Memorandum of Meeting with Mr. Cecil Saunders of the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA) regarding the consolidation of DECA at Fort Lee, Virginia.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On January 31, 2008, we testified before Congress' subcommittee at a hearing entitled, "Eliminating Agency Payment Errors." At the hearing, we discussed federal agencies' progress in addressing key requirements of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and Section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, commonly known as the Recovery Auditing Act. Our review and testimony focused on (1) progress made in agencies' implementation and reporting under IPIA for fiscal year 2007, (2) remaining challenges with IPIA implementation, and (3) agencies' efforts to report recovery auditing information. This report responds to your March 13, 2008, request to provide answers to follow-up questions relating to our January 31, 2008, testimony. (1) What kinds of changes should be made to the Single Audit Act, which already requires recipients to have proper systems of internal control to ensure front-end compliance with Federal requirements that would assist in identification and reduction of improper payments? The FY 2007 Audit Report on the Consolidated Financial Statement indicates that the Federal government's inability to determine the extent to which improper payments occur is one of the major government-wide material …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The UN headquarters buildings are in need of renovation. The Capital Master Plan is an opportunity for the organization to renovate its headquarters buildings and ensure conformity with current safety, fire, and security requirements. Estimated by the UN to cost about $1.6 billion, the renovation will require a substantial management effort by the UN--including the use of effective internal oversight and procurement practices. Based on recently issued work, GAO (1) examined the extent to which UN funding arrangements for its Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) ensure independent oversight and the consistency of OIOS's practices with key international auditing standards and (2) assessed the UN's procurement processes according to key standards for internal controls."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) turned Lower Manhattan into a disaster site. As the towers collapsed, Lower Manhattan was blanketed with building debris and combustible materials. This complex mixture created a major concern: that thousands of residents and workers in the area would now be exposed to known hazards in the air and in the dust, such as asbestos, lead, glass fibers, and pulverized concrete. In May 2002, New York City formally requested federal assistance to address indoor contamination. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an indoor clean and test program from 2002 to 2003. Several years later, after obtaining the views of advisory groups, including its Inspector General and an expert panel, EPA announced a second test and clean program in December 2006. Program implementation is to begin later in 2007, more than 5 years after the disaster. GAO's testimony, based on preliminary work evaluating EPA's development of its second program, addresses (1) EPA's actions to implement recommendations from the expert panel and its Inspector General, (2) the completeness of information EPA provided to the public in its second plan, …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The F-22A is the Air Force's next generation air superiority fighter aircraft. It incorporates a low observable (stealth) and highly maneuverable airframe, advanced integrated avionics, and a new engine capable of sustained supersonic flight without the use of afterburners. It was originally designed to counter threats posed by the Soviet Union and was intended to replace the F-15 fighter in the air-to-air combat role. However, the Air Force now plans to add a more robust ground attack and intelligence- gathering capability not previously envisioned but now considered "necessary" to increase the utility of the aircraft. In December 2005, the Air Force changed designations from the F/A-22 to the F-22A. The aircraft maintained all current capabilities as well as the expanded ground attack capabilities. Officials have initiated a modernization program to develop and integrate these new capabilities. In March 2005, we reported that despite substantial changes to the F-22A program since it started in 1986, Air Force leaders have not developed a new business case for investing billions more dollars to modernize the aircraft. Over time quantities have been reduced, and in recent years both funding and quantities have …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Title III, section 366 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003, required the Secretary of Defense to develop a comprehensive plan for the sustainment of training ranges using existing authorities available to the Secretaries of Defense and the military departments to address training constraints caused by limitations on the use of military lands, marine areas, and airspace available both in the United States and overseas. Section 366 also required the Secretary to submit to Congress a report containing the comprehensive training range sustainment plan, the results of an assessment and evaluation of current and future training range requirements, and any recommendations that the Secretary may have for legislative or regulatory changes to address training constraints. It also directed the Secretary of Defense to develop and maintain an inventory of training ranges for each of the armed forces, which identifies all training capacities, capabilities, and constraints at each training range. The Department of Defense (DOD) was to submit both the report and the training range inventory to Congress at the same time the President submitted the budget for fiscal year 2004 and to provide …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the wake of September 11, 2001, some in Congress were concerned that the Department might not be able to conduct acquisitions with sufficient speed, particularly in an emergency. To that end, Congress enacted section 833 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which provides DHS with special streamlined acquisition authorities. Before those authorities could be used, however, the Secretary of Homeland Security or a delegate would have to determine in writing that the DHS mission would be seriously impaired without the use of the authorities. The special streamlined acquisition authorities including the following three items. First, increasing the micro-purchase threshold from $2,500 to $7,500. Purchases below the micro-purchase threshold do not require competitive quotes or compliance with the "Buy America" act. Only certain employees would be authorized to make procurements under this authority. Second, increasing the limit on the use of simplified acquisition procedures from $100,000 to $200,000 for contracts awarded and performed within the United States, and to $300,000 for contracts awarded and performed outside the United States. Simplified acquisition procedures permit agencies to use streamlined techniques to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Congressional letter requesting that we provide information on the approximate cost of various administrative steps that might be necessary to administer a subsidy program for the purchase of digital converter boxes to advance the transition to digital television (DTV). Specifically, the letter identifies a number of administrative steps that might be required to administer a rebate program targeted to low-income households that rely solely on over-the-air television signals, and asks us to estimate the costs of specific administrative steps. Estimating the specific costs of these administrative steps is difficult because of the substantial uncertainty about exactly what would be required to implement them. The Congressional letter also notes that the administrative costs for the rebate and voucher programs that we reviewed ranged from 10 percent to 39 percent. However, due to differences in the scope of the rebate and voucher programs we reviewed and a potential DTV subsidy, it is not clear how applicable the administrative costs of these programs are to estimating the costs of a DTV subsidy."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) X-33 and X-34 reusable launch vehicle programs. The two programs experienced difficulties achieving their goals primarily because NASA did not develop realistic cost estimates, timely acquisition and risk management plans, and adequate and realistic performance goals. In particular, neither program fully (1) assessed the costs associated with developing new, unproven technologies, (2) provided for the financial reserves needed to deal with technical risks and accommodate normal development delays, (3) developed plans to quantify and mitigate the risks to NASA, or (4) established performance targets showing a clear path leading to an operational reusable launch vehicle. As a result, both programs were terminated. Currently, NASA is in the process of taking steps in the Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program to help avoid problems like those encountered in the X-33 and X-34 programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has issued about 50 products during the last five years that include information on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) operations and activities. When GAO initiates work with federal agencies, it formally notifies key officials about the planned review and meets with them to discuss objectives. In the course of its work, GAO routinely receives large amounts of information, some of it highly sensitive, and has an excellent record when it comes to safeguarding sensitive and classified information. This testimony discusses (1) GAO's statutory access authority to federal records and (2) access problems with the FBI. GAO has broad statutory right of access to agency records in order to conduct audits and evaluations. If agencies do not make information available in a reasonable time, GAO has the authority to demand access by sending the head of the agency a letter stating GAO's authority and its reasons for needing the information. The agency has 20 days to respond, after which the Comptroller General may file a report with the President, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the head of the agency, and Congress. If …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government plays a significant role in supporting youths with disabilities, many of whom research has shown are less likely than other students to successfully transition from high school to postsecondary education or employment. Federal programs make considerable investments in providing transition services for youths with disabilities, often through state and local agencies. GAO has previously reported problems in how these programs support transition, such as difficulties youths with disabilities may experience in accessing services. To better understand how federal programs interact at the state and local levels to support transitioning youths with disabilities, on November 15, 2005, GAO convened a conference of professionals and state and local program experts who are directly involved with transitioning youths with disabilities in California. While the perspectives offered were limited to one state's experience, California has wide variation in population, industry, disability rates, and employment rates among its counties, and thus may offer lessons to other states about the challenges and successes in serving transitioning youths. This report summarizes the views of panelists on challenges they experienced serving this population during critical transition years, and identifies several practices …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To protect and mitigate threats and attacks against the United States, 22 federal agencies and organizations were merged to form the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002. One of the department's components, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is responsible for securing the nation's borders. DHS and CBP rely on a variety of computerized information systems to support their operations and assets. GAO has reported for many years that poor information security is a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences. In reports to Congress since 1997, GAO has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue. In this testimony, GAO discusses DHS's information security program and computer security controls for key information systems. GAO based its testimony on agency, inspector general, and GAO issued and draft reports on DHS information security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 1992, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded more than $6 billion in HOPE VI program grants to public housing authorities to revitalize severely distressed public housing and provide supportive services to residents. HUD has encouraged housing authorities to use their HOPE VI grants to attract, or leverage, funding from other sources, including other federal, state, local, and private-sector sources. Projects funded with public and private funds are known as mixed-finance projects. This testimony is based primarily on three reports that GAO issued between November 2002 and November 2003, focusing on (1) the financing of HOPE VI projects, including the amounts of funds leveraged from non-HOPE VI sources; (2) HUD's oversight and administration of the program; and (3) the program's effects on public housing residents and neighborhoods surrounding HOPE VI sites. As requested, the statement summarizes the key findings from these reports, the recommendations GAO made to HUD for improving HOPE VI program management, and HUD's actions in response to the recommendations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "H.R. 928, Improving Government Accountability Act, contains proposals intended to enhance the independence of the inspectors general and to create a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. This testimony provides information and views about the specific proposals based on GAO's prior work. We believe that effective, ongoing coordination of the federal oversight efforts of GAO and the Inspectors General (IG) is more critical than ever, due to the challenges and risks currently facing our nation including our immediate and long-term fiscal challenges, increasing demands being made for federal programs, and changing risk. Close strategic planning and ongoing coordination of audit efforts between GAO and the IGs would help to enhance the effectiveness and impact of work performed by federal auditors. In May of this year the Comptroller General hosted a meeting with the IGs for the principal purpose of improving the coordination of federal oversight between the IGs and GAO. Working together, and in their respective areas, GAO and the IGs can leverage each other's work and provide valuable input on the broad range of high-risk programs and management challenges across government."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony summarizes GAO's October 2006 report on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) operations centers--centers run by three DHS components and operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to conduct monitoring and surveillance activities of potential terrorist activities and other crises. Specifically, GAO assessed the extent to which the centers implemented key practices GAO's work has shown will enhance and sustain collaboration. In addition, GAO is aware of Congress's concerns about the performance of certain DHS components with regard to situational awareness during Hurricane Katrina, and the recent efforts made in response to these concerns identified in hurricane after-action studies and reports. Because these efforts to some extent affect DHS's response to the recommendations made in GAO's previous report, this testimony briefly describes some of the steps DHS reported that it has taken to address situational awareness problems Katrina exposed. However, because these actions are relatively new, it is too early to assess how well they are being implemented."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The recent information security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in which personal data on millions of veterans were compromised, has highlighted the importance of the department's security weaknesses, as well as the ability of federal agencies to protect personal information. Robust federal security programs are critically important to properly protect this information and the privacy of individuals. GAO was asked to testify on VA's information security program, ways that agencies can prevent improper disclosures of personal information, and issues concerning notifications of privacy breaches. In preparing this testimony, GAO drew on its previous reports and testimonies, as well as on expert opinion provided in congressional testimony and other sources."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement system, focusing on: (1) how WTO members have used the new dispute settlement system; and (2) the impact of these cases on foreign trade practices and U.S. laws and regulations, and their overall commercial effects."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Transportation Administration's (FTA) New Starts Program helps pay for designing and constructing rail, bus, and trolley projects through full funding grant agreements. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), authorized $6.1 billion in "guaranteed" funding for the New Starts program through fiscal year 2003. Although the level of New Starts funding is higher than ever, the demand for these resources is also extremely high. Given this high demand for new and expanded transit facilities across the nation, communities need to examine approaches that stretch the federal and local dollar yet still provide high quality transit services. Although FTA has been faced with an impending transit budget crunch for several years, it is likely to end the TEA-21 authorization period with $310 million in unused New Starts commitment authority if its proposed fiscal year 2003 budget is enacted. Bus Rapid Transit is designed to provide major improvements in the speed and reliability of bus service through barrier-separated busways, buses on High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes, or improved service on arterial streets. GAO found that Bus Rapid Transit was a less expensive and more flexible approach than …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over 580,000 reservists have been activated for military operations between September 2001 and March 2007. The challenges of continuing to mobilize large numbers of reserve component servicemembers for ongoing operations while balancing their support to homeland defense missions have led to questions about whether changes are needed in the way the reserve components are structured and resourced, particularly in light of mounting 21st century fiscal imbalances. This testimony focuses on: (1) the nation's fiscal and security challenges and their implications for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Guard and Reserves; (2) the need for DOD to better align its reserve component business model, including human capital strategies, with the reserve forces' current and future needs; and (3) the extent to which DOD's current compensation system for reserve and National Guard personnel is helping the department to meet its human capital goals of recruiting and retaining a high-quality force. The testimony is based on GAO's body of work on the nation's long-term fiscal outlook, National Guard and reserve readiness, military personnel issues such as recruitment and retention, and the report GAO is issuing today on reserve and …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since a peak of 22 U.S. commercial space launches in fiscal year 1998, the annual number of launches generally ranged from 4 to 9 launches. The number of commercial space launches is expected to increase in the next 8 years as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to procure 51 launches from commercial cargo companies to resupply the International Space Station. FAA also expects space tourism to begin in the next several years, although no companies have applied for a FAA launch license and companies developing these services have experienced delays in the past. FAA faces several challenges overseeing the commercial space launch industry. For example, FAA expects its licensing and oversight responsibilities to expand in anticipation of an increased private sector role, suggesting that FAA and Congress must remain vigilant so that potential conflicts in FAA’s safety oversight and industry promotion roles do not occur. Also, as the commercial space launch industry grows and FAA continues to implement NextGen—FAA’s effort to develop a more automated, aircraft-centered, satellite-based air traffic management system—the agency will have to manage a mix of earth-based aircraft and space vehicles. FAA …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "DOD has identified DAWDF as a key tool used to address gaps in the acquisition workforce through additional hiring and training initiatives. For example, DOD officials noted they used DAWDF funds to hire about 5,855 new acquisition staff through fiscal year 2011 and enabled the Defense Acquisition University to provide 19,000 additional classroom seats, among other improvements. However, DOD’s ability to effectively execute hiring and other initiatives has been hindered by delays in the DAWDF funding process and the absence of clear guidance on the availability and use of related funds. DOD has not collected and distributed funds within required timeframes, sometimes delaying distribution to components until the following fiscal year. For example, only about 39 percent of the total amount of fiscal year 2011 transfer funds were distributed before the end of the fiscal year. These delays can result in uncertainty about the availability of funds, and negatively impact the components’ ability to execute according to their approved plans for the year. Additionally, DOD officials noted that the delays contributed, at least in part, to the amount of unobligated funds that were carried over to future years. …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Application of conflict of interest law and the Open Meetings Act to the governing board of a groundwater conservation district (RQ-0304-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether a business that holds an on-premises alcoholic beverage permit may host a poker tournament (RQ-0305-GA)