A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A large body of scientific evidence links exposure to particulate matter--a widespread form of air pollution--to serious health problems, including asthma and premature death. Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) periodically reviews the appropriate air quality level at which to set national standards to protect the public against the health effects of particulate matter. EPA proposed revisions to these standards in January 2006 and issued a draft regulatory impact analysis of the revisions' expected costs and benefits. The estimated benefits of air pollution regulations have been controversial in the past. A 2002 National Academies report generally supported EPA's approach but made 34 recommendations to improve how EPA implements its approach. GAO was asked to determine whether and how EPA applied the Academies' recommendations in its estimates of the health benefits expected from the January 2006 proposed revisions to the particulate matter standards. GAO examined the draft analysis, met with EPA officials, and interviewed members of the National Academies' committee. In providing technical comments on the report, EPA officials said it was fair and balanced and noted the agency's progress in addressing recommendations …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem that can have serious consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of intellectual property and personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue since 1997. Concerned by reports of significant vulnerabilities in federal computer systems, Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), which authorized and strengthened information security program, evaluation, and reporting requirements for federal agencies. In accordance with the FISMA requirement that the Comptroller General report periodically to Congress, GAO's objectives were to evaluate (1) the adequacy and effectiveness of agencies' information security policies and practices and (2) federal agencies' implementation of FISMA requirements. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed agency, inspectors general, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and GAO reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insures the retirement future of over 44 million people. As a federal guarantor of private defined benefit plans, PBGC finances its operations through insurance premiums, investment income, and funds from terminated pension plans. PBGC is governed by a board of directors comprised of the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, and Treasury, who are responsible for providing policy direction and oversight but often rely on board representatives. In 2004, PBGC began reviewing its investment policy biennially and recently decided to broaden the range of asset classes in which it invests. GAO reviewed PBGC's procedures for developing and implementing its investment policies, and examined PBGC's most recent investment policy. To address these issues, GAO reviewed and analyzed PBGC policies and data, assessed the analysis informing the recent policy change, and interviewed agency officials and other experts."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was unable to compare ELL enrollment in charter schools to ELL enrollment in traditional public schools because Education's only available data on school-level ELL enrollment were unreliable and incomplete. Specifically, for over one-third of charter schools, the field for reporting the counts of ELLs enrolled in ELL programs was left blank. These blank fields cannot reliably be interpreted to mean that the charter schools did not have ELLs enrolled. Education officials told us that these school-level ELL data do not have a data steward (that is, an office responsible for overseeing the quality of the data) and that the quality of the data is not examined on a regular basis. A definitional issue may have resulted in states excluding some students from the reported counts, and some charter schools may have failed to submit required data to their states. Education officials said they had not systematically studied charter school nonreporting but acknowledged that states sometimes have difficulty obtaining data from charter schools. Some charter schools with blank ELL counts were also missing data from other important datasets, such as those on school performance, which suggests potential broader …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged to halve the total number of undernourished people worldwide from the 1990 level---a commitment that they reaffirmed in 2000 when they established the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which included a target to halve the proportion or the percentage of the world's population that is undernourished by 2015. More than a decade later, however, the number of undernourished people has not decreased significantly, and about 850 million people, including 170 million children, remain undernourished, according to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Furthermore, the number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa has increased from about 170 million in the period of 1990 to 1992 to over 200 million in the period of 2001 to 2003. Since early 2007, food-related riots have occurred in 15 countries, including 7 in sub-Saharan Africa, leading both the UN Secretary-General and the head of the World Food Program (WFP) to express concern about the impact of chronic undernourishment, or food insecurity, on world peace and security. In January 2008, world leaders meeting …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has repeatedly expressed concerns about the pace of military operations and 10 U.S.C. 487 requires that the Department of Defense (DOD) annually report on personnel tempo--the time servicemembers spend away from home. Section 345 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 directed GAO to report on a number of Army and Marine Corps issues. For this report GAO addresses the extent to which (1) changes in mobilization and deployment policies have affected reserve component availability and provided an approach to meet the requirements for the global war on terrorism; and, (2) DOD, the Army, and the Marine Corps have collected, maintained, and reported complete and accurate personnel tempo data. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed data from DOD's Personnel Tempo and Contingency Tracking System databases, and interviewed agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires that states improve academic performance so that all students reach proficiency in reading and math by 2014 and that achievement gaps close among student groups. States set annual proficiency targets using an approach known as a status model, which calculates test scores 1 year at a time. Some states have interest in using growth models that measure changes in test scores over time to determine if schools are meeting proficiency targets. To determine the extent that growth models were consistent with NCLBA's goals, GAO assessed (1) the extent that states have used growth models to measure academic achievement, (2) the extent that growth models can measure progress in achieving key NCLBA goals, and (3) the challenges states may face in using growth models to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirements and how the Department of Education (Education) is assisting the states. To obtain this information, we conducted a national survey and site visits to 4 states. While growth models are typically defined as tracking the same students over time, GAO used a definition that also included tracking schools …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on a global network of defense critical infrastructure so essential that the incapacitation, exploitation, or destruction of an asset within this network could severely affect DOD's ability to deploy, support, and sustain its forces and operations worldwide and to implement its core missions, including current missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because of its importance to DOD operations, this defense critical infrastructure could be vulnerable to attacks by adversaries, and vulnerable to natural disasters and hazards, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Since September 2003, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs (ASD[HD&ASA]) has been responsible for developing and ensuring implementation of critical infrastructure protection policy and program guidance. To identify and help assure the availability of this mission-critical infrastructure, in August 2005 DOD established the Defense Critical Infrastructure Program (DCIP), assigning overall responsibility for the program to ASD(HD&ASA). In April 2008, DOD issued an instruction that further assigned responsibilities and prescribed procedures for the implementation of DCIP, among other things. In October 2008, DOD formalized the process for identifying and prioritizing its critical infrastructure. Since …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "While the Department of Defense (DOD) has made some progress in promoting communication among the several organizations responsible for accounting for missing persons--known collectively as the accounting community--DOD's capability and capacity to accomplish its missing persons accounting mission is being undermined by longstanding leadership weaknesses and a fragmented organizational structure. Leadership from the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD Policy) and U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) have not been able to resolve disagreements among accounting community members, thereby impacting DOD's ability to meet the mandated goal of increasing its capability and capacity to account for 200 missing persons a year by 2015. DOD averaged 72 identifications annually in the decade ending in 2012. GAO found the following areas of progress and continuing areas of weakness:"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of states allowing concealed carry permits is increasing, and states broadly differ in eligibility requirements and the extent to which they have reciprocity agreements. In June 2002, 7 states and the District of Columbia prohibited the concealed carry of handguns. As of March 2012, individuals can carry concealed handguns in all but 1 state (Illinois) and the District of Columbia. “Shall-issue” states—in which issuing authorities are required to issue a permit to an applicant that fulfills the objective statutory criteria— generally issue more permits than states with greater discretion in granting permits (“may-issue” states). Because of differing eligibility requirements, some states would issue a permit to an applicant, while others would not. For example, some states define what constitutes a disqualifying felony differently or have different firearms training requirements. As of March 2012, 39 states that issue permits and Vermont (permits not required) recognize concealed carry permits from other states. Of the 9 states that do not grant reciprocity, 8 are may-issue states."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program is intended to provide federal contracting opportunities to qualified small business firms in order to stimulate development in economically distressed areas. As manager of the HUBZone program, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is responsible for certifying whether firms meet HUBZone program requirements. To participate in the HUBZone program, small business firms must certify that their principal office (i.e., the location where the greatest number of employees work) is located in a HUBZone and that at least 35 percent of the firm's employees live in HUBZones. Given the Committee's concern over fraud and abuse in the HUBZone program, GAO was asked to (1) proactively test whether SBA's controls over the HUBZone application process were operating effectively to limit program certification to eligible firms and (2) identify examples of selected firms that participate in the HUBZone program even though they do not meet eligibility requirements. To perform its proactive testing, GAO created four bogus businesses with fictitious owners and employees and applied for HUBZone certification. GAO also selected 17 HUBZone firms based on certain criteria, such as receipt of HUBZone contracts, and investigated …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report examines selected logistics, funding, and readiness issues pertaining to the AH-64 Apache helicopter program. GAO found that the Apache's identified sustainment systems technical support requirements have not been fully met in fiscal years 2000 and 2001. In fiscal year 2000, funding fell short of the $28.6 million needed for Apache sustainment support. The military projects that it will be able to meet only 56 percent of the Apache's sustainment support requirements for fiscal years 2001-2003. Furthermore, because the Apache sustainment support projects must compete with other weapon systems for limited funding, some Apache projects have been delayed or limited in scope. GAO also found that the procurement of parts for the Apache is hampered by an outdated inventory system. The technical manuals used by field and depot personnel lack critical technical drawings and specifications, and the Army must resort to other methods, such as reverse engineering, to compensate for the lack of data. Finally, the Army has several unfunded requirements for Apache component upgrades for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. GAO found, however, that these issues have not prevented the Apache fleet from meeting …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed that the cost to complete assembly of the international space station has risen from $25 billion to $30 billion. Much of that cost growth is due to inadequate definition of requirements, changes in program content, schedule delays, and poor program oversight. Weaknesses in the program's cost-estimating process call into question the credibility of NASA's plans to carry out its budget through fiscal year 2006. The cost growth has also severely affected the space station's ability to conduct scientific research. NASA has instituted several management and cost-estimating reforms, including a life-cycle cost estimate, a program management plan, and a reprioritized science program. However, significant challenges remain. Preparation of the life-cycle cost estimate may be difficult because NASA's financial management system is unable to adequately track space station costs. Many tasks and studies being undertaken will not be completed until September 2002, leaving NASA with little time to incorporate its results into its budget for fiscal year 2004. Finally, NASA has yet to reach an agreement with its international partners on an acceptable on-orbit configuration, the sharing of research facilities, …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The decennial census is a Constitutionally-mandated activity that produces critical data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. The Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates the 2010 Census will cost $11.3 billion, making it the most expensive in the nation's history after adjusting for inflation. This testimony, based primarily on GAO's issued reports and preliminary observations from our ongoing work, discusses the extent to which the Bureau has (1) developed a comprehensive project plan with the most current cost data; (2) incorporated lessons learned from Dress Rehearsal activities; (3) managed automation and technology for the reengineered census; and (4) planned for an accurate census in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program provides federal contracting assistance to small firms located in economically distressed areas, with the intent of stimulating economic development. Questions have been raised about whether the program is targeting the locations and businesses that Congress intended to assist. This testimony focuses on (1) the criteria and process that SBA uses to identify and map HUBZone areas; (2) the mechanisms SBA uses to ensure that only eligible small businesses participate in the program; and (3) the actions SBA has taken to assess the results of the program and the extent to which federal agencies have met HUBZone contracting goals. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed statutory provisions as well as SBA, Census, and contracting data and interviewed SBA and other federal and local officials."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2001, the Army had 430,000 individually billed travel card accounts, and about $619 million in related charges. Most Army cardholders properly used their travel cards and promptly paid amounts owed. However, the Army's delinquency rate is higher than any other Department of Defense (DOD) component or executive branch agency. GAO also identified numerous instances of potentially fraudulent and abusive activity related to the travel cards. During fiscal year 2001, at least 200 Army employees wrote three or more nonsufficient funds or "bounced" checks to Bank of America as payment for their travel bills--potentially fraudulent acts. GAO found little evidence of documented disciplinary action against Army personnel who misused the card, or that Army travel program managers or supervisors were even aware that travel cards were being used for personal use. For fiscal year 2001, the Army had significant breakdowns in key internal controls over individually billed travel cards that stemmed from a weak overall environment, flawed policies and procedures, and a lack of adherence to valid policies and procedures. These breakdowns contributed to the significant delinquencies and charge-offs of Army employee account balances and potentially …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's three-stage approach for addressing the federal government's human capital challenges. First, agencies must take all administrative steps available to them under current laws and regulations to manage their people for results. While much of what agencies need to accomplish these steps is already available to them, they will need the sustained commitment from top management and the support from both the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to do so. Second, the Administration and Congress should pursue selected legislative opportunities to put new tools and flexibilities in place that will help agencies attract, motivate, and retain employees--both overall and, especially, in connection with critical occupations. Third, all interested parties should work together to determine the nature and extent of more comprehensive human capital (or civil service) reforms that should be enacted over time. These reforms should include placing greater emphasis on skills, knowledge, and performance in connection with federal employment and compensation decisions, rather than the passage of time and rate of inflation, as is often the case today."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Small and start-up businesses are principal sources of innovation and are vital to U.S. economic growth. Statistics show that small business created more than 5.5 million new jobs in the United States during the 1990s. In the current global economy, protecting innovations in the United States and abroad is an important component of small businesses' ability to develop overseas markets. The cost of obtaining, maintaining, and enforcing foreign patents is the most significant foreign patent impediment that small businesses encounter. GAO found that obtaining patents abroad is costly for several reasons: (1) companies typically seek patents in several other countries simultaneously and incur costs in each location, (2) some foreign patent office fees are substantially higher than corresponding U.S. Patent and Trademark Office fees, and (3) foreign patent laws and requirements are complex and difficult to understand causing companies to incur substantial U.S. and foreign legal fees. The businesses GAO surveyed said that the impediments they encounter have discouraged or prevented them from obtaining as much foreign patent protection as they would like. Large businesses are better equipped to deal with foreign patent impediments because they …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent news articles in over 30 states and prominent mental health advocacy organizations have described the difficulty many parents have in accessing mental health services for their children. As these reports documented, some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the mental health services that their children need. Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs asked GAO to testify on: (1) the number and characteristics of children voluntarily placed in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to receive mental health services, (2) the factors that influence such placements, and (3) promising state and local practices that may reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice placements. This testimony is based on our April 2003 report on the results of a study addressing these same objectives. For that report, we surveyed state child welfare directors in all states and the District of Columbia and juvenile justice officials in 33 counties in the 17 states with the largest populations of children under age 18. We surveyed juvenile justice officials at the …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "About 43,000 traffic fatalities occur annually, and another 290,000 people are seriously injured on the nation's roads. To reduce these numbers, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) nearly doubled funding for the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), authorizing $5.1 billion for 2006 through 2009. SAFETEA-LU also added requirements for states to develop strategic highway safety plans that cover all aspects of highway safety, including infrastructure, behavioral (education and enforcement), and emergency medical services projects; develop crash data analysis systems; and publicly report on the top 5 percent of hazardous locations on all their public roads. SAFETEA-LU also set aside funds for a legacy rail-highway crossing program and a new high-risk rural road program. This testimony provides preliminary information on the implementation of HSIP since SAFETEA-LU. It is based on ongoing work that addresses (1) states' implementation of HSIP following SAFETEA-LU, (2) FHWA's guidance and assistance for states, and (3) results of HSIP to date, including for the two set-aside programs. To conduct this study, GAO visited 6 states, judgmentally selected based on highway safety attributes, analyzed plans …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Tax-exempt organizations seeking to influence political elections--called Section 527 organizations--are estimated to spend millions of dollars annually in federal elections. These organizations use unregulated "soft money" for issue advocacy, such as sponsoring an advertisement that supports or opposes a candidate's position on an issue. Although all states require these groups to publicly release data on their finances and activities, no central source for such data exists. In July 2000, Congress passed legislation requiring Section 527 organizations to provide data on their purposes, officers, contributors, and expenses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for public disclosure. IRS has established a website for this purpose, but GAO found that the website is difficult to use, and most of the disclosed data are not electronically searchable and downloadable--which can inhibit timely analysis of the relationship between political organizations and the influence of soft money on federal campaigns. IRS has done little to oversee Section 527 organizations' compliance with the law's filing and reporting requirements. As a result, IRS can provide four assurances that the data it disclosed on its website are timely, complete, and correct. IRS officials said that …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicare payments for ambulance services in rural areas, focusing on: (1) the challenges faced by rural ambulance providers; (2) how the upcoming fee schedule will affect rural providers relative to their current situation; and (3) what factors have affected claim denial rates for ambulance services."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2006, the federal government spent over $400 billion for a wide variety of goods and services, with the Department of Defense (DOD) being the largest purchaser. Given the large and growing structural deficit, the government must get the best return it can on its investment in goods and services. For decades, GAO has reported on a number of systemic challenges in agencies' acquisition of goods and services. These challenges are so significant and wide-ranging that GAO has designated four areas of contract management across the government to be high-risk. This testimony highlights four key acquisition challenges agencies face: (1) separating wants from needs, (2) establishing and supporting realistic program requirements, (3) using contractors in appropriate circumstances and contracts as a management tool, and (4) creating a capable workforce and holding it accountable."