Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the year 2000 risks facing the nation, focusing on: (1) the federal government's progress and remaining challenges in correcting its systems; (2) state and local government year 2000 issues; and (3) an overview of the available information on the readiness of key public infrastructure and economic sectors."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has periodically reported on high-risk federal programs that are vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. Two such high-risk areas are managing federal contracts more effectively and assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of federal tax administration. Weaknesses in the tax area continue to expose the federal government to significant losses of tax revenue and increase the burden on compliant taxpayers to fund government activities. Over the last several years, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations requested GAO to investigate Department of Defense (DOD), civilian agency, and General Services Administration (GSA) contractors that abused the federal tax system. Based on that work GAO made recommendations to executive agencies including to improve the controls over levying payments to contractors with tax debt--many of which have been implemented--and referred 122 contractors to IRS for further investigation and prosecution. As requested, this testimony will highlight the key findings from prior testimonies and related reports. This testimony will (1) describe the magnitude of tax debt owed by federal contractors, (2) provide examples of federal contractors involved in abusive and potentially criminal activity related to the federal tax system, and (3) describe …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among American women. In 2001, 192,200 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed and 40,200 women died from the disease. The probability of survival increases significantly, however, when breast cancer is discovered in its early stages. Currently, the most effective technique for early detection of breast cancer is screening mammography, an X-ray procedure that can detect small tumors and breast abnormalities up to two years before they can be detected by touch. Nationwide data indicate that mammography services are generally adequate to meet the growing demand. Between 1998 and 2000, both the population of women 40 and older and the extent to which they were screened increased by 15 percent. Although mammography services are generally available, women in some locations have problems obtaining timely mammography services in some metropolitan areas. However, the greatest losses in capacity have come in rural counties. In all, 121 counties, most of them rural, have experienced a drop of more than 25 percent in the number of mammography machines in the last three years. Officials from 37 of these counties reported …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1986, China has narrowed the gap between the U.S. and Chinese semiconductor manufacturing technology from between seven to 10 years to two years or less. China's success in acquiring manufacturing technology from abroad has improved its semiconductor manufacturing facilities for more capable weapons systems and advanced consumer electronics. The multilateral Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies has not affected China's ability to obtain semiconductor manufacturing equipment because the United States is the only member of this voluntary arrangement that considers China's acquisition of semiconductor manufacturing equipment a cause for concern. Under the Export Administration Regulations pertaining to China, the general licensing policy is to approve applications, except those items that would make a direct and significant contribution to specific areas of China's military. Furthermore, U.S. agencies have not done the analyses, such as assessing foreign availability of this technology or the cumulative effects of such exports on U.S. national security interests, necessary to justify such a practice or serve as the basis for licensing decisions. Consequently, the executive branch lacks a sound, well-documented basis for making export-licensing decisions …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1980 Congress has passed laws to facilitate the transfer of technology from federal laboratories to U.S. businesses. In particular, the National Competitiveness Technology Transfer Act of 1989 authorized federal laboratories operated by contractors, including the Department of Energy's (DOE) national laboratories, to enter into cooperative research and development agreements (CRADA). Under a CRADA, the partner and DOE laboratory agree to jointly conduct research and typically share the research costs. By fiscal year 1992, DOE's national laboratories were among the leading federal laboratories participating in CRADAs. Recently however, the 12 laboratories that DOE surveyed have substantially reduced their CRADA partnerships and their technical assistance to small businesses. Instead, the laboratories have increasingly transferred technology through agreements that did not involve collaborative research and were funded by a business or other nonfederal entity. Managers at most of the laboratories say the lack of dedicated funding for technology for transfer to technology partnerships, including funding targeted to small businesses, is the most important barrier to their technology transfer activities. Managers at most laboratories said that DOE's lack of a high-level, effective advocate for technology transfer and DOE's lack …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information. In reports to Congress since 1997, GAO has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue. Concerned by reports of significant vulnerabilities in federal computer systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), which permanently authorized and strengthened the information security program, evaluation, and reporting requirements for federal agencies. FISMA also defines responsibilities for ensuring centralized compilation and analysis of incidents that threaten information security and providing timely technical assistance in handling security incidents. In this testimony, GAO discusses the continued weaknesses in information security controls at 24 major federal agencies, the reporting and analysis of security incidents, and efforts by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a cyber threat analysis and warning capability. GAO based its testimony on its previous work in this area as well as agency and congressional reports."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD's space system acquisitions have experienced problems over the past several decades that have driven up costs by hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars, stretched schedules by years, and increased performance risks. DOD has recognized the need to change its approach to developing space systems and is attempting to instill best practices in new efforts. GAO was asked to testify on its findings on space acquisitions problems and steps needed to sustain and expand the use of best practices. In preparing this testimony, GAO relied on its detailed reviews of space programs as well as cross-cutting work on cost estimating and best practices. GAO does not make recommendations in this testimony. However, GAO has made recommendations on steps DOD can take to ensure better outcomes for its space acquisitions programs. These include developing an overall investment strategy for acquisition programs, addressing human capital and other shortfalls in capacity, and revising policies supporting space to incorporate best practices."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is in support of the fiscal year 2006 budget request for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This request is necessary to help us continue to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. We are grateful to the Congress for providing us with the support and resources that have helped us in our quest to be a world-class professional services organization. We believe that investing in GAO produces a sound return and results in substantial benefits to the Congress and the American people. In the years ahead, our support to the Congress will likely prove even more critical because of the pressures created by our nation's current and projected budget deficit and long-term fiscal imbalance. These fiscal pressures will require the Congress to make tough choices regarding what the government should do, how it will do its work, who will help carry out its work in the future, and how government will be financed in the future. We summarized the larger challenges facing the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) final actions to ensure its year 2000 readiness, including the actions it took during the rollover period--December 30,1999, through January 3, 2000, as well as for the February 29 leap year date--to ensure a successful transition to the new century."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When GAO originally placed the U.S. Postal Service's (the Service) transformation efforts and long-term outlook on its high-risk list in early 2001, it was to focus urgent attention on the Service's deteriorating financial situation. Aggressive action was needed, particularly in cutting costs, improving productivity, and enhancing financial transparency. GAO testified several times since 2001 that comprehensive postal reform legislation was needed to address the Service's unsustainable business model, which assumed that increasing mail volume would cover rising costs and mitigate rate increases. This outdated model limited its flexibility and incentives needed to realize sufficient cost savings to offset rising costs, declining First-Class Mail volumes, unfunded obligations, and an expanding delivery network. This limitation threatened the Service's ability to achieve its mission of providing affordable, high-quality universal postal services on a self-financing basis. This testimony will focus on (1) why GAO recently removed the Service's transformation efforts and outlook from GAO's high-risk list, (2) the Service's financial condition in fiscal year 2007, (3) the opportunities and challenges facing the Service, and (4) major issues and areas for congressional oversight. This testimony is based on GAO's past work, review of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Commonwelth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a self-governing commonwealth of the United States that administers its own local government functions under its own constitution. CNMI consists of 14 islands in the North Pacific with a total land area about 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. In recent years, CNMI has experienced serious economic and fiscal challenges, and several indicators point to a fiscal crisis in fiscal year 2006. This testimony highlights the recent economic trends in the CNMI economy, its weakening fiscal condition, and its financial accountability challenges. Our conclusions are based on work performed for our December 2006 report on U.S. insular areas and our February 2007 testimony on CNMI before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which was updated to include audited financial information through fiscal year 2005 and some recent developments in fiscal year 2006 based on information available as of February 2007. Today, we are also including additional information on CNMI's fiscal year 2006 status recently provided to us by CNMI's Secretary of Finance. We conducted our work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Last year the United States proposed that the World Bank and other development banks distribute more grants to the world's poorest countries to help ease their long-term debt burdens. The United States recommended that grants replace up to half of all future lending. The proposal has been controversial because of its potential impact on the resources available to poor countries. The World Bank estimates that the proposal could reduce its resources by $100 billion during the next 40 years. A shift of multilateral loans to grants would reduce poor countries' debt burdens and increase their ability to repay future debt. The total financial loss to the World Bank of a 50-percent shift from loans to grants during the next 40 years would be $15.6 billion in present value terms. Financing the proposal through harder terms on the remaining loans to poor countries would reduce and potentially nullify any improvement to their debt sustainability arising from the 50-percent grants proposal. However, if donor contributions to the World Bank were to increase by 1.6 percent a year, which is less than the projected rate of inflation during the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Weather-related events in the United States have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages annually over the past decade. A major portion of these losses is borne by private insurers and by two federal insurance programs-- the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which insures properties against flooding, and the Department of Agriculture's Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), which insures crops against drought or other weather disasters. In this testimony, GAO (1) describes how climate change may affect future weather-related losses, (2) provides information on past insured weather-related losses, and (3) determines what major private insurers and federal insurers are doing to prepare for potential increases in such losses. This testimony is based on a report entitled Climate Change: Financial Risks to Federal and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant (GAO-07-285) being released today."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As operations overseas continue, the Department of Defense (DOD) is experiencing a growing demand for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to provide valuable information in support of military operations. While the 2006 Quadrennial Review emphasized the need for the ISR community to improve the integration and management of ISR assets, DOD plans to make significant investments in ISR capabilities for the future. Congress has been interested in DOD's approach for managing and integrating existing assets while acquiring new systems. This testimony addresses preliminary observations based on GAO's ongoing work regarding (1) the status of DOD initiatives intended to improve the management and integration of ISR requirements and challenges DOD faces in implementing its initiatives, (2) DOD's approach to managing current ISR assets to support military operations, and (3) the status of selected ISR programs in development and the potential for synergies between them. GAO's ongoing work included document review, interviews with officials at relevant organizations, observations of some U.S. Central Command operations, and review of 12 airborne ISR development programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) fire protection program, focusing on: (1) NRC's efforts to improve its oversight of fire protection at nuclear power plants; (2) any potential barriers to the successful implementation of the risk-informed oversight process for fire protection; and (3) the extent to which fire risk assessments consider the possible failure of passive fire barriers and penetration seals and whether the cumulative effect of granting exemptions has increased the risk of fire at nuclear power plants."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony is given in support of the fiscal year 2008 budget request for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) before the House Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations. The requested funding will help us continue our support of the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and will help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO is especially appreciative of the Subcommittee's efforts to help us avoid a furlough of our staff during fiscal year 2007. Had we not received additional funds this year and not taken other cost minimization actions, GAO would have likely been forced to furlough most staff for up to 5 days without pay. At the same time, due to funding shortfalls, we were not able to make pay adjustments retroactive to January 7, 2007. Our testimony today focuses on key efforts that GAO has undertaken to support the Congress, our fiscal year 2006 performance results, our budget request for fiscal year 2008 to support the Congress and serve the American people, and proposed legislative changes."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) paid $19 million to state approving agencies (SAA) to assess whether schools and training programs are of sufficient quality for veterans to receive VA education assistance benefits when attending them. The Departments of Education and Labor also assess education and training programs for various purposes. This testimony describes (1) changes that have occurred in state approving agencies' duties and functions since 1995, (2) the extent to which the SAA approval process overlaps with efforts by the Departments of Education and Labor, and (3) the additional value that SAA approval activities bring to VA education benefit programs. This testimony is based on a March 2007 report (GAO-07-384)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO assessed the effectiveness of information system general controls at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In GAO’s opinion, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) fairly presented, in all material respects, the 2011 and 2010 financial statements for the two funds it administers—the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) Resolution Fund (FRF). Also, in GAO’s opinion, although certain internal controls related to the DIF should be improved, FDIC maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting. Further, GAO did not find any reportable instances of noncompliance with provisions of the laws and regulations it tested."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To prepare for its reporting obligations under the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) assembled the Interagency Telework Measurement Group, consisting of officials from several federal agencies, to assist in revising the telework data call—the survey OPM has used since 2002 to collect telework data from executive agencies. This group standardized key terms such as telework, employee, and eligibility to promote a common reporting methodology among the agencies. The revised telework data call also included changes to the time period for which OPM requested agencies report telework data, and included more extensive training for respondents."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When GAO compared prices paid by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a sample of 83 drugs purchased in the first calendar quarter of 2012, DOD's average unit price for the entire sample was 31.8 percent ($0.11 per unit) higher than VA's average price, and DOD's average unit price for the subset of 40 generic drugs was 66.6 percent ($0.04 per unit) higher than VA's average price. However, VA's average unit price for the subset of 43 brand-name drugs was 136.9 percent ($1.01 per unit) higher than DOD's average price. These results were consistent with each agency obtaining better prices on the type of drugs that made up the majority of its utilization: generic drugs accounted for 83 percent of VA's utilization of the sample drugs and brand-name drugs accounted for 54 percent of DOD's utilization of the sample drugs. DOD officials told GAO that in certain circumstances they are able to obtain competitive prices for brand-name drugs--even below the prices for generic equivalents--and therefore will often preferentially purchase brand-name drugs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the various activities that Department of State, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Treasury, and the Agency for International Development (AID) have undertaken to address transnational crime involving sub-Saharan Africa and their efforts to enhance anticrime coordination among U.S. agencies."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Noncompliance does not have a single source but occurs across different types of taxes and taxpayers. For example, individual income tax accounts for the largest portion of the tax gap, but corporate income tax and employment tax are also significant. Further, misreporting by individuals involves business income, non-business income, deductions, and credits. The extent of misreporting depends on the extent to which income tax is withheld or reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by third parties. For example, nearly 40 percent, or $179 billion, of the 2006 gross tax gap is due to misreporting of non-corporate business income and related self-employment taxes. Much of this misreporting can be attributed to sole proprietors underreporting receipts or over-reporting expenses. Unlike wage and some investment income, sole proprietors’ income is not subject to withholding and only a portion is reported to IRS by third parties."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Public housing agencies (PHA) that participate in the Moving to Work (MTW) program report annually on the performance of their activities, which include efforts to reduce administrative costs and encourage residents to work. But this performance information varies, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) guidance does not specify that it be quantifiable and outcome oriented. Further, HUD has not identified the performance data that would be needed to assess the results of similar MTW activities or the program as a whole and has not established performance indicators for the program. The shortage of such analyses and indicators has hindered comprehensive evaluation efforts, although such evaluations are key to determining the success of any demonstration program. Further, while HUD has identified some lessons learned from the program, it has no systematic process to identify them and thus has relied primarily on ad hoc information. The absence of a systematic process for identifying lessons learned limits HUD’s ability to promote useful practices that could be more broadly implemented to address the purposes of the program."