Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2005, the most recent year for which complete data were available, occupants of older manufactured homes paid over twice as much on average per square foot for energy---$1.75 per square foot as compared with $0.87---as was paid by occupants of detached homes. Annual energy expenditures for older manufactured homes--about 906 square feet on average--were about $1,369, compared with detached homes--about 2,919 square feet on average--were about $2,060. Energy expenditures--both per square foot and annually--varied significantly by region reflecting regional differences in the types and costs of fuels commonly used to heat and cool homes, income levels, and climate, among other things. In 2005, LIHEAP provided more assistance on a per square foot basis--about $0.33 per square foot--to occupants of older manufactured homes than to those of detached homes--about $0.20 per square foot. However, this assistance covers slightly less of the annual energy expenditures of occupants of older manufactured homes than occupants of detached homes--15 and 17 percent, respectively. Based on our analysis of EIA's RECS data, we estimate that about 3 percent of LIHEAP funds--about $57 million--spent in 2005 were used to assist occupants of older manufactured …

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 …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through its policy and guidance, VHA has outlined processes that enable VAMCs to respond to reported adverse events that occur. VHA generally grants individual VAMCs discretion on choosing which process to use. Specifically, VAMCs conduct an initial review to determine how best to respond to an adverse event. According to VHA officials, if the circumstances that led to an adverse event are clear, based on a VAMC's initial review, VAMCs can take immediate corrective action. If the circumstances that led to an adverse event need to be examined further, VAMCs are given discretion to use one or more of the following four processes: (1) root cause analysis, (2) peer review, (3) clinical care review, and (4) administrative investigation board. Because VAMCs generally have discretion in which of these processes they use, different VAMCs that experience similar adverse events may not use the same processes to respond to them. Nonetheless, each process has certain purposes and limitations. For example, some of these processes may be used to examine a clinician's actions as they relate to an adverse event, while others may be used to examine whether a systems or …