A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. ports, waterways, and coastal approaches are part of a system handling more than $700 billion in merchandise annually. With the many possible threats--including transportation and detonation of weapons of mass destruction, suicide attacks against vessels, and others--in the maritime domain, awareness of such threats could give the Coast Guard advance notice to help detect, deter, interdict, and defeat them and protect the U.S. homeland and economy. GAO was asked to review the Coast Guard's efforts to achieve awareness about activity in the maritime domain. This report addresses: the extent to which the Coast Guard (1) has vessel tracking systems in place, (2) can use these systems to track vessels that may be threats, and (3) has coordinated the development and implementation of these systems. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed relevant statutes, regulations, and plans for vessel tracking systems, compared the roles of the planned systems, and interviewed appropriate officials."

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 Agriculture's (USDA) crop insurance program, focusing on whether USDA: (1) has set adequate insurance rates to achieve the legislative requirement of actuarial soundness; (2) appropriately reimburses participating crop insurance companies for their administrative costs; and (3) has established methodologies in the revenue insurance plans that set sound premium rates."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1997, three African-American farmers filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These farmers alleged that USDA had willfully discriminated against them and other African-American farmers by denying their applications for farm loans and benefit programs, or by delaying the processing of their applications, and had failed to properly investigate and resolve their complaints of discrimination. This lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman, was certified by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia as a class action suit on October 9, 1998. On April 14, 1999, District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman approved and entered a consent decree settling this lawsuit. In doing so, the court noted USDA's long-standing discriminatory practices. The court stated that for decades USDA discriminated against African-American farmers by denying, delaying, or otherwise frustrating African-American farmers' applications for farm loans and other credit and benefit programs. The court also noted that USDA disbanded its Office of Civil Rights in 1983, and stopped responding to claims of discrimination. Finally, the court observed that the consent decree would not undo all that had been done to African-American …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP), the Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for cleaning up about 5,400 sites on military bases that have been closed under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, as well as 21,500 sites on active bases and over 4,700 formerly used defense sites (FUDS), properties that DOD owned or controlled and transferred to other parties prior to October 1986. The cleanup of contaminants, such as hazardous chemicals or unexploded ordnance, at BRAC bases has been an impediment to the timely transfer of these properties to parties who can put them to new uses. The goals of DERP include (1) reducing risk to human health and the environment (2) preparing BRAC properties to be environmentally suitable for transfer (3) having final remedies in place and completing response actions and (4) fulfilling other established milestones to demonstrate progress toward meeting program performance goals. This testimony is based on prior work and discusses information on (1) how DOD allocates cleanup funding at all sites with defense waste and (2) BRAC cleanup status. It also summarizes other key issues that GAO has identified in the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A key mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy through its Technical Cooperation (TC) program, which provides equipment, training, fellowships, and other services to its member states. The United States provides approximately 25 percent of the TC program's annual budget. While the vast majority of TC projects have not involved the transfer of sensitive nuclear materials and technology, TC assistance has been provided to countries of proliferation concern. In March 2009, GAO reported on potential proliferation and management concerns related to the program (GAO-09-275). This testimony discusses (1) GAO's findings and recommendations to the Department of State and IAEA in that report and (2) agency progress made to implement those recommendations to address these concerns. This testimony is based on GAO's 2009 report and updated in March 2011 by (1) reviewing documentation on actions taken by State and IAEA in response to the report's recommendations and (2) interviewing State and Department of Energy (DOE) officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has numerous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems--including manned and unmanned airborne, space-borne, maritime, and terrestrial systems--that play critical roles in support of current military operations. The demand for these capabilities has increased dramatically. Today's testimony addresses (1) the challenges the military services and defense agencies face processing, exploiting, and disseminating the information collected by ISR systems and (2) the extent to which the military services and defense agencies have developed the capabilities required to share ISR information. This testimony is based on GAO's January 2010 report on DOD's ISR data processing capabilities. GAO reviewed and analyzed documentation, guidance, and strategies of the military services and defense agencies in regard to processing, exploiting, and disseminating ISR data as well as information-sharing capabilities. GAO also visited numerous commands, military units, and locations in Iraq and the United States."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In a 2004 report, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced the discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems, including possible falsification of records. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. GAO was asked to examine (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an Internet-based system run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect and record information on foreign students, exchange visitors, and their dependents--before they enter the United States, when they enter, and during their stay. GAO has reported (GAO-04-690) that although the system had a number of performance problems during the first year that its use was required, several SEVIS performance indicators were positive at that time (June 2004). Nonetheless, some problems were still being reported by educational organizations. In addition, concerns have been raised that the number of international students and exchange visitors coming to the United States has been negatively affected by the U.S. visa process. Accordingly, the Congress asked GAO to testify on its work on SEVIS and related issues. This testimony is based on its June 2004 report, augmented by more recent GAO work, reports that we issued in February 2004 and 2005 on student and visiting scholar visa processing, and related recent research by others."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with states, plays a critical role in ensuring the financial security of America's workforce. Established in 1935, UI serves two primary objectives: (1) to temporarily replace a portion of earnings for workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own and (2) to help stabilize the economy during recessions by providing unemployed workers money for basic needs, which helps boost demand for goods and services. In fiscal year 2004, approximately 8.8 million workers received UI benefits, totaling $41.3 billion across all UI programs. To gain a better understanding of the UI program, we asked the following questions: (1) How many people ever receive UI benefits during their early working lives, and how many receive UI benefits more than once? and (2) Does UI benefit receipt change over time, and does receipt vary by industry or occupation?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A number of initiatives to improve information sharing have been called for, including the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The 2002 act required the development of policies for sharing classified and sensitive but unclassified homeland security information. The 2004 act called for the development of an Information Sharing Environment for terrorism information. This report examines (1) the status of efforts to establish government-wide information sharing policies and processes and (2) the universe of sensitive but unclassified designations used by the 26 agencies that GAO surveyed and their related policies and procedures."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is the federal government's largest purchaser of contractor services, spending $118 billion in fiscal year 2003 alone--an increase of 66 percent since fiscal year 1999. DOD is expected to rely increasingly on contractors to carry out its mission. In recent reports, DOD has identified inadequate surveillance on service contracts. This report examines how DOD manages service contract surveillance. It looks at the extent of DOD's surveillance on a selection of service contracts, reasons why insufficient surveillance occurred, and efforts to improve surveillance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 2001, about 360,000 reservists have been called to active duty to support the war on terrorism, conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and other operations. Some reservists have been on active duty for a year or more, and the pace of reserve operations is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future. When mobilized for active duty under federal authorities, reservists are eligible to receive health care benefits through DOD's military health care system, TRICARE. When reservists are ordered to active duty for more than 30 days, their families are also eligible for health benefits. DOD supplements its military health care facilities with civilian health care providers through its triple-option TRICARE program. DOD's beneficiaries may enroll in TRICARE's Prime option and go to a network provider to receive care; without enrolling, they can see a network provider through the preferred provider option, Extra; or they may elect to use Standard, the fee-for-service option. Some beneficiaries have raised concerns about difficulties in finding civilian providers--particularly Standard, non-network providers--who will accept TRICARE beneficiaries as patients. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2004, enacted on November 24, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Two years after the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) first made available up to $50 billion for the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, foreclosure rates remain at historically high levels. Treasury recently introduced several new programs intended to further help homeowners. This report examines (1) the status of three of these new programs, (2) characteristics of homeowners with first-lien modifications from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), and (3) the outcomes for borrowers who were denied or fell out of first-lien modifications. To address these questions, GAO analyzed data from Treasury and six large MHA servicers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The media industry plays a vital role in informing and entertaining the public. Media ownership and the availability of diverse programming have been a long-standing concern of Congress. Despite numerous programming choices in television and radio available to the public, some studies have reported that independently produced programming--that is, programming not affiliated with broadcast networks or cable operators--has decreased through the years. This requested report discusses (1) the extent to which the sources of television programming have changed over the last decade, (2) the factors industry stakeholders identified as affecting the availability of independent television programming, and (3) the factors industry stakeholders identified as influencing programming decisions in radio. To address these issues, GAO analyzed data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and industry on sources of broadcast television programming in prime time (weeknights generally from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and companies owning cable networks, as well as radio format data to determine programming variety. GAO also reviewed legal, agency, and industry documents and interviewed industry stakeholders, public interest groups, and others. GAO provided FCC with a draft of this report for comment. In response, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created the Russian Leadership Program in 1999 as a pilot project to promote mutual understanding by exposing emerging Russian leaders to the American economic system and democratic institutions. In 2003, Congress renamed the program the Open World Leadership Center, expanded its scope, and extended eligibility to a number of other countries. Because Open World had not been independently evaluated, GAO was asked to review (1) the program's progress toward achieving its overall purpose and (2) whether it has appropriate financial management and accountability mechanisms in place."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the best practices that can improve the way the Department of Defense (DOD) buys major weapon systems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The current generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been under development for defense applications since the 1980s. UAVs were used in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002 and 2003 to observe, track, target, and strike enemy forces. These successes have heightened interest in UAVs within the Department of Defense (DOD) and the services. GAO was asked to (1) determine how much funding DOD requested, was appropriated, and was obligated for major UAV development efforts during fiscal years 1999-2003 and (2) assess whether DOD's approach to planning for UAVs provides reasonable assurance that its investment in UAVs will facilitate their integration into the force structure."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, Congress has provided about $808 billion to the Department of Defense (DOD) for the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) in addition to funding in DOD's base budget. Prior GAO reports have found DOD's reported GWOT cost data unreliable and found problems with transparency over certain costs. In response, DOD has made several changes to its cost-reporting procedures. Congress has shown interest in increasing the transparency of DOD's cost reporting and funding requests for GWOT. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO assessed (1) DOD's progress in improving the accuracy and reliability of its GWOT cost reporting, and (2) DOD's methodology for reporting GWOT costs by contingency operation. For this engagement, GAO analyzed GWOT cost data and applicable guidance, as well as DOD's corrective actions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO studied the peer review and other quality assurance processes that federal agencies use in conducting scientific research and development, focusing on: (1) defining what is meant by peer review; (2) describing the federal government's peer review policy; (3) describing the peer review practices of 12 federal agencies that conduct scientific research; (4) describing other agencies' quality assurance reviews; and (5) identifying which research is not subject to review."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina severely tested disaster management at the federal, state, and local levels and revealed weaknesses in the basic elements--leadership, capabilities, and accountability--of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. In its 2006 work on the response to Hurricane Katrina, GAO noted that these elements needed to be strengthened. In October 2006, Congress enacted the Post-Katrina Act to address issues identified in the response to Hurricane Katrina. GAO reported in November 2008 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had at least preliminary efforts under way to address most of the provisions, but also identified a number of areas that required further action. This statement discusses select issues within the basic elements related to (1) findings from the response to Hurricane Katrina, (2) provisions of the Post-Katrina Act, and (3) specific actions DHS and FEMA have taken to implement these provisions. GAO's comments are based on GAO products issued from February 2006 through November 2008, and selected updates in March 2009. To obtain updated information, GAO consulted program officials."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The security of U.S. commercial aviation is a long-standing concern, and substantial efforts have been undertaken to strengthen it. One such effort is the development of a new Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) to identify passengers requiring additional security attention. The development of CAPPS II has raised a number of issues, including whether individuals may be inappropriately targeted for additional screening and whether data accessed by the system may compromise passengers' privacy. GAO was asked to summarize the results of its previous report that looked at (1) the development status and plans for CAPPS II; (2) the status of CAPPS II in addressing key developmental, operational, and public acceptance issues; and (3) additional challenges that could impede the successful implementation of the system."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Staffing companies that contract with physicians to staff hospital departments--including emergency departments--are not permitted to bill Medicare. In the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, Congress directed GAO to assess the program integrity implications of enrolling these companies and allowing them to bill Medicare. GAO reviewed about 2.8 million emergency department claims for 2000 from five states and assessed whether contractor physicians retained by staffing companies billed Medicare comparably to other emergency department physicians. GAO also evaluated how the lack of information on staffing companies affects efforts to assure Medicare program integrity."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) new rule on federal motor vehicle safety standards for child restraint systems. GAO noted that: (1) the rule establishes a new federal standard that requires motor vehicle manufacturers to provide motorists with a new way of installing child restraints; (2) vehicles will be equipped with child restraint anchorage systems that are standardized and independent of the vehicle's seat belts; and (3) NHTSA complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Park Service's employee housing program, focusing on: (1) what the Park Service's efforts to implement the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996--one purpose of which was to move the agency to eliminate unnecessary government housing and rely more on the private sector to supply housing for employees; and (2) what impact the action is likely to have."