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Secure Border Initiative Fiscal Year 2008 Expenditure Plan Shows Improvement, but Deficiencies Limit Congressional Oversight and DHS Accountability (open access)

Secure Border Initiative Fiscal Year 2008 Expenditure Plan Shows Improvement, but Deficiencies Limit Congressional Oversight and DHS Accountability

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the launch of Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a multiyear, multibillion-dollar program aimed at securing U.S. borders and reducing illegal immigration. Elements of SBI are carried out by several organizations within DHS. One component is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) SBI program office, which is responsible for developing a comprehensive border protection system using people; technology, known as SBInet; and tactical infrastructure (TI)--pedestrian and vehicle fencing; roads; and lighting. Initially, the focus of SBI is on the U.S. southwest border areas, between the ports of entry, that CBP has designated as most in need of enhanced border security because of serious vulnerabilities. In September 2006, CBP awarded a prime contract to the Boeing Company for 3 years, with three additional 1-year options. As the prime contractor, Boeing is responsible for acquiring, deploying, and sustaining selected SBInet technology and tactical infrastructure projects, and for providing supply chain management for selected tactical infrastructure projects. For fiscal years 2005 through 2008, Congress appropriated more than $2.7 billion for the SBI program. For fiscal year 2009, the President's budget includes a …
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Workers' Compensation: Better Data and Management Strategies Would Strengthen Efforts to Prevent and Address Improper Payments (open access)

Federal Workers' Compensation: Better Data and Management Strategies Would Strengthen Efforts to Prevent and Address Improper Payments

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2006, the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program paid over $1.8 billion in wage loss compensation to federal employees who were unable to work after being injured on the job. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO examined (1) how effectively the Department of Labor's (Labor) Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) manages the risk of improper FECA compensation payments; (2) what vulnerabilities to improper payments, if any, exist in OWCP's procedures for making FECA wage loss payments; and (3) how well OWCP ensures the recovery of identified FECA overpayments. To address these issues, GAO reviewed OWCP documents, analyzed data obtained from OWCP, reviewed a random and projectable sample of FECA claims files, visited five OWCP district offices, and interviewed OWCP headquarters and district officials."
Date: February 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Further Efforts Needed to Integrate Planning for and Response to Disruptions on Converged Voice and Data Networks (open access)

Critical Infrastructure Protection: Further Efforts Needed to Integrate Planning for and Response to Disruptions on Converged Voice and Data Networks

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Technological advances have led to an increasing convergence of previously separate networks used to transmit voice and data communications. While the benefits of this convergence are enormous, such interconnectivity also poses significant challenges to our nation's ability to respond to major disruptions. Two operations centers--managed by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Communications System and National Cyber Security Division--plan for and monitor disruptions on voice and data networks. In September 2007, a DHS expert task force made three recommendations toward establishing an integrated operations center that the department agreed to adopt. To determine the status of efforts to establish an integrated center, GAO reviewed documentation, interviewed relevant DHS and private sector officials, and reviewed laws and policies to identify DHS's responsibilities in addressing convergence."
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Disaster Recovery: Past Experiences Offer Insights for Recovering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Other Recent Natural Disasters (open access)

Disaster Recovery: Past Experiences Offer Insights for Recovering from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav and Other Recent Natural Disasters

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This month, Hurricanes Ike and Gustav struck the Gulf Coast producing widespread damage and leading to federal major disaster declarations. Earlier this year, heavy flooding resulted in similar declarations in seven Midwest states. In response, federal agencies have provided millions of dollars in assistance to help with short- and long-term recovery. State and local governments bear the primary responsibility for recovery and have a great stake in its success. Experiences from past disasters may help them better prepare for the challenges of managing and implementing the complexities of disaster recovery. GAO was asked to identify insights from past disasters and share them with state and local officials undertaking recovery activities. GAO reviewed six past disasters-- the Loma Prieta earthquake in northern California (1989), Hurricane Andrew in south Florida (1992), the Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, California (1994), the Kobe earthquake in Japan (1995), the Grand Forks/Red River flood in North Dakota and Minnesota (1997), and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast (2005). GAO interviewed officials involved in the recovery from these disasters and experts on disaster recovery. GAO also reviewed relevant legislation, policies, and …
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Waste: Action Needed to Improve Accountability and Management of DOE's Major Cleanup Projects (open access)

Nuclear Waste: Action Needed to Improve Accountability and Management of DOE's Major Cleanup Projects

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars annually to clean up nuclear wastes at sites that produced nuclear weapons. Cleanup projects decontaminate and demolish buildings, remove and dispose of contaminated soil, treat contaminated groundwater, and stabilize and dispose of solid and liquid radioactive wastes. Ten of these projects meet or nearly meet DOE's definition of major: costs exceeding $1 billion in the near term--usually a 5-year window of the project's total estimated life cycle. GAO was asked to determine the (1) extent to which the cost and schedule for DOE's major cleanup projects have changed and key reasons for changes, and (2) factors that may hinder DOE's ability to effectively manage these projects. GAO met with project directors and reviewed project documents for 10 major cleanup projects: 9 above the near-term $1 billion threshold, and 1 estimated to cost between $900 million and $1 billion over the near term."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees (open access)

Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created individual retirement accounts (IRAs) with two goals: (1) to provide a retirement savings vehicle for workers without employer-sponsored retirement plans, and (2) to preserve individuals' savings in employer-sponsored retirement plans when they change jobs or retire. Questions remain about IRAs' effectiveness as a vehicle to facilitate new, or additional, retirement savings. GAO was asked to report on (1) the role of IRAs in retirement savings, (2) the prevalence of employer-sponsored and payroll-deduction IRAs and barriers discouraging employers from offering these IRAs, and (3) changes that are needed to improve IRA information and oversight. GAO reviewed published reports from government and financial industry sources and interviewed retirement and savings experts, small business representatives, IRA providers, and federal agency officials."
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: Number Associated with Medical Devices Unknown, but Experts Report Provider Practices as a Significant Factor (open access)

Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: Number Associated with Medical Devices Unknown, but Experts Report Provider Practices as a Significant Factor

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health-care-associated infections (HAI) in hospitals can be expensive to treat and, according to the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HAIs are estimated to be one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. HAIs can be caused by bacteria or viruses, which may be introduced to a patient through the use of a device used to treat them, such as a needle or tube to deliver medicine, fluids, or blood. Common HAIs that are often associated with the use of medical devices are urinary tract infections (UTI), surgical site infections (SSI), pneumonia, and bloodstream infections (BSI). A number of federal agencies within HHS, including CDC and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), currently collect HAI-related data for a variety of purposes. Nearly half of the states also require public reporting of hospital HAI rates, according to a summary report of these state laws. The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 requires us to conduct work on HAIs in hospitals associated with medical devices. The act defines these infections as those that are …
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oil and Gas Royalties: MMS's Oversight of Its Royalty-in-Kind Program Can Be Improved through Additional Use of Production Verification Data and Enhanced Reporting of Financial Benefits and Costs (open access)

Oil and Gas Royalties: MMS's Oversight of Its Royalty-in-Kind Program Can Be Improved through Additional Use of Production Verification Data and Enhanced Reporting of Financial Benefits and Costs

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2007, the Department of the Interior's (Interior) Minerals Management Service (MMS) collected over $9 billion in oil and natural gas (hereafter referred to as oil and gas) royalties and disbursed these funds to federal, state, and tribal accounts. The federal portion of these royalties, which totaled $6.7 billion, represents one of the country's largest non-tax sources of revenue. In addition to this substantial financial value to the government, oil and gas production on federal lands and waters represents a critical component of the nation's energy portfolio, supplying roughly 35 percent of all the oil and 30 percent of all the gas produced in the United States in 2006. Companies that develop and produce oil and gas resources from federal lands and waters do so under leases obtained from and administered by agencies of Interior--the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for onshore leases and MMS's Offshore Energy and Minerals Management (OEMM) for offshore leases. Together, these agencies are responsible for overseeing oil and gas operations on more than 28,000 producing leases to help ensure that oil and gas companies comply with applicable laws, regulations, and agency …
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses (open access)

Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses

This report summarizes the procedures the two houses of Congress use most frequently to resolve their legislative differences. It is based upon an interpretation of the rules and published precedents of the House and Senate, and an analysis of the application of these rules and precedents in recent practice. It bears emphasizing that this report is not exhaustive nor is it in any way an official statement of House or Senate procedures. It may serve as a useful introduction or general guide, but it should not be considered an adequate substitute for a study of House and Senate rules and precedents themselves, or for consultations with the parliamentarians of the House and Senate on the meaning and possible application of the rules and precedents.
Date: November 26, 2008
Creator: Rybicki, Elizabeth
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Options to Improve the Cost-Effectiveness of Filling the Reserve (open access)

Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Options to Improve the Cost-Effectiveness of Filling the Reserve

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was created in 1975 to help insulate the U.S. economy from oil supply disruptions and currently holds about 700 million barrels of crude oil. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the SPR storage capacity from 727 million barrels to 1 billion barrels, which it plans to accomplish by 2018. Since 1999, oil for the SPR has generally been obtained through the royalty-in-kind program, whereby the government receives oil instead of cash for payment of royalties on leases of federal property. The Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) collects the royalty oil and transfers it to DOE, which then trades it for oil suitable for the SPR. As DOE begins to expand the SPR, past experiences can help inform future efforts to fill the reserve in the most cost-effective manner. In that context, GAO's testimony today will focus on: (1) factors GAO recommends DOE consider when filling the SPR, and (2) the cost-effectiveness of using oil received through the royalty-in-kind program to fill the SPR. To address these issues, GAO relied on its 2006 report …
Date: February 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Human Capital: Diversity in the Federal SES and Processes for Selecting New Executives (open access)

Human Capital: Diversity in the Federal SES and Processes for Selecting New Executives

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A diverse Senior Executive Service (SES), which generally represents the most experienced segment of the federal workforce, can be an organizational strength by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to policy development and implementation, strategic planning, problem solving, and decision making. In a January 2003 report (GAO-03-34), GAO provided data on career SES members by race, ethnicity, and gender as of October 2000 and a statistically estimated projection of what the profile of the SES would be in October 2007 if appointment and separation trends did not change. In response to a request for updated information on the diversity in the SES, GAO is providing information from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File (1) on the representation of women and minorities in the SES and the SES developmental pool (i.e., GS-15 and GS-14 positions) for the executive branch as of fiscal year 2007 and comparing this representation to fiscal year 2000 levels and to levels GAO projected for October 2007 in its 2003 report; (2) for fiscal years 2000 and 2007, the average age at which women and minorities were …
Date: November 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Management: DOD Needs to Establish Clear Goals and Objectives, Guidance, and a Designated Budget to Manage Its Biometrics Activities (open access)

Defense Management: DOD Needs to Establish Clear Goals and Objectives, Guidance, and a Designated Budget to Manage Its Biometrics Activities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD), in its response to unconventional threats from terrorists, uses biometrics technologies that identify physical attributes, including fingerprints and iris scans. However, coordinating the development and implementation of biometrics and ensuring interoperability across DOD has been difficult to achieve. Biometrics also is an enabling technology for identity management, a concept that seeks to manage personally identifiable information to enable improved governmentwide sharing and analysis of identity information. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which DOD has established biometrics goals and objectives, implementing guidance for managing biometrics activities, and a designated budget. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed documentation, including DOD biometrics policy and directives, and interviewed key DOD officials involved with making policy and funding decisions regarding biometrics."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Financial Management: Improvements Are Needed in Antideficiency Act Controls and Investigations (open access)

DOD Financial Management: Improvements Are Needed in Antideficiency Act Controls and Investigations

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Senate Report No. 110-77 directed GAO to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) procedures for Antideficiency Act (ADA) violations. GAO focused on whether (1) existing DOD funds control systems, processes, and internal controls provide reasonable assurance that ADA violations will be prevented or detected and whether key funds control personnel are trained; (2) investigations of ADA violations are processed in accordance with applicable DOD regulations; and (3) DOD tracks and reports metrics pertaining to its ADA investigations and what disciplinary actions are taken when ADA violations have occurred. GAO's review included all 54 ADA military service case files closed in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. GAO did not assess the appropriateness of the conclusions reached or of the disciplinary actions taken for the ADA cases."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Congress and Agencies Should Take Additional Steps to Reduce Substantial Shortfalls in Duty Collection (open access)

Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Congress and Agencies Should Take Additional Steps to Reduce Substantial Shortfalls in Duty Collection

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been unable to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duties. The Department of Commerce imposes these duties to remedy injurious unfair foreign trade practices (unfairly low prices or subsidies). The noncollection of AD/CV duties means that the U.S. government has not fully remedied the unfair trade practices and bears a substantial loss of revenue. GAO was asked to examine the (1) nature and extent of uncollected AD/CV duties, (2) factors contributing to uncollected AD/CV duties and steps taken to address these factors, and (3) options for aiding duty collections. To analyze these issues, GAO reviewed CBP data for fiscal years 2001 through 2007, agency documents and reports, and interviewed government officials and private sector representatives"
Date: March 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Trends in Fees, Utilization, and Expenditures for Imaging Services before and after Implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (open access)

Medicare: Trends in Fees, Utilization, and Expenditures for Imaging Services before and after Implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Rapid spending growth for Medicare Part B--which covers physician and other outpatient services--has heightened concerns about the long-range fiscal sustainability of Medicare. Medicare Part B expenditures are expected to increase over the next decade at an average annual rate of about 8 percent, which is faster than the projected 4.8 percent annual growth rate in the national economy over this time period. As we noted in our June 2008 report, spending on physician imaging services has been one of the fastest-growing sets of services paid for under the Medicare Part B physician fee schedule (PFS), the payment system used to determine fees for Medicare physician-billed services. From 2000 through 2006, Medicare spending for physician imaging services doubled from about $7 billion to about $14 billion--an average annual increase of 13 percent, compared to an 8 percent increase in spending for all Medicare physician-billed services over the same time period. We also found that by 2006 about two-thirds of spending on physician imaging services occurred in physician office settings--an indicator of a shift toward providing imaging services in physicians' offices as opposed to providing such services in hospital or …
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Sound Business Case Needed to Implement Missile Defense Agency's Targets Program (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Sound Business Case Needed to Implement Missile Defense Agency's Targets Program

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is likely to spend $460 million annually on missiles used as targets for flight tests. Executing these tests depends on the quality and availability of targets. Congress asked GAO to assess (1) if MDA is providing reliable targets; (2) the causes of any deficiencies; and (3) if resolutions exist for any problems identified. To do this, GAO analyzed acquisition policies and procedures; flight test data; and budget, program execution, and acquisition materials; and interviewed MDA and DOD officials."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Management: The National Archives and Records Administration's Fiscal Year 2008 Expenditure Plan (open access)

Information Management: The National Archives and Records Administration's Fiscal Year 2008 Expenditure Plan

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To preserve and provide access to all types of electronic records, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been developing an Electronic Records Archive (ERA), including a base system for federal records and a separate system for presidential records, known as the Executive Office of the President (EOP) system. As mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, NARA must submit an expenditure plan to the Congress that satisfies six conditions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which NARA's fiscal year 2008 expenditure plan satisfies the conditions and provide any other observations about the plan and the ERA acquisition. To do this, GAO reviewed the expenditure plan, interviewed NARA and contractor officials, and reviewed additional documentation."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Food Safety: Improvements Needed in FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce (open access)

Food Safety: Improvements Needed in FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, both domestic and imported produce have been linked to reported outbreaks of foodborne illness. Contamination in produce is of particular concern because produce is often consumed raw. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of both domestic and imported fresh produce. GAO was asked to examine (1) the resources FDA has spent on fresh produce safety and how it has allocated those resources, (2) the effectiveness of FDA's actions to oversee fresh produce safety, and (3) the extent to which FDA's planned actions to enhance fresh produce oversight address identified challenges. For this review, GAO analyzed FDA spending data and estimates and FDA activities data, reviewed FDA plans, and interviewed FDA officials and others."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Contracting: Army Case Study Delineates Concerns with Use of Contractors as Contract Specialists (open access)

Defense Contracting: Army Case Study Delineates Concerns with Use of Contractors as Contract Specialists

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2007, the Department of Defense (DOD) paid contractors $158.3 billion for a range of services, including contract specialists. To better understand the use of contractors in this role, GAO initiated a case study, under the authority of the Comptroller General, at the Army Contracting Agency's (ACA) Contracting Center of Excellence (CCE). GAO determined (1) the extent to which and why CCE relies on contractor contract specialists, (2) how risks of contractor use are mitigated, (3) how the cost of the contractors compares to that for CCE's government employees, and (4) whether the contract vehicles were appropriate. GAO reviewed a random sample of contract files to understand the contractors' duties and responsibilities, compared compensation costs, and reviewed documents from the General Services Administration (GSA), under whose contracts CCE ordered the contract specialists."
Date: March 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Expenditures: Available Data Are Insufficient to Determine the Use and Impact of Indian Reservation Depreciation (open access)

Tax Expenditures: Available Data Are Insufficient to Determine the Use and Impact of Indian Reservation Depreciation

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Indians lag behind other Americans on many key economic indicators, such as median household income. To improve such conditions, Congress in 1993 created Indian reservation depreciation (IRD), a tax expenditure offering accelerated depreciation for property invested on Indian reservations. GAO was asked to (1) describe which taxpayers claimed IRD, (2) analyze the effect of IRD on the economic development of reservations, and (3) describe the tax benefits offered by IRD. GAO used the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Statistics of Income data to try to identify IRD users and measure IRD's effects; however, the data were unreliable for those purposes. GAO also calculated examples of potential IRD tax benefits for different property classes."
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative: Further Progress Is Needed in Developing a Risk-Based Monitoring Approach to Help HHS Improve Program Oversight (open access)

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative: Further Progress Is Needed in Developing a Risk-Based Monitoring Approach to Help HHS Improve Program Oversight

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Strengthening marriages and relationships in low-income families has emerged as a national strategy for enhancing the well-being of children. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) appropriated $150 million in discretionary grants each year from 2006 through 2010 to implement the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative. To provide insight into how these programs are being implemented and monitored, GAO is reporting on (1) how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded grants and the types of organizations that received funding; (2) what activities and services grantees are providing, including those for domestic violence victims; (3) how HHS monitors and assesses program implementation and use of funds; and (4) how program impact is measured. GAO surveyed grantees, interviewed HHS staff, reviewed HHS records and policy, and visited several programs."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Production Act: Agencies Lack Policies and Guidance for Use of Key Authorities (open access)

Defense Production Act: Agencies Lack Policies and Guidance for Use of Key Authorities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress enacted the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) to ensure the availability of industrial resources to meet defense needs. Amendments to the Act allow its use for energy supply, emergency preparedness, and critical infrastructure protection and require agencies to report on foreign offsets, which are incentives to foreign governments to purchase U.S. goods and services. Only Titles I, III, and VII remain in effect. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Congress directed GAO to review recent agency efforts to implement the DPA. This report (1) examines the extent to which agencies use DPA authorities and (2) assesses agencies' response to reporting requirements on the economic impact of foreign offsets. GAO's work is based on a review of policies and guidance for the use of DPA authorities, instances in which agencies have exercised the authorities, and the analysis used in required reports on foreign offsets."
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Peacekeeping: Thousands Trained but United States Is Unlikely to Complete All Activities by 2010 and Some Improvements Are Needed (open access)

Peacekeeping: Thousands Trained but United States Is Unlikely to Complete All Activities by 2010 and Some Improvements Are Needed

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, in response to the Group of Eight (G8) Sea Island Summit, the United States established the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), a 5-year program to build peacekeeping capabilities worldwide, with a focus on Africa. Since 2005, the Department of State (State) has allocated $374 million and selected 52 countries to participate in the program. Congress mandated that GAO assess and report on the initiative. This report assesses (1) progress made in meeting GPOI goals, (2) whether State is consistently assessing the quality and effectiveness of the training, and (3) the extent to which countries meet program criteria and whether trainees are adequately screened for human rights abuses. GAO assessed State and Department of Defense (DOD) data and program documents, interviewed U.S. and host country officials, and conducted field work in eight countries."
Date: June 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Space Acquisitions: Uncertainties in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Pose Management and Oversight Challenges (open access)

Space Acquisitions: Uncertainties in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Pose Management and Oversight Challenges

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend over $27 billion acquiring launch services through the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program over the next 12 years. The EELV program uses two families of commercially owned and operated vehicles to launch satellites. Partly because the commercial space market did not develop as expected, the EELV program has undergone significant changes. These include: adoption of a new acquisition strategy in 2005 that sought to ensure the viability of the two EELV launch vehicle providers, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; the subsequent decision by those two companies to form a joint venture called the United Launch Alliance (ULA); and a 10-year increase in the life of the program. In light of these changes, GAO was asked to (1) determine what uncertainties DOD faces in the EELV program and in the transition to ULA, and (2) assess how DOD is positioned to manage and oversee the effort. To accomplish this, GAO reviewed a wide variety of DOD documents and interviewed DOD and program officials."
Date: September 26, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library