Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The fiscal year 2003 Defense Authorization Act requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop by May 1, 2003, a financial management enterprise architecture, including a transition plan, that meets certain requirements. The act also requires that GAO submit to congressional defense committees an assessment of the architecture and transition plan within 60 days of their approval. As part of our ongoing work to satisfy this legislative requirement and at the request of Senate Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Committee on Armed Services, staff, we briefed the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed forces on March 4, 2003, on our preliminary assessment of the DOD draft architecture products dated February 7, 2003. As further requested by the staff, this letter transmits the observations we made during the briefing."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On January 14, 2004, the President announced a new Vision for space exploration that directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to focus its efforts on returning humans to the moon by 2020 in preparation for future, more ambitions missions. Implementing the Vision will require hundreds of billions of dollars and a sustained commitment from multiple administrations and Congresses. Some of the funding for implementing exploration activities is expected to come from funding freed up after the retirement of the Space Shuttle, scheduled for 2010, and projected termination of U.S. participation in the International Space Station by 2016. Congress, while supportive of the effort has voiced concern over the potential gap in human space flight. In the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, Congress stated that it is the policy of the United States to have the capability for human access to space on a continuous basis. NASA has made it a priority to minimize the gap to the extent possible. GAO provides no recommendations in this statement. However, GAO continues to emphasize that given the Nation's fiscal challenges and NASA's past difficulty developing systems within cost, schedule, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On February 16, 2007, GAO testified at the Committee on Natural Resources' oversight hearing on "Reports, Audits, and Investigations by the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Inspector General Regarding the Department of the Interior." This letter responds to the February 26, 2007 congressional request, in which members of the Committee asked additional questions about GAO's past reports. To answer these questions, we relied primarily on a number of GAO reports, as well as our body of knowledge in these areas. We prepared this letter during March 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Because this letter was primarily based on previously issued reports, we did not seek agency comments on a draft of this letter."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Idaho signed an agreement to clean up a mining area known as Bunker Hill. The agreement estimated that the total cost of the cleanup would be $126 million, with the state's share capped at $12.6 million. This correspondence focuses on (1) EPA's actual expenditures for cleanup activities and how these expenditures differ from the estimate set forth in the agreement and (2) the reasons for any major differences between actual and estimated cleanup expenditures. As of September 30, 2000, EPA had spent about $212 million on various cleanup and management support activities within the Bunker Hill Superfund site. About $101 million of the expenditures was for cleanup-related activities not covered by the EPA/state agreement and therefore not included in the 1995 cost estimate. These activities included the study and design of cleanup activities, emergency removals of contaminated materials, enforcement of responsible party cleanup activities, and indirect management support. The remaining $111 million was used for cleanup work covered by this agreement. EPA and the state of Idaho expect that the cleanup work covered by the agreement will …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In light of the broad congressional interest in Iraq, we have undertaken this engagement under the authority of the Comptroller General to conduct evaluations at his own initiative to provide information on the status and challenges of developing Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) support capabilities. Specifically, our objectives were to determine (1) the current state of the logistical, command and control, and intelligence capabilities of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense; and (2) the current state of the logistical, command and control, and intelligence capabilities of the Ministry of Interior. Additionally, during the course of our work Coalition officials provided us with information on the status of coordination and communication between and within the ministries. On March 7, 2007, we issued a classified report to Congress containing our preliminary observations. This report is the unclassified version of that classified report. Certain specific information and data about the current state of ISF's logistical, command and control and intelligence capabilities was classified as secret. On March 9, 2007, we testified before the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on the development of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is modernizing the paper-intensive processes and antiquated information systems it uses to support the retirement of civilian federal employees through the Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) program. In January 2008, we reported on the agency's management of this program, in which we noted concerns and made recommendations for improvement in four key areas: (1) system testing, (2) system defect resolution, (3) program cost estimation, and (4) program earned value management. The explanatory statement of the House Appropriations Committee regarding the fiscal year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act directed OPM to submit to Cpngressional Committees and to GAO not later than February 20, 2008, a report of its actions on the four areas of concern that we identified. Further, the explanatory statement directed that GAO provide to Congressional Committees and to OPM our comments on the agency's report."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1945, the United States helped establish the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a means to promote international peace. During the 1970s, UNESCO was criticized for becoming too politicized. In 1984, the United States left the organization, contending that it was poorly managed and had failed to restrain budget growth. At that time, the United States urged UNESCO to reform its management practices and adopt zero real growth budgets. In 2002, the United States announced that UNESCO had made progress in adopting reforms and that the United States would rejoin UNESCO to help advance the organization's mission. The United States plans to rejoin UNESCO on October 1, 2003. To facilitate oversight of U.S. reentry into UNESCO, the House committee on International Relations asked us to review the organization's reform efforts and budget trends, as well as issues associated with the U.S. reentry."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a Congressional request that we investigate potential security weaknesses related to the installation of radiation detection equipment at U.S. ports of entry. We focused our efforts on testing whether the radiation portal monitors installed at the U.S. ports of entry would detect radioactive material transported in vehicles attempting to enter the United States. We also agreed to provide our observations regarding the procedures that Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors followed when the radiation portal monitors detected such material. We have reported on the security of our nation's northern border in terms of detection of illegal transport of radioactive material into the United States in our previous work."

Content of this document includes the basic direction of promotion of global warming countermeasures, the targets for control and removal of GHG, and the Japan's measures and policies to achieve the targets.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO is releasing two reports today on U.S. efforts to combat nuclear smuggling in foreign countries and in the United States. Together with the March 2005 report on the Department of Energy's Megaports Initiative, these reports represent GAO's analysis of the U.S. effort to deploy radiation detection equipment worldwide. In my testimony, I will discuss (1) the progress made and challenges faced by the Departments of Energy (DOE), Defense (DOD), and State in providing radiation detection equipment to foreign countries and (2) the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to install radiation detection equipment at U.S. ports of entry and challenges it faces."

This report summarizes recommendations for the development and assessment of new emission scenarios for possible use in the IPCC 5th Assessment Report.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To address the strain on the aviation system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed transitioning to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). To finance this system and to make its costs to users more equitable, the administration has proposed fundamental changes in the way that FAA is financed. As part of the reauthorization, the administration proposes major changes in the way that grants through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) are funded and allocated to the 3,400 airports in the national airport system. In response, GAO was asked for an update on current funding levels for airport development and the sufficiency of those levels to meet planned development costs. This testimony comprises capital development estimates made by FAA and Airports Council International (ACI), the chief industry association; analyzes how much airports have received for capital development and whether this is sufficient to meet future planned development; and summarizes the effects of proposed changes in funding for airport development. This testimony is based on ongoing GAO work. Airport funding and planned development data are drawn from the best available sources and have been assessed for their reliability. This …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) is charged with collecting and administering royalties paid by companies developing fossil and renewable energy resources on federal lands and within federal waters. To promote development of oil and natural gas, fossil resources vital to meeting the nation's energy needs, the federal government at times has provided "royalty relief" waiving or reducing the royalties that companies must pay. In these cases, relief is typically applicable only if prices remain below certain threshold levels. Oil and gas royalties can be taken at MMS's discretion either "in value" as cash or "in kind" as a share of the product itself. Additionally, MMS also collects royalties on the development of geothermal energy resources--a renewable source of heat and electricity--on federal lands. This statement provides (1) an update of our work regarding the fiscal impacts of royalty relief for leases issued under the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act of 1995; (2) a description of our recent work on the administration of the royalties in kind program, as well as ongoing work on related issues; and (3) information on the challenges to collecting geothermal …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) mission is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States and reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism while ensuring its mandated customs, immigration, and federal protective enforcement functions are not diminished. The ICE Office of Investigations (OI) supports that mission by investigating customs and immigration violations. This testimony addresses the following key questions that were answered in GAO-06-48SU, a restricted report issued with the same title: (1) What structure and activities has OI adopted to address its mission? (2) In fiscal year 2004 and the first half of fiscal year 2005, how did OI use its investigative resources to achieve its goals? (3) How does OI ensure that its resource use contributes to its ability to prevent the exploitation of systemic vulnerabilities in customs and immigration systems?"

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Airport and Airway Trust Fund was established by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-258) to help fund the development of a nationwide airport and airway system and to fund investments in air traffic control facilities. It provides all of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) capital accounts, including: (1) the Airport Improvement Program, which provides grants for construction and safety projects at airports; (2) the Facilities and Equipment account, which funds technological improvements to the air traffic control system; and (3) the Research, Engineering, and Development account, which funds continued research on aviation safety, mobility, and environment issues. In addition, at various times during its history, the Trust Fund has funded all or some portion of FAA's operations. To fund these accounts, the Trust Fund is credited with revenues from a variety of excise taxes related to passenger tickets, passenger flight segments, international arrivals/departures, cargo waybills, and aviation fuels. Including interest earned on its balances, the Trust Fund received $10.8 billion in fiscal year 2005. The various taxes that accrue to the Trust Fund are scheduled to expire at the end …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) F-22A and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programs aim to replace many of the Department's aging tactical fighter aircraft--many of which have been in DOD's inventory for more than 20 years. Together, the F-22A and JSF programs represent a significant investment for DOD--currently estimated at almost $320 billion. GAO has reported on the poor outcomes in DOD's acquisitions of tactical aircraft and other major weapon systems. Cost and schedule overruns have diminished DOD's buying power and delayed the delivery of needed capabilities to the warfighter. Last year, GAO testified that weaknesses in the F-22A and JSF programs raised questions as to whether DOD's overarching tactical aircraft recapitalization goals were achievable. GAO is providing updated testimony on (1) the extent to which the current F-22A and JSF business cases are executable, (2) the current status of DOD's tactical aircraft recapitalization efforts, and (3) potential options for recapitalizing the air forces as DOD moves forward with its tactical aircraft recapitalization efforts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Today's hearing concerns fraud, waste, and abuse control in Medicaid, a program that provides health care coverage for over 56 million eligible low-income people and is jointly financed by the federal government and the states. In fiscal year 2004, Medicaid had benefit payments of $287 billion, with a federal share of about $168 billion. The states are primarily responsible for ensuring appropriate Medicaid payments through provider enrollment screening, claims review, overpayment recovery, and case referral to law enforcement. At the federal level, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for supporting and overseeing state fraud, waste, and abuse control activities. Congress requested information on how CMS and the states can better serve taxpayers and beneficiaries by reducing Medicaid fraud. This statement will focus on existing concerns about CMS's efforts to help states prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse; how provisions in recent legislation providing for a Medicaid Integrity Program will help CMS expand its current efforts; and challenges CMS needs to address as it implements new Medicaid Integrity Program efforts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To address the threat of dirty bombs and other nuclear material, the federal government has programs in place that regulate the transportation of radioactive sources and to prevent illegal transport of radioactive sources across our nation's borders. The Department of Homeland Security through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses radiation detection equipment at ports of entry to prevent such illicit entry of radioactive sources. The goal of CBP's inspection program is to "...thwart the operations of terrorist organizations by detecting, disrupting, and preventing the cross-border travel of terrorists, terrorist funding, and terrorist implements, including Weapons of Mass Destruction and their precursors." Deploying radiation detection equipment is part of CBP's strategy for thwarting radiological terrorism and CBP is using a range of such equipment to meet its goal of screening all cargo, vehicles, and individuals coming into the United States. Most travelers enter the United States through the nation's 154 land border ports of entry. CBP inspectors at ports of entry are responsible for the primary inspection of travelers to determine their admissibility into the United States and to enforce laws related to preventing the entry of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility in preparing for catastrophic terrorist attacks. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is intergovernmental, national policymakers need a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges when formulating antiterrorism strategies. Key aspects of this strategy should include a definition and clarification of the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities. GAO has found fragmentation and overlap among federal assistance programs. More than 40 federal entities have roles in combating terrorism, and past federal efforts have resulted in a lack of accountability, a lack of cohesive effort, and program duplication. This situation has led to confusion, making it difficult to identify available federal preparedness resources and effectively partner with the federal government. Goals and performance measures should be established to guide the nation's preparedness efforts. For the nation's preparedness programs, however, outcomes have yet to be defined in terms of domestic preparedness. Given the recent and proposed increases in preparedness funding, real and meaningful improvements in preparedness and establishing clear goals and performance measures are critical to ensuring a successful and a fiscally responsible effort. …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year (FY) 2001 budget request, focusing on: (1) the 2000 tax filing season; (2) IRS' FY 2001 budget request and supporting documentation; and (3) GAO's reviews of various IRS activities, including those related to information systems and IRS' reorganization."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its investigation of the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) negotiated settlements of large overpayments to three Medicare providers between 1991 and July 1999."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Among the challenges facing New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is the significant destruction and disruption of health care services. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi border on the morning of August 29, 2005, and the subsequent flooding caused by the failure of the New Orleans levee system resulted in one of the largest natural disasters to hit the U.S. Among other things, the hurricane resulted in the sudden closure of hospitals and loss of other health care providers, including one of the largest hospitals in the area, Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (MCLNO), which suffered extensive damage and remains closed. MCLNO, consisting of Charity and University Hospitals, is part of the statewide Louisiana State University (LSU) system and served as the primary safety net hospital for many local residents. About half of its patients were uninsured, and about one-third were covered by Medicaid. Furthermore, MCLNO also served as a major teaching hospital and the only Level I trauma center in the area. The availability of health care services is one of the factors that can affect whether and how quickly residents …

20 MAY 05 DON-0165R V4 S AND S REMOVED - 57 - Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA

DON-0172-050401-11.06.44 - 59 - Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment, Concord, CA