Letters from Ronnie Birdson to each of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) commissioners in support of Cannon Air Force Base.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Department of Defense's efforts to recover the nonrecurring research, development, and production costs from its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program trust fund for items that were delivered to FMS customers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (MGD Program) provides donations of U.S. agricultural products and financial and technical assistance for school feeding programs in the developing world. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with about $200 million in funding in fiscal year 2010, the MGD Program served about 5 million beneficiaries in 28 countries. In 2006 and 2007, USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audited the department's food aid programs and identified significant weaknesses. This report examines (1) USDA's oversight of the MGD Program and (2) the extent to which USDA has addressed the program's internal control weaknesses. GAO conducted field work in Cambodia, Guatemala, and Kenya; reviewed USDA and implementing partners' documents and studies on school feeding; and interviewed officials from U.S. agencies and various organizations.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Through 2011, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend $20 billion on unmanned aircraft systems, including the Army's "Warrior." Because of congressional concerns that some systems have been more costly and taken more time to produce than predicted, GAO reviewed the Warrior program. This report (1) describes the Army's requirements underlying its decision to acquire Warrior instead of existing systems such as the Air Force's Predator, and (2) assesses whether the Army has established a sound acquisition strategy for the Warrior program."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report documents information that we presented to Congress on March 31, 2011, in response to a congressional request that we examine the extent to which federal funding is used to support public radio. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was established pursuant to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and receives federal payments through the annual appropriations process. CPB distributes the federal payments it receives in accordance with a statutory formula. Under this formula, the majority of each annual federal payment must be distributed to public broadcasting television and radio stations and program producers, such as National Public Radio (NPR), typically in the form of grants. This report addresses the following questions: (1) What are the missions of CPB, NPR, and local public radio stations? (2) What are the processes through which CPB receives federal payments and disburses them to grantees? and (3) What are NPR's sources of revenue, both federal and nonfederal?."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) relies extensively on computerized systems to support its financial and mission-related operations. As part of GAO's audit of the calendar year 2004 financial statements for the three funds administered by FDIC, GAO assessed (1) the progress FDIC has made in correcting or mitigating information system control weaknesses identified in our audits for calendar years 2002 and 2003 and (2) the effectiveness of the corporation's information system general controls."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Airbus S.A.S (Airbus), a European aircraft manufacturer, introduced a new aircraft, the A380 that will be the largest passenger aircraft in the world with expected delivery to its first customers in late 2006. The A380 has a double deck and is expected to seat between 555 and 853 passengers. The A380 is much larger than its competitors with a wingspan of 262 feet, a tail fin about 80 feet high, and a maximum takeoff weight of over 1.2 million pounds. A freight version of the A380 is scheduled for delivery in 2008. Because of the size of the A380, U.S. airports have to make changes to accommodate the aircraft. This may include widening runways and taxiways, or restructuring gate areas to accommodate the additional passengers. This report examines (1) the costs and nature of the changes U.S. airports are making to their infrastructure to accommodate the A380, (2) the funding sources being used to finance these changes, and (3) the major factors influencing the changes being made. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Airbus provided technical comments on the report. Airbus also commented on the 18 …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force plans to construct 233 military housing units on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany at a cost of $131.3 million spread over fiscal years 2006-2008, and to fund 270 build-to-lease units nearby at an annual cost of $32,888 per unit over 20 years. The Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2006 directed the Secretary of the Air Force to submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a report containing a housing plan for Spangdahlem. The House Conference Report accompanying H.R. 2528 stipulated that the report must include a complete cost-benefit analysis of available housing options to include build-to-lease housing, and that none of the funds appropriated for family housing at Spangdahlem--nearly $45.4 million--may be obligated until the Secretary of the Air Force certified to the Appropriations Committees that the report had been completed and received the Committees' response or a 30-day period has elapsed after the Committees receive such report. In response to the mandate, the Air Force issued a report in January 2006 that compared its proposed plan with four other housing options that included a …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, commercial real estate (CRE) loan delinquencies have more than doubled. The federal banking regulators have issued statements and guidance encouraging banks to continue lending to creditworthy borrowers and explaining how banks can work with troubled borrowers. However, some banks have stated that examiners' treatment of CRE loans has hampered their ability to lend. This report examines, among other issues, (1) how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) responded to trends in CRE markets and the controls they have for helping ensure consistent application of guidance and (2) the relationships between bank supervision practices and lending. GAO reviewed agency guidance, examination review procedures, reports of examination, and relevant literature and interviewed agency officials, examiners, bank officials, and academics.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government is one of the largest donors to Palestinians. It provided nearly $575 million in assistance in fiscal year 2008. This assistance is provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and through contributions to international organizations, primarily the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Department of State (State) oversees U.S. contributions to UNRWA. To help ensure that U.S. funds for these programs are not provided to individuals or entities engaged in terrorist activities, USAID and State must comply with restrictions under U.S. law. GAO was asked to (1) assess the extent to which USAID has complied with its antiterrorism policies and procedures and (2) assess State's and UNRWA's policies and procedures to support conformance with U.S. statutory conditions. GAO reviewed U.S. and UNRWA documents; interviewed USAID, State, and UNRWA officials; and conducted fieldwork in Israel, Jerusalem, and Jordan."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Effective implementation of two 2008 laws by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could increase taxpayers' voluntary compliance. Those laws require reporting to IRS and taxpayers of cost basis for sales of certain securities and of transaction settlement information (i.e., merchants' income from payment cards or third party networks). In response to a congressional request, GAO (1) assessed IRS's implementation plans for the laws; (2) determined the extent to which IRS issued timely regulations and guidance and did outreach; (3) examined how IRS will use the new data to improve compliance; and (4) analyzed IRS's plans to assess implementation and measure performance and outcomes. GAO compared IRS's implementation plans to criteria in past GAO work and other sources; interviewed industry groups and agency officials, and reviewed rulemaking documents; examined IRS's plans to use the new data; and compared IRS's measures and evaluation plans to GAO criteria."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Beginning in the 1990s, there was a substantial increase in the number of short-term acute care hospitals that primarily treat patients with specific medical conditions or who need surgical procedures. Advocates of such hospitals, commonly referred to as specialty hospitals, contend that their focused missions and dedicated resources can both improve quality and reduce health care costs. Critics contend that specialty hospitals siphon off the most profitable procedures and patient cases, typically without providing emergency care or other vital community services, and thus erode the financial health of neighboring general hospitals. Critics also contend that the ability of physicians to invest in a specialty hospital and then refer patients to that hospital creates financial incentives that may inappropriately affect physicians' clinical and referral behavior. In 2003, we issued two reports on the growth, characteristics, and performance of specialty hospitals. More than two-thirds of the 100 specialty hospitals we identified as being in existence in June 2003 had opened their doors since the beginning of 1990. The specialty hospitals in existence in fiscal year 2000, the most recent year for which we then had data, accounted for about 1 …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agriculture generates over $1 trillion in annual economic activity, but concerns exist about the sector's vulnerability to a natural or deliberate introduction of foreign livestock, poultry, and crop pests and disease. Under the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program, international passengers and cargo are inspected at U.S. ports of entry to seize prohibited material and intercept foreign agricultural pests. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred AQI inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and left certain other AQI responsibilities at USDA. GAO examined (1) the extent to which USDA and DHS have changed the inspection program since the transfer, (2) how the agencies have managed and coordinated their responsibilities, and (3) how funding for agricultural inspections has been managed since the transfer."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Personnel security clearances are used to verify that national security information--which in some cases could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if disclosed--is entrusted only to those who have proven reliability and loyalty to the nation. In response to long-standing problems with timeliness and backlogs, Congress mandated clearance reforms as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), and since 2005 the Department of Defense's (DOD) clearance program has remained on GAO's high-risk list despite improvements in timeliness. In 2007, a Joint Reform Team, led by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), was established to improve the clearance process across the government. GAO was asked to review the extent to which reform efforts (1) align with key practices for organizational transformations and (2) address identified factors for reforming the personnel security clearance process. To assess these objectives, GAO compared joint reform reports to key transformation practices and essential factors for reform."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On January 12, 2010, an earthquake in Haiti killed an estimated 230,000 people, displaced about 2 million more, and exacerbated longstanding challenges. In July 2010, Congress appropriated more than $1.14 billion in supplemental funds for reconstruction assistance, most of which was provided to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State (State). In April 2010, the Haitian government created the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), a joint Haitian-international entity, for an 18-month term to coordinate donors, conduct strategic planning, approve reconstruction projects, and provide accountability. In this report, GAO addresses (1) the planned uses for U.S. reconstruction assistance and the amounts provided so far, (2) USAID's internal controls for overseeing U.S. funds, and (3) IHRC's progress establishing governance and oversight structures. GAO interviewed U.S. government officials in Washington, D.C., and Haiti, as well as officials from Haitian ministries, the IHRC, and nongovernmental organizations, and reviewed U.S. and IHRC documents."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the differences between GAO's 1998 report on the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Tank Waste Remediation project and a 1998 report on the same project prepared by the Pacific Rim Enterprise Center, focusing on why the two reports reached substantially different conclusions about the growth in costs for the tank waste project."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the proposed Veterans' Millennium Health Care Act, which would modify policies and practices of the health care system operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend about $9.8 billion in fiscal year 2004 to provide housing for about 711,000 families of activeduty military personnel in the United States. DOD's policy for some time has been to rely on housing in the local communities and provide military-owned or privatized military housing when the communities cannot satisfy requirements. Historically, DOD has viewed private sector housing as more cost-effective. In January 2003, DOD approved a revised housing requirements determination process designed to provide a solid basis for justifying on-base family housing needs. GAO looked at whether (1) reliance on community housing remains costeffective, (2) the revised process has resulted in consistent and reliable needs assessments, and (3) DOD's top-level review of military housing construction proposals could be improved."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The centerpiece of the federal government's legal framework for privacy protection, the Privacy Act of 1974, provides safeguards for information maintained by federal agencies. In addition, the E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments for systems or collections containing personal information. GAO was asked to determine whether laws and guidance consistently cover the federal government's collection and use of personal information and incorporate key privacy principles. GAO was also asked, in doing so, to identify options for addressing these issues. To achieve these objectives, GAO analyzed the laws and related guidance, obtained an operational perspective from federal agencies, and consulted an expert panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) personnel security clearance program has been on GAO's high-risk list since 2005, due to delays in the process and incomplete documentation. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) conducts most of DOD's clearance investigations, which DOD adjudicators use to make clearance decisions. The Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) chairs a Performance Accountability Council that is responsible for reforming the clearance process. Conducted under the authority of the Comptroller General, GAO's report addresses the (1) reporting on timeliness for DOD clearances, (2) documentation completeness for making initial top-secret clearance decisions for DOD personnel, and (3) reporting on the quality of the clearance process. To assess these issues, GAO analyzed data on most DOD clearances granted in fiscal year 2008, randomly sampled and analyzed 100 OPM investigative reports and DOD adjudicative files for clearances granted in July 2008, and analyzed 2006-09 executive branch annual clearance reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 1946 to 1966, the government constructed the Fort Randall and Big Bend Dams as flood control projects on the Missouri River in South Dakota. The reservoirs created behind the dams flooded about 38,000 acres of the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian reservations. The tribes received compensation when the dams were built and additional compensation in the 1990s. The tribes are seeking a third round of compensation based on a consultant's analysis. The Congress provided additional compensation to other tribes after two prior GAO reports. For those reports, GAO found that one recommended approach to providing additional compensation would be to calculate the difference between the tribe's final asking price and the amount that was appropriated by the Congress, and then to adjust it using the inflation rate and an interest rate to reflect a range of current values. GAO was asked to assess whether the tribes' consultant followed the approach used in GAO's prior reports. The additional compensation amounts calculated by the tribes' consultant are contained in H.R. 109 and S. 374."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As required by the 2005 D.C. Appropriations Act, we examined the performance of D.C. charter school authorizers in their approval and oversight roles. In fall 2005, we will publish the full results of our research. However, as required by law, we provided Congress with an interim report on our work. For this interim report, we addressed the following questions: (1) what are the responsibilities specified for the D.C. charter school authorizers in the School Reform Act? and (2) how are the D.C. authorizers carrying out these responsibilities?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 requires GAO to report on the timeliness of Department of Defense (DOD) payments made to small businesses. GAO's report focuses on (1) whether, at DOD payment centers for which data were available, small business invoices were more likely to be paid late; (2) whether systemic weaknesses in DOD payment processes result in late payments to contractors--including small business contractors; and (3) the impact of late payments on small businesses. To calculate timeliness rates, GAO used the data DOD was able to provide for 9 of its 20 vendor payment locations as well as its one contract pay location. GAO used a case study approach for the third objective because data limitations did not permit the use of statistically reliable sampling techniques for assessing the experiences of DOD small business contractors as a whole. Case study contractors were selected because they experienced a high frequency of late payments and may not be reflective of all small businesses."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Attorney General's strategy for reducing and deterring illegal entry along the southwest border, focusing on: (1) the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) progress in implementing the southwest border strategy during fiscal year (FY) 1998; (2) interim results of the strategy; and (3) actions taken on GAO's recommendation that the Attorney General develop and implement a plan for formal, cost-effective, comprehensive, and systematic evaluation of the strategy."