Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the results of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government (CFS) for fiscal years 2009 and 2008. GAO is required by the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 to perform an annual audit of the CFS."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its recent reports on the coordination of federal nonmedical research and development programs that address chemical and biological threats, focusing on: (1) the similarities among nonmedical research and development programs; and (2) how coordination mechanisms may ineffectively address potential duplication, research gaps, and opportunities for collaboration."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Coast Guard has responsibility for protecting America's ports, waterways, and waterside facilities from terrorist attacks. At the same time, the Coast Guard remains responsible for many other missions important to the nation's interests, such as conducting search and rescue and protecting important fishing grounds. GAO's past work found that despite substantial budget increases, the Coast Guard's extensive homeland security responsibilities resulted in a reduction in the levels at which the agency's ship, boat, and aircraft resources were applied to non- homeland security programs. GAO was asked to update and expand this work by analyzing: the trends in resource usage, the trends in performance results, and the implications of these trends."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Preventing radioactive material from being smuggled into the United States is a key national security objective. To help address this threat, in October 2002, DHS began deploying radiation detection equipment at U.S. ports-of-entry. This report reviews recent progress DHS has made (1) deploying radiation detection equipment, (2) using radiation detection equipment, (3) improving the capabilities and testing of this equipment, and (4) increasing cooperation between DHS and other federal agencies in conducting radiation detection programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement the national strategy …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Procedures for determining Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates, which must be paid to workers on certain federally funded construction projects, and their vulnerability to the use of inaccurate data have long been an issue for Congress, employers, and workers. In this report, GAO examined (1) the extent to which the Department of Labor (Labor) has addressed concerns regarding the quality of the Davis-Bacon wage determination process, and (2) additional issues identified by stakeholders regarding the wage determination process. GAO interviewed Labor officials, representatives from contractor associations and unions, contractors, and researchers; conducted site visits to three Labor regional offices; and analyzed data from Labor's wage survey database."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the linchpin of future Department of Defense (DOD) tactical aircraft modernization efforts because of the sheer size of the program and its envisioned role as the replacement for hundreds of aircraft that perform a wide variety of missions in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. DOD implemented the JSF alternate engine development program in 1996 to provide competition between two engine manufacturers in an effort to achieve cost savings, improve performance, and gain other benefits. This testimony focuses on GAO's cost analysis performed in response to Section 211 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. We examined the following areas: (1) sole-source and competitive scenarios for development, production, and sustainment of the JSF engine, (2) results of past engine programs and their related strategies, and (3) impact on the industrial base in the event of the complete cancellation of the JSF alternate engine program. DOD did not provide comments on our findings."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2005, GAO reported on factors affecting the timely production of up-armored high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV) and add-on armor kits for HMMWVs, as well as other items critically needed by deployed forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Due to high interest by Congress and the public regarding vehicle armor, GAO initiated this subsequent engagement to examine issues affecting the production and installation of armor for medium and heavy trucks. The objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which truck armor was produced and installed to meet identified requirements, (2) identify what factors affected the time to provide truck armor, and (3) identify what actions the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Army have taken to improve the timely availability of truck armor. To address these objectives, GAO collected and analyzed supply data for medium and heavy tactical trucks used by Army forces."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In overseeing DC plans and service providers, regulatory agencies in the countries GAO reviewed use risk-based approaches to target practices deemed most likely to harm participants and to develop preventative measures. While the role of service providers varies, DC plans and service providers in the 4 countries GAO reviewed are overseen by multiple agencies—primarily a pensions regulator and a securities regulator. In each of these countries, the pensions regulator is the agency that regularly collects data on service provider fees, as well as other plan features, which are used to inform their oversight activities. In particular, in several of these countries, the pensions regulator uses these data as part of a risk-based approach to identify service provider practices that may harm participants, instead of relying only on a compliance-based approach. For example, in Chile, pensions agency officials evaluate key features of the DC system, such as the service providers’ management of the individual accounts and the composition and role of the board of directors of the service provider. In both Chile and Australia, agency officials said using a risk-based approach enables the pensions regulator to take …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Congressional request concerning our January 21, 2005, report Student Financial Aid: Need Determination Could Be Enhanced through Improvements in Education's Estimate of Applicants' State Tax Payments (GAO-05-105). The Department of Education (Education) proposed an update to the state and other tax allowance, a part of the federal need analysis for student financial aid. Most federal aid, including Pell Grants and student loans, and some state and institutional aid are awarded based on a student's cost of attendance less the student's and/or family's ability to pay these costs--known as the expected family contribution (EFC). The allowance, which accounts for the amount of state and other nonfederal taxes paid by students and families, effectively reduces the EFC. Education proposed to update the allowance on the basis of information compiled by the Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income (SOI) Division, specifically state and other taxes paid by taxpayers and reported on their federal income tax returns for tax year 2000. Our January 2005 report discussed (1) the factors that had affected the updating of the tax data on which the allowance is based, (2) the effects …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its views on three bills designed to improve worker and nuclear facility safety and health as well as to enhance security for the Department of Energy (DOE)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's views on H.R. 723, a bill that would modify the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 by changing how the Department of Energy (DOE) treats nonprofit contractors who violate DOE's nuclear safety requirements. Currently, nonprofit contractors are exempted from paying civil penalties that DOE assesses under the act. H.R. 723 would remove that exemption. GAO supports eliminating the exemption because the primary reason for instituting it no longer exists. The exemption was enacted in 1988 at the same time the civil monetary penalty was established. The purpose of the exemption was to ensure that the nonprofit contractors operating DOE laboratories who were being reimbursed only for their costs, would not have their assets at risk for violating nuclear safety requirements. However, virtually all of DOE's nonprofit contractors have an opportunity to earn a fee in addition to payments for allowable costs. This fee could be used to pay the civil monetary penalties. GAO found that DOE's nuclear safety enforcement program appears to be a useful and important tool for ensuring safe nuclear practices."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over time, federal surveys have consistently found that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees are less satisfied with their jobs than the government-wide average. In the 2004 Office of Personnel Management’s federal employee survey—a tool that measures employees’ perceptions of whether and to what extent conditions characterizing successful organizations are present in their agency—56 percent of DHS employees responded that they were satisfied with their jobs, compared to 68 percent government-wide. In subsequent years, the disparity continued—ranging from a difference of 8 percentage points in 2006 to a 4 percentage point difference in 2008, 2010, and 2011. In 2011, DHS’s percentage of positive responses was lower than the averages for the rest of the federal government. For example, slightly less than half of the DHS employees surveyed reported positive responses to the statement “My talents are used well in the workplace,” nearly 12 percentage points less than the rest of the federal government average. In two areas, DHS’s percentage of positive responses was nearly the same or higher than the rest of the federal government average. For example, DHS’s percentage of positive responses to the statement “Considering everything, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Army could not readily identify the population of Army military payroll accounts given its existing procedures and systems. The Army and DFAS-IN did not have an effective, repeatable process for identifying the population of active duty payroll records. For example, it took 3 months and repeated attempts before DFAS-IN could provide a population of service members who received active duty Army military pay in fiscal year 2010. Further, because the Army does not have an integrated military personnel and payroll system, it was necessary to compare the payroll file to active Army personnel records. However, the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), DOD’s central repository for information on DOD-affiliated personnel, did not have an effective process for comparing military pay account files with military personnel files to identify a valid population of military payroll transactions. It took DMDC over 2 months and labor-intensive research to compare and reconcile the total number of fiscal year 2010 active duty payroll accounts to its database of personnel files. DOD’s Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Guidance states that identifying the population of transactions is a key task essential to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We found that the Army could not readily identify a complete population of Army payroll accounts for fiscal year 2010, given existing procedures and systems. The Army and DFAS-IN did not have an effective, repeatable process for identifying the population of active duty payroll accounts. In addition, the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), DOD’s central source for personnel information, did not have an effective process for comparing military pay account files to military personnel files to identify a valid population of military payroll transactions. For example, it took 3 months and repeated attempts before DFAS-IN could provide a population of service members who received active duty Army military pay in fiscal year 2010. Similarly, it took DMDC over 2 months to compare the total number of fiscal year 2010 active duty payroll accounts to its database of personnel files. "Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government" requires all transactions and other significant events to be clearly documented and the documentation readily available for examination. DOD’s "Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Guidance" sets out key tasks essential to achieving audit readiness, including defining and identifying the population …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to testify on the effectiveness of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) postmarket decision-making process. This testimony is based on Drug Safety: Improvement Needed in FDA's Postmarket Decision-making and Oversight Process, GAO-06-402 (March 31, 2006). The report focused on the complex interaction between two offices within FDA that are involved in postmarket drug safety activities: the Office of New Drugs (OND), and the Office of Drug Safety (ODS). OND's primary responsibility is to review new drug applications, but it is also involved in monitoring the safety of marketed drugs. ODS is focused primarily on postmarket drug safety issues. ODS is now called the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology. For its report, GAO reviewed FDA policies, interviewed FDA staff, and conducted case studies of four drugs with safety issues: Arava, Baycol, Bextra, and Propulsid. To gather information on FDA's initiatives since March 2006 to improve its decision-making process for this testimony, GAO interviewed FDA officials and reviewed FDA documents in February and March 2007."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress passed the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) in 2000 to compensate Department of Energy (Energy) workers for illnesses stemming from exposure to hazardous substances while working in the atomic weapons industry. Part B of the act provides a lump-sum payment and medical coverage for certain illnesses, while Part E compensates for impairments and lost wages resulting from exposure to toxins. The Department of Labor (Labor) adjudicates all claims and is assisted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Energy. GAO examined (1) claim-processing time, (2) costs of administering the program, (3) extent to which there are quality controls to ensure that claim determinations are supported with objective and scientific information, and (4) actions taken by agencies to promote program transparency for claimants. GAO obtained data on cost and claims processing from Labor and NIOSH, and interviewed agency officials, experts, and claimant advocates."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operates one of the safest air transportation systems in the world. It is, however, a system under strain. The skies are becoming more crowded every day, with an estimated 1 billion passengers per year expected by 2015. The current aviation system cannot be expanded to meet this growth. The reauthorization of FAA is an opportunity to examine how the agency is managing the operation and safety of the air transportation system as it leads the transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)--a major redesign of the current system. GAO's testimony focuses on key issues related to FAA's reauthorization, including (1) FAA's progress in implementing initiatives that could provide a solid foundation for NextGen, (2) issues that need to be addressed to help ensure a successful transition to NextGen, and (3) safety areas that are important for the continued safe operation of the current and future system. This statement is based on recent GAO reports and ongoing work on some management and safety initiatives."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We compared FEMA's training of reservists with the training provided to reservists at the SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard--agencies with a disaster mission--and found similarities and differences; and, moreover, FEMA had not examined other agencies' training programs to identify useful practices. All four training programs shared some similar attributes with regard to training requirements, funding sources, training delivery, and training evaluation. For example, FEMA and two of the comparison agencies have a credentialing program used to document reservist qualifications. Differences included the timing of when training is delivered and the use of job aids to reinforce reservists' understanding of material covered in training courses. Regarding timing, SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard each train their reservists in advance of deploying these individuals to a disaster. However, factors such as the way in which FEMA funds its disaster program have limited the agency's ability to train its reservists in advance of deployments to disasters. FEMA plans to begin allowing up to 2 weeks of reservist training outside of deployments under the new reservist program during fiscal year 2013. Differences we identified in training practices …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the outcome of the 1996 World Food Summit, focusing on factors that could affect progress toward meeting world food security goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During the 3-year period from fiscal year 2009 through 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General's (OIG) total budgetary resources decreased by about 8 percent. In contrast, the total budgetary resources for all other cabinet-level OIGs increased by approximately 6 percent over the 3-year period. The USDA OIG's authorized full-time equivalent staff (FTE) increased by 11 percent, from 550 to 608, while all other cabinet-level OIGs had a combined increase in authorized FTEs of about 14 percent during the same 3-year period."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges federal agencies face in producing credible performance information, focusing on: (1) a governmentwide perspective on the credibility of agencies' performance information based on GAO's assessment of agencies' performance plans; (2) the challenges agencies face in producing credible performance data; and (3) how agencies can use their performance reports to address data credibility issues."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the House Committees' use of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 to inform their decisionmaking and oversight, focusing on: (1) an overview of the implementation of the GPRA across the executive branch and why the government is at a critical stage in GPRA's implementation; (2) how the House has used GPRA to improve programmatic oversight and decisionmaking and to conduct oversight over selected agencies' efforts to implement the Act; and (3) ways that GPRA can be used to address some of the critical program and management issues confronting the federal government."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Much is at stake when it comes to Medicare reform--not only the program's future but also the nation's fiscal flexibility to pursue other important national goals and programs in the future. A comprehensive effort to reform Medicare and put it on a sustainable path would help fulfill this generation's stewardship responsibility to succeeding generations. It would also help to preserve some capacity for future generations to make their own choices for what role they want the federal government to play. Updating Medicare's benefit package may be a necessary part of any realistic reform program. Such changes, however, need to be considered in the context of Medicare's long-term fiscal outlook and the need to make changes that will sustain the program over the long-term. Specifically, adding prescription drug coverage to the Medicare program would have a substantial impact on program costs. At the same time, many believe it is needed to guarantee the financial well-being and health of many beneficiaries. The challenge will be to design and implement drug coverage that will minimize the financial implications for Medicare while maximizing the positive effect of such coverage on Medicare beneficiaries. …