A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers the federal crop insurance program with private insurance companies, which, in turn, work with insurance agencies that sell crop insurance. In 2008, according to USDA, the program cost $6.5 billion, including about $2.0 billion in allowances to insurance companies to cover their administrative and operating (A&O) expenses, such as salaries and sales commissions to agencies. GAO was asked to examine (1) the reasons for recent substantial increases in A&O allowances, and the purposes for which insurance companies use these allowances, and (2) insurance agencies' expenses for selling federal crop insurance policies, and questionable practices, if any, that agencies use to compete for business among farmers. GAO analyzed USDA and private insurers' data, among other things."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For over 125 years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), within the Department of the Treasury, has relied on a single contractor to supply the paper for U.S. currency. Such a long-term contracting relationship could contribute to higher costs and other risks. Another federal agency that relied on a single contractor, the U.S. Mint, decided to obtain a second supplier for coin metal. In solicitations for currency paper contracts in 1999 and 2003, BEP took steps to address barriers to competition that GAO had identified in 1998 through a survey of paper manufacturers. This report updates GAO's 1998 report using data from a second survey. It addresses (1) the changes BEP made to encourage competition and the results of its efforts, (2) the steps BEP took to ensure that it paid fair and reasonable prices, and (3) the analysis BEP has done of the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining a second supplier."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD's investment in weapon systems represents one of the largest discretionary items in the budget. The department expects to invest about $900 billion (fiscal year 2008 dollars) over the next 5 years on development and procurement with more than $335 billion invested specifically in major defense acquisition programs. Every dollar spent inefficiently in acquiring weapon systems is less money available for other budget priorities--such as the global war on terror and growing entitlement programs. This testimony focuses on (1) the overall performance of DOD's weapon system investment portfolio; (2) our assessment of 72 weapon programs against best practices standards for successful product developments; and (3) potential solutions and recent DOD actions to improve weapon program outcomes. It is based on GAO-08-467SP, which included our analysis of broad trends in the performance of the programs in DOD's weapon acquisition portfolio and our assessment of 72 defense programs, and recommendations made in past GAO reports. DOD was provided a draft of GAO-08-467SP and had no comments on the overall report, but did provide technical comments on individual assessments. The comments, along with the agency comments received on the individual assessments, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Iraq conflict began in March 2003, the Departments of Defense (DOD) and State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other federal agencies have issued contracts to perform reconstruction activities in Iraq. The large number of contractors working amid continued violence has raised concerns over the use of contractors to support U.S. military and civilian operations overseas, including the cost of workers' compensation insurance provided to contractor employees in Iraq under the Defense Base Act (DBA). We have received requests from over 100 members of Congress asking us to review a number of Iraq-related issues, including issues associated with DBA insurance. Because of the level of interest in issues dealing with Iraq, the Comptroller General initiated this review under his statutory authority. The objectives of our review were to identify the cost to the U.S. government of insurance coverage purchased under DBA and to assess the act's implementation. DBA provides disability and medical benefits for contractors' and subcontractors' employees injured on the job and death benefits to survivors when those employees are killed."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Department of Defense (DOD) spent more than $200 billion to purchase goods and services. To help ensure defense contracts are awarded fairly and current and former employees do not use their knowledge of DOD acquisition activities to gain financial or other benefits, DOD personnel are required to conduct themselves in a manner that meets federal ethics rules and standards. Regulations require DOD to implement an ethics program and provide that contractors meet certain ethics standards. For this report, GAO assessed (1) DOD's efforts to train and counsel its workforce to raise awareness of ethics rules and standards as well as DOD measures of the effectiveness of these efforts and (2) DOD's knowledge of defense contractors' programs to promote ethical standards of conduct."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "DOD is in the midst of a major transformation effort including a number of initiatives to transform its forces and improve its business operations. DOD's legislative initiative would provide for major changes in the civiliean and military human capital management, make major adjustments in the DOD acquisition process, affect DOD's organization structure, and change DOD's reporting requirements to Congress, among other things. DOD's proposed National Security Personnel System (NSPS) would provide for wide-ranging changes in DOD's civilian personnel pay and performance management, collective bargaining, rightsizing, and a variety of other human capital areas. The NSPS would enable DOD to develop and implement a consistent DOD-wide civilian personnel system. This testimony provides GAO's preliminary observations on aspects of DOD's legislative proposal to make changes to its civilian personnel system and poses critical questions that need to be considered."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite its significant investment in business systems, the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to have long-standing financial and business management problems that preclude the department from producing reliable and timely information for making decisions and for accurately reporting on its billions of dollars of assets. GAO was asked to (1) identify DOD's fiscal year 2005 estimated funding for its business systems and (2) determine whether DOD has effective control and accountability over its business systems modernization investments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has created a framework to provide for EEO by prohibiting unlawful discrimination based on such factors as race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability, and offers redress when discrimination and retaliation have occurred. To further EEO and help bring about a diverse workforce, federal agencies are required to carry out affirmative employment and minority recruitment programs. EEOC and OPM have primary responsibility for ensuring that the government's policies for a fair, equitable, and inclusive workplace are carried out. In response to a congressional request that GAO provide information on the federal government's performance in promoting EEO and managing its diverse workforce, this report provides information on (1) the statutory and policy framework relating to EEO, affirmative employment, and workforce diversity and (2) the roles and responsibilities of EEOC and OPM within the framework and how these agencies carry out these roles and responsibilities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 is one of the most recent in a series of efforts to reform the federal grants management system. The act seeks to improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial assistance programs; simplify application and reporting requirements; improve delivery of services to the public; and facilitate greater coordination among those responsible for delivering such services. GAO has a responsibility to evaluate the implementation of this Act by 2005 and will soon begin developing an approach and methodology for the study. This testimony describes the problems fostered by proliferation and fragmentation, which the Act addresses indirectly."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mission is to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the U.S. airspace system. To this end, FAA is modernizing its air traffic control systems, a multibillion dollar effort that GAO has designated as a high-risk program. GAO's research into the practices of successful public- and private-sector organizations has shown that developing and using an enterprise architecture, or blueprint, to guide and constrain systems investments is crucial to the success of such a modernization effort. GAO was asked to determine whether FAA has established effective processes for managing the development and implementation of an enterprise architecture."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act created the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which comprises 20 federal agencies and which the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Office of Financial Education coordinates. Responding to a mandate in the act, GAO assessed the Commission's effectiveness and in December 2006 recommended that the Commission (1) incorporate additional elements into its national strategy to help it serve as a true implementation plan, measure results, and ensure accountability; (2) expand current efforts to cultivate sustainable partnerships with states, localities, nonprofits, and private entities; (3) obtain independent reviewers for the required assessments of overlap in federal activities and the availability and impact of federal materials; and (4) measure customer satisfaction with its Web site and test its usability. This statement discusses the Commission's progress in implementing GAO's recommendations and key challenges the Commission faces. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed annual reports, meeting minutes, budget, and other information from the Commission, Treasury, and related entities, and interviewed selected representatives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because of the susceptibility of health care programs to fraud and abuse, Congress enacted the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) program as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Pub. L. No. 104-191. HIPAA requires that the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice (DOJ) issue a joint annual report to Congress on amounts deposited to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and amounts appropriated from the trust fund for the HCFAC program. It also requires GAO to submit reports biennially. This, our final report required by law, provides the results of our review of amounts reported as (1) deposits to the trust fund, (2) appropriations from the trust fund and justification for expenditure of such amounts by HHS and DOJ, and (3) savings resulting from expenditures from the trust fund. We also report on the repeated late issuance of the annual HCFAC report as well as the status of our prior recommendations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The way in which the federal government views the defense of the United States has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. Consequently, the Department of Defense (DOD) is adjusting its Cold War strategic focus (of defending against massed combat forces) to better encompass defense against the asymmetric threats that small terrorist cells represent to U.S. territory. GAO was asked to review DOD's participation in domestic missions. This testimony represents our preliminary work in response to the request. It addresses (1) the primary differences in military and nonmilitary missions; (2) how DOD evaluates requests for nonmilitary missions; (3) how the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act impacts DOD's nonmilitary missions; (4) whether current management organizations, plans, and forces are adequate to support DOD's domestic missions; and (5) the impact of overseas and domestic missions on military personnel tempo. GAO is making no recommendations in this testimony."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In a letter dated April 15, 2004, the Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Government Reform, requested a monthly breakdown of all expenditures from October 2002 through September 2003 by Independent Counsel David M. Barrett. Under 28 U.S.C 596(c)(1) and (2) (2000), independent counsels are required to report on their expenditures from the permanent, indefinite appropriation established to fund independent counsel activities semiannually. We are required to audit these expenditures and report our findings to appropriate congressional committees. The request letter cited our two most recent semiannual reports, which covered the period in question on independent counsel expenditures."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, federal agencies have increasingly turned to interagency contracts--where one agency, for example, places an order under an existing contract for another agency--as a way to streamline the procurement process. Interagency contracting can offer benefits of improved efficiency, but this approach needs to be effectively managed. To learn more about some of the challenges of interagency contracting, we reviewed the process that the Department of Defense (DOD) used to acquire interrogation and certain other services through the Department of the Interior to support military operations in Iraq. On behalf of DOD, Interior issued 11 task orders, valued at over $66 million, on an existing contract. This report identifies breakdowns in the procurement process, contributing factors that led to the breakdowns, and the extent to which recent actions by Interior and DOD address these contributing factors."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its role as the nation's tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a demanding responsibility for collecting taxes, processing tax returns, and enforcing the nation's tax laws. Since GAO's first audit of IRS's financial statements in fiscal year 1992, a number of weaknesses in IRS's financial management operations have been identified. In related reports, GAO has recommended corrective action to address those weaknesses. Each year, as part of the annual audit of IRS's financial statements, GAO not only makes recommendations to address any new weaknesses identified, but also follows up on the status of weaknesses GAO identified in previous years' audits. The purpose of this report is to assist IRS management in tracking the status of audit recommendations and actions needed to fully address them."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report evaluates the use of profits from the Library of Congress' retail activities to support other Library activities. GAO found that the Library has not yet developed an overall plan, specific business plans, pricing policies, or the accounting procedures to generate profits to support other activities. Although it has policies and procedures to control the use of its logo, the Library has not yet defined the scope and mission of the retailing functions, control of products, or licensing agreements. The Library's three major retail activities--the Photoduplication Service, the Gift Shop, and the Audio Video Laboratory--have not consistently generated profits or covered all costs for the last five years. In each case, the activity's total expenses exceeded its total revenues. GAO found that the Library is not able to conduct a study on generating profits from the its retail activities to support other Library activities or evaluate options."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, conducts supply missions for scientific research in the polar regions. Most unit members do not spend more than 30 consecutive days in the polar regions. Therefore, they are not eligible for hardship duty pay, which requires more than 30 consecutive days of duty in a designated hardship location. Congress considered legislation in 2002 to make an exception to the 30-day hardship duty pay threshold for polar duty. This legislation was not approved. In addition, the 109th Airlift Wing proposed designating polar duty as a hazardous duty. The Conference Report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 directed GAO and DOD to conduct separate reviews of special and incentive pays for polar duty. GAO assessed DOD's rationale for hardship duty pay and the implications of making an exception to hardship duty pay. In addition, GAO assessed the 109th Airlift Wing's justification for hazardous duty pay for polar duty."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1992, the United States began a unilateral moratorium on testing nuclear weapons. Subsequently, in 1993, the President and the Congress directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to ensure the preservation of the United States' core intellectual and technical competencies in nuclear weapons without testing. In response, DOE developed the Stockpile Stewardship Program to (1) increase understanding of the basic phenomena associated with nuclear weapons, (2) provide a better predictive understanding of the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons, and (3) ensure a strong scientific and technical basis for future U. S. nuclear weapons policy objectives. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within DOE, is responsible for carrying out the Stockpile Stewardship Program. This responsibility encompasses many different tasks, including activities associated with the research, design, development, simulation, modeling, and nonnuclear testing of nuclear weapons, as well as the planning, assessment, and certification of the weapons' safety and reliability. Three nuclear weapons design laboratories support NNSA's mission: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, and Sandia National Laboratories in California and New …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Media reports in 2005 and 2006 highlighted serious problems at organ transplant programs, calling attention to possible deficits in federal oversight. Two agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversee organ transplant programs: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) oversees transplant programs that receive Medicare reimbursement, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) oversees the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which manages the nation's organ allocation system. GAO was asked to examine (1) federal oversight of transplant programs at the time the high-profile cases came to light in 2005 and 2006 and (2) changes that federal agencies have made or planned since then to strengthen oversight. GAO interviewed CMS, HRSA, and OPTN officials and reviewed agency documents and data and a CMS draft proposal for sharing information with HRSA."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) prepares an annual report on the implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act. OIRA's fiscal year 2002 report differed from the agency's previous reports in two important respects. First, the report provided agency-specific information on paperwork burden-hour estimates and violations only for the cabinet departments and the Environmental Protection Agency, but not for for the 12 independent agencies that had been included previously. Second, the report merged data on causes of changes in agencies' burden-hour estimates that previously had been presented separately. According to OIRA the agencies were excluded because (1) OMB's authority over the independent agencies is limited, (2) most independent agencies have total burden inventories under 10 million hours, and (3) OMB can best use its limited resources by focusing on the agencies that impose the most paperwork burden and over which OMB has more authority. OIRA classifies modifications in agencies' burden-hour estimates as either "adjustments" or "program changes." Although OIRA reported adjustments and program changes as separate data in fiscal years 2000 and 2001, the fiscal year 2002 report only included information …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to respond to congressional requests regarding questions about a previous testimony entitled, "Critical Mission: Ensuring the Success of the National Security Personnel System.""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA 2008) requires the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly develop and implement comprehensive policies on the care, management, and transition of recovering servicemembers. The Senior Oversight Committee (SOC)--jointly chaired by DOD and VA leadership--has assumed responsibility for these policies. The NDAA 2008 also requires GAO to report on the progress DOD and VA make in developing and implementing the policies. This statement provides preliminary information on (1) the progress DOD and VA have made in jointly developing the comprehensive policies required in the NDAA 2008 and (2) the challenges DOD and VA are encountering in the joint development and initial implementation of these policies. GAO determined the current status of policy development by assessing the status reported by SOC officials and analyzing supporting documentation. To identify challenges, GAO interviewed the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Executive Director and Chief of Staff of the SOC, the departmental co-leads for most of the SOC work groups, the Acting Director of DOD's Office of Transition Policy and Care Coordination, and other knowledgeable …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Grants.gov is the central grant identification and application portal for the more than 1,000 federal grants programs offered by 26 federal grant-making agencies and organizations. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) created Grants.gov, to streamline administrative grant application requirements and reduce the burden on applicants, among other things. On March 6, 2009, Grants.gov began posting specific grant opportunities provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). As a result, submissions have escalated to an unprecedented level. During the first week in April, Grants.gov processed almost 11,500 applications, or about three times the weekly average number of submissions in fiscal year 2008. One day that week Grants.gov accepted 3,555 applications--the largest 1-day total to date. On March 9, 2009, OMB notified federal agencies that over the past several months Grants.gov had experienced increased activity beyond what was originally anticipated by the system, which had at times resulted in noticeably degraded performance. OMB further noted that given the expected increase in application volume because of the Recovery Act, the system was at significant risk of failure, thus potentially hampering Recovery Act implementation. To reduce demand …