A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that a potential gap between future needs and current spending for wastewater infrastructure of $150 billion to $400 billion could occur over the next decade. A number of entities are involved in planning, financing, building, and operating this infrastructure. Some of these stakeholders have suggested a variety of approaches to bridge this potential gap. One such proposal is to establish a clean water trust fund. In this context, GAO was asked to (1) obtain stakeholders' views on the issues that would need to be addressed in designing and establishing a clean water trust fund and (2) identify and describe potential options that could generate about $10 billion in revenue to support a clean water trust fund. In conducting this review, GAO administered a questionnaire to 28 national organizations representing the wastewater and drinking water industries, state and local governments, engineers, and environmental groups and received 22 responses; reviewed proposals and industry papers; interviewed federal, state, local, and industry officials; and used the most current data available to estimate the revenue that could potentially be raised by various taxes on …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) determines changes to each component of United Nations (UN) Secretariat professional employees' salaries and calculates the difference between UN and U.S. civil service salaries annually. ICSC recommends adjustments to the first component, base salaries, each year to align with changes to U.S. civil service base salaries. For example, ICSC calculated that U.S. civil service base salaries, including the impact of tax changes, increased 1.37 percent on January 1, 2010 and recommended that the UN base salary scale increase 1.37 percent on January 1, 2011. To set post adjustments, an additional salary component intended to equalize purchasing power, ICSC calculates the cost of living in each duty station. ICSC monitors changes in inflation, exchange rates, and other factors, and updates post adjustments periodically to reflect those changes. ICSC conducts surveys of UN employees and collects data on prices at least once every 5 years to ensure that post adjustments reflect the cost of several categories of expenditures relative to New York City, such as goods and services, housing, and medical insurance. Additionally, ICSC calculates the margin, or percentage difference, between UN …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report formally transmits briefing in response to section 1041 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. The act requires the Comptroller General to review the Department of Defense's report on options for improving corrosion prevention and control, including the methodology used to assess the potential options, and provide the results to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within 60 days after submission of the Department of Defense report. On April 29, 2009, we provided the briefing to staff of Congressional committees to satisfy the mandate and 60-day reporting requirement."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies are required to use the procedures contained in OMB Circular A-76 in determining whether commercial services should be performed by government personnel or through contracts with private-sector entities. In general, the circular instructs agencies to base these decisions on competitions among public and private-sector entities conducted in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Under the FAR, agencies have broad discretion in establishing the criteria they will use to select the winners of these competitions. An agency may decide, for example, that selection of the lowest priced, acceptable offer would best meet its needs. The FAR advises that this may be appropriate when requirements are clearly defined and the risk of unsuccessful performance is minimal. On the other hand, the FAR says that it may be in the best interest of an agency to provide for selecting other than the low offer when requirements are less definite, development work is required, or the risk of unsuccessful performance is high. An evaluation scheme that allows for considering the relative importance of both price and technical factors (such as an offeror's management capability, experience, or ability to apply …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since October 1994, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) has had statutory authority to facilitate the financing of U.S. exports of defense articles and services, provided that Ex-Im determines that these items are nonlethal and primarily meant for civilian use. These “dual-use” exports include items such as vehicles that are used by the military mainly for civilian or humanitarian purposes. Ex-Im did not finance any transactions under its dual-use authority in fiscal year 2011 and financed three transactions under its dual-use authority in fiscal year 2012. The transactions financed in fiscal year 2012 were (1) a satellite for Eutelsat of France, (2) road construction equipment for the government of Cameroon, and (3) three satellites for the government of Mexico. At the time of publication of this report, little of the equipment financed had been delivered to end users. Prior to fiscal year 2012, Ex-Im last provided financing for dual-use exports in fiscal year 2002."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In prior work, GAO found that contractors were paid billions of dollars in award fees regardless of acquisition outcomes. In December 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance aimed at improving the use of award fee contracts. GAO was asked to (1) identify agencies' actions to revise or develop award fee policies and guidance to reflect OMB guidance, (2) assess the consistency of current practices with the new guidance, and (3) determine the extent agencies are collecting, analyzing, and sharing information on award fees. GAO reviewed the Departments of defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)--agencies that constituted over 95 percent of the dollars spent on award fee contracts in fiscal year 2008."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) BPD relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt. As we reported in connection with our audit of the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2008, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. However, we found deficiencies involving information security controls that we do …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government will need to make the most of its resources to meet the emerging challenges of the 21st century. As new priorities emerge, policymakers have demonstrated interest in user fees as a means of financing new and existing services. User fees can be designed to reduce the burden on taxpayers to finance the portions of activities that provide benefits to identifiable users above and beyond what is normally provided to the public. By charging the costs of those programs or activities to beneficiaries, user fees can also promote economic efficiency and equity. However, to achieve these goals, user fees must be well designed. GAO was asked to study how user fee design characteristics may influence the effectiveness of user fees. Specifically, GAO examined how the four key design and implementation characteristics of user fees--how fees are set, collected, used, and reviewed--may affect the economic efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and administrative burden of cost-based fees. GAO reviewed economic and policy literature on federal and nonfederal user fees, including prior GAO work, and used relevant case examples to illustrate different types of design elements and the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses audits of the financial statements of the U.S. Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund (the Fund) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008, and 2007. Specifically, we contracted with the independent public accounting firm of Clifton Gunderson LLP. The contract required that the audit be conducted in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards and the joint GAO/President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) Financial Audit Manual."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Navy faces affordability challenges as it supports a high pace of operations and increasing ship procurement costs. The Navy has used multiple crews on some submarines and surface ships and has shown it to increase a ship's operational availability. GAO was asked to evaluate the extent to which the Navy, for ship rotational crewing, has (1) employed a comprehensive management approach, (2) developed and implemented guidance, (3) systematically collected, analyzed data, and reported findings, and (4) systematically collected and used lessons learned. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed Department of Defense (DOD) and Navy documentation and best practices for transformation, conducted focus groups, and interviewed DOD and Navy officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) revised its New Access Point (NAP) competitive award process in fiscal year 2011 to increase the emphasis on the need for services in the applicant’s proposed service area, and on the three special populations—migrant and seasonal farmworkers, homeless people, and residents of public housing—designated by the Public Health Service Act. The act requires that certain proportions of Health Center Program funding go to health centers serving the special populations. To increase the emphasis on need, HRSA increased the weight given to need in the application review process. To target health centers serving special populations, HRSA gave extra points in the application process to applicants proposing to serve them. When this was insufficient to meet the required proportions, HRSA moved some applicants ahead of others in the award rank order list, a method it had used in the past. The effect of HRSA’s actions on the award outcome was magnified in fiscal year 2011 because (1) HRSA received less program funding than it had anticipated, and (2) it needed to increase the share …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) relies on three main methods to oversee grantees’ compliance with the 19 key program requirements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns over unsuitable insurance products and inappropriate sales practices directed at servicemembers have prompted legislative and regulatory changes to address these concerns. Congress asked GAO to assess oversight efforts by the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and state insurance regulators. In this report, GAO (1) describes actions to improve oversight of life insurance sales to servicemembers and the extent to which they have been completed, and (2) identifies and analyzes factors that contribute to apparent ongoing inappropriate insurance sales. To complete this work, GAO visited five military facilities, analyzed DOD pay records, reviewed DOD and state enforcement actions, and spoke with DOD, state regulatory, and insurance industry officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In its role as the nation's tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a demanding responsibility in collecting taxes, processing tax returns, and enforcing the nation's tax laws. Since GAO's first audit of IRS's financial statements in fiscal year 1992, a number of weaknesses in IRS's financial management operations have been identified. In related reports, GAO has recommended corrective action to address those weaknesses. Each year as part of the annual audit of IRS's financial statements, GAO not only makes recommendations to address any new weaknesses identified but also follows up on the open weaknesses GAO identified in previous years' audits. The purpose of this report is to assist IRS management in tracking the status of audit recommendations and actions needed to address them."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While the U.S. approach of providing in-kind food aid has assisted millions of hungry people for more than 50 years, in 2007 GAO reported limitations to its efficiency and effectiveness. To improve U.S. food assistance, Congress has authorized some funding for local and regional procurement (LRP)--donors' purchase of food aid in countries affected by food crises or in a country within the same region. Through analysis of agency documents, interviews with agency officials, experts, and practitioners, and fieldwork in four African countries, this requested report examines (1) LRP's impact on the efficiency of food aid delivery; (2) its impact on economies where food is procured; and (3) U.S. legal requirements that could affect agencies' use of LRP."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1996, the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged to halve the number of undernourished people globally by 2015 from the 1990 level. The global number has not decreased significantly--remaining at about 850 million in 2001-2003--and the number in sub-Saharan Africa has increased from about 170 million in 1990-1992 to over 200 million in 2001-2003. On the basis of analyses of U.S. and international agency documents, structured panel discussions with experts and practitioners, and fieldwork in four African countries, GAO was asked to examine (1) factors that contribute to persistent food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and (2) the extent to which host governments and donors, including the United States, are working toward halving hunger in the region by 2015."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following the failure of peace talks and escalating violence against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, the United States provided military support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combat operations against Yugoslavia in March 1999. This report reviews how well the United States was prepared for basing its combat aircraft during this operation, called Operation Allied Force. Specifically, GAO determines (1) whether plans were in place to determine where and how to deploy combat aircraft for an operation like Allied Force, (2) how combat aircraft basing decisions were coordinated among the services and allied nations, and (3) whether the United States had the necessary international agreements in place to enable it to quickly execute plans for such an operation. GAO found that the United States had no specific and detailed advanced plans that could be used to determine where and how to deploy its combat aircraft during Operation Allied Force because it was a combination of peacetime and combat operations. Overall plans for operations in defense of NATO members did not apply to this conflict. Although part of the U.S. European Command's mission is to plan for …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2005, GAO reported that weaknesses in the Army's Active Duty Medical Extension (ADME) process caused injured and ill Army National Guard and Reserve (reserve component) soldiers to experience gaps in pay and benefits. During the course of GAO's previous work, the Army implemented the Medical Retention Processing (MRP) program in May 2004 and Community-Based Health Care Initiative (CBHCI) in March 2004. CBHCI allows reserve component soldiers on MRP orders to return home and receive medical care through a civilian health care provider. As directed by congressional mandate, GAO determined whether (1) MRP has resolved the pay issues previously identified with ADME and (2) the Army has the metrics it needs to determine whether it is effectively managing CBHCI program risks. GAO's scope did not include the medical, facilities, or disability ratings issues recently reported by the media at Walter Reed Army Medical Center."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, CMS contracted with Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) to help nursing homes address quality problems such as pressure ulcers, a deficiency frequently identified during routine inspections conducted by state survey agencies. CMS awarded $117 million over a 3-year period to the QIOs to assist all homes and to work intensively with a subset of homes in each state. Homes' participation was voluntary. To evaluate QIO performance, CMS relied largely on changes in homes' quality measures (QM), data based on resident assessments routinely conducted by homes. GAO assessed QIO activities during the 3-year contract starting in 2002, focusing on (1) characteristics of homes assisted intensively, (2) types of assistance provided, and (3) effect of assistance on the quality of nursing home care. GAO conducted a Web-based survey of all 51 QIOs, visited QIOs and homes in five states, and interviewed experts on using QMs to evaluate QIOs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of more than 201,000 federal offenders. To provide housing for the federal prison population, BOP manages the construction and maintenance of its prison facilities and oversees contract facilities. GAO was asked to look into recent increases in estimated costs for Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) construction projects located in Mendota, CA; Berlin, NH; and McDowell, WV, which have led to almost $278 million or 62 percent more being provided in funding than initially estimated. This report addresses (1) the reasons for the changes to the estimated costs and (2) the actions BOP has taken--or plans to take--to control future cost increases and delays. GAO reviewed and analyzed BOP's fiscal years 2001 to 2009 budget documents, files for these three projects, and project management guidance. GAO also reviewed government and industry guidance on project management and met with BOP officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured over $1.44 billion in mortgages for 6,327 borrowers with $77.6 million in federal tax debt who benefited from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of these borrowers, 3,815 individuals claimed and received $27.4 million in Recovery Act First-Time Homebuyer Credits (FTHBC). This analysis includes tax debtors who (1) benefited from FHA’s increased loan limits, or (2) claimed the FTHBCs and received FHA mortgage insurance of any value. Federal policy makes delinquent tax debtors ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance unless they repay their debt or are in a valid repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but the FTHBC, like all tax credits, was available to those who qualified, regardless of their tax debt. GAO could not determine the proportion of borrowers who were ineligible for FHA insurance because GAO could not systematically identify which of the 6,327 borrowers were in valid repayment agreements using the data GAO received from IRS. However, GAO did find that 5 of the 8 borrowers completely evaluated were ineligible because they were not in valid repayment agreements at the time they obtained FHA …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to Congress's April 24, 2007, request that GAO address questions submitted for the record by Members of the Subcommittee related to the March 29, 2007, hearing entitled JPDO and the Next Generation Air Transportation System: Status and Issues."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 caused enormous losses in New York City. These include the direct costs of the destruction to lives and property, as well as cleanup, and the indirect costs of lost income brought about by business closings and related spending reductions. It is expected that some of the losses will be covered by payments from private insurance, emergency federal relief funds, and charitable contributions. Other losses, however, may never be recovered because some individuals and businesses were uninsured or may not qualify for federal relief or charity. In reviewing eight studies from seven different organizations on the economic impact of the attacks, GAO found that they varied in the standard economic criteria used for analyzing economic impacts. In addition, the studies used different periods of time to estimate future costs that might be incurred. GAO found that the study by the New York City Partnership provided the most comprehensive estimates. The study estimated that the attacks on the two World Trade Center buildings cost $83 billion (in 2001 dollars) in total losses including both direct and indirect costs and …