Letter from Michael M. Silva to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) which contains newspaper clippings from the Fairbanks Daily News Miner regarding Eielson Air Force Base. Silva argues in favor of closing bases if doing so is in the country's best interest, as opposed to private economic interests.

Congress has passed legislation to facilitate the reemployment of workers who through no fault of their own are let go by their employers. Among these laws is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, P.L. 100-379, enacted in 1988. This report discusses the WARN Act in brief, especially as related to Congress's renewed interest in the Act due to the current financial crises and recession.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Farmers receive about $20 billion annually in federal farm program payments, which go to individuals and "entities," including corporations, partnerships, and estates. Under certain conditions, estates may receive payments for the first 2 years after an individual's death. For later years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine that the estate is not being kept open for payments. As requested, GAO evaluated the extent to which USDA (1) follows its regulations that are intended to provide reasonable assurance that farm program payments go only to eligible estates and (2) makes improper payments to deceased individuals. GAO reviewed a nonrandom sample of estates based, in part, on the amount of payments an estate received and compared USDA's databases that identify payment recipients with individuals the Social Security Administration listed as deceased."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress appropriated $205 million to the Forest Service for fiscal year 2001 to reduce hazardous accumulated fuels. In an effort to put as much of these appropriated monies on the ground as quickly as possible in fiscal year 2001, the Forest Service identified and funded those hazardous fuel reduction projects for which it had completed the necessary environmental analyses. As of July 2001, the Forest Service had completed the necessary environmental analyses to implement 1,671 hazardous fuel reduction projects in fiscal year 2001. Of those, 20 had been appealed, and none had been litigated. Appellants included environmental groups and individuals."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. Although FEMA did not attain all of its goals for selected key outcomes in its fiscal year 2000 annual performance report, FEMA did make progress toward achieving the outcomes. FEMA's progress varied for each outcome, and the information presented in the performance report did not always provide enough information to allow an independent assessment of FEMA's progress in achieving the outcome. In general, FEMA's strategies for achieving these key outcomes appeared to be clear and reasonable. Although FEMA has more work to do on the outcomes GAO reviewed, its fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan reflect continued improvement compared with the prior year's report and plan. FEMA has refined its performance goals and made them more outcome oriented. FEMA's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan generally addressed the management challenges GAO cited in earlier reports. The report and plan indicate that FEMA has taken some actions …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Mutual fund investments represent more than 20 percent of Americans' pension plan assets. Since late 2003, two abusive trading practices in mutual funds have come to light. Late trading allowed some investors to illegally place orders for funds after the close of trading. Market timing allowed some investors to take advantage of temporary disparities between the value of a fund and the value of its underlying assets despite stated policies against such trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed regulations intended to stop late trading and reduce market timing. We were asked to (1) report on what is known about how these practices have affected the value of retirement savings of pension plan participants, (2) describe the actions taken by SEC and the Department of Labor (DOL) to address these practices, and (3) explain how plan participants may be affected by SEC's proposed regulations."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under section 1308 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (P.L. 106-398), the Department of Defense (DOD) is to submit an annual report to Congress on its Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program no later than the first Monday in February of each year. The report should include a 5-year plan that discusses the amount and purpose of funding needed over the term of the plan and a description of efforts conducted by the United States to ensure that CTR assistance is fully accounted for and used for its intended purposes. The act requires the Comptroller General to assess this 5-year plan and the description of efforts to account for CTR assistance within 90 days of the report's submission to Congress. The Department submitted its CTR annual report for fiscal year 2005 to Congress in early February 2004, and we briefed Congressional staff on April 29, 2004. We analyzed the 2005 report to determine whether (1) the 5-year plan addresses legislative requirements and presents accurate information, (2) the accountability section addresses legislative requirements and presents accurate information, and (3) past GAO recommendations have been adopted."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues regulations to strengthen aviation safety and security and to promote the efficient use of airspace. FAA's rulemaking is a complicated process intended to ensure that all aspects of any regulatory change are fully analyzed before any change goes into effect. During the last 40 years, many reports have documented problems in FAA's rulemaking efforts that have delayed the formulation and finalization of its rules. This report reviews FAA's rulemaking process. GAO reviewed 76 significant rules and found that FAA's rulemaking process varied widely. These rules constituted the majority of FAA's workload of significant rules from fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 2000. GAO found that FAA had begun about 60 percent of the rulemaking projects by Congress and about a third of the rulemaking projects recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board within six months. For one-fourth of the mandates and one-third of the recommendations however, at least five years passed before FAA began the process. Once the rule was formally initiated, FAA took a median time of two and a half years to proceed from formal initiation of the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has experienced significant financial problems in recent years. BPA's cash reserves at the end of fiscal year 2002 had fallen to $188 million, and BPA estimated in February 2003 that it had a 74 percent chance of missing its Treasury debt payment that year. While BPA's finances have recently improved, and the agency made its Treasury payment in 2003, BPA's financial condition is still far from robust. In this context, GAO was asked to report on (1) the advantages and disadvantages BPA faces in marketing electric power in a more competitive environment, (2) the major causes of BPA's recent cost increases, and (3) the extent to which BPA is taking actions to control its costs."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of a 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendation, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is charged with consolidating supply, storage, and distribution functions at 13 military service depot maintenance locations to streamline operations and save money. The BRAC Commission data indicate that these consolidations would generate net savings of nearly $1 billion through 2011 and about $137 million annually thereafter. Because these actions could affect depot maintenance operations, the conference report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to assess implementation issues associated with the consolidations. GAO's objectives were to assess (1) DLA's progress and challenges to implement these consolidation actions and (2) the extent to which DLA's most recent cost and savings estimates related to these consolidations differ from those of the BRAC Commission. To meet these objectives, GAO visited three depot locations where consolidation actions had begun, interviewed service and DLA officials, and analyzed estimated cost and savings data."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Critical infrastructure protection (CIP) activities called for in federal policy and law are intended to enhance the security of the public and private infrastructures that are essential to our nation's security, economic security, and public health and safety. Effective information-sharing partnerships between industry sectors and government can contribute to CIP efforts. Federal policy has encouraged the voluntary creation of information sharing and analysis centers (ISAC) to facilitate infrastructure sector participation in CIP information sharing efforts. GAO was asked to identify actions that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could take to improve the effectiveness of CIP information-sharing efforts."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a Congressional request that GAO report on the status of our recommendations relating to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) oversight of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and investor education. As requested, this letter also includes information on SIPC's progress in implementing SEC's recommendations from its January 2003 examination of SIPC and the status of excess SIPC coverage. Specifically, GAO'S objectives were to (1) determine the status of our recommendations to SEC and SIPC from our two previous reports on SIPC, (2) review recent actions SIPC has taken to address recommendations from the 2003 SEC examination report, and (3) determine the status of excess SIPC coverage after three U.S. insurers ceased offering the product."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In past years, the federal government has annually distributed over $300 billion in federal assistance through grant programs using formulas driven in part by census population data. Of the more than $580 billion in additional federal spending, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will obligate an estimated additional $161 billion to federal grant programs for fiscal year 2009. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) puts forth tremendous effort to conduct an accurate count of the nation's population, yet some error in the form of persons missed or counted more than once is inevitable. Because many federal grant programs rely to some degree on population measures, shifts in population, inaccuracies in census counts, and methodological problems with population estimates can all affect the allocation of funds. This testimony discusses (1) how census data are used in the allocation of federal formula grant funds and (2) how the structure of the formulas and other factors can affect those allocations. This is based primarily on GAO's issued work on various formula grant programs and the allocation of federal funds."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 491 U.S. coal-fired power plants are the largest unregulated industrial source of mercury emissions nationwide, annually emitting about 48 tons of mercury--a toxic element that poses health threats, including neurological disorders in children. In 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that mercury emissions from these sources should be regulated, but the agency has not set a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard, as the Clean Air Act requires. Some power plants, however, must reduce mercury emissions to comply with state laws or consent decrees. After managing a long-term mercury control research and development program, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported in 2008 that systems that inject sorbents--powdery substances to which mercury binds--into the exhaust from boilers of coal-fired power plants were ready for commercial deployment. Tests of sorbent injection systems, the most mature mercury control technology, were conducted on a variety of coal types and boiler configurations--that is, on boilers using different air pollution control devices. This testimony provides preliminary data from GAO's ongoing work on (1) reductions achieved by mercury control technologies and the extent of their use at coal-fired power plants, (2) the cost …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Title III of the proposed Department of Homeland Security legislation would task the new department with developing national policy and coordinating the federal government's research and development efforts for responding to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. It would also transfer to the new department responsibility for certain research and development programs and other activities, including those of the Department of Energy (DOE). If properly implemented, this proposed legislation could lead to a more efficient, effective and coordinated research effort that would provide technology to protect our people, borders, and critical infrastructure. However, the proposed legislation does not specify that a critical role of the new department will be to establish collaborative relationships with programs at all levels of government and to develop a strategic plan for research and development to implement the national policy it is charged with developing. In addition, the proposed legislation is not clear on the role of the new department in setting standards for the performance and interoperability of new technologies so that users can be confident that the technologies they are purchasing will perform as intended. Some of the proposed transfers of …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Water and energy are inexorably linked--energy is needed to pump, treat, and transport water and large quantities of water are needed to support the development of energy. However, both water and energy may face serious constraints as demand for these vital resources continues to rise. Two examples that demonstrate the link between water and energy are the cultivation and conversion of feedstocks, such as corn, switchgrass, and algae, into biofuels; and the production of electricity by thermoelectric power plants, which rely on large quantities of water for cooling during electricity generation. At the request of this committee, GAO has undertaken three ongoing studies focusing on the water-energy nexus related to (1) biofuels and water, (2) thermoelectric power plants and water, and (3) oil shale and water. For this testimony, GAO is providing key themes that have emerged from its work to date on the research and development and data needs with regard to the production of biofuels and electricity and their linkage with water. GAO's work on oil shale is in its preliminary stages and further information will be available on this aspect of the energy-water nexus later …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses federal agency processes for approval of state information technology (IT) projects supporting state-administered federal human services programs. Federal approval and funding processes for state IT development and acquisition projects for the Child Support Enforcement, Child Welfare, and Food Stamps programs require the establishment of federal funding participation rates, the documentation that states must submit, and the time frames in which the federal agency must respond to the request. Assessment of the federal approval and funding process requires complete and reliable data that track a request from agency receipt until the agency finally approves or disapproves the request. However, such information is not readily available and the process cannot be thoroughly assessed because (1) the system used by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) headquarters to manage the approval process does not track the life cycle of a request and (2) the Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) and CMS regional offices do not have a central tracking system. However, in a vast majority of cases, agencies responded to states' IT planning and acquisition …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Title III of the proposed Homeland Security Act of 2002 would transfer responsibility for certain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear research and development programs and activities to the new department. The proposed Department of Homeland Security would develop national policy for, and coordination of, the federal government's civilian research and development efforts to counter chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. Although the new department could improve coordination of existing research and development programs, the proposed transfer of control and priority setting for research from the organizations where the research would be conducted could be disruptive. Transferring control over these programs, including priority setting, to the new department has the potential to disrupt some programs that are critical to basic public health. The President's proposal is not clear on how both the homeland security and the biomedical research objectives would be accomplished. However, if an agency's mission fits with homeland security, its transfer to the new department is appropriate."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On June 18, the President transmitted draft legislation to Congress for the creation of a Department of Homeland Security to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recovery from attacks that do occur. As proposed, functions of the Homeland Security Department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Division would include (1) receiving and analyzing law enforcement information, intelligence, and other information to detect and identify potential threats; (2) assessing the vulnerabilities of the key resources and critical infrastructures; (3) developing a comprehensive national plan for securing these resources and infrastructures; and (4) taking necessary measures to protect these resources and infrastructures, in coordination with other executive agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector. To create this division, six federal organizations that currently play a pivotal role in the protection of national critical infrastructures would be transferred to the new department. Potential benefits for this division include more efficient, effective, and coordinated programs; better control of funding through a single appropriation for the new department and through establishing budget priorities for transferred functions based on their homeland security …

This report discusses legislation related to the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act (H.R. 1886), the Afghanistan-Pakistan Security and Prosperity Enhancement Act (H.R. 1318), and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410). It also discusses the Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones Act (S. 496). The report also discusses how this legislation represents a political and symbolic importance for U.S. relationships with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This report discusses the current state of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its current relationship with the United States, and future initiatives to further develop U.S.-Saudi relations.

This report provides an overview discussion on the modernization of U.S. military tactical aircraft, meaning fighter aircraft, strike-fighters, and attack planes. This CRS report discusses and presents FY2010 legislative activity on issues relating to U.S. tactical aircraft in general. For several years now, a central issue relating to tactical aircraft in general has been the overall affordability of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) plans for modernizing the tactical aircraft force. A second key issue concerns the future of the U.S. industrial base for designing and manufacturing tactical aircraft.

Iran is subject to a wide range of U.S. sanctions, restricting trade with, investment, and U.S. foreign aid to Iran, and requiring the United States to vote against international lending to Iran. A formal U.S. effort to curb international energy investment in Iran began in 1996 with the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). ISA was first passed at a time of tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran. Most notable was a 1995 ban on U.S. trade with and investment in Iran. That ban has since been modified slightly to allow for some bilateral trade in luxury and humanitarian-related goods. In the 110th Congress, two bills passed the House (H.R. 1400 and H.R. 7112) that would add several ISA provisions.

The United States and Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 1991; it entered into force in December 1994 and is due to expire in December 2009. The United States and Russia have held several meetings to discuss options for continuing their arms control relationship. This report provides background information about the START Treaty and reviews the discussions about a possible successor to START. It also presents a range of alternatives that the United States and Russia might consider if they choose to follow START with a new framework for the arms control process.