A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates industries that affect the lives of virtually all Americans. FCC-regulated industries provide Americans with daily access to communications services, including wireline and wireless telephone, radio, and television. To ensure FCC is carrying out its mission, the commission requires a significant amount of information, such as ownership and operating information from radio and television stations. In prior reports, GAO has found weaknesses with FCC's information collection, management, and reporting processes. While FCC has taken action, the commission has not implemented all the recommendations associated with information collection, management, and reporting. As requested, this report provides information on (1) the information FCC collects; (2) how FCC collects and manages information; (3) the strengths and weaknesses, if any, in FCC's information collection and management practices; and (4) the status of FCC's internal review of its information collection and management practices. To complete this work, GAO gathered information on FCC's information collection efforts, reviewed information collection and management practices for 30 collection instruments, interviewed agency officials and industry stakeholders, and reviewed relevant laws and guidance. FCC provided comments which discuss its efforts to improve …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Forest Service's change in accounting for roadbed costs recorded in its Timber Sales Program Information Reporting System, focusing on: (1) how federal accounting standards are developed; (2) the rationale behind the treatment of stewardship land in federal accounting standards; (3) the rationale behind the Forest Service's accounting change; and (4) whether the Forest Service appropriately implemented the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standard (SFFAS) No. 6as it relates to timber roadbed costs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A terrorist's use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or improvised nuclear device (IND) to release radioactive materials into the environment could have devastating consequences. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which the federal government is planning to fulfill its responsibilities to help cities and their states clean up contaminated areas from RDD and IND incidents, (2) what is known about the federal government's capability to effectively clean up these contaminated areas, and (3) suggestions for improving federal preparedness to help cities and states recover from these incidents. The report also discusses recovery activities in the United Kingdom. GAO reviewed federal laws and guidance; interviewed officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Energy (DOE), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and surveyed emergency management officials from 13 cities at high risk of attack, their 10 states, and FEMA and EPA regional offices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With current rising unemployment rates and the need for a more skilled workforce, it is important for the Department of Labor's (Labor) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to invest in sound research that identifies the most effective and efficient ways to train and employ workers for 21st century jobs. While ETA traditionally has played an important role in providing job training, employment assistance, and labor market information for the nation's workers, the current unemployment crisis has made this role more critical. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobless rates have increased over the past year in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In particular, several states have reported unemployment rates well over 10 percent. As ETA's new leadership works to help the nation meet these economic challenges, it must have solid information that is supported by sound research to guide decision-making. Since 2002, GAO and others have criticized ETA for not focusing sufficient attention on its research program, particularly with regard to complying with congressional mandates, conducting policy-relevant research, and disseminating key research findings in a timely way. In this context, we have …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2005, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) was established within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enhance and coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to combat nuclear smuggling domestically and overseas. DNDO was directed to develop, in coordination with the departments of Defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), and State (State), a global strategy for nuclear detection--a system of radiation detection equipment and interdiction activities domestically and abroad. GAO was asked to examine (1) DNDO's progress in developing programs to address critical gaps in preventing nuclear smuggling domestically, (2) DNDO's role in supporting other agencies' efforts to combat nuclear smuggling overseas, and (3) the amount budgeted by DHS, DOD, DOE, and State for programs that constitute the global nuclear detection strategy. To do so, GAO analyzed agency documents; interviewed agency, state, and local officials; and visited select pilot program locations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During this decade, the Coast Guard has been challenged with expanded mission responsibilities, and concerns have been raised about whether sufficient personnel exist within the Coast Guard to fulfill these mission responsibilities. The terrorist attacks of September 11th resulted in additional and expanded security-related mission areas, while major natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, provided lessons learned in allocating personnel and other resources across Coast Guard units. However, the impact of expanding Coast Guard missions and the increasing nationwide need for mission-ready Coast Guard units underscored shortcomings in the Coast Guard's ability to effectively allocate resources, such as personnel, ensure readiness levels, and maintain mission competency. GAO, the Offices of Inspector General at first the Department of Transportation and then the Department of Homeland Security, the National Transportation Safety Board, Congress, and the Coast Guard itself have reported on these types of personnel concerns both before and after the 2001 attacks. Commenting on the Coast Guard's fiscal year 2009 appropriations, congressional appropriators noted in a Senate Appropriations Committee Report that while the Coast Guard workforce is approximately the same size today as it was at the end of …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) new rule concerning containing pseudorabies in swine. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would establish the animal health regulations to provide for the payment of indemnity for the voluntary depopulation of herds of swine known to be infected with pseudorabies; (2) APHIS states that the payment of indemnity will encourage depopulation of infected herds and, therefore, will reduce the risk of other swine becoming infected with the disease; and (4) APHIS complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has for many years warned that our nation is on an imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path. During the past 3 years, the Comptroller General has traveled to 25 states as part of the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour. Members of this diverse group of policy experts agree that finding solutions to the nation's long-term fiscal challenge will require bipartisan cooperation, a willingness to discuss all options, and the courage to make tough choices. At the request of Chairman Conrad and Senator Gregg, the Comptroller General discussed the long-term fiscal outlook, our nation's huge health care challenge, and the shrinking window of opportunity for action."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) safeguards the economic interests of more than 150 million people in six million employee benefit plans. To enforce the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), PWBA investigates employee benefit plans, conducts public education, and has begun a new voluntary correction program. Through its plan investigations, PWBA detects and corrects violations and has a deterrent presence that will prevent future violations. The Office of Enforcement prescribes areas for its regions to investigate. Regional offices have considerable flexibility in implementing PWBA's enforcement strategy by focusing most of their investigations on local issues. Although PWBA has taken steps to strengthen its enforcement activities, GAO found weaknesses in PWBA's enforcement strategy management and investigative process, its overall human capital management, and its measures for addressing program performance."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Biennial Financial Management Improvement Plan to determine whether the: (1) concept of operations included the critical elements necessary for producing sustainable financial management improvement over the long term; (2) transition plan provided a strategic-level road map from the current environment to DOD's planned future financial management environment; and (3) implementation of the department's future financial management environment is practical, cost-effective, and feasible."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the impact of welfare reform on the Food Stamp Program, focusing on: (1) the number of states that have adopted or are planning to adopt the Simplified Food Stamp Program; (2) the concerns that may be preventing other states from adopting the simplified program; and (3) the impacts that the adoption of the simplified programs may have on households' eligibility and benefits."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) revised actuarial model for veterans' compensation benefits, focusing on whether: (1) VA's revised actuarial model complies with Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) No. 5; and (2) future liability estimates can be improved."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) oversight of the safety and effectiveness of medical devices marketed in the United States, it inspects domestic and foreign establishments where these devices are manufactured. To help FDA address shortcomings in its inspection program, the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002 required FDA to accredit third parties to inspect certain establishments. In response, FDA has implemented two such voluntary programs. GAO previously reported on the status of one of these programs, citing concerns regarding its implementation and factors that may influence manufacturers' participation. (Medical Devices: Status of FDA's Program for Inspections by Accredited Organizations, GAO-07-157, January 2007.) This statement (1) assesses FDA's management of inspections of establishments--particularly those in foreign countries--manufacturing devices for the U.S. market, and (2) provides the status of FDA's programs for third-party inspections of medical device manufacturing establishments. GAO interviewed FDA officials; reviewed pertinent statutes, regulations, guidance, and reports; and analyzed information from FDA databases. GAO also updated its previous work on FDA's programs for inspections by accredited third parties."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To help measure the quality of the 2000 Census and to possibly adjust for any errors, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) conducted the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.) program. However, after obligating around $207 million for A.C.E. and its predecessor program, Integrated Coverage Measurement (I.C.M.), from fiscal years 1996 through 2001, the Bureau did not use either program to adjust the census numbers. Concerned about the amount of money the Bureau spent on I.C.M. and A.C.E. programs and what was produced in return, the subcommittee asked us to review the objectives and results of the programs, the costs of consultants, and how best to track future coverage measurement activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) efforts to process discrimination complaints, focusing on: (1) the timeliness of USDA's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) processing and closing of program and employment discrimination complaints; and (2) the reasons for delays in the processes."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent federal action had a substantial impact on businesses in both the declared disaster areas and around the nation. In the aftermath of the attacks, the Congress, among other actions, appropriated emergency supplemental funds to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to aid September 11 victims. Given the uniqueness of this disaster and changes in the program, GAO analyzed SBA's lending to September 11 victims, as well as the loan program's performance goals and measures."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Small Business Administration's (SBA), the Department of Education's, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD), the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA), and the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) abilities to reasonably estimate the cost of their loan programs, focusing on: (1) whether they used practices identified by the Credit Reform Task Force as being effective in making these estimates; and (2) the status of the agencies' efforts to ensure that computer systems used to estimate the cost of credit programs are year 2000 compliant."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP performed a technology and performance audit and management review of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), focusing on: (1) the overall effectiveness of FEC in meeting its statutory responsibilities; (2) the appropriateness and effectiveness of the FEC organizational structure, systems, and performance measures for accomplishing its mission; (3) the adequacy of the human resource programs for obtaining and maintaining adequate staff expertise and organizational capacity; (4) the adequacy of the FEC strategic information resources management plan as a tool to increase FEC efficiency and effectiveness through the use of data-processing systems; (5) the adequacy and completeness of internal management needs, as well as the reliability of information provided by these systems; and (6) regulated customer satisfaction with the products and services provided by FEC."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) health care program for women, focusing on: (1) the progress VA made in removing barriers that may prevent women veterans from obtaining VA health care services; and (2) the extent to which VA health care services, particularly gender-specific services, are available to and used by women veterans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of airports' efforts to prepare for the year 2000, focusing on: (1) the status of airports' efforts to help ensure that their computers and electronic equipment will function properly on and after January 1, 2000; (2) how the safety, the security, and the efficiency of the National Airspace System will be affected if airports' year 2000 preparations are not completed in time; and (3) the factors that will affect the progress of airports' preparations for the year 2000."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During the last three years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made significant progress in establishing its national drug formulary, which has generally met with the prescriber acceptance. Most veterans are receiving the drugs the need and rarely register complaints about prescription drugs. However, VA has not been sufficient to ensure that the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) and medical centers comply with formulary policies and that the flexibility given to them does not compromise VA's goal of formulary standardization. Contrary to VA formulary policy, some facilities omitted national formulary drugs or modified the closest drug classes. Although a limited number of drugs to supplement the national formulary is permitted, formulary differences among facilities are likely to become more pronounced, as more drugs are added by VISNs, decreasing formulary standardization. VA recognizes the trade-off between local flexibility and standardization, but it lacks criteria for determining the appropriateness of adding drugs to supplement the national formulary and therefore may not be able to determine whether the decrease in standardization is acceptable."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Environmental problems do not respect national boundaries. These problems include (1) climate change, (2) drought and the expansion of degraded land, (3) environmental cooperation among the countries of North America, (4) illegal trade in endangered species, and (5) substances that deplete the earth's protective ozone layer. To address such problems, the United States and other nations have entered into numerous international environmental agreements. In implementing these agreements, the parties typically commit to establish domestic programs and report periodically on their progress. Developed nations like the United States may also pledge to provide funds to assist developing nations. GAO was asked to examine (1) U.S. actions to fulfill its commitments under five international agreements identified by the requesters, (2) the means used to track these actions, and (3) the results of others' evaluations of these actions for the selected agreements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For years, the disability compensation claims process has been the subject of concern and attention by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Congress, and veteran service organizations (VSO), due in part to long waits for decisions and the large number of claims pending a decision. As GAO and other organizations have reported over the last decade, VA has also faced challenges in improving the accuracy and consistency of disability decisions. GAO was asked to examine (1) trends in VA's disability compensation claims processing at the initial claims and appeals levels and (2) actions that VA has taken to improve its disability claims process. To do this, GAO reviewed and analyzed VA performance data, budget submissions, program documents, and external studies and interviewed VA officials and VSO representatives."