A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 21 communities surrounding the 23 Department of Defense (DOD) installations closed in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round have used strategies such as forming a local redevelopment authority and seeking federal grants to deal with the closures. Some economic data for these communities are comparable to national averages, with some variation. For instance, GAO found that 52 percent (11 of 21) of communities had unemployment rates lower than the national average of 8.9 percent, although the rates ranged from a low of 6.1 percent to a high of 16.8 percent. Sixty-two percent (13 of 21) of the closure communities had real per capita income growth rates higher than the national average of 0.14 percent for the period from 2006 through 2011. Since 2005, 23 other installations have experienced population increases that have resulted in net growth of about 191,000 military and civilian personnel (a 36 percent increase), and their corresponding communities have used several strategies to accommodate this growth, including forming a regional working group composed of representatives from affected jurisdictions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Fewer small employers claimed the Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit in tax year 2010 than were estimated to be eligible. While 170,300 small employers claimed it, estimates of the eligible pool by government agencies and small business advocacy groups ranged from 1.4 million to 4 million. The cost of credits claimed was $468 million. Most claims were limited to partial rather than full percentage credits (35 percent for small businesses) because of the average wage or full-time equivalent (FTE) requirements. 28,100 employers claimed the full credit percentage. In addition, 30 percent of claims had the base premium limited by the state premium average."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force's maintenance depots provide critical support to ongoing operations around the world. Previously, the Department of Defense's (DOD) increased reliance on the private sector for depot maintenance support, coupled with downsizing, led to a general deterioration in the capabilities, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of the military services' depots. In March 2007, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD (AT&L)) directed each service to submit a depot maintenance strategic plan and provided direction for the content of those plans. The Air Force issued two documents in response to this direction--a Strategy and a Master Plan. GAO used qualitative content analyses to determine the extent to which the Air Force's collective plan addresses (1) key elements of a results-oriented management framework and (2) OUSD's (AT&L) direction for the plan's content."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents our opinion on the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation (the Foundation) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2009, and 2008. The financial statements are the responsibility of the Foundation. This report also presents the results of our consideration of the Foundation's related internal control. We identified a material internal control weakness in the Foundation's financial reporting process that resulted in material misstatements in the draft financial statements that management did not detect during the financial statement preparation and review process for fiscal year 2009. As described in our report, we identified errors during our audit and brought them to management's attention. In response, management made material adjustments (corrections) that are reflected in the accompanying financial statements. In addition, this report presents the results of our tests of the Foundation's compliance during fiscal year 2009 with selected provisions of laws and regulations. We conducted our audit pursuant to section 107 of the Congressional Award Act, as amended (2 U.S.C. 807), and in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is required, by law, to maintain a core logistics capability that is government owned and government operated to meet contingency and other emergency requirements. Military depots play a key role in maintaining this "core capability," although in recent years DOD has significantly increased its use of contractors. At the subcommittee's request, GAO examined the extent to which (1) DOD has accurately assessed whether it has the required core capabilities in military depots and (2) DOD is preparing to support future core requirements for new and modified systems. GAO reviewed DOD's biennial process for determining core capability requirements and the associated workloads for fielded systems. GAO also reviewed whether DOD had identified and established core capability in a timely manner for new and modified systems."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Individual taxpayers who misreport charitable cash contributions they deduct on their tax returns contribute to the tax gap, the difference between tax amounts taxpayers report and pay voluntarily and on time and the amounts they should pay under the law. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) most recently estimated a gross tax gap of $345 billion for tax year 2001. One approach that tends to result in high levels of taxpayer compliance is information reporting to IRS by third parties on taxpayer transactions. GAO was asked to (1) provide information on characteristics of individual taxpayer misreporting of charitable cash contributions, (2) provide information on actions that IRS takes to address misreporting, and (3) evaluate potential benefits and challenges associated with requiring information reporting for charitable cash contributions. To meet its objectives, GAO used data from IRS's tax year 2001 National Research Program (NRP) compliance study of individual taxpayers, reviewed IRS guidance and enforcement data, and interviewed IRS officials and representatives from charities or organizations that represent charities. GAO made no recommendations in this report. In email comments on a draft of this report, IRS agreed with GAO's …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, GAO first designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) business systems modernization program as "high risk," and GAO continues to do so today. To assist in addressing this high-risk area, the Fiscal Year 2005 National Defense Authorization Act contains provisions that are consistent with prior GAO recommendations. Further, the act requires the department to submit annual reports to its congressional committees on its compliance with these provisions and it directs GAO to review each report. In response, GAO assessed DOD's actions to address (1) requirements in the act and (2) GAO's recommendations that it reported as open in its prior annual report under the act. In doing so, GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials relative to the act and related guidance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) is charged with managing the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)--a key component of retirement savings for many federal employees--in the interest of its participants and beneficiaries. As part of a broader request on oversight of FRTIB, GAO reviewed (1) the administrative expenses of FRTIB and key components of these expenses, (2) whether the administrative expenses of FRTIB are the result of practices consistent with federal regulations and similar functions at other agencies, and (3) FRTIB's current method of benchmarking administrative expenses. GAO reviewed FRTIB's budgets, audited financial statements, a benchmarking study, and written responses to questions that GAO submitted. GAO also reviewed the regulations that guide FRTIB's spending."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1962-74 time period, the Department of Defense (DOD) conducted a classified chemical and biological warfare test program--Project 112--that might have exposed service members and civilian personnel to chemical or biological agents. In 2000 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began obtaining information from DOD about the program. Concerned that veterans and others might have health problems from exposure during Project 112 and similar DOD tests, Congress required DOD in the 2003 Defense Authorization Act to identify Project 112 tests and personnel potentially expose--service members and the number of civilian personnel--and other chemical and biological tests that might have exposed service members. GAO was required by the act and subsequent guidance from the congressional requesters to evaluate (1) DOD's process to identify the Project 112 tests and the service members and the number of civilian personnel potentially exposed, (2) DOD's progress in identifying similar tests outside Project 112, and (3) VA's progress in notifying DOD identified veterans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is conducting a multiyear, multibillion-dollar acquisition of a new trade processing system planned to support the movement of legitimate imports and exports and strengthen border security. By congressional mandate, expenditure plans for this system, called the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), must meet certain conditions, including GAO review. This study addresses the extent to which the latest plan, for fiscal year 2004, satisfies these conditions, provides information about DHS's efforts to implement GAO's recommendations for improving ACE management, and makes observations about ACE."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awards more than $200 million annually to universities and colleges to support its research, education, and extension missions. USDA's largest grant program is the National Research Initiative (NRI). GAO was asked to examine the (1) success of minority-serving institutions in competing for NRI research grants, (2) factors that could improve their success in competing for these grants, and (3) actions USDA has taken to improve the quantity and quality of grant proposals these institutions submit. GAO interviewed senior administrators at 43 minority-serving institutions that had either applied for an NRI grant between fiscal years 1997 and 2001 or received more than $100,000 from USDA for research, three major land grant universities, and cognizant USDA officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the passage of Title XI of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, the appraisal and mortgage lending industry has changed dramatically. Some have concluded that the law is obsolete because the problems Title XI was intended to address--the risk to federal deposit insurance funds and the lack of uniform standards and qualifications--no longer exist. Others argue that the law's purpose and scope should be expanded. To help Congress better understand these issues, GAO looked at the roles of the private, state, and federal entities that oversee the appraisal industry, the challenges Title XI presented to these entities, and industry participants' concerns about the effectiveness of the Title XI regulatory structure."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2000, the federal government funded four bilingual education programs--Program Development and Implementation Grants, Program Enhancement Projects, Comprehensive School Grants, and Systemwide Improvement Grants--that award grants to school districts to serve children with limited English proficiency. This report reviews (1) how similar the performance goals and measures, eligibility criteria, and allowable services are among the four bilingual education programs; (2) to what extent the different kinds of grants were made to the same types of schools or school districts and were used to provide the same services; (3) what is known about these programs' effectiveness; and (4) whether these programs can be better coordinated or if opportunities exist for program coordination and cost savings. GAO found that all four federal bilingual education programs share the same performance goals and measures, use similar eligibility criteria, and allow for similar uses of program funds. In fiscal year 2000, the four bilingual programs made grants to school districts that shared some characteristics and provided similar services; however, individual schools typically did not receive funding from more than one program. The services provided with program funds are similar, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on community-based, long-term care for severely disabled adults, focusing on: (1) the number and characteristics of adults with severe disabilities; (2) the federal assistance available to such individuals; (3) Medicaid coverage of personal care and related services; and (4) how a sample of selected states have implemented Medicaid policies that allow consumers to select their own caregivers, an approach called consumer direction."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), focusing on states': (1) initial SCHIP design choices, including the use of the statutory flexibility to design their programs; (2) pursuit of statutory options, particularly extending coverage to adults in families with children; (3) development of innovative outreach strategies to enroll eligible children; and (4) tailoring of strategies to avoid the crowd out of both private insurance and Medicaid coverage by SCHIP."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the role of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in shaping the national drug control budget that the President ultimately proposes to Congress to implement the National Drug Control Strategy, focusing on: (1) whether the process ONDCP followed to certify federal agencies' drug control budgets for fiscal year (FY) 1999 was consistent with statutory requirements; and (2) the system ONDCP has developed to assess the extent to which drug control agencies and programs achieve intended results."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the financial statements of the Congressional Award Foundation for the fiscal years ended September 30, 1998 and 1997, focusing on: (1) the Foundation management's assertions regarding the effectiveness of its internal controls as of September 30, 1998; and (2) GAO's evaluation of the Foundation's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations during fiscal year 1998."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on wind and photovoltaic technologies, focusing on: (1) how much the Department of Energy (DOE) has spent on research and development; (2) how DOE's objectives for its programs have changed over time; and (3) the characteristics of the markets for these technologies."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed a benchmark study conducted by a contractor comparing the Small Business Administration's (SBA) loan monitoring business processes to those of selected public and private sector organizations."