A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is embarking on a number of efforts to enhance warfighting and the way the department conducts business. Major investments are being made to develop improved weapon systems to combat various threats to U.S. security. While the weapons that DOD ultimately develops have no rival in superiority, weapon systems acquisition remains a long-standing high-risk area. GAO's reviews over the past 30 years have found consistent problems with weapon acquisitions such as cost increases, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. In addition, DOD faces several budgetary challenges that underscore the need to deliver its new major weapon programs within estimated costs and to obtain the most from those investments. DOD can help resolve these problems by using a more knowledge-based approach for developing new weapons. This report provides congressional and DOD decision makers with an independent, knowledge-based assessment of selected defense programs that identifies potential risks and needed actions when a program's projected attainment of knowledge diverges from the best practice. It can also highlight those programs that employ practices worthy of emulation by other programs. GAO plans to update and issue this report …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force is on the verge of making a major commitment to the multi-billion dollar E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft program. Due to the substantial investment needed and technological challenges in developing the aircraft, the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces asked GAO to examine the soundness of the E-10A business case as well as the risks associated with the current acquisition strategy."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) pays its contractors billions of dollars each year to implement its major projects--those costing more than $400 million each. Many major projects have experienced substantial cost and schedule overruns, largely because of contract management problems. GAO was asked to assess, for major departmental projects, (1) DOE's use of performance incentives to effectively control costs and maintain schedules, (2) the reliability of the data DOE uses to monitor and assess contractor performance, and (3) the reliability of the Project Assessment and Reporting System (PARS) data that senior managers use for project oversight."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Drought conditions along the Oregon and California border since 2000 have made it difficult for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to meet Klamath Project irrigation demands and Klamath River flow requirements for threatened salmon. To augment river flows and avoid jeopardizing the salmon's existence, Reclamation established a multiyear water bank as part of its Klamath Project operations for 2002 through 2011. Water banks facilitate the transfer of water entitlements between users. This report addresses (1) how Reclamation operated the water bank and its cost from 2002 through 2004, (2) whether Reclamation met its annual water bank obligations each year, (3) the water bank's impact on water availability and use in the Klamath River Basin, and (4) alternative approaches for achieving the water bank's objectives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a mandate in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) of 2003 requiring GAO to assess consumers' understanding of credit reporting. The FACT Act, among other things, extended provisions governing the credit reporting system and addressed ongoing concerns about inaccuracies in credit reports. For example, the act expanded access to credit information by entitling consumers to one free credit report each year. It also established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) to improve consumers' understanding of credit issues. This report examines consumers' understanding and use of credit reports and scores and the dispute process and looks at factors that may influence their understanding of credit reporting."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Among its efforts to strengthen aviation security, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is developing a new passenger prescreening system--known as Secure Flight. As required by Congress, TSA is planning to assume, through Secure Flight, the prescreening function currently performed by the air carriers. This report assesses the (1) status of Secure Flight's development and implementation, (2) factors that could influence the effectiveness of Secure Flight, (3) processes used to oversee and manage the Secure Flight program, and (4) efforts taken to minimize the impacts on passengers and protect passenger rights. In conducting this assessment, we addressed the 10 specific areas of congressional interest related to Secure Flight outlined in Public Law 108-334."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990s, states sued major tobacco companies to obtain reimbursement for health impairments caused by the public's use of tobacco. In 1998, 46 states and four of the nation's largest tobacco companies signed a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that requires the tobacco companies to make annual payments to the states in perpetuity as reimbursement for past tobacco-related health care costs. The MSA commits the tobacco companies to pay the states approximately $206 billion over the first 25 years. Some of the states have arranged to receive upfront proceeds based on the amounts that tobacco companies owe by issuing bonds backed by future payments. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 requires GAO to report annually on the amount of MSA payments that states receive through fiscal year 2006. This fourth report provides information on (1) the payments the 46 states received in fiscal year 2004 and expect to receive in fiscal year 2005 and (2) states' allocations of these funds to various program categories and changes from prior years. To conduct this study, GAO surveyed the 46 states."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The President's vision for space exploration (Vision) directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to retire the space shuttle following completion of the International Space Station, planned for the end of the decade. The retirement process will last several years and impact thousands of critically skilled NASA civil service and contractor employees that support the program. Key to implementing the Vision is NASA's ability to sustain this workforce to support safe space shuttle operations through retirement. Because of the potential workforce issues that could affect the safety and effectiveness of operations through the space shuttle's retirement, GAO was asked to identify (1) the progress of efforts to develop a strategy for sustaining the space shuttle workforce through retirement and (2) factors that may have impeded these efforts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Strategy for Homeland Security grouped critical infrastructure into 13 sectors which include assets that if attacked by terrorists could have a debilitating impact on the nation. Two of these 13 sectors are the chemical and water sectors. The total number of chemical sector facilities is not clear. DHS estimates that there are 4,000 chemical manufacturing facilities that produce, use, or store more than threshold amounts of chemicals that EPA has estimated pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment. There are approximately 53,000 community water systems and more than 2,900 maritime facilities that are required to comply with security regulations under the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA). This report provides information about what federal requirements exist for the chemical and water sectors to secure their facilities, what federal efforts were taken by the lead agencies for these sectors to facilitate sectors' actions, what actions selected facilities within these sectors have taken and whether they reflect a risk management approach, what obstacles they say they faced in implementing enhancements, and what are the Coast Guard's results from its inspection of regulated maritime facilities' …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) organizations are expected to work together to protect the United States from terrorism. To support this primary mission, DHS has been acquiring billions of dollars worth of goods and services. DHS also has been working to integrate the disparate acquisition processes and systems that organizations brought with them when DHS was created 2 years ago. GAO was asked to identify (1) areas where DHS has been successful in promoting collaboration among its various organizations and (2) areas where DHS still faces challenges in integrating the acquisition function across the department. GAO was also asked to assess DHS's progress in implementing an effective review process for major, complex investments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Preventing the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is an important public health challenge. Researchers have sought to develop a microbicide--a substance to help users protect themselves against HIV. In the mid-1980s, researchers found that Nonoxynol-9 (N-9), a spermicide found in various contraceptive products, showed potential as a microbicide. However, more recent studies raised concerns that N-9 may increase certain users' risk of contracting HIV. GAO was asked to describe federal agencies' and contraceptive product manufacturers' actions related to N-9 and HIV. In this report, GAO reviewed (1) the efforts by federal agencies and manufacturers of contraceptive products to assess the safety of N-9 and its effectiveness as a microbicide for preventing HIV transmission and (2) the information provided to the public about the safety of N-9 and its effectiveness as a microbicide. GAO reviewed journal articles, Federal Register notices, product packaging, educational materials, and other documents. GAO also interviewed officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and selected manufacturers of N-9 contraceptive products."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the world's population tripled during the past century, demand for the finite amount of freshwater resources increased six-fold, straining these resources for many countries, including the United States. The United Nations estimates that, worldwide, more than 1 billion people live without access to clean drinking water and over 2.4 billion people lack the basic sanitation needed for human health. Freshwater supply shortages--already evident in the drought-ridden western United States--pose serious challenges and can have economic, social, and environmental consequences. Multiple federal agencies share responsibility for managing freshwater resources, but consolidated information on the federal government's financial support of these activities is not readily accessible. GAO was asked to determine for fiscal years 2000 through 2004 how much financial support federal agencies provided for freshwater programs in the United States and abroad. For the purposes of this report, freshwater programs include desalination, drinking water supply, flood control, irrigation, navigation, wastewater treatment, water conservation, water dispute management, and watershed management."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Overfishing may have significant environmental and economic consequences. One tool used to maintain fisheries at sustainable levels is the individual fishing quota (IFQ), which sets individual catch limits for eligible vessel owners or operators. This is GAO's third study on IFQ programs. For this study, GAO determined (1) the costs of managing (i.e., administering, monitoring, and enforcing) IFQ programs and how these costs differ from pre-IFQ management costs; (2) what, if any, IFQ management costs are currently being recovered by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); and (3) ways to share the costs of IFQ programs between government and industry."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO audited the expenditures of two offices of independent counsel and one office of special counsel for the 6 months ended September 30, 2004."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with states, plays a critical role in ensuring the financial security of America's workforce. Established in 1935, UI serves two primary objectives: (1) to temporarily replace a portion of earnings for workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own and (2) to help stabilize the economy during recessions by providing unemployed workers money for basic needs, which helps boost demand for goods and services. In fiscal year 2004, approximately 8.8 million workers received UI benefits, totaling $41.3 billion across all UI programs. To gain a better understanding of the UI program, we asked the following questions: (1) How many people ever receive UI benefits during their early working lives, and how many receive UI benefits more than once? and (2) Does UI benefit receipt change over time, and does receipt vary by industry or occupation?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has documented many problems resulting from the fragmented nature of the federal food safety system and recommended fundamental restructuring to ensure the effective use of scarce government resources. In this report, GAO (1) identified overlaps in food safety activities at USDA, FDA, EPA, and NMFS; (2) analyzed the extent to which the agencies use interagency agreements to leverage resources; and (3) obtained the views of stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has more than 100 obsolete and deteriorating ships awaiting disposal that pose potentially costly environmental threats to the waterways near where they are stored. Congress, in 2000, mandated that MARAD dispose of them by September 30, 2006. While MARAD has various disposal options available, each option is complicated by legal, financial, and regulatory factors. In this report, GAO assesses (1) whether MARAD will meet the September 2006 disposal deadline for these ships and, if not, why not; (2) the extent that MARAD has used alternative disposal methods other than scrapping, and barriers to using other methods; (3) the appropriateness of MARAD's methods for procuring ship disposal services; and (4) the impact of foreign competition and other factors on reducing disposal costs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is conducting a multiyear, multibillion-dollar acquisition of a new trade processing system, planned to support the movement of legitimate imports and exports and strengthen border security. By congressional mandate, plans for expenditure of appropriated funds on this system, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), must meet certain conditions, including GAO review. This study addresses whether the fiscal year 2005 plan satisfies these conditions, describes the status of DHS's efforts to implement prior GAO recommendations for improving ACE management, and provides observations about the plan and DHS's management of the program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Media reports on elevated lead in the District of Columbia's drinking water raised concern about how local and federal agencies are carrying out their responsibilities. The Lead and Copper Rule requires water systems to protect drinking water from lead. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Washington Aqueduct treats and sells water to the District Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), which delivers it to District residents. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region III Office oversees these agencies. GAO examined (1) what agencies implementing the rule in the District are doing to improve their coordination and reduce lead levels, (2) the extent to which WASA and other agencies are identifying populations at greatest risk of exposure to lead in drinking water and reducing their exposure, (3) how other drinking water systems that exceed EPA's action level for lead conduct public education, and (4) the state of research on lead exposure and how it applies to drinking water."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To conduct operations in littorals--shallow coastal waters--the Navy plans to build a new class of surface warship: the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). LCS is being designed to accomplish its missions through systems operating at a distance from the ship, such as helicopters and unmanned vehicles, and that will be contained in interchangeable mission packages. The Navy is using an accelerated approach to buy the LCS, building the ships in "flights." Flight 0, consisting of four ships, will provide limited capability and test the LCS concept. The schedule allows 12 months between the delivery of the first Flight 0 ship and the start of detailed design and construction for Flight 1 ships. Estimated procurement cost of the Flight 0 ships is $1.5 billion. The Congress directed GAO to review the LCS program. This report assesses the analytical basis of LCS requirements; the Navy's progress in defining the concept of operations; the technical maturity of the mission packages; and the basis of recurring costs for LCS."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, GAO reported that the New York budget offices estimated that from the terrorist attack, New York City sustained tax revenue losses of $1.6 billion for 2002 and $1.4 billion for 2003, New York State $1.6 billion for 2002 and $4.2 billion for 2003. GAO found some limitations to these estimates, such as that it is likely that they included some of the economic recession under way in September 2001, as well as events after the attack, such as economic fallout from the Enron collapse and accounting firm improprieties. After GAO issued its report in 2002, some New York agencies used revised economic data to assess the attack's fiscal impact. In this context, GAO was asked to update its report to ascertain whether the recent government studies using revised economic data would provide more precise information on the fiscal impact of the terrorist attack. In doing this work, GAO did not independently estimate the attack's impact on New York tax revenues."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents one of the largest reorganizations of government agencies and operations in recent history. Significant management challenges exist for DHS as it merges the multiple management systems and processes from its 22 originating agencies in functional areas such as human capital and information technology. GAO was asked to identify opportunities for DHS to improve its management integration."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "If completed, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement would encompass an area of 800 million people and about $13 trillion in production of goods and services, making it the most significant regional trade initiative presently being pursued by the United States. The 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere formally launched negotiations towards a FTAA in 1998, and set a January 2005 deadline for concluding a FTAA agreement. GAO was asked to analyze (1) progress made in FTAA negotiations since GAO's last (April 2003) report (2) factors that have been influencing the FTAA's progress; and (3) future prospects for the FTAA. USTR disagreed with our report, stating it was a poorly framed portrayal of progress and problems in the negotiations, overemphasized the role of the United States and Brazil in the current impasse, and did not give sufficient weight to U.S. efforts to make progress. GAO made several changes in response, but disagreed with USTR's assessment. The Departments of State, Commerce, and Agriculture provided technical comments, which we incorporated."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is the federal government's largest purchaser of contractor services, spending $118 billion in fiscal year 2003 alone--an increase of 66 percent since fiscal year 1999. DOD is expected to rely increasingly on contractors to carry out its mission. In recent reports, DOD has identified inadequate surveillance on service contracts. This report examines how DOD manages service contract surveillance. It looks at the extent of DOD's surveillance on a selection of service contracts, reasons why insufficient surveillance occurred, and efforts to improve surveillance."