Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) continues efforts to establish a business enterprise architecture (a modernization blueprint) and transition plan and modernize its business systems and processes, in compliance with key provisions of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 and amendments. Nonetheless, long-standing challenges remain. The following reflects the status of DOD’s actions to fulfill selected requirements of the act."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1996, the Air Force launched an acquisition program to develop and produce a revolutionary laser weapon system, the Airborne Laser (ABL), capable of defeating an enemy ballistic missile during the boost phase of its flight. Over the last 8 years, the program's efforts to develop this technology have resulted in significant cost growth and schedule delays. These events led Senate Members to request that we answer the following questions: (1) how much and why has the ABL's cost increased since the program's inception; (2) what is the expected military utility of the initial ABL aircraft; (3) what support systems will be required when the ABL is fielded and what is the likely cost of those systems; and (4) have recent program changes resulted in a more cost effective strategy for developing the weapon?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is experiencing a growing demand for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to provide vital information in support of military operations. Over the next 7 years, DOD plans to invest over $28 billion in existing and new airborne ISR acquisition systems. This represents a marked increase over prior ISR investments. Given the significant investments, GAO was asked to (1) evaluate various ISR platforms for potential synergies and assess their cost and schedule status and the impact of any increases or delays on legacy systems and (2) assess the effectiveness of ISR investment decisions. To assess cost and schedule status, we reviewed programmatic and budget documentation. To evaluate investment decisions, we collected information on system capability, mission, and concept of operation and analyzed the data for similarities."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to Congress's April 26, 2006, request that we address questions submitted for the record by Members of Congress related to the March 29, 2006, hearing entitled The Future of Air Traffic Control: The R&D Agenda. Our responses are based on our previous and ongoing work and our knowledge of the areas addressed by the questions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Researchers at federal agencies disseminate their research results through a variety of approaches, including scientific publications, presentations, press releases, and media interviews. Because of recent concerns about some federal researchers possibly being restricted from disseminating their research on controversial topics, GAO determined (1) the policies that guide the dissemination of federal research at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); (2) how effectively these agencies have communicated their policies to researchers; and (3) the extent to which researchers have been restricted in disseminating their research. GAO conducted a survey of 1,811 researchers randomly selected at the three agencies, and had a 66 percent response rate."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Postal Service is on the cusp of a major transformation to improve its fiscal outlook. One part of this transformation involves procurement. The Postal Service is homing in on supply chain management, a process that has helped successful private-sector companies leverage their buying power and identify more efficient ways to procure goods and services. To assist congressional efforts to enact fundamental postal reform, GAO was asked to determine (1) the extent to which the Postal Service has been successful in implementing and realizing savings from its supply chain management initiatives and (2) whether these initiatives have had an effect on small businesses."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Academy of Public Administration for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Tropical Botanical Garden for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the Great Lakes and to address common water quality problems, the United States and Canada entered into the bilateral Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. The agreement has been amended several times, most recently in 1987. That year, the two countries agreed to cooperate with state and provincial governments to develop and implement remedial action plans (RAPs) for designated areas in the Great Lakes Basin--areas contaminated, for example, by toxic substances. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leads the effort to meet the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which include RAP development and implementation. As of April 2002, all of the 26 contaminated areas in the Great Lakes Basin that the United States is responsible for have completed the first stage of the RAP process; however, only half have completed the second stage. Even though EPA has been charged with leading the effort to meet the goals of the agreement, it has not clearly delineated responsibility for oversight of RAPs within the agency, and, citing resource constraints and the need to tend to other Great Lakes priorities, reduced its staff and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To ensure that people claiming disability insurance program benefits can obtain legal representation at a fair price, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is required to regulate the fees that attorneys charge people to represent their disability claims before the agency. Balancing the needs of the claimants with those of their attorneys, the law limits the amount of fees that attorneys can charge claimants, but also guarantees that those fees will be paid from the claimants' past-due benefits. Inefficiencies in the current process increase both the time it takes to pay the attorney fees and the cost of administration. One segment of attorney fee processing--the fee approval process--was substantially simplified in 1991. Systems support could streamline the second segment of the processing--the fee payment--thus lowering the annual administrative costs and cutting processing time. Automation of this final segment of the fee process could help improve customer service for both claimants and their attorneys."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses lessons learned from the Department of Defense's (DOD) TRICARE contracts and their implications for the future. TRICARE's successes and maturity reflect the ability of the DOD and its contractors to work within the current contract structure. However, it has not been easy, and there are important lessons from current contract shortcomings that need to be addressed in designing future TRICARE contracts. Most, including DOD, believe that the current contracts are too large, complex, and prescriptive in nature, limiting innovation and competition. Also, numerous adjustments to these contracts have created an unstable program, and program costs have been difficult to predict, contributing to annual funding shortfalls. Additionally, financial incentives, accountability, and data quality need to be strengthened to achieve greater efficiencies. To address these weaknesses, DOD redesigned its solicitation for the next round of TRICARE contracts; however, the initial issuance was withdrawn because of internal concerns and reservations about its costs and specifications. DOD is now reassessing how to structure the TRICARE contracts and is considering the views and recommendations of the Defense Medical Oversight Committee, a group formed to oversee TRICARE."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the recruitment and the retention of nursing staff, including both nurses and nurses aides, and concerns about the future supply of these workers. The health and long-term care systems in the United States rely heavily on the services of both nurses and nurses aides, the two largest groups of health care workers. GAO found that the recruitment and the retention of both nurses and nurses aides are major concerns for health care providers. Experts and providers have reported a shortage of nurses, partly as a result of patients' increasingly complex care needs. This shortage is expected to become more serious as the population ages and the demand for nurses increases. Several factors combine to constrain the current and future supply of nurses. Like the population in general, the nurse workforce is aging; the average age of a registered nurse rose from 37 years in 1983 to 42 years in 1998. Enrollments in nursing programs have declined during the last five years, shrinking the pool of new workers available to replace those who are retiring. Many studies also report less job satisfaction among nurses, which could …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs'(VA) and the Department of Defense's (DOD) sharing of federal health care resources."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Starting in the mid-1990s, the U.S. petroleum industry experienced a wave of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures, several of them between large oil companies that had previously competed with each other. For example, Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company, acquired Mobil, the second largest, thus forming ExxonMobil. GAO was asked to examine the effects of the mergers on the U.S. petroleum industry since the 1990s. For this period, GAO examined (1) mergers in the U.S. petroleum industry and why they occurred, (2) the extent to which market concentration (the distribution of market shares among competing firms) and other aspects of market structure in the U.S. petroleum industry have changed as a result of mergers, (3) major changes that have occurred in U.S. gasoline marketing, and (4) how mergers and market concentration in the U.S. petroleum industry have affected U.S. gasoline prices at the wholesale level. Commenting on a draft of GAO's report, FTC asserted that the models were flawed and the analyses unreliable. GAO used state-of-the-art econometric models to examine the effects of mergers and market concentration on wholesale gasoline prices. The models used in GAO's …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Individuals working for the private industry are playing a larger role in national security work conducted by Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal agencies. As of May 2006, industry personnel held about 34 percent of DOD-maintained personnel security clearances. The damage that the unauthorized disclosure of classified information can cause to national security necessitates the prompt and careful consideration of who is granted a security clearance. Long-standing delays in determining clearance eligibility and other challenges led GAO to designate the DOD personnel security clearance program as a high-risk area in January 2005 and again in GAO's January 2007 update of the high-risk areas. In February 2005, DOD transferred its security clearance investigations functions to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and now obtains almost all of its clearance investigations from OPM. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for effective implementation of policy relating to determinations of eligibility for access to classified information. This testimony addresses the timeliness of the process and completeness of documentation used to determine eligibility of industry personnel for top secret clearances in January and February 2006. This statement relies primarily …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Teachers are the single largest resource in our nation's elementary and secondary education system. However, according to recent research, many teachers lack competency in the subjects they teach. In addition, research shows that most teacher training programs leave new teachers feeling unprepared for the classroom. While the hiring and training of teachers is primarily the responsibility of state and local governments and institutions of higher education, the federal investment in enhancing teacher quality is substantial and growing. In 1998, the Congress amended the Higher Education Act (HEA) to enhance the quality of teaching in the classroom and in 2001 the Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), which established federal requirements that all teachers of core academic subjects be highly qualified. This testimony focuses on (1) approaches used in teacher quality programs under HEA and NCLBA, (2) the allowable activities under these acts and how recipients are using the funds, and (3) how Education supports and evaluates these activities. This testimony is based on prior GAO reports. We updated information where appropriate."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Before Social Security was enacted in 1935, at least half of those 65 and older in the United States were financially dependent upon others, including family members and public assistance. Today, the elderly's dependency on public assistance has dropped to a fraction of its depression-era levels, and poverty rates among this group are now lower than for the population as a whole. However, Social Security's long-term financing problems will require changes to restore fiscal stability to the program. The challenge for policymakers will be to make the necessary changes while retaining protections that are so important to millions of Americans. The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security of the House Committee on Ways and Means asked GAO to discuss the importance of Social Security for vulnerable populations. This testimony will address the key provisions in the Social Security program that support vulnerable populations, the ways in which those populations and American society in general have changed over time, and the implications of those changes for the Social Security program."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for about 2 million active personnel security clearances. About one-third of the clearances are for industry personnel working on contracts for DOD and more than 20 other executive agencies. Delays in determining eligibility for a clearance can heighten the risk that classified information will be disclosed to unauthorized sources and increase contract costs and problems attracting and retaining qualified personnel. Long-standing delays in completing hundreds of thousands of clearance requests and numerous impediments that hinder DOD's ability to accurately estimate and eliminate its clearance backlog led GAO to declare DOD's personnel security clearance program a high-risk area in January 2005. This testimony presents GAO's (1) preliminary observations from its ongoing review of the timeliness and completeness of clearances, (2) concerns about the upcoming expiration of an executive order that has resulted in high level commitment to improving the governmentwide clearance process, and (3) views on factors underlying DOD's decision to stop accepting clearance requests for industry personnel."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has issued many reports documenting problems resulting from the fragmented nature of the federal food safety system--a system based on 30 primary laws. This testimony summarizes GAO's most recent work on the federal system for ensuring the safety of the U.S. food supply. It provides (1) an overview of food safety functions, (2) examples of overlapping and duplicative inspection and training activities, and (3) observations on efforts to better manage the system through interagency agreements. It also provides information on other countries' experiences with consolidation and the views of key stakeholders on possible consolidation in the United States."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) management of its multipurpose tributary projects, focusing on: (1) the purposes served by TVA's multipurpose tributary projects and how TVA operates these projects within its integrated system; (2) the operational changes TVA made to these projects as a result of its December 1990 review of its project operations and the major factors influencing these changes; (3) the actions TVA has taken since the 1990 review to address requests for changes in the way it operates these projects; and (4) TVA's plans for any future changes in the way it operates these projects. GAO is also providing information on a selected update by TVA of its analysis performed in the 1990 review."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has become increasingly aware that the use of more commercial and military electronic systems aboard ships, aircraft, and vehicles can cause unintended electromagnetic interactions among systems and harm operations. Such unintended interactions, called electromagnetic environmental effects, have already undermined mission effectiveness on many occasions. The new procurement procedures established by DOD are reasonable and could help prevent problems arising from radio frequency interference. The impact of these new procedures cannot be evaluated, however, until DOD has had a chance to apply its revised guidance to systems as they go through each acquisition decision milestone. DOD would then be able to demonstrate that the new procedures have (1) resulted in the review of relevant documents at each decision milestone to identify potential frequency problems, (2) prevented interference problems, and (3) improved the acquisition process. No DOD system had undergone the new procedures for all decision milestones at the time of GAO's review. The first of three pilot programs using the new acquisition guidance should be completed by January 2002 according to DOD officials. Consequently, GAO could not assess the programs' effectiveness."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) progress in integrating and improving its satellite control capabilities and in fostering integrated and interoperable satellite control within the government, as directed by the 1996 national space policy; and (2) determined whether opportunities exist for DOD to standardize its satellite control capabilities by using commercial products and practices."