A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) programs were established to clean up hazardous waste sites. Because some sites cannot be cleaned up to allow unrestricted use, institutional controls--legal or administrative restrictions on land or resource use to protect against exposure to the residual contamination--are placed on them. GAO was asked to review the extent to which (1) institutional controls are used at Superfund and RCRA sites and (2) EPA ensures that these controls are implemented, monitored, and enforced. GAO also reviewed EPA's challenges in implementing control tracking systems. To address these issues, GAO examined the use, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of controls at a sample of 268 sites."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to consumer frustration and dissatisfaction with unwanted telemarketing calls, Congress has passed several statutes directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate intrusive and deceptive telemarketing practices, authorizing both agencies to establish the National Do-Not-Call Registry (the national registry), and authorizing FTC to collect fees to fund this national registry. The objective of the national registry is to limit the numbers of unwanted telemarketing calls that registered consumers receive. The Conference Report for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, mandated that GAO evaluate the implementation of the national registry. Specifically, this report addresses (1) how FTC and FCC have implemented and operated the national registry, (2) fees collected to cover costs to operate the national registry, and (3) how FTC has measured the success of the national registry."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To meet urgent needs, DOD can issue undefinitized contract actions (UCA), which authorize contractors to begin work before reaching a final agreement on contract terms. Such actions are considered to be a risky contract vehicle for the government because contractors lack incentives to control costs during this period. Defense regulations provide that the government determination of contractors' allowable profit or fee should reflect any reduced cost risk. Pursuant to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, GAO assessed whether DOD actions taken as required by the act have (1) improved departmental insight and oversight of UCA use and (2) resulted in local commands meeting DOD's standards for documenting the basis for negotiating the contractor profit or fee, definitization timelines, and obligation amounts. GAO reviewed relevant DOD regulations and policies, and contract files for 83 randomly-selected UCAs totaling $6.1 billion at eight local commands. The findings from this contract file review can not be generalized across DOD."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is the federal government's largest purchaser of contractor-provided services, obligating more than $207 billion on services contracts in fiscal year 2009. DOD contract management has been on GAO's high-risk list since 1992, in part because of continued weaknesses in DOD's management and oversight of contracts for services. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed DOD to issue guidance providing for independent management reviews for services acquisitions. The Act required that the guidance provide a means to evaluate specific contracting issues and to address other issues, including identifying procedures for tracking recommendations and disseminating lessons learned. The Act also directed GAO to report on DOD's implementation of its guidance. GAO (1) assessed the extent to which DOD's guidance addressed the Act's requirements and how the guidance was implemented and (2) determined the status of actions taken by the military departments pursuant to DOD's guidance. GAO compared DOD's guidance with the Act's requirements; obtained data on the number of reviews conducted as of September 2009; and analyzed memoranda of 29 acquisitions valued at over $1 billion. In its written comments, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Third party payers, often businesses, reported $6 trillion in miscellaneous income payments to IRS in tax year 2006 on Form 1099- MISC information returns. Payees are to report this income on their tax returns. Even a small share of payers failing to submit 1099-MISCs could result in billions of dollars of unreported payments. IRS data suggest that payees are more likely to report income on their tax returns if IRS receives payers' information returns. GAO was asked to examine 1099- MISC reporting including the extent to which payers fail to submit 1099-MISCs; impediments to payers to submitting1099-MISCs; and whether IRS could better use the 1099-MISCs it currently receives. GAO reviewed IRS documents and compliance data and interviewed officials from IRS, its advisory groups, and others who advise 1099-MISC payers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated $14.5 billion for Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which funds services to students in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I, Part A includes several fiscal requirements, which are designed to prevent local school districts from using federal dollars to replace state and local education funding. One of these measures, Title I comparability, requires districts to provide services with state and local funds to Title I schools that are at least comparable to services provided in schools not served by Title I. State educational agencies monitor district compliance with Title I comparability requirements. Districts may comply with comparability requirements through one of several measures. Under Title I, districts are deemed to be in compliance with comparability requirements if they have established and implemented a districtwide salary schedule; a policy to ensure equivalence among schools in teachers, administrators, and other staff; and a policy to ensure equivalence among schools in the provision of curriculum materials and instructional supplies. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (Education) also allows …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Numerous variables--some of which are under operators' control--influence the ability of transmission pipeline operators to respond to incidents. For example, the location of response personnel and the use of manual or automated valves can affect the amount of time it takes for operators to respond to incidents. However, because the advantages and disadvantages of installing an automated valve are closely related to the specifics of the valve's location, it is appropriate that operators decide whether to install automated valves on a case-by-case basis. Several operators we spoke with have developed approaches to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of installing automated valves, such as using spill-modeling software to estimate the potential amount of product released and extent of damage that would occur in the event of an incident."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of servicemembers with mortgages eligible for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) mortgage protections is unknown because servicers have not collected this information in a comprehensive manner. Based on the limited and nongeneralizeable information that GAO obtained from the three mortgage servicers and the credit union, a small percentage of the total loan portfolios were identified as eligible for SCRA protections. Two large servicers had loan-level data on delinquency rates. For those identified as SCRA-eligible, rates ranged from 16 to 20 percent and from 4 to 8 percent for their other military borrowers. Delinquencies at the credit union were under 1 percent. Some servicemembers appeared to have benefitted from the SCRA interest rate cap of 6 percent, but many eligible borrowers had apparently not taken advantage of this protection. For example, at one institution 82 percent of those who could benefit from the interest rate caps still had mortgage rates above 6 percent. The data also were insufficient to assess the impact of SCRA protections after servicemembers left active duty, although one institution's limited data indicated that military borrowers had a higher risk of delinquency …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The five identified federal agencies (Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Justice, and Transportation and Federal Communications Commission (FCC)) have to varying degrees, coordinated cybersecurity-related activities with state and local governments. These activities included (1) supporting critical infrastructure protection-related planning, (2) issuing grants, (3) sharing information, (4) providing technical assistance, and (5) regulating and overseeing essential functions. However, except for supporting critical infrastructure planning, federal coordination of these activities was generally not targeted towards or focused on the cybersecurity of state and local public safety entities involved in handling 911 emergency calls."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2002, the Attorney General called upon law enforcement to target the "most wanted" international drug traffickers responsible for supplying illegal drugs to America. In September 2002, law enforcement, working through the multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program, developed a list of these drug traffickers, known as the Consolidated Priority Organization Target List (CPOT), to aid federal law enforcement agencies in targeting their drug investigations. Also, the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) collaborated with law enforcement to encourage existing High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) to conduct CPOT investigations. According to ONDCP, the 28 HIDTAs across the nation are located in centers of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation, or distribution. ONDCP distributed discretionary funds to supplement some HIDTAs' existing budgets beginning in fiscal year 2002 to investigate CPOT organizations. Out of concern that a CPOT emphasis on international drug investigations would detract from the HIDTA program's regional emphasis, the Senate Committee on Appropriations directed GAO to examine whether investigations of CPOT organizations are consistent with the HIDTA program's mission and how ONDCP distributes its discretionary funds to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is depending heavily on new space-based technologies to support and transform future military operations. Yet there are concerns that efforts to develop technologies for space systems are not tied to strategic goals for space and are not well planned or coordinated. In the National Defense Authorization Act for 2004, the Congress required DOD to develop a space science and technology (S&T) strategy that sets out goals and a process for achieving those goals. The Congress also required GAO to assess this strategy as well as the required coordination process."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) believes that it is increasingly likely that an adversary will use nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons against U.S. forces. Consequently, DOD doctrine calls for U.S. forces to be sufficiently trained to continue their missions in an NBC-contaminated environment. Given longstanding concerns about the preparedness of DOD's servicemembers in this critical area, GAO has undertaken a body of work covering NBC protective equipment and training. For this review, GAO was asked to determine the following: (1) To what extent do Army and Marine Corps units and personnel attending combat training centers participate in NBC training, and to what extent do these units and personnel perform NBC tasks at the centers to service standards? (2) Do the Army and the Marine Corps report NBC training at the centers in a standardized format that allows the services to identify lessons learned and to do cross-unit and cross-center comparisons?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1992, the Congress has provided more than $7 billion for threat reduction and nonproliferation programs in the former Soviet Union (FSU). These programs have played a key role in addressing the threats of weapons of mass destruction and are currently expanding beyond the FSU. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 mandated that GAO assess (1) Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) strategies guiding their threat reduction and nonproliferation programs and (2) efforts to coordinate DOD, DOE, and Department of State threat reduction and nonproliferation programs that share similar missions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are required to accelerate the exchange of health information between the departments and to develop systems or capabilities that allow for interoperability (generally, the ability of systems to exchange data) and that are compliant with federal standards. The Act also established a joint interagency program office to function as a single point of accountability for the effort, which is to implement such systems or capabilities by September 30, 2009. Further, the Act required that GAO semi-annually report on the progress made in achieving these goals. For this second report, GAO evaluates the departments' progress and plans toward sharing electronic health information that comply with federal standards, and whether the interagency program office is positioned to function as a single point of accountability. To do so, GAO reviewed its past work, analyzed agency documentation, and conducted interviews."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1940, Congress has provided a statutory framework that requires aliens entering or residing in the United States to provide address information. By 1981, aliens who remain in the United States for 30 days or more were required to initially register and report their address information and then to report their change of address only if they move. In the months immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, federal investigators' efforts to locate and interview nearly one-half of the 4,112 nonimmigrant aliens they attempted to contact were impeded by lack of current address information. Nonimmigrant aliens are defined as those who seek temporary entry into the United States for a specific purpose, including those aliens who are in the country as students, international representatives, or temporary workers, or for business or pleasure. Because of growing concern over the government's need to locate aliens, the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 directed GAO to study the feasibility and the utility of a requirement that each nonimmigrant alien in the United States self-report a current address on a yearly basis."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Nationwide, student participation in the National School Lunch Program declined by 1.2 million students (or 3.7 percent) from school year 2010-2011 through school year 2012-2013, after having increased steadily for many years. This decrease was driven primarily by a decline of 1.6 million students eating school lunch who pay full price for meals, despite increases in students eating school lunch who receive free meals. State and local officials reported that the changes to lunch content and nutrition requirements, as well as other factors, influenced student participation. For example, almost all states reported through GAO's national survey that obtaining student acceptance of lunches that complied with the new requirements was challenging during school year 2012-2013, which likely affected participation in the program. Federal, state, and local officials reported that federally-required increases to lunch prices, which affected many districts, also likely influenced participation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Exposure to toxic chemicals or environmental pollutants may harm the health of the nation's 74 million children and contribute to increases in asthma and developmental impairments. In 2007, 66 percent of children lived in counties exceeding allowable levels for at least one of the six principal air pollutants that cause or aggravate asthma, contributing to medical costs of $3.2 billion per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1997, Executive Order 13045 mandated that agencies place a high priority on children's risks and required that policies, programs, activities, and standards address those risks. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Office of Children's Health Protection and convened the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee. This report assesses the extent to which EPA has institutionalized consideration of children's health through (1) strategies and priorities, (2) key offices and other child-focused resources, and (3) participation in interagency efforts. GAO reviewed numerous documents and met with EPA and other officials for this report."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under Section 655 of the Foreign Assistance Act, as amended, the Department of State reports annually to Congress on the aggregate dollar value and quantity of all defense articles and services that State licensed for direct commercial sale to each country. State's report is intended to be an accurate record to ensure that Congress and the public are informed regarding foreign arms sales by U.S. industry. In the course of a previous GAO review on the proliferation of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS),we found that State reported to Congress that it had approved licenses for the commercial sale of Stinger missiles to foreign countries in five instances during fiscal years 2000 and 2002. However, U.S. government policy precludes the commercial sale of Stinger missiles, and State had not approved licenses for the commercial sale of Stinger missiles. State officials stated in May 2004 that the information the department had reported in its fiscal years 2000 and 2002 reports was incorrect. In response to our ongoing review, State submitted an amended 2002 report to Congress in September 2004 and posted corrected 2000 and 2002 reports to its Web site. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of "radiation dose reconstruction" as a tool for determining veterans' eligibility for benefits, focusing on: (1) studies that assessed the validity of dose reconstruction for estimating veterans' radiation exposure and discussing the issue with experts in the field and other knowledgeable individuals; (2) what activities are in place to oversee the dose reconstruction process; and (3) alternatives for deciding veterans' claims for compensation related to radiation exposure."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) decision to select a commercial reactor for the production of tritium and to designate an accelerator to function as a backup, focusing on: (1) whether the cost estimates used by the Secretary of Energy during the process of selecting between the tritium production technology options were comparable and adequately supported; (2) what management, technological, and legal activities could affect the completion of the commercial reactor option on schedule and within budget; and (3) whether DOE's current plan for the development and design of the accelerator option is an effective backup that DOE could construct and operate within cost and schedule estimates."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in December 2006, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) had just completed fiscal year 2006 with its largest mail volume ever--213 billion pieces of mail and a net income of $900 million. Two years later, USPS's mail volume dropped almost 5 percent--the largest single-year decline. The Postmaster General testified last March before this subcommittee that USPS was facing a potential net loss of over $1 billion for fiscal year 2008. He noted that USPS anticipated continued deterioration due to the economic slowdown, as the financial, credit, and housing sectors are among its key business drivers. He also said that the shifts in transactions and messages from mail to electronic communications and from advertising mail to lower-cost electronic media have affected the USPS's financial situation. This testimony focuses on (1) USPS's financial condition and outlook and (2) options and actions for USPS to remain financially viable in the short and long term. It is based on GAO's past work and updated postal financial information. We asked USPS for comments on our statement. USPS generally agreed with the accuracy of our statement …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the future role of the power market administrations (PMA) by providing a PMA-by-PMA analysis of the potential rate changes that would likely be experienced by preference customers who buy power from the Southeastern Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and Western Area Power Administration if the power is sold at market rates."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO analyzed the costs of operating five Superfund cleanup sites, focusing on: (1) what portion of the total funds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spent on each site was used to pay contractors for remedial actions as opposed to other activities and how the contractors spent these funds; and (2) whether the actual cost for remedial actions differed from the estimated costs and if so, why."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Title IV-B of the Social Security Act, comprised of two subparts, is the primary source of federal funding for services to help families address problems that lead to child abuse and neglect and to prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families; however, a number of challenges exist that impair states' ability to deliver and track these services. This testimony is based on findings from three reports issued in 2003 and addresses the following: (1) states' use of Title IV-B funds in providing a wide array of services to prevent the occurrence of abuse, neglect, and unnecessary foster care placements, as well as in providing other child welfare services; (2) factors that hinder states' ability to protect children from abuse and neglect; and (3) the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) role in helping states to overcome these challenges. Findings are based on multiple methodologies, including a survey to child welfare directors on states' use of Title IV-B funds; an analysis of nearly 600 exit interview documents completed by staff who severed their employment from 17 state, 40 county, and 19 private child welfare agencies; and …