Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Natural hazards adversely affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year and cause extensive property damage. In 2007, a year that was not considered an exceptional one for natural hazards, natural hazards caused an estimated 14,600 deaths and $70 billion in property losses. For that year, the insurance industry covered $23.3 billion in losses. In catastrophic loss years, such as 2005--the year that saw Hurricane Katrina--losses can be far greater. Scientific assessments indicate that climate change is expected to alter the frequency and severity of natural hazard events, and as a result, losses can be expected to climb. Given this scenario, examining policies that are used in other countries to reduce the loss of life and property caused by natural hazard events and examining insurance approaches that provide coverage for natural hazard losses can help identify practices in both areas that could benefit the United States. Similarly, given the ongoing challenges facing the United States, international cooperative efforts may provide instructive examples of risk management and disaster reduction. Because of Congressional interest in these areas, GAO was asked to (1) identify policies used by other countries to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force has turned to service contracts for the F-15C, F-16, Airborne Warning and Control System, and F-15E, and the Army has done the same for helicopter simulator training at its Flight School XXI. The contractors own, operate, and maintain the simulator hardware and software. The military services rely on industry to capitalize the required up-front investment, with the understanding that the contractors will amortize this investment by selling training services by the hour. GAO was asked to address (1) the factors that led the Air Force and Army to acquire simulator training as a service and whether the decision to use this approach was adequately supported; (2) whether implementation of the approach has resulted in the planned number of simulator training sites being activated; and (3) whether the Air Force and Army are effectively tracking the return on their expenditure of taxpayer dollars. GAO makes recommendations to the Secretary of Defense intended to improve management and oversight of these service contracts to help ensure that the best approach is used to provide the war-fighter with needed training. In written comments on a draft of …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) primary mission is to protect investors and maintain the integrity of securities markets. As a part of its responsibility to protect investors, SEC seeks to ensure that individuals who violate federal securities laws and regulations take responsibility for their misdeeds. Specifically, when individuals or firms are found to have violated securities laws, SEC may order civil monetary penalties and seek ill-gotten financial gains, or disgorgement, from the violators. For its enforcement actions to be successful, SEC must have a collection and distribution program for both civil monetary penalties and disgorgement that functions effectively. In 2002, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to address corporate malfeasance and restore investor confidence in the U.S. securities markets. This legislation established numerous reforms to increase investor protection, including Section 308(a), the Federal Account for Investor Restitution provision, commonly known as the Fair Fund provision. This provision allows SEC to combine civil monetary penalties and other donations to disgorgement funds for the benefit of investors who suffer losses resulting from fraud or other securities violations. Fair Funds may be created through either SEC administrative proceedings or litigation in …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is required to annually prepare and submit audited financial statements of the U.S. government to the President and the Congress. We are required to audit these consolidated financial statements (CFS) and report on the results of our work. In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the fiscal year 2004 CFS, we evaluated the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) financial reporting procedures and related internal control over the process for compiling the CFS, including the management representation letter provided us by Treasury and OMB. Written representation letters from management, required by U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, ordinarily confirm oral representations given to the auditor, indicate and document the continuing appropriateness of those representations, and reduce the possibility of a misunderstanding between management and the auditor. The purpose of this report is to communicate our observations on the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) fiscal year 2004 management representation letter. Our objective is to help ensure that future management representation letters submitted by FCC are sufficient to help support Treasury and OMB's …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Key measures of prescription pain reliever abuse and misuse increased from 2003 to 2009. The largest increases were in measures of adverse health consequences such as emergency department visits, substance abuse treatment admissions, and unintentional overdose deaths, though increases were not consistent across all measures. Federal officials suggested that increasing availability of prescription pain relievers and high-risk behaviors by those who abuse or misuse the drugs, such as combining prescription pain relievers with other drugs or alcohol, likely contributed to the rise in adverse health consequences, though data about the reasons for the increases are limited."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq--known as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), respectively--have progressed, increasing numbers of OEF/OIF servicemembers have transitioned to veteran status and have begun receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA data show that as of March 2008, over 868,000 OEF/OIF servicemembers, including National Guard and Reserve members, had left active duty and become eligible for VA health care, and over 340,000-- about 40 percent--had accessed VA health care services. Returning OEF/OIF veterans may have a range of health care needs, such as treatment for mental health conditions like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other injuries, or counseling to address difficulties readjusting from wartime military service to civilian life. Family members can play an important role in helping and supporting OEF/OIF veterans. For example, family members may notice symptoms the veteran has, such as anxiety or difficulty sleeping, and encourage the veteran to seek care. They may also help the veteran identify health care services and ensure that the veteran receives needed services. Family members may also provide emotional support--such …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A key provision of the Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA) of 1990 (P.L. 101-453), as amended, requires the federal government and the states to minimize the time between transfer of federal funds and payments made by states for federal grant program purposes. Concerns were expressed by representatives of local government subgrantees that more flexibility was needed in the receipt of federal funding for first responders. Congress exempted certain first responder grants from this CMIA provision in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) fiscal years 2005 and 2006 appropriations acts. Under the exemption, grantees can receive cash advance funding and hold such funds for extended periods of time prior to payment. GAO was asked to (1) assess whether this CMIA provision, prior to its exemption in fiscal year 2005, had prevented DHS grant recipients from receiving first responder grant funds when such funds were needed; and (2) identify any key fiscal and accountability implications of the exemption."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, President Bush announced what was described as the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. military forces overseas since the end of the Korean War. Soon thereafter, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a report titled Strengthening U.S. Global Defense Posture. This report defined the key tenets of the integrated global presence and basing strategy, which outlines troop and basing adjustments overseas. Although the strategy is intended to make the overseas posture of the United States more flexible and efficient, it will require new facilities costing billions of dollars, some of the cost to be borne by the United States and some by other nations. As plans for overseas basing began to emerge, the Senate Appropriations Committee expressed concern about the use of military construction funds for projects at overseas bases that may soon be obsolete or closed because of changes being considered by DOD and the military services. Accordingly, the Senate report accompanying the fiscal year 2004 military construction appropriation bill directed DOD to prepare detailed, comprehensive master plans for changing infrastructure requirements at U.S. military facilities in each of the overseas regional commands. The Senate report …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The conference report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 directed GAO to assess the joint report of the (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on harmonization of their regulatory approaches. In October 2009, CFTC and SEC issued this report in response to the Department of the Treasury's recommendation that the two agencies assess conflicts in their rules and statutes with respect to similar financial instruments. GAO's objectives were to review (1) how CFTC and SEC identified and assessed harmonization opportunities, (2) the agencies' progress toward implementing the joint report's recommendations, and (3) additional steps the agencies could take to reduce inconsistencies and overlap in their oversight. To meet these objectives, GAO reviewed the joint report and related documentation, interviewed agency officials, and obtained and analyzed written comments on the report from market participants."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made progress implementing its new approach to managing toxic chemicals under its existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority; particularly by increasing efforts to obtain chemical toxicity and exposure data and initiating chemical risk assessments--which EPA uses, along with other information, to decide what regulatory or other actions, if any, are warranted. The results of EPA's data collection activities, in most cases, have yet to be realized, and it may take several years before EPA obtains much of the data it is seeking. Also, EPA has not pursued some opportunities to obtain chemical data that companies submit to foreign governments or to obtain data from chemical processors that prepare chemical substances after their manufacture for distribution in commerce--some of which could help support the agency's risk assessment activities. Of the 83 chemicals EPA has prioritized for risk assessment, it initiated 7 assessments in 2012 and plans to start 18 additional assessments in 2013 and 2014. However, it may take several years to complete these initial risk assessments and, at the agency's current pace, over a decade to complete …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "FMCSA does not determine the total number of chameleon carriers within the motor carrier industry. Such a determination would require FMCSA to investigate each of the tens of thousands of new applicants that register annually and then complete a legal process for some of these suspected chameleon carriers, an effort for which FMCSA does not have sufficient resources. Rather, FMCSA’s attempt to identify chameleon carriers among new applicants, referred to as the vetting program, is limited to bus companies (passenger carriers) and movers (household goods carriers). These two relatively small groups, representing only 2 percent of all new applicants in 2010, were selected because they present consumer protection and relatively high safety risks. Through the vetting program, FMCSA conducts electronic matching of applicant registration data against data on existing carriers and investigates each application from these two small groups, but does not determine whether all other new applicants, including freight carriers, may be attempting to assume a new identity. Federal internal control standards direct agencies to assess the risks they face to determine the most effective allocation of federal resources, including how best to distribute resources …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal and state fiscal constraints may jeopardize past and future accomplishments resulting from the Clean Water Act (the act). In this environment, it is important to manage available resources as efficiently as possible and to identify future human capital needs, including the size of the workforce and its deployment across the organization. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) process for budgeting and allocating resources considers the nature and distribution of its Clean Water Act workload and (2) the actions EPA is taking to improve resource planning and the challenges the agency faces in doing so."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secure Border Initiative (SBI) is a multiyear, multibillion-dollar program to secure the nation's borders through, among other things, new technology, increased staffing, and new fencing and barriers. The technology component of SBI, which is known as SBInet, involves the acquisition, development, integration, and deployment of surveillance systems and command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies. GAO was asked to determine whether DHS (1) has defined the scope and timing of SBInet capabilities and how these capabilities will be developed and deployed, (2) is effectively defining and managing SBInet requirements, and (3) is effectively managing SBInet testing. To do so, GAO reviewed key program documentation and interviewed program officials, analyzed a random sample of requirements, and observed operations of a pilot project."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than two decades, the U.S. government has been broadcasting to Cuba to break the Cuban government's information blockade and promote democracy in Cuba. Over this period, questions have been raised regarding the quality and effectiveness of these broadcasts. GAO was asked to examine (1) the Office of Cuba Broadcasting's (OCB) broadcasting approach and what is known about its audience; (2) how the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)--which oversees U.S. government broadcasting--and OCB ensure compliance with journalistic principles; (3) steps taken to ensure adherence to domestic and international broadcasting laws, agreements, and standards; and (4) steps BBG and OCB have taken to address management challenges. GAO analyzed documentation related to strategic planning, audience research, oversight, and operations and interviewed officials from BBG, BBG's International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), OCB, State, and other agencies."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, numerous federal reports have described serious weaknesses in USDA's civil rights programs--in particular, in resolving discrimination complaints and providing minority farmers with access to programs. In 2002, Congress authorized the position of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) at USDA to provide leadership for resolving these long-standing problems. GAO was asked to assess USDA's efforts to (1) resolve discrimination complaints, (2) report on minority participation in farm programs, and (3) strategically plan its efforts. GAO also reviewed experiences of other federal agencies to develop options for addressing the issues. This report is based on new and prior work, including analysis of ASCR's discrimination complaint management, strategic planning, and interviews with officials of USDA and other agencies, as well as 20 USDA stakeholder groups."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 2000 to 2010, the number of patent infringement lawsuits in the federal courts fluctuated slightly, and from 2010 to 2011, the number of such lawsuits increased by about a third. Some stakeholders GAO interviewed said that the increase in 2011 was most likely influenced by the anticipation of changes in the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), which made several significant changes to the U.S. patent system, including limiting the number of defendants in a lawsuit, causing some plaintiffs that would have previously filed a single lawsuit with multiple defendants to break the lawsuit into multiple lawsuits. In addition, GAO's detailed analysis of a representative sample of 500 lawsuits from 2007 to 2011 shows that the number of overall defendants in patent infringement lawsuits increased by about 129 percent over this period. These data also show that companies that make products brought most of the lawsuits and that nonpracticing entities (NPE) brought about a fifth of all lawsuits. GAO's analysis of these data also found that lawsuits involving software-related patents accounted for about 89 percent of the increase in defendants over this period."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is the nation's largest energy consumer, spending, by latest accounting, $3.7 billion on energy for its 500,000 facilities. Upfront funding for energy-efficiency improvements has been difficult to obtain because of budget constraints and competing agency missions. The Congress in 1986 authorized agencies to use Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to privately finance these improvements. The law requires that annual payments for ESPCs not exceed the annual savings generated by the improvements. GAO was asked to identify (1) the extent to which agencies used ESPCs; (2) what energy savings, financial savings, and other benefits agencies expect to achieve; (3) the extent to which actual financial savings cover costs; and (4) what areas, if any, require steps to protect the government's financial interests in using ESPCs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO estimates that under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), about three-quarters of approximately 7 million children who were uninsured in January 2009 would be eligible for Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or the new premium tax credit. The remaining children had family incomes too high to be eligible, were noncitizens, or would be ineligible for the premium tax credit because they would be considered to have access to affordable employer-sponsored insurance per the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) proposed affordability standard, in which IRS interpreted PPACA as defining affordability for an employee’s eligible family members based on the cost of an employee-only plan. Some commenters raised concerns that IRS’s interpretation was inconsistent with PPACA’s goal of increasing access to affordable health insurance as it does not consider the higher cost of family insurance and could result in some children remaining uninsured. Under PPACA, CHIP is not funded beyond 2015, and states may opt to reduce CHIP eligibility or eliminate programs in fiscal year 2020. Without CHIP, more children could become uninsured. In May 2012, IRS finalized its rule but deferred …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On July 21, 2010, we testified to Congress on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) progress and challenges in key areas of port security. Members of the committee requested that we provide additional comments to a number of post hearing questions. The responses are based on work associated with previously issued GAO products and also include selected updates--conducted in September 2010--to the information provided in these products."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 allows Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. The act requires the Comptroller General to report every six months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved for legal permanent residence status. GAO found that, as of September 30, 2001, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had received 35,946 applications and had approved 5,072 of them. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had 107 applications filed and had approved 87 of them."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past decade, per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States has more than doubled. With this increase have come several concerns in recent years about the safety, quality, and environmental impacts of bottled water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as a food and is responsible for ensuring that domestic and imported bottled water is safe and truthfully labeled. Among other things, GAO (1) evaluated the extent to which FDA regulates and ensures the quality and safety of bottled water; (2) evaluated the extent to which federal and state authorities regulate the accuracy of labels and claims regarding the purity and source of bottled water; and (3) identified the environmental and other impacts of bottled water. GAO reviewed FDA data, reports, and requirements for bottled water; conducted a state survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia; reviewed bottled water labels; and interviewed FDA officials and key experts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's 2013 annual report identifies 31 new areas where agencies may be able to achieve greater efficiency or effectiveness. Seventeen areas involve fragmentation, overlap, or duplication. For example, GAO reported that the Department of Defense could realize up to $82 million in cost savings and ensure equivalent levels of performance and protection by taking action to address its fragmented approach to developing and acquiring combat uniforms. Additionally, GAO reported that a total of 31 federal departments and agencies collect, maintain, and use geospatial information. Better planning and implementation could help reduce duplicative investments and save of millions of dollars."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Annual pay adjustments for the General Schedule (GS), the pay system covering the majority of federal workers, are either determined through the process specified in the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA) or set based on percent increases authorized directly by Congress. GS employees receive an across-the-board increase (ranging from 0 to 3.8 percent since FEPCA was implemented) that has usually been made in accordance with a FEPCA formula linking increases to national private sector salary growth. This increase is the same for each employee. GS employees also receive a locality increase that varies based on their location; there were 34 pay localities in 2012. While FEPCA specifies a process designed to reduce federal-nonfederal pay gaps in each locality, in practice locality increases have usually been far less than the recommended amount, which has been over 15 percent in recent years. For 2012, when there was a freeze on annual pay adjustments, the FEPCA process had recommended a 1.1 percent across-the-board increase and an average 18.5 percent locality increase."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The safety and quality of the U.S. food supply are governed by a complex system that is administered by 15 agencies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have primary responsibility for food safety. Many legislative proposals have been made to consolidate the U.S. food safety system, but to date no other action has been taken. Several countries have taken steps to streamline and consolidate their food safety systems. In 1999, we reported on the initial experiences of four of these countries--Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Since then, additional countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, have undertaken consolidations. This report describes the approaches and challenges these countries faced in consolidating food safety functions, including the benefits and costs cited by government officials and other stakeholders. In commenting on a draft of this report, HHS and USDA said that the countries' consolidation experiences have limited applicability to the U.S. food safety system because the countries are much smaller than the United States. The two agencies believe that they …