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Information Security: IRS Has Improved Controls but Needs to Resolve Weaknesses (open access)

Information Security: IRS Has Improved Controls but Needs to Resolve Weaknesses

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "IRS continued to make progress in addressing information security control weaknesses, improving its internal control over financial reporting. During fiscal year 2012, IRS management devoted attention and resources to addressing information security controls, and resolved a significant number of the information security control deficiencies that GAO previously reported. Notable among these efforts were the (1) formation of cross-functional working groups tasked with the identification and remediation of specific at-risk control areas, (2) improvement in controls over the encryption of data transferred between accounting systems, and (3) upgrades to critical network devices on the agency's internal network system. However, serious weaknesses remain that could affect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer data. For example, the agency had not always (1) implemented effective controls for identifying and authenticating users, such as enforcing password complexity on certain servers; (2) appropriately restricted access to its mainframe environment; (3) effectively monitored the mainframe environment; or (4) ensured that current patches had been installed on systems to protect against known vulnerabilities."
Date: March 15, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Major Automated Information Systems: Selected Defense Programs Need to Implement Key Acquisition Practices (open access)

Major Automated Information Systems: Selected Defense Programs Need to Implement Key Acquisition Practices

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: March 28, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Modernizing the Nuclear Security Enterprise: Observations on DOE's and NNSA's Efforts to Enhance Oversight of Security, Safety, and Project and Contract Management (open access)

Modernizing the Nuclear Security Enterprise: Observations on DOE's and NNSA's Efforts to Enhance Oversight of Security, Safety, and Project and Contract Management

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within DOE, continue to face challenges in ensuring that oversight of security activities is effective. For example, in July 2012, after three trespassers gained access to the protected security area directly adjacent to one of the nation's most critically important nuclear weapon-related facilities, the Y-12 National Security Complex, DOE and NNSA took a number of immediate actions. These actions included repairing security equipment, reassigning key security personnel, and firing the Y-12 protective force contractor. As GAO and others have reported, DOE has a long history of security breakdowns and an equally long history of instituting remedies to fix these problems. For example, 10 years ago, GAO reported on inconsistencies among NNSA sites on how they assess contractors' security activities and, since that time, DOE has undertaken security initiatives to address these issues. GAO is currently evaluating these security reform initiatives."
Date: March 13, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for 2012 and 2011 (open access)

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute: Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for 2012 and 2011

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: March 29, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans' Disability Benefits: Challenges to Timely Processing Persist (open access)

Veterans' Disability Benefits: Challenges to Timely Processing Persist

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found a number of factors--both external and internal to VBA--have contributed to the increase in processing times and subsequent growth in the backlog of veterans' disability compensation claims. For example, the number of claims received by VBA has increased as the population of new veterans has swelled in recent years. Moreover, due to new regulations that established eligibility for benefits for new diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, VBA adjudicated 260,000 previously denied and new claims for related impairments. Beyond these external factors, issues with the design and implementation of the program have also contributed to timeliness challenges. For example, the law requires VA to assist veterans in obtaining records that support their claim. However, VBA officials said that delays in obtaining military records--particularly for members of the National Guard and Reserve--and Social Security Administration (SSA) medical records impact VA's duty to assist, possibly delaying a decision on a veteran's disability claim. Further, VBA's paper-based claims processing system involves multiple hand-offs, which can lead to misplaced and lost documents and cause unnecessary delays. Concerning timeliness of appeals, VBA regional offices have in recent years shifted resources away …
Date: March 13, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Overview of GAO's Past Work on FHA's Single-Family Mortgage Insurance Programs (open access)

Overview of GAO's Past Work on FHA's Single-Family Mortgage Insurance Programs

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Among other things, GAO's past work discusses FHA's financial condition and steps the agency has taken to improve its financial condition. As housing prices began to decline at the end of 2006 and conventional mortgage lenders tightened their underwriting standards, more homebuyers began taking advantage of FHA-insured loans, which tend to have less strict underwriting standards and require lower down payments, as compared with conventional loans. As a result, FHA's share of the market increased. In 2006, FHA insured approximately 4.5 percent of purchase mortgages. At its peak in 2009, it insured 32.6 percent of purchase mortgages. In 2011, its share of purchase mortgages fell to 26.5 percent."
Date: March 7, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
VA Health Care: Appointment Scheduling Oversight and Wait Time Measures Need Improvement (open access)

VA Health Care: Appointment Scheduling Oversight and Wait Time Measures Need Improvement

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Outpatient medical appointment wait times reported by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), are unreliable. Wait times for outpatient medical appointments—referred to as medical appointments—are calculated as the number of days elapsed from the desired date, which is defined as the date on which the patient or health care provider wants the patient to be seen. The reliability of reported wait time performance measures is dependent on the consistency with which schedulers record the desired date in the scheduling system. However, aspects of VHA’s scheduling policy and training documents for recording desired date are unclear and do not ensure consistent use of the desired date. Some schedulers at VA medical centers (VAMC) that GAO visited did not record the desired date correctly, which, in certain cases, would have resulted in a reported wait time that was shorter than the patient actually experienced for that appointment. VHA officials acknowledged limitations of measuring wait times based on desired date, and described additional information used to monitor veterans’ access to medical appointments; however, reliable measurement of how long patients are waiting for medical appointments is …
Date: March 14, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
FEMA Reservists: Training Could Benefit from Examination of Practices at Other Agencies (open access)

FEMA Reservists: Training Could Benefit from Examination of Practices at Other Agencies

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We compared FEMA's training of reservists with the training provided to reservists at the SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard--agencies with a disaster mission--and found similarities and differences; and, moreover, FEMA had not examined other agencies' training programs to identify useful practices. All four training programs shared some similar attributes with regard to training requirements, funding sources, training delivery, and training evaluation. For example, FEMA and two of the comparison agencies have a credentialing program used to document reservist qualifications. Differences included the timing of when training is delivered and the use of job aids to reinforce reservists' understanding of material covered in training courses. Regarding timing, SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard each train their reservists in advance of deploying these individuals to a disaster. However, factors such as the way in which FEMA funds its disaster program have limited the agency's ability to train its reservists in advance of deployments to disasters. FEMA plans to begin allowing up to 2 weeks of reservist training outside of deployments under the new reservist program during fiscal year 2013. Differences we identified in training practices …
Date: March 22, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Office of National Drug Control Policy: Office Could Better Identify Opportunities to Increase Program Coordination (open access)

Office of National Drug Control Policy: Office Could Better Identify Opportunities to Increase Program Coordination

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and federal agencies have not made progress toward achieving most of the goals articulated in the 2010 National Drug Control Strategy (the Strategy), but are reported to be on track to implement most Strategy action items intended to support these goals. ONDCP established seven Strategy goals related to reducing illicit drug use and its consequences by 2015. As of March 2013, GAO's analysis showed that of the five goals for which primary data on results are available, one shows progress and four show no progress. For example, no progress has been made on reducing drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds by 15 percent. This is primarily due to an increase in the rate of reported marijuana use, offset by decreases in the rates of reported use of other drugs. Nevertheless, ONDCP reported that 107 of the 112 action items in the Strategy are complete or on track. ONDCP officials stated that implementing these action items is necessary but may not be sufficient to achieve Strategy goals."
Date: March 26, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: DHS Needs to Enhance Management of Major Investments (open access)

Information Technology: DHS Needs to Enhance Management of Major Investments

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Approximately two-thirds of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) major IT investments were meeting their cost and schedule commitments. Specifically, out of 68 major IT investments in development, 47 were meeting cost and schedule commitments. The remaining 21--which DHS had estimated to cost about $1 billion--had one or more subsidiary projects that were not meeting cost and/or schedule commitments (i.e., they exceeded their goals by at least 10 percent, which is the level at which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers projects to be at increased risk of not being able to deliver planned capabilities on time and within budget.)"
Date: March 19, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water Infrastructure: Approaches and Issues for Financing Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure (open access)

Water Infrastructure: Approaches and Issues for Financing Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs are the largest sources of federal assistance to states and local communities for funding drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. In fiscal year 2012, EPA funded the Clean Water SRF program $1.5 billion and the Drinking Water SRF program $918 million from congressional appropriations. EPA grants capitalization funds to states, which in turn provide low- or no-interest loans to local communities or utilities to pay for water distribution pipelines, treatment plants, sewer lines, and other similar infrastructure."
Date: March 13, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Awareness, Use, and Usefulness of SaferProducts.gov (open access)

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Awareness, Use, and Usefulness of SaferProducts.gov

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has used various approaches to inform the public about SaferProducts.gov, including using social media, public service announcements, and printed materials, and promoting the site during speeches and events. CPSC's efforts to inform the public about SaferProducts.gov have been part of a larger effort to raise awareness about the agency as a whole. While CPSC has employed many key practices for consumer education planning, it has not established metrics for measuring the success of its efforts. Without such metrics, the agency cannot determine which efforts have had the most impact on increasing awareness and use of the site."
Date: March 11, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Food Assistance: Briefing on U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Assistance Procurement Process (open access)

Food Assistance: Briefing on U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Assistance Procurement Process

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, while USDA's organization and management structure for its food assistance procurement might suggest overlap, GAO found no duplication of Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA) efforts. For example, AMS and FSA follow similar contracting rules and regulations; however, AMS and FSA have different procurement processes and funding authorities and purchase different commodities."
Date: March 7, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Preparedness: NRC Needs to Better Understand Likely Public Response to Radiological Incidents at Nuclear Power Plants (open access)

Emergency Preparedness: NRC Needs to Better Understand Likely Public Response to Radiological Incidents at Nuclear Power Plants

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are collectively responsible for providing radiological emergency preparedness oversight and guidance to commercial nuclear power plant licensees and local and state authorities around the plants. In general, NRC is responsible for overseeing licensees' emergency preparedness at the plant (on-site), and FEMA is responsible for overseeing preparedness by local and state authorities around the plant (off-site). NRC and FEMA have also established a 10-mile emergency planning zone around nuclear power plants. Licensees are responsible for managing on-site radiological emergency preparedness and developing and maintaining plans that define activities that the nuclear power plant must take to prepare for and respond to a potential incident at the plant. Participating local and state authorities within the 10-mile zone must develop protective actions for responding to a radiological incident, including plans for evacuations and sheltering in place. A recent NRC task force considered the adequacy of the zone size and concluded that no change was currently needed but will be re-evaluated as part of its lessons learned efforts for the Fukushima incident."
Date: March 11, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Health Care: DOD Chiropractor Wage Rates (open access)

Defense Health Care: DOD Chiropractor Wage Rates

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found that DOD employs 90 chiropractors at 62 military treatment facilities as of January 2013. Further, the mean salary of DOD's federal civilian chiropractors is similar to the mean salary of those serving in comparable DOD federal civilian health care occupations. Specifically, we found that the mean salaries of our selected health care professions ranged from approximately $77,000 to approximately $94,000 with the mean salary for chiropractors approximately 7 percent higher than the lowest mean salary and approximately 12 percent lower than the highest mean salary. Although these health care positions have similar education and training requirements, they have some different responsibilities."
Date: March 14, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wind Energy: Additional Actions Could Help Ensure Effective Use of Federal Financial Support (open access)

Wind Energy: Additional Actions Could Help Ensure Effective Use of Federal Financial Support

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""
Date: March 11, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Security Assistance: Evaluations Needed to Determine Effectiveness of U.S. Aid to Lebanon's Security Forces (open access)

Security Assistance: Evaluations Needed to Determine Effectiveness of U.S. Aid to Lebanon's Security Forces

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has kept strategic goals for Lebanon constant since 2007 and adjusted security assistance in response to political and security conditions. Since 2007, U.S. strategic goals for Lebanon have been to support the nation as a stable, secure, and independent democracy. According to U.S. officials, U.S. policy priorities include supporting the Government of Lebanon in establishing stability and security against internal threats from militant extremists and the influence of Iran and Syria. U.S. programs to help achieve these priorities include Foreign Military Financing, International Military Education and Training (IMET), International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE), Antiterrorism Assistance, Counterterrorism Financing, Export Control and Related Border Security, and Section 1206 and 1207 authorities. While strategic goals have not changed, program implementation has changed to meet conditions on the ground, according to U.S. officials. For example, the Department of State (State) delayed committing Foreign Military Financing funds to Lebanon for 3 months in 2010, following an exchange of fire between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Israeli forces."
Date: March 19, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Fees: Major Changes Needed to Align Fee Revenues with Program Costs (open access)

Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Fees: Major Changes Needed to Align Fee Revenues with Program Costs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's analysis of the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) fee and cost data revealed a more than $325 million gap between fee revenues and total program costs in fiscal year 2011, or 38 percent of AQI program costs. The program, which is co-administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), has a gap for several reasons: 1) APHIS's authority does not permit it to charge all persons seeking entry to the United States (e.g., pedestrians) and does not permit it to charge the costs of those inspections to others; 2) APHIS has chosen not to charge some classes of passengers, citing administrative fee collection difficulties; 3) CBP does not charge a portion of all primary inspections to agriculture functions, as required by CBP guidance; 4) APHIS does not consider all imputed costs (that is, costs incurred by other agencies on behalf of the AQI program) when setting fees; and 5) the allowable rates for overtime services are misaligned with the personnel costs of performing those services. APHIS is considering fees …
Date: March 1, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Use of Remanufactured Parts in the Federal Vehicle Fleet Is Based On a Variety of Factors (open access)

Use of Remanufactured Parts in the Federal Vehicle Fleet Is Based On a Variety of Factors

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 14 agencies GAO reviewed have vehicle repair processes that generally allow field office staff, such as the vehicle operator or local fleet manager, to make vehicle maintenance and repair decisions. These processes neither mandate nor prohibit the use of remanufactured parts. The agencies we reviewed generally do not keep data on the extent to which remanufactured parts are used. Agency officials from the 14 agencies in our review said that they use remanufactured parts when warranted, and we observed the presence of remanufactured parts in the stock rooms during our visits to repair facilities. Deciding when to use remanufactured parts, according to agency officials and related guidance, depends on a number of factors including the cost, availability, and reliability of the part. According to agency officials, these factors are considered on a case-by-case basis for each repair to yield the best value for the federal government."
Date: March 7, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Entrepreneurial Assistance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Programs' Collaboration, Data-Tracking, and Performance Management (open access)

Entrepreneurial Assistance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Programs' Collaboration, Data-Tracking, and Performance Management

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, we found the following:"
Date: March 20, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief: Per-Patient Costs Have Declined Substantially, but Better Cost Data Would Help Efforts to Expand Treatment (open access)

President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief: Per-Patient Costs Have Declined Substantially, but Better Cost Data Would Help Efforts to Expand Treatment

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of State's (State) Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) has reported that per-patient treatment costs declined from about $1,053 to $339 from 2005 to 2011. Purchasing generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, together with declining drug prices, has led to substantial savings. OGAC estimates that the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has saved $934 million since fiscal year 2005 by buying generic instead of branded products. PEPFAR's analyses of data from eight country treatment-cost studies indicate that per-patient costs also declined as programs realized economies of scale while taking on new patients. Furthermore, the analyses suggest that costs decreased as countries' treatment programs matured, particularly in the first year after programs expanded, and reduced one-time investments. Per-patient cost savings have facilitated substantial increases in the number of people on ARV treatment. In September 2012, an estimated 8 million were on treatment in lowand middle-income countries, of which PEPFAR directly supported 5.1 million-- an increase of 125 percent since 2008, the year the program was reauthorized."
Date: March 15, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corporate Tax Expenditures: Information on Estimated Revenue Losses and Related Federal Spending Programs (open access)

Corporate Tax Expenditures: Information on Estimated Revenue Losses and Related Federal Spending Programs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Estimated tax revenue that the federal government forgoes resulting from corporate tax expenditures increased over the past few decades as did the total number of corporate tax expenditures. In 2011, the Department of the Treasury estimated 80 tax expenditures resulted in the government forgoing corporate tax revenue totaling more than $181 billion. Many of these tax expenditures are broadly available to both corporate and individual taxpayers. More than twothirds or 56 of the 80 tax expenditures used by corporations in 2011 were also used by individual taxpayers, such as other types of businesses not organized as corporations. Modifying any of these 56 tax expenditures as part of broader corporate tax reform would likely affect both corporate and individual taxpayers to some degree."
Date: March 18, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Pensions: Multiemployer Plans and PBGC Face Urgent Challenges (open access)

Private Pensions: Multiemployer Plans and PBGC Face Urgent Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The most severely distressed multiemployer plans have taken significant steps to address their funding problems and, while most plans expected improved financial health, some did not. A survey conducted by a large actuarial and consulting firm serving multiemployer plans suggests that the majority of the most severely underfunded plans--those designated as being in critical status--developed plans to increase employer contributions or reduce certain participant benefits. In some cases, these measures will have significant effects on employers and participants. For example, one plan representative stated that contribution increases had damaged some firms' competitive position in the industry. Similarly, reductions or limitations on certain benefits--such as disability benefits--may create hardships for some older workers, such as those with physically demanding jobs. Most of the 107 surveyed plans expected to emerge from critical status, but about 26 percent did not and instead seek to delay eventual insolvency."
Date: March 5, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Institutions: Causes and Consequences of Recent Failures of Community Banks (open access)

Financial Institutions: Causes and Consequences of Recent Failures of Community Banks

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ten states concentrated in the western, midwestern, and southeastern United States--all areas where the housing market had experienced strong growth in the prior decade--experienced 10 or more commercial bank or thrift (bank) failures between 2008 and 2011. The failures of the smaller banks (those with less than $1 billion in assets) in these states were largely driven by credit losses on commercial real estate (CRE) loans. The failed banks also had often pursued aggressive growth strategies using nontraditional, riskier funding sources and exhibited weak underwriting and credit administration practices. Fair value accounting also has been cited as a potential contributor to bank failures, but between 2007 and 2011 fair value accounting losses in general did not appear to be a major contributor, as over two-thirds of small failed banks' assets were not subject to fair value accounting. During the course of our work, some state banking associations said that the magnitude of the credit losses were exacerbated by federal bank examiners' classification of collateral-dependent loans and evaluation of appraisals used by banks to support impairment analysis of these loans. Federal banking regulators noted that regulatory guidance on CRE …
Date: March 20, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library