Memorandum of Meeting with Naval Hospital, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point officers regarding initial introduction/orientation of BRAC staff visit.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On June 30, 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) intends to transfer power in Iraq to a fully sovereign Iraqi interim government. CPA and the Iraq Governing Council took a fundamental step toward this goal in March 2004, when they signed the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period (hereafter referred to as the transitional law). The transitional law is intended to govern the affairs of Iraq until Iraqis approve a permanent constitution and a permanent Iraqi government takes office. GAO has ongoing and completed work reviewing various aspects of the U.S. effort to reconstruct Iraq. Our ongoing work includes reviewing the costs associated with reconstruction; the process used to award reconstruction contracts; efforts to develop Iraq's security forces; the rebuilding of Iraq's oil, electricity, and water infrastructure; and programs to help Iraq develop a unified, democratic government. For this report, we describe the following information as it exists at this time: (1) the time frames and Iraqi governmental structures established by the transitional law; (2) arrangements in the law for the U.S.-led multinational force, Iraqi security forces, and militias; and (3) mechanisms …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers the annual Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), which gave more than 22,000 charities access to the federal workplace, helping those in need by collecting more than $250 million in donations during the 2005 campaign. The success of the campaign is predicated on each donor's confidence in a system that ensures donations reach charitable organizations that have met the CFC's specific eligibility requirements and are legitimate charities. For example, to be eligible, each charity must have formally received from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax-exemption designation under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Subcommittee on Oversight is reviewing tax-exempt status entities and asked GAO to determine whether charitable organizations participating in the CFC were remitting their payroll and other taxes to the IRS as required by law. Specifically, GAO was asked to investigate and determine whether and to what extent (1) charities listed in the 2005 CFC have unpaid payroll and other taxes; (2) selected charities, their directors or senior officers are abusing the federal tax system; and (3) OPM screens charities for federal tax problems before allowing them to be listed …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Supplementing our December 2006 report entitled Compacts of Free Association: Micronesia and the Marshall Islands Face Challenges in Planning for Sustainability, Measuring Progress, and Ensuring Accountability, this report provides information on the uses of economic assistance provided under the amended U.S. compacts with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) from 2004 through 2006."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Customs Service's efforts to combat drug-related corruption, focusing on: (1) the extent to which Customs has complied with policies and procedures for ensuring employee integrity; (2) an identification of the types of illegal drug-related activities of which Customs employees on the Southwest Border have been convicted; (3) an identification of the Department of the Treasury's organizational structures, policies, and procedures for handling allegations of drug-related employee misconduct and whether the policies and procedures were followed; and (4) the extent to which lessons learned from corruption cases closed in fiscal years 1992 through 1997 have led to changes in policies and procedures for preventing the drug-related corruption of Customs employees."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although a postsecondary education is vitally important to many individuals and the nation's ability to compete globally, high college tuition rates are prompting concerns that it may remain an elusive goal for some. To help students finance their education, Congress recently raised the ceiling on the amount individual students can borrow under the federal Stafford Loan program (referred to in legislation as "loan limits"). Congress initially did so for first- and second-year undergraduate students as well as for graduate and professional students in academic year (AY) 2007-08, and subsequently for all qualified undergraduate students receiving unsubsidized Stafford loans in AY 2008-09. The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 directed GAO to assess the impact of these increases in the loan limits on tuition and other expenses and borrowing. Since information was available only on the first loan limit increase, we focused on the AY 2007-08 loan limit increase, framing our study with three key questions: (1) What are the patterns in prices and undergraduate enrollment at institutions of higher education since the AY 2007-08 loan limit increases took effect? (2) To what extent did undergraduate …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the Emergency Steel Loan Program, which provides loan guarantees to qualified steel producing companies. GAO found that there has been only one guaranteed loan disbursed by a private lender for $110 million. With an 85 percent guarantee, the federal government's potential loss is $93.5 million, assuming no repayments and no recovery from property pledged as collateral. The financial condition of program applicants is not strong, and repayments of loans depend upon many future factors. Economic analysis indicates a flat demand for steel, moderate prices, and static imports of foreign steel forecasted for 2002 and 2003. Because of the low loan amount, the program has had a minimal overall effect on the U.S. steel industry through March 2001."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Identity theft is a serious and growing problem in the United States. Taxpayers are harmed when identity thieves file fraudulent tax documents using stolen names and Social Security numbers. In 2010 alone, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identified over 245,000 identity theft incidents that affected the tax system. The hundreds of thousands of taxpayers with tax problems caused by identity theft represent a small percentage of the expected 140 million individual returns filed, but for those affected, the problems can be quite serious. GAO was asked to describe, among other things, (1) when IRS detects identity theft based refund and employment fraud, (2) the steps IRS has taken to resolve, detect, and prevent innocent taxpayers' identity theft related problems, and (3) constraints that hinder IRS's ability to address these issues. GAO's testimony is based on its previous work on identity theft. GAO updated its analysis by examining data on identity theft cases and interviewing IRS officials. GAO makes no new recommendations but reports on IRS's efforts to address GAO's earlier recommendation that IRS develop performance measures and collect data suitable for assessing the effectiveness of its identity theft …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The congressionally established unified carrier fee system was not implemented before its predecessor, the Single State Registration System, expired thereby preventing states from collecting fees from for-hire motor carriers and other related entities. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) mandated that a new unified carrier fee system replace the Single State Registration System, which expired on January 1, 2007. The Single State Registration System annually provided 38 states with about $100 million in total fees collected from for-hire interstate motor carriers. States used revenue collected from this system to supplement general funds and conduct safety-related services. Unlike the Single State Registration System, the new system broadened the base of those expected to pay fees to include exempt for-hire motor carriers, private motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. To develop and administer this new fee system, Congress established a Board of Directors. This board is also tasked with administering a federal-interstate Unified Carrier Registration Agreement (UCRA), and issuing rules and regulations to govern this agreement. GAO was asked to examine the progress that the board and the Department of Transportation …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As of April 2007, about 26,000 service members had been injured as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), according to the Department of Defense (DOD). Those service members injured in the line of duty are eligible for military disability compensation. When they leave the military, they may also be eligible for compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In fiscal year 2005 alone, the Army, Navy, and Air Force evaluated over 23,000 military disability retirement cases and, in fiscal year 2004, over $1 billion in permanent and temporary military disability retirement benefits were paid to over 90,000 service members. Through the VA disability compensation and pension claims programs, about $34.5 billion in VA cash disability benefits went to more than 3.5 million veterans and their survivors in fiscal year 2006. On April 23, 2007, we briefed the Commission on the results of our recent studies of DOD and VA disability systems. This report presents the information we provided during that briefing."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Superfund hazardous waste cleanup program, focusing on: (1) the progress, cleanup pace, and accomplishments of the program; (2) trends in the amount of funds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spends on administrative and support activities in the program and the amount of these costs that it recovers from parties contributing to contamination at Superfund sites; (3) the number and types of waste sites that may be cleaned up by the program in the future; and (4) barriers to the redevelopment of brownfields--abandoned and idled industrial properties, often located in economically distressed urban areas--and federal efforts to remove these barriers."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report identifies U.S. locations where beryllium was used in workplace processes or detected as present in the workplace. Data show that beryllium was used or detected at locations in 45 of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. However, the number of locations varied by state. For example, 30 states and the District of Columbia were reported as having from one to 10 locations, while 15 states were reported as having from 11 to 41 locations. The states without reported beryllium use were Alaska, Delaware, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wyoming."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how federal agencies should assess the quality of program performance data."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. Despite a large deployment of resources at all levels, many have regarded the federal response as inadequate. GAO has a body of ongoing work that covers the federal government's preparedness and response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This statement summarizes key points from GAO's report on the military's response to Katrina (GAO-06-643), which was issued earlier this month. It addresses (1) the support that the military provided in responding to Hurricane Katrina along with some of the challenges faced and key lessons learned; (2) actions needed to address these lessons, including GAO's recommendations to the Secretary of Defense; and (3) the extent to which the military is taking actions to identify and address the lessons learned. In its report, GAO made several recommendations to improve the military response to catastrophic disasters. The recommendations called for updating the National Response Plan to reflect proactive functions the military could perform in a catastrophic incident; improving military plans and exercises; improving National Guard, Reserve, and active force integration; and resolving response problems associated with damage assessment, …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been growing about the air quality, visibility, and respiratory illnesses around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. This testimony analyzes recent trends in and contributing factors to (1) visibility impairments, (2) ground-level ozone, and (3) respiratory illnesses. This testimony also examines the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) plans to reduce its emission of regulated pollutants. Visibility impairments and ozone are largely attributable to the following three types of emissions: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. The counties that border the park generally have slightly higher mortality rates from two types of respiratory illness. The three types of emissions interact in the atmosphere to form ozone gas and sulfate particles, which are linked to respiratory illnesses. In response to federal laws and other factors, TVA is making substantial environment-related investments and expects to reduce its annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by 36 percent and its "ozone-season" emissions of nitrogen oxides by 68 percent between 1999 and 2005. This testimony summarizes a May report, (GAO-01-658)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, focusing on: (1) changes in the number of communities and passengers receiving subsidized service; (2) changes in the level of subsidies provided; and (3) reasons why the subsidy levels changed."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the year 2000 compliance status of biomedical equipment, focusing on: (1) the status of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Federal Year 2000 Biomedical Equipment Clearinghouse; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) positions on GAO's recommendation to obtain and review the test results supporting manufacturers' compliance certifications for critical care/life support medical devices; and (3) information on the biomedical equipment compliance status of health care providers."

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 and occupant crash protection. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule amends the occupant crash protection standard to require that future air bags be designed to create less risk of serious air bag-induced injuries than current air bags, particularly for small women and young children; (2) NHTSA complied with the applicable requirements with one exception; (3) the final rule has an announced effective date of June 12, 2000; (4) the Congressional Review Act requires major rules to have a 60-day delay in their effective date following publication in the Federal Register or receipt of the rule by Congress, whichever is later; and (5) the rule was not published in the Federal Register until May 12, 2000, which means the final rule will not have the required 60-day delay in the effective date."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) processed about 137 million individual income tax returns and issued 107 million refunds totaling over $312 billion. The compliance checks it performs before refunds are issued thus could affect millions of taxpayers and billions of dollars of refunds by identifying taxpayers who overclaim or underclaim tax benefits to which they are entitled. Math error authority (MEA) is just one example of the prerefund compliance checks that IRS uses. During 2010, IRS sent taxpayers 8.4 million notices for almost 10.6 million math errors identified on their 2009 individual tax returns. GAO's statement today will focus on three key areas: (1) prerefund checks and their benefits, (2) how those checks can be enhanced immediately, and (3) how they may be enhanced in the future. It is mostly based on GAO's previous work issued from 2008 through 2011, including an interim report on IRS's 2011 tax filing season, and our ongoing analysis of the 2011 filing season."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's long-term fiscal outlook is daunting. While the budget process has not caused the problems we face, the absence of meaningful budget controls and other mechanisms has served to compound our fiscal challenge. Conversely, a process that illuminates the looming fiscal pressures and provides appropriate incentives can at least help decision makers focus on the right questions. Meaningful budget controls and other mechanisms can also help to assure that difficult but necessary choices are made. The budget process needs to provide incentives and signals to address commitments the government has already made and better transparency for and controls on the long-term fiscal exposures being considered. Improvements would include the restoration of realistic discretionary caps; application of pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) discipline to both mandatory spending and revenue legislation; the use of "triggers" for some mandatory programs; and better reporting of fiscal exposures."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal judiciary and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative, which began in the early 1990s and has since faced rising construction costs. As requested, for 33 federal courthouses completed since 2000, GAO examined (1) whether they contain extra space and any costs related to it, (2) how their actual size compares with the congressionally authorized size, (3) how their space based on the judiciary's 10-year estimates of judges compares with the actual number of judges, and (4) whether the level of courtroom sharing supported by the judiciary's data could have changed the amount of space needed in these courthouses. GAO analyzed courthouse planning and use data, visited courthouses, modeled courtroom sharing scenarios, and interviewed judges, GSA officials, and other experts. The findings in this testimony are preliminary because the federal judiciary and GSA are still in the process of commenting on GAO's draft report and did not provide comments on this testimony."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed what the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) have done and what more they could do to reduce drug prices and dispensing costs, focusing on the: (1) extent of joint DOD and VA drug contracting thus far and the prospects for further contracting; (2) prospects of DOD using VA's consolidated mail outpatient pharmacy (CMOP) centers to handle its hospital outpatient pharmacy refill workload; and (3) possible need for measures to facilitate such joint actions to bring about further improvements."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS), focusing on the: (1) appropriateness and effectiveness of the BCRS as a fundraiser; and (2) costs associated with developing and selling the BCRS."