A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to incorporate common subsystems and components in its ballistic missile defense acquisition programs, focusing on: (1) the key benefits that the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and service officials believe could be achieved through commonality; (2) what BMDO and the services have done to incorporate commonality into their programs; and (3) BMDO's plans for instilling commonality in the future."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the creation of 10 National Guard Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID) teams, focusing on: (1) obtaining the views of federal, state, and local officials regarding the role of RAID teams in response plans; (2) determining whether there are other federal, state, or local government entities that can perform similar functions to the RAID teams; and (3) evaluating the RAID teams' roles and responsibilities and how the teams plan to meet these responsibilities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the progress that the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) has made in achieving its statutory mission and examined its future viability, focusing on: (1) actions taken by Farmer Mac to promote the development of a secondary market, including the introduction of new programs and products; the standardization of loan processes, including loan documents and underwriting standards; and the use of risk management techniques to facilitate safe and sound secondary market activities; and (2) Farmer Mac's future viability and the potential benefits and costs of a government-sponsored secondary market for agricultural mortgages."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on whether changing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care personnel licensing requirements would effect VA's health care system, focusing on: (1) comparing VA's physician employment requirements and processes with those of other federal agencies; (2) comparing VA's requirements with those of private sector health care organizations; (3) the potential benefits and costs of requiring VA physicians and registered nurses to be licensed in the state where they practice; and (4) the implications of such a licensing change on VA's use of telemedicine."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO identified actions the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking to develop year 2000 business continuity and contingency plans (BCCP)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Changes in the character and the conduct of warfighting and in the range and the nature of missions call for an Army force that is more responsive and dominant across the full spectrum of operations and requires much less in-theater logistics support. To meet these new demands, the Army is using the latest technology to develop a series of weapon systems that will be lighter than today's heavy force systems but just as lethal and survivable. The Army's transformation effort will face several challenges. First, the transformation will place additional funding demands on the defense budget. Second, the Army's plans for the transformation assume that weapons systems and equipment can be developed and acquired much faster than in the past. Third, the Army needs to update current acquisition plans to reflect transformation priorities and schedules. The success of this effort depends on the Army's ability to manage transformation acquisitions as leading commercial firms do. By following best practices used in the commercial sector, the Army can better match its needs with its resources."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The incremental costs for overseas military contingency operations, which include the enforcement of no-fly zones, humanitarian assistance, and peace enforcement, totaled more than $29 billion since 1991. Most of these costs were incurred in the Balkans and Southwest Asia. The Department of Defense (DOD) defines incremental costs as those above and beyond baseline training, operations, and personnel costs. Although most contingency operations expenditures GAO reviewed were appropriate, as much as $101 million was spent on questionable items, including cappuccino machines, golf memberships, and decorator furniture. Limited guidance and oversight, combined with a lack of cost consciousness, contributed to the questionable expenditures."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To help limit air pollution, about a third of the states use gasoline that contains methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which burns cleaner. However, MTBE has migrated into wells and groundwater from leaking underground tanks used to store gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the responsibility through the Underground Storage Tank Program and works through the states to ensure that tanks do not leak and, if they do, that the contamination is cleaned up. To help states cover the program costs, Congress annually provides grants from a trust fund it created in 1986. Most of the 50 states have reported finding MTBE when they discover gasoline contamination in their tank sites and increasingly, in their groundwater, surface water, and drinking water. States have made progress in addressing the releases they have discovered, including MTBE contamination, but face a continuing and substantial cleanup workload. States typically depend on tank owners or operators to pay some of the cleanup costs and cover the remainder with their own funding programs and depend on relatively small federal trust fund grants to pay staff to oversee cleanups and administer their programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the financial statements for the three funds administered by the Federal Deposit Corporation for fiscal years 2000 and 1999 and the related statements of activities and cash flows. GAO found that (1) the financial statements were presented fairly in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, (2) the Foundation had effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations tested."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990 we have consistently identified the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of secondary inventory (spare and repair parts, medical supplies, and other items to support the operating forces) as a high-risk area because inventory levels were too high and management systems and procedures were ineffective. In addition, DOD has attributed readiness problems to parts shortages. Previously, we reported on the wide variety of reasons for inventory of spare parts being above or below the levels needed to satisfy current inventory requirements. This is one in a series of reports addressing defense inventory vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, and abuse. Congress asked that we specifically obtain the views about defense inventory imbalances from item managers, i.e., those who are responsible for maintaining the right amount of inventory."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter contains GAO's response to questions for the record from the House Committee on Armed Services' May 1, 2003, hearing on "The Defense Transformation for the 21st Century Act." Congressmen Neil Abercrombie and Sylvestre Reyes submitted the questions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, U.S. military and federal civilian employees overseas were included in the numbers used for apportioning Congress. Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is assessing the practicality of counting all Americans abroad by holding a test census in France, Kuwait, and Mexico. GAO was asked to (1) assess the soundness of the test design, and (2) examine what past court decisions have held about Americans' rights and obligations abroad."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The five Great Lakes, which comprise the largest system of freshwater in the world, are threatened on many environmental fronts. To address the extent of progress made in restoring the Great Lakes Basin, which includes the lakes and surrounding area, GAO (1) identified the federal and state environmental programs operating in the basin and funding devoted to them, (2) evaluated the restoration strategies used and how they are coordinated, and (3) assessed overall environmental progress made in the basin restoration effort."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces the daunting task of bringing together 22 diverse agencies to lead efforts to protect the homeland. Among the challenges posed by this transformation is integrating these agencies' diverse information technology (IT) systems: mission support, administration, and infrastructure (e.g., networks). GAO was asked to determine (1) whether DHS has defined its IT systems integration strategy and (2) how DHS is ensuring that IT investments made by component agencies (specifically focusing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard) are aligned with the department's strategic direction."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, millions of visitors, foreign students, and immigrants come to the United States. Foreign visitors may enter on a legal temporary basis--that is, with an authorized period of admission that expires on a specific date--either (1) with temporary visas (generally for tourism, business, or work) or, in some cases, (2) as tourists or business visitors who are allowed to enter without visas. (The latter include Canadians and qualified visitors from 27 countries who enter under the visa waiver program.) The majority of visitors who are tracked depart on time, but others overstay--and since September 11, 2001, the question has arisen as to whether overstay issues might have an impact on domestic security. In this report, we (1) describe available data on the extent of overstaying, (2) report on weaknesses in the Department of Homeland Security's long-standing overstay tracking system, and (3) provide some observations on the impact that tracking system weaknesses and significant levels of overstaying may have on domestic security."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About 7 million undocumented aliens lived in the United States in 2000, according to Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates. Hospitals in states where many of them live report that treating them can be a financial burden. GAO was asked to examine the relationship between treating undocumented aliens and hospitals' costs not paid by patients or insurance. GAO was also asked to examine federal funding available to help hospitals offset costs of treating undocumented aliens and the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security) for covering medical expenses of sick or injured aliens encountered by Border Patrol and U.S. port-of-entry officials. To conduct this work, GAO surveyed 503 hospitals and interviewed Medicaid and hospital officials in 10 states. GAO also interviewed and obtained data from Homeland Security officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) built the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center located near Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the early 1960s to withstand a multimegaton-yield-weapon strike and to provide protection against chemical and biological warfare. The mission of the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate is to monitor, process, and interpret air, missile, and space events that could threaten North America or have operational effects on U.S. forces or capabilities. This mission is conducted at five major centers--the Command Center, Air Warning, Missile Correlation, Operations Intelligence Watch, and Space Control--all currently located within Cheyenne Mountain. Elements of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and Air Force Space Command are also located in Cheyenne Mountain. The Air Force's modernization of the attack warning systems within Cheyenne Mountain will cost more than $700 million from fiscal years 2000 through 2006. DOD officials have stated that they no longer need to continue operating in this hardened facility considering that the threat of an intercontinental ballistic missile strike in today's environment is low. In July 2006, the former Commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM announced plans to move certain functions from Cheyenne Mountain and create an integrated command …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains EPA's scientific position on the potential human health effects of exposure to more than 540 chemicals. Toxicity assessments in the IRIS database constitute the first two critical steps of the risk assessment process, which in turn, provides the foundation for risk management decisions. Thus, IRIS is a critical component of EPA's capacity to support scientifically sound environmental decisions, policies, and regulations. This testimony discusses (1) highlights of GAO's March 2008 report, Chemical Assessments: Low Productivity and New Interagency Review Process Limit the Usefulness and Credibility of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, and (2) key aspects of EPA's revised IRIS assessment process, released on April 10, 2008. For the March 2008 report, GAO reviewed and analyzed EPA data and interviewed officials at relevant agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For this testimony, GAO supplemented the prior audit work with a review of EPA's revised IRIS assessment process announced on April 10, 2008."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials who serve in senior and acquisition positions and then leave for jobs with defense contractors are subject to the restrictions of post-government employment laws, in order to protect against conflicts of interest. Congress required GAO to report on employment of such officials by contractors who received more than $500 million in DOD's 2005 contract awards. In response, this report (1) provides information on how many former DOD employees worked for contractors in 2006 and estimates how many worked on contracts that were related to their former agencies or to their direct responsibilities and (2) identifies the practices used to monitor restrictions and information challenges in monitoring post-DOD employment. To do this work, GAO matched data from DOD for all employees who left DOD over a 6 year period with data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and from 52 contractors; conducted surveys; and interviewed DOD and contractor officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created from a disparate group of agencies with multiple missions, values, and cultures into a cabinet department whose goals are to, among other things, protect U.S. borders and infrastructure, improve intelligence and information sharing, and prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. GAO designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as a high-risk area in 2003, and it remains so. While DHS has made progress, it continues to face challenges in transforming into an effective, integrated organization. In response to a request to provide information on diversity in DHS and steps DHS is taking to create and manage a diverse workforce, GAO is providing demographic data related to the federal government as a whole and DHS's workforce. GAO obtained these data from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). GAO used its past work on leading diversity management practices (GAO-05-90) and reviewed data from DHS on its diversity management practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Securing the control systems that regulate the nation's critical infrastructures is vital to ensuring our economic security and public health and safety. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal corporation and the nation's largest public power company, generates and distributes power in an area of about 80,000 square miles in the southeastern United States. GAO was asked to determine whether TVA has implemented appropriate information security practices to protect its control systems. To do this, GAO examined the security practices in place at several TVA facilities; analyzed the agency's information security policies, plans, and procedures against federal law and guidance; and interviewed agency officials who are responsible for overseeing TVA's control systems and their security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The control systems that regulate the nation's critical infrastructures face risks of cyber threats, system vulnerabilities, and potential attacks. Securing these systems is therefore vital to ensuring national security, economic well-being, and public health and safety. While most critical infrastructures are privately owned, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federal corporation and the nation's largest public power company, provides power and other services to a large swath of the American Southeast. GAO was asked to testify on its public report being released today on the security controls in place over TVA's critical infrastructure control systems. In doing this work, GAO examined the security practices in place at TVA facilities; analyzed the agency's information security policies, plans, and procedures in light of federal law and guidance; and interviewed agency officials responsible for overseeing TVA's control systems and their security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Interior's (Interior) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is generally required to use the best available scientific information when making key decisions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Controversy has surrounded whether former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald may have inappropriately influenced ESA decisions by basing decisions on political factors rather than scientific data. Interior directed the Service to review ESA decisions to determine which decisions may have been unduly influenced. ESA actions include, among others, 90-day petition findings, 12-month listing or delisting findings, and recovery planning. The Service distributed informal guidance in May 2005 on the processing of 90-day petitions. Recovery plans generally must include recovery criteria that, when met, would result in the species being delisted. GAO examined three separate issues: (1) what types of decisions, if any, were excluded from the Service's review of decisions that may have been inappropriately influenced; (2) to what extent the Service's May 2005 informal guidance affected 90-day petition findings; and (3) to what extent the Service has, before delisting species, met recovery criteria. GAO interviewed Service staff, surveyed Service biologists, and reviewed delisting rules and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is testing new advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) radiation detection monitors. DNDO expects ASPs to reduce both the risk of missed threats and the rate of innocent alarms, which DNDO considers to be key limitations of radiation detection equipment currently used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at U.S. ports of entry. Congress has required that the Secretary of DHS certify that ASPs provide a significant increase in operational effectiveness before obligating funds for full-scale procurement. GAO was asked to review (1) the degree to which DHS's criteria for a significant increase in operational effectiveness address the limitations of existing radiation detection equipment, (2) the rigor of ASP testing and preliminary test results, and (3) the ASP test schedule. GAO reviewed the DHS criteria, analyzed test plans, and interviewed DHS officials."