Letters from two California citizens to the BRAC Commission in response to the recommendation to close Naval Base Ventura County.

Memorandum of Meeting at which Mr. H. T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Installations and Environment (ASN (I&E)), met with Mr. Chris Paul, Military Legislative Advisor to Senator John McCain (R. Ariz.), at 1315 in Room 4E523 at the Pentagon. Commander Edward W. Brown, USN, Legislative Liaison; Commander Fred Latrash, USN, Office of Senator John McCain (R. Ariz); Commander Robert E. Vincent 11, JAGC, USN, IAT Recorder; and Captain James A. Noel, USMC, IAT Recorder, were present as well.

The Air Force F-22 fighter, also known as the Raptor, is the world's most capable air-to-air combat aircraft. The administration wants to end F-22 procurement at 187 aircraft, and the administration's proposed FY2010 budget does not request funding for the procurement of additional F-22s in FY2010. The administration argues, among other things, that 187 F-22s will be sufficient in conjunction with other U.S. tactical aircraft. The issue of F-22 procurement has emerged as one of the highest-profile items of debate on the FY2010 defense budget. This report discusses both sides of the debate in detail.

This report provides background information relating to the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) in the Office of the Secretary of State. This office was created in mid-2004 as part of the Bush Administration's efforts to develop adequate civilian organizational structures, procedures, and personnel to respond effectively to post-conflict, "stabilization and reconstruction" situations, most especially in Afghanistan and Iran. This report also discusses proposals and tracks related legislative action.

This report analyzes developments in the Francophone West African country of Guinea since the military's seizure of power in December 2008, Guinea's relations with the United States, and U.S. policy in the wake of the coup. It also provides background on Guinean history and politics.

Letter from Sheldon Cohen to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). He urged the individual commissioners to cancel the recommendation to relocate the hearing offices of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals to Fort Meade, Maryland.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To provide safe and secure workplaces for overseas posts, the Department of State (State) has built 64 new embassy compounds (NEC) and other facilities since 1999, has 31 ongoing projects, and plans to build at least 90 more. In 2007, State reported the U.S. contractor pool for building NECs had reached its limit and proposed legislation to amend the criteria to qualify for NEC awards. GAO was asked to examine (1) how contractor participation in the NEC program changed in recent years, (2) the degree to which State assessed the need for and potential outcomes of its proposed amendment, (3) factors contractors consider when deciding to participate in the program, and (4) actions State has taken to address reported declines in contractor participation. GAO examined two indicators of contractor participation; reviewed State documents and proposed legislation; and interviewed State officials and U.S. firms that won NEC awards from 2001-2007."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007 and 2006. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks (FRBs) on behalf of the Department of the Treasury's BPD relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt. In our audit report on the Schedules of Federal Debt for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, we concluded that BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2007, that provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. However, we found matters involving information security controls that we do not consider to be significant …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Substantial growth in the mortgage market in recent years has helped many Americans become homeowners. However, as of the latest quarterly data available, June 2007, more than 1 million mortgages were in default or foreclosure, an increase of 50 percent compared with June 2005. Defaults and foreclosures on home mortgages can impose significant costs on borrowers, lenders, mortgage investors, and neighborhoods. Additionally, recent increases in defaults and foreclosures have contributed to concern and increased volatility in certain U.S. and global financial markets. These developments have raised questions about the extent and causes of problems in the mortgage market. To provide some insights on these issues, Congress asked GAO to analyze (1) the scope and magnitude of recent default and foreclosure trends, and how these trends compare with historical values, and (2) developments in economic conditions and the primary and secondary mortgage markets associated with these trends."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor (Labor) awards national emergency grants to states and local areas to provide assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of major economic dislocations or disasters. Most grants awarded are regular grants to assist workers affected by plant closings or mass layoffs. Questions have been raised about whether grant funds are getting to states and local areas quickly enough. GAO was asked to assess the effectiveness of the process for awarding national emergency grants, whether Labor is planning changes that will improve the grant award process, and what is known about how grant funds are used."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""Spend analysis" is a tool that provides knowledge about who are the buyers, who are the suppliers, how much is being spent for what goods and services, and where are the opportunities to leverage buying power. Private sector companies are using spend analysis as a foundation for employing a strategic approach to procurement. Recognizing the potential in government purchasing, GAO examined if the departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs are using spend analysis to take a strategic approach. GAO assessed (1) if agencies use spend analysis to obtain knowledge to improve procurement of goods and services and (2) how agencies' practices compare to leading companies best practices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One of the five priorities in the President's Management Agenda is the expansion of electronic government (e-government)--the use of Internet applications to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services. Project SAFECOM is one of the 25 initiatives sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement this agenda. Managed by the Department of Homeland Security, the project's goal is to achieve interoperability among emergencyresponse communications at all levels of government, while at the same time realizing cost savings. GAO assessed the government's progress in implementing Project SAFECOM."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress required the Small Business Administration (SBA) to implement a total of eight administrative provisions to help facilitate small business lending and enhance liquidity in the secondary markets. These administrative provisions include (1) temporarily requiring SBA to reduce or eliminate certain fees on 7(a) and 504 loans; (2) temporarily increasing the maximum 7(a) guarantee from 85 percent to 90 percent; and (3) implementing provisions designed specifically to facilitate secondary markets, such as extending existing guarantees in the 504 program and making loans to systemically important brokerdealers that operate in the 7(a) secondary market. Further, ARRA established deadlines for SBA to issue regulations that implement certain administrative provisions, such as those pertaining to facilitating secondary market activities. Specifically, ARRA required SBA to issue regulations extending the guarantee related to the 504 program within 15 days after enactment (March 4, 2009) and for making loans to systemically important broker-dealers within 30 days after enactment (March 19, 2009). ARRA also mandates that we report within 60 days after the date of enactment, April 17, 2009, on SBA's initial efforts to comply …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Some U.S. financial and pension consulting firms have recently proposed alternatives to terminating a defined benefit (DB) pension plan and contracting with insurance companies to pay promised benefits. In their proposals, a plan sponsor would typically transfer the assets and liabilities of a hard-frozen DB plan--one in which all participant benefit accruals have ceased--along with additional money, to a financial entity, which would become the new sponsor. Such buyouts would have implications for participants, plan sponsors, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures private DB plans. This report addresses the following questions: (1) What is the basic model of proposed sales of frozen DB plans to third-party financial firms and how does it compare with a standard plan termination? (2) What are the potential risks and benefits of plan buyouts for participants, PBGC, plan sponsors, and other stakeholders? To address these questions, GAO reviewed proposed models for plan buyouts and analyzed regulatory and statutory issues associated with terminations and buyouts. GAO also interviewed labor and pension advocacy groups, pension regulatory agencies, and pension experts."

Guidance issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-01-145G, GAO's Congressional Protocols, November 2000. This report supersedes GAO-01-145G, GAO's Congressional Protocols November 2000, and GAO-03-198G, GAO's Congressional Protocols: Addendum I, November 2002. This document contains updated protocols governing GAO's work for the Congress. Since we implemented the original protocols in November 2000, we have monitored their application, and several areas were identified as needing additional clarity to enhance our ability to better serve the Congress. The refinements in this edition reflect feedback from Members of Congress and their staffs since the original implementation and, more specifically, comments received between November 2003 and June 2004 on proposed revisions to the protocols. These protocols continue to provide a means of holding GAO accountable for commitments made to the Congress and ensuring that GAO is consistent in dealing with all committees and Members. In order to address existing and growing workload imbalances and provide more transparency about our decision-making criteria, these revised protocols clarify our authority to conduct work, delineate our priorities for initiating work, and identify the factors we consider before accepting congressional requests for work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Passenger prescreening--a process that includes matching passengers' identifying information against records extracted from the U.S. government terrorist watch list--is one of several security measures in place to help ensure the safety of commercial flights traveling to or from the United States. DHS has several efforts underway to strengthen international aviation passenger prescreening. This report focuses on certain elements of the passenger prescreening process as well as some of the actions that DHS is taking or has planned to strengthen prescreening procedures. This report is a limited version of the original November 2006 report as various agencies that we reviewed deemed some of the information in the original report to be security sensitive. GAO's work included interviewing officials and assessing relevant documentation from federal agencies, U.S. and foreign air carriers, industry groups, and several foreign countries."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2008, the Department of Energy's (DOE) security inspection at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) found significant weaknesses, particularly in LLNL's protective force's ability to assure the protection of weapons-grade (special) nuclear material. LLNL is overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within DOE, and managed by a contractor. NNSA is planning to remove most of the special nuclear material from LLNL. GAO was asked to (1) characterize security deficiencies identified in the 2008 inspection; (2) determine the factors that contributed to these deficiencies; (3) identify LLNL's corrective actions to address security deficiencies; and (4) assess LLNL's plan to permanently remove the riskiest special nuclear material from its site. To conduct this work, GAO visited LLNL, reviewed numerous documents and plans, and interviewed LLNL and NNSA security officials."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Forest Service consolidated its Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station with its Intermountain Research Station. The resulting consolidated station was renamed the Rocky Mountain Research Station and was relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado. The Forest Service originally proposed consolidating the two stations in 1992 but delayed taking any action until it completed its reorganizational assessment in May 1997. The Forest Service cut 18 managerial and administrative staff positions during the consolidation. The positions that were eliminated were either transferred to other Forest Service units or were vacated through retirement or employee buyouts. Since 1992, the research funding available to the merged station has remained relatively constant, about 15 percent of the Forest Service's budget for research stations, and the number of employees has remained relatively stable."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The African continent is important to U.S. economic, strategic, and foreign policy interests, and efforts have been made to improve commerce and connectivity to benefit the two regions. However, the continent has the highest aviation accident rate in the world, which has hindered progress. Recognizing the importance of improving aviation safety in Africa, the United States and the international aviation community have worked to improve aviation safety in Africa. This congressionally requested report discusses (1) challenges in improving aviation safety in Africa, (2) key U.S. efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa and the extent to which they address the identified challenges, and (3) international efforts to improve aviation safety in Africa. To address these issues, GAO synthesized literature and aviation safety data, interviewed federal officials, and visited four African countries."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a mandate in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) of 2003 requiring GAO to assess consumers' understanding of credit reporting. The FACT Act, among other things, extended provisions governing the credit reporting system and addressed ongoing concerns about inaccuracies in credit reports. For example, the act expanded access to credit information by entitling consumers to one free credit report each year. It also established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) to improve consumers' understanding of credit issues. This report examines consumers' understanding and use of credit reports and scores and the dispute process and looks at factors that may influence their understanding of credit reporting."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Environmental reviews of complex federally funded highway construction projects may take years. The Congress has an interest in identifying and, if necessary, addressing the reasons to expedite highway projects. To better understand these reasons, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) surveyed its 55 division offices to determine why the environmental review of certain highway projects took more than 5 years. The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure requested that we determine (1) the reasonableness of FHWA's survey methodology and offer suggestions for improvement, if appropriate, and (2) the feasibility of resurveying the same projects to gain an additional understanding about why environmental reviews took more than 5 years. To carry out this work, we interviewed FHWA officials about how they selected projects, surveyed their division offices, and analyzed the responses they obtained. In addition, we applied the lessons learned from FHWA's original approach to assess the feasibility of resurveying the same projects."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In carrying out its mission to ensure that securities markets are fair, orderly, and efficiently maintained, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relies extensively on computerized systems. Effective information security controls are essential to ensure that SEC's financial and sensitive information is protected from inadvertent or deliberate misuse, disclosure, or destruction. As part of its audit of SEC's financial statements, GAO assessed (1) the status of SEC's actions to correct previously reported information security weaknesses and (2) the effectiveness of SEC's controls for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its information systems and information. To do this, GAO examined security policies and artifacts, interviewed pertinent officials, and conducted tests and observations of controls in operation."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investing billions of dollars in its U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program to collect, maintain, and share information on selected foreign nationals who enter and exit the United States. The program uses biometric identifiers (digital fingerscans and photographs) to screen people against watch lists and to verify that a visitor is the person who was issued a visa or other travel document. The program is also to biometrically confirm the individual's departure. For over 3 years, GAO has reported on US-VISIT capability deployments and shortfalls, as well as fundamental limitations in DHS's efforts to define and justify US-VISIT's future direction and to cost-effectively manage the delivery of program capabilities on time and within budget. GAO was asked to testify on (1) the status of the program's implementation and (2) the program's progress in addressing longstanding management weaknesses. Given where US-VISIT is today and the challenges and uncertainties associated with where it is going, GAO believes that DHS is long overdue in demonstrating that it is pursuing the right US-VISIT solution and that it is managing US-VISIT the right …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Disability benefits available through the Social Security Administration (SSA) can be an important source of financial support for some wounded warriors, and Congress has mandated that the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) help them learn about and apply for such benefits. GAO was asked to determine: (1) how many wounded warriors have applied and been approved for SSA benefits and the extent to which they are receiving benefits from across the three agencies; (2) what steps DOD, VA, and SSA have taken to inform wounded warriors about SSA benefits, and the challenges that confront this process; and (3) steps taken by all three agencies to facilitate the processing of wounded warrior disability claims. Focusing on those wounded since 2001, GAO reviewed policy documents, contacted DOD and VA medical facilities, surveyed wounded warriors, and analyzed administrative data."