Memorandum of meeting with Congressional Representative from Oklahoma and others to discuss BRAC actions involving McAlester Army Ammunition Plant. Includes MCAAP Study.

Memorandum of Meeting with a delegation representing the 108th Air Refueling Wing from McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.

Prior to the BRAC release, SecDef had directed the USAF to transfer the C-130 FTU to the ARC at a ratio of 75%ARC to 25% active BRAC recommendation reflected this intent with 14 C-130Hs and 4 C-130Js to the 189" AW The "J" model buy was cut from 120 to 60 several month ago, but was reinstated in the budget two days before the BRAC recommendation release Prior to reinstating the "J" buy, only four aircraft were needed in the C-130J FTU, hence it is clear the intent of BRAC was to place the C-I 305 FTU in the 189" AW.

Unit Manpower Document AFNEWS

MEETING SUMMARY: Large delegation from Bay County visited the BRAC Commission offices to express points about proposed BRAC Actions USAF - 55 and Med - 15.

Memorandum of meeting with Ohio Congressional Representatives over the planned movement of people out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. Includes "Report On Air Force Institute Of Technology (AFIT) Study For Senate And House Armed Services Committees."

Memorandum of meeting with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) regarding the recommended DCMA move from leased space in Alexandria, VA to Fort Lee, VA. The document includes The Defense Contract Management Agency: America's Indispensable Military Acquisition Partner presentation (PowerPoint slides).

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies rely extensively on information technology (IT) to effectively implement major government programs. To help agencies manage their substantial IT investments, the Congress has established a statutory framework of requirements, roles, and responsibilities relating to IT management. GAO was asked to summarize its report, being issued today, on federal chief information officers' (CIO) responsibilities, reporting relationships, and tenure and on the challenges that CIOs face ( Federal Chief Information Officers: Responsibilities, Reporting Relationships, Tenure, and Challenges, GAO-04-823, July 21, 2004) and to offer suggestions for actions that both the Congress and the agencies can take in response to these findings."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The overall goal of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, prepared by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is to reduce illicit drug use in the United States. GAO has issued more than 20 products since 2000 examining U.S.-funded international programs aimed at reducing the supply of drugs. These programs have been implemented primarily in drug source countries, such as Colombia and Afghanistan as well drug transit countries, such as Mexico, Guatemala, and Venezuela. They have included interdiction of maritime drug shipments on the high seas, support for foreign military and civilian institutions engaged in drug eradication, detection, and interdiction; and rule of law assistance aimed at helping foreign legal institutions investigate and prosecute drug trafficking, money laundering, and other drug-related crimes."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Crime and violence related to drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America have increased in recent years and pose a threat not only to those areas but to the United States as well, particularly along the Southwest border. The Merida Initiative, announced in 2007, provides about $1.6 billion in law enforcement support to Mexico and Central American countries. The Department of State (State) manages the Initiative while other U.S. agencies play key roles in implementation. This testimony addresses (1) the status of Merida program implementation; (2) State's strategy for implementation; and (3) coordination mechanisms in place for Merida. This testimony is based on a new GAO report being released at today's hearing (GAO-10-837)."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the passage of the General Mining Act of 1872, miners have extracted billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, copper, and other hardrock (locatable) minerals from federal lands without having to pay a royalty. Congress is now considering amending the General Mining Act to, among other things, assess a royalty to ensure that the public is compensated for hardrock minerals extracted from federal lands, as more recently enacted laws require for oil, gas, and other minerals. The vast majority of the federal lands where hardrock mining operations occur are in 12 western states, including Alaska (hereafter referred to as the 12 western states). These western states have statutes governing hardrock mining operations on lands in their state. However, unlike the federal government, these states charge royalties that allow them to share in the proceeds from hardrock minerals extracted from state-owned lands. In addition, most of these states charge taxes, such as severance taxes, mine license taxes, or resource excise taxes, on hardrock mining operations that occur on private, state, and federal lands. Although states may use similar names for functional royalties they assess, there can be wide …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round is the fifth such round undertaken by DOD since 1988 and is the biggest, most complex, and costliest BRAC round ever. With this BRAC round, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to execute hundreds of BRAC actions affecting over 800 defense locations, relocate over 123,000 personnel, and spend over $35 billion--an unprecedented amount, given that DOD has spent nearly $26 billion to implement the four previous BRAC rounds combined when all relevant BRAC actions have been completed. As with prior BRAC rounds, DOD is required to implement the BRAC Commission's 2005 recommendations within 6 years of their approval by the President and transmittal to Congress. Unlike with prior BRAC rounds, DOD is implementing the BRAC 2005 round during a time of conflict and significant increases to the defense budget to support ongoing contingency operations. Compounding this challenge, DOD is also implementing other extensive worldwide transformation initiatives such as the permanent relocation of about 70,000 military personnel to the United States from overseas; transformation of the Army's force structure from an organization based on divisions to more rapidly deployable, combat brigade-based …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the transition of female felony offenders from the District of Columbia (D.C.) Department of Corrections to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), focusing on the: (1) status of the transition; and (2) types of parenting, educational, and job-training programs BOP offers to D.C. female offenders in BOP facilities."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance (Commission) was created on December 28, 2000, by the National Moment of Remembrance Act (act). The Commission's purpose is to sustain the American spirit through acts of remembrance, not only on Memorial Day but also throughout the year, for those who died serving our country. Congress appropriated $1 million to the Commission to fund its operations for fiscal years 2002 through 2004. In fiscal year 2004, the Commission received net appropriations of approximately $249,000, along with cash and in-kind donations of approximately $102,000 from individuals and businesses. In addition, it had approximately $240,000 in unexpended appropriations from prior fiscal years. The Commission expended approximately $257,000 of appropriated funds and funded costs of approximately $102,000 with cash and in-kind donations received during the fiscal year. The act requires us to audit the financial transactions of the Commission, and this report covers our work on its fiscal year 2004 financial transactions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In Berlin, Germany, the transition from analog to digital television (DTV), the DTV transition, culminated in the shutoff of analog television signals in August 2003. As GAO previously reported, the December 2006 deadline for the culmination of the DTV transition in the United States seems unlikely to be met. Failure to meet this deadline will delay the return of valuable spectrum for public safety and other commercial purposes. Thus, the rapid completion of the DTV transition in Berlin has sparked interest among policymakers and industry participants in the United States. At the request of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, GAO examined (1) the structure and regulation of the German television market, (2) how the Berlin DTV transition was achieved, and (3) whether there are critical components of how the DTV transition was achieved in Berlin and other areas of Germany that have relevance to the ongoing DTV transition in the United States."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which Congress established on October 3, 2008 in response to the financial crisis that threatened the stability of the U.S. financial system and the solvency of many financial institutions. Under the original TARP legislation, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) had the authority to purchase or insure $700 billion in troubled assets held by financial institutions. As we have seen, since TARP's inception Treasury has chosen to use those funds for a variety of activities, including injecting capital into key financial institutions, implementing programs to address problems in the securitization markets, providing assistance to the automobile industry and American International Group, Inc. (AIG), and working to help homeowners struggling to keep their homes. Today, some of these programs have been discontinued and others are winding down, but others--such as homeownership preservation programs--may continue for some time. Treasury has also seen some participating institutions repay their TARP funds as they recover their financial health. The prospect for repayment from some other institutions, both large and small, remains unclear. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (the act) that authorized …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony provides a summary of key findings from the comprehensive report on the trade advisory system that we provided to the Congress in 2002, as well as from our more recent report in 2007 on the Congressional and private sector consultations under Trade Promotion Authority. In particular, this testimony highlights our recommendations in three key areas--committee consultations, logistics, and overall system structure--as well as the changes that have been made by the U.S. agencies since those reports were published."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Data sharing can be a valuable tool for federal agencies. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can use data from taxpayers and third parties to better ensure taxpayers meet their obligations. Likewise, Congress has authorized certain agencies access to taxpayer information collected by IRS to better determine eligibility for benefit programs. GAO determined (1) the extent to which the IRS and Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) within the Department of Homeland Security share and verify data and (2) the benefits and challenges, if any, of increasing such activities. GAO also studied IRS's Offshore Voluntary Compliance Initiative (OVCI) to provide information on (1) the characteristics of the taxpayers who came forward under OVCI and (2) how those taxpayers became noncompliant."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed issues related to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) financial situation, focusing on: (1) the Fund's situation regarding quota resources that IMF obtains from its member countries and that is used for most of its financial assistance; (2) the level of resources that the Fund has reported as actually available for lending; and (3) other resources that the Fund potentially has available for conducting its operations, such as resources obtained through borrowing and the Fund's gold holdings."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ports, waterways, and vessels handle more than $700 billion in merchandise annually, and an attack on this system could have a widespread impact on global trade and the economy. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), component agencies have responsibility for securing the maritime environment. The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for protecting, among other things, U.S. economic and security interests in any maritime region. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the United States, securing and facilitating trade, and cargo container security. This testimony discusses DHS and its component agencies' progress, and challenges remaining, regarding (1) strengthening risk management (a strategy to help policymakers make decisions about assessing risks, allocating resources, and acting under conditions of uncertainty), (2) reducing the risk of small-vessel (watercraft less than 300 gross tons used for recreational or commercial purposes) threats, (3) implementing foreign port assessments, and (4) enhancing supply chain security. This statement is based on GAO products issued from December 2005 through June 2010, including selected updates conducted in July 2010."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the face of growing demand for veterans' health care, GAO and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) have raised concerns about the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) ability to maximize its third-party collections to supplement its medical care appropriation. GAO has testified that inadequate patient intake procedures, insufficient documentation by physicians, a shortage of qualified billing coders, and insufficient automation diminished VA's collections. In turn, the OIG reported that VA missed opportunities to bill, had billing backlogs, and did inadequate follow-up on bills. While VA has made improvements in these areas, GAO was asked to review internal control activities over third-party billings and collections at selected medical centers to assess whether they were designed and implemented effectively."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a cooperative program between the Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. allies for developing and producing next generation fighter aircraft to replace aging inventories. As currently planned, the JSF program is DOD's most expensive aircraft program to date, costing an estimated $200 billion to procure about 2,600 aircraft and related support equipment. Many in DOD consider JSF to be a model for future cooperative programs. To determine the implications of the JSF international program structure, GAO identified JSF program relationships and expected benefits, and assessed how DOD is managing challenges associated with partner expectations, technology transfer, and recent technical concerns."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimoney discusses continuing care retirement communities (CCRC), the risks they and their residents face, and their regulation. A growing population of older Americans is seeking options for ensuring that their assets and income in retirement will cover the cost of their housing and health care needs. One option for meeting these long-term care needs is to enter a CCRC, which aims to provide lifelong housing, household assistance, and nursing care in exchange for a sometimes sizable entrance fee and ongoing monthly fees. These communities may appeal to older Americans because they offer an independent lifestyle for as long as possible but also provide the reassurance that, as residents age or become sick or frail, they will receive the care they need within the same community. But choosing to enter a CCRC can be a difficult decision and is not without risk. Moving to a CCRC generally involves a significant financial and emotional investment. Many older Americans sell their homes, which are often their primary assets, to pay the required fees, and, as a result, their ability to support themselves in the long run is inextricably tied to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "One in four bridges in the United States is either structurally deficient and in need of repair, or functionally obsolete and is not adequate for today's traffic. The Highway Bridge Program (HBP), the primary source of federal funding for bridges, provided about $7 billion to states in fiscal year 2010. This testimony addresses (1) the current state of the nation's bridges and the impacts of the HBP and (2) the extent to which the HBP aligns with principles GAO developed to guide the re-examination of surface transportation programs. This testimony is based on prior GAO reports, updated with bridge data and information provided by agency officials."