A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "CMS established the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program in 1998 to help address poor nursing home performance. States select a subset of homes as SFFs from a list of the 15 poorest performing homes in each state, but the program is limited to 136 homes nationwide because of resource constraints. CMS guidance directs states to survey SFFs twice as frequently as other homes and to propose more robust enforcement, including termination, for SFFs that fail to improve within about 18 months. GAO was asked to (1) determine the factors states consider in selecting SFFs and how SFFs differed from other nursing homes, (2) evaluate CMS regional office and state adherence to program guidance and the program's impact on homes' performance, and (3) identify other strategies that have been used to improve poorly performing homes. In general, GAO's analysis used CMS data from 2005 through 2009 on SFFs and other homes as well as interviews with officials in 14 states selected based on the number of SFFs in each state and other factors."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relies extensively on computerized systems to carry out its demanding responsibilities to collect taxes, process tax returns, and enforce the nation's tax laws. Effective information security controls are essential to protect financial and taxpayer information from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, improper disclosure, or destruction. As part of its audit of IRS's fiscal years 2009 and 2008 financial statements, GAO assessed (1) the status of IRS's actions to correct or mitigate previously reported information security weaknesses and (2) whether controls over key financial and tax processing systems are effective in ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer information. To do this, GAO examined IRS information security policies, plans, and procedures; tested controls over key financial applications; and interviewed key agency officials at six sites."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF is critical for recapitalizing tactical air forces and will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $323 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft. As required by law, this report discusses (1) program cost, schedule, and performance; (2) manufacturing results; and (3) test plans and progress. GAO's work includes interviews, cost data, test plans, production measures, and analyses by defense and contractor officials."