A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Justice Department has reported that Indians are at least twice as likely to be raped or sexually assaulted as all other races in the United States. Indians living in remote areas may be days away from health care facilities providing medical forensic exams, which collect evidence related to an assault for use in criminal prosecution. The principal health care provider for Indians, which operates or funds tribes to operate 45 hospitals, is the Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service (IHS). In response to a Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 mandate, GAO examined (1) the ability of IHS and tribally operated hospitals to collect and preserve medical forensic evidence involving cases of sexual assault and domestic violence, as needed for criminal prosecution; (2) what challenges, if any, these hospitals face in collecting and preserving such evidence; and (3) what factors besides medical forensic evidence contribute to a decision to prosecute such cases. GAO surveyed all 45 IHS and tribally operated hospitals and interviewed IHS and law enforcement officials and prosecutors.."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) created the strategy for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project in 2005, the space landscape has changed significantly--the Space Shuttle program is retiring and the Ares I will not be available--increasing the importance of the timely development of COTS vehicles. The lack of alternatives for supplying the International Space Station and launching science missions have all contributed to an increased need for the COTS vehicles. The two COTS project partners, Orbital and SpaceX, have made progress in the development of their respective vehicles; however, both providers are behind schedule. As a result, the project recently received an additional $300 million to augment development efforts with risk reduction milestones. This testimony focuses on: (1) COTS development activities, including the recent funding increase; (2) the extent to which any COTS demonstration delays have affected commercial resupply services (CRS) missions and NASA's plans for meeting the space station's cargo resupply needs; and (3) lessons learned from NASA's acquisition approach for COTS. To prepare this statement, GAO used its prior relevant work and conducted additional audit work, such as analyzing each partner's agreement …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the Army canceled the Future Combat System in June of 2009, it began developing modernization plans, including developing a new Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and additional network capability. At the same time, the Army was considering options on how to improve its light tactical vehicles. This statement addresses potential issues related to developing (1) the new GCV, (2) a common information network, and (3) the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in a constrained budget environment. The statement is based largely on previous GAO work conducted over the last year in response to congressional requests and results of other reviews of Army modernization. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed program documentation, strategies, and test results; interviewed independent experts and Army and Department of Defense (DOD) officials; and witnessed demonstrations of current and emerging network technologies. DOD reviewed the facts contained in this statement and provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Today, GAO issued a correspondence identifying the internal controls that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has in place for reimbursable Space Act agreements and assessing to what extent the agency is adhering to those controls. Specifically, our review focused on NASA's internal controls related to (1) fair reimbursement from agreement partners; (2) interference between agreement partners' work and NASA's use of its facilities; and (3) alignment of agreement partners' work with NASA's mission. In that correspondence, we reported that NASA was generally adhering to its controls for entering into reimbursable Space Act agreements. In our review, however, we also found several instances in which agreements were not completely and accurately recorded in the Space Act Agreement Maker (SAAM) database. In addition, we identified one instance where NASA awarded a reimbursable agreement when similar services may have been available in the private sector. This action appears contrary to the National Space Policy and may have also been contrary to the Commercial Space Competitiveness Act. Federal government standards for internal controls state that control activities should help ensure that all transactions are completely and accurately recorded. NASA's SAAM …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last few years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has increasingly relied on its authority under the Space Act of 1958 to enter into agreements, commonly referred to as Space Act agreements (SAA), to stimulate private sector development of systems capable of transporting cargo and crew to the International Space Station and to assist partner firms in developing their technologies. Reimbursable Space Act agreements involve the use of NASA's facilities, personnel, or equipment primarily for the benefit of the agreement partner. NASA undertakes reimbursable work when it has unique goods, services, or facilities which can be made available to another party in a manner that does not interfere with NASA mission requirements and is consistent with the agency's mission. According to NASA guidance, the agency generally collects full reimbursement for costs associated with a reimbursable agreement. These types of agreements are known as fully reimbursable SAAs. However, NASA can accept less than full reimbursement in certain instances, such as when the reimbursement is fair and reasonable when compared to the benefits NASA receives from the work. When NASA waives costs under a reimbursable SAA, NASA …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our recent reviews of U.S counternarcotics programs in Mexico and Afghanistan highlighted the need to improve the programs' performance measures to track progress. The Department of State (State) received over $1 billion in its fiscal year 2010 appropriation for international counternarcotics assistance programs. The vast majority of this funding--about 90 percent in fiscal year 2010--supports counternarcotics programs in five countries--Mexico, Afghanistan, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is primarily responsible for implementing U.S. assistance programs involving eradication of illicit crops, interdiction of drug trafficking, and drug demand reduction, which represented about 85 percent of State's counternarcotics appropriation in fiscal year 2010. INL implements a large share of its funding through contractors, primarily for aviation support for eradication and interdiction efforts. Congress asked us to review State's performance measures for its counternarcotics programs. On March 10, 2011, we briefed congressional staff on our preliminary findings in which we described State's performance management system, including State's standard indicators for measuring the performance of counternarcotics assistance in recipient countries and requirements for posts to develop project-specific performance measures. Following the briefing, in subsequent …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report is in response to a request from congressional subcommittees to evaluate the design of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) fraud prevention controls within the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) verification program instituted in response to Public Law 111-275. This work is part of our ongoing audit of the SDVOSB program governmentwide, which, in part, assesses the design of the three areas of a fraud prevention framework including preventive controls, detection and monitoring controls, and investigations and prosecutions. We will report the results of the larger audit at a later date.."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To restore stability and liquidity to the financial system, Congress established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and directed the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to use the authorities granted under TARP to, among other things, preserve homeownership and protect home values. In February 2009, Treasury announced that up to $50 billion in TARP funds had been allocated to help struggling homeowners avoid potential foreclosure. However, the number of borrowers facing potential foreclosure has remained at historically high levels. In fact, in the first 2 years of the TARP-funded Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), more borrowers were denied or canceled from trial loan modifications than were given permanent modifications. In three prior reports, we looked at the implementation of HAMP and made several recommendations that were intended to address the challenges that Treasury faced in implementing the program. To better understand the experience of borrowers seeking HAMP modifications, we conducted a Web-based survey of housing counselors through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMC) to obtain the counselors' perspectives of borrowers' experiences with HAMP. NFMC is administered by NeighborWorks America and funds approximately 130 grantees and …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars each year to maintain key business operations intended to support the warfighter, including systems and processes related to the management of contracts, finances, the supply chain, support infrastructure, and weapon systems acquisition. We have designated a number of these areas as high risk because of their vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement and because of opportunities to achieve greater efficiencies and free up resources for higher-priority needs. In 2005, we identified DOD's approach to business transformation as a high-risk area because (1) DOD had not established clear and specific management responsibility, accountability and control over business transformation-related activities and applicable resources; and (2) DOD lacked a clear strategic and integrated plan for business transformation with specific goals, measures and accountability mechanisms to monitor progress. Because of the complexity and magnitude of the challenges facing DOD in improving business operations, we have reported the need for a chief management officer (CMO) with significant authority and experience to focus the necessary attention and sustain progress. Both DOD and Congress have taken actions to address DOD's management of business transformation efforts. …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on a multisector workforce of military personnel, other federal employees, and private contractors to perform needed services. The contractor workforce is substantial: DOD is the federal government's largest purchaser of contractor-provided services, such as aircraft maintenance or base operating support. Determining whether to obtain services with in-house resources or through private sector contractors is an important economic and strategic decision essential to DOD's effective and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Conducting competitions between public and private sources to identify the most cost-effective provider of services is one tool DOD can use to achieve such efficiencies. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (NDAA 2010), Congress imposed a temporary moratorium on new competitions involving functions currently performed by DOD civilian employees until, among other things, DOD reviewed and reported to Congress on various aspects of its public-private competition policies. The department submitted a report to Congress on its review on June 28, 2011. Should the moratorium be lifted, Congress also limited the duration of any new competitions to 24 months, with a possible extension to 33 months if DOD …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Dissatisfaction with the federal tax system has led to a debate about U.S. tax reform, including proposals for a national consumption tax. One type of proposed consumption tax is a value-added tax (VAT), widely used around the world. A VAT is levied on the difference between a business's sales and its purchases of goods and services. Typically, a business calculates the tax due on its sales, subtracts a credit for taxes paid on its purchases, and remits the difference to the government. While the economic and distributional effects of a U.S. VAT type tax have been studied, GAO issued a report in 2008 that looked at lessons learned from VAT administration in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These countries provided a range of VAT designs from relatively simple to more complex. This statement, which is based on the 2008 report, focuses on (1) the effect VAT design choices, such as exemptions and enforcement mechanisms, have on compliance, administrative costs, and compliance burden; (2) Canada's experience with administering a VAT in conjunction with several different subnational consumption tax arrangements; and (3) the experience that some …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Increasing computer interconnectivity, such as the growth of the Internet, has revolutionized the way our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. However, this widespread interconnectivity poses significant risks to the government's and the nation's computer systems, and to the critical infrastructures they support. These critical infrastructures include systems and assets--both physical and virtual--that are essential to the nation's security, economic prosperity, and public health, such as financial institutions, telecommunications networks, and energy production and transmission facilities. Because most of these infrastructures are owned by the private sector, establishing effective public-private partnerships is essential to securing them from pervasive cyber-based threats. Federal law and policy call for federal entities, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to work with private-sector partners to enhance the physical and cyber security of these critical infrastructures. GAO is providing a statement describing (1) cyber threats facing cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; (2) recent actions the federal government has taken, in partnership with the private sector, to identify and protect cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; and (3) ongoing challenges to protecting these infrastructures. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its …

A publication issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) offers health care to eligible beneficiaries through TRICARE, its health care program. Recently enacted health care reform legislation--the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA)--has implications for much of the nation's health care system, including TRICARE. One particular health reform provision directed certain health insurance plans to extend coverage to dependents up to age 26. Though this provision does not apply to TRICARE because it is not considered a health insurance plan, the subsequent Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (NDAA 2011) included a similar provision that extends TRICARE coverage to certain dependent children of TRICARE beneficiaries. In response, in May 2011, DOD began implementing TRICARE Young Adult (TYA), a premium-based health care plan that extends TRICARE coverage to dependents of TRICARE beneficiaries up to age 26 who do not have access to employer-sponsored health care coverage and are unmarried. The NDAA 2011 directed us to assess the cost to DOD of complying with PPACA and HCERA. You also asked us to examine DOD's costs of implementing, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to Department of Defense (DOD) officials, the Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation Simulator (the Simulator), located at Air Force Plant in Fort Worth, Texas, is an important asset for helping to protect U.S. and allied pilots and aircraft against the missile threats posed by adversaries. Most missiles use one of two electronic warfare technologies in order to pursue aircraft in flight and deliver an explosive warhead with the intent to inflict maximum damage. Small shoulder-launched missiles generally use infrared seekers that search for heat sources on an aircraft, while more sophisticated air-to-air and larger surface-to-air missiles can use radio waves and infrared seekers to determine an aircraft's location in flight. DOD continually develops and tests countermeasures to protect U.S. and allied aircraft from both types of missile threats. The Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation Simulator at Plant 4 is one of only two Air Force facilities of its kind that test countermeasures against heat-seeking missiles, and it is the only Air Force facility that currently houses the equipment necessary to test countermeasures against more sophisticated radio frequency surface-to-air missiles. The Simulator uses an array of computer hardware …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Proper compliance of a publication with the provisions of section 2051.044, Government Code, in order to be considered the official newspaper of a municipality (RQ-0907-GA)

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our past work examining the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) progress and efforts in planning, developing, and deploying its global nuclear detection architecture (GNDA). The overall mission of the GNDA is to use an integrated system of radiation detection equipment and interdiction activities to combat nuclear smuggling in foreign countries, at the U.S. border, and inside the United States. Terrorists smuggling nuclear or radiological material into the United States could use these materials to make an improvised nuclear device or a radiological dispersal device (also called a "dirty bomb"). The detonation of a nuclear device in an urban setting could cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and devastate buildings and physical infrastructure for miles. While not as damaging, a radiological dispersal device could nonetheless cause hundreds of millions of dollars in socioeconomic costs as a large part of a city would have to be evacuated--and possibly remain inaccessible--until an extensive radiological decontamination effort was completed. Accordingly, the GNDA remains our country's principal strategy in protecting the homeland from the consequences of nuclear terrorism. The GNDA is a multi-departmental effort coordinated by DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses issues related to possible changes to the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program, a topic that we have reported on in the past. At the end of chargeback year 2010, the FECA program, administered by the Department of Labor (Labor) had paid more than $1.88 billion in wage-loss compensation, impairment, and death benefits, and another $898.1 million for medical and rehabilitation services and supplies. Currently, FECA benefits are paid to federal employees who are unable to work because of injuries sustained while performing their federal duties, including those who are at or older than retirement age. Concerns have been raised that federal employees on FECA receive benefits that could be more generous than under the traditional federal retirement system and that the program may have unintended incentives for beneficiaries to remain on the FECA program beyond the traditional retirement age. Over the past 30 years, there have been various proposals to change the FECA program to address this concern. Recent policy proposals to change the way FECA is administered for older beneficiaries share characteristics with past proposals we have discussed in prior work. In August …

Interview with Mavis B. Knight, who was an activist in Dallas. Knight discusses her family growing up in North Carolina, her activism for civil rights for the minority and LGBT communities, her own education, her work in different community programs, and her work in school administration.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Clemens Kathman. Kathman was drafted into the Army in March 1941. He joined the 200th Coast Artillery and traveled to the Philippine Islands. He describes the Japanese bombing Clark Field and then being sent to Bataan. Kathman was captured and became a POW. He details the march to camp that followed and the difficulties that he endured. Kathman was assigned to the burial detail at Camp O’Donnell and describes the duties he performed. He was then sent to Cabanatuan and goes into detail on the diet of the prisoners. Kathman then traveled to Japan in the hold of a freighter. In Japan he suffered a ruptured appendix and was given an improvised treatment by American medics. He ended up in Nagoya and describes his liberation and treatment through his return to the United States.

Transcript of an oral interview with Captain Robert K. Kaufman. Kaufman discusses getting nominated to the US Naval Academy in 1936 and describes some experiences he had there. During his years there he went on summer cruises aboard the USS Arkansas (BB-33) and the USS New York (BB-34), visiting Germany in 1937 and again in 1939. Upon graduation, Kaufman reported aboard the USS Wichita (CA-45) as the communcations officer before it steamed for South America. After a few months, he became a gunnery officer. When th ewar got started, the Wichita cruised to Iceland and patrolled in the Atlantic. Kaufman was aboard the Wichita when the North African invasion occurred and then left the ship to report to submarine school, from which he graduated in June, 1943. From there, he reported aboard the USS Gato (SS-212). Kaufman served aboard the Gato for five war patrols, the last two as the Executive Officer. In March, 1945, he became the Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Submarine Force Commander (Admiral Charles Lockwood) and moved to Guam. He was invited to attend the sirrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) i nTokyo Bay and rode in an airplane from Guam to Saipan with …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Evan Riley. Riley was born in Nashville, Tennessee 5 September 1921. At a very young age, he and his four siblings were placed into an orphanage and he tells of growing up during the Depression. Joining the US Army in 1942, he was selected to attend Officer Candidate School and graduated as a second lieutenant in 1943. He then received training in the tank corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After spending several months at Camp Cooke, California, he requested a transfer to an Airborne unit. He was accepted and sent to Fort Benning, Georgia where he transferred from being a tank officer to being an infantry officer. Upon completing his paratroop training he joined the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division on Luzon in June 1945. The unit was on Okinawa preparing for the invasion of Japan when Japan surrendered. On 28 August 1945 the unit landed at Atsugi, Japan as a part of the Occupation forces. He was then sent to Sendai where he served for nine months before returning to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Following the end of World War II, Riley remained …

Transcript of an oral interview with Burnes R. Whitehead. Mr Whitehead went into the Marine Corps on 10 Jul 1941 and went to boot camp in San Diego. Joined the 2nd Marine Division when it formed up at Camp Elliot and shipped out for Guadalcanal on the USS Alhena (Merchant Marine ship). His battle station for the Guadalcanal invasion was on top of a stack of the USS Alhena with twin Lewis guns. His outfit (2nd Regiment, 2nd Headquarters) went ashore at Tulagi Island but he didn't go ashore. His Headquarters company ended up in Espirtu Santo (New Hebrides) where he got malaria. He was a driver. From there they went by ship to Wellington, New Zealand, started unloading the ship and then got trucked to Paekakariki. They formed the 2nd Raider Battalion there but Whitehead was not part of that unit. He went to Tarawa from there with the 2nd Marine Division and was there for three nights and four days. He was the only survivor out of a Higgins boat. The boat got hung up on a reef and they got hit by a mortar (he received shrapnel in his arm); he was in water up to his …

Transcript of an oral interview with Brigadier General Harry Bayne. Bayne joined the Army Air Corps as a private in September, 1941. By August, 1942, he had attained the rank of flying sergeant, but soon was commissioned a second lieutenant. His first assignement was ferrying airplanes to fields where pilots were training. Eventually, he was sent to India and flew missions carrying fuel over the Himalaya Mountains to bombers and other airplanes operating out of China. He flew sixty-three missions over the HUmp before the end of the war. After the war, he remained in a pilot training command. What follows is a conversation about the remainder of Bayne's career in the military. He flew more planes, closed air bases in Europe, took a young Prince Charles of England for a joy ride in a plane, etc. Bayne also discusses his role in the recovery of the hydrogen bomb that was aboard a B-52 that crashed off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea in 1966.

Transcript of an oral interview with Gilberto Mendez. Mendez's parents left Mexico in 1910 to escape the violence Mexican Revolution and relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where Gilberto was raised until the family moved back to Mexico during the Depression. When Mexico declared war on Germany in 1942, Mendez was drafted into the Mexican Army (Spanish: Erjecito Mexicano) for one year. Upon being discharged from the Mexican Army, Mendez was called up in the US where he volunteered for duty in the US Marine Corps. He trained in Sna Diego and then went to Hawaii. From there, he was attached as a replacement prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima. Mendez landed on Iwo Jima six days after the beginning of the invasion. Mendez then describes action on Iwo Jima in which he faced a banzai charge from Japanese infantry and shot twenty enemy soldiers. After about a week of combat on Iwo Jima, Mendez was wounded by an exploding mortar round and evacuated from the island to a hospital ship. He eventually made his way back to the US where he was discharged from the Marine Corps in November, 1945. Mendez then mentions that he did a little boxing …