Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The purpose of this report is to present internal control and compliance issues identified during our audit of IRS's financial statements as of, and for the fiscal year ending, September 30, 2009, for which we do not already have any recommendations outstanding. Although not all of these issues were discussed in our report on the results of our fiscal year 2009 financial statement audit, they all warrant IRS management's attention."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) requires that we annually audit the financial statements of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which is implemented by the Office of Financial Stability (OFS). On December 9, 2009, we issued our audit report including (1) an unqualified opinion on OFS's financial statements for TARP as of and for the period ended September 30, 2009, and (2) an opinion that OFS maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009. We also reported that our tests of OFS's compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations for the period ended September 30, 2009, disclosed no instances of noncompliance. Our December 9, 2009, audit report concluded that although certain internal controls could be improved, OFS maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2009, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the financial statements would be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Our audit report also identified two significant deficiencies in OFS's internal control over financial reporting. This report presents (1) more …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 2008 to 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate increased significantly from 5.3 percent to 9.2 percent, leaving many Americans jobless and at risk of losing their employer-sponsored health care. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and subsequent amendments, employees who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and May 31, 2010, became eligible to continue their health care coverage for up to 15 months at reduced rates. Previously, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) allowed certain former employees to maintain health coverage by paying the entire cost of coverage. Under ARRA, former employees pay 35 percent of insurance premiums while employers pay the remaining 65 percent. Employers are reimbursed through a tax credit against their payroll tax liability or through a tax refund if the credit exceeds their payroll tax liability. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost of this program to the federal government would be $25.1 billion. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as of March 20, 2010, employers had claimed approximately $2.2 billion in COBRA credits. Employers claiming COBRA credits use quarterly or annual payroll tax …

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 …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent terrorist events such as the attempted bomb attacks in New York's Times Square and aboard an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 are reminders that national security challenges have expanded beyond the traditional threats of the Cold War Era to include unconventional threats from nonstate actors. Today's threats are diffuse and ambiguous, making it difficult--if not impossible--for any single federal agency to address them alone. Effective collaboration among multiple agencies and across federal, state, and local governments is critical. This testimony highlights opportunities to strengthen interagency collaboration by focusing on four key areas: (1) developing overarching strategies, (2) creating collaborative organizations, (3) developing a well-trained workforce, and (4) improving information sharing. It is based on GAO's body of work on interagency collaboration."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Nonprofit organizations, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), play an important role in providing a wide range of public services. To provide these services, these organizations rely on funding through federal grants and contracts, among other sources. Just as it is important for federal agencies to be held accountable for the efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars, it is also important for these nonprofit organizations to be held accountable for their use of federal funds. ACORN was established in 1970 as a grassroots organization to advocate for low-income families. By 2009, ACORN reportedly had 500,000 members and had expanded into a national network of organizations involved in the development of affordable housing, foreclosure counseling, voter registration, and political mobilization, among other things. ACORN organizations relied on membership dues and on federal and private foundation funding to support various activities. Voter registration fraud allegations in a number of states and widely distributed videotapes depicting what appeared to be inappropriate behavior by employees of several local ACORN chapters spurred calls to identify federal funding provided to ACORN and ACORN-related organizations and for legislation to …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO testified before a Congressional subcommittee on April 28, 2010, to discuss current issues related to military compensation. This letter responds questions for the record from the hearing. (1) Is the ECI an appropriate index to use to adjust military basic pay rates annually? If not, is there a benchmark that is more appropriate? (2) Please explain what the impact on the Defense budget would be if Congress directed an increase in the pay raise by one percent, or half a percent without offsets. (3) Is there a better metric than the ECI to gauge what an annual pay raise should be? (4) Does the current pay table need adjustment? (5) What do you think the effect of reducing the requirement for entitlement to retired pay below 20 years would be on the ability to retain the personnel we need in leadership positions in the Armed Forces? (6) Last year, the Navy Exchange Service Command generated more than $45 million in dividends. These figures seem to indicate that commissary and exchange benefits are not especially costly to DOD and that service members place a high value on these …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Press accounts in 2009 indicated that some federal agencies had issued directives to their staff discouraging them from choosing certain locations for conferences. This was because of the perception by some that the locations were resort areas and would not be the best use of taxpayers' money. Noting that government travel for meetings, conferences, and seminars is an important source of economic activity for many communities throughout the United States, Congress asked us to review agencies' policies for selecting conference locations, in view of these concerns."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) assigns GAO a range of responsibilities to help promote accountability and transparency. One of the act's recurring requirements includes having GAO conduct bimonthly reviews of selected states' and localities' use of funds made available under the act. GAO's review of the use of Recovery Act funding in Mississippi this year included the Weatherization Assistance Program. The Weatherization Assistance Program, administered by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), enables low-income families to reduce their utility bills by making long-term energy-efficiency improvements to their homes by, for example, installing insulation, sealing leaks, and modernizing heating equipment, air circulation fans, and air-conditioning equipment. As part of our overall review of the weatherization program in Mississippi, we visited community action agencies responsible for weatherization activities located in Columbia, D'Lo, McComb, and Meridian. In our review of client files, and other data provided by the Division of Community Services (DCS) personnel and one community action agency, we found several problems at the community action agency, which we shared with DCS. We also identified issues …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Justice (DOJ) awards an array of law enforcement and criminal justice grants to states, localities, and private and not-for-profit organizations to help prevent crime in their communities. From fiscal years 2008 through 2009, DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded over 7,900 grants totaling over $4.2 billion. Some DOJ grant programs emphasize the prevention of crime and juvenile delinquency, and in some instances, DOJ's grant funds have been used, in part, to support recreational activities for youth involving various sports programs and field trips. In addition, DOJ grant recipients, such as a state's department of juvenile justice services, may provide grant funds to a subgrantee, like the Boys and Girls Club of America, to carry out various activities, such as mentoring or antigang initiatives, within the overall parameters of the grant program. However, no DOJ grant programs are designed to fund recreational activities exclusively. This letter responds to a congressional request to determine (1) the extent to which DOJ tracks grant funds spent on recreational activities, and how, if at all, DOJ assesses the impact of federally funded recreational activities on crime prevention and reduction; …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "More than 4 years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the greater New Orleans area continues to face challenges restoring health care services disrupted by the storm and flooding that followed. In July 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded the $100-million Primary Care Access and Stabilization Grant (PCASG) to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH). The PCASG was intended to restore and expand access to primary care services in the greater New Orleans area without regard to a patient's ability to pay. The PCASG was designed to provide a temporary funding source--from July 23, 2007, through September 30, 2010. Despite the various types of assistance offered, concerns remain about whether the primary care gains made will be sustainable after the PCASG funding ends. Given the federal investment in providing and sustaining health care in the greater New Orleans area, Congreess asked GAO to describe what steps CMS and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have taken to help the PCASG-funded organizations--LDHH, LPHI, and the PCASG-funded providers--sustain the primary care gains made in the greater New Orleans area."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States and its international partners from over 40 nations have been engaged in efforts to secure, stabilize, and rebuild Afghanistan since 2001. In an effort to establish clear and specific U.S. strategic goals, the President of the United States, in March 2009, outlined the U.S. Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This strategy emphasizes a strategic goal to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and prevent their return. The strategy was followed by the completion, in August 2009, of a Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for Afghanistan. In December 2009, the President reaffirmed the U.S. strategic goal and underscored the importance of U.S. efforts to secure and stabilize Afghanistan to help ensure the safety of the United States and the American people. To assist the Congress in its oversight of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, this publication (1) identifes and describe key U.S. and international strategies and plans that collectively guide U.S. efforts in Afghanistan; (2) provides examples and information about key efforts to assist Afghanistan; and (3) identifies oversight issues that Congress may wish to consider in its work."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "We have identified several workforce related challenges faced by the Federal Protective Service (FPS) since its transfer to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, including low morale among staff, increased attrition, and the loss of institutional knowledge. Our prior work has found that FPS continues to face challenges in identifying the optimal number of staff needed to adequately conduct its mission. In response to Congress's mandate in the House Report, which accompanied the DHS fiscal year 2009 Appropriations Act requiring GAO to evaluate the adequacy of FPS's workforce size, this report includes preliminary observations on the following questions: (1) What is the current status of FPS's efforts to determine its workforce requirements? (2) To what extent do FPS's efforts align with commonly used workforce analysis and planning practices? (3) What, if any, challenges may impede implementation of FPS's efforts?"

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This document is an E-supplement to GAO-10-428R. The recording and broadcast radio industries combined generated over $25 billion for the U.S. economy in 2008. These industries provide jobs for a range of skilled workers, including songwriters, producers, engineers and technicians, and radio announcers, among others. At the same time, recording studios and radio stations allow musicians, vocalists, and performers to share their talents with listeners across the nation. Through their work, the recording and broadcast radio industries contribute to the everyday American experience by creating and delivering music to people in their homes, cars, and workplaces. Beyond providing a popular form of entertainment, the recording and broadcast radio industries have helped music become a prominent feature of American culture. Music, like other forms of creative art, is protected by copyright law. Congress is considering legislation that would expand copyright protection for sound recordings. In particular, the proposed Performance Rights Act would eliminate an exemption that currently allows analog, nonsubscription AM and FM radio (broadcast radio stations) to broadcast a sound recording without acquiring permission from and paying a royalty to the copyright holder, performers, and musicians. …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Pervasive and sustained cyber attacks continue to pose a potentially devastating threat to the systems and operations of the federal government. In recent testimony, the Director of National Intelligence highlighted that many nation states, terrorist networks, and organized criminal groups have the capability to target elements of the United States information infrastructure for intelligence collection, intellectual property theft, or disruption. In July 2009, press accounts reported attacks on Web sites operated by major government agencies. The ever-increasing dependence of federal agencies on information systems to carry out essential, everyday operations can make them vulnerable to an array of cyber-based risks. Thus it is increasingly important that the federal government carry out a concerted effort to safeguard its systems and the information they contain. GAO is providing a statement describing (1) cyber threats to federal information systems and cyber-based critical infrastructures, (2) control deficiencies that make federal systems vulnerable to those threats, and (3) opportunities that exist for improving federal cybersecurity. In preparing this statement, GAO relied on its previously published work in this area."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the challenges the Department of Defense (DOD) faces in institutionalizing operational contract support throughout the department. The institutionalization of operational contract support includes planning for the use of contractors, training of military personnel on the use of contractor support, accurately tracking contractor use, and establishing measures to ensure that contractors are accountable. For decades, DOD has relied on contractors to support contingency operations and has long considered them a part of the total force. For example, in its 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review the department reiterated that contractors were part of a total force that includes active and reserve military components, civilians and contractors. Additionally, in 2008 the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness testified that the structure of the U.S. military had been adapted to an environment in which contractors were an important part of the force. Further, an Army commission chaired by Dr. Jacques Gansler acknowledged that contractors were a significant part of the military's total force. While DOD joint guidance recognizes contractors as part of its total workforce, we have previously reported that DOD has not yet developed a …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Agencies can use several different types of contracts to leverage the government's buying power for goods and services. These include interagency contracts--where one agency uses another's contract for its own needs--such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs multiple award schedule (MAS) contracts, multiagency contracts (MAC) for a wide range of goods and services, and governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWAC) for information technology. Agencies spent at least $60 billion in fiscal year 2008 through these contracts and similar single-agency enterprisewide contracts. GAO was asked to testify on the management and oversight of interagency contracts, and how the government can ensure that interagency contracting is efficient and transparent. GAO's testimony is based on its recent report, Contracting Strategies: Data and Oversight Problems Hamper Opportunities to Leverage Value of Interagency and Enterprisewide Contracts (GAO-10-367, April 2010). In that report, GAO made recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to strengthen policy, improve data, and better coordinate agencies' awards of MACs and enterprisewide contracts, and to GSA to improve MAS program pricing and management. Both agencies concurred with GAO's recommendations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Environmental satellites provide data used for weather forecasting, measuring variations in climate over time, and predicting space weather. Due to the continuing cost, schedule, and tri-agency management challenges of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)--a key satellite acquisition managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)--the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) decided in February 2010 to disband NPOESS and, instead, to have NOAA and DOD undertake separate acquisitions. GAO was asked to summarize its report being released today on plans for NOAA's and DOD's separate acquisitions and the key risks of the transition, as well as its recent work on federal efforts to establish long-term strategies for satellite-provided climate and space weather data."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses air cargo screening. In 2008, about 7.3 billion pounds of cargo was transported on U.S. passenger flights--approximately 58 percent of which was transported domestically (domestic cargo) and 42 percent of which was transported on flights arriving in the United States from a foreign location (inbound cargo). The 2009 Christmas Day plot to detonate an explosive device during an international flight bound for Detroit provided a vivid reminder that terrorists continue to view passenger aircraft as attractive targets. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the security threat posed by terrorists introducing explosive devices in air cargo shipments is significant, and the risk and likelihood of such an attack directed at passenger aircraft is high. To help enhance the security of air cargo, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Commission Act) mandated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a system to physically screen 50 percent of cargo on passenger aircraft--including the domestic and inbound flights of foreign and U.S. passenger operations--by February 2009, and 100 percent of such cargo by August 2010. The 9/11 Commission Act defines screening for …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that it spent $4 billion to move troops and materiel into Afghanistan, a mountainous, arid, land-locked country with few roads, no railway, and only four airports with paved runways over 3,000 meters. The terrain and weather in Afghanistan and surrounding countries pose further challenges to transporting supplies and equipment. In December 2009, the President announced that an additional 30,000 U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan by August 2010. Today's testimony discusses GAO's preliminary observations drawn from ongoing work reviewing DOD's logistics efforts supporting operations in Afghanistan, including (1) the organizations involved and routes and methods used to transport supplies and equipment into and around Afghanistan; (2) steps DOD has taken to improve its distribution process, based on lessons learned from prior operations; and (3) challenges affecting DOD's ability to distribute supplies and equipment within Afghanistan, and its efforts to mitigate them. In conducting its audit work, GAO examined DOD guidance and other documentation relating to the processes of transporting supplies and equipment to Afghanistan and met with various cognizant officials and commanders in the United States, Afghanistan, …

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acquisitions represent hundreds of billions of dollars in life-cycle costs to support a wide range of missions. Creating acquisition policies and processes to provide insight into the performance of a wide array of complex investments, while also providing oversight for many component agencies new to acquisition management, has been an ongoing challenge for DHS. GAO performed this review because DHS implementation and transformation is on GAO's high risk list. This report (1) provides an update on DHS's efforts to implement acquisition oversight for all investments; (2) describes acquisition performance and common challenges across selected programs; and (3) provides individual profiles for 18 selected programs, 15 of which were major programs that had initiated acquisition activities. GAO selected programs based on relevance to frontline homeland security missions and assessed cost and schedule performance and acquisition planning challenges."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Secure Border Initiative (SBI) is intended to help secure the 6,000 miles of international borders that the contiguous United States shares with Canada and Mexico. The program, which began in November 2005, seeks to enhance border security and reduce illegal immigration by improving surveillance technologies, raising staffing levels, increasing domestic enforcement of immigration laws, and improving physical infrastructure along the nation's borders. Within SBI, the Secure Border Initiative Network (SBInet) is a multibillion dollar program that includes the acquisition, development, integration, deployment, and operation of surveillance technologies--such as unattended ground sensors and radar and cameras mounted on fixed and mobile towers--to create a "virtual border fence." In addition, command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) software and hardware are to use the information gathered by the surveillance technologies to create a real-time picture of what is transpiring within specific areas along the border and transmit the information to command centers and vehicles."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies are increasingly using electronic means to create, exchange, and store information, and in doing so, they frequently create federal records: that is, information, in whatever form, that documents government functions, activities, decisions, and other important transactions. As the volume of electronic information grows, so does the challenge of managing electronic records. Both federal agency heads and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have responsibilities for managing federal records. As requested, after providing some context about records management in the federal government and the roles of federal agencies and NARA, this testimony describes the challenges of electronic records management and potential means of addressing these challenges. In preparing this testimony, GAO relied primarily on its previous work, supplemented by analysis of publicly available documents."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On April 20, 2010, an explosion at the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill's total cost is unknown, but may result in considerable costs to the private sector, as well as federal, state, and local governments. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) set up a system that places the liability--up to specified limits--on the responsible party. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund), administered by the Coast Guard, pays for costs not paid for by the responsible party. GAO previously reported on the Fund and factors driving the cost of oil spills and is beginning work on the April 2010 spill. This testimony focuses on (1) how oil spills are paid for, (2) the factors that affect major oil spill costs, and (3) implications of major oil spill costs for the Fund. It is largely based on GAO's 2007 report, for which GAO analyzed oil spill cost data and reviewed documentation on the Fund's balance and vessels' limits of liability. To update the report, GAO obtained information from and interviewed Coast Guard officials."