A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been growing about the air quality, visibility, and respiratory illnesses around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. This report analyzes recent trends in and contributing factors to (1) visibility impairments, (2) ground-level ozone, and (3) respiratory illnesses. This report also examines the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) plans to reduce its emission of regulated pollutants from generating electricity. Visibility impairments and ozone are largely attributable to the following three types of emissions: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. The counties that border the park generally have slightly higher mortality rates from two types of respiratory illness. The three types of emissions interact in the atmosphere to form ozone gas and sulfate particles, which are linked to respiratory illnesses. In response to federal laws and other factors, TVA is making substantial environment-related investments and expects to reduce its annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by 40 percent and its "ozone-season"' emissions of nitrogen oxides by 70 percent between 1999 and 2005."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been growing about the air quality, visibility, and respiratory illnesses around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. This testimony analyzes recent trends in and contributing factors to (1) visibility impairments, (2) ground-level ozone, and (3) respiratory illnesses. This testimony also examines the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) plans to reduce its emission of regulated pollutants. Visibility impairments and ozone are largely attributable to the following three types of emissions: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. The counties that border the park generally have slightly higher mortality rates from two types of respiratory illness. The three types of emissions interact in the atmosphere to form ozone gas and sulfate particles, which are linked to respiratory illnesses. In response to federal laws and other factors, TVA is making substantial environment-related investments and expects to reduce its annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by 36 percent and its "ozone-season" emissions of nitrogen oxides by 68 percent between 1999 and 2005. This testimony summarizes a May report, (GAO-01-658)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 2001, the federal government has been unable to collect over $1 billion in antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duties imposed to remedy injurious, unfair foreign trade practices. These include AD duties imposed on products exported to the United States at unfairly low prices (i.e., dumped) and CV duties on products exported to the United States that were subsidized by foreign governments. These uncollected duties show that the U.S. government has not fully remedied the unfair trade practices for U.S. industry and has lost out on a substantial amount of duty revenue to the U.S. Treasury. This statement summarizes key findings from prior GAO reports on (1) past initiatives to improve AD/CV duty collection and (2) additional options for improving AD/CV duty collection."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS), focusing on the: (1) appropriateness and effectiveness of the BCRS as a fundraiser; and (2) costs associated with developing and selling the BCRS."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's long-term fiscal outlook is daunting. While the budget process has not caused the problems we face, the absence of meaningful budget controls and other mechanisms has served to compound our fiscal challenge. Conversely, a process that illuminates the looming fiscal pressures and provides appropriate incentives can at least help decision makers focus on the right questions. Meaningful budget controls and other mechanisms can also help to assure that difficult but necessary choices are made. The budget process needs to provide incentives and signals to address commitments the government has already made and better transparency for and controls on the long-term fiscal exposures being considered. Improvements would include the restoration of realistic discretionary caps; application of pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) discipline to both mandatory spending and revenue legislation; the use of "triggers" for some mandatory programs; and better reporting of fiscal exposures."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Three U.S. national strategies, developed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, directed U.S. law enforcement agencies (LEA) to focus on the prevention of terrorist attacks. The strategies called for LEAs to intensify their efforts to help foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. GAO was asked to assess (1) the guidance for LEAs to assist foreign nations to identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists and (2) the extent to which LEAs have implemented this guidance."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Supplementing our December 2006 report entitled Compacts of Free Association: Micronesia and the Marshall Islands Face Challenges in Planning for Sustainability, Measuring Progress, and Ensuring Accountability, this report provides information on the uses of economic assistance provided under the amended U.S. compacts with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) from 2004 through 2006."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Deaf and hard of hearing children can face significant challenges developing the language and literacy skills needed to succeed in school and become self-sufficient adults. The federal government supports these children through the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, which awards grants to states to develop systems to screen and diagnose newborns and infants for hearing loss and refer them for appropriate interventions. Also, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) supports and funds early intervention and special education services for children with disabilities, including deafness and hearing loss. To better understand how federal programs support deaf and hard of hearing children, GAO was asked to examine the: (1) extent of hearing loss among children, (2) settings in which these children are educated, (3) factors that help deaf and hard of hearing children acquire language and literacy skills, and (4) challenges to providing appropriate interventions for these children. GAO analyzed data on hearing loss; reviewed research literature; interviewed educators, national organizations, parents, and state and federal officials; and examined relevant federal laws and regulations. A draft of this report was provided to the Departments of …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is increasingly reliant on software and information systems for its weapon capabilities, and DOD prime contractors are subcontracting more of their software development. The increased reliance on software and a greater number of suppliers results in more opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities in defense software. In addition, DOD has reported that countries hostile to the United States are focusing resources on information warfare strategies. Therefore, software security, including the need for protection of software code from malicious activity, is an area of concern for many DOD programs. GAO was asked to examine DOD's efforts to (1) identify software development suppliers and (2) manage risks related to foreign involvement in software development on weapon systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials considered current beneficiary population data, contingency operations, and most of the expected changes in troop strength when planning for the replacement medical center. However, recently announced posture changes in January 2012 have yet to be assessed for their impact on the facility. DOD estimates that the replacement medical center will provide health care for nearly 250,000 beneficiaries. A majority of those who are expected to receive health care from the center come from within a 55-mile radius of the facility. DOD officials told us that because the replacement medical center was designed for peacetime operations—with the capacity to expand to meet the needs of contingency operations—reductions in ongoing contingency operations in Afghanistan would not have an impact on facility requirements. At the time of this review, DOD officials said they were in the process of assessing proposed changes in posture to better understand their possible impact on the sizing of the replacement medical center."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Maintaining the right amount and types of items in its inventory--a key aspect of supply chain management--has been a long-standing challenge for the Department of Defense (DOD) and has been on GAO's list of high-risk areas since 1990. DOD retains inventory above its normal operating requirements for various reasons including for contingency purposes or because it is more economical to keep items than dispose and repurchase them later. DOD's inventory levels have grown in recent years to almost $80 billion in fiscal year 2005. GAO was asked to assess the management of contingency retention inventory to determine whether (1) the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Defense Logistics Agency have followed inventory guidance and (2) DOD is providing oversight of inventory across these components. Also, GAO provided an update on the progress DOD has made in implementing GAO's past recommendations on the components' management of economic retention inventory."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As of September 1999, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that it owned secondary inventory worth about $64 billion and that $9.4 billion of that inventory is more economical to retain than to dispose of and possibly repurchase later. This report focuses on whether DOD's economic retention decisions are sound. GAO found that military components (other than the Air Force) have developed models to help make economic retention decisions on secondary inventory. However, none of the components now use their economic retention models. Instead, they and the Air Force use ceilings to limit the amount of economic retention inventory they hold. Components have not properly documented their approaches to economic retention decisions. For example, common model factors vary and assumptions are inconsistent and out of date. In addition, DOD lacked sound analytical support for the maximum levels it now uses. As a result, the components cannot depend on their models or ceilings to determine retention inventory levels without review and improvement. They also have not reviewed their approaches annually. As a result, the Department does not have a sound basis for its approach to manage items …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is currently conducting the largest transformation of military posture in the Pacific region since the end of World War II. Transforming posture in Korea, Japan, and Guam will affect tens of thousands of military personnel and their families and require the construction of hundreds of new facilities and more than 3,500 housing units. GAO was asked to examine: (1) initiatives in Korea, their cost implications, and the basis for "tour normalization;" (2) initiatives in Japan and Guam and their cost implications; and (3) the extent to which DOD estimates the total cost of posture and addresses affordability issues. GAO assessed DOD policies and procedures, interviewed relevant DOD and State Department officials, and analyzed cost data from the military services"

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) new rule on federal motor vehicle safety standards and occupant crash protection. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule amends the occupant crash protection standard to require that future air bags be designed to create less risk of serious air bag-induced injuries than current air bags, particularly for small women and young children; (2) NHTSA complied with the applicable requirements with one exception; (3) the final rule has an announced effective date of June 12, 2000; (4) the Congressional Review Act requires major rules to have a 60-day delay in their effective date following publication in the Federal Register or receipt of the rule by Congress, whichever is later; and (5) the rule was not published in the Federal Register until May 12, 2000, which means the final rule will not have the required 60-day delay in the effective date."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Labor (Labor) have taken steps to implement the executive order and help agencies recruit, hire, and retain more employees with disabilities. OPM provided guidance to help agencies develop disability hiring plans and reviewed the 66 plans submitted. OPM identified deficiencies in most of the plans. For example, though 40 of 66 agencies included a process for increasing the use of a special hiring authority to increase the hiring of people with disabilities, 59 agencies did not meet all of OPM’s review criteria, and 32 agencies had not addressed plan deficiencies as of April 2012. In response to executive order reporting requirements, OPM officials said they had briefed the White House on issues related to implementation, but they did not provide information on deficiencies in all plans. While the order does not specify what information these reports should include beyond addressing progress, providing information on deficiencies would enable the White House to hold agencies accountable. OPM is still developing the mandatory training programs for officials on the employment of individuals with disabilities, as required by the executive …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken steps to enhance its management of the Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE) program, such as through the establishment of a credentialing program, the FEMA Qualification System (FQS); however, management controls and training could be strengthened. For example, FEMA does not monitor how the regions implement DAE policies and how DAEs implement disaster policies across regions to ensure consistency. FEMA’s Administrator noted that due to differences in how regions operate, it is problematic to deploy someone based in one region to another during a disaster. Establishing a mechanism to monitor both the regional implementation of DAE policies and procedures and DAE’s implementation of disaster policies could help provide FEMA with reasonable assurance that disaster assistance is conducted in accordance with policy and implemented consistently."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed what the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) have done and what more they could do to reduce drug prices and dispensing costs, focusing on the: (1) extent of joint DOD and VA drug contracting thus far and the prospects for further contracting; (2) prospects of DOD using VA's consolidated mail outpatient pharmacy (CMOP) centers to handle its hospital outpatient pharmacy refill workload; and (3) possible need for measures to facilitate such joint actions to bring about further improvements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have made important progress, particularly during the past year, in their efforts to jointly procure drugs to help control spiraling prescription drug costs. Although their collaborative efforts have been impressive, the two agencies have largely targeted generic drugs, which comprise less than 10 percent of their combined expenditures. More dramatic cost reductions could be achieved through procurements of high-cost brand-name drugs, although doing so can be more complex and time consuming to garner the necessary clinical support and provider acceptance on therapeutic interchangeability. Nonetheless, DOD's greatly expanded retiree drug benefit and the formularies being developed by both agencies should provide added joint procurement opportunities for such drugs. Also, VA and DOD have shown that flexible approaches to developing joint solicitations can take into account differences in their health systems while still maximizing drug discounts. In GAO's view, their joint activities could be further enhanced by periodically conferring with private managed care pharmacy experts and reporting to Congress on their joint procurement activities. Top management at DOD and VA need to stay focused on their …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Customs Service's efforts to combat drug-related corruption, focusing on: (1) the extent to which Customs has complied with policies and procedures for ensuring employee integrity; (2) an identification of the types of illegal drug-related activities of which Customs employees on the Southwest Border have been convicted; (3) an identification of the Department of the Treasury's organizational structures, policies, and procedures for handling allegations of drug-related employee misconduct and whether the policies and procedures were followed; and (4) the extent to which lessons learned from corruption cases closed in fiscal years 1992 through 1997 have led to changes in policies and procedures for preventing the drug-related corruption of Customs employees."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the potential for duplication and fragmentation in economic development programs. In March 2011 and more recently in May 2011 we reported on potential duplication among federal economic development programs. We are involved in ongoing work focusing on economic development programs because if they are administered efficiently and effectively, they can contribute to the well-being of our nation's economy at the least cost to taxpayers. Absent a common definition for economic development, we had previously developed a list of nine activities most often associated with economic development. These activities include planning and developing strategies for job creation and retention, developing new markets for existing products, building infrastructure by constructing roads and sewer systems to attract industry to undeveloped areas, and establishing business incubators to provide facilities for new businesses' operations. Our recent work includes information on 80 economic development programs at four agencies--the Departments of Commerce (Commerce), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Agriculture (USDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA administers 19 of the 80 programs. According to the agencies, funding provided for these 80 programs in fiscal year 2010 amounted to $6.2 billion, …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, focusing on: (1) changes in the number of communities and passengers receiving subsidized service; (2) changes in the level of subsidies provided; and (3) reasons why the subsidy levels changed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies spend about $1.7 billion annually to operate a fleet of about 387,000 vehicles. During the last decade, concerns have been raised about whether agencies have more vehicles than they need. In an April 2002 letter to federal agencies, the Office of Management and Budget stated that the size of the federal fleet seemed excessive. GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which agencies ensure that their fleets are the right size to meet agency missions, (2) whether potential savings could result from the disposal of unneeded vehicles, and (3) what actions are being taken on a governmentwide basis to improve fleet management practices. GAO focused its review on the justification for acquiring and retaining vehicles at the Departments of Agriculture, Army, Homeland Security, Navy, and Veterans Affairs."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal judiciary and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative, which began in the early 1990s and has since faced rising construction costs. As requested, for 33 federal courthouses completed since 2000, GAO examined (1) whether they contain extra space and any costs related to it, (2) how their actual size compares with the congressionally authorized size, (3) how their space based on the judiciary's 10-year estimates of judges compares with the actual number of judges, and (4) whether the level of courtroom sharing supported by the judiciary's data could have changed the amount of space needed in these courthouses. GAO analyzed courthouse planning and use data, visited courthouses, modeled courtroom sharing scenarios, and interviewed judges, GSA officials, and other experts. The findings in this testimony are preliminary because the federal judiciary and GSA are still in the process of commenting on GAO's draft report and did not provide comments on this testimony."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed certain aspects of the Judicial Survivors' Annuities Systems (JSAS), which provides annuities to the surviving spouses and dependent children of deceased federal judges and other judicial officials who participate in JSAS."