Digital Television Transition: Majority of Broadcasters Are Prepared for the DTV Transition, but Some Technical and Coordination Issues Remain (open access)

Digital Television Transition: Majority of Broadcasters Are Prepared for the DTV Transition, but Some Technical and Coordination Issues Remain

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, requires all full-power television stations in the United States to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, 2009, known as the digital television (DTV) transition. Prior to the transition date, the television broadcast industry must take a series of actions to ensure that over-the-air programming will continue to be available to television households once the transition is complete. For example, broadcast stations must obtain, install, and test the necessary equipment needed to finalize their digital facilities, and some stations will need to coordinate the movement of channels on the day the analog signal ceases transmission. This requested report examines (1) the status of broadcast stations in transitioning to digital, (2) the extent to which broadcast stations are encountering issues, and (3) the actions the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken to guide broadcasters in the digital transition. To address these issues, GAO conducted a Web-based survey of full-power television broadcast stations. GAO surveyed 1,682 stations and obtained completed questionnaires from 1,122 stations, for a response rate of 66.7 percent. GAO also reviewed legal, agency, and industry documents …
Date: April 30, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Internal Revenue Service: 2013 Tax Filing Season Performance to Date and Budget Data (open access)

Internal Revenue Service: 2013 Tax Filing Season Performance to Date and Budget Data

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, so far in the 2013 filing season, GAO found the following:"
Date: April 15, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Management: DOD Needs to Improve Program Management, Policy, and Testing to Enhance Ability to Field Operationally Useful Non-lethal Weapons (open access)

Defense Management: DOD Needs to Improve Program Management, Policy, and Testing to Enhance Ability to Field Operationally Useful Non-lethal Weapons

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Nonlethal weapons (NLW) provide an alternative when lethal force is undesirable. The Department of Defense (DOD) defines NLW as those that are explicitly designed and primarily employed to incapacitate personnel or materiel, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property and the environment. DOD created the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program in 1996 to have centralized responsibility for the development of NLW and coordinate requirements among the services. GAO was asked to review the status of NLW programs within DOD and the military services by identifying the extent to which (1) DOD and the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program have developed and fielded NLW since the program's inception; (2) DOD has established and implemented policy, doctrine, and training for NLW; and (3) DOD has conducted testing and evaluation prior to fielding NLW. GAO reviewed and analyzed DOD and service plans, guidance, and doctrine and interviewed officials associated with NLW development."
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Case Examples Illustrate Vulnerabilities That Could Result in Improper Payments or Overlapping Benefits (open access)

Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Case Examples Illustrate Vulnerabilities That Could Result in Improper Payments or Overlapping Benefits

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found examples of improper payments and indicators of potential fraud in the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program, which could be attributed, in part, to oversight and data-access issues. GAO found examples of claimants' receiving overlapping FECA and unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, which may be allowable under certain circumstances, but could also be erroneous. GAO also found that FECA program requirements allow claimants to receive earnings, and earnings increases, without necessarily resulting in adjustment of FECA compensation. For example, of the 32 FECA case files reviewed, GAO found five instances where an individual's wage-earning capacity (WEC), which is used to determine FECA benefits, was not adjusted even though the individual earned substantially more than the wage that was originally used to calculate the WEC. In addition, two FECA claimants continued to receive privateemployment salaries that were not subject to their WEC calculation. This is because, as currently written, program procedures allow claimants to receive increases in earnings, in certain circumstances, without adjustments to FECA compensation, and current law allows for claimants' earnings from dissimilar concurrent private employment at the time of injury to be exempt …
Date: April 3, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Afghanistan: Changes to Updated U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework Reflect Evolving U.S. Role (open access)

Afghanistan: Changes to Updated U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework Reflect Evolving U.S. Role

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the October 2012 and the August 2013 versions of the U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework for Afghanistan have similarities, the two versions differ in several aspects. These differences reflect, among other things, the U.S. government's heightened emphasis on the transition, through the end of 2014, of security responsibility for Afghanistan to Afghan security institutions and the Afghan National Security Forces as well as the transition in U.S. policy toward a more traditional diplomatic and development model. Both versions of the framework address four categories of U.S. efforts in support of U.S. national goals in Afghanistan, with security, the first category, as the foundation for the other three categories, or "pillars"--governance, rule of law, and socioeconomic development. Both versions also address the same crosscutting issues. Differences between the two versions include the following:"
Date: April 1, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Literacy: Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Federal Government's Role (open access)

Financial Literacy: Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Federal Government's Role

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government plays a wide-ranging role in promoting financial literacy. Efforts to improve financial literacy in the United States involve an array of public, nonprofit, and private participants, but among those participants, the federal government is distinctive for its size and reach and for the diversity of its components, which address a wide range of issues and populations. At forums of financial literacy experts that GAO held in 2004 and 2011, participants noted that the federal government can use its “bully pulpit,” convening power, and other tools to draw attention to the issue, and serve as an objective and unbiased source of information about the selection of financial products and services. In prior work, GAO cited a 2009 report by the RAND Corporation in which 20 federal agencies self-identified as having 56 federal financial literacy programs, but GAO’s subsequent analysis found substantial inconsistency in how different agencies defined and counted financial literacy programs. Based on a more consistent set of criteria, GAO identified 16 significant financial literacy programs or activities among 14 federal agencies, as well as 4 housing counseling programs among 3 federally supported entities, in …
Date: April 26, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emergency Criteria: How Five States Budget for Uncertainty (open access)

Emergency Criteria: How Five States Budget for Uncertainty

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how five states budget for uncertainty, focusing on: (1) state criteria designed to control the use of reserve emergency funds; (2) how state criteria compared with criteria being proposed at the federal level; (3) how states determined whether the criteria have been met; (4) whether state criteria contain any escape clauses; and (5) whether states' criteria are useful in controlling costs."
Date: April 20, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Direct Loan System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (open access)

Direct Loan System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a checklist to assist: (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their direct loan systems; and (2) management and auditors in reviewing their direct loan systems to determine if they are in substantial compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act."
Date: April 1, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Benefits: Sixteenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (open access)

Immigration Benefits: Sixteenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 that authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. Section 902 (k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been finally adjudicated. This is GAO's sixteenth report."
Date: April 27, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Energy: Certain Postretirement Benefits for Contractor Employees Are Unfunded and Program Oversight Could Be Improved (open access)

Department of Energy: Certain Postretirement Benefits for Contractor Employees Are Unfunded and Program Oversight Could Be Improved

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE), which carries out its national security, environmental cleanup, and research missions through extensive use of contractors, faces significant costs for postretirement health and pension benefits for contractor employees. Given DOE's long history of using contractors and the rising cost of postretirement benefits, the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, asked GAO to (1) analyze DOE's estimated financial obligation for postretirement health and pension benefits for contractor employees at the end of fiscal year 2003, (2) determine how DOE evaluates its contractor postretirement health and pension benefit programs and assesses the comparative levels of benefits offered by contractors, and (3) assess how DOE's oversight of these benefits could be enhanced."
Date: April 15, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
NASA: Assessments of Selected Large-Scale Projects (open access)

NASA: Assessments of Selected Large-Scale Projects

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The performance of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) portfolio of major projects has improved in the areas of cost and schedule growth since GAO’s first assessment in 2009. Average development cost growth and schedule delay for the current portfolio have decreased to about a third of their 2009 levels."
Date: April 17, 2013
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Export Controls: U.S. Agencies Need to Assess Control List Reform's Impact on Compliance Activities (open access)

Export Controls: U.S. Agencies Need to Assess Control List Reform's Impact on Compliance Activities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agencies engaged in export controls use various compliance activities to prevent the diversion or misuse of exported items against U.S. interests or allies and reduce illicit transshipment risk. Compliance activities include (1) vetting transactions prior to export, (2) analyzing shipping data and monitoring the end use of items, and (3) educating companies and foreign governments about illicit transshipment risks. To vet transactions, agencies review license applications for the export of controlled items, consult multiple lists of entities known or suspected of violating export control laws or regulations, and screen foreign end users to determine their eligibility to receive items without a license. Agencies also review shipping records to identify patterns of abuse and to plan end-use checks—visiting foreign companies to verify the approved use and location of exported items on both licensed items and those eligible for export without a license. From 2008 to 2010, Commerce conducted 56 percent of its end-use checks on unlicensed exports. In the 13 transshipment countries, unlicensed exports accounted for about 94 percent of unfavorable end-use check determinations, which indicates that the end use or end user of an export …
Date: April 23, 2012
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recovery Act: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Recipients Face Challenges Meeting Legislative and Program Goals and Requirements (open access)

Recovery Act: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Recipients Face Challenges Meeting Legislative and Program Goals and Requirements

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided $3.2 billion for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to develop and manage projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. The Recovery Act requires GAO to review funds made available under the act and to comment on recipients' estimates of jobs created or retained. GAO examined (1) how EECBG recipients used EECBG funds and challenges they faced, if any; (2) DOE and recipients' oversight and monitoring activities and challenges, if any; (3) the extent to which the EECBG program is meeting Recovery Act and program goals for energy savings; and (4) the quality of jobs data reported by Recovery Act recipients, particularly EECBG recipients. GAO also updates the status of open recommendations from previous bimonthly and recipient reporting reviews. GAO analyzed DOE recipient data and interviewed DOE officials and a nonprobability sample of EECBG recipients, among other things."
Date: April 7, 2011
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Container Security: A Flexible Staffing Model and Minimum Equipment Requirements Would Improve Overseas Targeting and Inspection Efforts (open access)

Container Security: A Flexible Staffing Model and Minimum Equipment Requirements Would Improve Overseas Targeting and Inspection Efforts

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2002, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiated the Container Security Initiative (CSI) to address the threat that terrorists might use maritime cargo containers to ship weapons of mass destruction. Under CSI, CBP is to target and inspect high-risk cargo shipments at foreign seaports before they leave for destinations in the United States. In July 2003, GAO reported that CSI had management challenges that limited its effectiveness. Given these challenges and in light of plans to expand the program, GAO examined selected aspects of the program's operation, including the (1) factors that affect CBP's ability to target shipments at foreign seaports, (2) extent to which high-risk containers have actually been inspected overseas, and (3) extent to which CBP formulated and documented strategies for achieving the program's goals."
Date: April 26, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Postal Service: Strategies and Options to Facilitate Progress toward Financial Viability (open access)

U.S. Postal Service: Strategies and Options to Facilitate Progress toward Financial Viability

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required GAO to evaluate strategies and options for reforms of the United States Postal Service (USPS). USPS's business model is to fulfill its mission through self-supporting, businesslike operations; however, USPS has experienced increasing difficulties. Due to volume declines, losses, a cash shortage, and rising debt, GAO added USPS's financial condition to its high-risk list in July 2009. GAO's objectives were to assess (1) the viability of USPS's business model, (2) strategies and options to address challenges to its business model, and (3) actions Congress and USPS need to take to facilitate progress toward financial viability. GAO primarily drew on its past work; other studies; USPS data; interviews with USPS, unions, management associations, Postal Regulatory Commission, and mailing industry officials; and stakeholder input."
Date: April 12, 2010
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: DOD's Tools for Curbing the Use and Effects of Predatory Lending Not Fully Utilized (open access)

Military Personnel: DOD's Tools for Curbing the Use and Effects of Predatory Lending Not Fully Utilized

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has expressed concerns about servicemembers' use of predatory consumer loans as well as their overall financial conditions. "Predatory lending" has no precise definition but describes cases where a lender takes unfair advantage of a borrower, sometimes through deception, fraud, or terms such as very high interest or fees. Serious financial problems can adversely affect unit morale and readiness as well as servicemembers' credit history and military career. DOD has tools such as off-limits lists to help curb the use and effects of predatory loans. GAO answered two questions: (1) To what extent do active duty servicemembers use consumer loans considered to be predatory in nature? and (2) Are DOD and active duty servicemembers fully utilizing the tools that DOD has to curb the use and effects of predatory lending practices?"
Date: April 26, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Yucca Mountain: Persistent Quality Assurance Problems Could Delay Repository Licensing and Operation (open access)

Yucca Mountain: Persistent Quality Assurance Problems Could Delay Repository Licensing and Operation

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) must obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In licensing, a quality assurance program helps ensure that the information used to demonstrate the safety of the repository is defensible and well documented. DOE developed a corrective action plan in 2002 to fix recurring problems with the accuracy of such information. This report assesses the status of corrective actions and the adequacy of DOE's plan to measure the effectiveness of actions taken."
Date: April 30, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Imaging Accreditation: Effect on Access to Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Is Unclear amid Other Policy Changes (open access)

Medicare Imaging Accreditation: Effect on Access to Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Is Unclear amid Other Policy Changes

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO found that the number of advanced diagnostic imaging (ADI) services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in the office setting—an indicator of access to those services—began declining before and continued declining after the accreditation requirement went into effect on January 1, 2012. In particular, the rate of decline from 2009 to 2010 was similar to the rate from 2011 to 2012 for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); computed tomography (CT); and nuclear medicine (NM), including positron emission tomography (PET) services. These results suggest that the overall decline was driven, at least in part, by factors other than accreditation. The percentage decline in the number of ADI services provided in the office setting was generally similar in both urban and rural areas during the period GAO studied."
Date: April 18, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maritime Security: New Structures Have Improved Information Sharing, but Security Clearance Processing Requires Further Attention (open access)

Maritime Security: New Structures Have Improved Information Sharing, but Security Clearance Processing Requires Further Attention

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Sharing information with nonfederal officials is an important tool in federal efforts to secure the nation's ports against a potential terrorist attack. The Coast Guard has lead responsibility in coordinating maritime information sharing efforts. The Coast Guard has established area maritime security committees--forums that involve federal and nonfederal officials who identify and address risks in a port. The Coast Guard and other agencies have sought to further enhance information sharing and port security operations by establishing interagency operational centers--command centers that tie together the efforts of federal and nonfederal participants. GAO was asked to review the efforts to see what impact the committees and interagency operational centers have had on improving information sharing and to identify any barriers that have hindered information sharing."
Date: April 15, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice (open access)

Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice

On June 19, 2009, the House voted to impeach U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The impeachment process provides a mechanism for removal of the President, Vice President, and other federal civil officers found to have engaged in "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." This report explains the impeachment process, including its history and the process itself.
Date: April 8, 2010
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B. & Henning, Anna C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Waste: Process to Remove Radioactive Waste From Savannah River Tanks Fails to Work (open access)

Nuclear Waste: Process to Remove Radioactive Waste From Savannah River Tanks Fails to Work

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) efforts to clean up nuclear waste at DOE's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, focusing on: (1) the factors causing the project's delays and cost growth; (2) the effect of the in-tank precipitation process project's suspension on the Savannah River Site's cleanup plans and costs; and (3) DOE's plans for developing an alternative technology for separating high-level waste from the liquid."
Date: April 30, 1999
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice (open access)

Impeachment: An Overview of Constitutional Provisions, Procedure, and Practice

On June 19, 2009, the House voted to impeach U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The impeachment process provides a mechanism for removal of the President, Vice President, and other federal civil officers found to have engaged in "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." This report explains the impeachment process, including its history and the process itself.
Date: April 26, 2010
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B. & Henning, Anna C.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Title Insurance: Preliminary Views and Issues for Further Study (open access)

Title Insurance: Preliminary Views and Issues for Further Study

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Title insurance is a required element of almost all real estate purchases and is not an insignificant cost for consumers. However, consumers generally do not have the knowledge needed to "shop around" for title insurance and usually rely on professionals involved in real estate--such as lenders, real estate agents, and attorneys--for advice in selecting a title insurer. Recent state and federal investigations into title insurance sales have identified practices that may have benefited these professionals and title insurance providers at the expense of consumers. At the request of the House Financial Services Committee, GAO currently has work under way studying the title insurance industry, including pricing, competition, the size of the market, the roles of the various participants in the market, and how the industry is regulated. This testimony discusses the preliminary results of GAO's work to date and identifies issues for further study. In so doing, this testimony focuses on: (1) the reasonableness of cost structures and agent practices common to the title insurance market that are not typical of other insurance markets; (2) the implications of activities identified in recent state and federal investigations that may …
Date: April 26, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Climate Change Assessment: Administration Did Not Meet Reporting Deadline (open access)

Climate Change Assessment: Administration Did Not Meet Reporting Deadline

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, scientists have observed a warming trend in the earth's climate and have projected additional changes in the coming decades, with potential implications for human society. To provide for the development and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated U.S. research program that will assist the nation and the world in understanding, assessing, predicting, and responding to such changes, the Congress, in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (act), required the administration to, among other things, prepare a national global change research plan, a summary of the achievements and expenditures in the area of federal climate change research, and a scientific assessment. The scientific assessment is to be prepared at least every 4 years and is to: (1) integrate, evaluate, and interpret research findings on climate change of the Global Change Research Program (implemented under the Global Change Research Plan) and scientific uncertainties associated with such findings; (2) analyze the effects of global change on the natural environment, human health and welfare, and other specified areas; and (3) analyze current trends in global change and project major trends for the next 25 to 100 years. In …
Date: April 14, 2005
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library