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Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress (open access)

Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Report that discusses the funding for the growth of the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program. The Aegis BMD program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
House Committee Chairs: Considerations, Decisions, and Actions as One Congress Ends and a New Congress Begins (open access)

House Committee Chairs: Considerations, Decisions, and Actions as One Congress Ends and a New Congress Begins

Report that addresses some of the critical matters a House committee chair confronts from the time of the early organization meetings in November to approximately the spring district work-period in March or April.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Schneider, Judy & Koempel, Michael L.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future (open access)

Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues Past, Present, and Future

Report that surveys existing law for legal issues that have arisen, or may arise in the future, on account of climate change and government responses thereto.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Constitutionality of Retroactive Tax Legislation (open access)

Constitutionality of Retroactive Tax Legislation

Report that examines the constitutional provisions that might be implicated by retroactive tax legislation, including legislation that seems intended to punish past behavior.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Lunder, Erika K.; Meltz, Robert & Thomas, Kenneth R.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments (open access)

Guam: U.S. Defense Deployments

Report that provides a basic overview of the island of Guam, including population and location, as well as the strategic significance of Guam for boosting U.S. deterrence and power projection in Asia.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: SBA Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Its Loan Management and Accounting System Modernization (open access)

Information Technology: SBA Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Its Loan Management and Accounting System Modernization

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: January 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Real Property: Strategic Partnerships and Local Coordination Could Help Agencies Better Utilize Space (open access)

Federal Real Property: Strategic Partnerships and Local Coordination Could Help Agencies Better Utilize Space

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government owns facilities that are underutilized in locations where it also leases space. In some cases, space within these government-owned properties could be occupied by other government agencies. This is particularly true for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), for which declining mail volume and operational changes have freed space in many facilities. However, this potential for collocation of federal agencies is affected by such factors as the size, location, and condition of the available space."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Refugee Resettlement: Greater Consultation with Community Stakeholders Could Strengthen Program (open access)

Refugee Resettlement: Greater Consultation with Community Stakeholders Could Strengthen Program

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Voluntary agencies consider various factors when determining where refugees will be placed, but few agencies we visited consulted relevant local stakeholders, which posed challenges for service providers. When deciding how many refugees to place in each community, some voluntary agencies prioritize local agency capacity, such as staffing levels, while others emphasize community capacity, such as housing availability. Although the Immigration and Nationality Act states that it is the intent of Congress for voluntary agencies to work closely with state and local stakeholders when making these decisions, the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) offers limited guidance on how this should occur. Some communities GAO visited had developed formal processes for obtaining stakeholder input after receiving an overwhelming number of refugees, but most had not, which made it difficult for health care providers and school systems to prepare for and properly serve refugees."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Advantage: Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration Has Design Flaws and Raises Legal Concerns (open access)

Medicare Advantage: Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration Has Design Flaws and Raises Legal Concerns

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our March 2012 review found that the CMS Office of the Actuary’s (OACT) estimated cost of the demonstration exceeds $8 billion over 10 years. About $5.34 billion of this estimate is attributed to quality bonus payments more generous than those prescribed in PPACA, specifically to (1) higher bonuses for 4-star and 5-star plans, (2) new bonuses for 3-star and 3.5-star plans, (3) applying bonuses to plans’ entire benchmarks during the phase-in of PPACA’s new payment methodology, and (4) allowing plans’ benchmarks to exceed their pre-PPACA levels. Most of the remaining projected demonstration spending stems from higher MA enrollment because the bonuses enable MA plans to offer beneficiaries more benefits or lower premiums. Taken together, the expanded bonuses and higher enrollment mainly benefit average-performing plans—those receiving 3 and 3.5-star ratings. Also, while a reduction in MA payments was projected to occur as a result of PPACA’s payment reforms, OACT estimated that the demonstration would offset more than one-third of these payment reductions projected for 2012 through 2014."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Patent and Trademark Office: New User Fee Design Presents Opportunities to Build on Transparency and Communication Success (open access)

Patent and Trademark Office: New User Fee Design Presents Opportunities to Build on Transparency and Communication Success

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To successfully manage AIA implementation, USPTO must consider a number of trade-offs as it sets and uses its over 340 fees, as well as maintain an effective fee review process. USPTO officials have stated that the agency’s limited fee-setting authority prior to the AIA and uncertainty about the extent to which its collections would be available contributed to a number of the agency’s operational challenges, such as the current backlog of over 640,000 patent applications and patent application processing time of over 30 months. They said fees that generated over 80 percent of USPTO’s revenues were set in statute, limiting the agency’s ability to ensure that total collections kept pace with total costs as its workload has grown. USPTO can only use its fee collections to the extent that Congress makes them available. In the past, Congress has in some years made available less than the total amount collected; there has been significant debate about the status and use of these fees collected in excess of amounts appropriated."
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Controls and Operating Effectiveness (open access)

Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Controls and Operating Effectiveness

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During our audit of IRS’s fiscal year 2011 financial statements, we identified new internal control deficiencies in the following areas:"
Date: June 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' COMPENSATION ACT: Preliminary Observations on Fraud-Prevention Controls (open access)

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' COMPENSATION ACT: Preliminary Observations on Fraud-Prevention Controls

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our work to this point has identified several promising practices that could help to reduce the risk of fraud within the FECA program. The promising practices link back to fraud-prevention concepts contained in GAO’s Fraud Prevention Framework and Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, and include agencies’ use of full-time staff dedicated to the FECA program, periodic reviews of claimants’ continued eligibility, data analysis for potential fraud indicators, and effective use of investigative resources. These promising practices have already resulted in successful investigations and prosecutions of FECA-related fraud at some agencies, and could help to further enhance the program’s fraud-prevention controls. However, our preliminary work has also identified several potential vulnerabilities in the program’s design and controls that could increase the risk for fraud. Specifically, we found that limited access to necessary data is potentially reducing agencies’ ability to effectively monitor claims and wage-loss information. In addition, agencies’ reliance on self-reported data related to wages and dependent status, lack of a physician selected by the government throughout the process, and difficulties associated with successful investigations and prosecutions all potentially reduce the program’s ability to …
Date: January 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Grants to State and Local Governments: An Overview of Federal Funding Levels and Selected Challenges (open access)

Grants to State and Local Governments: An Overview of Federal Funding Levels and Selected Challenges

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal outlays for grants to state and local governments totaled more than $606 billion in fiscal year 2011. Over the last three decades, these grants have consistently been a significant component of federal spending, but the focus of this spending has changed over time. For example, during this period the proportion of federal outlays to state and local governments dedicated to Medicaid grants more than tripled, rising from 2.4 percent of total federal government outlays in 1980 to 7.6 percent in 2011. The increase in federal outlays for Medicaid and other health-related grant programs was offset by an approximately equivalent decrease in grants to state and local governments targeted for other areas such as transportation, education, and regional development."
Date: September 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
United Nations Renovations: Best Practices Could Enhance Future Cost Estimates (open access)

United Nations Renovations: Best Practices Could Enhance Future Cost Estimates

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Capital Master Plan (CMP) has made progress, but may not deliver the project’s original scope, faces risks meeting its scheduled completion date, and is projected to be about $430 million over budget as of February 2012. Regarding the project’s scope, the CMP office may not renovate the Library and South Annex—two of the five buildings in its original scope—due to the lack of a workable design solution to address security concerns. Related to schedule, the CMP office expects to complete the CMP in 2014, but reports that previous schedule delays have reduced its ability to respond to unforeseen events without affecting the project’s end date. According to the CMP office, the project’s approximately $430 million in projected cost overruns are due to a number of factors, including about $266 million in direct project costs and over $164 million from scope additions authorized without a corresponding increase in budget by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The CMP office has proposed financing options that could address a portion of these cost overruns. However, even if approved, an additional member assessment may be needed. One option for …
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Postal Service: Field Offices' Role in Cost-Reduction and Revenue-Generation Efforts (open access)

U.S. Postal Service: Field Offices' Role in Cost-Reduction and Revenue-Generation Efforts

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Field employees have key roles in the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) efforts to reduce costs and generate revenue. For example, these employees evaluate the feasibility of closing or consolidating facilities, such as post offices and mail- processing facilities; carry out the closures and consolidations of these facilities; and evaluate and consolidate delivery routes. These roles support USPS’s plans to save, by 2016, about $9 billion annually by improving its operational efficiency and realigning its retail, mail processing, and delivery networks with declining mail use. These plans include evaluating about half of its approximately 31,000 post offices to identify cost-reduction opportunities, closing or reducing operations at about half of its 461 mail-processing facilities, and consolidating about 20,000 of its 144,000 city delivery routes. Area and district employees also have a significant role in USPS’s efforts to generate additional revenue by (1) promoting the value of mail to businesses, (2) maintaining and increasing its customer base through customer service, and (3) growing the package business."
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Retirement Security: Older Women Remain at Risk (open access)

Retirement Security: Older Women Remain at Risk

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last decade, working women’s access to and participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans have improved relative to men. In fact, from 1998 to 2009, women surpassed men in their likelihood of working for an employer that offered a pension plan—largely because the proportion of men covered by a plan declined. Furthermore, as employers have continued to terminate their defined benefit plans and switch to defined contribution plans, the proportion of women who worked for employers that offered a defined contribution plan increased. Women’s higher rates of pension coverage may be due to the fact that they are more likely to work in the public and nonprofit sectors and industries that offer coverage, such as health and education."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Missile Defense: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Acquisitions by Reducing Concurrency and Improving Parts Quality (open access)

Missile Defense: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Acquisitions by Reducing Concurrency and Improving Parts Quality

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployed Older Workers: Many Experience Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced Retirement Security (open access)

Unemployed Older Workers: Many Experience Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced Retirement Security

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As with many other demographic groups, older workers’ unemployment overall and long-term unemployment rates have increased dramatically since the recession began in 2007. In December 2011, the unemployment rate for older workers was 6.0 percent, up from 3.1 at the start of the recession, but down from its peak of 7.6 percent in February 2010. In particular, long-term unemployment rose substantially, and at a greater rate for older than younger workers. By 2011, 55 percent of unemployed older workers had been actively seeking a job for more than half a year (27 weeks or more). Meanwhile, the long-term trend of rising labor force participation rates among older workers has continued, with the recession possibly amplifying this trend."
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disability Employment: Further Action Needed to Oversee Efforts to Meet Federal Government Hiring Goals (open access)

Disability Employment: Further Action Needed to Oversee Efforts to Meet Federal Government Hiring Goals

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Labor (Labor) have taken steps to implement the executive order and help agencies recruit, hire, and retain more employees with disabilities. OPM provided guidance to help agencies develop disability hiring plans and reviewed the 66 plans submitted. OPM identified deficiencies in most of the plans. For example, though 40 of 66 agencies included a process for increasing the use of a special hiring authority to increase the hiring of people with disabilities, 59 agencies did not meet all of OPM’s review criteria, and 32 agencies had not addressed plan deficiencies as of April 2012. In response to executive order reporting requirements, OPM officials said they had briefed the White House on issues related to implementation, but they did not provide information on deficiencies in all plans. While the order does not specify what information these reports should include beyond addressing progress, providing information on deficiencies would enable the White House to hold agencies accountable. OPM is still developing the mandatory training programs for officials on the employment of individuals with disabilities, as required by the executive …
Date: May 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Assistance Workforce: FEMA Could Enhance Human Capital Management and Training (open access)

Disaster Assistance Workforce: FEMA Could Enhance Human Capital Management and Training

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken steps to enhance its management of the Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE) program, such as through the establishment of a credentialing program, the FEMA Qualification System (FQS); however, management controls and training could be strengthened. For example, FEMA does not monitor how the regions implement DAE policies and how DAEs implement disaster policies across regions to ensure consistency. FEMA’s Administrator noted that due to differences in how regions operate, it is problematic to deploy someone based in one region to another during a disaster. Establishing a mechanism to monitor both the regional implementation of DAE policies and procedures and DAE’s implementation of disaster policies could help provide FEMA with reasonable assurance that disaster assistance is conducted in accordance with policy and implemented consistently."
Date: May 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bus Rapid Transit: Projects Improve Transit Service and Can Contribute to Economic Development (open access)

Bus Rapid Transit: Projects Improve Transit Service and Can Contribute to Economic Development

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. bus rapid transit (BRT) projects we reviewed include features that distinguished BRT from standard bus service and improved riders’ experience. However, few of the projects (5 of 20) used dedicated or semi-dedicated lanes— a feature commonly associated with BRT and included in international systems to reduce travel time and attract riders. Project sponsors and planners explained that decisions on which features to incorporate into BRT projects were influenced by costs, community needs, and the ability to phase in additional features. For example, one project sponsor explained that well-lighted shelters with security cameras and real-time information displays were included to increase passengers’ sense of safety in the evening. Project sponsors told us they plan to incorporate additional features such as off-board fare collection over time."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telecommunications: FCC Has Reformed the High-Cost Program, but Oversight and Management Could be Improved (open access)

Telecommunications: FCC Has Reformed the High-Cost Program, but Oversight and Management Could be Improved

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the USF Transformation Order, FCC adopted new rules to fundamentally change the high-cost program by extending the program to support broadband capable networks. For example, FCC established a $4.5-billion annual program budget for the next 6 years, created new funds—called the Connect America Fund and the Mobility Fund—that will support broadband deployment, and established public interest obligations for the carriers as a condition of receiving funds. Specifically, FCC will require carriers to offer broadband services in their supported service areas, meet certain broadband performance requirements, and report regularly on associated broadband performance measures. FCC also changed its method for distributing funds to carriers to address some of the recognized inefficiencies with the program. According to FCC, these changes will allow it to reduce high-cost support for carriers providing only voice services and make funds available to carriers to offer both voice and broadband services."
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Infrastructure: Documentation Lacking to Fully Support How DOD Determined Specifications for the Landstuhl Replacement Medical Center (open access)

Defense Infrastructure: Documentation Lacking to Fully Support How DOD Determined Specifications for the Landstuhl Replacement Medical Center

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials considered current beneficiary population data, contingency operations, and most of the expected changes in troop strength when planning for the replacement medical center. However, recently announced posture changes in January 2012 have yet to be assessed for their impact on the facility. DOD estimates that the replacement medical center will provide health care for nearly 250,000 beneficiaries. A majority of those who are expected to receive health care from the center come from within a 55-mile radius of the facility. DOD officials told us that because the replacement medical center was designed for peacetime operations—with the capacity to expand to meet the needs of contingency operations—reductions in ongoing contingency operations in Afghanistan would not have an impact on facility requirements. At the time of this review, DOD officials said they were in the process of assessing proposed changes in posture to better understand their possible impact on the sizing of the replacement medical center."
Date: May 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Overseas Rightsizing: State Has Improved the Consistency of Its Approach, but Does Not Follow Up on Its Recommendations (open access)

Overseas Rightsizing: State Has Improved the Consistency of Its Approach, but Does Not Follow Up on Its Recommendations

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of State (State) has improved the consistency of its rightsizing approach across overseas posts. However, differences between future staffing levels it projects are appropriate to meet mission needs and actual staffing levels still exist due to unanticipated events and other factors. GAO reported in 2006 that State’s Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation (M/PRI) had not been conducting its rightsizing reviews consistently. Some reviews discussed various rightsizing elements, such as outsourcing, while others did not. State has since improved the consistency of its reviews by developing a variety of methodological tools and a standard template which it applies to each post. GAO found that over half of the 144 rightsizing projections analyzed were within 10 percent of actual staffing levels as of December 2011. In contrast, over 40 percent of the posts have staffing level differences of over 10 percent. Unanticipated events and other factors, such as changes in policies, contributed to these differences. For example, according to the management officer in Mozambique, M/PRI projected staffing increases as a result of the President’s program to combat AIDS, but the actual funding level for …
Date: July 25, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library