1 project was cancelled. Of the remaining 27 projects, many had insufficiently documented performance targets for scope, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 created, among other things, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to oversee audits of public companies. A divided Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appointed the first PCAOB on October 25, 2002. Amid allegations that the SEC Chairman withheld relevant information from the other Commissioners concerning the suitability of the newly appointed PCAOB chairman, GAO was asked to examine SEC's selection process; determine whether the SEC Chairman withheld information from other Commissioners; determine what vetting of candidates took place; and identify what actions led to breakdowns in the process."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Amid heightened awareness that many patients with cancer and other chronic diseases suffer from undertreated pain, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Purdue Pharma's controlled-release pain reliever OxyContin in 1995. Sales grew rapidly, and by 2001 OxyContin had become the most prescribed brandname narcotic medication for treating moderate-to-severe pain. In early 2000, reports began to surface about abuse and diversion for illicit use of OxyContin, which contains the opioid oxycodone. GAO was asked to examine concerns about these issues. Specifically, GAO reviewed (1) how OxyContin was marketed and promoted, (2) what factors contributed to the abuse and diversion of OxyContin, and (3) what actions have been taken to address OxyContin abuse and diversion."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, asked GAO to assist the Committee in its oversight of the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) efforts to improve compensation and pension claims processing. As part of this effort, GAO assessed (1) whether VBA's key timeliness measure clearly reflects its performance and (2) whether it has adequate data to measure the timeliness of its newly created specialized claims processing teams."