A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) used nearly 700 aircraft, as well as commercial and leased aircraft, to carry about 3 million troops and 800,000 tons of cargo in support of wartime, peacetime, and humanitarian efforts in 2008. C-5s and C-17s move troops and cargo internationally (strategic airlift) and C-130s are the primary aircraft that moves them within a theater of operation (tactical airlift). Over the next 4 years, DOD plans to spend about $12 billion to modernize and procure airlifters and is currently studying how many it needs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to (1) identify the status of DOD's modernization and acquisition efforts and (2) determine how well DOD is addressing any capability gaps and redundancies. In conducting this work, GAO identified the cost, schedule, and performance of airlift programs, as well as DOD's plan for addressing gaps and redundancies. GAO also discussed mobility study efforts with DOD, Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), and RAND Coporation officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has significantly increased its total committed lending to countries from about $3.5 billion in August 2008 to about $170.4 billion in August 2009, as countries have been severely affected by the global economic crisis. IMF-supported programs are intended to help countries overcome balance-of-payments problems, stabilize their economies, and restore sustainable economic growth. Critics have long-standing concerns that the IMF has an overly austere approach to macroeconomic policy that does not sufficiently heed country viewpoints. To help address these concerns, the IMF recently stated that it has changed its policies, including by increasing its flexibility. GAO was asked to examine (1) the process for designing an IMF-supported program, (2) the IMF-supported programs in four recipient countries, and (3) the extent to which the findings of empirical economic studies are consistent with the IMF's macroeconomic policies. GAO analyzed IMF and recipient country documents; interviewed U.S., IMF, and foreign government officials, conducting fieldwork in four relatively large recipient countries; and analyzed published or widely cited empirical studies. GAO received written comments from the Department of the Treasury, noting its concurrence with the report's conclusions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "State Department's (State) Bureau of Diplomatic Security (Diplomatic Security) is responsible for the protection of people, information, and property at over 400 foreign missions and domestic locations. Diplomatic Security must be prepared to counter threats such as crime, espionage, visa and passport fraud, technological intrusions, political violence, and terrorism. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to assess (1) how Diplomatic Security's mission has evolved since 1998, (2) how its resources have changed over the last 10 years, and (3) the challenges it faces in conducting its missions. GAO analyzed Diplomatic Security data; reviewed relevant documents; and interviewed officials at several domestic facilities and 18 international missions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Delays in processing federal equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaints, apparent or perceived lack of fairness and impartiality in complaint processing, and fear of retaliation in the workplace have been long-standing concerns of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), other federal agencies, and Congress. Based on a Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act mandate, GAO analyzed (1) factors that EEO practitioners have identified as impeding the fair, prompt, and impartial processing of federal EEO complaints and (2) actions that EEO practitioners and other stakeholders think could be taken to help address those factors. GAO also identified actions that EEOC is taking to improve the federal complaint process. GAO surveyed 65 EEO practitioners representing a wide cross section of professionals knowledgeable about the federal EEO complaint process, who were selected from 16 federal agencies that accounted for about 88 percent of complaints filed in fiscal year 2005, EEOC, and private sector attorneys' offices. GAO did not assess the validity of practitioners' views or evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to U.S. government officials, sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) textile and apparel industry has not achieved the growth anticipated under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Despite the tariff reductions under AGOA, after an initial surge, U.S. imports of these products from beneficiary countries have declined in recent years (see figure). In view of this outcome, the 2008 Andean Trade Preference Extension legislation required GAO to prepare a report identifying changes to U.S. trade preference programs "to provide incentives to increase investment and other measures necessary to improve the competitiveness of [SSA] beneficiary countries in the production of yarns, fabric, and other textile and apparel inputs." This report is intended to provide Congress a range of options put forward by experts for (1) possible changes to AGOA or other U.S. trade preference programs and (2) other measures the U.S. government could take to help increase investment in and improve competitiveness of SSA textile and apparel inputs production."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States Coast Guard's Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) program is designed to, among other things, promote safety at sea while protecting mariners' rights and is composed of judges whose duties include presiding over cases involving mariners' credentials. If a mariner does not meet certain requirements related to safety and security at sea, Coast Guard investigative officers are to serve the mariner with a complaint that lists the allegation(s) and initiate proceedings that can result in the mariner's credential being suspended or revoked. GAO was asked to review elements of the ALJ program and this report addresses (1) the extent to which the ALJ program contains elements designed to foster the decisional independence of ALJs, (2) the extent to which the ALJ program includes protections for mariners and whether complaints and decisions include elements required by program regulations, and (3) the outcome of mariner suspension and revocation cases in recent years. To conduct this study, GAO analyzed the laws, regulations, and policies governing the ALJ program. GAO also reviewed all suspension and revocation cases opened and closed from November 10, 2005, through September 30, 2008, to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The concurrent implementation of several major Department of Defense (DOD) force structure and infrastructure initiatives has stressed the ability of traditional military construction to provide enough permanent living and working space for servicemembers and other DOD personnel. As a result, the services are using some movable--or relocatable--facilities as barracks, administrative offices, medical facilities, dining halls, and equipment maintenance facilities to meet short-term needs. In Senate Report 110-77, the Senate Committee on Armed Services directed GAO to review the subject. This report assesses the extent to which (1) the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is providing oversight of the services' use of relocatable facilities to meet physical infrastructure needs, and (2) DOD has a strategy for managing such facilities. GAO assessed data reported to OSD on relocatable use and cost as well as visited seven defense installations selected from those identified as having a sizeable number of relocatable facilities."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2008, GAO reported that 1,088 oil industry mergers occurred between 2000 and 2007. Given the potential for price effects, GAO recommended that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency with the authority to maintain petroleum industry competition, undertake more regular retrospective reviews of past petroleum industry mergers, and FTC said it would consider this recommendation. GAO was asked to conduct such a review of its own to determine how mergers and market concentration--a measure of the number and market shares of firms in a market--affected wholesale gasoline prices since 2000. GAO examined the effects of mergers and market concentration using an economic model that ruled out the effects of many other factors. GAO consulted with a number of experts and used both public and private data in developing the model. GAO tested the model under a variety of assumptions to address some of its limitations. GAO also interviewed petroleum market participants."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior (Interior) and the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) manage millions of acres of public land. To enhance land management and fulfill other public objectives, they acquire and dispose of land using exchanges--trading federal lands for lands owned by willing private entities, individuals, or state or local governments. GAO and others have raised concerns about whether the public interest has always been served in these land exchanges. GAO was asked to (1) analyze the number, trends, and characteristics of BLM and Forest Service land exchanges and (2) determine the effectiveness of agency actions to address previously identified key problems. GAO interviewed and surveyed agency officials, analyzed agency data on recent exchanges, and reviewed documents on a nongeneralizable sample of 31 land exchanges representing at least 85 percent of the acres that agencies acquired, or plan to acquire, during the time of GAO's review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Protecting federal workers essential to ensuring the continuity of the country's critical operations will involve new challenges in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. This requested report discusses (1) the extent to which agencies have made pandemic plans to protect workers who cannot work remotely and are not first responders, (2) the pandemic plans selected agencies have for certain occupations performing essential functions other than first response, and (3) the opportunities to improve agencies' workforce pandemic plans. GAO surveyed pandemic coordinators from 24 agencies and selected three case study occupations for review: federal correctional workers, staff disbursing Treasury checks, and air traffic controllers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To reduce the number of crashes involving commercial motor carriers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) within the Department of Transportation orders unsafe carriers out of service. To help keep these carriers off the road, FMCSA's voluntary Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) grant program, a small program funded at $5 million per year, helps states establish information systems connections between state vehicle registration and FMCSA's safety databases. These connections provide states with up-to-date information on carriers' safety status when carriers try to register or renew registrations with the state. For states to deny, suspend, or revoke registrations to out-of service carriers, states must pass legislation enabling them to do so. As directed by a congressional committee, GAO examined (1) PRISM's effectiveness and (2) the potential to fully implement the program nationally. GAO reviewed FMCSA data and discussed PRISM with a wide variety of federal, state, industry, and safety stakeholders"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted Regulation SHO to, among other things, curb the potential for manipulative naked short selling in equity securities. Selling a security short without borrowing the securities needed to settle the trade within the standard 3-day period, can result in failures to deliver (FTD), and can be used to manipulate (drive down) the price of a security. To further address this concern, SEC recently issued an order amending Regulation SHO. This report (1) provides an overview of Regulation SHO and related SEC actions, (2) discusses regulators' and market participants' views on the effectiveness of the rule, and (3) analyzes regulators' efforts to enforce the rule. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed SEC rules and draft industry guidance, analyzed FTD data, reviewed SEC and self-regulatory organization (SRO) examinations, and interviewed SEC and SRO officials and market participants."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The possibility of storing refined petroleum products as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been contemplated since the SPR was created in 1975. The SPR, which currently holds about 700 million barrels of crude oil, was created to help insulate the U.S. economy from oil supply disruptions. However, the SPR does not contain refined products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, or jet fuel. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the SPR's capacity from 727 million barrels to 1 billion barrels, which it plans to do by 2018. With the possibility of including refined products as part of the expansion of the SPR, this testimony discusses (1) some of the arguments for and against including refined products in the SPR and (2) lessons learned from the management of the existing crude oil SPR that may be applicable to refined products. To address these issues, GAO relied on its 2006 report on the SPR (GAO-06-872), 2007 report on the globalization of petroleum products (GAO-08-14), and two 2008 testimonies on the cost-effectiveness of filling the SPR (GAO-08-512T and GAO-08-726T). GAO also …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States ranks 15th among the 30 democratic nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on one measure of broadband (i.e., high-speed Internet) subscribership. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory authority over broadband, and several federal programs fund broadband deployment. This congressionally requested report discusses (1) the federal broadband deployment policy, principal federal programs, and stakeholders' views of those programs; (2) how the policies of OECD nations with higher subscribership rates compare with U.S. policy; and (3) actions the states have taken to encourage broadband deployment. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed the broadband policies of the United States and other OECD nations, reviewed federal program documentation and budgetary information, and interviewed federal and state officials and industry stakeholders."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter formally transmits the summary of an oral briefing we gave on December 8, 2008, and subsequent agency comments. We gave this briefing in response to Senate Report 110-129, accompanying the 2008 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill. In accordance with direction in that report, and in consultation with House and Senate Appropriation Committee staff, we are reporting on the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) Counterdrug Technology Assessment Center (CTAC). Specifically, we address issues pertaining to CTAC's use of funds since fiscal year 2003, the ONDCP Director's approach to funding decisions for research and development, CTAC's measures of performance, and CTAC's reorganization in 2007."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Future Combat System (FCS) program is the centerpiece of the Army's effort to transition to a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force. By law, GAO is to report annually on the FCS program. Also, law requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to hold a milestone review of the FCS program, now planned for 2009. This report addresses (1) what knowledge will likely be available in key areas for the review, and (2) the challenges that lie ahead following the review. To meet these objectives, GAO reviewed key documents, performed analysis, attended demonstrations and design reviews, and interviewed DOD officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars to sustain key business operations intended to support the warfighter. In January, GAO released its 2009 high-risk series update report for the 111th Congress. This series emphasizes federal programs and operations that are at high risk because of vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement and has also evolved to draw attention to areas associated with broad-based transformation needed to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. Of the 30 high-risk areas identified by GAO across government, DOD bears sole responsibility for eight defense specific high-risk areas and shares responsibility for seven other high-risk areas--all of which are related to its major business operations. The Committee asked GAO to provide its views on (1) actions needed to achieve measurable outcomes in DOD's high-risk areas and (2) DOD's progress in strengthening its management approach for business transformation, including establishing the Chief Management Officer (CMO) position. GAO was additionally asked to highlight information regarding the high-risk area related to contract management at the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For over a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have been engaged in efforts to improve their ability to share electronic health information. These efforts are vital for making patient information readily available to health care providers in both departments, reducing medical errors, and streamlining administrative functions. In addition, Congress has mandated that VA and DOD jointly develop and implement, by September 30, 2009, electronic health record systems or capabilities that are fully interoperable and compliant with applicable federal interoperability standards. (Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged.) The experience of VA and DOD in this area is also relevant to broader efforts to advance the nationwide use of health information technology (IT) in both the public and private health care sectors--a goal of both current and past administrations. In this statement, GAO describes VA's and DOD's achievements and challenges in developing interoperable electronic health records, including brief comments on how these apply to the broader national health IT effort."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the Department of Defense's (DOD) most complex and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously produce and field three different versions of the aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The total investment required now exceeds $1 trillion--more than $300 billion to acquire 2,456 aircraft and $760 billion in life cycle operating and support costs, according to program estimates. The Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 requires GAO to review the JSF program annually for 5 years. This is the fifth and final report under the mandate in which GAO (1) determines the program's progress in meeting cost, schedule, and performance goals; (2) assesses manufacturing results and schedule risks; and (3) evaluates development test plans, progress, and risks. GAO's work included analyses of a wide range of program documents, cost data and interviews with defense and contractor officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates it will provide health care to 5.8 million patients with appropriations of $41.2 billion in fiscal year 2009. The President has proposed an increase in VA's health care budget for fiscal year 2010 to expand services for veterans. VA's patient population includes aging veterans who need services such as long-term care-- including nursing home and noninstitutional care provided in veterans' homes or community-- and veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Each year, VA formulates its medical care budget, which involves developing estimates of spending for VA's health care services. VA is also responsible for budget execution-- spending appropriations and monitoring their use. GAO was asked to discuss challenges related to VA's health care services budget formulation and execution. This statement focuses on (1) challenges VA faces in formulating its health care budget, and (2) challenges VA faces in executing its health care budget. This testimony is based on three GAO reports: VA Health Care: Budget Formulation and Reporting on Budget Execution Need Improvement (GAO-06-958) (Sept. 2006); VA Heath Care: Spending for Mental Health Strategic Plan Initiatives Was Substantially Less Than Planned …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the GAO report on accountability for small arms and light weapons that the United States has obtained and provided or intends to provide to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)--the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Given the unstable security conditions in Afghanistan, the risk of loss and theft of these weapons is significant, which makes this hearing particularly timely. This testimony today focuses on (1) the types and quantities of weapons the Department of Defense (Defense) has obtained for ANSF, (2) whether Defense can account for the weapons it obtained for ANSF, and (3) the extent to which ANSF can properly safeguard and account for its weapons and other sensitive equipment."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The legislative framework for combating money laundering began with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in 1970 and most recently expanded in 2001with the USA PATRIOT Act. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) administers BSA and relies on multiple federal and state agencies to ensure financial institution compliance. GAO was asked to (1) describe how BSA compliance and enforcement responsibilities are distributed, (2) describe how agencies other than FinCEN are implementing those responsibilities and evaluate their coordination efforts, and (3) evaluate how FinCEN is implementing its BSA responsibilities. Among other things, GAO reviewed legislation, past GAO and Treasury reports, and agreements and guidance from all relevant agencies; and interviewed agency, association, and financial institution officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States is in the process of developing its strategy for operations in Afghanistan, as well as for the drawdown and continued operations of forces in Iraq. As of December 2008, approximately 32,500 U.S. troops were deployed in Afghanistan. Moreover, DOD may add an additional 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. Since 2001, the war in Afghanistan changed from a violent struggle against al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters to a multi-faceted counterinsurgency effort. As of December 2008, U.S. troops in Iraq numbered approximately 148,500. DOD also had about 162,400 contractors in Iraq as of mid-2008. Today's testimony addresses (1) key observations regarding the development of U.S. strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan; (2) factors that should be considered as the United States refines its strategy for Iraq and plans to draw down forces; and (3) factors that should be considered as the United States develops a strategy for Afghanistan and plans for increasing forces. This statement is based on GAO reports and testimonies on Iraq and Afghanistan."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Administration's (SBA) 7(a) program is intended to provide loan guarantees to small business borrowers who cannot obtain conventional credit at reasonable terms and do not have the personal resources to provide financing themselves. In fiscal year 2008, SBA guaranteed over 69,000 loans valued at about $13 billion. To assist in oversight of the 7(a) program, GAO was asked to (1) describe SBA's criteria and lenders' practices for determining that borrowers cannot obtain credit elsewhere and (2) examine SBA's efforts to ensure that lenders are complying with the credit elsewhere provision. To meet these objectives, GAO reviewed applicable statutes and guidance, visited 18 lenders and reviewed 238 of their loan files, reviewed 97 on-site lender review reports, and interviewed SBA officials. GAO's samples of lenders and loan files were not generalizable."