Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to modernize the nation's air traffic control (ATC) system and its relationship to other initiatives to address the escalating crises of insufficient capacity facing the aviation industry. Specifically, GAO reviews the (1) extent of the delay and congestion problems and the contribution of the ATC system to them, (2) progress and problems encountered in FAA's ATC modernization program, and (3) importance of a continued focus on delivering ATC equipment and on human capital issues as policymakers seek to address delays and congestion. GAO found that the national airspace system (NAS) is facing significant capacity problems. Last year, more than 25 percent of nationwide flights were canceled, delayed or diverted. These actions affected 163 million passengers who, on average, were delayed almost an hour. Inefficiencies in the ATC system contribute to the delays and congestion. Modernizing equipment, along with other changes in the ATC system, is expected to help increase the capacity of NAS between 5 and 15 percent. However, improvements from FAA's modernization program have fallen short so far. Although FAA has installed new equipment to provide the necessary …

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Electrofuels program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses combining ammonia and bacteria to produce liquid fuel as part of the "Biofuels from CO2 Using Ammonia or Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria in Reverse Microbial Fuel Cells" project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Electrofuels program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses the modification of E. coli to consume carbon dioxide and produce liquid fuel as part of the "Engineering E. coli as an Electrofuels Chassis for Isooctane Production" project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Electrofuels program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses the conversion of carbon dioxide into liquid fuels as part of the "Electrofuels Via Direct Electron Transfer from Electrodes to Microbes" project.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Fish populations in many commercial fisheries are declining, causing a growing imbalance between the number of vessels in fishing fleets and the number of fish available to catch. Federally funded fishery buyback programs are one tool available for managers to bring the number of vessels and the number of fish back into balance. Buyback programs need to be carefully designed if they are to sucessfully sustain fisheries. If buyback programs are not accompanied by other measures that reduce incentives to reenter a fishery, capacity reductions resulting from buybacks will erode. Unless a buyback program prevents it, fishermen can use previously inactive vessels or permits and reenter the buyback fishery. By themselves, the buyback programs do not address a root cause of overfishing, which is called the "race to fish." In most fisheries, fishermen have an incentive to increase their fishing capacity to catch fish before someone else does or use their existing capacity more intensely. Plans for evaluating the results of buybacks should also be considered when these programs are being designed. Measuring and evaluating results can identify important lessons that can improve the effectiveness of future buybacks. …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published an exposure draft for the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). In this exposure draft, FASAB proposes the reporting of entities to their financial statements reconciliations between the beginning and ending balances of the subsidy cost allowance for direct loans and loan guarantee liability on a program-by-program basis for major programs, in addition to reconciliation for the entity as a whole."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Strike Fighter acquisition program, focusing on the: (1) best commercial practices for developing new products; (2) reasons why DOD does not follow these practices; and (3) opportunity that Joint Strike Fighter represents to strengthen--or weaken--the effect of best practices and acquisition reform on major weapons."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is relying more and more on contractors to provide billions of dollars in services. Congress has pushed DOD to employ sound business practices when using the private sector for services. This testimony discusses DOD's (1) increasing reliance on contractors; (2) efforts to follow sound business practices when acquiring services; and (3) actions to improve its management and oversight of services. This testimony is based on GAO's work spanning several years as well as recent reports issued by the Inspectors General."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD is estimating and publishing approximate costs for selected types of internally and externally required reports, but in some cases its approach is not fully consistent with relevant cost estimating best practices and cost accounting standards. Specifically, DOD entities have been directed to use the cost estimating tool to capture marginal costs of activities associated with completing a report or study that would not have been performed otherwise. These costs consist of certain manpower costs (such as the prorated salaries of military and civilian personnel based on the time they spent) and nonlabor costs (such as contract services, travel, or printing). In comparing DOD’s approach to (1) GAO’s Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide—which states that high-quality, reliable cost estimates should be comprehensive, well documented, and accurate—and (2) relevant accounting standards, we found the following."

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the 10 projects that are a part of the Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation (BEEST) program including project goals, innovation needs, and potential impacts.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Electrofuels program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses engineering a microorganism to create a liquid fuel from hydrogen and carbon dioxide as part of the "Novel Biological Conversion of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide Directly into Free Fatty Acids" project.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated, for the years ended December 31, 1996 and 1997, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony reviews GAO's fiscal year 2000 accomplishments, fiscal year 2001 plans and future challenges, and fiscal year 2002 budget request. In fiscal year 2000, GAO saved taxpayers more than $23 billion. GAO's work also resulted in improved public health and safety, better national security, and stronger financial management and information systems. During fiscal year 2001, GAO will continue to focus on the major issues facing Congress, including the solvency of Social Security, education, economic development, Medicare reform, and national security. Internally, GAO will continue to take steps to address its own two major management challenges: human capital and information technology. To fully support Congress, GAO is requesting a budget of about $430.3 million for fiscal year 2000. This funding will allow GAO to staff and support its approved 3,275 full-time equivalent staffing level and sustain existing services to Congress."

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about a new program to genetically modify bacteria to generate Butanol from carbon dioxide (project title "Bioconversion of Carbon Dioxide to Biofuels by Facultatively Autotrophic Hydrogen Bacteria") including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet is the first open solicitation, announcing funding opportunities for involvement in the project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about a new program to generate liquid fuels from bacteria, carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight (project title "Engineering a Bacterial Reverse Fuel Cell") including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet is the first open solicitation, announcing funding opportunities for involvement in the project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Electrofuels program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses a new program to develop a bacteria that uses electricity to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels as part of the "Development of Rhodobacter as a Versatile Platform for Fuels Production" project.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation (BEEST) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses a new capacitor design for electric vehicles as part of the "High Energy Density Capacitors" project.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a key role in leading and coordinating--with stakeholders in the federal, state, local, and private sectors--the nation's homeland security efforts. GAO has conducted numerous reviews of DHS management functions as well as programs including transportation and border security, immigration enforcement and service delivery, and disaster preparation and response. This testimony addresses: (1) why GAO designated DHS's implementation and transformation as a high-risk area, (2) specific management challenges that DHS continues to face, (3) examples of the program challenges that DHS faces, and (4) actions DHS should take to strengthen its implementation and transformation efforts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Senior Executive Service (SES) generally represents the most experienced and senior segment of the federal workforce. Having a diverse SES corps can be an organizational strength that contributes to the achievement of results by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to bear on policy development and implementation, strategic planning, problem solving, and decision making. In a January 2003 report (GAO-03-34), GAO provided data on career SES members by race, ethnicity, and gender as of October 2000. In March 2000, we reported similar data for the Postal Career Executive Service as of September 1999 (GAO/GGD-00-76). In response to a request for updated information on diversity in the top levels of government, GAO is providing information obtained from the Office of Personnel Management's Civilian Personnel Data File and the Postal Service on the representation of women and minorities in (1) the federal government's career SES, (2) the developmental pools from which the vast majority of potential successors for career senior level positions will come (i.e., GS-14 and GS-15), (3) the Postal Service's career officer and senior executive positions in the Postal Career Executive Service, and (4) the …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the "ILOVEYOU" computer virus, focusing on the need for agency and governmentwide improvements in information security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for coordinating the federal government's homeland security communications with all levels of government, the private sector, and the public. In support of its mission, the department has deployed a Web-based information-sharing application--the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN)--and operates at least 11 homeland security networks. The department reported that in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, these investments cost $611.8 million to develop, operate, and maintain. In view of the significance of information sharing for protecting homeland security, GAO was asked to testify on the department's efforts to coordinate its development and use of HSIN with two key state and local initiatives under the Regional Information Sharing Systems--a nationwide information-sharing program operated and managed by state and local officials. This testimony is based on a recent GAO report that addresses, among other things, DHS's homeland security networks and HSIN. In performing the work for that report, GAO analyzed documentation on HSIN and state and local initiatives, compared it against the requirements of the Homeland Security Act and federal guidance and best practices, and interviewed DHS officials and state and local officials."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Improperly defined intellectual property rights in a government contract can result in the loss of an entity's critical assets or limit the development of applications critical to public health or safety. Conversely, successful contracts can spur economic development, innovation, and growth, and dramatically improve the quality of delivered goods and services. Contracting for intellectual property rights is difficult. The stakes are high, and negotiating positions are frequently ill-defined. Moreover, the concerns raised must be tempered with the understanding that government contracting can be challenging even without the complexities of intellectual property rights. Further, contractors often have reasons for not wanting to contract with the government, including concerns over profitability, capacity, accounting and administrative requirements, and opportunity costs. Within the commercial sector, companies identified a number of specific intellectual property concerns that affected their willingness to contract with the government. These included perceived poor definitions of what technical data is needed by the government, issues with the government's ability to protect proprietary data adequately, and unwillingness on the part of government officials to exercise the flexibilities available concerning intellectual property rights. Some of these concerns were on perception rather …

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy project sheet summarizing general information about the Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation (BEEST) program including critical needs, innovation and advantages, impacts, and contact information. This sheet discusses a new lithium-air battery for electric vehicles as part of the "High Performance Cathodes for Lithium-Air Batteries" project.

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is the world's largest and most complex entity, with about $3.5 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2010 that fund a broad array of programs and operations. GAO's long-term simulations of the federal budget show--absent policy change--growing deficits accumulating to an unsustainable increase in debt. While the spending side is driven by rising health care costs and demographics, other areas should also be scrutinized. In addition, there are significant performance and management challenges that the federal government needs to confront. GAO was asked to testify on the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), as the administration begins implementing the act. This statement is based on GAO's past and ongoing work on GPRA implementation, as well as recently issued reports (1) identifying opportunities to reduce potential duplication in government programs, save tax dollars, and enhance revenue; and (2) updating GAO's list of government operations at high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or the need for transformation. As required by GPRAMA, GAO will periodically evaluate implementation of the act and report to Congress on its …