A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the banking, securities, and insurance regulators' efforts to validate their year 2000 preparedness."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is based on our report entitled "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Fewer Eligible Families Have Received Cash Assistance Since the 1990s, and the Recession's Impact on Caseloads Varies by State." As a result of sweeping changes made to federal welfare policy in 1996 with the creation of TANF, welfare changed from a program entitling eligible families to monthly cash payments under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to a capped block grant that emphasized employment and work supports for most adult participants who receive such assistance. With the creation of TANF, the number of families who received cash assistance fell significantly, from 4.8 million families on average each month in 1995--just prior to the creation of TANF--to 1.7 million in 2008. During this time frame, poverty among all children initially fell, from about 21 percent in 1995 to about 16 percent in 2000, and then rose thereafter to 19 percent in 2008. Most families receiving cash assistance are single mothers with children, and children in such families have historically experienced high rates of poverty. Furthermore, the recession, which began in late 2007 and deepened nationally …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is to highlight internal control advice we offered in our December 2002 decision to four certifying officers of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Their July 24, 2002 letter had requested a Comptroller General decision related to certifying payroll payments. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3529, the four certifying officers asked us whether the method of approving an employee's time and attendance (T&A) information in the T&A system, to which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is transitioning, meets the requirements of Title 6 of GAO's Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress has appropriated nearly $700 billion for the global war on terrorism. The majority of these funds have supported U.S. efforts in Iraq. Congressional oversight is crucial to improve performance, ensure accountability, and protect U.S. programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. Since 2003, GAO has issued nearly 130 Iraq-related reports and testimonies. This testimony addresses (1) factors contributing to poor contracting outcomes and accountability, (2) long-standing issues in the Department of Defense's (DOD) management and oversight of contractors supporting deployed forces, and (3) efforts to improve the capacity of the Iraqi government. GAO reviewed U.S. agency documents and interviewed officials from State, DOD, and other agencies; the United Nations (UN); and the Iraqi government. We also made multiple trips to Iraq."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government, including the Department of Defense (DOD), is increasingly relying on contractors to carry out its missions. Governmentwide spending on contractor services has more than doubled in the last 10 years. DOD has used contractors extensively to support troops deployed abroad. The department recently estimated the number of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to be about 196,000. DOD also relies heavily on contractors for various aspects of weapon system logistics support. While contractors, when properly used, can play an important role in helping agencies accomplish their missions, GAO has identified long-standing problems regarding the appropriate role and management of contractors, particularly at DOD. This testimony highlights the challenges federal agencies face related to the increased reliance on contractors and the specific challenges DOD has had in managing its increased reliance on contractors who support deployed troops and who provide logistics support for weapons systems. This testimony also highlights some of the recommendations GAO has made over the past several years to improve DOD's management and oversight of contractors, as well as DOD's actions in response to those recommendations."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) operations and contingency plans for stabilizing the Balkans, focusing on: (1) current and projected security conditions in the Balkans region, particularly with regard to Bosnia and the Serbia province of Kosovo; and (2) the potential impact of these conditions on: (a) prospects for a drawdown of the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia; (b) NATO's current operations around Kosovo; and (c) NATO and U.S. plans to deploy air and ground forces for resolving the ongoing conflict in Kosovo, in particular, ground operations planned for a permissive environment--one where all parties to the conflict agree to the presence and mission of NATO-led forces."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) has given the go ahead to a gun sale, it is still possible for the FBI to receive information from local law enforcement, the courts, or other sources that would prohibit a purchaser from owning a firearm. In these cases, the licensed dealer must be contacted to verify whether the purchaser received the firearm. If so, the local police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are then notified. In these case, ATF guidance requires an investigation and the retrieval of the firearm in coordination with state or local law enforcement. Retained records that were more than one day old but less than 90 days old were used to initiate more than 100 firearm retrievals in the four-month period beginning July 2001, according to FBI officials. As a result, next-day destruction of NICS records could impair the ability of law enforcement to retrieve firearms from persons who were wrongly approved to purchase them."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Coast Guard is in the midst of the largest acquisition program in its history--one that has experienced serious performance and management problems. The Deepwater program is intended to replace or modernize the Coast Guard's fleet of vessels, aircraft, and information management capabilities in order to carry out its missions along our coastlines and farther out at sea. Deepwater incorporates acquisition of 15 major classes of new or upgraded assets--5 major classes each of vessels and aircraft, and 5 other projects, including command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems. To carry out this acquisition, the Coast Guard contracted with a system integrator, Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS). Since 2001, we have reviewed the Deepwater program and have informed Congress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Coast Guard of the risks and uncertainties inherent with such a large acquisition. In March 2004, we made recommendations to the Coast Guard to address three broad areas of concern: improving program management, strengthening contractor accountability, and promoting cost control through greater competition among potential subcontractors. In April 2006 and June 2007, we issued follow-on reports describing efforts …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Following the World Trade Center (WTC) attack, federal funding was provided to government agencies and private organizations to establish programs for screening, monitoring, or treating responders for illnesses and conditions related to the WTC disaster. Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) awards grants for and oversees the WTC health programs that provide services for responders to the WTC attack. Federal funds appropriated or awarded for the WTC health programs from October 2001 through November 2007 have totaled $261.1 million. These funds were provided for screening and monitoring services, outpatient and inpatient treatment, and program support. NIOSH has awarded the bulk of the funding. For fiscal year 2007, NIOSH estimated that medical monitoring, treatment services, and associated program support services for WTC health programs could range in cost from about $230 million to $283 million. However, in July 2007 we reported that NIOSH did not have a reliable cost estimation process. We found that NIOSH and its grantees had included potential costs for certain program changes that might not be …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget request of $525.1 million seeks an increase of 3.9 percent to maintain staff capacity as well as continue necessary maintenance and improvements to our information technology (IT) and building infrastructure. Additionally, receipts and reimbursements, primarily from program and financial audits, and rental income, totaling $30.9 million are expected in FY 2015."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Defense's (DOD) implementation of TRICARE, focusing on the extent to which: (1) beneficiaries enrolled in TRICARE are getting timely access to health care; (2) claims for medical services are paid in a timely and accurate manner; (3) DOD and its contractors are identifying and mitigating fraud and abuse in TRICARE; and (4) DOD's pharmacy programs are cost-effective and consistently serve the needs of all beneficiaries."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its ongoing monitoring of the Forest Service's efforts to improve its financial accountability, focusing on: (1) the historical pattern of the Forest Service's financial management weaknesses; (2) the fundamental problems which the Forest Service must resolve in order to achieve financial accountability; (3) GAO's criteria for placing Forest Service financial management on its high-risk list and what must take place for the agency to be removed from the list; and (4) highlighting corrective measures the agency has under way."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed selected state patient protection provisions already in place and congressional proposals under consideration, focusing on state statutes that relate to seven types of patient protections: (1) coverage of emergency services; (2) access to obstetricians and gynecologists; (3) access to pediatricians; (4) access to other specialists; (5) continuity of care for enrollees whose providers leave the plan; (6) drug formularies; and (7) patient-provider communication."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our recent report on the Department of Energy's (DOE) decision to restructure the FutureGen program. The original FutureGen plant was to capture and store underground about 90 percent of its CO2 emissions. DOE's cost share was to be 74 percent, and industry partners agreed to fund the rest. Concerned about escalating costs, DOE announced in January 2008 that it had decided to restructure FutureGen. In October 2008, DOE received a small number of applications for the restructured FutureGen; however, some of these applications were for proposals outside the restructured FutureGen's scope. As we reported, DOE is currently assessing proposals received and stated it expected to announce a selection of projects by December 2008; however, as of the beginning of March 2009, it had made no decision. DOE requested supplemental information from restructured FutureGen applicants, which will be reviewed before any selection decision. As Congress may know, the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the stimulus law, provides DOE an additional $3.4 billion for "Fossil Energy Research and Development." Such a substantial amount of funding could significantly impact DOE's decisions about …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has distributed over $19 billion in homeland security grants to enhance the nation's preparedness and response capabilities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for all preparedness efforts including allocating and managing these grants. This testimony examines (1) the process and methods to allocate homeland security grants to state and local governments, (2) how DHS communicates with states and localities in making grant allocation decisions, (3) what challenges affect the expeditious spending of DHS grant funds by states and localities; and (4) the extent that DHS measured program outcomes as part of its efforts to monitor the expenditure of grant dollars. GAO's testimony is based on products issued from April 2005 through July 2007 on DHS's grant management system, and on GAO's ongoing mandated work related to FEMA's risk-based grant distribution processes for fiscal years 2007 and 2008. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed relevant documents on FEMA's risk analysis model and interviewed agency officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Global hunger continues to worsen despite world leaders' 1996 pledge--reaffirmed in 2000 and 2009--to halve hunger by 2015. To reverse this trend, in 2009 major donor countries pledged about $22.7 billion in a 3-year commitment to agriculture and food security in developing countries, of which $3.5 billion is the U.S. share. This testimony addresses (1) the types and funding of food security programs and activities of relevant U.S. government agencies and (2) progress in developing an integrated U.S. governmentwide strategy to address global food insecurity and the strategy's potential vulnerabilities. This is based on a new GAO report being released at today's hearing (GAO-10-352)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Forest Service, within the Department of Agriculture, manages over 190 million acres of forest and grassland. The agency is responsible for managing its lands for various purposes--including recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and others--while ensuring that such activities do not impair the lands' long-term productivity. Carrying out these often competing responsibilities has been made more difficult by the increasing cost of wildland fires and the budgetary constraints necessitated by our nation's long-term fiscal outlook. This testimony highlights some of the major management challenges the Forest Service faces in carrying out its land management responsibilities. It is based on numerous reports GAO has issued on a wide variety of the agency's activities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on GAO's high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of March 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and management challenges that GAO has identified at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP's need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program's long-term financial solvency. This testimony 1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing in light of public policy goals for federal involvement in natural catastrophe insurance and 2) highlights operational and management challenges at FEMA that affect the program. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its past work on NFIP and on its ongoing review of FEMA's management of NFIP, which focuses on its planning, policies, processes, and systems. The management review includes areas such as strategic and human capital planning, acquisition management, and intra-agency collaboration."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), under which the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has the authority to purchase and insure up to $700 billion in troubled assets held by financial institutions through its Office of Financial Stability (OFS). As Congress may know, Treasury was granted this authority in response to the financial crisis that has threatened the stability of the U.S. banking system and the solvency of numerous financial institutions. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (the act) that authorized TARP on October 3, 2008, requires GAO to report at least every 60 days on findings resulting from our oversight of the actions taken under TARP. This testimony is based primarily on our January 30, 2009 report, the second under the act's mandate, which covers the actions taken as part of TARP through January 23, 2009, and follows up on the nine recommendations we made in our December 2, 2008 report. This testomony also provides additional information on some recent developments related to TARP, including Treasury's new financial stability plan."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most expensive aircraft acquisition program. DOD is expected to develop, procure, and maintain 2,443 aircraft at a cost of more than $950 billion. DOD plans for the JSF to replace or complement several types of aircraft in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Given the program's cost and importance, it is critical that decisions are made within this program to maximize its benefit to the nation. This testimony highlights a number of those decisions and impacts. It (1) discusses emerging risks to the overall program, and (2) updates information for GAO's cost analysis of last year regarding sole-source and competitive scenarios for acquisition and sustainment of the JSF engine. Information on the overall program is from our mandated annual report, also issued today. GAO tracked annual cost and schedule changes, reasons for changes, decisions affecting development, and compared DOD cost estimating methodologies to best practices. For the two engines, GAO updated cost data from last year's testimony and made new projections."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Companies that develop and produce federal oil and gas resources do so under leases administered by the Department of the Interior (Interior). Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Offshore Minerals Management (OMM) are responsible for overseeing oil and gas operations on federal leases. Companies are required to self- report their production volumes and other data to Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) and to pay royalties either "in value" (payments made in cash), or "in kind" (payments made in oil or gas). GAO's testimony will focus on whether (1) Interior has adequate assurance that it is receiving full compensation for oil and gas produced from federal lands and waters, (2) MMS's compliance efforts provide a check on industry's self-reported data, (3) MMS has reasonable assurance that it is collecting the right amounts of royalty-in-kind oil and gas, and (4) the benefits of the royalty-in-kind program that MMS has reported are reliable. This testimony is based on ongoing work. When this work is complete, we expect to make recommendations to address these and other findings. To address these issues GAO analyzed MMS data, reviewed MMS, and other agency policies …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies collect and use personal information for various purposes from information resellers--companies that amass and sell data from many sources. GAO was asked to testify on its April 2006 report on agency use of reseller data. For that report, GAO was asked to determine how the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State and the Social Security Administration used personal data from resellers and to review the extent to which agencies' policies and practices for handling this information reflected the Fair Information Practices, a set of widely accepted principles for protecting the privacy and security of personal data. GAO was also asked to provide an update on the implementation status of its recommendations and to comment on provisions of the proposed Federal Agency Data Protection Act. In preparing this testimony, GAO relied primarily on its April 2006 report."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The JSF is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition. DOD is seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF program is to provide critical replacement aircraft that will serve as the heart of future tactical air forces. It will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $323 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its work and observations on federal spending to combat terrorism, focusing on: (1) the foreign-origin and domestic terrorism threat; (2) program growth and other issues raised throughout its work on combating terrorism; and (3) steps the executive branch has taken toward improving crosscutting management and coordination and provide some preliminary observations on the 1998 and 1999 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports to Congress on governmentwide spending and budgeting to combat terrorism."