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Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office (open access)

Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) budget request for fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2010, GAO provided assistance to every standing congressional committee and 70 percent of their subcommittees. Our work yielded significant results across the government, including financial benefits of $49.9 billion--a return on investment of $87 for every dollar invested in GAO. In addition, we documented over 1,300 other benefits resulting from our work that helped improve services to the public, promote improved management throughout government and change laws, such as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010. Recently, we issued two major reports that underscore GAO's continuing value in helping Congress and the Administration reduce costs and improve government, particularly in a time of reduced resources. First, on March 1, 2011, we detailed 81 opportunities to reduce duplication, overlap, or fragmentation. These opportunities span a range of federal government mission areas such as agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Within and across these missions, our report touches on hundreds of federal programs, affecting virtually all major federal departments and agencies. …
Date: March 17, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: Effective Implementation of Recent Laws and Agency Actions Could Help Reduce Improper Payments (open access)

Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: Effective Implementation of Recent Laws and Agency Actions Could Help Reduce Improper Payments

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has designated Medicare and Medicaid as high-risk programs because they are particularly vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and improper payments (payments that should not have been made or were made in an incorrect amount). Medicare is considered high-risk in part because of its complexity and susceptibility to improper payments, and Medicaid because of concerns about the adequacy of its fiscal oversight to prevent inappropriate spending. In fiscal year 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid--estimated that these programs made a total of over $70 billion in improper payments. This statement focuses on how implementing prior GAO recommendations and recent laws, as well as other agency actions, could help CMS carry out five key strategies GAO identified in previous reports to help reduce fraud, waste, and abuse and improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid. It is based on 16 GAO products issued from April 2004 through June 2010 using a variety of methodologies, such as analyses of Medicare or Medicaid claims, review of relevant policies and procedures, and interviews with officials. In February 2011, GAO also received updated information from …
Date: March 9, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of State: Additional Steps Are Needed to Improve Strategic Planning and Evaluation of Training for State Personnel (open access)

Department of State: Additional Steps Are Needed to Improve Strategic Planning and Evaluation of Training for State Personnel

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the U.S. Department of State's (State) efforts to train its personnel. It is based on our report, which is being released today. Because State is the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, its personnel require certain knowledge, skills, and abilities to equip them to address the global security threats and challenges facing the United States--including the threat of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, environmental degradation, nuclear proliferation, and failed states. In fiscal years 2006 through 2010, State's funding for training personnel grew by about 62 percent, and the department requested more than $266 million in fiscal year 2011 for programs providing training in professional skills such as foreign language proficiency, area studies, information technology, consular duties, and others needed for the conduct of foreign relations. State's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the primary training provider for the department's more than 66,000 Foreign Service, civil service, and locally employed staff worldwide. Our prior work has identified staffing and foreign language shortfalls at State, including challenges the department has faced in filling positions at the mid-level in particular, and in attracting qualified personnel for …
Date: March 8, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Flood Insurance: Public Policy Goals Provide a Framework for Reform (open access)

Flood Insurance: Public Policy Goals Provide a Framework for Reform

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on GAO's high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of March 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and management challenges that GAO has identified at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP's need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program's long-term financial solvency. This testimony 1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing in light of public policy goals for federal involvement in natural catastrophe insurance and 2) highlights operational and management challenges at FEMA that affect the program. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its past work on NFIP and on its ongoing review of FEMA's management of NFIP, which focuses on its planning, policies, processes, and systems. The management review includes areas such as strategic and human capital planning, acquisition management, and intra-agency collaboration."
Date: March 11, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Operations: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight (open access)

Foreign Operations: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implement a broad range of U.S. government activities and programs overseas, including the conduct of diplomacy, development and security assistance, and efforts to combat terrorism and narcotics trafficking, among others. The President has requested approximately $55.7 billion for State and USAID in fiscal year 2012, an increase of nearly 8 percent over fiscal year 2010 funding levels. This testimony discusses four cross-cutting areas of U.S. foreign policy as implemented by State and USAID: (1) investments in key partner nations, (2) building the capacity of U.S. agencies to advance foreign policy priorities, (3) contractor oversight and accountability, and (4) strategic planning and performance measurement. This statement is based on GAO's extensive body of work on foreign operations issues, including fieldwork in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, and numerous other locations ."
Date: March 3, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Investment Oversight and Management Have Improved but Continued Attention Is Needed (open access)

Information Technology: Investment Oversight and Management Have Improved but Continued Attention Is Needed

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government anticipates spending $79 billion on information technology (IT) in fiscal year 2011. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plays a key role in overseeing the implementation and management of federal IT investments. Given the size of these investments and their importance to the health, economy, and security of the nation, it is critical for OMB and federal agencies to provide appropriate program oversight and ensure adequate transparency. Over the past several years, GAO has issued a number of reports and testimonies on OMB's initiatives to highlight troubled projects, justify IT investments, and use project management tools. Partly in response to this prior work, in 2009 OMB deployed a public Web site--known as the IT Dashboard--that provides detailed information on approximately 800 major federal IT investments, including assessments of these investments' performance against cost and schedule targets (referred to as ratings). GAO was asked to testify on OMB's key efforts to improve the oversight and management of federal IT investments through the use of the Dashboard and other efforts. To prepare this statement, GAO drew on previously published work on IT investments, including OMB's Dashboard, …
Date: March 17, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Preliminary Observations on the Status of Key Southwest Border Technology Programs (open access)

Border Security: Preliminary Observations on the Status of Key Southwest Border Technology Programs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securing the nation's borders from illegal entry of aliens, contraband, terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, is a long-term challenge. In November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the Secure Border Initiative network (SBInet)--a program which was to provide the Border Patrol, within DHS's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with the tools to detect breaches and make agent deployment decisions by installing surveillance systems along the border. Alternative (Southwest) Border Technology is DHS's new plan to deploy a mix of technology to protect the border. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work conducted for the House Committee on Homeland Security and provides preliminary observations on (1) the status of SBInet and user views on its usefulness, and (2) the Alternative (Southwest) Border Technology plan and associated costs. GAO reviewed planning, budget, and system documents, observed operations along the southwest border, and interviewed DHS officials."
Date: March 15, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Improvements in Managing Research and Development Could Help Reduce Inefficiencies and Costs (open access)

Homeland Security: Improvements in Managing Research and Development Could Help Reduce Inefficiencies and Costs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses our past work examining the management of research and development (R&D) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS acquisition programs represent hundreds of billions of dollars in life-cycle costs and support a wide range of missions and investments including Coast Guard ships and aircraft, border surveillance and screening equipment, nuclear detection equipment, and technologies used to screen airline passengers and baggage for explosives. Since its creation in 2003, DHS has spent billions of dollars on R&D on technologies and other countermeasures to address various threats and to conduct its missions. Within DHS, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) conducts overall R&D efforts to improve homeland security. Among other things, S&T works with DHS components to provide assistance in researching and developing technologies to meet their specific missions, while the components themselves are responsible for developing, testing, and acquiring these technologies. For example, DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is charged with developing, acquiring, and deploying equipment to detect nuclear and radiological materials, supporting the efforts of DHS and other federal agencies. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for securing the nation's transportation systems …
Date: March 15, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Agency: Major Management Challenges (open access)

Environmental Protection Agency: Major Management Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) overarching mission is to protect human health and the environment by implementing and enforcing the laws intended to improve the quality of the nation's air, water, and lands. EPA's policies and programs affect virtually all segments of the economy, society, and government. As such, it operates in a highly complex and controversial regulatory arena. In recent years, GAO's work has identified several significant and persistent challenges across a range of EPA programs and activities and has proposed corrective actions to enable the agency to more effectively accomplish its mission. Based on this work, this testimony highlights some of the major management challenges facing EPA today, the agency's efforts to address them, and the work GAO believes remains to be done."
Date: March 2, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Cost Overruns: Trends in Nunn-McCurdy Breaches and Tools to Manage Weapon Systems Acquisition Costs (open access)

DOD Cost Overruns: Trends in Nunn-McCurdy Breaches and Tools to Manage Weapon Systems Acquisition Costs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses tools available to minimize Department of Defense (DOD) cost overruns and our recent work on the Nunn-McCurdy process. For nearly 30 years, the statutory provision known as Nunn-McCurdy has been a tool for Congress to use to hold DOD accountable for cost growth on major defense programs. The purpose of the statute was to provide Congress greater visibility into major defense programs' cost growth and to encourage DOD to manage and control cost growth. A Nunn-McCurdy breach occurs when a program's unit cost exceeds certain thresholds. When that happens, DOD must notify Congress of the breach. There are two types of Nunn-McCurdy breaches: significant breaches and critical breaches. A breach of the significant cost growth threshold occurs when the program acquisition unit cost or the procurement unit cost increases by at least 15 percent over the current baseline estimate or at least 30 percent over the original baseline estimate. A breach of the critical cost growth threshold occurs when the program acquisition unit cost or the procurement unit cost increases by at least 25 percent over the current baseline estimate or at least 50 percent …
Date: March 29, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Joint Strike Fighter: Restructuring Should Improve Outcomes, but Progress Is Still Lagging Overall (open access)

Joint Strike Fighter: Restructuring Should Improve Outcomes, but Progress Is Still Lagging Overall

Testimony 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 estimated total investment cost is currently about $385 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft. Because of a history of relatively poor cost and schedule outcomes, defense leadership over the past year has directed a comprehensive restructuring of the JSF program that is continuing. This testimony draws substantially from our extensive body of work on the JSF, including the current annual review mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-84 244 (2009). Our draft report is being reviewed by the Department and we expect to issue it early next month. That report and this testimony discusses (1) program cost and schedule changes and their implications on affordability; (2) progress made during 2010; (3) design and …
Date: March 15, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forest Service: Continued Work Needed to Address Persistent Management Challenges (open access)

Forest Service: Continued Work Needed to Address Persistent Management Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Forest Service, within the Department of Agriculture, manages over 190 million acres of national forest and grasslands. The agency is responsible for managing its lands for various purposes--including recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, and others--while ensuring that such activities do not impair the lands' long-term productivity. Numerous GAO reports examining different aspects of Forest Service programs--including a testimony before this Subcommittee in 2009--have identified persistent management challenges facing the agency. In light of the federal deficit and long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation, the Forest Service cannot ensure that it is spending its limited budget effectively and efficiently without addressing these challenges. This testimony highlights some of the management challenges facing the Forest Service today and is based on recent reports GAO has issued on a variety of the agency's activities."
Date: March 10, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
401(k) Plans: Issues Involving Securities Lending in Plan Investments (open access)

401(k) Plans: Issues Involving Securities Lending in Plan Investments

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securities lending can be a relatively straightforward way for plan sponsors and participants to increase their return on 401(k) investments. However, securities lending can also present a number of challenges to plan participants and plan sponsors. GAO was asked to explain how securities lending with cash collateral reinvestment works in relation to 401(k) plan investments, who bears the risks, and what are some of the challenges plan participants and plan sponsors face in understanding securities lending with cash collateral reinvestment. In this testimony, GAO discusses its recent work regarding securities lending with cash collateral reinvestment. GAO is making no new recommendations in this statement but continues to believe that the Department of Labor (Labor) can take action to help plan sponsors of 401(k) plans and plan participants to understand the role, risk, and benefits of securities lending with cash collateral reinvestment in relation to 401(k) plan investments. Specifically, GAO recommended that Labor provide more guidance to plan sponsors about fees and returns when plan assets are utilized in securities lending with cash collateral reinvestment, amend its participant disclosure regulation to include provisions specific to securities lending with cash …
Date: March 16, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Moving Illegal Proceeds: Opportunities Exist for Strengthening the Federal Government's Efforts to Stem Cross-Border Currency Smuggling (open access)

Moving Illegal Proceeds: Opportunities Exist for Strengthening the Federal Government's Efforts to Stem Cross-Border Currency Smuggling

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses federal efforts to stem currency smuggling across our nation's borders. Mexican drug-trafficking organizations, terrorist organizations, and other groups with malevolent intent finance their operations by moving funds into or out of the United States. For example, a common technique used for taking proceeds from drug sales in the United States to Mexico is a method known as bulk cash smuggling. The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) has stated that proceeds from drug trafficking generated in this country are smuggled across the southwest border and it estimates that the proceeds total from $18 billion to $39 billion a year. NDIC also estimates that Canadian drug-trafficking organizations smuggle significant amounts of cash across the northern border from proceeds of drugs sold in the United States. In addition to bulk cash smuggling, 21st century methods and technologies of laundering money have emerged. In 2009, NDIC stated that new financial products and technologies present unique opportunities for money launderers as well as unprecedented challenges to the intelligence, law enforcement, and regulatory communities. NDIC and others cited the use of prepaid cards or gift cards that are loaded with currency …
Date: March 9, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Program Remains at High Risk Because of Continuing Management Challenges (open access)

Medicare: Program Remains at High Risk Because of Continuing Management Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the February 2011 High-Risk Series update, GAO continued designation of Medicare as a high-risk program because its complexity and susceptibility to improper payments, combined with its size, have led to serious management challenges. In 2010, Medicare covered 47 million people and had estimated outlays of $509 billion. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated fiscal year 2010 improper payments for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage of almost $48 billion. This statement focuses on the nature of the risk in the program, progress made, and specific actions needed. It is based on GAO work developed by using a variety of methodologies--including analyses of Medicare claims, review of policies, interviews, and site visits--and information from CMS on the status of actions to address GAO recommendations."
Date: March 2, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
New Roles for New Times: Digital Curation for Preservation (open access)

New Roles for New Times: Digital Curation for Preservation

The report looks at how libraries are developing new roles and services in the arena of digital curation for preservation. The authors consider a "promising set of new roles that libraries are currently carving out in the digital arena," describing emerging strategies for libraries and librarians and highlighting collaborative approaches through a series of case studies of key programs and projects. They also provide helpful definitions and offer recommendations for libraries considering how best to make or expand their investments in digital curation. Issues and developments within and across the sciences and humanities are considered.
Date: March 2011
Creator: Walters, Tyler & Skinner, Katherine
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Employment and Training Administration: More Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Accountability of Its Research Program (open access)

Employment and Training Administration: More Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Accountability of Its Research Program

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help guide the nation's workforce development system, the Department of Labor's (Labor) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) conducts research in areas related to job training and employment. Building upon our earlier work, GAO examined the following: (1) To what extent do ETA's research priorities reflect key national employment and training issues and how useful were the studies funded under them? (2) What steps has ETA taken to improve its research program? (3) How has ETA improved the availability of its research since our last review in January 2010? To answer these questions, GAO reviewed ETA's research reports disseminated between January 2008 and March 2010 costing $1 million or more, as well as ongoing studies costing $2 million or more. GAO also convened a virtual expert panel, interviewed Labor and ETA officials, and reviewed relevant documents."
Date: March 15, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Key Indicator Systems: Experiences of Other National and Subnational Systems Offer Insights for the United States (open access)

Key Indicator Systems: Experiences of Other National and Subnational Systems Offer Insights for the United States

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. has many indicators on a variety of topics such as the economy and health, but has no official vehicle for integrating and disseminating this information to better inform the nation about complex challenges. Diverse jurisdictions across the U.S. and internationally are integrating and disseminating this information through comprehensive key indicator systems. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) authorized a congressionally appointed commission and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to oversee the development of a key national indicator system for the U.S. PPACA also directed GAO to study (1) how indicator systems are being used; (2) how indicator systems are designed and developed; (3) some factors necessary to sustain a system; and (4) potential implications for the development and use of a U.S. system. This study builds on a 2004 GAO report on key indicator systems. GAO also obtained information on 20 comprehensive indicator systems from diverse U.S. and international areas; reviewed seven of those systems in greater depth; and interviewed system experts, representatives, and stakeholders. GAO verified the accuracy of the information about indicator systems with system representatives, the …
Date: March 31, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests, and Costs (open access)

Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests, and Costs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimated that as of fiscal year 2009 the total alien--non-U.S.-citizen--population was about 25.3 million, including about 10.8 million aliens without lawful immigration status. Some aliens have been convicted and incarcerated (criminal aliens). The federal government bears these incarceration costs for federal prisons and reimburses states and localities for portions of their costs through the Department of Justice's (DOJ) State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). GAO was asked to update its April and May 2005 reports that contained information on criminal aliens. This report addresses (1) the number and nationalities of incarcerated criminal aliens; (2) the types of offenses for which criminal aliens were arrested and convicted; and (3) the costs associated with incarcerating criminal aliens and the extent to which DOJ's methodology for reimbursing states and localities for incarcerating criminal aliens is current and relevant. GAO analyzed federal and SCAAP incarceration and cost data of criminal aliens from fiscal years 2003 through 2010, and conviction and cost data from five states that account for about 70 percent of the SCAAP criminal alien population in 2008. GAO analyzed a random sample …
Date: March 24, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: TSA's Revised Cost Comparison Provides a More Reasonable Basis for Comparing the Costs of Private-Sector and TSA Screeners (open access)

Aviation Security: TSA's Revised Cost Comparison Provides a More Reasonable Basis for Comparing the Costs of Private-Sector and TSA Screeners

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As Congress requested, this letter discusses the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts to address our January 2009 recommendation to TSA to improve its methodology for comparing the cost and performance of screening services at commercial airports using private-sector screeners under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP airports) and at airports using federal screeners (non-SPP airports). Our January 2009 report identified some design strengths in TSA's analysis comparing the cost and performance of screening services at SPP and non-SPP airports, such as recognizing that cost savings would be limited by the mandated structure of the program, but also identified 10 limitations in TSA's methodology that could affect the accuracy and reliability of the cost and performance comparisons, and its usefulness in informing future management decisions. We recommended that if TSA plans to rely on its comparison of cost and performance of SPP and non-SPP airports for future decision making, the agency should update its analysis to address the limitations we identified. TSA generally concurred with our findings and recommendation."
Date: March 4, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Credit Cards: Consumer Costs for Debt Protection Products Can Be Substantial Relative to Benefits but Are Not a Focus of Regulatory Oversight (open access)

Credit Cards: Consumer Costs for Debt Protection Products Can Be Substantial Relative to Benefits but Are Not a Focus of Regulatory Oversight

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Debt protection and credit insurance products can cancel or suspend part or all of a credit card debt under specific circumstances, such as loss of life, disability, or involuntary unemployment. In response to a mandate in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, this report reviews these products' market share and characteristics, federal and state oversight, and advantages and disadvantages to consumers. For this report, GAO analyzed data it had requested on these products from three major credit insurers and the nine largest credit card issuers. These nine issuers represented 85 percent of the credit card market. GAO also reviewed the products' terms and conditions, related marketing materials, and applicable federal and state regulations."
Date: March 25, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia Charter Schools: Criteria for Awarding School Buildings to Charter Schools Needs Additional Transparency (open access)

District of Columbia Charter Schools: Criteria for Awarding School Buildings to Charter Schools Needs Additional Transparency

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Almost 40 percent of all public school students in the District of Columbia (D.C. or District) were enrolled in charter schools in the 2010-11 school year. The D.C. School Reform Act established the Public Charter School Board (PCSB) for the purpose of authorizing and overseeing charter schools. Congress required GAO to conduct a management evaluation of PCSB. GAO addresses the following: (1) the mechanisms in place to review the performance and operations of PCSB, (2) the procedures and processes PCSB has in place to oversee and monitor the operations of D.C. charter schools, and (3) the resources available to charter schools for their operations and facilities. GAO interviewed officials from D.C. agencies and 7 charter schools and reviewed oversight procedures for PCSB and charter schools. GAO also reviewed the processes for providing resources to charter schools and analyzed data on these resources."
Date: March 9, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue (open access)

Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: March 1, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Illicit Tobacco: Various Schemes Are Used to Evade Taxes and Fees (open access)

Illicit Tobacco: Various Schemes Are Used to Evade Taxes and Fees

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and state governments have raised excise taxes on tobacco products to discourage tobacco use and increase revenues. Cross-border and illicit trade in tobacco products can undermine these policy objectives by avoiding excise taxes and increasing the availability of these products to consumers at lower cost. On June 22, 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Pub. L. No. 111-31), which directed GAO to report on cross-border and illicit trade in tobacco products. Crossborder trade is defined in the Act as trade across a U.S. border, state, territory, or Indian country. Illicit trade is defined in the Act as any practice or conduct prohibited by law which relates to or facilitates the production, shipment, receipt, possession, distribution, sale, or purchase of tobacco products. This report is the first of two GAO products that will respond to this mandate. This report examines (1) incentives that are important for understanding cross-border and illicit trade in tobacco products; and (2) different schemes used to generate profits from cross-border and illicit trade in tobacco products. GAO interviewed government officials, industry representatives, and other subject matter experts. …
Date: March 7, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library