A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Control Modernization Program, focusing on: (1) the causes of the problems that have plagued FAA's modernization program for nearly two decades; (2) recent agency efforts to overcome these problems; and (3) the readiness of FAA and others to meet year 2000 requirements."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We are reviewing the Army's plans for deploying and sustaining Stryker brigades. We plan to complete our review and report the results in June 2003. In the meantime, the Army will be conducting an operational evaluation of the first Stryker brigade from late April through May 2003 as required by law. The purpose of this letter is to bring attention to issues concerning the adequacy of the Army's proposed operational evaluation plan. The operational evaluation is intended to facilitate an understanding of the initial brigade's overall capabilities. The evaluation was first directed by the conference report accompanying the 2001 defense authorization act. Subsequently, Congress included the requirement in Section 113 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2002, which provides that (1) the Secretary of the Army is to evaluate the brigade's execution of combat missions across the full spectrum of potential threats and operational scenarios, (2) the Department of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) must approve the Army's operational evaluation plan before the evaluation may be conducted, and (3) the Secretary of Defense is to certify to Congress that the results of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility in preparing for catastrophic terrorist attacks. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges in addressing these issues. Key aspects of this strategy should include a definition and clarification of the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities. GAO has found fragmentation and overlap among federal assistance programs. More than 40 federal entities have roles in combating terrorism, and past federal efforts have resulted in a lack of accountability, a lack of cohesive effort, and program duplication. As state and local officials have noted, this situation has led to confusion, making it difficult to identify available federal preparedness resources and effectively partner with the federal government. Goals and performance measures should be established to guide the nation's preparedness efforts. For the nation's preparedness programs, however, outcomes have yet to be defined in terms of domestic preparedness. Given the recent and proposed increases in preparedness funding, real and meaningful improvements in preparedness and establishing clear goals and performance measures …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census, House Committee on Government Reform asked GAO to testify on its experiences with the use of data mining as part of its audits and investigations of various government programs. GAO's testimony focused on (1) examples and benefits of the use of data mining in audits and investigations and (2) some of the future uses and challenges in expanding the use of data mining in audits of federal programs. Much of GAO's experience with data mining to date relates to its audits of the Department of Defense's (DOD) credit card programs."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Education's new rule on providing assistance to states for the education of children with disabilities and the early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule would implement changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part B) and the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of the act) by the 1997 amendments to the act; (2) the rule would revise the requirements on state complaint procedures under the Parts B and C programs; and (3) Education complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory board's statement of federal financial accounting standards (SFFAS). The statement presents amendments to SFFAS No. 8 and No. 6 and rescinds SFFAS No. 11."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Many in Congress, as well as many transportation experts, believe more money needs to be spent to keep up with the country's surface transportation needs. As Congress considers reauthorization of the nation's surface transportation laws, many observers believe increased private participation and investment in transportation can help meet these needs. GAO was asked to examine cases where state and local governments have used active private sector sponsorship and investment on major highway and transit projects where the private sector was the primary stakeholder in designing, financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining such projects. Among its objectives, GAO (1) identified the extent to which states have used active private sponsorship and investment to finance and build highway and transit projects; (2) identified some advantages, from the perspective of state and local governments, resulting from private sponsorship and investment and some tradeoffs;(3) determined challenges that the private sector faced in these projects; and (4) presented legislative proposals that could help increase private sponsorship and investment in highway and transit projects. We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for its review and comment. DOT …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) single-family mortgage insurance program, focusing on: (1) the activities of FHA's home mortgage insurance program, including the extent to which home buyers use FHA insurance, the characteristics of these home buyers--including whether they were first-time home buyers--and how many of them might also qualify for private mortgage insurance; (2) comparing the insurance terms available through FHA's principal single-family mortgage insurance program with private mortgage insurance and guarantees from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA); and (3) examining the challenges FHA faces in ensuring the financial health of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 authorized an additional Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round in 2005. The legislation requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide Congress in early 2004 with a report that addresses excess infrastructure and certifies that an additional BRAC round is needed and that annual net savings will be realized by each military department not later than fiscal year 2011. GAO is required to assess this information as well as the selection criteria for the 2005 round and report to Congress within 60 days of DOD's submission. The legislation also retains the requirement for GAO to assess the BRAC 2005 decisionmaking process and resulting recommendations. This testimony addresses (1) the BRAC process from a historical perspective, (2) GAO's role in the process, and (3) GAO's initial observations on key issues DOD is required to address in preparation for the 2005 round. Because DOD had not submitted its required 2004 report at the time we completed this statement, this testimony relies on our prior work that addressed issues associated with excess capacity and BRAC savings."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Floods have been, and continue to be, the most destructive natural hazard in terms of damage and economic loss to the nation. From fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 2002, about 900 lives were lost due to flooding and flood damages totaled about $55 billion. Some properties have been repeatedly flooded and the subject of federal flood insurance claims. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for assisting state and local governments, private entities, and individuals to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, including floods. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the primary vehicle for FEMA's efforts to mitigate the impact of floods. The Senate Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, asked GAO to discuss (1) FEMA's approach to flood mitigation, (2) the effect of repetitive loss properties on the NFIP, and (3) recent actions taken or proposed to address the impact of repetitive loss properties on the NFIP."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the small group health insurance market to identify the number of licensed carriers, the largest carriers, and their market share in each state. GAO found that (1) the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, (2) the median market share of the largest carrier was about 33 percent, (3) the five largest carriers, when combined, represented three-quarters or more of the market in 19 of the 34 states reviewed and they represented more than 90 percent in seven states, (4) 25 of 37 states identified Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carrier as the largest carrier offering health insurance in the small group market, and (5) the median market share of all the BCBS carriers in the 34 states supplying information was about 34 percent."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed how Congress can use the Government Performance and Results Act to facilitate agency performance plans to oversee early childhood programs, focusing on: (1) how the Results Act can assist in management and congressional oversight, especially in areas where there are multiple programs; (2) how the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services (HHS)--which together administer more than half of the federal early childhood program funds--addressed early childhood programs in their strategic and fiscal year 1999 and 2000 performance plans and the extent to which recent plans show progress in coordinating early childhood programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Rural Housing Service's (RHS) Section 521 Rental Assistance Program provides rental subsidies to about 250,000 rural tenants. With an annual budget of over $700 million, the program is RHS's largest line-item appropriation, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the agency's budget. In early 2003, RHS reported hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpended balances, primarily tied to 5- and 20-year contracts issued from 1978 through 1982. Concern has arisen that these unexpended balances may be the result of the agency's budget practices, especially its procedures for estimating funding needs. GAO was asked to assess the accuracy of RHS's budget estimates for the rental assistance program, the activity level of rental assistance contracts issued from 1978 through 1997, and the activity level of rental assistance contracts issued from 1998 through 2002 and the accuracy of RHS's estimates of the rate at which these funds would be used."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed how best to ensure the long-term viability of the Social Security Program."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) two major tactical aircraft fighter programs, the F/A-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter, represent an investment of about $280 billion. Problems in the F/A-22 development program have led to a 10-year delay in delivering the initial capability and development cost increases of $16 billion. The Joint Strike Fighter, which experienced problems early in the program, is now at a critical crossroad in development. Any discussion of DOD's sizeable investment that remains in these programs must also be viewed within the context of the fiscal imbalance facing the nation within the next 10 years. GAO was asked to testify on the status of the F/A-22 and draw comparisons between both F/A-22 and Joint Strike Fighter programs' acquisition approaches."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, rates for cable service have increased at a faster pace than the general rate of inflation. GAO agreed to (1) examine the impact of competition on cable rates and service, (2) assess the reliability of information contained in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) annual cable rate report, (3) examine the causes of recent cable rate increases, (4) assess the impact of ownership affiliations in the cable industry, (5) discuss why cable operators group networks into tiers, and (6) discuss options to address factors that could be contributing to cable rate increases. GAO issued its findings and recommendations in a report entitled Telecommunications: Issues Related to Competition and Subscriber Rates in the Cable Television Industry (GAO-04-8). In that report, GAO recommended that the Chairman of FCC take steps to improve the reliability, consistency, and relevance of information on cable rates and competition in the subscription video industry. In commenting on GAO's report, FCC agreed to make changes to its annual cable rate survey, but FCC questioned, on a cost/benefit basis, the utility of revising its process to keep the classification of effective competition up to date. …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the U.S. Capitol Police's administrative operations, focusing on: (1) the U.S. Capitol Police's existing organizational strategies, structures, systems and processes; (2) the evaluation of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of systems, processes, controls, and information for each administrative operation; and (3) opportunities for improving the operational efficiency and effectiveness of each administrative operation. GAO selected Booz-Allen and Hamilton to conduct the evaluation."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the long-standing challenges facing the Department of Veterans Affairs in administering programs that provide financial and other benefits to veterans, their dependents, and survivors, focusing on: (1) recent progress the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has made; (2) areas in which progress is lacking; and (3) changes in program design that could hold potential for greater gains."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Census a high-risk area in part because of information technology (IT) shortcomings and uncertainty over the ultimate cost of the census, now estimated at around $15 billion. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) has since made improvements to various IT systems and taken other steps to mitigate the risks to a successful census. However, last year, GAO noted that a number of challenges and uncertainties remained, and much work remained to be completed under very tight time frames. As requested, this testimony provides an update on the Bureau's readiness for an effective headcount, covering (1) the reliability of key IT systems; (2) a broad range of activities critical to an effective headcount, some of which were problematic in either earlier 2010 operations or in the 2000 Census, and (3) the quality of the Bureau's cost estimates. The testimony is based on previously issued and ongoing GAO work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide (Cost Guide) defines 12 leading practices that are associated with four characteristics—comprehensive, well documented, accurate , and credible —that are important to developing high-quality, reliable project-cost estimates. Using the Cost Guide , GAO determined that the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) cost-estimating guidance conforms to leading practices for developing estimates that are, in general, comprehensive and well-documented . However, AOC's guidance does not substantially conform to leading practices related to developing cost estimates that are accurate and credible . For example, pertaining to the credible characteristic, AOC's guidance does not require determining the confidence level of estimates or quantifying the extent to which a project's costs could vary due to changes in key assumptions. GAO found the strengths and weaknesses of AOC's guidance generally reflected in the cost estimates for AOC's Cannon House Office Building's (Cannon Building) renewal project ($753 million) and Capitol Dome's restoration project ($125 million)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Changes in the climate attributable to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases may have significant environmental and economic impacts in the United States. For example, climate change could threaten coastal areas with rising sea levels, alter agricultural productivity, and increase the intensity and frequency of floods and storms. Federal, state, and local agencies are tasked with a wide array of responsibilities that will be affected by a changing climate, such as managing natural resources. Furthermore, climate change could increase the cost of federal programs, such as crop and flood insurance, and place new stresses on infrastructure. Greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere will continue altering the climate system into the future regardless of emissions control efforts. Therefore, adaptation--defined as adjustments to natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climate change--is an important part of the response to climate change. Today's testimony summarizes GAO's prior and ongoing work examining (1) actions that federal, state, local, and international authorities are taking to adapt to a changing climate, (2) the challenges that federal, state, and local officials face in their efforts to adapt, and (3) actions that the Congress …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Debt protection and credit insurance products can cancel or suspend part or all of a credit card debt under specific circumstances, such as loss of life, disability, or involuntary unemployment. In response to a mandate in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, this report reviews these products' market share and characteristics, federal and state oversight, and advantages and disadvantages to consumers. For this report, GAO analyzed data it had requested on these products from three major credit insurers and the nine largest credit card issuers. These nine issuers represented 85 percent of the credit card market. GAO also reviewed the products' terms and conditions, related marketing materials, and applicable federal and state regulations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made several changes to its criteria for including assets on the National Critical Infrastructure Prioritization Program (NCIPP) list of the nation's highest-priority infrastructure, but has not identified the impact of these changes or validated its approach. In 2009, DHS changed the criteria to make the list entirely consequence based--that is, based on the effect of an event on public health and safety, and economic, psychological, and government mission impacts. Subsequent changes introduced specialized criteria for some sectors and assets. For example, infrastructure that has received a specific, credible threat, but otherwise does not meet NCIPP criteria, may be included on the list. DHS's changes to the NCIPP criteria have changed the composition of the NCIPP list, which has had an impact on users of the list, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, DHS has not reviewed the impact of changes on users nor validated its approach to developing the list. While the change to an entirely consequence-based list created a common approach to identify infrastructure and align the program with applicable laws and the National Infrastructure Protection …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2009, following the expenditure of close to $3 billion and a critical Nunn-McCurdy breach of the cost growth threshold, the Department of Defense (DOD) terminated the Navy's VH-71 presidential helicopter acquisition program and contract because of cost growth, schedule delays, and projected system performance. The Presidential Helicopter VXX program is a successor Navy program to the terminated VH-71 program acquisition and has been initiated to develop aircraft to replace the current, aging presidential helicopter fleet. The Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (the Act) directed GAO to review and report annually to the congressional defense committees on the VXX program through 2013. This is the first of the required GAO reports. It discusses (1) major lessons learned from the terminated VH-71 program that should be applied to the follow-on VXX program and (2) the current acquisition approach of the VXX program and sufficiency of the underlying acquisition plans and related documentation."