A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Act) contains provisions that address a variety of challenges that face the geothermal industry, including the high risk and uncertainty of developing geothermal power plants, lack of sufficient transmission capacity, and delays in federal leasing. Among the provisions are means to simplify federal royalties on geothermal resources while overall collecting the same level of royalty revenue. The Act also changes how these royalties are to be shared with local governments (disbursements). This report describes: (1) the current extent of and potential for geothermal development; (2) challenges faced by developers of geothermal resources; (3) federal, state, and local government actions to address these challenges; and (4) how provisions of the Act are likely to affect federal geothermal royalty disbursement and collections."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO previously reported on how large information resellers like consumer reporting agencies obtain and use Social Security numbers (SSNs). Less is known about information resellers that offer services to the general public over the Internet. Because these resellers provide access to personal information, SSNs could be obtained over the Internet. GAO was asked to examine (1) the types of readily identifiable Internet resellers that have SSN-related services and characteristics of their businesses, (2) the extent to which these resellers sell SSNs, and (3) the applicability of federal privacy laws to Internet resellers."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The fiscal year 2005 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriation set aside $25 million, of the $885 million appropriated for the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), for grants to eligible nonprofit organizations that the Secretary of Homeland Security determined to be at high risk of international terrorist attack. This letter responds to the conference report that directed GAO to review the validity of the threat and risk factors used by DHS to allocate discretionary grants to nonprofit organizations in fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Based on our review of DHS's risk methodology for fiscal year 2006, the criteria in the fiscal year 2005 grant application kit, and conversations with Congressional staff about the conference report, we addressed the following objectives: (1) DHS's methodology for determining risk for urban areas and the nonprofit grant program, and DHS implementation of the program; (2) states' efforts to implement the nonprofit grant program in fiscal year 2005, and (3) whether subgrants were made to nonprofits in fiscal years 2003 and 2004, when funds were not specifically set aside for nonprofits."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not been successful in repeated attempts to modernize its timeworn business systems and operations. In 1995, we first designated DOD's business systems modernization as "high risk," and we continue to designate it as such today. As our research on successful public and private sector organizations has shown, attempting a large-scale systems modernization program in a large organization such as DOD without, among other things, a well-defined enterprise architecture and the associated investment management controls for implementing it often results in systems that are duplicative, stovepiped, non-integrated, and unnecessarily costly to manage, maintain, and operate. In May 2001, we made recommendations to the Secretary of Defense that provided the means for effectively developing and implementing an enterprise architecture and limiting systems investments until the department had a well-defined architecture and a corporate approach to investment control and decision making. In July 2001, the department initiated a business management modernization program to, among other things, develop a business enterprise architecture and establish the investment controls needed to effectively implement it. This effort was begun as part of the Secretary of …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In August and September 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused devastating damage to states along the Gulf Coast. In the aftermath of the storms, many questions were raised about the status of the thousands of children living in the affected areas. We prepared this preliminary information under the Comptroller General's authority to learn more about (1) the number of missing children and the challenges and lessons learned in locating them; (2) the number of foster and other children receiving child welfare services in Louisiana, in particular, who were affected by the storm, and the challenges and lessons learned in locating and serving them; and (3) the number of schoolchildren displaced by the storm, the damage to their schools, and the challenges and lessons learned for educating displaced school-aged children."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for about 2 million active personnel security clearances. About one-third of the clearances are for industry personnel working on contracts for DOD and more than 20 other executive agencies. Delays in determining eligibility for a clearance can heighten the risk that classified information will be disclosed to unauthorized sources and increase contract costs and problems attracting and retaining qualified personnel. On April 28, 2006, DOD announced it had stopped processing security clearance applications for industry personnel because of an overwhelming volume of requests and funding constraints. GAO has reported problems with DOD's security clearance processes since 1981. In January 2005, GAO designated DOD's program a high-risk area because of longstanding delays in completing clearance requests and an inability to accurately estimate and eliminate its clearance backlog. For this statement GAO addresses: (1) key points in the billing dispute between DOD and OPM and (2) some of the major impediments affecting clearances for industry personnel."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through its Section 232 program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures approximately $12.5 billion in mortgages for residential care facilities. In response to a requirement in the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Conference Report and a congressional request, GAO examined (1) HUD's management of the program, including loan underwriting and monitoring; (2) the extent to which HUD's oversight of insured facilities is coordinated with the states' oversight of quality of care; (3) the financial risks the program poses to HUD's General Insurance/Special Risk Insurance (GI/SRI) Fund; and (4) how HUD estimates the annual credit subsidy cost for the program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The need to better protect federal facilities, coupled with federal budget constraints and the increased scrutiny of homeland security funding and programs, has prompted the need for U.S. agencies to measure the performance of their facility protection efforts. In this environment, it is important for these agencies to ensure that investments in facility protection are providing adequate returns in terms of better protecting real property assets against terrorism. In addition, the U.S. government's national strategy, Presidential directive, and guidance on protecting critical infrastructures--including facilities--have identified the use of performance measurement as a key means of assessing the effectiveness of protection programs. Given that protection of critical infrastructures is an important issue for organizations outside of the federal government as well, it is beneficial to look to the experiences of these organizations to identify lessons learned. As such, our objectives for this review were (1) to identify examples of performance measures for facility protection being used by selected organizations outside of the federal government--including private-sector entities, state and local governments, and foreign governments, and (2) to determine the status of U.S. federal agencies' efforts to develop and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through 2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend $20 billion on unmanned aircraft systems, including the Army's "Warrior." Because of congressional concerns that some systems have been more costly and taken more time to produce than predicted, GAO reviewed the Warrior program. This report (1) describes the Army's requirements underlying its decision to acquire Warrior instead of existing systems such as the Air Force's Predator, and (2) assesses whether the Army has established a sound acquisition strategy for the Warrior program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with Public Law 108-324, GAO is required to audit the reimbursement of up to $70 million of appropriated funds to the American Red Cross (Red Cross) for disaster relief associated with 2004 hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. The audit was performed to determine if (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established criteria and defined allowable expenditures to ensure that reimbursement claims paid to the Red Cross met the purposes of the law, (2) reimbursement funds paid to the Red Cross did not duplicate funding by other federal sources, (3) reimbursed funds assisted only eligible states and territories for disaster relief, and (4) reimbursement claims were supported by adequate documentation. The 2004 hurricane season was one of the most destructive in U.S. history. Fifteen named storms resulted in 21 federal disaster declarations. Four hurricanes affecting 19 states and 2 U.S. territories from August 13 through September 26, 2004, triggered the nation's biggest natural-disaster response up to that time. Over 150 deaths and $45 billion of estimated property damage are attributed to hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne in the United States alone. Through …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (the Commission) was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to serve as an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding agency whose mission is to investigate and report on the status of civil rights in the United States. Since its inception, the Commission has conducted hearings and issued reports highlighting critical, controversial civil rights issues, including racial segregation, impediments to voting rights, and affirmative action. To carry out its fact-finding and reporting mission, the Commission is required to submit at least one report annually to the President and Congress on federal civil rights enforcement efforts, among other requirements. Because the Commission has no enforcement power, the key means for achieving its mission lies in its credibility as an independent and impartial fact-finding and reporting organization. To complement this national fact-finding and reporting effort, separate state advisory committees were also authorized in 1957 to advise the Commission and serve as its "eyes and ears" on state and local civil rights issues. State advisory committees are composed of volunteers appointed by the Commission in every state who conduct public hearings on state and local …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The wildland fire problems facing our nation continue to grow. The number of acres burned by wildland fires annually from 2000 to 2005 was 70 percent greater than the average burned annually during the 1990s, while appropriations for the federal government's wildland fire management activities tripled from about $1 billion in fiscal year 1999 to nearly $3 billion in fiscal year 2005. Experts believe that catastrophic damage from wildland fire probably will continue to increase until an adequate long-term federal response, coordinated with others, is implemented and has had time to take effect. In the past 7 years, the federal government has made important progress in putting into place basic components of a framework for managing and responding to the nation's wildland fire problems. Many challenges lie ahead, however, if the federal agencies having primary responsibility for managing wildland fire issues--the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) within the Department of the Interior--are to address the problems in a timely and effective manner. Most notably, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Legion of Valor of the United States of America, for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2003. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prepare for potential attacks in the United States involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Congress approved the development of National Guard Civil Support Teams (CST) tasked to identify chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive weapons; assess consequences; advise civil authorities on response measures; and assist with requests for additional support. Thus far, 36 of the 55 approved teams have been fully certified to conduct their mission. The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is in the process of establishing, certifying, and planning for the long-term sustainment of the CSTs. GAO was asked to address the extent to which (1) the CSTs are ready to conduct their mission and (2) effective administrative mechanisms are in place for the CSTs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for fiscal years ended December 31, 2003, and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum for Fiscal Year 2003. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the National Tropical Botanical Garden for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over 100,000 chemicals, pollutants, and toxic substances are used in the United States and regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA uses risk assessment to determine the health risk from exposure to these substances, collectively referred to as contaminants. In the last 12 years, independent reviewers have examined this process and made recommendations for how it could be improved. GAO was asked to (1) identify the significant recommendations that have been made to improve human health risk assessment; (2) describe what EPA has done to modify its human health risk assessment process; (3) determine the effects these past modifications have had on the preparation of risk assessments; and (4) identify any additional actions experts believe EPA could take to improve its process, and the barriers it would face in doing so."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Many servicemembers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) have engaged in intense and prolonged combat, which research has shown to be strongly associated with the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). GAO, in response to the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, (1) describes DOD's extended health care benefit and VA's health care services for OEF/OIF veterans; (2) analyzes DOD data to determine the number of OEF/OIF servicemembers who may be at risk for PTSD and the number referred for further mental health evaluations; and (3) examines whether DOD can provide reasonable assurance that OEF/OIF servicemembers who need further mental health evaluations receive referrals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, and 2004. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Congressional Award Foundation. This report also presents (1) our opinion on the effectiveness of the Foundation's related internal control as of September 30, 2005, and (2) our conclusion on the Foundation's compliance in fiscal year 2005 with selected provisions of laws and regulations we tested. We conducted our audit pursuant to section 107 of the Congressional Award Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 807), and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. This report also includes our determination required under section 104(c)(2)(A) of the Act (2 U.S.C. 804(c)(2)(A)) relating to the Foundation's financial operations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, the Bureau of the Census (Bureau) changed the day and location of the release of its Income and Poverty Estimates. Some data users believed the change was an effort to suppress unfavorable news and questioned the Bureau's data dissemination practices. GAO was asked to assess whether (1) the Bureau adhered to its dissemination practices for the 2003 and later releases, and (2) the Bureau and 13 other federal statistical agencies follow data release practices recommended by the National Research Council (NRC). GAO reviewed the Bureau's dissemination process for the 2003 thru 2005 Income and Poverty Estimates."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (the fees legislation) required the National Park Service to begin collecting fees from operators that conduct air tours over national park units that meet certain criteria. Currently, only Grand Canyon, Haleakala, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks meet the criteria to charge air tour fees. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in cooperation with the Park Service, also regulates air tours over park units pursuant to the National Parks Overflights Act of 1987 and the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000. GAO was asked to (1) assess the Park Service's collection of air tour fees and (2) identify what factors, if any, hinder the collection of air tour fees. GAO is also providing information on the possible expansion of air tour fees to additional park units."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Due to concerns about domestic violence in the military and its adverse effect on mission readiness, Congress required the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a task force to assess the services' response to domestic violence and recommend improvements. The task force issued three reports containing 194 recommendations. The Fiscal Year 2004 National Defense Authorization Act required GAO to review DOD's progress in implementing the recommendations. This report discusses (1) DOD's ability to report on domestic violence incidents and disciplinary actions, (2) the resources DOD has provided to implement the recommendations, and (3) DOD's specific actions to ensure victim confidentiality and the education of commanding officers, senior enlisted personnel, and chaplains. GAO also examined whether DOD has established an oversight framework to monitor implementation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is the Corps' number-one priority ground system acquisition program and accounts for 25.5 percent of the Corps' total acquisition budget for fiscal years 2006 through 2011. It will replace the current amphibious assault craft and is intended to provide significant increases in mobility, lethality, and reliability. We reviewed the program under the Comptroller General's authority to examine (1) the cost, schedule, and performance of the EFV program during system development and demonstration; (2) factors that have contributed to this performance; and (3) future risks the program faces as it approaches production."