A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the face of growing demand for veterans' health care, GAO and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) have raised concerns about the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) ability to maximize its third-party collections to supplement its medical care appropriation. GAO has testified that inadequate patient intake procedures, insufficient documentation by physicians, a shortage of qualified billing coders, and insufficient automation diminished VA's collections. In turn, the OIG reported that VA missed opportunities to bill, had billing backlogs, and did inadequate follow-up on bills. While VA has made improvements in these areas, GAO was asked to review internal control activities over third-party billings and collections at selected medical centers to assess whether they were designed and implemented effectively."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal years 2008-2012, $52.4 billion was appropriated out of the $62.2 billion authorized under the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act of 2007 (COMPETES 2007) and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (COMPETES 2010). Almost all of these funds went to the entire budgets of three existing research entities--the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science (Science)--including all of the programs and activities the entities carry out. Appropriations for NSF, NIST, and Science generally increased under the acts but did not reach levels authorized by the acts. In addition to authorizing the budgets of these entities, COMPETES 2007 and COMPETES 2010 specifically authorized funding for 40 individual programs, including some programs within and some outside of these entities. Among those 40 programs, the 12 programs that existed before COMPETES 2007 received appropriations and continue to operate. Six of 28 newly authorized programs were also funded. Of these 6 programs, 1--DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, set up to develop new energy technologies--is continuing operations, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine destroyed the reactor building and released massive amounts of radioactive contamination. A temporary shelter was built over the damaged reactor to prevent further contamination. The United States is a major donor to an international project to build a new shelter to replace the existing one, which is badly deteriorating. GAO was asked to (1) assess the progress toward completing the new shelter, (2) review the cost estimates to complete the project, and (3) assess the U.S. role in overseeing and funding the project. To carry out its work, GAO analyzed program documents, interviewed U.S. and international program officials, and visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Treasury announced changes in January 2012 to its Making Home Affordable (MHA) programs, which are funded by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), to address barriers to borrower participation. These changes include expanding eligibility criteria and extending application deadlines through 2013. Not enough time has passed to assess the extent to which these changes will increase participation. Several large servicers were not able to fully implement the changes by the June 1, 2012, effective date, and servicers that GAO queried had mixed views about possible effects. Treasury consulted with servicers, investors, and federal banking regulators before implementing the changes but did not perform a comprehensive risk assessment for the changes or develop meaningful performance measures in accordance with standards for internal control. As a result, Treasury may have difficulty mitigating potential risks, such as an increase in redefaults or the misuse of funds; effectively assessing program outcomes; or holding servicers accountable."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From August 2005 to September 2010, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded five contracts to reconstruct a major coastal road in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Three of the contracts were for construction, one contract was for design and supervision, and one contract was for project management. Several factors delayed the road’s completion and increased costs. For example, according to USAID, when one contractor did not make acceptable progress, the agency reduced the scope of work, terminated construction of an 8-mile road section, and hired another contractor to complete the section. Other factors included the Indonesian government’s difficulty in acquiring land for the road and local opposition to the new road alignment."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, the United States spends billions of dollars on space-based systems to support national security activities. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to develop and issue a space science and technology (S&T) strategy every 2 years addressing S&T goals and a process for achieving these goals, among other requirements. As GAO is required to assess the strategy, this report addresses (1) the extent to which the strategy meets the statutory requirements, (2) if other approaches could be used to enhance the usefulness of the strategy, and (3) the extent of coordination efforts used in developing the strategy. GAO reviewed the strategy for sufficiency with statutory requirements and met with DOD and DNI officials to discuss the analyses and coordination used to support the content of the strategy. GAO also compared the strategy to strategic planning best practices to see if there are ways it could be improved."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The number of Medicare prostate cancer-related intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) services performed by self-referring groups increased rapidly, while declining for non-self-referring groups from 2006 to 2010. Over this period, the number of prostate cancer-related IMRT services performed by self-referring groups increased from about 80,000 to 366,000. Consistent with that growth, expenditures associated with these services and the number of self-referring groups also increased. The growth in services performed by self-referring groups was due entirely to limited-specialty groups--groups comprised of urologists and a small number of other specialties--rather than multispecialty groups."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 seeks to ensure equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, transportation, and other matters. ADA sets minimum standards for the accessibility of public transportation systems. For example, for persons unable to use a fixed-route bus or rail system due to disability, transit systems must provide service within three-quarters of a mile of the fixed-route service and during the same hours as the fixed-route service. In February 2001, the Bush Administration announced the New Freedom Initiative, a comprehensive program intended to extend and enhance efforts begun under ADA to help bring Americans with disabilities into mainstream life. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 there were about 40 million noninstitutionalized persons over the age of 5 with one or more disabilities. In August 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the New Freedom program, to be administered by the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This program is designed to support new public transportation services and public transportation alternatives beyond those required by ADA. Congress appropriated $77.2 million for the New …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to Congress' request of June 22, 2005, that we provide answers to questions relating to our June 14 testimony on the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). At the June hearing, we discussed the estimates of government paperwork burden provided in the annual PRA report (known as the Information Collection Budget) that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released, as well as results from our report on agencies' PRA processes and compliance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 127a, title 10 of the United States Code provides the Department of Defense (DOD) with two options for funding nontraining deployments and operations when Congress has not provided funds in advance. These options involve waiving reimbursements for support services and transferring amounts from other DOD accounts. Section 127a prescribes specific procedures to be followed by DOD when these funding options are used; requires DOD to notify Congress of and report on certain new contingency operations; and states that the Comptroller General of the United States shall from time to time, and when requested by a Committee of Congress, conduct a review to determine whether DOD is complying with the statutory requirements and limitations. GAO found that DOD has complied with the requirements contained in section 127a. Since the current notification and reporting requirements of section 127a were enacted in 1996, DOD has provided congressional notification for four operations, involving Bosnia, Kosovo, hurricane relief in Central America, and East Timor. DOD has rarely used the funding options provided in section 127a. It used the section 127a funding option allowing waiver of reimbursement for units providing support once, for …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to protect U.S. forces stationed overseas from terrorist attacks, focusing on: (1) the extent to which DOD has made improvements to its antiterrorism/force protection program overseas; (2) changes in DOD's process for assessing and reporting vulnerability at overseas installations; and (3) the adequacy of antiterrorism/force protection funding and staff."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Pakistan is central to U.S. efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and deny its resurgence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The United States has sought to secure these interests through counterterrorism and counterinsurgency cooperation, as well as through a long-term partnership anchored, in part, by increased civilian and military assistance. Since fiscal year 2002, the U.S. government has provided the Pakistani government almost $21 billion in assistance and reimbursements toward these goals. However, al Qaeda and other terrorists and violent extremists continue to promote instability and use safe havens in Pakistan's western border region to plan and train for attacks against U.S. interests. At the same time, the United States continues to be concerned with the ongoing effect of A. Q. Khan's illicit transfer of nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. To address these and other concerns, in October 2009, Congress enacted the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, which, among other things, limits certain security-related assistance to Pakistan each fiscal year from 2011 through 2014. Before the United States can provide security-related assistance to Pakistan in each of those fiscal years, the Secretary …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the years, the Department of Defense's (DOD) military compensation system has become an increasingly complex and piecemeal accretion of pays, allowances, benefits, and special tax preferences. DOD leaders have expressed concern that rising compensation costs may not be sustainable in the future and could crowd out other important investments needed to recapitalize equipment and infrastructure. Given the looming fiscal challenges facing the nation in the 21st century, GAO believes it is time for a baseline review of all federal programs to ensure that they are efficiently meeting their objectives. Under the Comptroller General's authority, GAO (1) assessed whether DOD's approach to compensation provides adequate transparency over costs; (2) identified recent trends in active duty compensation, and how costs have been allocated to cash and benefits; and (3) reviewed how active duty servicemembers perceive their compensation and whether DOD has effectively explained the value of the military compensation package to its members."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the the Department of Defense's (DOD) initiatives to change export and procurement policies and procedures that relate to the transfer or sale of defense articles and services that may have national security implications."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has shown that cross-matching or data sharing can be a valuable management and oversight practice. The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) already has the right to access Social Security Administration's (SSA) data. However, such access is subject to SSA's approval--the Code of Federal Regulations provides that "OWCP may verify the earnings reported by the employee through a variety of means, including by not limited to computer matches with the Office of Personnel Management and inquiries to SSA." Prior GAO work has demonstrated the importance of, and potential savings from, checking applicants' and beneficiaries' initial and continuing eligibility for federal benefits by verifying the economic information they provide with independent, third-party sources."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In GAO's opinion, the financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission (the Commission) as of September 30, 2012 and 2011, and for the fiscal years then ended, are presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. However, GAO found two material weaknesses that resulted in ineffective internal control over financial reporting. GAO also found one area of noncompliance with laws and regulations it tested."

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 "In its contingency operations since the early 1990s, the Department of Defense (DOD) has relied extensively on logistics support contractors to provide many of the supplies and services needed by deployed U.S. forces. As requested, GAO assessed DOD's planning in its use of logistics support contracts in contingency operations; determined whether DOD has had contract oversight processes that are adequate to ensure that quality services were provided in an economical and efficient manner; and assessed the extent to which DOD provided trained personnel qualified to oversee its contractors. GAO focused its efforts on four logistics support contracts chosen because of their size and chosen to represent more than one military service--the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) and Balkans Support Contract, the Navy's Construction Capabilities Augmentation Program, and the Air Force's Contract Augmentation Program."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States and Canada share a border of nearly 5,525 miles. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for securing the borders while facilitating trade and travel. CBP launched the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program in 2002 to expedite processing for pre-vetted, low-risk shipments. GAO was requested to assess U.S.-Canadian border delays. This report addresses the following for U.S. northern border land ports of entry: (1) the extent to which wait times data are reliable and reported trends in wait times, (2) any actions CBP has taken to reduce wait times and any challenges that remain, and (3) the extent to which CBP and FAST participants experience the benefits of the FAST program. GAO analyzed CBP information and data on staffing, infrastructure, wait times, training, and the FAST program from 2003 through 2009 to analyze operations. GAO visited six northern border land ports, which were primarily selected based on commercial traffic volume. GAO interviewed importers, trade organizations, and border stakeholders. The results are not generalizable, but provide insights."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During our audit of the DIF’s 2011 and 2010 financial statements, we identified deficiencies in controls over FDIC’s process for deriving and reporting estimates of losses to the DIF from resolution transactions involving shared loss agreements. While these deficiencies, individually and collectively, did not constitute a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting, they nevertheless increased the risk of additional undetected errors or irregularities in the DIF’s financial statements. Thus, these control deficiencies collectively represented a significant deficiency in FDIC’s internal control over financial reporting for the DIF related to estimating losses from shared loss agreements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO earlier reported that unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) could not meet the aviation safety requirements developed for manned aircraft and posed several obstacles to operating safely and routinely in the national airspace system. These include 1) the inability for UAS to detect, sense, and avoid other aircraft and airborne objects in a manner similar to “see and avoid” by a pilot in a manned aircraft; 2) vulnerabilities in the command and control of UAS operations; 3) the lack of technological and operational standards needed to guide the safe and consistent performance of UAS; and 4) the lack of final regulations to accelerate the safe integration of UAS into the national airspace. GAO stated in 2008 that Congress should consider creating an overarching body within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address obstacles for routine access. FAA’s Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) has taken on a similar role. FAA has implemented GAO’s two recommendations related to its planning and data analysis efforts to facilitate integration."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010 authorized the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DOD) to establish a 5-year demonstration project to integrate VA and DOD medical care into a first-of-its- kind Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois. Expectations for the FHCC are outlined in an Executive Agreement signed by VA and DOD in April 2010. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010 also directed GAO to annually evaluate various aspects of the FHCC integration. This report examines (1) what progress VA and DOD have made implementing the Executive Agreement to establish and operate the FHCC and (2) what plan, if any, VA and DOD have to assess FHCC provision of care and operations. GAO reviewed FHCC documents and conducted visits to the site; interviewed VA, DOD, and FHCC officials; and reviewed related GAO work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The three lead Air Force major commands—Air Mobility Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Air Combat Command—all utilize training requirements review boards composed of subject-matter experts to determine training requirements for specific aircraft. These boards determine which training requirements can be completed in live or virtual environments based upon factors such as specific combatant command mission requirements and the capabilities of fielded simulators and networks. All three commands use a combination of live and virtual approaches, but the mix varies by aircraft. For example, Air Combat Command specifies that approximately 25 percent of its training requirements could be met virtually. The other two commands conduct approximately 50 percent of their training virtually."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In October 2003, an envelope marked "Caution: Ricin Poison" was discovered at an airmail facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Ricin is a poison that, in certain forms, can cause death. The U.S. Postal Service has emphasized to its employees to be on the alert for "suspicious mail" that may pose a threat and has developed guidance for them on how to identify and respond to such mail, in order to protect them from harm. Postal inspectors and emergency responders help in the responses to suspicious mail by performing an initial assessment of the threat it poses. This report describes (1) actions taken by various agencies, in responding to the incident, to protect the health of postal employees and the public; (2) Postal Service guidance related to suspicious mail in place in October 2003 and the extent to which it was followed during the incident; and (3) subsequent changes made in this guidance and the extent to which current guidance addresses issues raised by the incident."