Memorandum of Meeting with representatives from the Navy Southwest Region regarding a briefing presented by Rear Admiral Betancourt, Commander of the Navy Southwest region. BRAC Commission staff also provided an overview of the commission for the Admiral and his staff.

This report discusses the current political and economic state of Thailand, particularly in the wake of the September 2006 coup that displaced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and has resulted in continuing instability. This report also discusses the ongoing U.S.-Thai relationship, despite different policies in such areas as human rights.

The National Security Council (NSC) was established in 1947. This report describes the history of the NSC, how is structure and influence have varied over the years from one Administration to another, what its current structure and who its current members are, varying opinions as to what the role of the NSC should be, and future developments for the NSC.

This report discusses the current political and social climate of Iraq, specifically in regards to the influence of the U.S. military presence over recent years. This report addresses planned and possible future efforts under the Obama Administration, including the scheduled gradual troops withdrawal. Some U.S. officials believe that a U.S. military presence is needed beyond the scheduled August 31, 2010 date, by which point all U.S. troops will have been withdrawn. This report also discusses the continued tensions between various Iraqi sociocultural groups.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Active Protection Systems (APS) protect vehicles from attack by detecting and intercepting missiles or munitions. In 2005, the lead systems integrator for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program sought proposals for an APS developer and design and to deliver APS prototypes on vehicles by fiscal year 2009. Raytheon was chosen the APS developer. At the same time, the Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation (OFT) evaluated near-term APS for potential use in Iraq. GAO was asked to review the Army's actions on APS/FCS: (1) the process for selecting the subcontractor to develop an APS for FCS and if potential conflicts of interest were avoided; (2) the timing of the trade study and if it followed a consistent methodology to evaluate alternatives, and the results; (3) the role the Army and Boeing played in selecting the developer; and (4) the process followed to provide a near-term APS solution for current forces."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From fiscal years 2006 through 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has allocated about $755 million dollars to transit agencies through its Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) to protect transit systems and the public from terrorist attacks. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which (1) TSGP funds are allocated and awarded based on risk; (2) DHS has allocated, awarded, and distributed TSGP grants in accordance with statutory deadlines and leading practices for collaborating agencies; and (3) DHS has evaluated the effectiveness of the TSGP and its investments. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed the TSGP risk model, fund allocation methodology and program documents, such as TSGP guidance, and interviewed DHS and transit officials, among other steps."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Aircraft emit greenhouse gases and other emissions, contributing to increasing concentrations of such gases in the atmosphere. Many scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--a United Nations organization that assesses scientific, technical, and economic information on climate change--believe these gases may negatively affect the earth's climate. Given forecasts of growth in aviation emissions, some governments are taking steps to reduce emissions. In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed (1) estimates of aviation's current and future contribution to greenhouse gas and other emissions that may affect climate change; (2) existing and potential technological and operational improvements that can reduce aircraft emissions; and (3) policy options for governments to help address commercial aircraft emissions. GAO conducted a literature review; interviewed representatives of government agencies, industry and environmental organizations, airlines, and manufacturers, and interviewed and surveyed 18 experts in economics and aviation on improvements for reducing emissions from aircraft. GAO is not making recommendations. Relevant agencies provided technical comments which we incorporated as appropriate and EPA said emissions standards can have a positive benefit to cost ratio and be an important part of policy options to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Red Cross played a key role in providing relief to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, mounting its largest ever disaster response. Under the National Response Plan, and its emergency support function-6 (ESF-6), the Red Cross and FEMA are tasked with working together to coordinate federal mass care assistance in support of voluntary organizations, as well as state and local governments, as they meet mass care needs--such as shelter, food, and first aid. Questions have been raised about how the Red Cross and FEMA operated following the Gulf Coast hurricanes and what improvements can be made for the 2006 hurricane season. This report includes GAO's interim findings on the Red Cross and FEMA's hurricane operations. GAO will continue to analyze federal and charitable hurricane relief efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Administration (SBA) has been challenged in the past in developing a lender oversight capability and a loan monitoring system to facilitate its oversight. While SBA has made progress in its lender oversight program, its past efforts to develop a loan monitoring system were unsuccessful. In 2003, SBA obtained loan monitoring services from Dun & Bradstreet. GAO evaluated SBA's loan monitoring needs, how well those needs are met by the new service, and the similarities and differences for the purposes of credit risk management between SBA and private sector best practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. transportation sector is almost entirely dependent on oil, a condition that poses significant economic and environmental risks. Biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, have the potential to displace oil use in transportation fuel. GAO was asked to describe the status of and impediments to expanding biofuel production, distribution infrastructure, and compatible vehicles as well as federal policy options to overcome the impediments. GAO was also asked to assess the extent to which the Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a strategic approach to coordinate the expansion of biofuel production, infrastructure, and vehicles and has evaluated the effectiveness of biofuel tax credits. GAO interviewed representatives and reviewed studies and data from DOE, states, industry, and other sources."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Anticipating the expiration of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) current authorization at the end of fiscal year 2007, the administration submitted a proposal on February 14, 2007, for reauthorizing FAA and the excise taxes that fund most of its budget. This proposal would introduce cost-based charges for commercial users of air traffic control services, eliminate many current taxes, substantially raise fuel taxes for general aviation users to pay for their use of air traffic control services, and charge commercial and general aviation users a fuel tax to pay primarily for airport capital improvements. In January 2007, FAA released the results of a recently completed cost allocation study in support of the administration's proposal for transitioning to user fees. FAA and the administration used this study to determine the factors that drive the costs of providing air traffic control services, allocate these costs to various users of air traffic control services, and support the development of alternative methods to recover those costs. On March 21, 2007, we testified before the House Subcommittee on Aviation, providing our observations on selected changes to FAA's funding and budget structure contained in the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The recent security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs, in which personal data on millions of veterans were compromised, has highlighted the importance of the federal government's processes for protecting personal information. As the federal government obtains and processes information about individuals in increasingly diverse ways, it remains critically important that it properly protect this information and respect the privacy rights of individuals. GAO was asked to testify on preventing and responding to improper disclosures of personal information in the federal government, including how agencies should notify individuals and the public when breaches occur. In preparing this testimony, GAO drew on its previous reports and testimonies, as well as on expert opinion provided in congressional testimony and other sources."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its reviews of agency compliance with a number of procedural and analytical requirements in federal rulemaking."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia's fiscal year 2000 performance report is an improvement in that it meets some of the statutory requirements that the previous year's report did not. However, the extensive changes that the District made to its fiscal year 2000 performance goals during the fiscal year undermine the report's usefulness because the District did not include critical information needed by Congress and other stakeholders. Such information, identifying how, when, and why specific goals were altered and the decision-making and accountability implications of those changes, is important to Congress and others so that they can have confidence in the validity and completeness of the reported performance data. Also, the report does not cover all significant activities of the District government. Sustained progress is needed to address the critical performance and other management challenges that the District faces. The District recognizes the shortcomings with its performance management efforts and has stated a commitment to addressing them. The effective implementation of the various initiatives underway in the District is vital to the success of the District's efforts to create a more focused, results-oriented approach to management and decision-making--an …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews changes in fastener industry practice "resulting from or apparently resulting from" the small-lot exemption of the Fastener Quality Act. GAO found no evidence that the fastener industry changed any practices resulting from, or apparently resulting from, the small-lot exemption. The Customs Service's limited tests of imported fasteners in 2001 found no evidence of substandard fasteners and no evidence of any decline in the quality of fasteners from the results of tests Customs conducted in 1998."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the District of Columbia, the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, and Congress have achieved an enormous accomplishment in restoring the District to financial viability, many of the challenges the District faced in the past continue. The District and Congress need current, reliable information about the District's financial condition and developing trends in order to promptly respond to any pressures or warning signs that could indicate that future difficulties lie ahead. Toward that end, the District must ensure that its new financial management system is effectively implemented and provides decision makers with reliable and timely data. In addition, since 1995, Congress has put in place a number of reporting requirements to help provide the financial, planning, and performance information that it needs to conduct effective oversight and make decisions. Congress may wish to consider additional mechanisms to ensure that it and the District have the information needed to help the District maintain its financial viability and address its current and emerging challenges. Such mechanisms must be considered and implemented within a context that seeks to balance two sets of values: the overriding importance of Home Rule and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of the Treasury's progress in implementing the cross-service provision of the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) of 1996, focusing on the: (1) status of nontax delinquent debts that federal agencies have referred to Treasury for cross-servicing and Treasury's actions to encourage these referrals; (2) Treasury's cross-servicing process for collecting referred debts; (3) Treasury's method for allocating debts to private collection agencies (PCA) for collection; and (4) Treasury's estimated cross-servicing costs and related fees earned on collections."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2004, GAO testified before Congress on the impact and causes of financial and related business weaknesses on the Department of Defense's (DOD) operations and the status of DOD reform efforts. The report released today highlights that DOD still does not have management controls to ensure that its business systems investments are directed towards integrated corporate system solutions. GAO's reports continue to show that fundamental problems with DOD's financial management and related business operations result in substantial waste and inefficiency, adversely impact mission performance, and result in a lack of adequate accountability across all major business areas. Over the years, DOD leaders attempted to address these weaknesses and transform the department. For years, GAO has reported that DOD is challenged in its efforts to effect fundamental financial and business management reform and GAO's ongoing work continues to raise serious questions about DOD's chances of success. Congress asked GAO to provide information on the (1) pervasive long-standing financial and business management weaknesses that affect DOD's efficiency, (2) cost of and control over the department's business systems investments, and (3) legislative actions needed to enhance the success of DOD's …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. tax system is based on voluntary reporting. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reviews all tax returns after they are filed to ensure compliance with tax laws governing this voluntary system. Despite these efforts, each year billions of dollars in taxes owed are not voluntarily reported and paid, which could result in reduced revenue to fund federal programs, higher tax rates, or both. There are three types of voluntary compliance measures: filing compliance, which measures the percent of taxpayers who file returns in a timely manner; payment compliance, which measures the percent of tax payments that are paid in a timely manner; and reporting compliance, which measures the percent of actual tax liability that is reported accurately on returns. This report reviews the status of IRS' plans to measure voluntary reporting compliance as well as six other federal programs that currently measure voluntary compliance. GAO found that IRS has tried to develop an approach for measuring voluntary compliance. It has established objectives and guiding principles for developing this measure as well as developed database software to collect and analyze data. As of March 2001, IRS' …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Using advanced systems and trained specialists located in 122 weather forecast offices throughout the country, the National Weather Service (NWS) provides storm and flood warnings and weather forecasts to protect life and property and to enhance the national economy. To improve the efficiency of its operations, in November 2006, NWS approved an effort to develop a prototype of an alternative way of operating. Under this prototype, weather forecasting offices would share selected responsibilities. GAO (1) determined the status of and plans for the prototype, (2) evaluated whether the prototype's justification was sufficient, (3) determined whether NWS's plans to evaluate the prototype are adequate, (4) evaluated whether NWS is sufficiently involving stakeholders in its prototype plans, and (5) determined how NWS plans to ensure that there will be no degradation of service during and after the prototype. To do so, GAO analyzed agency documentation and interviewed program officials and stakeholders."

This report discusses the current state of Honduras, which is one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries and has a high poverty rate, high infant mortality rate, and a widespread HIV/AIDS epidemic. This report also discusses the relationship between the U.S. and Honduras, focusing on the countries' important trade partnership, the U.S. military presence in Honduras, and U.S. foreign aid.

This report discusses the state of the El Salvadoran government and recently elected President Mauricio Funes. This report also discusses the relationship between El Salvador and the United States, notably U.S. efforts to restore democracy and initiate economic reform in El Salvador. This report also briefly addresses the effects of the current financial crisis on El Salvador's economy, poverty levels, and crime rates.

Memorandum of meeting with Day & Zimmermann Corp. Group regarding the Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) facilities that it operates.

This report summarizes several emergency management and homeland security programs, and identifies and analyzes potential issues for the 111th Congress. These issues include (1) the purpose and number of assistance programs; (2) the evaluation of the use of grant funding; (3) the determination of eligible grant recipients; (4) the programs' funding amounts; and (5) the programs; funding distribution methodologies.