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Defense Infrastructure: Long-term Challenges in Managing the Military Construction Program (open access)

Defense Infrastructure: Long-term Challenges in Managing the Military Construction Program

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) military construction program provides funding for construction projects in the United States and overseas, and funds most base realignment and closure costs. Recent Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) estimates indicate that it would cost as much as $164 billion to improve facilities to a level that would meet the department's goals. GAO was asked to report on the (1) steps OSD has taken to enhance program management, (2) process of prioritizing and resourcing military construction projects, and (3) advantages and disadvantages of increasing the current funding thresholds for constructing and repairing facilities."
Date: February 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coast Guard: Replacement of HH-65 Helicopter Engine (open access)

Coast Guard: Replacement of HH-65 Helicopter Engine

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last several years, the Coast Guard has experienced what it considers to be serious reliability and safety problems with its workhorse HH-65 helicopter used for key missions, such as search and rescue, migrant and drug interdiction, and homeland security. Annually, the HH-65 contributes to saving 375 lives and assists on 2,065 drug interdiction cases, according to the Coast Guard. An increasing trend in the number and seriousness of safety-related HH-65 incidents in recent months, highlighted by some the Coast Guard deemed to be serious life-threatening incidents, prompted a Coast Guard decision in January 2004 to replace the existing engine and the associated engine control system in this helicopter with a different engine, which it believes will improve safety and reliability and substantially reduce incidents. In light of the Coast Guard's decision to replace the existing engine, and as part of our already ongoing work on the safety and reliability of the HH-65 helicopter, we determined (1) whether the Coast Guard's decision to replace the existing HH-65 helicopter engine was fact- and risk-based; (2) the management and efficiency implications, if any, of the Coast Guard's …
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Space Activities: Continuation of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program's Progress to Date Subject to Some Uncertainty (open access)

Defense Space Activities: Continuation of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program's Progress to Date Subject to Some Uncertainty

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. space policy states that access to and use of space is critical to preserving peace and protecting U.S. national security and also benefits the country's civil and commercial interests. Air Force guidance explains further that access to space requires the ability to launch critical space assets, when needed, by a mix of space launch systems from standard launch pads at major support facilities. This is to ensure that a launch failure or other catastrophic event does not prevent mission success. These critical space assets, or satellites, are used for a wide range of government activities such as communications, navigation, and ballistic missile warning. The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, consisting of both Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles, was established as the strategic launch system to meet the nation's critical space mission needs and correspond with U.S. policy that requires U.S. government satellites to be launched on U.S. manufactured launch vehicles. Specifically, the EELV program's overarching objective called for the development of a national expendable launch capability for assured access to space that would reduce the overall recurring cost of launch by at least …
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Training Can Be Enhanced by Greater Use of Leading Practices (open access)

Information Technology: Training Can Be Enhanced by Greater Use of Leading Practices

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective training of information technology (IT) staff, as called for in the E-Government (E-Gov) Act of 2002, is essential to developing and retaining a qualified workforce. In an earlier report (GAO-03-390), we identified 22 leading practices, grouped into 5 key training management processes, used by private-sector companies to implement effective IT training. These practices suggest approaches that government agencies could consider. To assess IT training in the federal government, including its use of leading practices, we were asked to determine, among other things, to what extent federal agencies use our leading practices, the major obstacles in providing effective IT training and how agencies address them, and the progress the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is making in issuing policies and performing evaluations to encourage agencies to provide effective IT training."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: Consular Identification Cards Accepted within United States, but Consistent Federal Guidance Needed (open access)

Border Security: Consular Identification Cards Accepted within United States, but Consistent Federal Guidance Needed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Several state and local government agencies and financial institutions accept consular identification (CID) cards, which are issued by foreign governments to their citizens living abroad. Mexico issued more than 2.2 million CID cards in 2002-2003 and Guatemala issued approximately 89,000 from mid-2002 to 2003. Critics of CID cards say their acceptance facilitates the unlawful stay within the United States of undocumented aliens and may provide opportunities for terrorists to remain undetected in this country. GAO examined (1) the purpose of a CID card and how Mexican and Guatemalan CID cards are being used in the United States, (2) steps Mexico and Guatemala have taken to verify the identities of CID card applicants and incorporate security features in CID cards now used in the United States, and (3) the positions and policies of federal agencies regarding CID cards."
Date: August 24, 2004
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Debt Collection: IRS Is Addressing Critical Success Factors for Contracting Out but Will Need to Study the Best Use of Resources (open access)

Tax Debt Collection: IRS Is Addressing Critical Success Factors for Contracting Out but Will Need to Study the Best Use of Resources

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress is considering legislation to authorize IRS to contract with private collection agencies (PCA) and to pay them out of the tax revenue that they collect. Some have expressed concerns that this proposal might be unsuccessful, inefficient, or result in taxpayers being mistreated or having their private tax information compromised. This report discusses (1) the critical success factors for contracting with PCAs for tax debt collection; (2) IRS's actions to address these factors in developing the PCA program and actions left to be done; and (3) whether IRS, if it receives the authority to use PCAs, plans to do a study that will help policy makers judge whether PCAs are the best use of funds to meet IRS's collection objectives."
Date: May 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Coordinated Planning and Standards Needed to Better Manage First Responder Grants in the National Capital Region (open access)

Homeland Security: Coordinated Planning and Standards Needed to Better Manage First Responder Grants in the National Capital Region

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising jurisdictions including the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia, has been recognized as a significant potential target for terrorism. GAO was asked to report on (1) what federal funds have been allocated to NCR jurisdictions for emergency preparedness; (2) what challenges exist within NCR to organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs; (3) what gaps, if any, remain in the emergency preparedness of NCR; and (4) what has been the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in NCR to date."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Grants Management: Despite Efforts to Improve Weed and Seed Program Management, Challenges Remain (open access)

Grants Management: Despite Efforts to Improve Weed and Seed Program Management, Challenges Remain

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Weed and Seed program, within the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP), aims to prevent and reduce violent crime in targeted neighborhoods, but it cannot optimize its effectiveness without sound management practices. In 1999, GAO made four recommendations to the Executive Office for Weed and Seed (EOWS) to improve the program's management, including (1) developing adequate internal controls to fully document decisions, (2) improving program monitoring, (3) developing criteria for determining when sites have become self-sustaining and when to reduce or withdraw program funding, and (4) developing additional performance measures. GAO did this study to assess progress in implementing these recommendations."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to Assist States and Local Agencies in Coordinating Transportation Services (open access)

Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to Assist States and Local Agencies in Coordinating Transportation Services

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2003, we reported that over 60 federal programs can fund transportation services for certain "transportation-disadvantaged" populations (such as some elderly persons, persons with disabilities, or low-income persons) that lack the ability to provide their own transportation or have difficulty accessing conventional public transportation, but that several obstacles impede coordination of these programs. Most of the programs are administered by four federal departments--Transportation, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education. Coordinating these disparate federal efforts could result in more efficient use of federal resources and in improved services for these transportation-disadvantaged populations. In fact, some local areas that have overcome existing obstacles and successfully coordinated the services offered by federal programs and others available in their area have realized improved customer service and substantial cost savings. To promote and encourage further coordination of the transportation services provided by these programs, we recommended that (1) the Departments of Labor and Education join the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services as members of the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (Coordinating Council); (2) the members of the Coordinating Council develop and distribute additional guidance to states and …
Date: February 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individual Fishing Quotas: Methods for Community Protection and New Entry Require Periodic Evaluation (open access)

Individual Fishing Quotas: Methods for Community Protection and New Entry Require Periodic Evaluation

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To assist in deliberations on individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs, GAO determined (1) the methods available for protecting the economic viability of fishing communities and facilitating new entry into IFQ fisheries, (2) the key issues faced by fishery managers in protecting communities and facilitating new entry, and (3) the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the IFQ system and the fishery cooperative approach."
Date: February 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Water Quality: Program Enhancements Would Better Ensure Adequacy of Boat Pumpout Facilities in No-Discharge Zones (open access)

Water Quality: Program Enhancements Would Better Ensure Adequacy of Boat Pumpout Facilities in No-Discharge Zones

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Clean Water Act regulations generally prohibit boats from discharging untreated sewage but allow the discharge of treated sewage using certified marine sanitation devices. The act allows states to designate "no-discharge zones"--areas in which vessels are prohibited from discharging any sewage--if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finds that adequate facilities exist in such zones for the removal and treatment of sewage from vessels. In some cases, such as for drinking water intake zones, EPA makes the designation. As requested, this report assesses (1) EPA's process for determining the adequacy of facilities to remove and treat sewage in proposed no-discharge zones; (2) the extent to which EPA and the states ensure that adequate facilities remain available after designation; (3) the extent to which the Coast Guard and the states enforce discharge prohibitions; and (4) various effects of no-discharge zones, as identified by EPA, states, and localities."
Date: May 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
World Trade Organization: U.S. Companies' Views on China's Implementation of Its Commitments (open access)

World Trade Organization: U.S. Companies' Views on China's Implementation of Its Commitments

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the second largest source of foreign direct investment in China, U.S. companies continue their keen interest in China's implementation of its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. China's 2001 WTO commitments include specific pledges to increase market access, liberalize foreign investment, continue fundamental market reforms, and improve the rule of law. In 2002, GAO reported on selected U.S. companies' views, finding that many commitment areas, particularly those related to rule of law, were important to U.S. companies. GAO also found that company representatives expected China's reforms would have a positive impact on their business operations but expected some difficulties during implementation. In 2003, GAO continued to analyze companies' views about (1) the extent to which China has implemented its WTO commitments and (2) the impact of China's implementation of its WTO commitments on U.S. companies' business operations. GAO collected the views of representatives from 82 U.S. companies with a presence in China. GAO focused on companies in the agriculture, banking, machinery, and pharmaceutical industries. Results reflect a response rate of 60 percent of the study population. These responses may not reflect the views of all U.S. …
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: DHS Needs a Strategy to Use DOE's Laboratories for Research on Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Detection and Response Technologies (open access)

Homeland Security: DHS Needs a Strategy to Use DOE's Laboratories for Research on Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Detection and Response Technologies

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Success in the war against terrorism requires the United States to effectively research, develop, and deploy technologies to detect and respond to the use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the ability to use laboratories owned by the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research and development (R&D) of these advanced technologies. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether DHS has completed a strategic R&D plan and coordinated its efforts with other federal agencies, (2) how DHS plans to use DOE's laboratories to carry out its R&D, and (3) what controls DHS is establishing to monitor projects at DOE's laboratories."
Date: May 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
D.C. Child And Family Services Agency: More Focus Needed on Human Capital Management Issues for Caseworkers and Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention (open access)

D.C. Child And Family Services Agency: More Focus Needed on Human Capital Management Issues for Caseworkers and Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is responsible for ensuring the safety and well being of about 3,000 children in its care and ensuring that services are provided to them and their families. In fiscal year 2003, CFSA's total budget was about $200 million. Concerns have been raised about CFSA's supply of caseworkers, the foster care and adoptive homes, and the quality and timeliness of mental health services for foster care children. To help address these issues, the Congress appropriated $14 million in fiscal year 2004 to CFSA, the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) specifically for foster care improvement. GAO examined CFSA's (1) strategies for recruiting, retaining, and managing its caseworkers; (2) efforts to license an adequate supply of safe foster and adoptive homes; and (3) efforts to collaborate with DMH and the Family Court to provide timely mental health services to foster care children. GAO also reviewed plans for and use of the federal foster care improvement funds."
Date: September 24, 2004
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wildland Fires: Forest Service and BLM Need Better Information and a Systematic Approach for Assessing the Risks of Environmental Effects (open access)

Wildland Fires: Forest Service and BLM Need Better Information and a Systematic Approach for Assessing the Risks of Environmental Effects

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Decades of fire suppression, as well as changing land management practices, have caused vegetation to accumulate and become altered on federal lands. Concerns about the effects of wildland fires have increased efforts to reduce fuels on federal lands. These efforts also have environmental effects. Congressional requesters asked GAO to (1) describe effects from fires on the environment, (2) assess the information gathered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on such effects, and (3) assess the agencies' approaches to environmental risks associated with reducing fuels."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Peace Corps: Status of Initiatives to Improve Volunteer Safety and Security (open access)

Peace Corps: Status of Initiatives to Improve Volunteer Safety and Security

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers currently serve in 70 countries. The administration intends to increase this number to about 14,000. Volunteers often live in areas with limited access to reliable communications, police, or medical services. As Americans, they may be viewed as relatively wealthy and, hence, good targets for crime. In this testimony, GAO summarizes findings from its 2002 report Peace Corps: Initiatives for Addressing Safety and Security Challenges Hold Promise, but Progress Should be Assessed, GAO- 02-818, on (1) trends in crime against volunteers and Peace Corps' system for generating information, (2) the agency's field implementation of its safety and security framework, and (3) the underlying factors contributing to the quality of these practices."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Consumer Protection: Federal and State Agencies Face Challenges in Combating Predatory Lending (open access)

Consumer Protection: Federal and State Agencies Face Challenges in Combating Predatory Lending

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "While there is no universally accepted definition, the term "predatory lending" is used to characterize a range of practices, including deception, fraud, or manipulation, that a mortgage broker or lender may use to make a loan with terms that are disadvantageous to the borrower. Concerns about predatory lending have increasingly garnered the attention and concern of policymakers, consumer advocates and participants in the mortgage industry. This statement is based on GAO's report, released at today's hearing, and discusses federal and state efforts to combat predatory lending; factors that may make elderly consumers more susceptible to predatory lending; the roles of consumer education, mortgage counseling, and loan disclosures in preventing predatory lending; and how the secondary mortgage market can affect predatory lending."
Date: February 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic Government: Initiatives Sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget Have Made Mixed Progress (open access)

Electronic Government: Initiatives Sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget Have Made Mixed Progress

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One of the five priorities in the President's Management Agenda is the expansion of electronic (e-) government--the use of Internet applications to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services. To this end, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has sponsored 25 high-profile e-government initiatives. The initiatives were selected on the basis of value to citizens, potential improvement in agency efficiency, and the likelihood of being deployed within 18 to 24 months. In May 2002, a total of 91 objectives were set for these initiatives. At the request of Congress, GAO assessed the progress of the initiatives in addressing these 91 objectives as well as key challenges they have faced."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Regulatory Programs: Opportunities to Enhance Oversight of the Real Estate Appraisal Industry (open access)

Regulatory Programs: Opportunities to Enhance Oversight of the Real Estate Appraisal Industry

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The appraisal and mortgage lending industry has changed dramatically since the passage of Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Some have concluded that the problems Title XI was intended to address--the risk to the federal deposit insurance funds and the lack of uniform standards and qualifications--no longer exist. This statement is based on GAO's May 14, 2003, report and discusses the roles of private, state, and federal entities that oversee the appraisal industry; the challenges that Title XI presented to these entities; and industry participants' concerns about the effectiveness of the Title XI regulatory structure."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: Observations Related to Reserve Compensation, Selective Reenlistment Bonuses, and Mail Delivery to Deployed Troops (open access)

Military Personnel: Observations Related to Reserve Compensation, Selective Reenlistment Bonuses, and Mail Delivery to Deployed Troops

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. military has deployed high numbers of active duty and reserve troops to fight the global war on terrorism and for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ensuring that U.S. military forces are adequately compensated and that the morale of deployed troops remains high have been priorities for the Congress and the Department of Defense (DOD). In response to congressional mandates, GAO has reviewed a number of issues concerning military personnel. For this hearing, GAO was asked to provide the results of its work on military compensation for National Guard and Reserve personnel and on the Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB) program, a tool DOD can use to enhance retention of military personnel in critical occupational specialties. In addition, GAO was asked to provide its preliminary views, based on ongoing work, concerning mail delivery to troops stationed in the Middle East."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Park Service: Comments on Provisions of S. 2543, a Bill to Establish a Federal Program and Criteria for National Heritage Areas (open access)

National Park Service: Comments on Provisions of S. 2543, a Bill to Establish a Federal Program and Criteria for National Heritage Areas

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Congress has established, or "designated," 24 national heritage areas to recognize the value of their local traditions, history, and resources to the nation's heritage. These areas, including public and private lands, receive funds and assistance through cooperative agreements with the National Park Service, which has no formal program for them. They also receive funds from other agencies and nonfederal sources, and are managed by local entities. Growing interest in new areas has raised concerns about rising federal costs and the risk of limits on private land use. GAO was asked to comment on how provisions of S. 2543 might affect issues identified in GAO's March 2004 testimony addressing the process for (1) designating heritage areas, (2) determining the amount of federal funding to these areas, (3) overseeing areas' activities and use of federal funds, and (4) determining the effects, if any, they have on private property rights."
Date: June 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Prepositioning: Observations on Army and Marine Corps Programs During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Beyond (open access)

Military Prepositioning: Observations on Army and Marine Corps Programs During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Beyond

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) has increased its reliance on prepositioned stocks of military equipment and supplies, primarily because it can no longer plan on having a large forward troop presence. Prepositioned stocks are stored on ships and on land in the Persian Gulf and other regions around the world. Prepositioning allows the military to respond rapidly to conflicts. Ideally, units need only to bring troops and a small amount of materiel to the conflict area. Once there, troops can draw on prepositioned equipment and supplies, and then move quickly into combat. Today's testimony describes (1) the performance and availability of Army and Marine Corps prepositioned equipment and supplies to support Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); (2) current status of the stocks and plans to reconstitute them; and (3) key issues facing the military as it reshapes these programs to support DOD's force transformation efforts."
Date: March 24, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Minutes: Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group, August 8, 2004] (open access)

[Minutes: Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group, August 8, 2004]

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of August 24, 2004. The document is redacted and includes the BRAC 2005 Scenario Development And Analysis Executive Summary Brief (PowerPoint slides).
Date: August 24, 2004
Creator: United States. Department of Defense.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
The dihadron fragmentation function and its evolution (open access)

The dihadron fragmentation function and its evolution

Dihadron fragmentation functions and their evolution arestudied in the process of e+e- annihilation. Under the collinearfactorization approximation and facilitated by the cut-vertex technique,the two hadron inclusive cross section at leading order (LO) is shown tofactorize into a short distance parton cross section and a long distancedihadron fragmentation function. We provide the definition of such adihadron fragmentation function in terms of parton matrix elements andderive its DGLAP evolution equation at leading log. The evolutionequation for the non-singlet quark fragmentation function is solvednumerically with a simple ansatz for the initial condition and resultsare presented for cases of physical interest.
Date: February 24, 2004
Creator: Majumder, Abhijit & Wang, Xin-Nian
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library