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National Criminal History Improvement Program: Federal Grants Have Contributed to Progress
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Public safety concerns require that criminal history records be accurate, complete, and accessible. Among other purposes, such records are used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to ensure that prohibited persons do not purchase firearms. Initiated in 1995, the National Criminal History Improvement Program represents a partnership among federal, state, and local agencies to build a national criminal records infrastructure. Under the program, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) annually provides federal grants to states to improve the quality of records and their accessibility through NICS and other national systems maintained by the FBI. GAO examined (1) how states have used program grant funds, particularly the extent to which such funds have been used for NICS-related purposes; (2) the progress--using program grants and other funding sources--that states have made in automating criminal history and other relevant records and making them accessible nationally; and (3) the various factors that are relevant considerations for policymakers in debating the future of the program."
Date:
February 27, 2004
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Information on Proposed Changes to the National Flood Insurance Program
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 and currently has more than 5.6 million policyholders that are insured for about $1.1 trillion. The program collects about $2.9 billion in annual premiums. As of January 2009, NFIP owed approximately $19.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury, primarily as a result of loans that the program received to pay claims from the 2005 hurricane season. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the program, this debt is greater than the sum of all previous losses since the program's inception in 1968. While FEMA officials told us that interest payments are estimated to be lower in 2010, as of October 2008, NFIP owed interest payments of $730 million a year to Treasury and has had to borrow more from the Treasury to make these payments. As a result, it is unlikely that NFIP will ever be able to repay the entire debt. Because of NFIP's financial situation, in 2006 GAO placed the program on the high-risk list. In 2008, GAO issued three reports covering issues directly related to NFIP. …
Date:
February 27, 2009
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
GAO's 2013 High-Risk Update: Medicare and Medicaid
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare Program: CMS has not met GAO's criteria to have the Medicare program removed from the High-Risk List. For example, although CMS has made progress in measuring and reducing improper payment rates in different parts of the program, it has yet to demonstrate sustained progress in lowering the rates. Because the size of Medicare relative to other programs leads to aggregate improper payments that are extremely large, continuing to reduce improper payments in this program should remain a priority for CMS. Further, CMS should complete some actions required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that were designed to improve the integrity of the program, such as determining which providers must post surety bonds to help in recovering payments for fraudulent billing, using fingerprint screening for high-risk providers, issuing a final regulation that requires providers to disclose additional information, and establishing core elements for provider compliance programs."
Date:
February 27, 2013
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Oil and Gas Management: Continued Attention to Interior's Human Capital Challenges Is Needed
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior continues to face challenges hiring and retaining staff with key skills needed to manage and oversee oil and gas operations on federal leases. Interior officials noted two major factors that contribute to challenges in hiring and retaining staff: lower salaries and a slow hiring process. In response to GAO's survey, officials from a majority of the offices in the three Interior bureaus that manage oil and gas activities—the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)—reported ongoing difficulties filling vacancies, particularly for petroleum engineers and geologists. Many of these officials also reported that retention is an ongoing concern as staff leave for positions in industry. Bureau of Labor Statistics data confirm a wide gap between industry and federal salaries for petroleum engineers and geologists. According to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data, the fiscal year 2012 attrition rate for petroleum engineers at BLM was over 20 percent, or more than double the average federal attrition rate of 9.1 percent. Field office officials stated that attrition is of concern because some …
Date:
February 27, 2014
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Military Education: Additional DOD Guidance Is Needed to Enhance Oversight of the Service Academies and Their Preparatory Schools
Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While DOD, collectively, has partially implemented each of our four recommendations regarding the service academies and their preparatory schools, the actions taken by the services vary significantly. In addition, OUSD (P&R) has not yet updated its guidance for the academies and preparatory schools to address our 2003 recommendations. The text below summarizes the four recommendations we made in September 2003 regarding the academies and their preparatory schools and the status of DODs implementation."
Date:
February 27, 2012
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Communications with Physicians Can Be Improved
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Unlike other federal programs that make expenditures under the direct control of the government, Medicare constitutes a promise to pay for covered medical services provided to its beneficiaries by about one million providers. Given this open-ended entitlement, it is essential that appropriate and effective rules and policies be specified so that only necessary services are provided and reimbursed. Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have promulgated an extensive body of statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures on what shall be paid for and under what circumstances. Information that carriers give to physicians is often difficult to use, out of date, inaccurate, and incomplete. Medicare bulletins that carriers use to communicate with physicians are often poorly organized and contain dense legal language. Similarly, other means of communicating with physicians, such as toll-free provider assistance lines and websites, have problems with accuracy and completeness. Although all carriers issue bulletins, operate call centers, and maintain websites, each carrier develops its own communications policies and strategies. This approach results in a duplication of effort as well as variations in the quality of carrier communications. CMS provides little …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: IRS's Fiscal Years 2001 and 2000 Financial Statements
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of GAO's audits of the financial statements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO was able to provide unqualified opinions on IRS's fiscal years 2001 and 2000 financial statements because IRS senior management and staff made extraordinary efforts to compensate for serious internal control and systems deficiencies. Despite these efforts, IRS found it extremely difficult to meet the February 27 reporting deadline set by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB intends to significantly accelerate this deadline in the future. Beginning with fiscal year 2004, IRS will be required to issue its financial statements by November 15--only 6 weeks after the end of the fiscal year. Moreover, the Department of Treasury has established a goal of completing its fiscal year 2002 audit, including those of its component entities, and issuing its department wide accountability report by November 15, 2002. To meet this goal and sustain an unqualified opinion on its financial statements, IRS will need to make systemic changes in how it processes transactions, maintains its financial records, and reports its financial results. At …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Federal Acquisition: Oversight Plan Needed to Help Implement Acquisition Advisory Panel's Recommendations
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A growing portion of federal spending is related to buying services such as administrative, management, and information technology support. Services accounted for about 60 percent of total fiscal year 2006 procurement dollars. The Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) of 2003 established an Acquisition Advisory Panel to make recommendations for improving acquisition practices. In January 2007, the panel proposed 89 recommendations to improve federal acquisition practices. GAO was asked to testify on how the panel recommendations compare to GAO's past work and identify how the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) expects the recommendations to be addressed. This statement is based on GAO's analysis of the advisory panel's report. GAO's analysis is included in its December 2007 report titled, Federal Acquisition: Oversight Plan Needed to Help Implement Acquisition Advisory Panel Recommendation, (GAO-08-160)."
Date:
February 27, 2008
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocations of Payments from Tobacco Companies for Fiscal Years 2000 through 2005
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990s, states sued major tobacco companies to obtain reimbursement for health impairments caused by the public's use of tobacco. In 1998, four of the nation's largest tobacco companies signed a Master Settlement Agreement, agreeing to make annual payments to 46 states in perpetuity as reimbursement for past tobacco-related health care costs. Some states have arranged to receive advance proceeds based on the amounts that tobacco companies owe by issuing bonds backed by future payments. This testimony discusses (1) the amounts of tobacco settlement payments that the states received from fiscal years 2000 through 2005, the most recent year for which GAO has actual data, and (2) the states' allocations of these payments. We also include states' projected fiscal year 2006 allocations. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 required GAO to report annually, through fiscal year 2006, on how states used the payments made by tobacco companies. GAO based this testimony on five annual surveys of these 46 states' Master Settlement Agreement payments and how they allocated these payments."
Date:
February 27, 2007
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Social Security: Congress Should Consider Revising the Government Pension Offset 'Loophole'
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Government Pension Offset (GPO) exemption was enacted in 1977 to equalize the treatment of workers covered by Social Security and those with government pensions not covered by Social Security. Congress asked GAO to (1) assess the extent to which individuals retiring from jobs not covered by Social Security may be transferring briefly to covered jobs in order to avoid the GPO, and (2) estimate the impact of such transfers on the Social Security Trust Fund."
Date:
February 27, 2003
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
VA and Defense Health Care: Military Medical Surveillance Policies in Place, but Implementation Challenges Remain
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently established a medical surveillance system to respond to the health care needs of both military personnel and veterans. A medical surveillance system involves the ongoing collection and analysis of uniform information on deployments, environmental health threats, disease monitoring, medical assessments, and medical encounters and its timely dissemination to military commanders, medical personnel, and others. GAO and others have reported extensively on weaknesses in DOD's medical surveillance capability and performance during the Gulf War and Operation Joint Endeavor. Investigations into the unexplained illnesses of Gulf War veterans revealed DOD's inability to collect, maintain, and transfer accurate data on the movement of troops, potential exposures to health risks, and medical incidents during deployment. DOD improved its medical surveillance system under Operation Joint Endeavor, which provided useful information to military commanders and medical personnel. However, several problems persist. DOD has several efforts under way to improve the reliability of deployment information and enhance its information technology capabilities. Although its recent policies and reorganization reflect a commitment to establish a comprehensive medical surveillance system, much needs to be done …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Hiring Efforts Are Not Sufficient to Reduce the Patent Application Backlog
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) helps protect U.S. competitiveness by granting patents for new ideas and innovations. Increases in the volume and complexity of patent applications have extended the time for processing them. Concerns continue about the agency's efforts to attract and retain qualified patent examiners who can meet the demand for patents and help reduce the growing backlog of unexamined patent applications. In 2007, GAO reported on (1) USPTO's process for making its annual hiring estimates and the relationship of these estimates to the patent application backlog; (2) the extent to which patent examiner hiring has been offset by attrition, and the factors that may contribute to this attrition; and (3) the extent to which USPTO's retention efforts align with examiners' reasons for staying with the agency. GAO recommended that USPTO comprehensively evaluate the assumptions it uses to establish its production goals. USPTO agreed to implement this recommendation once it determines the effect of recent initiatives designed to increase the productivity of the agency through a more efficient and focused patent examination process. This testimony is based on GAO's 2007 report, which was based in …
Date:
February 27, 2008
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
DOD and VA: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Improve Care Management and Disability Evaluations for Servicemembers
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2007, a series of Washington Post articles about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center highlighted problems in the Army's case management of injured servicemembers and in the military's disability evaluation system. These deficiencies included a confusing disability evaluation process and servicemembers in outpatient status for months and sometimes years without a clear understanding about their plan of care. These reported problems prompted various reviews and commissions to examine the care and services to servicemembers. In response to problems at Walter Reed and subsequent recommendations, the Army took a number of actions and DOD formed a joint DOD-VA Senior Oversight Committee. This statement updates GAO's September 2007 testimony and is based on ongoing work to (1) assess actions taken by the Army to help ill and injured soldiers obtain health care and navigate its disability evaluation process; and to (2) describe the status, plans, and challenges of DOD and VA efforts to implement a joint disability evaluation system. GAO's observations are based largely on documents obtained from and interviews with Army, DOD, and VA officials. The facts contained in this statement were discussed with representatives from …
Date:
February 27, 2008
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
GAO Performance and Accountability Report, 2001
Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published its 2001 Performance and Accountability Report, which combines an assessment of its accomplishments in fiscal year 2001 with its plans for continued progress through fiscal year 2003. GAO noted that (1) its financial reporting is reliable, (2) GAO is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and (3) its performance reporting is reliable."
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Secure Border Initiative: Observations on the Importance of Applying Lessons Learned to Future Projects
Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a multiyear, multibillion-dollar program to secure U.S. borders. One element of SBI is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) SBI program, which is responsible for developing a comprehensive border protection system through a mix of security infrastructure (e.g., fencing) and surveillance and communication technologies (e.g., radars, sensors, cameras, and satellite phones). GAO was asked to monitor DHS progress in implementing CBP's SBI program. This testimony provides GAO's observations on (1) technology implementation; (2) the extent to which Border Patrol agents have been trained and are using SBI technology; (3) infrastructure implementation; and (4) how the CBP SBI program office has defined its human capital goals and the progress it has made to achieve these goals. GAO's observations are based on analysis of DHS documentation, such as program schedules, contracts, status, and reports. GAO also conducted interviews with DHS officials and contractors, and visits to sites in the southwest border where SBI deployment is under way. GAO performed the work from November 2007 through February 2008. DHS generally agreed with GAO's findings."
Date:
February 27, 2008
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Land Management Systems: BLM's Actions to Improve Information Technology Management
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed steps taken by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to strengthen its information technology (IT) investment management and acquisition capabilities. The Bureau took these actions to address recommendations made in an earlier report on the failure of the Automated Land and Mineral Record System (ALMRS) to meet BLM's business needs. GAO found that since 1999, BLM has been working to implement GAO recommendations to determine the usefulness of ALMRS and to assess and strengthen its IT investment management and acquisition capabilities. Although the bureau has not yet finished these efforts, it has begun to apply improved management strategies for selecting IT investments, develop processes and practices for controlling and evaluating investments, and build a more mature systems acquisition capability. However, before completing and institutionalizing new investment control processes, the Bureau has begun moving forward with an IT acquisition. As a result, BLM's efforts may be subject to the same project management and management oversight risks that adversely affected the ALMRS/Modernization."
Date:
February 27, 2001
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Private Pensions: Key Issues to Consider Following the Enron Collapse
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The collapse of the Enron Corporation and the resulting loss of employee retirement savings highlighted several key vulnerabilities in the nation's private pension system. Asset diversification was a crucial lesson, especially for defined contribution plans, in which employees bear the investment risk. The Enron case underscores the importance of encouraging employees to diversify. Workers need clear and understandable information about their pension plans to make sound decisions on retirement savings. Although disclosure rules require plan sponsors to provide participants with a summary of their plan benefits and rights and to notify them when benefits are changed, this information is not always clear, particularly in the case of complex plans like floor-offset arrangements. Employees, like other investors, also need reliable and understandable information on a company's financial condition and prospects. Fiduciary standards form the cornerstone of private pension protections. These standards require plan sponsors to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. The Enron investigations should determine whether plan fiduciaries acted in accordance with their responsibilities."
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Budget Issues: Long-Term Fiscal Challenges
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Combating terrorism and ensuring homeland security have created urgent claims on the nation's attention and on the federal budget. Although an economic recovery seems to be underway, the recession that began last spring has had real consequences for the budget. At the same time, the fiscal pressures created by the retirement of the baby boomers and rising health care costs continue unchanged. However, the surpluses also put the nation in a stronger position to respond to the events of September 11 and to the economic slowdown. The nation's commitment to surpluses will be tested. A return to surplus will require sustained discipline and difficult choices. Because the longer-term outlook is driven in large part by known demographic trends, the outlook 20 years from now is surer than the forecast for the next few years. The message of GAO's updated simulations remains the same as last year: absent structural changes in entitlement programs for the elderly, persistent deficits and escalating debt will overwhelm the budget in the long term. Both longer-term and new commitments undertaken after September 11 sharpen the need for competing claims and new priorities. A fundamental …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Terrorism Insurance: Rising Uninsured Exposure to Attacks Heightens Potential Economic Vulnerabilities
Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the closing months of last year, insurers claimed that they could not afford to continue providing coverage for potential terrorism losses. Considerable debate has taken place on what the federal government can do to keep commercial insurance companies involved in providing terrorism insurance, even without the protection that they normally receive from reinsurance. Insurance companies are withdrawing from the market because they believe that neither the frequency nor the magnitude of future terrorist losses can be estimated. Insurance coverage for terroris is disappearing, particularly for large businesses and those perceived to be at some risk. This withdrawal is happening fastest among reinsurers. Because the insurers' withdrawal has been gradual, the extent of the potential economic consequences is still unclear. What is clear is that without terrorism insurance, terrorist attacks would dramatically increase direct losses to businesses, employees, and lenders. Furthermore, the government's ability to intervene after a future terrorist attack may be hampered by its lack of claims-processing and payments systems. Even without actual terrorist attacks, some properties and businesses have been unable to find terrorism coverage at any price. These problems are likely to increase as …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Waters and Wetlands: Corps of Engineers Needs to Evaluate Its District Office Practices in Determining Jurisdiction
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) receives thousands of Clean Water Act permit applications from project proponents wishing to fill waters and wetlands. The first step in the permitting process is to determine if the waters and wetlands are jurisdictional. Prior to 2001, if migratory birds used the waters or wetlands as habitat, they were usually jurisdictional. In 2001, the Supreme Court--in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC)--struck down the migratory bird rule, leaving the Corps to rely on other jurisdictional criteria. GAO was asked to describe the (1) regulations and guidance used to determine jurisdictional waters and wetlands and related developments since SWANCC, (2) extent to which Corps district offices vary in their interpretation of these regulations and guidance, and (3) extent to which Corps district offices document their practices and make this information publicly available."
Date:
February 27, 2004
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Assistance: U.S. Funding for Democracy-Related Programs (China)
Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 1999, Congress began authorizing the provision of U.S. foreign assistance funds to support programs aimed at strengthening democracy in China, and, in fiscal year 2002, it began appropriating specific amounts for such programs. However, the provision of foreign assistance funds to programs focusing on China continues to be controversial due to concern about some of the Chinese government's human rights practices and certain of its economic, political, and security policies. The House Committee on International Relations expressed concern about the lack of a complete picture of U.S. funding for democracy-related programs focused on China. In response to this concern, we determined how much funding the U.S. government has provided for programs intended to strengthen democracy in China for fiscal years 1999 to 2003, in total and by year, and identified the agencies responsible for administering the funds, as well as the intended purposes of the programs they support. While we focused primarily on bilateral programs, we also briefly describe democracy-related efforts of multilateral institutions that the United States helps support."
Date:
February 27, 2004
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Medicare: Improvements Needed to Address Improper Payments in Home Health
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare spending on home health totaled $12.9 billion in 2006, up 44 percent from 2002. Concerns have been raised that improper payments from practices indicating fraud and abuse may have contributed to Medicare home health spending and utilization. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, is responsible for minimizing improper payments made on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine the growth in Medicare home health spending and utilization and the benefit's vulnerability to improper payments. GAO focused on states with the highest growth in Medicare home health spending or utilization; fraudulent and abusive practices contributing to recent spending and utilization; and administrative issues that make it vulnerable to improper payments. GAO analyzed Medicare claims data; reviewed Medicare laws and regulations and CMS documents; and interviewed stakeholders and contractors that administer and protect the home health benefit."
Date:
February 27, 2009
Creator:
United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Continuity of Operations: Improved Planning Needed to Ensure Delivery of Essential Government Services
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To ensure that essential government services are available in emergencies--such as terrorist attacks, severe weather, or building-level emergencies-- federal agencies are required to develop continuity of operations (COOP) plans. Responsibility for formulating guidance on these plans and for assessing executive branch COOP capabilities lies with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA guidance, Federal Preparedness Circular (FPC) 65 (July 1999), provides elements of a viable COOP capability, including the requirement that agencies identify their essential functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) major civilian executive branch agencies have identified their essential functions and (2) these agencies' COOP plans follow FEMA guidance."
Date:
February 27, 2004
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Ethanol Market: MTBE Ban in California
Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act require that an additive be added to gasoline in areas with excessive carbon monoxide or ozone pollution. Specifically, those areas with "severe" ozone pollution are required to use reformulated gasoline, which contains at least two percent oxygen by weight. In California, as in other areas of the country, oil refining companies primarily use the oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to meet that requirement. Because MTBE has been detected in ground water, the governor of California has banned MTBE in the state's gasoline by the end of 2002. If California decides to use ethanol to replace MTBE, ethanol production capacity from 2003 through 2005 could likely satisfy U.S. consumption. However, if other states also banned MRBE and moved to ethanol, consumption could increase and affect the industry's ability to meet demand. Moreover, production capacity projections may be overstated because they include not only existing plants and plants under construction, but also new plants being planned, which may not materialize. Although prices have been relatively stable so far, ethanol price spikes could occur in California if supplies were disrupted by either …
Date:
February 27, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type:
Text
System:
The UNT Digital Library