Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As of July 2008, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that almost 33,000 servicemembers had been wounded in action as part of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. Some of these servicemembers could have injuries that keep them from easily entering or returning to the workplace upon their exit from the military. For some service-disabled veterans, starting a business may be one option for entering or returning to the workforce. In the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-50), Congress stated that too little had been done to help veterans, particularly service-disabled veterans, in starting small businesses. This law established the framework for the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Labor (DOL), DOD, and others to coordinate in providing entrepreneurial assistance to veterans and servicedisabled veterans. To improve coordination and enhance small business assistance to veterans, the law required that these agencies enter into memorandums of understanding (MOU) as specified in the 1999 Act (but not all of the agencies were required to participate in each of the MOUs); established the National Veterans Business Development Corporation …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11, 2001, and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have made it critical for military units to identify individuals they encounter and share this information with other units and federal agencies. Biometrics are unique personal aspects such as fingerprints and iris images used to identify an unfamiliar person. Federal agencies with national security missions, such as the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State (DOS), need access to certain biometrics data gathered by the Department of Defense (DOD). GAO was asked to determine to what extent (1) DOD has guidance on the biometrics data to be collected to support military activities, and (2) there may be gaps in biometrics information shared between DOD and DHS. This is a public version of a For Official Use Only report, GAO-08-430NI, issued in May 2008. GAO examined DOD's guidance for field collection of biometrics data, biometrics sharing agreements, and information on national level efforts to enhance data sharing."