A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1996, the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) has been working on an initiative to replace its aging system for paying compensation and pension benefits. In 2005, concerned about the slow pace of development, VBA contracted with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) for an independent evaluation of the project, known as the Veterans Service Network (VETSNET). SEI advised VBA to continue working on the project at a reduced pace while addressing management and organization weaknesses that it determined had hampered the project's progress. GAO was requested to determine to what extent the VETSNET project has followed the course of action recommended by SEI and describe the project's current status. To perform its review, GAO analyzed project documentation, conducted site visits, and interviewed key program officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy Office was established with the appointment of the first Chief Privacy Officer in April 2003, as required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Privacy Office's major responsibilities include: (1) reviewing and approving privacy impact assessments (PIA)--analyses of how personal information is managed in a federal system, (2) integrating privacy considerations into DHS decision making, (3) ensuring compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, and (4) preparing and issuing annual reports and reports on key privacy concerns. GAO's objective was to examine progress made by the Privacy Office in carrying out its statutory responsibilities. GAO did this by comparing statutory requirements with Privacy Office processes, documents, and activities."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) established a goal to achieve total asset visibility (TAV) over 30 years ago, but to date it has been unsuccessful. GAO was requested to (1) determine whether the Army has a systems strategy for achieving TAV, (2) determine if the Army's business system investment governance structure is consistent with DOD guidance, and (3) evaluate the Army's effort to correct previously reported problems with the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP). GAO obtained an understanding of the Army's efforts to achieve TAV, oversee and manage its business system investments, and address previously reported LMP problems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The success of the 2010 Census depends, in part, upon the U.S. Census Bureau's (Bureau) ability to recruit, hire, and train over half a million temporary workers at peak. Under the Comptroller General's authority, GAO reviewed the extent that the Bureau's (1) recruiting and hiring processes for these staff are consistent with selected human capital principles and (2) training delivery and content take into account known challenges. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed relevant reports and past recommendations to select principles for evaluating these activities, reviewed related Bureau documents, observed the 2006 Census Test in South Dakota and Texas, and interviewed Bureau officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through the New Starts program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) identifies and recommends new fixed-guideway transit projects for funding. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) created a separate program, commonly called Small Starts, which is intended to offer a streamlined evaluation and rating process for smaller-scale transit projects. FTA subsequently introduced a separate eligibility category within the Small Starts program for "Very Small Starts" projects. These are simple, low-risk projects that qualify for a simplified evaluation and rating process. SAFETEA-LU requires GAO to annually review FTA's New Starts process. This report presents information on (1) FTA's fiscal year 2008 funding recommendations, (2) the extent to which the New Starts pipeline has changed over time, and (3) future projected trends for the New Starts and Small Starts pipelines. To address these objectives, GAO surveyed 215 project sponsors--78 percent of which responded--and interviewed FTA officials, 15 project sponsors, and 3 industry groups."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to acquire the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system. As required by law, the agency submitted its fiscal year 2007 expenditure plan to congressional appropriations committees, seeking the release of $23.4 million for the development of the system. GAO's objectives in reviewing the expenditure plan were to (1) determine the extent to which the expenditure plan satisfied the legislative conditions specified in the appropriations act; (2) determine the extent to which NARA has implemented GAO's prior recommendations; and (3) provide any other observations about the expenditure plan and the ERA acquisition. GAO reviewed the expenditure plan and analyzed it against the legislative conditions and assessed NARA's progress in addressing prior recommendations. In May 2007, GAO briefed staff of the Senate subcommittee and sent a copy of the briefing to the House and Senate subcommittee staffs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In carrying out its mission to ensure that securities markets are fair, orderly, and efficiently maintained, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relies extensively on computerized systems. Integrating effective information security controls into a layered control strategy is essential to ensure that SEC's financial and sensitive information is protected from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, disclosure, or destruction. As part of its audit of SEC's financial statements, GAO assessed (1) SEC's actions to correct previously reported information security weaknesses and (2) the effectiveness of controls for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of SEC's information systems and information. To do this, GAO examined security policies and artifacts, interviewed pertinent officials, and conducted tests and observations of controls in operation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At a time when U.S. military forces and their equipment are in high demand, effective management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory is critical to ensure that the warfighter has the right items at the right time. The Air Force is the largest contributor to DOD's total on-hand inventory on the basis of inventory value. Under the statutory authority of the Comptroller General to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO determined the extent to which (1) the Air Force's on-order and on-hand inventory reflect the amount of inventory needed to support required inventory levels from fiscal years 2002 through 2005, and (2) the Air Force had shortages in its inventory needed to support required levels during this period. To address these objectives GAO analyzed Air Force secondary inventory data (spare parts such as engines and guided missiles) from fiscal years 2002 through 2005."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a tri-agency acquisition--managed by the Departments of Commerce and Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--which experienced escalating costs, schedule delays, and technical difficulties. These factors led to a June 2006 decision to restructure the program thereby decreasing the program's complexity, increasing its estimated cost to $12.5 billion, and delaying the first two satellites by 3 to 5 years. GAO was asked to (1) assess progress in restructuring the acquisition, (2) evaluate progress in establishing an effective management structure, (3) assess the reliability of the cost and schedule estimate, and (4) identify the status and key risks facing the program's major segments. To do so, GAO analyzed program and contractor data, attended program reviews, and interviewed program officials"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For years, GAO has raised concerns about the ability of the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (Service) to track the amounts it obligates for and spends on timber sales and to use this information in managing the sales. Timber sales are generally carried out by ranger districts (the lowest level of the Service's decentralized organizational structure), which are overseen by national forest offices. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of the Interior also conducts timber sales. This report examines the extent to which (1) the Forest Service tracks timber sales-related obligations and expenditures, including the extent to which the Service uses this information in making management decisions; (2) BLM tracks timber sales-related obligations and expenditures; and (3) both agencies track their timber sales-related revenue."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue. Concerned by reports of significant vulnerabilities in federal computer systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), which permanently authorized and strengthened the information security program, evaluation, and reporting requirements for federal agencies. As required by FISMA to report periodically to Congress, in this report GAO discusses the adequacy and effectiveness of agencies' information security policies and practices and agencies' implementation of FISMA requirements. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed agency, inspectors general (IG), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), congressional, and GAO reports on information security."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Goods imported into the United States under trade preference programs, which extend unilateral tariff reductions to over 130 developing countries to assist their economies, totaled approximately $92 billion in 2006. The United States offers four primary trade preference programs--the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Some economists and others have raised concerns about the programs; for example, because the beneficiaries may lose interest in reciprocal multilateral or bilateral trade liberalization. In addition, the global trade context in which the programs operate is changing. Most U.S. trade preference programs will need to be renewed over the next several years. As a result, Congress needs to reexamine the programs and explore options for improvement. To provide information for such a reexamination, at your request we (1) identified and compared key features of U.S. preference programs, (2) analyzed use of U.S. preference programs by beneficiaries, and (3) examined U.S. agency administrative reviews of preference programs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) relies extensively on information technology (IT) to carry out its mission. For fiscal year 2008, DHS requested about $4 billion--the third largest planned IT expenditure among federal departments. Given the size and significance of DHS's IT investments, GAO's objectives were to determine whether DHS (1) has established the management structure and associated policies and procedures needed to effectively manage these investments and (2) is implementing key practices needed to effectively control them. GAO used its IT Investment Management (ITIM) framework and associated methodology to address these objectives, focusing on the framework's stages related to the investment management provisions of the Clinger-Cohen Act."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oil in aboveground tanks can leak into soil and nearby water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent certain oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in 1973. EPA estimated that, in 2005, about 571,000 facilities were regulated under this rule. When finalizing amendments to the rule in 2002 and 2006 to both strengthen the rule and reduce industry burden, EPA analyzed the amendments' potential impacts and concluded that the amendments were economically justified. As requested, GAO assessed the reasonableness of EPA's economic analyses of the 2002 and 2006 SPCC amendments, using Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines for federal agencies in determining regulatory impacts, among other criteria, and discussed EPA's analyses with EPA officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars on major construction projects that help maintain the nuclear weapons stockpile, conduct research and development, and process nuclear waste so that it can be disposed of. Because of DOE's long-standing project management problems, GAO determined the extent to which (1) DOE's major construction projects are having cost increases and schedule delays and the major factors contributing to these problems and (2) DOE ensures that project designs are sufficiently complete before construction begins to help avoid cost increases and delays. We examined 12 DOE major projects with total costs of about $27 billion, spoke with federal and contractor officials, and reviewed project management documents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2005 Medicare paid over $1.4 billion for anesthesia services. These services are generally provided by anesthesia practitioners, such as anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). A government-sponsored study found that Medicare payments for anesthesia services are lower than private payments. Congress is concerned that this difference may create regional discrepancies in the supply of anesthesia practitioners, and asked GAO to explore this issue. GAO examined (1) the extent to which Medicare payments for anesthesia services were lower than private payments across Medicare payment localities in 2004, (2) whether the supply of anesthesia practitioners across Medicare payment localities in 2004 was related to the differences between Medicare and private payments for anesthesia services or the concentration of Medicare beneficiaries, and (3) compensation levels for anesthesia practitioners in 2005 and trends in graduate training. GAO used claims data from two anesthesia service billing companies that bill private insurance payers and Medicare to calculate payments by payer for seven anesthesia services in 41 Medicare payment localities. GAO also used data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other sources to determine practitioner supply and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 64-million-acre Prairie Pothole Region in the north-central United States provides breeding grounds for over 60 percent of key migratory bird species in the United States. During much of the 20th century, the draining of wetlands and the conversion of prairie to cropland has reduced bird habitat. Under the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program, the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) aims to sustain remaining migratory bird populations by permanently protecting high-priority habitat. Some habitat is temporarily protected under the Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program. In this context, GAO examined (1) the status of the Service's acquisition program in the region, (2) the Service's habitat protection goals for the region, and (3) challenges to achieving these goals. To answer these objectives, GAO examined Service land acquisition data and projected rates of habitat loss."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fiscal year 2006 appropriations act provided $40.15 million for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) program to modernize its information technology (IT) infrastructure. As mandated by the appropriations act, the department is to develop and submit for approval an expenditure plan for the program, referred to as "Atlas," that satisfies certain legislative conditions, including a review by GAO. In performing its review of the Atlas plan, GAO (1) determined whether the plan satisfies certain legislative conditions and (2) provided other observations about the plan and management of the program. To do this, GAO analyzed the fiscal year 2006 Atlas expenditure plan and supporting documents against the legislative conditions, federal requirements, and related best practices. GAO also interviewed relevant DHS officials."

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This report uses the data compiled by WRI to examine a pivotal and long-running issue surrounding U.S. climate change policy, the appropriate roles of developed and developing countries in addressing climate change.

The 110th Congress is addressing many issues that could have a major impact on the U.S. motor vehicle manufacturing industry. This includes adopting new fuel economy standards for automobiles and light trucks (P.L. 110-140), plus consideration of legislation that may be used to help promote the manufacturing of future generations of fuel-efficient vehicles (S. 2191). This report looks at four sets of issues that have received attention in Congress or among the public more widely, with respect to employment in the U.S. motor manufacturing industry.

This report discusses the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) rural housing programs, which include loans for the purchase, repair, or construction of single-family housing; loans and grants to remove health and safety hazards in owner-occupied homes; loans and grants for the construction and purchase of rental housing for farmworkers; loans for the purchase and construction of rental and cooperative housing for the elderly and for rural residents in general; rental assistance payments to make rental housing more affordable; interest subsidies to make homeownership loans more affordable and to enable production of rental housing that is affordable for the target population; and loans for developing building sites upon which rural housing is to be constructed.

This report provides a brief overview of federal statutes and where to find them, both in print and on the internet. When Congress passes a law, it may amend or repeal earlier enactments or it may write on a clean slate. After providing an overview on the basics of federal statutes, this report gives guidance on where federal statutes, in their various forms, may be located on the Internet.

Conservation is playing a prominent role in the development of a farm bill by the 110th Congress. This report introduces some of the issues that are influencing the development of a conservation title. It then reviews the contents of the House-passed bill, H.R. 2419.