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 letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the public benefit conveyance (PBC) program, state or local governments and certain nonprofits can obtain surplus real property for public uses. The General Services Administration (GSA) has responsibility for the program but has delegated authority to the Department of Defense (DOD) for properties disposed of as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Several "sponsoring agencies" ensure that properties are used as agreed to by grantees. GAO (1) determined the number, types, and locations of PBC properties disposed of in fiscal years 2000 through 2004, (2) assessed efforts to ensure that the properties are used as agreed to, and (3) identified any challenges facing agencies and grantees."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Major changes in the mailing industry have reinforced the need for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In its 2002 Transformation Plan, USPS proposed doing so by realigning its mail processing network. The objectives of this requested report are to (1) describe the status of the initiatives USPS has developed for realignment; (2) evaluate how the planning, impacts, and results of these initiatives align with realignment goals; and (3) evaluate USPS's communication practices with stakeholders in making realignment decisions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The anthrax attacks of 2001 and more recent national reports have raised concerns that the United States is vulnerable to attacks with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. Because of the potential consequences of such attacks, members of Congress have expressed the need for the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to coordinate in assessing risks posed by CBRN agents. GAO was asked to examine how DHS and HHS coordinate on the development of CBRN risk assessments and the extent to which they have institutionalized such efforts. GAO examined relevant laws, presidential directives, collaboration best practices, and internal control standards; analyzed DHS and HHS CBRN risk assessments; and interviewed DHS and HHS officials."

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."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A growing number of older Americans are choosing continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) to help ensure that their finances in retirement will cover the cost of housing and care they may require. However, recent economic conditions have placed financial stress on some CCRCs. GAO was asked to (1) describe how CCRCs operate and the risks they face, (2) describe how state laws address these risks, (3) describe risks that CCRC residents face, and (4) describe how state laws address these risks. To review these areas, GAO analyzed state statutory provisions pertaining to CCRCs with respect to financial oversight and consumer protection, met with selected state regulators, and interviewed CCRC providers, resident's associations, and consumer groups. While GAO is not recommending specific action at this time, the potential risks to CCRC residents--as well as the potential for this industry to grow--highlight the importance of states being vigilant in their efforts to help ensure adequate consumer protections for residents. GAO provided a draft copy of this report to the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for review, but neither commented on …

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."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal judiciary and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative, which has since faced rising construction costs. As requested, for 33 federal courthouses completed since 2000, GAO examined (1) whether they contain extra space and any costs related to it; (2) how their actual size compares with the congressionally authorized size; (3) how their space based on the judiciary's 10-year estimates of judges compares with the actual number of judges; and (4) whether the level of courtroom sharing supported by the judiciary's data could have changed the amount of space needed in these courthouses. GAO analyzed courthouse planning and use data, visited courthouses, modeled courtroom sharing scenarios, and interviewed judges, GSA officials, and other experts."

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 …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is home to the spot cheddar cheese market, which impacts the prices of virtually all cheese traded in the United States, producer milk prices, and milk futures contracts. The spot cheese market, formerly the National Cheese Exchange (NCE) in Wisconsin, has been and continues to be the subject of concerns about price manipulation. GAO was asked to examine (1) the market's structure and ongoing concerns about price manipulation; (2) market oversight and efforts to address potential manipulation; and (3) how the market impacts federal milk pricing. In response, GAO compared the markets at NCE and CME, analyzed trading data, collected information about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) oversight, and met with industry participants, academics, and agency officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1982 the Supreme Court ruled that states and school districts cannot deny education to illegal alien children residing here. Issues in estimating the costs of providing education to them are of interest because (1) policy discussions concerning illegal immigration often focus on cost impacts; (2) potential costs are borne mostly at the state and local levels; and (3) the Congress could authorize federal reimbursement for benefits provided to illegal aliens, based on estimated state costs or numbers of illegal aliens. The foreign-born population is growing and is concentrated in certain states; the illegal immigrant component is thought to be substantial. Concerns about education costs may reflect "squeezed" state and local budgets, rising school enrollments, and overcrowded schools. To address the potential for estimating the costs of educating illegal alien schoolchildren, this report (1) identifies major government sources of relevant data, (2) describes a Census Bureau plan for developing new information, and (3) outlines costestimation approaches. GAO provided a draft of this report to the National Center for Education Statistics, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Census Bureau. The agencies informed GAO they had no …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in March 2003, it has faced the daunting task of bringing together 22 diverse agencies and developing an integrated financial management system to provide timely, reliable, and useful financial information. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether DHS has fully developed plans for implementing and/or migrating to an integrated departmentwide financial management system, (2) the potential usefulness of the work products received for the funds spent on the financial modernization effort, and (3) going forward, how DHS can incorporate best practices into its plans for migrating to an integrated departmentwide financial management system. GAO interviewed key DHS officials, reviewed relevant DHS policy and procedure documents, and analyzed work products related to the financial modernization effort."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. forces are conducting more complex operations, requiring increased interoperability between the military commands, services, and other organizations. Department of Defense (DOD) planning guidance calls for transforming military training by increasing the jointness in training. The overall intent of DOD's Training Transformation Program is to assure commanders that forces deployed to their theater are not experiencing joint operations for the first time. Therefore, the program's strategic goals focus on providing joint training that meets commanders' needs and links to readiness assessments. Given the significant investment planned in the program and the impact it will have on the military, this report provides a program overview, including (1) DOD's overall management approach and status of key initiatives, and (2) some significant management challenges that have emerged early in the program's implementation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Senate report to accompany the 2011 Defense authorization bill directed GAO to assess the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of cash incentives to recruit and retain highly qualified individuals for service in the armed forces. This report (1) identifies recent trends in DOD's use of enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, (2) assesses the extent to which the services have processes to determine which occupational specialties require bonuses and whether bonus amounts are optimally set, and (3) determines how much flexibility DOD has in managing selected special and incentive pays for officer and enlisted personnel. GAO analyzed service data on bonuses and special and incentive pays, reviewed relevant guidance and other documentation from DOD and the services, interviewed DOD and service officials, and observed two working groups that were determining bonus amounts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a retirement savings and investment plan for federal workers, held approximately $210 billion in retirement assets for 3.7 million participants, as of February 2007. TSP is managed by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB). In light of questions about TSP oversight, we examined (1) the current structure for overseeing FRTIB, (2) how the statutorily defined fiduciary responsibilities of FRTIB compare to the responsibilities of private plan sponsors and how FRTIB fulfills its responsibilities, (3) how FRTIB's investment policies differ from those of private plan sponsors, and (4) FRTIB's statutory responsibilities to educate plan participants about TSP and other retirement issues and how these responsibilities compare with those of private and state and local government employee plan sponsors."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) manages and secures the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, with annual appropriations of about $6.4 billion. NNSA oversees eight contractor-operated sites that execute its programs. Two programs make up almost one-third of this budget: Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (RTBF) Operations of Facilities, which operates and maintains weapons facilities and infrastructure, and Stockpile Services, which provides research and development (R&D) and production capabilities. Consistent with cost accounting standards, each site has established practices to account for these activities. The Administration has recently committed to stockpile reductions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which NNSA's budget justifications for (1) RTBF Operations of Facilities and (2) Stockpile Services are based on the total costs of providing these capabilities. GAO was also asked to discuss the implications, if any, of a smaller stockpile on these costs. To carry out its work, GAO analyzed NNSA's and its contractors' data using a data collection instrument; reviewed policies, plans, and budgets; and interviewed officials."

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 …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Missing children who are not found quickly are at an increased risk of victimization. The National Child Search Assistance Act, as amended, requires that within 2 hours of receiving a missing child report, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) enter the report into the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a clearinghouse of information instantly available to LEAs nationwide. DOJ's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS), the CJIS Advisory Policy Board (the Board), and state criminal justice agencies share responsibility for overseeing this requirement. As requested, GAO examined (1) CJIS's and the Board's efforts to implement and monitor compliance with the requirement; and (2) selected LEA-reported challenges with timely entry and DOJ's actions to assist LEAs in addressing them. GAO reviewed documents, such as agency guidelines, and interviewed officials from DOJ, six state criminal justice agencies, and nine LEAs selected in part based on missing children rates. The results are not generalizable to all states and LEAs, but provided insights on this issue."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Projects that received credit assistance through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT), tend to be large, high-cost highway projects. As of April 2012, DOT has executed 27 TIFIA credit agreements for 26 projects with project sponsors such as state DOTs and transit agencies. Overall, DOT has provided nearly $9.1 billion in credit assistance through 26 loans and one loan guarantee. By mode, there are 17 highway, 5 transit, and 4 intermodal projects. Most projects have a total cost of over $1 billion. DOT monitors individual credit agreements but does not systematically assess whether its TIFIA portfolio as a whole is achieving the program’s goals of leveraging federal funds and encouraging private co-investment. DOT has identified goals and objectives for the TIFIA program, but its limited use of performance measures makes it difficult to determine the degree to which the program is meeting these goals and objectives. Given that DOT already collects project data, it could use these data to better evaluate the program’s overall progress toward meeting its goals."

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."