Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the economic and compliance issues associated with two proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to clean up polluted waters, focusing on: (1) the reasonableness of EPA's economic analyses for the two proposed regulations; and (2) whether EPA's determinations under the Unfunded Mandated Reform Act of 1995 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act were adequately supported."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the establishment and operation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), focusing on: (1) system availability and responsiveness; (2) type of information available under NICS compared to that available to state and local law enforcement agencies prior to NICS; (3) advantages and disadvantages of NICS background checks being conducted by designated state agencies rather than the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and (4) the extent to which transactions under NICS have resulted in firearms being sold to persons ineligible to possess a firearm."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last 20 years, GAO has compiled a large body of work on courthouse construction and federal real property. The General Services Administration (GSA) owns federal courthouses and funds related expenses from its Federal Buildings Fund (FBF)--a revolving fund used to finance GSA real property services, including the construction and maintenance of federal facilities under GSA control. The judiciary pays rent to GSA for the use of these courthouses, and the proportion of the judiciary's budget that goes to rent has increased as its space requirements have grown. In December 2004, the judiciary requested a $483 million permanent, annual exemption from rent payments to GSA to address budget shortfalls. In this testimony, GAO (1) summarizes its previous work on courthouse construction and (2) provides information on FBF and GAO's ongoing work on the federal judiciary's request for a permanent, annual rent exemption of $483 million from rent to GSA."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Terrorist attacks on U.S. chemical facilities could damage public health and the economy. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates federal efforts to protect these facilities from attacks. GAO was asked to provide a statement for the record based on its report Homeland Security: DHS Is Taking Steps to Enhance Security at Chemical Facilities, but Additional Authority Is Needed (GAO-06-150, January 27, 2006), GAO reviewed (1) DHS's actions to develop a strategy to protect chemical plants, assist with the industry's security efforts, and coordinate with other federal agencies, (2) industry security initiatives, (3) DHS's authorities and the need for additional security legislation, and (4) stakeholders' views on any requirements to use safer technologies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on heroin production, focusing on: (1) the reason for the discrepancy between the published production estimates of Afghanistan's 1999 opium poppy crop by the U.S. government and the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP); (2) whether Afghanistan heroin is being shipped to the United States; and (3) whether the Netherlands is a transshipment site for drugs destined for the United States."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2005, federal and Native American lands supplied about 35 percent of the oil and 26 percent of the natural gas produced in the United States. Companies that lease these lands to produce oil and natural gas pay royalties to the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) based on a percentage (the royalty rate) of the cash value of the oil and natural gas produced and sold. As an alternative to collecting cash royalty payments, MMS has the option to take a percentage of the actual oil and natural gas produced (referred to as "taking royalties in kind") and selling it themselves or using it for other purposes, such as filling the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). MMS reported collecting $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2001 and $8 billion in fiscal year 2005 in cash royalty payments and in revenue from its own royalty-in-kind sales of oil and natural gas. While these total royalty revenues increased by about 8 percent from 2001 to 2005, oil and natural gas prices rose substantially more--about 90 percent for oil and 30 percent for natural gas. Consequently, Congress …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centennial of Flight Commission was created in November to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. The Commission is to provide recommendations and advice to the President, Congress, and federal agencies on the most effective ways to encourage and promote national and international participation and sponsorships in commemoration of the centennial of powered flight. All 156 of the Commission's recorded obligations and expenditures during fiscal year 2001 were supported by documentation that was approved by management. The Commission recorded no donations, user fees, or in-kind donations for fiscal year 2001. The Commission's financial records for fiscal year 2001 contained some minor errors that went unnoticed due to a lack of complete records being maintained by the Commission, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration which provide administrative support to the Commission."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO first identified the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Personnel Security Clearance Program as a high-risk area, DOD, in conjunction with Congress and executive agency leadership, took actions that resulted in significant progress toward improving the processing of security clearances. Congress held more than 14 oversight hearings to help oversee key legislation, such as the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which helped focus attention and sustain momentum of the governmentwide reform effort. In addition, the committed and collaborative efforts of DOD, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as leaders of the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council (Performance Accountability Council) demonstrated commitment to and created a vision for the reform effort, which led to significant improvements in the timeliness of processing security clearances. As a result, in 2011, GAO removed DOD’s Personnel Security Clearance Program from its high-risk list because of the agency’s progress in improving timeliness, development of tools and metrics to assess quality, and commitment to sustaining progress. Specifically, GAO found that DOD met the 60-day statutory …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2010, we issued our report on the results of our audit of the financial statements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as of, and for the fiscal years ending, September 30, 2010, and 2009, and on the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2010. We also reported our conclusions on IRS's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations and on whether IRS's financial management systems substantially comply with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996. In March 2011, we issued a report on information security issues identified during our fiscal year 2010 audit, along with associated recommendations for corrective actions. The purpose of this report is to present internal control issues identified during our audit of IRS's fiscal year 2010 financial statements for which we do not already have any recommendations outstanding. While two of these issues contributed to a significant deficiency in internal control discussed in our report on the results of our fiscal year 2010 financial statement audit, they all warrant IRS management's attention. This report provides 29 recommendations to address the internal …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The opportunity for employment is one of the most important magnets attracting illegal aliens to the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 established an employment eligibility verification process and a sanctions program for fining employers for noncompliance. Few modifications have been made to the verification process and sanctions program since 1986, and immigration experts state that a more reliable verification process and a strengthened worksite enforcement capacity are needed to help deter illegal immigration. In this testimony, GAO provides preliminary observations from its ongoing assessment of (1) the current employment verification process and (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) priorities and resources for the worksite enforcement program and the challenges it faces in implementing that program."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) effort to modernize the nation's air traffic control (ATC) system has been listed by GAO as a high risk program for more than a decade now, due to systemic management and acquisition problems. Two relatively new organizations housed within FAA--the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) and the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO)--have been given the bulk of the responsibility for planning and implementing these modernization efforts. Congress created ATO to be a performance-based organization that would improve the culture, structure, and processes and improve accountability in the ATC modernization program. Congress created JPDO, made up of seven partner agencies, to coordinate the federal and nonfederal stakeholders necessary to plan a transition from the current air transportation system to the "next generation air transportation system" (NGATS). This testimony is based on GAO's recently completed and ongoing studies of the ATC modernization program. GAO provides information on (1) the status of ATO's efforts to implement processes and other initiatives aimed at efficiently managing and modernizing the current ATC system and (2) the status of JPDO's planning efforts and the key challenges that JPDO faces in …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) new rule on fee recovery. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule would implement for fiscal year (FY) 2000 section 6101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990; (2) it requires NRC to recover from its applicants and licensees approximately 100 percent of its budget authority, less amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund; (3) for FY 2000, NRC must collect approximately $447 million through these fees; (4) two types of fees are assessed: (a) applicants and licensees are charged for specific services, such as inspections and licensing reviews, that are provided by the NRC; and (b) NRC assesses an annual fee to its licensees to recover generic costs that cannot be attributed to specific licensees; and (5) NRC complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the Coast Guard began a multiyear, $19 billion to $24 billion acquisition program to replace or modernize its fleet of deepwater aircraft and cutters, so called because they are capable of operating many miles off the coast. For several years now, the Coast Guard has been warning that the existing fleet--especially cutters--was failing at an unsustainable rate, and it began studying options for replacing or modernizing the fleet more rapidly. Faster replacement is designed to avoid some of the costs that might be involved in keeping aging assets running for longer periods. This testimony, which is based both on current and past GAO work, addresses several issues related to these considerations: (1) changes in the condition of deepwater legacy assets during fiscal years 2000 through 2004; (2) actions the Coast Guard has taken to maintain and upgrade deepwater legacy assets; and (3) management challenges the Coast Guard faces in acquiring new assets, especially if a more aggressive schedule is adopted."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) new rule on fee recovery for fiscal year (FY) 1999. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule implements for FY 1999 section 6101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990; (2) it requires NRC to recover from its applicants and licensees approximately 100 percent of its budget authority, less amounts appropriated from the Nuclear Waste Fund; (3) for FY 1999, NRC must collect approximately $449.6 million through these fees; (4) two types of fees are assessed: (a) applicants and licensees are charged for specific services, such as inspections and licensing reviews, that are provided by NRC; and (b) NRC assesses an annual fee to its licensees to recover generic costs that cannot be attributed to specific licensees; and (5) NRC complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Alaska Native corporations (ANC) were created to settle land claims with Alaska Natives and foster economic development. In 1986, legislation passed that allowed ANCs to participate in the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) program. Since then, Congress has extended special procurement advantages to 8(a) ANC firms, such as the ability to receive sole-source contracts for any dollar amount and to own multiple subsidiaries in the 8(a) program. We were asked to testify on an earlier report where we identified (1) trends in the government's 8(a) contracting with ANC firms, (2) the reasons agencies have awarded 8(a) solesource contracts to ANC firms and the facts and circumstances behind some of these contracts, and (3) how ANCs are using the 8(a) program. GAO also evaluated SBA's oversight of 8(a) ANC firms. GAO made recommendations aimed at improving SBA's oversight of 8(a) ANC contracting activity and ensuring that procuring agencies properly oversee 8(a) contracts they award to ANC firms. The procuring agencies generally agreed with our recommendation. SBA expressed concern with aspects of the report and disagreed with several of our recommendations. We believe implementation of our recommendations would provide better …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's campus recruitment program. As an organization committed to having a high-performing, diverse workforce, GAO places great importance on attracting, hiring, training, and retaining employees with the skills needed to support GAO's mission to serve Congress and the American public. GAO has a multi-disciplinary workforce, with most staff having backgrounds in public policy, public administration, law, business, computer science, accounting, social sciences, or economics. While our current and future hiring will be shaped by today's constrained budget environment, over the past 5 years, on average, GAO has hired about 300 employees each year. The majority of these hires were for analyst and analyst-related positions at the entry level. GAO also has a robust paid student intern program each year. Many of these interns return as entry-level analysts. Having a strong campus recruitment program has played a key role in attracting highly qualified candidates for our permanent and intern positions and building our workforce. In response to congressional request, the remarks will focus on (1) the strong partnerships developed through our campus recruitment program, (2) recent actions GAO has taken to enhance the program and the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Wildland fires can burn or threaten both federal and nonfederal lands and resources, including homes in or near wildlands, an area commonly called the wildland-urban interface. Agreements between federal and nonfederal firefighting entities provide the framework for working together and sharing the costs of fire suppression efforts. GAO was asked to (1) review how federal and nonfederal entities share the costs of suppressing fires that burn or threaten both of their lands and resources and (2) identify any concerns that these entities may have with the existing cost-sharing framework. This testimony is based on GAO's May 2006 report Wildland Fire Suppression: Lack of Clear Guidance Raises Concerns about Cost Sharing between Federal and Nonfederal Entities (GAO-06-570)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 largely deregulated the freight railroad industry, giving the railroads freedom to price their services according to market conditions and encouraging greater reliance on competition to set rates. The act recognized the need for railroads to use demand-based differential pricing in the deregulated environment and to recover costs by setting higher rates for shippers with fewer transportation alternatives. The act also recognized that some shippers might not have access to competitive alternatives and might be subject to unreasonably high rates. It established a threshold for rate relief and granted the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) the authority to develop a rate relief process for those "captive" shippers. This testimony provides preliminary results on GAO's ongoing work and addresses (1) the changes that have occurred in the freight railroad industry since the enactment of the Staggers Rail Act, including changes in rail rates and competition in the industry, (2) the alternative approaches that have been proposed and could be considered to address remaining competition and captivity concerns, and (3) the projections for freight traffic demand over the next 15 to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since its creation, the Social Security number (SSN) has evolved beyond its intended purpose to become the identifier of choice for public and private sector entities, and it is now used for myriad non-Social Security purposes. This is significant because a person's SSN, along with name and date of birth, are the key pieces of personal information used to perpetrate identity theft. Consequently, the potential for misuse of the SSN has raised questions about how private and public sector entities obtain, use, and protect SSNs. Accordingly, this testimony focuses on describing the (1) use of SSNs by government agencies, (2) use of SSNs by the private sector, and (3) vulnerabilities that remain to protecting SSNs. For this testimony, we primarily relied on information from our prior reports and testimonies that address public and private sector use and protection of SSNs. These products were issued between 2002 and 2006 and are listed in the Related GAO Products section at the end of this statement. We conducted our reviews in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our recent work on food insecurity among older adults and the nutrition assistance programs available to assist them, including nutrition assistance programs authorized under the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA). This work can help inform government policymakers as they address the needs of one of our nation's most vulnerable populations while ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs given rapidly building fiscal pressures facing our national government. While the economy is still recovering and in need of careful attention, widespread agreement exists on the need to look not only at the near term but also at steps that begin to change the long-term fiscal path as soon as possible without slowing the recovery. Our recent work can help with this by identifying potential inefficiency and overlap among programs. At the same time, there is recognition that the services provided by the OAA can play an important role in helping older adults remain in their homes and communities. As the Congress takes steps to address the fiscal challenge, it will be important that these steps are balanced with efforts to ensure the health and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) requires that by 2003 federal agencies provide the public the option of submitting, maintaining, and disclosing required information--such as employment records, tax forms, and loan applications--electronically, instead of on paper. In October 2000, federal agencies submitted GPEA implementation plans to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is responsible for executive branch oversight of GPEA. The plans submitted by the the Department of the Treasury and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) generally provide the kind of information that was specified in OMB's July 2000 guidance. However, the Department of Defense's (DOD) plan did not describe the department's overall GPEA strategy and, in some cases, the data provided for specific information collections may be inaccurate, incomplete or duplicative. Officials at all three agencies said that they faced challenges in complying with GPEA, particularly with regard to implementing adequate security assurances for sensitive electronic transactions and in planning for and implementing computer network infrastructures. Furthermore, OMB will be challenged in providing oversight of agency GPEA activities because the plans submitted by the agencies go not document key strategic actions, nor do they specify …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Research and Development (R&D) is vital to the long-term health of industry and the national economy. To join the ideas and resources of the research institutions--universities and colleges, federal laboratories, and nonprofit research centers--with the commercialization experience of small businesses, Congress authorized the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Pilot Program in 1992 and reauthorized it in 1997. The STTR program is closely modeled on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. In preparation for the review and potential reauthorization of the STTR program, GAO obtained information from companies participating in the program. The companies reported that both they and the research institutions made considerable contributions to the R&D, such as knowledge or expertise essential to the project. They also created new partnerships that helped achieve technical objectives. However, the companies reported that they played a substantially greater role than the research institutions in originating the key ideas for the R&D. The companies further reported various results from the R&D, including the sales of products, processes, or services; the receipt of additional developmental funding beyond the original STTR funding; and patents granted. Finally, when asked for their view of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) proposed reorganization and realignment plans. The FBI's plans are part of a broader effort to fundamentally transform the federal government in light of recent trends and long-range fiscal challenges. As it moves into the 21st century, the country faces several key trends, including global interdependence; diverse, diffuse, and asymmetrical security threats; rapidly evolving science and technologies; dramatic shifts in the age and composition of the population; important quality of life issues; and evolving government structures and concepts. The second phase of the reorganization focuses on major aspects of FBI's realignment efforts, including realigning staff, building analytical capacity, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, and recruiting. Other issues include (1) major communications and information technology improvements, (2) development of an internal control system that will ensure protection of civil liberties as investigative constraints are loosened, and (3) management of the ripple effect that changes at the FBI will have on other aspects of the law enforcement community. As the FBI moves to effectively meet the realities and challenges since September 11, it should reconsider employing the major elements of successful transformation …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), dual-eligible beneficiaries--individuals with both Medicare and Medicaid coverage--have their drug costs covered under Medicare Part D rather than under state Medicaid programs. The MMA requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to enroll these beneficiaries in a Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP) if they do not select a plan on their own. CMS enrolled about 5.5 million dual-eligible beneficiaries in late 2005 and about 634,000 who became dually eligible during 2006. GAO was asked to testify on (1) CMS's process for enrolling new dual-eligible beneficiaries into PDPs and its effect on access to drugs and (2) how CMS set the effective coverage date for certain dual-eligible beneficiaries and its implementation of this policy. This testimony is based on the GAO report, Medicare Part D: Challenges in Enrolling New Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries (GAO-07-272)."