Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More than a quarter of automobiles and about a third of light trucks (including sport utility vehicles, vans, and pickup trucks) on the roadways of the United States have one or more tires underinflated 8 pounds per square inch (psi) or more below the level recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, according to a report by the Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A decrease in tire pressure can be caused by poor maintenance, driving habits, punctures, road conditions, and the quality of material used in tire construction. According to tire experts, under normal driving conditions, air-filled tires can lose from 1 to 2 psi per month as air permeates through the tires. Vehicles with underinflated tires have had handling problems that caused crashes resulting in fatalities and injuries. In addition, the fuel economy of vehicles driving on underinflated tires is slightly lower. In response to a Congressional request for information on these issues, we addressed the following questions: (1) What is the impact of tire underinflation on safety and fuel economy, and what actions has the federal government taken to promote proper tire inflation? …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prevent pollutants from entering storm water runoff, the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Storm Water Program requires controls for construction activities that disturb land. Phase I of this program requires permitting for construction activities that disturb 5 acres or more, while Phase II requires permitting for activities disturbing between 1 and 5 acres. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the Phase II compliance date for discharges associated with oil and gas construction activities until March 2005 to analyze the impact of Phase II on the oil and gas industry. GAO was asked to provide information about oil and gas construction activities--such as well drilling and pipeline construction--affected by Phase I and likely to be affected by Phase II, as well as Phase II's financial and environmental implications."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In our September 2005 report, Livestock Grazing: Federal Expenditures and Receipts Vary, Depending on the Agency and the Purpose of the Fee Charged, we reported that the National Park Service (Park Service) allowed livestock grazing on nearly 1.6 million acres at 31 park units. To manage grazing on their lands, the park units spent at least $410,000 in fiscal year 2004, which included activities such as fence maintenance, personnel, and monitoring resource conditions; they also collected about $196,000 in receipts from ranchers for the privilege of grazing livestock on Park Service lands. In fiscal year 2004, the park units retained about $192,000, or 98 percent, of the receipts collected. During the course of our work, we found that the park units were not consistently implementing the Park Service's special uses permit guidance for fee-setting and cost-recovery. This letter presents the results of our further evaluation of the park units' efforts to manage grazing permits on their lands and makes recommendations to strengthen the Park Service's guidance for setting fees, recovering costs, and retaining funds. This letter discusses (1) the fees that park units charge for grazing permits and …

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the Department of Defense (DOD) enters the 21st century, the average ages of its weapon systems and equipment are increasing, primarily because DOD has not routinely replaced items bought during the Cold War. According to DOD officials, the aging of weapon systems and equipment reduce readiness. To keep pace with the maintenance required for aging systems and equipment, the military services have diverted funds from modernization accounts to operating and support accounts. DOD faces major challenges as it continues to implement its current tactical aircraft modernization plans. The Navy and the Air Force will be inable to procure enough new tactical aircraft to reduce the average age of tactical aircraft. During the next 11 years, the average age will continue to increase, especially in the Air Force. The upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review provides an opportunity to assess whether the issue of aging requires concerted attention."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Terrorist attacks and espionage cases have heightened national security concerns and highlighted the need for a timely, high-quality personnel security clearance process. However, GAO's past work found that the Department of Defense (DOD) had a clearance backlog and other problems with its process. GAO was asked to address: (1) What is the size of DOD's security clearance backlog, and how accurately is DOD able to estimate its size? (2) What factors impede DOD's ability to eliminate the backlog and accurately determine its size? (3) What are the potential adverse effects of those impediments to eliminating DOD's backlog and accurately estimating the backlog's size? GAO was also asked to determine the status of the congressionally authorized transfer of Defense Security Service (DSS) investigative functions and personnel to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1998, the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) E-rate program has committed more than $13 billion to help schools and libraries acquire Internet and telecommunications services. Recently, however, allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse by some E-rate program participants have come to light. As steward of the program, FCC must ensure that participants use E-rate funds appropriately and that there is managerial and financial accountability surrounding the funds. GAO reviewed (1) the effect of the current structure of the E-rate program on FCC's management of the program, (2) FCC's development and use of E-rate performance goals and measures, and (3) the effectiveness of FCC's oversight mechanisms in managing the program."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Several federal programs help pay for or reduce the costs of prescription drugs for eligible individuals and entities. Three examples are the Medicaid drug rebate program, part of the joint federal-state Medicaid program that finances medical services for certain low-income people; the 340B drug pricing program, which provides discounted drug prices to certain eligible entities such as community health centers; and the Medicare Part D program, which provides a Medicare drug benefit for the elderly and certain disabled people. The price information drug manufacturers report under these federal programs affects related federal spending. Spending is also affected by the extent to which federal oversight ensures the accuracy of this information. GAO was asked to provide information related to the oversight of prescription drug pricing practices that affect these federal programs. This testimony focuses on the oversight of drug pricing related to the three programs and the implications for future congressional oversight. This testimony is based on recent GAO reports examining these programs and related work by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and others."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Social Security is the foundation of the nation's retirement income system, helping to protect the vast majority of American workers and their families from poverty in old age. However, it is much more than a retirement program, providing millions of Americans with disability insurance and survivors' benefits. As the baby boom generation retires and given longer life spans and lower birth rates, Social Security's financing shortfall will grow. The current gap between promised and funded benefits is $3.7 trillion and is growing daily. The Chairman of the House Budget Committee asked GAO to discuss the need for Social Security reform. This testimony addresses the nature of Social Security's long-term financing problem and why it is preferable for Congress to take action sooner rather than later. This testimony also notes the broader context in which reform proposals should be considered and the criteria that GAO has recommended as a basis for analyzing any Social Security reform proposals."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its report on issues related to adverse medical events in the nation's health care system."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the events of September 11, 2001, Congress created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and directed it to assume the function of passenger prescreening--or the matching of passenger information against terrorist watch lists to identify persons who should undergo additional security scrutiny--for domestic flights, which is currently performed by the air carriers. To do so, TSA is developing Secure Flight. This testimony covers TSA's progress and challenges in (1) developing, managing, and overseeing Secure Flight; (2) coordinating with key stakeholders critical to program operations; (3) addressing key factors that will impact system effectiveness; and (4) minimizing impacts on passenger privacy and protecting passenger rights. This testimony includes information on areas of congressional interest that GAO has previously reported on."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the military services' and the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year (FY) 1994-1998 operation and maintenance (O&M) budget requests, focusing on: (1) identifying the differences between the amounts Congress initially designated for O&M subactivities, and those DOD reported as obligated for the same subactivities; (2) identifying those O&M subactivities where DOD obligated funds differently than recommended by Congress in each year of the 5-year period GAO examined; and (3) assessing information available to Congress to track DOD's movement of funds among O&M subactivities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is required by law to annually audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Proper accounting and reporting practices are essential in the public sector. The U.S. government is the largest, most complex, and most diverse entity on earth today. Its services--homeland security, national defense, Social Security, health care, mail delivery, and food inspection, to name a few--directly affect the well-being of almost every American. Sound decisions on the current results and future direction of vital federal government programs and policies are made more difficult without timely, reliable, and useful financial and performance information. Until the problems discussed in GAO's audit report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements are adequately addressed, they will continue to (1) hamper the federal government's ability to reliably report a significant portion of its assets, liabilities, costs, and other information; (2) affect the federal government's ability to reliably measure the full cost as well as the financial and nonfinancial performance of certain programs; (3) impair the federal government's ability to adequately safeguard significant assets and properly record various transactions; and (4) prevent the federal government from having reliable financial information …