Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Service Acquisition Reform Act of 2002 seeks to strengthen the acquisition workforce by moving toward a performance-based contracting environment and improving service acquisitions management. During the past decade, federal agencies have substantially increased their purchases of services, particularly for information technology and professional, administrative, and management support. In fiscal year 2001 alone, the federal government acquired $109 billion in services. This money, however, is not always well-spent. GAO continues to find that defense and civilian acquisitions are poorly planned, not adequately completed, and poorly managed. Some leading companies have changed their approach to acquiring services after finding themselves spending a lot of money on services without knowing how much was being spent and where these dollars were going. GAO found that these companies were able to turn this situation around by adopting a more strategic perspective to service spending. Each company focused more on what was good for the company as a whole rather than just individual business units, and each began making decisions using enhanced knowledge about service spending. The companies analyzed their spending services to answer basic questions about how much was being spent and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) how payroll taxes fund Social Security and the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) programs and (2) noncompliance associated with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and efforts to deal with that noncompliance. Payroll taxes fund the Social Security Program and the Medicare HI program. These taxes are paid in equal portions by employees and their employers. Employees and their families become eligible to collect these benefits once workers have been employed for a sufficient period of time. Although Social Security benefits are calculated using a formula that considers lifetime earnings, HI benefits are based on the health of the covered individual and are paid directly to the health care provider. Demographic trends indicate that these programs will impose an increasing burden on the federal budget and the overall economy. Regarding EITC, significant compliance problems can expose the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to billions of dollars in overpayments. EITC noncompliance is identified as taxpayer errors and intent to defraud. IRS and Congress have taken several steps to reduce noncompliance, including the passage of laws that enabled IRS to disallow EITC claims with invalid social security numbers …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on differences in the Army's and Air Force's disbursing and accounting records, focusing on: (1) if, and to what extent, contract payment transactions recorded in the Army and the Air Force official accounting records differed from mechanization of contract administration services (MOCAS) disbursing system records; (2) the types of differences between the disbursing and accounting systems and, to the extent possible, the causes for the differences; and (3) the potential effect any identified deficiencies may have on the Department of Defense's (DOD) planned contract payment system improvements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the efforts of states and the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to reduce Food Stamp trafficking, focusing on the: (1) extent to which the states with statewide electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems are identifying and disqualifying recipients who engage in trafficking; and (2) actions FNS has taken to encourage the states to identify and disqualify recipients engaged in trafficking."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Drawing on GAO's high risk series (GAO-01-241 to GAO-01-263), this testimony discusses major government programs prone to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. This testimony focuses on (1) the range of governmentwide challenges and opportunities the 107th Congress and the new administration face to enhance performance and accountability of the federal government, (2) the major management challenges and program risks facing three key agencies--the Departments of Defense, State, and Veterans Affairs, and (3) whether these departments are meeting performance and accountability goals and measurements that are required under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on recent trends in retention rates among officers and enlisted personnel in the four armed services, focusing on: (1) how much information the Department of Defense (DOD) has on retention trends across the services; and (2) analyzing changes in retention rates in the aggregate and by career stage and occupation from 1988 through 1998."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides grants to state and local governments, universities, and private foundations to help prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist crime victims. OJP bureaus and program offices award both formula and discretionary grants. The monitoring of grant activities is a key management tool to ensure that funds awarded to grantees are being properly spent. In recent years, GAO and others, including OJP, have identified various grant monitoring problems among OJP's bureaus and offices. OJP has begun to work with its bureaus and offices to address these problems, but it is too early to tell whether its efforts will resolve the issues identified."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One-third of the 2.1 million cases of cash assistance provided under federal or state welfare programs in the fall of 2001 went to children. Because no adults in these families received either Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or state maintenance-of-effort funds, work requirements and time limits did not apply. Welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 included a caseload reduction credit that reduces each state's mandated participation rate if its welfare caseload declines. Because of the dramatic declines in welfare caseloads since 1996, states have generally seen greatly reduced participation rates for TANF programs. After accounting for cases involving only children, states excluded 11 percent of the remaining 1.4 million families with an adult from federal or state time limits. States' experiences with work requirements and time limits highlight key issues Congress may wish to consider when reauthorizing TANF provisions, including the relatively few families who have reached their time limit so far and the future adequacy of the federal 20-percent extension."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the negotiations on agricultural trade being conducted by the World Trade Organization (WTO), focusing on: (1) U.S. and other countries' objectives in the agricultural trade negotiations; (2) progress achieved during the 1999 WTO Seattle ministerial conference; and (3) prospects for future negotiations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The current rollover process favors distributions to individual retirement accounts (IRA). Waiting periods to roll into a new employer plan, complex verification procedures to ensure savings are tax-qualified, wide divergences in plans' paperwork, and inefficient practices for processing rollovers make IRA rollovers an easier and faster choice, especially given that IRA providers often offer assistance to plan participants when they roll their savings into an IRA. The Department of Labor (Labor) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provide oversight and guidance for this process generally and can take steps to make plan-to-plan rollovers more efficient, such as reducing the waiting period to roll over into a 401(k) plan and improving the asset verification process. Such actions could help make staying in the 401(k) plan environment a more viable option, allowing participants to make distribution decisions based on their financial circumstances rather than on convenience."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Business Systems Modernization (BSM) program is a multibillion-dollar, high-risk, highly complex effort that involves the development and delivery of a number of modernized systems that are intended to replace the agency's aging business and tax processing systems. As required by law, IRS submitted its fiscal year 2008 expenditure plan in August 2007 to congressional appropriations committees, requesting $235.8 million from the BSM account. GAO's objectives in reviewing the plan were to (1) determine whether it satisfied the conditions specified in the law, (2) determine IRS's progress in implementing prior expenditure plan review recommendations, and (3) provide additional observations about the plan and the BSM program. To accomplish the objectives, GAO analyzed the plan, reviewed related documentation, and interviewed IRS officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains EPA's scientific position on the potential human health effects of exposure to more than 540 chemicals. IRIS is a critical component of EPA's capacity to support scientifically sound environmental decisions, policies, and regulations. GAO was asked to examine (1) the outcome of steps EPA has taken to ensure that IRIS contains current, credible chemical risk information, to address the backlog of ongoing assessments, and to respond to new requirements from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and (2) the potential effects of planned changes to the IRIS assessment process on EPA's ability to ensure that IRIS provides current, credible risk information. To do this work, GAO reviewed and analyzed EPA data and interviewed officials at relevant agencies."

Testimony 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 "Debt buybacks can help advance Treasury’s goals under a variety of budget and market conditions. For example, Treasury currently faces rollover peaks—large increases in the amounts of maturing debt that must be refinanced at a given time—which expose Treasury to the risk of refinancing large amounts of debt when interest rates are less favorable. All four of our case study countries use debt buybacks to mitigate rollover risk. Buybacks can also be used to enhance liquidity, which can be adversely affected when the growth in borrowing slows rapidly and issue sizes decline significantly. GAO’s illustrative analysis of Treasury’s past buyback program showed that, had Treasury refinanced the debt by simultaneously issuing new debt, it could have captured a liquidity premium—the additional price investors are willing to pay for securities that can be easily traded—which would reduce interest costs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Future Combat System (FCS) program--which comprises 14 integrated weapon systems and an advanced information network--is the centerpiece of the Army's effort to transition to a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force. The substantial technical challenges, the Army's acquisition strategy, and the cost of the program are among the reasons why the program is recognized as needing special oversight and review. Section 211 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 requires GAO to report annually on the FCS program. This report includes an examination of (1) how the definition, development, and demonstration of FCS capabilities are proceeding, particularly in light of the go/no-go decision scheduled for 2009; (2) the Army's plans for making production commitments for FCS and any risks related to the completion of development; and (3) the estimated costs for developing and producing FCS."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has continuing efforts to modernize its airlift and tanker fleets by investing billions of dollars to modify legacy airlift systems, such as the C-5 and C-130, and procure new aircraft, such as a tanker replacement. Acquisition has been on GAO's list as a high risk area since 1990. GAO has reported that elements contributing to a sound business case for an acquisition are missing or incomplete as DOD and the services attempt to acquire new capabilities. Those elements include firm requirements, mature technologies, a knowledge-based acquisition strategy, a realistic cost estimate, and sufficient funding. Acquisition problems that include failure to limit cost growth, schedule delays, and quantity reductions persist, but fiscal realities will not allow budgets to accommodate these problems any longer. Today's testimony addresses (1) the analyses supporting the Department of Defense's (DOD) mobility capabilities and requirements and (2) actions that are needed to improve the outcomes of weapon system acquisitions. For this testimony, GAO drew from issued reports, containing statements of the scope and methodology used, as well as recently completed work not yet reported. GAO's work was performed in accordance …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Army's Future Combat System (FCS) requires a software-based advanced information network to meld people, sensors, and weapons into a cohesive fighting force. As software controls 95 percent of FCS's functionality, it determines the success or failure of the program. The Army contracted with the Boeing Company as a lead systems integrator (LSI) to define, develop and integrate FCS, including software development. GAO must by law report annually on FCS. This is one of two reports to meet this requirement. It addresses risks facing the development of network and software, the practices being used to manage software, and the timing of key network demonstrations. In conducting our work, GAO has contacted numerous DOD, Army, and contractor offices; reviewed technical documents on software and network development and plans; attended meetings; and spoken to Army and other officials on various aspects of FCS network and software development. GAO also performed detailed work at five FCS software developers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Many defense contractor employees work side-by-side with federal employees in Department of Defense (DOD) facilities performing substantially the same tasks affecting billions in DOD spending. Given concerns with protecting the integrity of DOD operations, GAO was asked to assess (1) how many contractor employees work in DOD offices and what type of mission-critical contracted services they perform, (2) what safeguards there are to prevent personal conflicts of interest for contractor employees when performing DOD's tasks, and (3) whether government and defense contractor officials believe additional safeguards are necessary. GAO reviewed conflicts of interest laws and policies and interviewed ethics officials and senior leaders regarding applicability to DOD federal and contractor employees. GAO judgmentally selected and interviewed officials at 21 DOD offices with large contractor workforces, and 23 of their contractors."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) within the Department of Defense (DOD) used the acquisition process prescribed by federal regulations to acquire health care services for the TRICARE Program through the third generation of TRICARE's managed care support contracts (MCSC). This process included a three-phased contract award process outlined in the figure below."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO identified 20 technology transition programs--managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the military departments--that provide structured mechanisms and funding to facilitate technology transition. All of the programs GAO reviewed are consistent in providing opportunities to transition technologies from the science and technology (S&T) environment to a user, such as a weapon system acquisition program or the warfighter in the field. To help speed the delivery of technologies to users, most transition programs target fairly mature technologies, which are suitable for final stages of development and demonstration. Collectively, the programs GAO reviewed obligated about $7.9 billion in Department of Defense (DOD) research, development, test, and evaluation funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to support technology transition."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD's rationale for waiving WSARA's competitive prototyping requirement for CRH addresses one of the two bases provided in the statute; namely that the cost of producing competitive prototypes exceeds the expected life-cycle benefits (in constant dollars) of producing the prototypes. The CRH program's acquisition strategy, which anticipates integrating an existing, in-production and flight-proven aircraft with technologically mature subsystems, is consistent with this rationale. The Air Force believes that any technology risk reduction associated with, or potentially benefitting, the CRH program has already occurred during the efforts to develop these in-production aircraft. This includes any risk reduction that could be achieved through competitive prototyping. In granting the waiver, DOD also found reasonable the Air Force's conclusion that the estimated $725 million cost of conducting competitive prototyping exceeded the maximum expected life-cycle benefits of $12 million. However, the Air Force only evaluated one potential approach to implementing competitive prototyping, which involved funding two contractors for much of the program's system development. This resulted in a high cost estimate for competitive prototyping that is more than 10 times greater than the target unit cost of the helicopter. DOD's policy on economic …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the 2000 national elections, concerns have been raised by various groups regarding the election process, including voting technologies. Beginning in 2001, GAO published a series of reports examining virtually every aspect of the elections process. GAO's complement of reports were used by Congress in framing the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which, among other things, provided for replacement of older voting equipment with more modern electronic voting systems and established the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to lead the nation's election reform efforts. GAO's later reports have raised concerns about the security and reliability of these electronic voting systems, examined the EAC's efforts to address these concerns, and surveyed state and local officials about practices used during the 2004 election, as well as plans for their systems for the 2006 election. Using its published work on electronic voting systems, GAO was asked to testify on (1) the contextual role and characteristics of electronic voting systems, (2) the range of security and reliability concerns that have been reported about these systems, (3) the experiences and management practices of states and local jurisdictions regarding these systems, and (4) the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) goal is to receive 80 percent of all major types of tax returns electronically by 2012. Legislation passed in November 2009 supports the 80 percent goal for individual income tax returns by requiring tax return preparers who file more than 10 individual returns per year to file them electronically, or e-file. In 2009, IRS electronically processed nearly 95.5 million individual tax returns, or roughly two-thirds of all individual tax returns filed. IRS estimated that it saved $3.10 for each e-filed return that it did not have to process on paper. If the remaining paper returns had been e-filed, IRS could have saved about $148 million in processing costs for 2009 alone. In addition to reducing costs, e-filing provides higher accuracy rates, improved convenience, and faster processing and refunds for taxpayers. Furthermore, IRS officials said that having increased information available electronically could improve the effectiveness of IRS's compliance programs and bring in additional enforcement revenue. Congress asked us to review IRS's implementation of the e-file mandate. In response to this request, this report assesses IRS's initial implementation of the mandate. It also …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As requested, we provided for audits of the financial statements of the U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007, and 2006, by contracting with the independent public accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson LLP. The contract required that the audit be conducted in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and the joint GAO/President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) Financial Audit Manual."