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Individual Fishing Quotas: Management Costs Varied and Were Not Recovered as Required (open access)

Individual Fishing Quotas: Management Costs Varied and Were Not Recovered as Required

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Overfishing may have significant environmental and economic consequences. One tool used to maintain fisheries at sustainable levels is the individual fishing quota (IFQ), which sets individual catch limits for eligible vessel owners or operators. This is GAO's third study on IFQ programs. For this study, GAO determined (1) the costs of managing (i.e., administering, monitoring, and enforcing) IFQ programs and how these costs differ from pre-IFQ management costs; (2) what, if any, IFQ management costs are currently being recovered by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); and (3) ways to share the costs of IFQ programs between government and industry."
Date: March 11, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: Independent and Special Counsel Expenditures for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2004 (open access)

Financial Audit: Independent and Special Counsel Expenditures for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2004

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO audited the expenditures of two offices of independent counsel and one office of special counsel for the 6 months ended September 30, 2004."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployment Insurance: Information on Benefit Receipt (open access)

Unemployment Insurance: Information on Benefit Receipt

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with states, plays a critical role in ensuring the financial security of America's workforce. Established in 1935, UI serves two primary objectives: (1) to temporarily replace a portion of earnings for workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own and (2) to help stabilize the economy during recessions by providing unemployed workers money for basic needs, which helps boost demand for goods and services. In fiscal year 2004, approximately 8.8 million workers received UI benefits, totaling $41.3 billion across all UI programs. To gain a better understanding of the UI program, we asked the following questions: (1) How many people ever receive UI benefits during their early working lives, and how many receive UI benefits more than once? and (2) Does UI benefit receipt change over time, and does receipt vary by industry or occupation?"
Date: March 17, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oversight of Food Safety Activities: Federal Agencies Should Pursue Opportunities to Reduce Overlap and Better Leverage Resources (open access)

Oversight of Food Safety Activities: Federal Agencies Should Pursue Opportunities to Reduce Overlap and Better Leverage Resources

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has documented many problems resulting from the fragmented nature of the federal food safety system and recommended fundamental restructuring to ensure the effective use of scarce government resources. In this report, GAO (1) identified overlaps in food safety activities at USDA, FDA, EPA, and NMFS; (2) analyzed the extent to which the agencies use interagency agreements to leverage resources; and (3) obtained the views of stakeholders."
Date: March 30, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships (open access)

Maritime Administration: Improved Program Management Needed to Address Timely Disposal of Obsolete Ships

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has more than 100 obsolete and deteriorating ships awaiting disposal that pose potentially costly environmental threats to the waterways near where they are stored. Congress, in 2000, mandated that MARAD dispose of them by September 30, 2006. While MARAD has various disposal options available, each option is complicated by legal, financial, and regulatory factors. In this report, GAO assesses (1) whether MARAD will meet the September 2006 disposal deadline for these ships and, if not, why not; (2) the extent that MARAD has used alternative disposal methods other than scrapping, and barriers to using other methods; (3) the appropriateness of MARAD's methods for procuring ship disposal services; and (4) the impact of foreign competition and other factors on reducing disposal costs."
Date: March 7, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Customs Automated Commercial Environment Program Progressing, but Need for Management Improvements Continues (open access)

Information Technology: Customs Automated Commercial Environment Program Progressing, but Need for Management Improvements Continues

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting a multiyear, multibillion-dollar acquisition of a new trade processing system, planned to support the movement of legitimate imports and exports and strengthen border security. By congressional mandate, plans for expenditure of appropriated funds on this system, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), must meet certain conditions, including GAO review. This study addresses whether the fiscal year 2005 plan satisfies these conditions, describes the status of DHS's efforts to implement prior GAO recommendations for improving ACE management, and provides observations about the plan and DHS's management of the program."
Date: March 14, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia's Drinking Water: Agencies Have Improved Coordination, but Key Challenges Remain in Protecting the Public from Elevated Lead Levels (open access)

District of Columbia's Drinking Water: Agencies Have Improved Coordination, but Key Challenges Remain in Protecting the Public from Elevated Lead Levels

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Media reports on elevated lead in the District of Columbia's drinking water raised concern about how local and federal agencies are carrying out their responsibilities. The Lead and Copper Rule requires water systems to protect drinking water from lead. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Washington Aqueduct treats and sells water to the District Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), which delivers it to District residents. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region III Office oversees these agencies. GAO examined (1) what agencies implementing the rule in the District are doing to improve their coordination and reduce lead levels, (2) the extent to which WASA and other agencies are identifying populations at greatest risk of exposure to lead in drinking water and reducing their exposure, (3) how other drinking water systems that exceed EPA's action level for lead conduct public education, and (4) the state of research on lead exposure and how it applies to drinking water."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Health Care: VA's Medical Support Role in Emergency Preparedness (open access)

Veterans Health Care: VA's Medical Support Role in Emergency Preparedness

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has increased its efforts to plan for and respond to national emergencies, including acts of terrorism and natural disasters. Additionally, in August 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security announced that military and VA medical facilities were potential terrorist targets. In light of military casualties from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and continued threats of terrorist incidents, Congress asked us to review VA's medical support role in emergency preparedness. Specifically, we agreed to provide information on the following questions: (1) What is VA's role in providing medical support within the U.S. to military personnel in wartime and during national emergencies? (2) What actions has VA taken to improve its internal emergency preparedness to ensure that it is ready to maintain continuity of operations and provision of medical services to veterans? (3) What is VA's role in participating in emergency medical response measures with other federal, state, and local agencies?"
Date: March 23, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Plans Need to Allow Enough Time to Demonstrate Capability of First Littoral Combat Ships (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Plans Need to Allow Enough Time to Demonstrate Capability of First Littoral Combat Ships

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To conduct operations in littorals--shallow coastal waters--the Navy plans to build a new class of surface warship: the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). LCS is being designed to accomplish its missions through systems operating at a distance from the ship, such as helicopters and unmanned vehicles, and that will be contained in interchangeable mission packages. The Navy is using an accelerated approach to buy the LCS, building the ships in "flights." Flight 0, consisting of four ships, will provide limited capability and test the LCS concept. The schedule allows 12 months between the delivery of the first Flight 0 ship and the start of detailed design and construction for Flight 1 ships. Estimated procurement cost of the Flight 0 ships is $1.5 billion. The Congress directed GAO to review the LCS program. This report assesses the analytical basis of LCS requirements; the Navy's progress in defining the concept of operations; the technical maturity of the mission packages; and the basis of recurring costs for LCS."
Date: March 1, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
September 11: Recent Estimates of Fiscal Impact of 2001 Terrorist Attack on New York (open access)

September 11: Recent Estimates of Fiscal Impact of 2001 Terrorist Attack on New York

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, GAO reported that the New York budget offices estimated that from the terrorist attack, New York City sustained tax revenue losses of $1.6 billion for 2002 and $1.4 billion for 2003, New York State $1.6 billion for 2002 and $4.2 billion for 2003. GAO found some limitations to these estimates, such as that it is likely that they included some of the economic recession under way in September 2001, as well as events after the attack, such as economic fallout from the Enron collapse and accounting firm improprieties. After GAO issued its report in 2002, some New York agencies used revised economic data to assess the attack's fiscal impact. In this context, GAO was asked to update its report to ascertain whether the recent government studies using revised economic data would provide more precise information on the fiscal impact of the terrorist attack. In doing this work, GAO did not independently estimate the attack's impact on New York tax revenues."
Date: March 30, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Homeland Security: A Comprehensive and Sustained Approach Needed to Achieve Management Integration (open access)

Department of Homeland Security: A Comprehensive and Sustained Approach Needed to Achieve Management Integration

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents one of the largest reorganizations of government agencies and operations in recent history. Significant management challenges exist for DHS as it merges the multiple management systems and processes from its 22 originating agencies in functional areas such as human capital and information technology. GAO was asked to identify opportunities for DHS to improve its management integration."
Date: March 16, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Free Trade Area of the Americas: Missed Deadline Prompts Efforts to Restart Stalled Hemispheric Trade Negotiations (open access)

Free Trade Area of the Americas: Missed Deadline Prompts Efforts to Restart Stalled Hemispheric Trade Negotiations

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "If completed, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement would encompass an area of 800 million people and about $13 trillion in production of goods and services, making it the most significant regional trade initiative presently being pursued by the United States. The 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere formally launched negotiations towards a FTAA in 1998, and set a January 2005 deadline for concluding a FTAA agreement. GAO was asked to analyze (1) progress made in FTAA negotiations since GAO's last (April 2003) report (2) factors that have been influencing the FTAA's progress; and (3) future prospects for the FTAA. USTR disagreed with our report, stating it was a poorly framed portrayal of progress and problems in the negotiations, overemphasized the role of the United States and Brazil in the current impasse, and did not give sufficient weight to U.S. efforts to make progress. GAO made several changes in response, but disagreed with USTR's assessment. The Departments of State, Commerce, and Agriculture provided technical comments, which we incorporated."
Date: March 18, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contract Management: Opportunities to Improve Surveillance on Department of Defense Service Contracts (open access)

Contract Management: Opportunities to Improve Surveillance on Department of Defense Service Contracts

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is the federal government's largest purchaser of contractor services, spending $118 billion in fiscal year 2003 alone--an increase of 66 percent since fiscal year 1999. DOD is expected to rely increasingly on contractors to carry out its mission. In recent reports, DOD has identified inadequate surveillance on service contracts. This report examines how DOD manages service contract surveillance. It looks at the extent of DOD's surveillance on a selection of service contracts, reasons why insufficient surveillance occurred, and efforts to improve surveillance."
Date: March 17, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Mandates: Identification Process Is Complex and Federal Agency Roles Vary (open access)

Federal Mandates: Identification Process Is Complex and Federal Agency Roles Vary

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) was enacted to address concerns expressed by state and local governments about federal statutes and regulations that require nonfederal parties to expend resources to achieve legislative goals without being provided funding to cover the costs. Over the past 10 years, Congress has at various times considered legislation that would amend various aspects of UMRA. This testimony is based on GAO's report, Unfunded Mandates: Analysis of Reform Act Coverage (GAO-04-637, May 12, 2004). Specifically, this testimony addresses (1) the process used to identify federal mandates and what are federal agencies' roles, (2) statutes and rules that contained federal mandates under UMRA, and (3) statutes and rules that were not considered mandates under UMRA but may be perceived to be "unfunded mandates" by certain affected parties."
Date: March 8, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tactical Aircraft: Air Force Still Needs Business Case to Support F/A-22 Quantities and Increased Capabilities (open access)

Tactical Aircraft: Air Force Still Needs Business Case to Support F/A-22 Quantities and Increased Capabilities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force is preparing a modernization plan that expands the capabilities of the F/A-22, which was first designed to serve as an air-to-air fighter aircraft with very limited ability to strike targets on the ground. The Air Force now intends to transform it by adding robust air-to-ground capabilities to attack enemy ground threats and by adding onboard intelligence data gathering capabilities. After the recent budget cut, DOD estimates F/A-22 cost at $63.8 billion for 178 aircraft. It has been in development for more than 19 years, a decade longer than originally envisioned. In the face of significant cost and schedule overruns, Congress mandates that GAO annually assess the F/A-22 program. In this report, GAO addresses (1) the Air Force's business case for the F/A-22 modernization plan and (2) the recently completed initial operational test and evaluation."
Date: March 15, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Preventing Nuclear Smuggling: DOE Has Made Limited Progress in Installing Radiation Detection Equipment at Highest Priority Foreign Seaports (open access)

Preventing Nuclear Smuggling: DOE Has Made Limited Progress in Installing Radiation Detection Equipment at Highest Priority Foreign Seaports

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, concern has increased that terrorists could smuggle nuclear weapons or materials into this country in the approximately 7 million containers that arrive annually at U.S. seaports. Nuclear materials can be smuggled across borders by being placed inside containers aboard cargo ships. In response to this concern, since 2003, the Department of Energy (DOE) has deployed radiation detection equipment to key foreign seaports through its Megaports Initiative (Initiative). GAO examined the (1) progress DOE has made in implementing the Initiative, (2) current and expected costs of the Initiative, and (3) challenges DOE faces in installing radiation detection equipment at foreign ports."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: Systematic Planning Needed to Optimize the Deployment of Checked Baggage Screening Systems (open access)

Aviation Security: Systematic Planning Needed to Optimize the Deployment of Checked Baggage Screening Systems

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Mandated to screen all checked baggage using explosive detection systems at airports by December 31, 2003, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) deployed two types of screening equipment: explosives detection systems (EDS), which use computer-aided tomography X-rays to recognize the characteristics of explosives, and explosives trace detection (ETD) systems, which use chemical analysis to detect traces of explosive material vapors or residues. This report assesses (1) TSA's use of budgeted funds to install EDS and ETD systems and the impact of initially deploying these systems, (2) TSA and airport actions to install EDS machines in-line with baggage conveyor systems, and the federal resources made available for this purpose, and (3) actions taken by TSA to optimally deploy checked baggage screening systems."
Date: March 15, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Improved Stategic and Acquisition Planning Can Help Address Emerging Challenges (open access)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Improved Stategic and Acquisition Planning Can Help Address Emerging Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The current generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been under development for defense applications since the 1980s, and as the Department of Defense (DOD) transforms its military operations, UAVs are becoming increasingly vital. Today's testimony identifies (1) GAO's preliminary observations on operational successes and emerging challenges from ongoing GAO work reviewing UAV current operations, (2) the extent to which DOD has developed a strategic plan and oversight body to manage its investment in UAVs, and (3) lessons from GAO's prior work that can be used to promote the efficient development, fielding, and operational use of UAVs."
Date: March 9, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anti-Drug Media Campaign: An Array of Services Was Provided, but Most Funds Were Committed to Buying Media Time and Space (open access)

Anti-Drug Media Campaign: An Array of Services Was Provided, but Most Funds Were Committed to Buying Media Time and Space

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was required by the Drug Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) to conduct a national media campaign to reduce and prevent drug use among America's youth. Since 1998, Congress has appropriated over $1 billion for the media campaign. However, a 2003 report by the Senate Committee on Appropriations expressed some concerns about the media campaign, including concern that a large portion of the campaign's budget had been used for consulting services rather than the direct purchase of media time and space. The report, therefore, directed GAO to review the use of consultants to support the media campaign. This report describes the services provided by consultants (defined by GAO as the prime contractors and their subcontractors) in support of the media campaign, along with the estimated award amounts for these services."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
VA Health Care: Important Steps Taken to Enhance Veterans' Care by Aligning Inpatient Services with Projected Needs (open access)

VA Health Care: Important Steps Taken to Enhance Veterans' Care by Aligning Inpatient Services with Projected Needs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates one of the nation's largest health care systems. In 1999, GAO reported on VA's aged, obsolete capital assets, noting that better management of these assets could significantly reduce VA's operating costs. GAO further noted that VA could reinvest the savings to enhance veterans' health care services. In response, VA initiated its Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) process. Through CARES, VA identified what health care services it should provide and in which locations through 2022. The CARES process included assessing alternative ways to align inpatient services by closing or adding services at existing VA medical facilities or establishing new facilities. In May 2004, VA published its CARES decisions, but did not provide a national comprehensive summary of all its decisions about the alignment of inpatient services. GAO was asked to provide additional information about the inpatient service assessments and decisions made by VA. To provide a national, comprehensive summary, GAO summarized the locations where VA (1) identified a need to evaluate alternative ways to align inpatient health care service to improve quality, efficiency, or access and (2) made …
Date: March 2, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anthrax Detection: Agencies Need to Validate Sampling Activities in Order to Increase Confidence in Negative Results (open access)

Anthrax Detection: Agencies Need to Validate Sampling Activities in Order to Increase Confidence in Negative Results

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September and October 2001, letters laced with Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores were sent through the mail to two U.S. senators and to members of the media. These letters led to the first U.S. cases of anthrax disease related to bioterrorism. In all, 22 individuals, in four states and Washington, D.C., contracted anthrax disease; 5 died. These cases prompted Congress to ask GAO to describe and assess federal agencies' activities to detect anthrax in postal facilities, assess the results of agencies' testing, and assess whether agencies' detection activities were validated."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Status of Ballistic Missile Defense Program in 2004 (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Status of Ballistic Missile Defense Program in 2004

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1985, the Department of Defense (DOD) has invested $85 billion in ballistic missile defense programs, with $66.5 billion more anticipated over the next 7 years through 2011. As a major result of this investment, the Department is on the verge of activating our nation's first missile defense system for protecting the United States from intercontinental ballistic missile attacks out of Northeast Asia. This initial capability--referred to as Limited Defensive Operations (LDO)--is the first step of a national priority to develop, field, and evolve over time an overarching ballistic missile defense system (BMDS). To fulfill a congressional mandate, GAO assessed how well the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) met its cost, schedule, testing, and performance goals during fiscal year 2004. GAO assessed the program last year and will continue to provide assessments of MDA progress through 2006."
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Security: Securities and Exchange Commission Needs to Address Weak Controls over Financial and Sensitive Data (open access)

Information Security: Securities and Exchange Commission Needs to Address Weak Controls over Financial and Sensitive Data

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relies extensively on computerized systems to support its financial and mission-related operations. As part of the audit of SEC's fiscal year 2004 financial statements, GAO assessed the effectiveness of the commission's information system controls in protecting the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of its financial and sensitive information."
Date: March 23, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Information for Congress on Performance of Major Programs Can Be More Complete, Timely, and Accessible (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Information for Congress on Performance of Major Programs Can Be More Complete, Timely, and Accessible

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD has more than $1 trillion worth of major defense acquisition programs, on which it must report to Congress, including a comparison of a current program's costs to a baseline containing its cost, quantity, schedule, and performance goals. When these goals are changed, the program is "rebaselined" to reflect current status. However, measuring current estimates against the most recent baseline without additional perspectives may obscure for Congress how programs are performing over time. Concerned over this, you asked GAO to examine how DOD's use of rebaselining has affected the adequacy of data provided to Congress on major defense acquisition programs."
Date: March 28, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library