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High-Speed Passenger Rail: Preliminary Assessment of California's Cost Estimates and Other Challenges
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Based on an initial evaluation of the California High Speed Rail Authority's (Authority) cost estimates, GAO found that they exhibit certain strengths and weaknesses when compared to best practices in GAO's Cost Guide. Adherence with the Cost Guide reduces the risk of cost overruns and missed deadlines. GAO's preliminary evaluation indicates that the cost estimates are comprehensive in that they include major components of construction and operating costs. However, they are not based on a complete set of assumptions, such as how the Authority expects to adapt existing high-speed rail technology to the project in California. The cost estimates are accurate in that they are based on the most recent project scope, include an inflation adjustment, and contain few mathematical errors. And while the cost estimates' methodologies are generally documented, in some cases GAO was unable to trace the final cost estimate back to its source documentation and could not verify how certain cost components, such as stations and trains, were calculated. Finally, the Authority evaluated the credibility of its estimates by performing both a sensitivity analysis (assessing changes in key cost inputs) and an independent cost estimate, …
Date:
December 6, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan Security: Long-standing Challenges May Affect Progress and Sustainment of Afghan National Security Forces
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) report progress developing capable Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), but tools used to assess the performance of ANSF units have changed several times. In April 2012, DOD reported progress increasing the number and capability of ANSF, with 7 percent of army units and 9 percent of police units rated at the highest level of capability. GAO has previously found the tools used by DOD and NATO to assess ANSF reliable enough to support broad statements regarding capability. However, issues related to these tools exist. When GAO reported on ANA capability in January 2011, the highest capability rating level was independentmeaning that a unit was capable of executing the full spectrum of its missions without assistance from coalition forces. As of August 2011, the highest level had changed to independent with advisorsmeaning that a unit was capable of executing its mission and can call for coalition forces when necessary. DOD reports, these changes, as well as the elimination of certain requirements for validating units, were partly responsible for the increase in ANSF units rated at the highest …
Date:
July 24, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Community Reinvestment Act: Challenges in Quantifying Its Effect on Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Investment
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While CRA should increase investor demand for LIHTCs, quantifying the extent of any effect of CRA on LIHTC equity contributions is difficult given data and methodological challenges. In part because of the qualitative nature of the CRA investment test, regulatory ratings cannot be systematically linked to banks' LIHTC investments. Although a bank's overall rating and the associated narrative of its CRA examination are publicly available, the performance evaluation report does not individually list qualified investments and how they were considered for that examination. Furthermore, quantifying potential bank demand for LIHTCs in specific geographic areas is complicated because not every bank assessment area is considered to the same degree in a CRA examination. Although one way to assess demand for LIHTCs is by examining how much equity investors are willing to contribute, the common LIHTC price measure--the ratio of investors' equity contribution to the total amount of LIHTCs in nominal dollars--is subject to misinterpretation. Specifically, an investor's equity contribution reflects the value of not just the LIHTCs, but also any other tax and regulatory benefits--such as higher CRA ratings--plus project risks. Such other tax benefits include deductions for depreciation …
Date:
August 28, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Department of Homeland Security: Efforts to Assess Realignment of Its Field Office Structure
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DHS reported taking some steps to assess the realignment of its regional/field office structure. Since submitting an initial plan to Congress in 2004 that outlined regionalization, consolidation, and colocation opportunities, DHS officials said the agency considered the potential implementation of a unified regional field office structure through two major initiatives--the 2004 I-Staff review and the department's 2010 BUR. However, the I-Staff Regional Concept of Operations was not finalized or adopted, and in April 2012 a senior DHS official involved in the BUR effort stated that DHS no longer intends to implement the BUR recommendation related to regionalization because it is no longer the department's preferred approach. DHS had limited or no documentation related to either of these reviews, including the resulting key decisions from the efforts. As a result, we are unable to determine the extent to which DHS has fully considered the realignment of its regional/field office structure, including costs and benefits, since 2004. Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government calls for clear documentation of significant events, which include assumptions and methods surrounding key decisions, and the standards also state that this documentation should be …
Date:
September 28, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Managing for Results: A Guide for Using the GPRA Modernization Act to Help Inform Congressional Decision Making
Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date:
June 15, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Federal Antitrust Policy: Stakeholders' Perspectives Differed on the Adequacy of Guidance for Collaboration among Health Care Providers
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Stakeholdershealth care industry groups and experts in antitrust lawhad different perspectives on the adequacy of three key aspects of antitrust guidance for health care provider collaboration. First, stakeholders perspectives differed on the sufficiency of guidance on clinical integration, which involves integrating clinical activities across providers in a collaborative arrangement. Clinical integration is one way for a collaborative arrangement to satisfy the requirement that the arrangement demonstrate the potential to yield significant benefits, such as reduced costs or improved quality, in order to be able to jointly negotiate prices. Five of the six experts and one of the four industry groups said that agency guidance was sufficient, while one expert and two industry groups asserted that agency guidance on clinical integration was inadequate. Second, stakeholders perspectives differed as to whether the agencies should permit greater use of exclusive collaborative arrangements, which restrict the ability of providers within a collaborative arrangement to contract with other arrangements or health plans. The use of exclusive arrangements has the potential to improve or reduce competition, depending on the circumstances. Four of the experts said that the agencies guidance on exclusive arrangements was reasonable, …
Date:
March 16, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Federal Protective Service: Preliminary Results on Efforts to Assess Facility Risks and Oversee Contract Guards
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAOs preliminary results indicate that the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS) is not assessing risks at federal facilities in a manner consistent with standards such as the National Infrastructure Protection Plans (NIPP) risk management framework, as FPS originally planned. Instead of conducting risk assessments, since September 2011, FPSs inspectors have collected information, such as the location, purpose, agency contacts, and current countermeasures (e.g., perimeter security, access controls, and closed-circuit television systems). This information notwithstanding, FPS has a backlog of federal facilities that have not been ssessed for several years. According to FPSs data, more than 5,000 facilities were to be assessed in fiscal years 2010 through 2012. However, GAO was not able to determine the extent of FPSs facility security assessment (FSA) backlog because the data were unreliable. Multiple agencies have expended resources to conduct risk assessments, even though they also already pay FPS for this service."
Date:
July 24, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Administration: Technology Modernization Needs Improved Planning and Performance Measures
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, SSA has reported spending more than $5 billion on the development, modernization, and enhancement of its IT systems and capabilities. SSA officials identified 120 initiatives undertaken from 2001 to 2011 that the agency considered to be key investments in modernization. These comprise a subset of the hundreds of projects and modernization activities SSA undertakes yearly, which vary greatly in level of effort, scope, and cost. These initiatives affected all of the agencys main program areas:"
Date:
May 9, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Identity Theft: Total Extent of Refund Fraud Using Stolen Identities is Unknown
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Understanding the extent and nature of identity theft-related refund fraud is important to crafting a response to it, but Internal Revenue Service (IRS) managers recognize that they do not have a complete picture. Program officials said that one of the challenges they face in combating this type of fraud is its changing nature and how it is concealed. While perfect knowledge about cases and who is committing the crime will never be attained, the better IRS understands the problem, the better it can respond and the better Congress can oversee IRS's efforts. IRS officials described several areas where the extent and nature of identity theft is unknown."
Date:
November 29, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Review of FAA's Collegiate Training Initiative as Mandated in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The cost effectiveness of the alternative training approach depends on several cost elements that are currently unknown, such as the up-front costs to develop the new controller training curriculum for CTI schools and the duration of the new orientation session at the Academy. However, some direct cost savings to FAA are possible and may be realized under the alternative training approach. These savings include avoiding the cost of pay (salary and per diem) for Academy trainees and not incurring the cost of providing Academy courses for each assigned air traffic control specialization. However, any cost savings could be offset by a number of additional costs that FAA could incur related to the alternative training approach; because some of these costs are unknown at this time, it is unclear whether the alternative approach would be more cost effective. These additional costs would depend primarily on how FAA implements the new training. Also unknown are recurring costs for any additional evaluations FAA would have to undertake to check the accreditation status of CTI schools and to assess graduates' proficiency in the initial specialization coursework. The cost of the mandate's proposed …
Date:
August 24, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
International Food Assistance: U.S. Nonemergency Food Aid Programs Have Similar Objectives but Some Planning Helps Limit Overlap
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "USAID and USDA share broad objectives for nonemergency food aid programs; however, the agencies have established some planning processes to limit overlap in these programs. For example, both USAID and USDA have objectives that address financial services, infrastructure, agricultural productivity, agribusiness development, and child and maternal nutrition needs in food insecure countries. Some of these shared objectives are the result of authorizing legislation, through which Congress outlines nonemergency food aid objectives, while others are included in presidential initiatives and agency strategies. We also found that USAID and USDA nonemergency food aid programs shared common geographic focus areas in which they implemented similar activities. For example, in fiscal year 2011, both USAID and USDA had nonemergency food aid programs in Guatemala and Uganda and both programs were providing agricultural training. Furthermore, implementing partners in Guatemala and Uganda administering programs for both agencies told us that USAID and USDA have parallel administrative structures in the field and distinct requirements for performance management. However, we found that these agencies have established some processes to plan and coordinate country activities in efforts to limit overlap. For example, to improve coordination in nonemergency …
Date:
December 12, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Managing for Results: GAO's Work Related to the Interim Crosscutting Priority Goals under the GPRA Modernization Act
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The act requires that OMB develop federal government priority goals (crosscutting goals) and a federal government performance plan, which is to be updated annually and released concurrently with the Presidents budget. Specifically, it requires OMB, starting with the 2015 budget and in coordination with agencies and in consultation with the Congress, to developevery 4 yearslong-term, outcome-oriented goals for a limited number of crosscutting policy areas and goals for management improvement areas, including: financial management; human capital management; information technology management; procurement and acquisition management; and real property management. The goals are to be updated or revised every 4 years. In addition, OMB is required to develop interim priority goals, starting with the 2013 budget. OMB is also required to provide information on how these federal government priority goals will be achieved in a federal government performance plan."
Date:
May 31, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Information on Materials and Practices for Improving Highway Pavement Performance
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's more than 4 million miles of roads are key to the economy, facilitating the movement of goods and people. Although highways are highly durable and can last for decades, they deteriorate from traffic wear and tear, inadequate drainage, construction deficiencies, and weather. Keeping them in good condition requires substantial resources: public entities spent more than $180 billion in 2008 on highways, with about $40 billion coming from the federal government. Despite these outlays, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that these funding levels are insufficient to maintain or improve the condition of the nation's highways through 2028. Further, the major source of federal surface transportation funding--federal motor fuel tax revenues deposited into the Highway Trust Fund--is eroding. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, as of March 2012, to maintain current spending levels and account for inflation from 2013 to 2022, the Highway Trust Fund will require more than $125 billion over what it is expected to take in during that period."
Date:
November 14, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Effects of Proposed Changes on Partial Disability Beneficiaries Depend on Employment After Injury
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date:
December 7, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Commerce Program Has Helped Manufacturing and Services Firms, but Measures, Data, and Funding Formula Could Be Enhanced
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "First, we found that the four changes mandated by the 2009 legislation contributed to improvements in program operations and increased participation: (1) Creation of director and other full-time positions: The creation of a director and other full-time positions for the program resulted in reduced firm certification processing times for petitions. (2) New annual reporting on performance measures: EDA has submitted three annual reports to Congress on these performance measures as a result of the legislation. (3) Inclusion of service sector firms: According to our analysis of EDA data, the inclusion of service sector firms allowed EDA to certify 26 firms not previously eligible for assistance from fiscal years 2009 through 2011. (4) Expansion of the "look-back" period from 12 months to 12, 24, or 36 months: Our analysis of EDA data shows that 32 additional firms participated in the program from fiscal years 2009 through 2011 based on the expansion of the look-back period from 12 months to 12, 24, or 36 months. Prior to the legislative changes, firms were only allowed to compare sales and production data in the most recent 12 months to data from the …
Date:
November 14, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Border Patrol Strategy: Progress and Challenges in Implementation and Assessment Efforts
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAOs prior work has highlighted progress and challenges in various areas related to Border Patrols implementation of its 2004 National Strategy, which could provide insights as Border Patrol transitions to its 2012 Strategic Plan. Border Patrol officials stated that the 2012 Strategic Plan will rely on Border Patrol and federal, state, local, tribal, and international partners working together to use a risk-based approach to secure the border, and include the key elements of Information, Integration, and Rapid Response to achieve objectives. These elements were similar to those in the 2004 Strategy and GAOs past work highlighted the progress and challenges the agency faced obtaining information necessary for border security; integrating security operations with partners; and mobilizing a rapid response to security threats. Border Patrol successfully used interagency forums and joint operations to counter threats, but challenges included assessing the benefits of border technology and infrastructure to, among other things, provide information on situational awareness. For example, in May 2010 GAO reported that the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had not accounted for the effect of its investment in border fencing and infrastructure …
Date:
May 8, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Controls and Operating Effectiveness
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During our audit of IRSs fiscal year 2011 financial statements, we identified new internal control deficiencies in the following areas:"
Date:
June 25, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Operational Contract Support: Sustained DOD Leadership Needed to Better Prepare for Future Contingencies
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Future overseas contingencies are inherently uncertain, but effective planning for operational contract support can help reduce the risks posed by those uncertainties. The Department of Defense (DOD) has made an effort to emphasize the importance of operational contract support at the strategic level through new policy and guidance and ongoing efforts. For example, in January 2011, the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum outlining actions and indicating a need to influence a cultural shift in how the department manages contracted support in a contingency environment. DOD has also recognized the need to translate strategic requirements into plans at the operational level, but GAO's past work has shown that DOD's progress in anticipating contractor support in sufficient detail in operation plans has been slow. As a result, DOD has risked not fully understanding the extent to which it will be relying on contractors to support combat operations and being unprepared to provide the necessary management and oversight of deployed contractor personnel. One way to help address this risk is to ensure military commanders and senior leaders are cognizant of the roles contractors have in supporting DOD's efforts and the …
Date:
September 12, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Coins: Benefits and Considerations for Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported in February 2012 that replacing $1 notes with $1 coins could potentially provide $4.4 billion in net benefits to the federal government over 30 years. The overall net benefit was due solely to increased seigniorage and not to reduced production costs. Seigniorage is the difference between the cost of producing coins or notes and their face value; it reduces government borrowing and interest costs, resulting in a financial benefit to the government. GAOs estimate takes into account processing and production changes that occurred in 2011, including the Federal Reserves use of new equipment to determine the quality and authenticity of notes, which has increased the expected life of the note thereby reducing the costs of circulating a note over 30 years. (The $1 note is expected to last 4.7 years and the $1 coin 30 years.) Like all estimates, there are uncertainties surrounding GAOs estimate, especially since the costs of the replacement occur in the first several years and can be estimated with more certainty than the benefits, which are less certain because they occur further in the future. Moreover, changes to the inputs and assumptions …
Date:
November 29, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Management Report: Improvements Are Needed to Strengthen the American Battle Monuments Commission's Internal Controls and Accounting Procedures
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During our audit of the Commissions fiscal years 2011 and 2010 financial statements, we identified the following internal control deficiencies that, collectively, constituted a significant deficiency in the Commissions internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2011."
Date:
July 26, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
National Transportation Safety Board's Implementation of GAO Recommendations
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date:
January 6, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: SBA Needs to Strengthen Oversight of Its Loan Management and Accounting System Modernization
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Small Business Administrations (SBA) efforts to modernize its Loan Management and Accounting System (LMAS). As discussed in our report, SBA had completed one of the seven LMAS-Incremental Improvement Projects (IIPs) and awarded contracts for work on three others as of October 2011. However, the projects have experienced increasing costs and schedule delays. However, the projects have experienced increasing costs and schedule delays. Specifically, according to the most recent project schedule, dated August 2011, SBA completed one project in May 2011, 2 months later than planned and expects five of the remaining six projects to finish between 4 and 11 months later than the dates reported to Congress in October 2010. Further, according to the agencys most recent report to Congress, dated March 2011, the total projected cost of the projects increased approximately $5 million since October 2010 and the costs of individual projects had risen between approximately 3 and 53 percent. SBA plans to complete the seven IIPs at a total cost of approximately $28 million by July 2013. Our report also raises concerns about SBAs inconsistent implementation of key management practices."
Date:
February 8, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Recovery: Selected Themes for Effective Long-Term Recovery
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 2008 to 2010, GAO produced a body of work on disaster recovery, including reviews of the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Long-Term Community Recovery efforts, recovery lessons based on past experiences at home and abroad, the use of Community Development Block Grants and Public Assistance grants and the operation of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding (OFC). Among other things, this work highlighted themes that are important to successful disaster recovery efforts. Three of these key themes are: (1) the need for clearly defined recovery roles and responsibilities; (2) the importance of effective coordination and collaboration among recovery stakeholders; and (3) the value of periodic evaluation of, and reporting on, recovery progress."
Date:
June 6, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Community Development Financial Institutions and New Markets Tax Credit Programs in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The policies and procedures of the CDFI and NMTC Programs help ensure that awards and allocations generally are proportionate to the numbers of qualified applicants that serve metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The CDFI Programs authorizing legislation and regulations require that award recipients constitute a geographically diverse group, serving metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and Native communities from different U.S. regions. To meet this requirement, CDFI Program officials have used the application review process and established a goal of matching the proportion of awards to the proportion of qualified applicants that primarily serve nonmetropolitan areas. This proportion changed from year to year depending on the number of qualified applicants that served nonmetropolitan areas. According to officials, revisions to the award procedures in the fiscal year 2012 funding round will enhance the CDFI Programs ability to achieve proportionality. In 2006, Congress, in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, added a requirement for the NMTC Program that nonmetropolitan counties receive a proportional allocation of qualified equity investments. To meet this requirement, in 2008, the NMTC Program implemented two goals in its application review process. The first goal requires that …
Date:
April 26, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library