A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To take a more complete and accurate count of the nation's population in the 2000 Census, the Bureau of the Census partnered with other federal agencies, as well as with state, local, and tribal governments; religious, community, and social service organizations; and private businesses. According to the Bureau, about 140,000 organizations participated in the partnership program by assisting in such critical activities as reviewing and updating the Bureau's address list, encouraging people--especially hard-to-count populations--to participate in the census, and recruiting temporary census employees. GAO found that the Bureau spent about $142.9 million on its partnership program, or about two percent of the estimated $6.5 billion the Bureau allocated for the census and an average of about $1.19 for each of the 120 million households that the Bureau estimates are in the nation. The Bureau staffed the partnership program with 594 full-time positions, of which 560 were allocated to the field, while the remaining slots were located in the Bureau's headquarters. Decisions on which organizations to partner with and what events to attend were governed by unwritten guidelines and criteria and were driven by the Bureau's desire …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of its work to improve the management and performance of the federal government, GAO monitors progress and continuing challenges in using performance information to inform budgetary choices (performance budgeting). In light of the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance and other 21st century challenges, we have reported that the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and performance budgeting can support needed reexamination of what the federal government does, how it does it, and who does it. GAO remains committed to working with Congress and the Administration to help address these important and complex issues."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1990s, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the federal judiciary have been carrying out a multibillion dollar courthouse construction initiative to address the judiciary's growing space needs. To plan for and make funding decisions on projects, Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and GSA have relied on a rolling 5-year plan prepared annually by the judiciary that prioritizes new courthouse projects based on an urgency score. The urgency score is based on the year a courthouse runs out of space, the number of judges without courtrooms, security concerns, and operational inefficiencies. In recent years, the L.A. courthouse had the highest urgency score in the judiciary's 5-year plan. At a cost of approximately $400 million, the new courthouse is expected to be one of the most expensive projects in the federal government's courthouse construction program to date. In light of the project's significance, GAO was asked: (1) To what extent does GSA's current L.A. courthouse project proposal address the underlying conditions that led to Los Angeles's high urgency score and (2) what construction and other costs, if any, may be required to meet …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 requires GAO to review various aspects of the Department of Defense (DOD) policy that allows Defense Working Capital Fund activities to carry over a 3-month level of work from one fiscal year to the next. The DOD 3-month carryover standard applies to all DOD activity groups except for the contract portion of the Air Force depot maintenance activity group, for which DOD established a 4.5-month carryover standard because of the additional administrative functions associated with awarding contracts. Reported carryover balances for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 were inaccurate and, therefore, the balances were not reliable for decision-making or budget review purposes. The reported carryover balances were not accurate due to (1) faulty assumptions used in calculating work-in-process and (2) records not accurately reflecting work that was actually completed by year-end. As a result, the amount of carryover reported by the Air Force was understated by tens of millions of dollars and customers' funds were idle that could have been used for other purposes during the fiscal year. Even though the carryover was understated, Air …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the past, governments worldwide owned, operated, and regulated air navigation services, viewing air traffic control as a governmental function. But as nations faced increasing financial strains, many governments decided to shift the responsibility to an independent air navigation service provider (ANSP) that operates along commercial lines. As of March 2005, 38 nations worldwide had commercialized their air navigation services, fundamentally shifting the operational and financial responsibility for providing these services from the national government to an independent commercial authority. GAO selected five ANSPs--in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom--to examine characteristics and experiences of commercialized air navigation services. These ANSPs used different ownership structures and varied in terms of their size, amount of air traffic handled, and complexity of their airspace. This testimony, which is based on ongoing work, addresses the following questions: (1) What are common characteristics of commercialized ANSPs? (2) What do available data show about how the safety, cost, and efficiency of air navigation services have changed since commercialization? (3) What are some initial observations that can be made about the commercialization of air navigation services?"

A chapter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1981, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been working to modernize its aging air traffic control (ATC) system. Individual projects have suffered cost increases, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls of large proportions, leading GAO to designate the program a high-risk information technology initiative in 1995. Because the program remains a high risk initiative, GAO was requested to assess FAA's progress in several information technology management areas. This report, one in a series responding to that request, has two objectives: (1) to evaluate FAA's capabilities for developing and acquiring software and systems on its ATC modernization program and (2) to assess the actions FAA has under way to improve these capabilities."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Alternative mortgage products (AMPs) can make homes more affordable by allowing borrowers to defer repayment of principal or part of the interest for the first few years of the mortgage. Recent growth in AMP lending has heightened the importance of borrowers' understanding and lenders' management of AMP risks. GAO's report discusses the (1) recent trends in the AMP market, (2) potential AMP risks for borrowers and lenders, (3) extent to which mortgage disclosures discuss AMP risks, and (4) federal and selected state regulatory response to AMP risks. GAO used regulatory and industry data to analyze changes in AMP monthly payments under various scenarios; reviewed available studies; and interviewed relevant federal and state regulators and mortgage industry groups, and consumer groups."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The conference report for the Fiscal Year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act required that we review the past and current methodologies used by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to estimate exchange rates used in preparing the budgets for ABMC's foreign currency fluctuation account. This account is intended to maintain the spending power of funds appropriated for ABMC operations in the event that the U.S. dollar depreciates against the currencies used to pay for these operations, which include designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent American military burial grounds in foreign countries. In light of recent low foreign currency fluctuation account levels, the appropriations committees' conferees were concerned with the failure of OMB to adequately address the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations on ABMC in its original budget submission for fiscal year 2005, or through a supplementary budget request. In response to this mandate, we examined (1) ABMC's method of forecasting exchange rates in preparing budgets for the foreign currency fluctuation account prior to its fiscal year 2006 budget submission and OMB guidance on that method; (2) changes that occurred in …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the views of pilots and aircrew members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve regarding the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). In December 1997, the Secretary of Defense announced a plan to inoculate U.S. forces against the potential battlefield use of anthrax as a biological warfare (BW) agent. In the context of the conventional battlefield, the nature and magnitude of the military BW threat has not changed materially since 1990 in terms of the number of countries suspected of developing BW capability, the types of BW agents they possess, or their ability to weaponize and deliver BW agents. In marked contrast to other mandatory DOD immunization requirements, GAO's sample survey in 2000 showed that AVIP was at that time adversely affecting the retention of trained and experienced guard and reserve pilots and aircrew members. Between September 1998 and September 2000, 16 percent of the pilots and aircrew members of the guard and reserve had (1) transferred to another unit (primarily to nonflying positions to avoid or delay receiving the anthrax shots), (2) moved to inactive status, …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We have performed the procedures contained in the enclosure to this report, which we agreed to perform and with which the Inspector General (IG) concurred, solely to assist it in ascertaining whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, is supported by the underlying records. As agreed, we evaluated fiscal year 2003 activity affecting distributions to the AATF."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Transportation requested that GAO perform procedures to assist the IG's office in ascertaining whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, is supported by the underlying records. GAO evaluated fiscal year 2003 activity affecting distributions to the HTF."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Strong productivity gains in the U.S. economy hinge, in part, on transportation networks working efficiently. Continued development and efficient management of the nation's freight transportation system--especially highways and rail lines that connect international gateways and intermodal facilities to retailers, producers, and consumers--are important to sustaining the nation's competitive position in the global economy. However, the increasing congestion on the transportation system poses a threat to the efficient flow of the nation's goods and has strained the system in some locations. Moreover, recent growth in international trade has placed even greater pressures on ports, border crossings, and distribution hubs. Congestion delays that significantly constrain freight mobility in these areas could result in increased economic costs for the nation. The Federal Highway Administration has calculated that delays caused by highway bottlenecks cost the trucking industry alone more than $8 billion a year. Recognizing that freight congestion has been well-defined and studied, Congress asked us to research technologies and projects currently in place or in development that could improve freight mobility, including low-cost approaches. In doing our work, we learned that the National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) is currently conducting …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2007, a series of Washington Post articles disclosed problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, particularly with the management of servicemembers receiving outpatient care. In response, the Army established Warrior Transition Units (WTU) for servicemembers requiring complex case management. Each servicemember in a WTU is assigned to a Triad of Care--a primary care manager, a nurse case manager, and a squad leader--who provide case management services to ensure continuity of care. The Army established staff-to-servicemember ratios for each Triad of Care position. This report examines (1) the Army's ongoing efforts to staff WTU Triad of Care positions and (2) how the Army monitors the recovery process of WTU servicemembers. GAO reviewed WTU policies, analyzed Army staffing and monitoring data, interviewed Army officials, and visited five selected WTUs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, GAO has testified that personnel shortages, assignment priorities, and frequent peacekeeping deployments were undermining the combat readiness of the Army's five later-deploying divisions. In 2001, GAO reported on the Army Chief of Staff's manning initiative of October 1999, which seeks to ensure that all active Army units are assigned the numbers, grades, and skills needed to carry out wartime missions. Since then, terrorists have attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the Bush administration has formulated a new military strategy. These developments may change how, when, and where these divisions will be used--as seen in the deployment of soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division in Operation Enduring Freedom. As of June 2001 the five divisions reported they were ready and able to perform all or most of their combat missions. Enlisted personnel levels were at or near 100 percent of their authorization compared with 93 percent in March 1998. However, staffing imbalances persist for some combat support skills. Each division met its training requirements for combat missions. The amount of equipment on hand and the serviceability of that equipment indicated that …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While aviation accidents in the United States are relatively infrequent, recent incidents have heightened concerns about safety on airport runways and ramps. As the nation's aviation system becomes more crowded every day, increased congestion at airports may exacerbate ground safety concerns. To safely handle the anticipated larger volumes of air traffic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to better manage air traffic both in the air and on the ground. GAO was asked to evaluate (1) the progress being made in addressing runway safety and what additional measures, if any, could be taken and (2) the factors affecting progress in improving ramp safety and what is being done by FAA and others to address those factors. We reviewed runway and ramp safety data, interviewed agency officials and industry stakeholders, and surveyed experts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. commercial aviation industry has had an extraordinary safety record in recent years. However, expected increases in air-traffic--including the introduction of new vehicles into the national airspace, such as unmanned vehicles and very light jets--and human resource issues, present challenges that have the potential to strain the existing safety oversight system. GAO's testimony focuses on these questions: (1) How is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ensuring that the areas of highest safety risk are addressed? (2) How is FAA ensuring that its staff maintain the skills and knowledge to consistently carry out the agency's oversight programs? and (3) What are the key safety challenges facing FAA? This statement is based on our recent reports on FAA's inspection oversight programs, industry partnership programs, and enforcement and training programs. It is also based on interviews with FAA and relevant industry officials."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Commercial aviation has been a long-standing target for terrorists. Since the tragic attacts of September 11, 2001, substantial changes have been made to enhance security--including the creation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the federalization of the passenger screener workforce. However, despite these changes, vulnerabilities in aviation security continue to exist. Accordingly, GAO was asked to describe TSA's efforts to (1) measure the effectiveness of its aviation security initiatives, (2) strengthen its passenger screening program, and (3) address additional challenges in further enhancing aviation security."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A safe and secure civil aviation system is a critical component of the nation's overall security, physical infrastructure, and economic foundation. Billions of dollars and myriad programs and policies have been devoted to achieving such a system. Although it is not fully known at this time what actually occurred or what all the weaknesses in the nation's aviation security apparatus are that contributed to the horrendous events on September 11, 2001, it is clear that serious weaknesses exist in our aviation security system and that their impact can be far more devastating than previously imagined. As reported last year, GAO's review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) oversight of air traffic control (ATC) computer systems showed that FAA had not followed some critical aspects of its own security requirements. Specifically, FAA had not ensured that ATC buildings and facilities were secure, that the systems themselves were protected, and that the contractors who access these systems had undergone background checks. Controls for limiting access to secure areas, including aircraft, have not always worked as intended. GAO's special agents used fictitious law enforcement badges and credentials to gain access to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A safe and secure civil aviation system is critical to the nation's security, physical infrastructure, and economy. Billions of dollars and myriad programs and policies have been devoted to achieving such a system. Although it is not fully known at this time what actually occurred or what all the weaknesses in the nation's aviation security apparatus are that contributed to the horrendous events on September 11, 2001, it is clear that serious weaknesses exist in our aviation security system and that their impact can be far more devastating than previously imagined. As reported last year, GAO's review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) oversight of air traffic control (ATC) computer systems showed that FAA had not followed some critical aspects of its own security requirements. Specifically, FAA had not ensured that ATC buildings and facilities were secure, that the systems themselves were protected, and that the contractors who use these systems had undergone background checks. Controls for limiting access to secure areas, including aircraft, have not always worked as intended. GAO's special agents used fictitious law enforcement badges and credentials to gain access to secure areas, bypass security …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. air carriers transport billions of tons of cargo each year in both passenger planes and all-cargo planes. Typically, about one-half of the hull of each passenger aircraft is filled with cargo. As a result, any vulnerabilities in the air cargo security system potentially threaten the entire air transport system. GAO agreed to determine the security vulnerabilities that have been identified in the air cargo system, the status of key recommendations that have been made since 1990 to improve air cargo security, and ways in which air cargo security can be improved in the near-and long-term."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government's financial condition and fiscal outlook have deteriorated dramatically since 2000. The federal budget has gone from surplus to deficit and the nation's major reported long-term fiscal exposures--a wide range of programs, responsibilities, and activities that either explicitly or implicitly commit the government to future spending--have more than doubled. Current budget processes and measurements do not fully recognize these fiscal exposures until payments are made. Increased information and better incentives to address the long-term consequences of today's policy decisions can help put our nation on a more sound fiscal footing. Given its interest in accurate and timely information on the U.S. fiscal condition, the Senate Committee on the Budget asked us to update our study of other nations' experiences with accrual budgeting and look at other ways countries have increased attention to their long-term fiscal challenges."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) collections program provides services to agencies to collect, deposit, and account for collections through a variety of methods. Electronic collection methods can reduce government borrowing costs and agency administrative costs, while improving compliance and security. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to identify (1) the extent to which agencies other than the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use various collection methods, (2) ways to maximize the benefits of and overcome any barriers to agency use of the various collection methods, and (3) issues that FMS should consider in its plans to improve the efficiency and security of collections. GAO analyzed collections data, plans, and documents from FMS and five case-study agencies in the Departments of the Interior and Commerce that use a variety of collection methods, observed fee collection methods, and interviewed FMS and case-study agency officials. GAO also interviewed selected payer groups for case study agencies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the Bureau of Prisons to determine whether it had made overpayments to contractors. During fiscal year 2001, the Bureau of Prisons had 24 open construction contracts that totaled about $1.9 billion. In addition to general disbursement controls, GAO found internal controls specific to construction contracts in which both the project representative and the contracting officer must approve each monthly progress payment invoice. GAO sampled 27 payments on five construction contracts to determine if construction contract payment controls were properly designed, in place, and operating to prevent or detect overpayments. GAO found that the internal controls were in place and operating and construction contract payment amounts were correct, or, if errors occurred, they were detected and corrected promptly as a normal part of the payment system. A few minor clerical errors were subsequently detected and corrected by the Bureau of Prisons through its own routine control procedures before GAO made its review. GAO concludes that the risk of undetected construction contractor overpayments at the Bureau of Prisons appears to be small."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In a previous report (GAO/AIMD-00-127, May 2000), GAO identified reimbursable project costs that were not being recovered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. In this report, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Reclamation's managerial cost accounting and cost recovery practices. The Bureau does not currently identify and distribute all of the costs it incurs to its specific projects and activities. These costs are not distributed because the Bureau considers them nonreimbursable and because its cost accounting system is used to capture costs related to reimbursable purposes such as irrigation, municipal and industrial (M&I) water supply, and power generation. While GAO recognizes that the Bureau does not have the authority to recover certain costs, such as those funded through the Policy and Administration appropriation, all of the costs should nevertheless be distributed to the relevant activities to provide information useful in managerial decision making. Because not all costs are distributed, information on the full cost of projects and activities is not readily available to the Congress, program managers, and others to facilitate decision making and the allocation of the federal government's resources."