Letters from two California citizens to the BRAC Commission in response to the recommendation to close Naval Base Ventura County.

Letter from Sheldon Cohen to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). He urged the individual commissioners to cancel the recommendation to relocate the hearing offices of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals to Fort Meade, Maryland.

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, 2007 and 2006. 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 (FRBs) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's BPD relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt. In our audit report on the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, 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, 2007, 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 matters involving information security controls that we do not consider to be significant …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Deteriorating financial conditions and declining mail volume have reinforced the need for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to increase operational efficiency and reduce expenses in its mail processing network. This network consists of interdependent functions in nearly 600 facilities. USPS developed several initiatives to reduce costs and increase efficiency; however, moving forward on some initiatives has been challenging because of the complexities involved in consolidating operations. In response to a conference report directive, GAO assessed (1) the overall status and results of USPS's efforts to realign its mail processing network and (2) the extent to which USPS has consistently followed its guidance and applied these criteria in reviewing Area Mail Processing (AMP) proposals for consolidation since the beginning of fiscal year 2009. To conduct this assessment, GAO reviewed USPS's Network Plan, area mail processing consolidation guidance and proposals as well as other documents; compared USPS's actions related to consolidation of area mail processing facilities with its guidance, and interviewed officials from USPS, the USPS Office of Inspector General, and employee organizations. GAO provided USPS with a draft of this report for comment. In response, USPS provided …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (WSARA) directed the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to ensure trade-offs among cost, schedule, and performance objectives are considered as part of its requirements review process. WSARA also directed GAO to assess the implementation of these requirements. This report addresses (1) the extent to which the JROC has considered trade-offs within programs, (2) the quality of resource estimates presented to the JROC, and (3) the extent to which the JROC is prioritizing requirements and capability gaps. To do so, GAO analyzed requirement documents reviewed by the JROC in fiscal year 2010, which identified capability gaps or performance requirements for new major defense acquisition programs. GAO also assessed resource estimates presented to the JROC against best practices criteria in the GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The African continent is important to U.S. economic, strategic, and foreign policy interests, and efforts have been made to improve commerce and connectivity to benefit the two regions. However, the continent has the highest aviation accident rate in the world, which has hindered progress. Recognizing the importance of improving aviation safety in Africa, the United States and the international aviation community have worked to improve aviation safety in Africa. This congressionally requested report discusses (1) challenges in improving aviation safety in Africa, (2) key U.S. efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa and the extent to which they address the identified challenges, and (3) international efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa. To address these issues, GAO synthesized literature and aviation safety data, interviewed federal officials, and visited four African countries."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On April 8, 2003, GAO testified before the House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management at a hearing on our report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2002. This letter responds to questions related to our testimony from the Subcommittee's Chairman and the Ranking Minority Member and to subsequent questions from the Vice Chairman that the Chairman asked us to answer for the record."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the performance of the information systems that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses to process tax returns for individual taxpayers, focusing on: (1) IRS' tax processing systems performance in the 2000 filing season as reported by IRS compared to the 1999 filing season; and (2) whether IRS had taken actions to address problems affecting individual taxpayers."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Future Combat System (FCS) has been at the center of the Army's efforts to become a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force by replacing existing combat systems with a family of manned and unmanned vehicles and systems, linked by an advanced information network. To meet the challenges of FCS's scope and schedule, the Army contracted with Boeing to be lead systems integrator (LSI), to help define, develop, and integrate FCS systems. Earlier this year, the Secretary of Defense proposed restructuring FCS to lower risk and address more near-term needs, shortly before FCS was to undergo a congressionally-mandated review to determine its future. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Army have already begun to make programmatic and budgetary adjustments to FCS. This statement reviews aspects of FCS that should be considered for inclusion in future efforts, aspects that were problematic and need re-examination, and considerations for shaping future Army ground force modernization. The testimony is drawn from GAO's body of work on FCS management and acquisition strategy, including knowledge gaps, cost, affordability, oversight, and the Army/LSI relationship. GAO has made numerous recommendations aimed at managing FCS …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Oil for Food program was established by the United Nations and Iraq in 1996 to address concerns about the humanitarian situation after international sanctions were imposed in 1990. The program allowed the Iraqi government to use the proceeds of its oil sales to pay for food, medicine, and infrastructure maintenance. The program appears to have helped the Iraqi people. From 1996 through 2001, the average daily food intake increased from 1,300 to 2,300 calories. From 1997-2002, Iraq sold more than $67 billion of oil through the program and issued $38 billion in letters of credit to purchase commodities. However, over the years numerous allegations have surfaced concerning potential fraud and program mismanagement. GAO (1) reports on its estimates of the illegal revenue acquired by the former Iraqi regime in violation of U.N. sanctions, (2) provides observations on program administration; and (3) describes the current and future challenges in achieving food security."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal entities--agencies, corporations, and others--are growing users of credit and debit cards, as both "merchants" (receiving payments) and purchasers. Federal entities, like other merchants that accept cards, incur fees--called merchant discount fees--to process card transactions. For Visa and MasterCard transactions, a large portion of these fees-- referred to as interchange fees--goes to the card-issuing banks. This statement addresses (1) the amounts of revenue that federal entities have collected using credit and debit cards and the costs of such acceptance, (2) these entities' efforts to reduce their interchange fee costs, including negotiations, and (3) the extent to which card network rules affect these entities and other card accepters' ability to reduce interchange fee costs. The information for this statement was drawn from Credit and Debit Cards: Federal Entities Are Taking Actions to Limit Their Interchange Fees, but Additional Revenue Collection Cost Savings May Exist (GAO-08-558) and Credit Cards: Rising Interchange Fees Have Increased Costs for Merchants, but Options for Reducing Fees Pose Challenges (GAO-10-45). GAO analyzed data on accepting and using cards from the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Amtrak, the Postal Service, and General Services Administration (GSA); and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1990s, growth in the use of the Internet has revolutionized the way that our nation communicates and conducts business. While the Internet was originally developed by the Department of Defense, the vast majority of its infrastructure is currently owned and operated by the private sector. Federal policy recognizes the need to prepare for debilitating Internet disruptions and tasks the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with developing an integrated public/private plan for Internet recovery. GAO was asked to (1) identify examples of major disruptions to the Internet, (2) identify the primary laws and regulations governing recovery of the Internet in the event of a major disruption, (3) evaluate DHS plans for facilitating recovery from Internet disruptions, and (4) assess challenges to such efforts."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal judiciary's principal policymaking body, uses 1,500 annual weighted case filings per authorized judgeship (judgeship position) in a bankruptcy court as an indicator of the need for additional bankruptcy judgeships for that court. Total annual weighted case filings for any specific bankruptcy court is the sum of the weights associated with each of the cases filed in the court in a year. Total annual weighted case filings per judgeship represent the estimated average amount of judge time that would be required to complete the cases filed in a specific bankruptcy court in a year. In May 2003 GAO testified on whether weighted case filings were a reasonably accurate measure of the case-related workload of bankruptcy judges. The accuracy of weighted case filings rests in turn on the soundness of the methodology used to develop them. GAO's work focused on whether the methodologies used to develop the current case weights and to revise and update those weights were likely to result in reasonably accurate measures of bankruptcy judges' case-related workload. This statement is based on GAO's May 2003 testimony on weighted …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Congress passed Public Law 106-429 because it was concerned about the sufficiency of external audits of the financial operations of the World Bank Group, a set of multilateral development banks. This law provides that GAO report on the sufficiency of such audits of each Bank Group entity. GAO addressed (1) the extent that the external auditor was providing assurance on internal control over financial reporting, operations, and compliance with key provisions of bank charters and policies in conjunction with financial statement audits and (2) the role the Bank Group's audit committee plays in providing oversight of external financial statement audits and internal control."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2010 Census will be the most expensive census in our nation's history, even after adjusting for inflation. The Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates that the life cycle cost of the 2010 Census will be from $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion. GAO was asked to (1) assess the extent to which the Bureau's 2010 Census life cycle cost estimate adheres to characteristics defined for high-quality cost estimation, (2) report on the relationship between the estimate and the Bureau's budget, and (3) assess whether the Bureau's existing policies and resources are sufficient to conduct cost estimation. To assess the reliability of the Bureau's cost estimate, GAO analyzed the Bureau's methods and approaches to determine if the estimate is well-documented, comprehensive, accurate, and credible."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the planned retirement of the space shuttle in 2010, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will face a cargo resupply shortfall for the International Space Station of approximately 40 metric tons between 2010 and 2015. NASA budgeted $500 million in seed money to commercial partners to develop new cargo transport capabilities through its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project. NASA used its other transaction authority to award agreements to commercial partners. These agreements are not federal government contracts, and are therefore generally not subject to federal laws and regulations that apply to federal government contracts. GAO previously reported concerns about whether COTS vehicles would be developed in time to meet the shortfall. Subsequently, GAO was directed by the explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, to examine NASA's management of the COTS project and its expenditures. In addition, GAO was asked to examine (1) NASA's reliance on commercial partners to meet the space station's cargo resupply needs; and (2) progress or challenges in developing commercial space transport capabilities. GAO analyzed NASA reports, briefings, and other information and held interviews with NASA and commercial …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Tax abuses by contractors working for the Department of Defense, on which GAO previously reported, have led to concerns about similar abuses by those hired by civilian agencies. GAO was asked to determine if similar problems exist at civilian agencies and, if so, to (1) quantify the amount of unpaid federal taxes owed by civilian agency contractors paid through the Financial Management Service (FMS), (2) identify any statutory or policy impediments and control weaknesses that impede tax collections under the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), and (3) determine whether there are indications of abusive or potential criminal activity by contractors with unpaid tax debts."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the General Services Administration's (GSA) efforts to ensure that the telecommunications systems it manages for the federal government are year 2000 compliant."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Aviation Hall of Fame for the years ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, focusing on whether the audit reports complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Agricultural Hall of Fame for the years ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Coal power plants generate about half of the United States' electricity and are expected to remain a key energy source. Coal power plants also account for about one-third of the nation's emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2 ), the primary greenhouse gas that experts believe contributes to climate change. Current regulatory efforts and proposed legislation that seek to reduce CO2 emissions could affect coal power plants. Two key technologies show potential for reducing CO2 emissions: (1) carbon capture and storage (CCS), which involves capturing and storing CO2 in geologic formations, and (2) plant efficiency improvements that allow plants to use less coal. The Department of Energy (DOE) plays a key role in accelerating the commercial availability of these technologies and devoted more than $600 million to them in fiscal year 2009. Congress asked GAO to examine (1) the maturity of these technologies; (2) their potential for commercial use, and any challenges to their use; and (3) possible implications of deploying these technologies. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed reports and interviewed stakeholders with expertise in coal technologies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Fund for Medical Education for the year ended December 31, 1998, focusing on whether the audit report complied with the financial reporting requirements of the law."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars each year at its national laboratories on advanced science, energy, and other research. To maximize the public's investment and to foster economic growth, federal laws and policies have encouraged the transfer of federally developed technologies to private firms, universities, and others to use or commercialize. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 further emphasized the role of such technologies for addressing the nation's energy, economic, and other challenges. Congress requested GAO to examine (1) the nature and extent of technology transfer at DOE's laboratories; (2) the extent to which DOE can measure the effectiveness of its technology transfer efforts; and (3) factors affecting, and approaches for improving, DOE's efforts. GAO analyzed documents and data and spoke with officials at DOE headquarters and all 17 DOE national laboratories."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2004, we issued our opinions on the calendar year 2003 financial statements of the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF), the Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF), and the FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF). We also issued our opinion on the effectiveness of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) internal controls as of December 31, 2003, and our evaluation of FDIC's compliance with significant provisions of selected laws and regulations for the three funds for the year ended December 31, 2003. The purpose of this report is to discuss issues identified during our audits of the 2003 financial statements regarding accounting procedures and internal controls that could be improved and to recommend improvements to address these issues. Although these issues were not material in relation to the financial statements, we believe they warrant management's attention. We conducted our audits in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards."