Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Perchlorate has been used for decades by the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the defense industry in manufacturing, testing, and firing missiles and rockets. Other uses include fireworks, fertilizers, and explosives. Perchlorate is readily dissolved and transported in water and has been found in groundwater, surface water, and soil across the country. Perchlorate emerged as a contaminant of concern because health studies have shown that it can affect the thyroid gland, which helps regulate the body's metabolism, and may cause developmental impairment in fetuses of pregnant women. In 2005, EPA set a reference dose of 24.5 parts per billion (ppb)--the exposure level not expected to cause adverse effect in humans. Today's testimony updates GAO's May 2005 report, Perchlorate: A System to Track Sampling and Cleanup Results is Needed, GAO-05-462. It summarizes GAO's (1) compilation of the extent of perchlorate contamination in the U.S. and (2) review of peer-reviewed studies about perchlorate's health risks. GAO's 2005 report recommended that EPA work to track and monitor perchlorate detections and cleanup efforts. In December 2006, EPA reiterated its disagreement with this recommendation. GAO continues to believe …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To successfully manage AIA implementation, USPTO must consider a number of trade-offs as it sets and uses its over 340 fees, as well as maintain an effective fee review process. USPTO officials have stated that the agency’s limited fee-setting authority prior to the AIA and uncertainty about the extent to which its collections would be available contributed to a number of the agency’s operational challenges, such as the current backlog of over 640,000 patent applications and patent application processing time of over 30 months. They said fees that generated over 80 percent of USPTO’s revenues were set in statute, limiting the agency’s ability to ensure that total collections kept pace with total costs as its workload has grown. USPTO can only use its fee collections to the extent that Congress makes them available. In the past, Congress has in some years made available less than the total amount collected; there has been significant debate about the status and use of these fees collected in excess of amounts appropriated."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Meeting the nation's mobility needs requires constructing, improving, and repairing roads and bridges. However, these actions can have serious environmental impacts, such as harming water quality and wildlife and their habitats. The federal government's policy is to carry out federally funded highway projects in an environmentally responsible manner, as directed by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and other environmental and natural resource protection laws. The environmental review of projects, as required by the act, involves identifying and assessing environmental impacts; evaluating alternatives; seeking input, and in some cases approvals, from federal and state agencies responsible for natural resources, environmental protection, and historic preservation (referred to hereafter as resource agencies); and obtaining approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These reviews provide important environmental protections, yet it is generally agreed that it often takes too long to complete the most complex highway projects and the environmental review is the most time-consuming aspect. In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) made a number of changes to the planning and environmental review processes required of state and local transportation …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States, along with coalition partners and various international organizations, has undertaken a challenging and costly effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq following multiple wars and decades of neglect by the former regime. This enormous effort is taking place in an unstable security environment, concurrent with Iraqi efforts to transition to its first permanent government. In November 2005, the President issued the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq. According to the strategy, victory will be achieved when Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, secure, well integrated into the international community, and a full partner in the global war on terror. In this testimony, GAO discusses the key challenges that the United States, international community, and Iraq face in rebuilding and stabilizing Iraq. This statement is based on four reports GAO has issued to the Congress since July 2005 and recent trips to Iraq. Since July 2005, GAO issued reports on (1) the status of funding and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, the progress achieved, and challenges faced in rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure; (2) U.S. efforts in the water and sanitation sector; and (3) U.S. assistance for the January 2005 Iraqi …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government faces long-standing problems in managing real property, including excess and underutilized property. In focusing on this issue, GAO found that data problems continue to hamper federal efforts. GAO examined Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP) data, which is managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) and is to describe the real property under the custody and control of executive branch agencies. GAO identified inconsistencies and inaccuracies at 23 of the 26 locations visited in 2011 and 2012 in key data elements related to the management of excess and underutilized property, including utilization, condition, annual operating costs, and value of the buildings. For example, several buildings that received high scores for condition were in poor condition, with problems including, asbestos, mold, health concerns, radioactivity, and flooding. These findings raised concern that the FRPP is not a useful tool for describing the nature, use, and extent of excess and underutilized federal real property."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The alleged August 2006 terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives onboard multiple commercial aircraft bound for the United States from the United Kingdom has highlighted both the continued importance of securing the civil aviation system and the potential that improvised explosive devices (IED) may be smuggled onboard passenger aircraft. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the security of civil aviation, which includes the safety of passengers and flight crew. One measure TSA uses to protect the aviation system is prohibiting individuals from carrying items that it determines to be a threat to the aircraft and its passengers into an airport sterile area or onboard an aircraft either in their carry-on bag or on their person. To implement this measure, TSA maintains a prohibited items list that informs both the Transportation Security Officers (TSO) who conduct passenger screening and the traveling public of items that will not be allowed into an airport sterile area or onboard an aircraft. In December 2005, TSA revised its prohibited items list to allow passengers to carry: (1) metal scissors with pointed tips and a blade 4 inches or less …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oversight of managed care rate-setting has been inconsistent. In August 2010, GAO reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had not ensured that all states were complying with the managed care actuarial soundness requirements that rates be developed in accordance with actuarial principles, appropriate for the population and services, and certified by actuaries. For example, GAO found significant gaps in CMS’s oversight of 2 of the 26 states reviewed—CMS had not reviewed one state’s rates in multiple years and had not completed a full review of another state’s rates since the actuarial soundness requirements became effective. Variation in practices across CMS regional offices contributed to these gaps and other inconsistencies in the agency’s oversight of states’ rate setting. GAO’s previous work also found that CMS’s efforts to ensure the quality of the data used to set rates were generally limited to requiring assurances from states and health plans—efforts that did not provide the agency with enough information to ensure the quality of the data used. With limited information on data quality, CMS cannot ensure that states’ managed care rates are appropriate, which places billions of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Budget Control Act of 2011, amending the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, establishes limits on discretionary spending for fiscal years 2012 through 2021. In addition, the Act specifies additional limits on discretionary spending and automatic reductions in direct spending because legislation was not enacted that would reduce projected deficits by at least $1.2 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2021. Among other things, the Budget Control Act requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to calculate, and the President to order, a sequestration of discretionary and direct spending on January 2, 2013, to achieve reductions for that fiscal year."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11 imposed new demands on the federal budget, while pent-up demands from years of fighting deficits remain. In the past, GAO has suggested four broad principles for a budget process. That process should (1) provide information on the long-term impact of decisions, both macro--linking fiscal policy to the long-term economic outlook--and micro--providing recognition of the long-term spending implications of government commitments; (2) provide information and focus on important macro trade-offs--e.g., between investment and consumption; (3) provide information to make informed trade-offs between missions and between the different policy tools of government; and (4) be enforceable, provide for control and accountability, and be transparent, using clear, consistent definitions. New rules and goals will be necessary to ensure fiscal discipline and to focus on long term implications of decisions. The federal government still needs a decision-making framework to evaluate choices between today's and future needs. Amending the current Budget Enforcement Act without setting realistic caps and addressing mandatory programs is unlikely to be successful because the original act used limited actions to achieve a balanced budget. A budget process appropriate for the early 21st century needs …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Gasoline prices in West Coast states are frequently among the highest in the nation and these states tend to see longer periods of high prices compared with other parts of the country, the West Coast gasoline market is characterized by a tight balance between supply and demand, and isolation from other U.S. gasoline markets. Both of these situations cause rapid price increases in reaction to supply disruptions. GAO's comparisons of gasoline prices in California, Oregon, and Washington found that individual markets in the three states are closely linked and are essentially part of a single market for gasoline on the West Coast. Gasoline prices for cities in these states generally followed similar patterns with respect to price increases and decreases. As a result, any event that a significantly changed prices in one state could affect gasoline prices in other West Coast states. Although California, Oregon, and Washington are essentially part of the same West Coast market, each state has attributes that tend to increase its respective gasoline prices. Moreover, within any given state, local market conditions may cause prices to vary considerably. GAO's analysis found that lifting the …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia school system, with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), has made considerable progress in fixing roofs, replacing windows, repairing bathrooms, and completing other maintenance work that has been neglected for years. The D.C. school system is now addressing the more complex task of modernizing--either through renovation or through new construction--virtually every public school in the city. In April 1998, the school system entered into an agreement with the Corps for engineering, procurement, and technical assistance. In December 2000, the D.C. Board of Education approved a facility master plan that would modernize 10 schools annually over 10 to 15 years at a cost of $1.3 billion. Historically significant buildings cannot be razed, however, and are costly to redesign. So far, construction costs are running significantly higher than estimated by the facility master plan. The scope of the work has been expanded to recognize community needs for some special facilities. In examining the Washington Gas Light Company's records of quality inspections for the work it managed for the school system, GAO found that 77 percent of all projects lacked evidence of quality inspections. …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Noninstitutional long-term care services are delivered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to veterans in their own homes and other community locations. The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act requires VA to offer long-term care services to eligible veterans, including services provided in noninstitutional settings. More than two years after the act's passage, VA has yet to offer eligible veterans adult day health care, geriatric evaluation, or respite care. Although VA published proposed regulations that would make these services available in noninstitutional settings to eligible veterans, the regulations had not been finalized as of April 17, 2002. To be responsive before its draft regulations were made final, VA issued a policy directive requiring that these three services be available in noninstitutional settings. GAO found, however, that both the services required by the act and VA's other noninstitutional services were unevenly available across the VA system."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established two key programs to help support air service to small communities--the Essential Air Service (EAS) providing about $100 million in subsidies per year and the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) that provides about $20 million per year in grants. As part of its reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Congress is examining the status and outcomes of these programs. This testimony discusses (1) the history and challenges of the EAS program, (2) the implementation and outcomes of the SCASDP and (3) options for reforming EAS and SCASDP. The testimony is based on previous GAO reports, interviews with Department of Transportation officials and industry representatives as well as program updates."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In 2004, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problems could further delay the project. Then, in 2005, DOE announced discovery of employee e-mails suggesting quality assurance problems. Quality assurance, which establishes requirements for work to be performed under controlled conditions that ensure quality, is critical to making sure the project meets standards for protecting public health and the environment. This testimony, which summarizes GAO's March 2006 report (GAO-06-313), provides information on (1) the history of the project's quality assurance problems, (2) DOE's tracking of these problems and efforts to address them since GAO's 2004 report, and (3) challenges facing DOE as it continues to address quality assurance issues within the project."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In testimony before this committee and the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security in February 2007, GAO stated that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not made its management or operational decisions transparent enough to allow Congress to be sure that the Department is effectively, efficiently, and economically using its billions of dollars of annual funding. GAO also noted that its work for Congress to assess DHS's operations has, at times, been significantly hampered by long delays in obtaining access to program documents. Following the aforementioned testimonies, GAO was asked to testify about its access issues. This testimony provides information on (1) the scope of GAO's work, (2) GAO protocols for accessing agency information, (3) DHS processes for working with GAO, (4) access issues GAO has encountered, and (5) steps GAO has taken to address these issues."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11 have heightened concerns about the physical security of federal buildings and the need to protect those who work in and visit these facilities. These concerns have been underscored by reports of long-standing vulnerabilities, including weak controls over building access. There are several commercially available security technologies that can be deployed, ranging from turnstiles, to smart cards, to biometric systems. Although many of these technologies can provide highly effective technical controls, the overall security of a federal building will depend on robust risk management processes and implementing the three integral concepts of a holistic security process: protection, detection, and reaction."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) fiscal year 2002 budget request. Because HUD's 2002 budget request was released only two weeks before this testimony, GAO could only offer a general discussion of the budget's policy policy implications and program trade-offs. GAO found that, in recent years, HUD has had significant unexpended balances, making it difficult for Congress to assess the Department's need for new appropriations. Without accurate and timely information on the nature, the amount, and the availability of HUD's unexpended balances, decision-makers cannot fully and fairly evaluate HUD's funding needs. HUD has begun several short-term efforts to identify, quantify, and recapture some unexpended balances and has, in fact, recaptured about $3 billion each year between fiscal years 1998 and 2000. In spite of these efforts, HUD has not yet integrated the processes needed to routinely and accurately account for unexpended balances into its ongoing financial, program, and budget management. As a result, HUD lacks the information it needs to (1) determine with certainty how much of the unexpended balances should be recaptured and (2) clearly factor these funds into its budget requests."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its preliminary observations on the timeliness of the Department of Labor's (DOL) certification process for transit grants, focusing on: (1) DOL's process for issuing certifications for grant applications; (2) how DOL defines and calculates how long it takes to issue certifications; and (3) the trends and factors affecting the length of DOL's certification process."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses data reactively and proactively to prevent accidents and manage safety risks. For instance, since 1998, FAA has partnered with the airline industry to identify precursors and contributing factors, and ensure that efforts to improve safety focus on the most prevalent categories of accidents and formulate an intervention strategy designed to reduce recurrences. Although FAA plans to continue using data reactively to understand the causes of accidents and incidents, as part of its adoption of Safety Management Systems (SMS), it is shifting to a proactive approach in which it analyzes data to identify and mitigate risks before they result in accidents."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requested and received $195 million for Hepatitis C screening and treatment in fiscal year 2000. VA's budget documentation showed that it had spent $100 million on Hepatitis C screening and treatment, leaving a difference of $95 million between its estimated and actual expenditures. However, GAO's review revealed that the difference was actually much larger--$145 million. VA's documentation showed that only $50 million was used for budgeted activities and $50 million was used for an activity not included in its original budget--treatment of conditions related to Hepatitis C. It appears that VA is unable to develop a budget estimate that can reliably forecast its Hepatitis C funding needs at this time. However, VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) appears to be taking reasonable steps to improve future budget estimates and thereby minimize the potential for large differences. Such steps include developing a Hepatitis C patient registry that could provide the critical data needed to improve budgetary estimates. However, this registry could take as long as 15 months to become operational, which suggests that it may not provide budgetary data in time …

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) obligated about $367 billion in fiscal year 2010 to acquire goods and services to meet its mission and support its operations, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan. GAO's work, as well as that of others, has documented shortcomings in DOD's strategic and acquisition planning, contract administration and oversight, and acquisition workforce. These are challenges that need to be addressed by DOD and by the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as they carry out their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and prepare for future contingencies. Today's statement discusses (1) contract management challenges faced by DOD, including those that take on heightened significance in a contingency environment; (2) actions DOD has taken and those needed to address these challenges; and (3) similar challenges State and USAID face. The statement is drawn from GAO's body of work on DOD contingency contracting, contract management, and workforce, as well as prior reports on State and USAID's contracting and workforce issues."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Use of controlled substances as "bait" in a sting operation (RQ-1928)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Jim Mattox, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Status of insurance programs in which applicants are referred, for a fee, to a single health care provider (RQ-1867)