Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Army's current efforts to transform and modernize its aviation assets began in 1999, seeking to maintain and improve the warfighting capabilities of the existing force as well as to invest in science and technology in a way that improved the future force. To accomplish these goals, the Army focused on upgrading and modernizing existing equipment, rapidly fielding new equipment, incorporating new technologies as they became available, and restructuring aviation warfighting units. Initially, fielding the developmental Comanche helicopter was a key focus of modernization, but when the Comanche program was terminated in 2004, an investment strategy was presented to Congress that would redistribute $14.6 billion of planned Comanche funding through fiscal year 2011 to enhance a broad range of Army aviation modernization efforts. Furthermore, the Army is currently re-evaluating the plans that were established in 2004 by conducting several assessments, tracking progress, and assessing future capability requirements, and intends to develop an updated Aviation Modernization Plan in 2010. Given this, Congress asked us to determine: (1) What is the Army's current investment strategy for its aviation forces? (2) How do the current aviation plans differ from the initial …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last several weeks, we reviewed the President's fiscal year 2010 budget request for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to provide pertinent and timely information that the Congress could use during budget deliberations. Our objectives were to (1) examine any programs with significant increases from the prior year and any significant unexpended balances and (2) review any new programs in the budget request. To do our work, we compared prior and current year budget requests, reviewed key budget-related documents, and interviewed TTB officials. Given the objectives and scope of this work, we conducted this work in accordance with all sections of GAO's Quality Assurance Framework that are relevant to our objectives. The framework requires that we plan and perform the engagement to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to meet our stated objectives and to discuss any limitations in our work. We believe that the information and data obtained, and the analysis conducted, provide a reasonable basis for any findings and conclusions. Based on our review, we are not recommending any reductions, realignments, or restrictions to TTB's fiscal year 2010 budget. However, given our …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ground-based military operations generally make use of two broad categories of vehicles: combat vehicles designed for a specific fighting function and tactical vehicles designed primarily for use by forces in the field in connection with or in support of tactical operations. Combat vehicles generally move on tracks versus wheels and include the Abrams tank, Bradley Fighting vehicle, and the Paladin self-propelled howitzer. Tactical vehicles generally move on wheels and include the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, and families of trucks and trailers. For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the Department of Defense (DOD) has requested an estimated $16 billion for the procurement of those tactical wheeled vehicles described in this report, including an estimated $6 billion for MRAP variants. In June 2007, Congress requested that we assess (1) the extent to which DOD had developed an overall tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) investment strategy that considers timing, affordability, and sustainability; (2) the extent that the programs in the strategy fill identified gaps or provide duplicative capabilities; (3) the current status of selected tactical wheeled vehicle systems that are a part of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our work on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), under which the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), through the Office of Financial Stability (OFS), has the authority to purchase or insure almost $700 billion in troubled assets held by financial institutions. It focuses on (1) the nature and purpose of activities that have been initiated under TARP over the past year and ongoing challenges; (2) Treasury's efforts to establish a management infrastructure for TARP; and (3) outcomes measured by indicators of TARP's performance."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To accomplish its mission of protecting federal facilities, the Federal Protective Services (FPS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), currently has a budget of about $1 billion, about 1,200 full-time employees, and about 15,000 contract security guards. This testimony is based on completed and ongoing work for this Subcommittee and discusses: (1) challenges FPS faces in protecting federal facilities and (2) how FPS's actions address these challenges. To perform this work, GAO visited FPS's 11 regions, analyzed FPS data, and interviewed FPS officials, guards, and contractors. GAO also conducted covert testing at 10 judgmentally selected level IV facilities in four cities. Because of the sensitivity of some of the information, GAO cannot identify the specific locations of incidents discussed. A level IV facility has over 450 employees and a high volume of public contact."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's ability to project and sustain military power depends on effective logistics. As the Department of Defense's (DOD) largest combat support agency, providing worldwide logistics support in both peacetime and wartime, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) supplies almost every consumable item the military services need to operate, from Meals Ready-to Eat to jet fuel. Given current budgetary pressures and the crucial role DLA plays in supporting the military service in the United States and overseas, it is vital that DOD ensure DLA is getting value for the commodities and services it acquires. The committee asked GAO to identify the challenges DOD faces in ensuring DLA gets value for the taxpayer's dollar and obtains quality commodities in a cost-efficient and effective manner. This testimony focuses on sound practices GAO has identified regarding obtaining value when contracting and how they can also apply to DLA's acquisition of commodities. GAO has made numerous recommendations aimed at improving DOD's management and oversight of contractors, and DOD has concurred with many of them. GAO is not making any new recommendations in this testimony."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1960s, the United States has maintained an embargo on Cuba through various laws, regulations, and presidential proclamations regarding trade, travel, and financial transactions. A stated purpose of the embargo--the most comprehensive set of U.S. economic sanctions on any country--is to deny hard currency to the Cuban government. The embargo, which the President has broad authority to modify, is implemented primarily by the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) through regulation of financial transactions with Cuba and by the Department of Commerce (Commerce) through regulation of the export of commodities, software, and technology to Cuba. Modifications to the embargo by legislation and presidential policy directives in the 1990s and early 2000s alternately eased and tightened restrictions on travel, remittances, gifts, and exports to Cuba. In September 2009, responding to legislation passed in March and presidential policy directives issued in April, Treasury and Commerce published regulatory changes that further ease some embargo restrictions."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This guide supersedes GAO-05-958SP, "Understanding the Primary Components of the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government." The U.S. government is the largest, most diverse, most complex, and arguably the most important entity on earth today. Useful, timely, and reliable financial and performance information is needed to make sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal programs and policies. The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, annually prepares the Financial Report of the United States Government, hereafter referred to as the Consolidated Financial Report (CFR). The CFR is a general-purpose report of accountability intended internally for members of Congress, federal executives and federal program managers, and externally primarily for citizens and citizen intermediaries who are interested in and have a reasonable understanding of federal government activities and are willing to study the information with reasonable diligence. Citizen intermediaries include members of the news media, analysts, and others who analyze and interpret, for the general public, the more complex and detailed information in the CFR. The goal of the CFR, and the subject of this guide, …

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Biennially, the Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary's principal policymaking body, assesses the need for additional judges. The assessment is based on a variety of factors, but begins with quantitative case-related workload measures. This statement focuses on (1) whether the judiciary's quantitative case-related workload measures from 1993 were reasonably accurate; and (2) the reasonableness of any proposed methodologies to update the 1993 workload measures. This statement is based on work completed and reported in 2003 and discussed in testimony on June 17, 2008."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fall 2008, a series of news reports revealed the relatively high number of workers at one commuter railroad--the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)-- who have applied for and been approved for occupational disability benefits by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). According to RRB officials, a number of federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services, have launched investigations in response to issues raised. In addition, the New York Attorney General's office is conducting a criminal investigation."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the briefing slides in response to section 1119 of Pub. L. No. 110-315, the Higher Education Opportunity Act. This act mandated GAO study the financial and compliance audits and reviews required or conducted for the Federal Family Education Loan and Federal Direct Loan Programs. On August 6 and 7, 2009, we briefed the staff of congressional committees on the types of audits, reviews, agreed-upon procedures, and reconciliations that are required or conducted for these programs. At congressional request, we have incorporated additional information on the agreed-upon procedures engagements required by the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act and the reconciliations performed by the Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid. In a forthcoming report, we will provide an assessment of whether these audits and reviews as designed provide comparable coverage of the two loan programs. That report will also discuss how the Department of Education ensures that these audits and reviews comply with statutory and regulatory requirements and how the Department uses them to oversee these loan programs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2009, we issued our opinions on the calendar year 2008 financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and the FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF). We also issued our opinion on the effectiveness of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) as of December 31, 2008, and our evaluation of FDIC's compliance with provisions of selected laws and regulations for the two funds for the year ended December 31, 2008. The purpose of this report is to present issues identified during our audit of the 2008 financial statements regarding certain internal controls and accounting procedures and to recommend actions to address these issues."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with $893 billion in supplemental and annual appropriations, as of June 2009, primarily for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).1 DOD's reported annual obligations2 for OCO have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to about $162.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. For fiscal year 2009, Congress appropriated $151 billion in war-related requests. A total of $89.1 billion has been obligated through the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 through June 2009. The United States' commitments to OCO will likely involve the continued investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The magnitude of future costs will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables and, in some cases, decisions that have not yet been made. DOD's future costs will likely be affected by the pace and duration of operations, the types of facilities needed to support troops overseas, redeployment plans, and the amount of equipment to be repaired or replaced. DOD compiles and reports monthly and cumulative incremental obligations incurred to support …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal years 2006 through 2008, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded $1.2 billion in funds through approximately 2,000 grants in support of its mission to help states and communities prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency and victimization and improve their juvenile justice systems. OJJDP awards grants to states, territories, localities, and organizations to address a variety of issues, such as reducing juvenile substance abuse, combating Internet crimes against children, preventing youth gang involvement, and providing youth mentoring services. The scope and administration of OJJDP grants also vary, ranging from private organization recipients that implement programs directly in a single community to states that administer grants by awarding the funds they receive to subgrantees to implement programs locally and statewide. Assessing the performance of these programs through grant monitoring is a key management tool to hold grantees accountable for implementing programs as agreed to in their awards, to verify they are making progress toward the objectives of their programs, and to ensure that grant funds are used in support of OJJDP's mission. DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) establishes …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Biosafety laboratories are primarily regulated by either the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), depending on whether the substances they handle pose a threat to the health of humans or plants, animals, and related products, respectively. Currently, all operational biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) labs are overseen by HHS's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BSL-4 labs handle the world's most dangerous agents and toxins that cause incurable and deadly diseases. This testimony summarizes GAO's previously issued reports on perimeter security at the nation's BSL-4 laboratories that were issued in September 2008 (GAO-08-1092) and July 2009 (GAO-09-851). Specifically, this testimony describes (1) the findings and recommendation on key perimeter security controls at five of the nation's operational BSL-4 labs, (2) CDC efforts to address our recommendation, (3) improvements that have been made to the perimeter security controls at the two labs found to be deficient, and (4) other observations about the BSL-4 labs GAO assessed."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses U.S. diplomatic readiness, and in particular the staffing and foreign language challenges facing the Foreign Service. The Department of State (State) faces an ongoing challenge of ensuring it has the right people, with the right skills, in the right places overseas to carry out the department's priorities. In particular, State has long had difficulty staffing its hardship posts overseas, which are places like Beruit and Lagos, where conditions are difficult and sometimes dangerous due to harsh environmental and extreme living conditions that often entail pervasive crime or war, but are nonetheless integral to foreign policy priorities and need a full complement of qualified staff. State has also faced persistent shortages of staff with critical language skills, despite the importance of foreign language proficiency in advancing U.S. foreign policy and economic interests overseas. In recent years GAO has issued a number of reports on human capital issues that have hampered State's ability to carry out the President's foreign policy objectives. This testimony discusses (1) State's progress in addressing staffing gaps at hardship posts, and (2) State's efforts to meet its foreign language requirements."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the implementation of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secure Border Initiative (SBI) program--a multiyear, multibillion dollar program aimed at securing U.S. borders and reducing illegal immigration. Securing the nation's borders from illegal entry of aliens and contraband, including terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, continues to be a major challenge. In November 2005, DHS announced the launch of SBI to help address this challenge. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) supports this initiative by providing agents and officers to patrol the borders, secure the ports of entry, and enforce immigration laws. In addition, CBP's SBI program is responsible for developing a comprehensive border protection system using technology, known as SBInet, and tactical infrastructure--fencing, roads, and lighting--along the southwest border to deter smugglers and aliens attempting illegal entry. Since fiscal year 2005, SBI has received funding amounting to over $3.7 billion. Approximately $1.1 billion has been allocated to SBInet and $2.4 billion to tactical infrastructure. SBInet surveillance technologies are to include sensors, cameras, and radars. The command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) technologies are to include software and hardware to produce a Common Operating …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While national security activities, which range from planning for an influenza pandemic to Iraq reconstruction, require collaboration among multiple agencies, the mechanisms used for such activities may not provide the means for interagency collaboration needed to meet modern national security challenges. To assist the 111th Congress and the new administration in developing their oversight and management agendas, this report, which was performed under the Comptroller General's authority, addresses actions needed to enhance interagency collaboration for national security activities: (1) the development and implementation of overarching, integrated strategies; (2) the creation of collaborative organizations; (3) the development of a well-trained workforce; and (4) the sharing and integration of national security information across agencies. This report is based largely on a body of GAO work issued since 2005."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has identified Afghanistan and Pakistan as two of the most urgent issues facing this Administration and this Congress. In March, the President announced a strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a broad strategic goal of disrupting, dismantling, and defeating Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan; destroying its allies and safe havens in Pakistan; and preventing their return to Pakistan or Afghanistan. With additional U.S. resources and attention focusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan, there will be additional oversight to ensure the accountability of U.S. efforts. This testimony addresses (1) GAO's oversight of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan; (2) how GAO coordinates its efforts with its colleagues in the accountability community; and (3) some of the challenges GAO faces carrying out oversight. This testimony is based on past GAO reports and testimonies examining U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. These reports and testimonies contain analysis of documents and information from Afghan and Pakistani officials; U.S. officials in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Washington, D.C.; and representatives of coalition military forces and command, including the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, and international organizations, including the United Nations. GAO has made recommendations in prior reports, …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A terrorist's use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or improvised nuclear device (IND) to release radioactive materials into the environment could have devastating consequences. The timely cleanup of contaminated areas, however, could speed the restoration of normal operations, thus reducing the adverse consequences from an incident. This testimony examines (1) the extent to which federal agencies are planning to fulfill their responsibilities to assist cities and their states in cleaning up areas contaminated with radioactive materials from RDD and IND incidents; (2) what is known about the federal government's capability to effectively cleanup areas contaminated with radioactive materials from RDD and IND incidents, and (3) suggestions from government emergency management officials on ways to improve federal preparedness to provide assistance to recover from RDD and IND incidents. We also discuss recovery activities in the United Kingdom. This testimony is based on our ongoing review of recovery preparedness issues for which we examined applicable federal laws and guidance; interviewed officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Energy (DOE), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and surveyed emergency management officials from 13 …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) and other executive agencies increasingly deploy civilians in support of contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prior GAO reports show that the use of deployed civilians has raised questions about the potential for differences in policies on compensation and medical benefits. When these civilians are deployed and serve side by side, differences in compensation or medical benefits may become more apparent and could adversely impact morale. This statement is based on GAO's June 2009 congressionally requested report, which compared agency policies and identified any issues in policy or implementation regarding (1) compensation, (2) medical benefits, and (3) identification and tracking of deployed civilians. GAO reviewed laws, agency policies and guidance; interviewed responsible officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the six selected agencies, including DOD and State; reviewed workers' compensation claims filed by deployed civilians with the Department of Labor from January 1, 2006 through April 30, 2008; and conducted a survey of deployed civilians. GAO made ten recommendations for agencies to take actions such as reviewing compensation laws and policies, establishing medical screening requirements, and creating mechanisms to assist and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2008, the Department of the Interior collected over $22 billion in royalties and other fees related to oil and gas. Within Interior, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages onshore federal oil and gas leases, and the Minerals Management Service's (MMS) Offshore Energy and Minerals Management (OEMM) manages offshore leases. A federal lease gives the lessee rights to explore for and develop the lease's oil and gas resources. MMS is responsible for collecting royalties for oil and gas produced from both onshore and offshore leases. GAO has reviewed federal oil and gas management and revenue collection and found many material weaknesses. This testimony is based primarily on key findings from past GAO reports and some preliminary findings from ongoing work. These findings focus on Interior's: (1) policies for oil and gas leasing, (2) oversight of oil and gas production, (3) royalty regime and policies to boost oil and gas development, (4) oil and gas information technology (IT) systems, and (5) royalty-in-kind program. GAO's past reports provided recommendations that Interior officials report that they are working to implement."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invested more than $6 billion in 2009 on large-scale, information technology (IT) systems to help it achieve mission outcomes and transform departmentwide operations. For DHS to effectively leverage these systems as mission enablers and transformation tools, it needs to employ a number of institutional acquisition and IT management controls and capabilities, such as using an operational and technological blueprint to guide and constrain system investments (enterprise architecture) and following institutional policies, practices, and structures for acquiring and investing in these systems. Other institutional controls and capabilities include employing rigorous and disciplined system life cycle management processes and having capable acquisition and IT management workforces. As GAO has reported, it is critical for the department to implement these controls and capabilities on each of its system acquisition programs. GAO has issued a series of reports on DHS institutional controls for acquiring and managing IT systems, and its implementation of these controls on large-scale systems. GAO was asked to testify on how far the department has come on both of these fronts, including its implementation of GAO's recommendations. To do this, GAO drew from …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses issues relating to efforts to reform the regulatory structure of the financial system. In the midst of the worst economic crisis affecting financial markets globally in more than 75 years, federal officials have taken unprecedented steps to stem the unraveling of the financial services sector. While these actions aimed to provide relief in the short term, the severity of the crisis has shown clearly that in the long term, the current U.S. financial regulatory system was in need of significant reform. Our January 2009 report presented a framework for evaluating proposals to modernize the U.S. financial regulatory system, and work we have conducted since that report further underscores the urgent need for changes in the system. Given the importance of the U.S. financial sector to the domestic and international economies, in January 2009, we also added modernization of its outdated regulatory system as a new area to our list of high-risk areas of government operations because of the fragmented and outdated regulatory structure. We noted that modernizing the U.S. financial regulatory system will be a critical step to ensuring that the challenges of the 21st …