Maritime Security: Vessel Tracking Systems Provide Key Information, but the Need for Duplicate Data Should Be Reviewed (open access)

Maritime Security: Vessel Tracking Systems Provide Key Information, but the Need for Duplicate Data Should Be Reviewed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. ports, waterways, and coastal approaches are part of a system handling more than $700 billion in merchandise annually. With the many possible threats--including transportation and detonation of weapons of mass destruction, suicide attacks against vessels, and others--in the maritime domain, awareness of such threats could give the Coast Guard advance notice to help detect, deter, interdict, and defeat them and protect the U.S. homeland and economy. GAO was asked to review the Coast Guard's efforts to achieve awareness about activity in the maritime domain. This report addresses: the extent to which the Coast Guard (1) has vessel tracking systems in place, (2) can use these systems to track vessels that may be threats, and (3) has coordinated the development and implementation of these systems. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed relevant statutes, regulations, and plans for vessel tracking systems, compared the roles of the planned systems, and interviewed appropriate officials."
Date: March 17, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Urban Partnership Agreements: Congestion Relief Initiative Holds Promise; Some Improvements Needed in Selection Process (open access)

Urban Partnership Agreements: Congestion Relief Initiative Holds Promise; Some Improvements Needed in Selection Process

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of a broad congestion relief initiative, the Department of Transportation awarded about $848 million from 10 grant programs to five cities (Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle) in 2007 as part of the Urban Partnership Agreements (UPA) initiative. The UPA initiative is intended to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of comprehensive, integrated, and innovative approaches to relieving congestion, including the use of tolling (congestion pricing), transit, technology, and telecommuting (4Ts). Congestion pricing involves charging drivers a fee that varies with the density of traffic. This report addresses congressional interest in (1) how well the department communicated UPA selection criteria, (2) whether it had discretion to allocate grant funds to UPA recipients and consider congestion pricing as a priority selection factor, and (3) how it is ensuring that UPA award conditions are met and results are assessed. GAO reviewed departmental documents, statutes and case law, and interviewed department officials and UPA applicants."
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
High Speed Passenger Rail: Future Development Will Depend on Addressing Financial and Other Challenges and Establishing a Clear Federal Role (open access)

High Speed Passenger Rail: Future Development Will Depend on Addressing Financial and Other Challenges and Establishing a Clear Federal Role

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and other decision makers have had a renewed interest in how high speed rail might fit into the national transportation system and address increasing mobility constraints on highways and at airports due to congestion. GAO was asked to review (1) the factors affecting the economic viability--meaning whether total social benefits offset or justify total social costs--of high speed rail projects, including difficulties in determining the economic viability of proposed projects; (2) the challenges in developing and financing high speed rail systems; and (3) the federal role in the potential development of U.S. high speed rail systems. GAO reviewed federal legislation; interviewed federal, state, local, and private sector officials, as well as U.S. project sponsors; and reviewed high speed rail development in France, Japan, and Spain."
Date: March 19, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Production and Fielding of Missile Defense Components Continue with Less Testing and Validation Than Planned (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Production and Fielding of Missile Defense Components Continue with Less Testing and Validation Than Planned

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has spent about $56 billion and will spend about $50 billion more through 2013 to develop a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). GAO was directed to assess the annual progress MDA made in developing the BMDS as well as improvements in accountability and transparency in agency operations, management processes, and the new block strategy. To accomplish this, GAO reviewed contractor cost, schedule, and performance; tests completed; and the assets fielded during 2008. GAO also reviewed pertinent sections of the U.S. Code, acquisition policy, and the activities of the new Missile Defense Executive Board (MDEB). An appendix on the effect the cancellation of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense flight test had on BMDS development is also included."
Date: March 13, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defined Benefit Plans: Proposed Plan Buyouts by Financial Firms Pose Potential Risks and Benefits (open access)

Defined Benefit Plans: Proposed Plan Buyouts by Financial Firms Pose Potential Risks and Benefits

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Some U.S. financial and pension consulting firms have recently proposed alternatives to terminating a defined benefit (DB) pension plan and contracting with insurance companies to pay promised benefits. In their proposals, a plan sponsor would typically transfer the assets and liabilities of a hard-frozen DB plan--one in which all participant benefit accruals have ceased--along with additional money, to a financial entity, which would become the new sponsor. Such buyouts would have implications for participants, plan sponsors, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures private DB plans. This report addresses the following questions: (1) What is the basic model of proposed sales of frozen DB plans to third-party financial firms and how does it compare with a standard plan termination? (2) What are the potential risks and benefits of plan buyouts for participants, PBGC, plan sponsors, and other stakeholders? To address these questions, GAO reviewed proposed models for plan buyouts and analyzed regulatory and statutory issues associated with terminations and buyouts. GAO also interviewed labor and pension advocacy groups, pension regulatory agencies, and pension experts."
Date: March 16, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Security: Better Oversight Needed to Ensure That Security Improvements at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Are Fully Implemented and Sustained (open access)

Nuclear Security: Better Oversight Needed to Ensure That Security Improvements at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Are Fully Implemented and Sustained

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2008, the Department of Energy's (DOE) security inspection at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) found significant weaknesses, particularly in LLNL's protective force's ability to assure the protection of weapons-grade (special) nuclear material. LLNL is overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within DOE, and managed by a contractor. NNSA is planning to remove most of the special nuclear material from LLNL. GAO was asked to (1) characterize security deficiencies identified in the 2008 inspection; (2) determine the factors that contributed to these deficiencies; (3) identify LLNL's corrective actions to address security deficiencies; and (4) assess LLNL's plan to permanently remove the riskiest special nuclear material from its site. To conduct this work, GAO visited LLNL, reviewed numerous documents and plans, and interviewed LLNL and NNSA security officials."
Date: March 16, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense (open access)

Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with about $808 billion in supplemental and annual appropriations, as of March 2009, primarily for military operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). DOD's reported annual obligations for GWOT have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to about $162.4 billion in fiscal year 2008. For fiscal year 2009, Congress provided DOD with about $65.9 billion in supplemental appropriations for GWOT as of March 2009 and the President plans on requesting an additional $75.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for GWOT for the remainder of the fiscal year. A total of $31.0 billion has been obligated in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 through December 2008. The United States' commitments to GWOT will likely involve the continued investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The magnitude of future costs will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables and, in some cases, decisions that have not yet been made. DOD's future costs will likely be affected by …
Date: March 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs (Supersedes GAO-07-1134SP) (open access)

GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs (Supersedes GAO-07-1134SP)

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-07-1134SP, Cost Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Costs--Exposure Draft, July 2007. The U.S. Government Accountability Office is responsible for, among other things, assisting the Congress in its oversight of the federal government, including agencies' stewardship of public funds. To use public funds effectively, the government must meet the demands of today's changing world by employing effective management practices and processes, including the measurement of government program performance. In addition, legislators, government officials, and the public want to know whether government programs are achieving their goals and what their costs are. To make those evaluations, reliable cost information is required and federal standards have been issued for the cost accounting that is needed to prepare that information. We developed the Cost Guide in order to establish a consistent methodology that is based on best practices and that can be used across the federal government for developing, managing, and evaluating capital program cost estimates."
Date: March 2, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Security: Securities and Exchange Commission Needs to Consistently Implement Effective Controls (open access)

Information Security: Securities and Exchange Commission Needs to Consistently Implement Effective Controls

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In carrying out its mission to ensure that securities markets are fair, orderly, and efficiently maintained, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relies extensively on computerized systems. Effective information security controls are essential to ensure that SEC's financial and sensitive information is protected from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, disclosure, or destruction. As part of its audit of SEC's financial statements, GAO assessed (1) the status of SEC's actions to correct previously reported information security weaknesses and (2) the effectiveness of SEC's controls for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its information systems and information. To do this, GAO examined security policies and artifacts, interviewed pertinent officials, and conducted tests and observations of controls in operation."
Date: March 16, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Recovery: Past Experiences Offer Recovery Lessons for Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Future Disasters (open access)

Disaster Recovery: Past Experiences Offer Recovery Lessons for Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Future Disasters

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recovery from major disasters is a complex undertaking that involves the combined efforts of federal, state, and local government in order to succeed. While the federal government provides a significant amount of financial and technical assistance for recovery, state and local jurisdictions work closely with federal agencies to secure and make use of those resources. This testimony describes lessons and insights that GAO has identified from review of past disasters, which may be useful to inform recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, as well as disasters yet to come. These lessons come from two reports GAO recently released last fall on disaster recovery. The first draws on the experiences of communities that have recovered from previous major disasters in order to help inform recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav as well as the 2008 Midwest floods. The second examines the implementation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance grant program and identifies several actions that the Department of Homeland Security can take to improve operations of that program. These include improving information sharing and enhancing continuity and communication. …
Date: March 3, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Export-Import Bank: Background and Legislative Issues (open access)

Export-Import Bank: Background and Legislative Issues

This report discusses the Export-Import Bank (Ex-In Bank), the chief U.S. government agency that helps finance American exports of manufactured goods and services with the objective of contributing to the employment of U.S. workers. This report discusses the Bank's budget and related legislation, including the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, signed by President Barack Obama and authorizing spending limitations for the Bank.
Date: March 17, 2009
Creator: Ilias, Shayerah
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections (open access)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It provides the dates of the last and next elections for the head of government and the national independence date for each country.
Date: March 10, 2009
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Sullivan, Mark P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections (open access)

Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections

This fact sheet tracks the current heads of government in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It provides the dates of the last and next elections for the head of government and the national independence date for each country.
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Sullivan, Mark P.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
NASA: Projects Need More Disciplined Oversight and Management to Address Key Challenges (open access)

NASA: Projects Need More Disciplined Oversight and Management to Address Key Challenges

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) oversight and management of its major projects. As you know, in 1990, GAO designated NASA's contract management as high risk in view of persistent cost growth and schedule slippage in the majority of its major projects. Since that time, GAO's high-risk work has focused on identifying a number of causal factors, including antiquated financial management systems, poor cost estimating, and undefinitized contracts. Because cost growth and schedule delays persist, this area - now titled acquisition management because of the scope of issues that need to be resolved - remains high risk. To its credit, NASA has recently made a concerted effort to improve its acquisition management. In 2007, NASA developed a comprehensive plan to address systemic weaknesses related to how it manages its acquisitions. The plan specifically seeks to strengthen program/project management, increase accuracy in cost estimating, facilitate monitoring of contractor cost performance, improve agency wide business processes, and improve financial management. While we applaud these efforts our recent work has shown that NASA needs to pay more attention to effective project management. It needs to adopt best …
Date: March 5, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Pensions: Conflicts of Interest Can Affect Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans (open access)

Private Pensions: Conflicts of Interest Can Affect Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Plans

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Conflicts of interest typically exist when someone in a position of trust, such as a pension consultant, has competing professional or personal issues. Such competing interests can make it difficult for pension plan fiduciaries and others, in general, to fulfill their duties impartially and could cause them to breach their duty to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. The proliferation of consulting work and the complexity of business arrangements among investment advisors, plan consultants, and others have increased the likelihood of conflicts of interests for both defined benefit (DB) plans, where investment risk is largely borne by the plan sponsor and defined contribution (DC) plans, where such risk is largely borne by the participant. Given the potential financial harm conflicts of interest may pose to DB and DC plans, GAO was asked to report on (1) the effects undisclosed conflicts of interest may have on the financial performance of DB plans, and (2) the vulnerabilities that conflicts of interest may pose for DC plan participants. GAO interviewed a variety of experts, reviewed the Department of Labor's (Labor) legal and regulatory authority and analyzed government …
Date: March 24, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drug Control: Better Coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and an Updated Accountability Framework can Further Enhance DEA's Efforts to Meet Post-9/11 Responsibilities (open access)

Drug Control: Better Coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and an Updated Accountability Framework can Further Enhance DEA's Efforts to Meet Post-9/11 Responsibilities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Given the global context of the war on drugs--coupled with growing recognition since September 11, 2001 (9/11), of the nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism--the mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and efforts to forge effective interagency partnerships and coordination are increasingly important. GAO was asked to examine, in the context of the post-9/11 environment, DEA's (1) priorities, (2) interagency partnerships and coordination mechanisms, and (3) strategic plan and performance measures. GAO reviewed DEA policy, planning, and budget documents and visited 7 of DEA's 21 domestic field offices and 3 of its 7 regional offices abroad-- sites selected to reflect diverse drug-trafficking threats, among other factors. GAO also contacted other relevant federal agencies-- including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)--and various state and local partner agencies."
Date: March 20, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Safety: NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service Project Was Designed Appropriately, but Sampling and Other Issues Complicate Data Analysis (open access)

Aviation Safety: NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service Project Was Designed Appropriately, but Sampling and Other Issues Complicate Data Analysis

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (NAOMS), begun by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1997, aimed to develop a methodology that could be used to survey a wide range of aviation personnel to monitor aviation safety. NASA expected NAOMS surveys to be permanently implemented and to complement existing federal and industry air safety databases by generating ongoing data to track event rates into the future. The project never met these goals and was curtailed in January 2007. GAO was asked to answer these questions: (1) What were the nature and history of NASA's NAOMS project? (2) Was the survey planned, designed, and implemented in accordance with generally accepted survey principles? (3) What steps would make a new survey similar to NAOMS better and more useful? To complete this work, GAO reviewed and analyzed material related to the NAOMS project and interviewed officials from NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. GAO also compared the development of the NAOMS survey with guidelines issued from the Office of Management and Budget, and asked external experts to review and assess the survey's …
Date: March 13, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting with Veteran Owned-Small Businesses (open access)

Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting with Veteran Owned-Small Businesses

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government's long-standing policy has been to use its buying power--the billions of dollars it spends through contracting each year--to maximize procurement opportunities for small businesses, including those owned by service-disabled veterans. Under the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to give first and second priority to small businesses owned by service-disabled and other veterans, respectively, when it uses small business preferences to award its contracts, which totaled more than $14 billion in fiscal year 2008. The act also requires VA to establish contracting goals for service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) and other veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB) and gives VA unique authorities to use contracting preferences for SDVOSBs and VOSBs to help it reach those goals. The act requires us to conduct a 3-year study on VA's efforts to meet its SDVOSB and VOSB contracting goals and to brief Congress annually, by January 31, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Accordingly, we briefed Congressional staffs on January 31, 2008, on steps that VA had taken to implement its new contracting authorities and verify the ownership of firms …
Date: March 19, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Export Promotion: Commerce Needs Better Information to Evaluate Its Fee-Based Programs and Customers (open access)

Export Promotion: Commerce Needs Better Information to Evaluate Its Fee-Based Programs and Customers

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and state trade promotion activities are intended to help U.S. firms compete successfully in foreign markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)--firms with fewer than 500 employees--represent a key segment of exporting firms. GAO was asked to determine (1) the relationship between the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) U.S. Commercial Service (CS) and states' trade offices' export promotion programs, (2) CS's methodology and practices for determining costs and establishing user fees for export promotion services, and (3) how CS's user fees affect SMEs' use of its programs. GAO conducted a survey of states' trade offices and reviewed data such as export promotion budgets and fees, program information, government standards, and user fee studies. GAO met with officials from Commerce, the State International Development Organizations, six states' trade offices, and others."
Date: March 4, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Periodically Review Support Standards and Costs at Joint Bases and Better Inform Congress of Facility Sustainment Funding Uses (open access)

Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Periodically Review Support Standards and Costs at Joint Bases and Better Inform Congress of Facility Sustainment Funding Uses

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish 12 joint bases by consolidating the management and support of 26 separate installations, potentially saving $2.3 billion over 20 years. In response to a direction from the House Armed Services Committee report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, GAO evaluated DOD's (1) efforts and expected costs to deliver installation support at joint bases and (2) funding for facility sustainment, which includes the maintenance and repair activities necessary to keep facilities in good working order, at all installations. GAO compared new support standards with the current support levels, visited nine installations that will become four joint bases, and compared facility sustainment funding levels with requirements and goals."
Date: March 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defined Benefit Pensions: Survey Results of the Nation's Largest Private Defined Benefit Plan Sponsors (open access)

Defined Benefit Pensions: Survey Results of the Nation's Largest Private Defined Benefit Plan Sponsors

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of private defined benefit (DB) pension plans, an important source of retirement income for millions of Americans, has declined substantially over the past two decades. For example, about 92,000 single-employer DB plans existed in 1990, compared to just under 29,000 single-employer plans today. Although this decline has been concentrated among smaller plans, there is a widespread concern that large DB plans covering many participants have modified, reduced, or otherwise frozen plan benefits in recent years. GAO was asked to examine (1) what changes employers have made to their pension and benefit offerings, including to their defined contribution (DC) plans and health offerings over the last 10 years or so, and (2) what changes employers might make with respect to their pensions in the future, and how these changes might be influenced by changes in pension law and other factors. To gather information about overall changes in pension and health benefit offerings, GAO asked 94 of the nation's largest DB plan sponsors to participate in a survey; 44 of these sponsors responded. These respondents represent about one-quarter of the total liabilities in the nation's single-employer …
Date: March 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010 Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened (open access)

Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010 Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Decennial Census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and provides vital data that are used, among other things, to reapportion and redistrict congressional seats. In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Decennial Census a high-risk area, citing a number of long-standing and emerging challenges, including weaknesses in the Census Bureau's (Bureau) management of its information technology (IT) systems and operations. In conducting the 2010 census, the Bureau is relying on both the acquisition of new IT systems and the enhancement of existing systems. Thoroughly testing these systems before their actual use is critical to the success of the census. GAO was asked to determine the status of and plans for testing key decennial systems. To do this, GAO analyzed testing documentation, interviewed Bureau officials and contractors, and compared the Bureau's efforts with recognized best practices."
Date: March 5, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is GAO's seventh annual assessment of selected Department of Defense (DOD) weapon programs. The report examines how well DOD is planning and executing its weapon acquisition programs, an area that has been on GAO's high-risk list since 1990. This year's report is in response to the mandate in the joint explanatory statement to the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009. The report includes (1) an analysis of the overall performance of DOD's 2008 portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs and a comparison to the portfolio performance at two other points in time--5 years ago and 1 year ago; (2) an analysis of current cost and schedule outcomes and knowledge attained by key junctures in the acquisition process for a subset of 47 weapon programs--primarily in development--from the 2008 portfolio; (3) data on other factors that could impact program stability; and (4) an update on changes in DOD's acquisition policies. To conduct our assessment, GAO analyzed cost, schedule, and quantity data from DOD's Selected Acquisition Reports for the programs in DOD's 2003, 2007, and 2008 portfolios. GAO also collected data from program …
Date: March 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
HUBZone Program: Fraud and Abuse Identified in Four Metropolitan Areas (open access)

HUBZone Program: Fraud and Abuse Identified in Four Metropolitan Areas

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program provides federal contracting assistance to small firms located in economically distressed areas, with the intent of stimulating economic development. In July 2008, GAO identified substantial vulnerabilities in SBA's application and monitoring process that demonstrated the HUBZone program is vulnerable to fraud and abuse. GAO also investigated 10 case studies of HUBZone firms in the Washington, D.C., area that misrepresented their eligibility. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether additional cases of fraud and abuse exist outside of the Washington, D.C., area; (2) what actions, if any, SBA has taken to establish an effective fraud prevention program for the HUBZone program; and (3) what actions, if any, SBA took against the 10 case study firms in GAO's July 2008 testimony. To meet these objectives, GAO identified selected HUBZone firms based on certain criteria, such as magnitude of HUBZone contracts and firm location. GAO also interviewed SBA officials and reviewed SBA data."
Date: March 25, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library