A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), districts and schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all students. Because schools may spend more time improving students' academic skills to meet NCLBA's requirements, some are concerned that arts education might be cut back. To determine how, if at all, student access to arts education has changed since NCLBA, the Congress asked: (1) has the amount of instruction time for arts education changed and, if so, have certain groups been more affected than others, (2) to what extent have state education agencies' requirements and funding for arts education changed since NCLBA, (3) what are school officials in selected districts doing to provide arts education since NCLBA and what challenges do they face in doing so, and (4) what is known about the effect of arts education in improving student outcomes? GAO analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education (Education), surveyed 50 state arts officials, interviewed officials in 8 school districts and 19 schools, and reviewed existing research."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To assist law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires financial institutions to file suspicious activity reports (SAR) to inform the federal government of transactions related to possible violations of law or regulation. Depository institutions have been concerned about the resources required to file SARs and the extent to which SARs are used. GAO was asked to examine (1) factors affecting the number of SARs filed, (2) actions agencies have taken to improve the usefulness of SARs, (3) federal agencies' use of SARs, and (4) the effectiveness of the process used to revise SAR forms. GAO reviewed laws and agency documents; analyzed SAR filings; and interviewed representatives from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), law enforcement agencies, bank regulators, and depository institutions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Numerous incidents around the world have highlighted the vulnerability of commercial vehicles to terrorist acts. Commercial vehicles include over 1 million highly diverse truck and intercity bus firms. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has primary federal responsibility for ensuring the security of the commercial vehicle sector, while vehicle operators are responsible for implementing security measures for their firms. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the extent to which TSA has assessed security risks for commercial vehicles; (2) actions taken by key stakeholders to mitigate identified risks; and (3) TSA efforts to coordinate its security strategy with other federal, state, and private sector stakeholders. GAO reviewed TSA plans, assessments, and other documents; visited a nonrandom sample of 26 commercial truck and bus companies of varying sizes, locations, and types of operations; and interviewed TSA and other federal and state officials and industry representatives."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to report on potential modifications of the organization and structure of the Department of Defense (DOD) for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP). In preparing the report, the review was required to include the feasibility and advisability of seven potential modifications of DOD's organization and structure for MDAPs. We were charged with reporting on the feasibility and advisability of (1) establishing a process in which the commanders of combatant commands (COCOM) assess and provide input on the capabilities needed to successfully accomplish their missions over a long-term planning horizon of 15 years or more; (2) establishing a materiel solutions process for addressing identified gaps in critical warfighting capabilities, under which the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD (AT&L)) circulates among the military departments and appropriate defense agencies requests for proposals for technologies and systems to address such gaps; (3) revising the acquisition process by establishing shorter, more frequent acquisition program milestones; (4) requiring the milestone decision authority (MDA) to specify at the time of milestone B approval the period of time that will …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, GAO is responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission (the Commission). GAO audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008, and 2007. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were presented fairly and (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations. Also, GAO tested Commission management's compliance with selected laws and regulations. The Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil, that were financed from appropriated funds. The Commission was also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining seven nonfederal memorials …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 and currently has more than 5.6 million policyholders that are insured for about $1.1 trillion. The program collects about $2.9 billion in annual premiums. As of January 2009, NFIP owed approximately $19.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury, primarily as a result of loans that the program received to pay claims from the 2005 hurricane season. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which administers the program, this debt is greater than the sum of all previous losses since the program's inception in 1968. While FEMA officials told us that interest payments are estimated to be lower in 2010, as of October 2008, NFIP owed interest payments of $730 million a year to Treasury and has had to borrow more from the Treasury to make these payments. As a result, it is unlikely that NFIP will ever be able to repay the entire debt. Because of NFIP's financial situation, in 2006 GAO placed the program on the high-risk list. In 2008, GAO issued three reports covering issues directly related to NFIP. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare spending on home health totaled $12.9 billion in 2006, up 44 percent from 2002. Concerns have been raised that improper payments from practices indicating fraud and abuse may have contributed to Medicare home health spending and utilization. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, is responsible for minimizing improper payments made on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine the growth in Medicare home health spending and utilization and the benefit's vulnerability to improper payments. GAO focused on states with the highest growth in Medicare home health spending or utilization; fraudulent and abusive practices contributing to recent spending and utilization; and administrative issues that make it vulnerable to improper payments. GAO analyzed Medicare claims data; reviewed Medicare laws and regulations and CMS documents; and interviewed stakeholders and contractors that administer and protect the home health benefit."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a follow-up to our 2005 and 2002 reports on the competitiveness of the small group health insurance market, Congress requested updated information on each state and the District of Columbia. Specifically, this report provides information from states and the District of Columbia (hereafter referred to as a state) on the number of carriers licensed in the small group market, the largest carriers, and their market share."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976, authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to obtain information on the risks of industrial chemicals and to control those that EPA determines pose an unreasonable risk. However, EPA does not have sufficient chemical assessment information to determine whether it should establish controls to limit public exposure to many chemicals that may pose substantial health risks. In reports on TSCA, GAO has recommended statutory changes to, among other things, provide EPA with additional authorities to obtain health and safety information from the chemical industry and to shift more of the burden to chemical companies for demonstrating the safety of their chemicals. The most important recommendations aimed at providing EPA with the information needed to support its assessments of industrial chemicals have not been implemented--a key factor leading GAO in January 2009 to add transforming EPA's process for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals to its list of high-risk areas warranting attention by Congress and the executive branch. This testimony, which is based on prior GAO work, addresses EPA's implementation of TSCA and options for (1) obtaining information on the risks …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2005, GAO reported that the data in EPLS were insufficient to enable agencies to determine with confidence that a prospective vendor was not currently excluded. In response, GSA agreed to modify EPLS's data requirements to include a mandatory provision that agencies enter a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to facilitate the identification of excluded parties. Despite such modifications, recent allegations indicate that businesses or individuals that have been excluded for egregious offenses have been able to "resurface" under the same or a different business name or identity in order to continue to receive federal contracts and other funds. We described the results of our investigation confirming these allegations in our recently issued report. This testimony will summarize our overall findings and will also describe the key causes of the improper awards and other payments we detected."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The General Mining Act of 1872 helped open the West by allowing individuals to obtain exclusive rights to mine billions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and other hardrock (locatable) minerals from federal lands without having to pay a federal royalty. However, western states charge royalties so that they share in the proceeds from various hardrock minerals extracted from their lands. For years, some mining operators did not reclaim land used in their mining operations, creating environmental and physical safety hazards. To curb further growth in the number of abandoned hardrock mines on federal lands, in 1981, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began requiring mining operators to reclaim BLM land disturbed by these operations, and in 2001 began requiring operators to provide financial assurances to cover reclamation costs before they began exploration or mining operations. This testimony focuses on the (1) royalties states charge, (2) number of abandoned hardrock mine sites and hazards, and (3) value and coverage of financial assurances operators use to guarantee reclamation costs. It is based on two GAO reports: Hardrock Mining: Information on Abandoned Mines and Value and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has conducted a body of work over the past several years to help the nation better prepare for, respond to, and recover from a possible influenza pandemic, which could result from a novel strain of influenza virus for which there is little resistance and which therefore is highly transmissible among humans. GAO's work has pointed out that while the previous administration had taken a number of actions to plan for a pandemic, including developing a national strategy and implementation plan, much more needs to be done. However, national priorities are shifting as a pandemic has yet to occur, and other national issues have become more immediate and pressing. Nevertheless, an influenza pandemic remains a real threat to our nation and the world. For this report, GAO synthesized the results of 11 reports and two testimonies issued over the past 3 years using six key thematic areas: (1) leadership, authority, and coordination; (2) detecting threats and managing risks; (3) planning, training, and exercising; (4) capacity to respond and recover; (5) information sharing and communication; and (6) performance and accountability. GAO also updated the status of recommendations …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Increasingly, the federal government relies on networks and partnerships to achieve its goals, and many of these involve nonprofit organizations. GAO was asked to assess (1) the mechanisms through which federal dollars flow to nonprofits and (2) what is known about federal dollars flowing through them to nonprofit organizations in fiscal year 2006. To address these objectives, GAO conducted a literature review of funding; analyzed data from several sources, including the Federal Procurement Data System--Next Generation (FPDS-NG) and the Federal Awards and Assistance Data System (FAADS); and analyzed nonprofit organizations' roles in 19 federal programs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Intellectual property (IP) plays a significant role in the U.S. economy, and the United States is an acknowledged leader in its creation. IP is a category of legal rights that grant owners certain exclusive rights to intangible assets or products of the human intellect, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names, images, and designs. In its June 2008 testimony, GAO reported that U.S. intellectual property rights holders must compete with the global illicit market that is being spurred by economic incentives such as low barriers to entry into counterfeiting and piracy, high profits, and limited legal sanctions if caught. GAO further noted that technology has facilitated the reproduction and distribution of some IP-violating products. Moreover, intellectual property protection in parts of the world is inadequate. As a result, U.S. goods are subject to widespread piracy and counterfeiting in many countries, resulting in significant economic losses. In addition, many IP-violating products, such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals or auto parts, have the potential to threaten public health and safety in the United States and abroad. A wide range of federal agencies are involved in efforts to protect and …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "An effective clearance and settlement process is vital to the functioning of equities markets. When investors agree to trade an equity security, the purchaser promises to deliver cash to the seller and the seller promises to deliver the security to the purchaser. The process by which the seller receives payment and the buyer, the securities, is known as clearance and settlement. In the United States equities market, a centralized clearance and settlement system was established to reduce risks and increase efficiency in the market. As part of this system, trades in equities and other securities are typically cleared and settled through clearing agencies--self-regulatory organizations (SRO) that are required to register with and are subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Virtually all equities securities trades in the United States are cleared and settled through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) and the Depository Trust Company (DTC), clearing agency subsidiaries of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). According to DTCC, 99.9 percent of daily transactions by dollar value clear and settle within the standard 3-day settlement period. In the remaining transactions, the seller failed to …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Veterinarians play an essential role in the defense against animal diseases, some of which can have serious repercussions for the health of animals, humans, and the economy. More than half of the federal veterinarians work in the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). However, there is a growing national shortage of veterinarians. This testimony focuses primarily on two key points as addressed in GAO's recently released report, Veterinarian Workforce: Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public and Animal Health (GAO-09-178, February 4, 2009). First, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has not conducted a governmentwide effort to address current and future shortages of federal veterinarians; and, second, USDA and HHS have not assessed the sufficiency of their veterinarian workforces departmentwide. For the report, GAO, among other things, surveyed 24 federal component agencies about their veterinarian workforces. GAO also determined the extent to which the departments that employ about 96 percent of federal veterinarians, including USDA and HHS, have assessed the sufficiency of their veterinarian workforce. In addition, GAO interviewed officials of OPM to identify any initiatives it has conducted to address …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) enactment in 1998, GAO has issued numerous reports that included recommendations regarding many aspects of WIA. These aspects include performance measures and accountability, funding formulas and spending, one-stop centers, and training, as well as services provided to specific populations, such as dislocated workers, youth, and employers. Collectively, GAO studies employed an array of data collection techniques, including surveys to state and local workforce officials and private sector employers; site visits; interviews with local, state, and Department of Labor (Labor) officials; and analyses of Labor data and documents. This testimony draws upon the results of these reports, issued between 2002 and 2008, and discusses issues raised and recommendations made. Specifically, this testimony addresses (1) progress made by Labor in addressing areas of concern, particularly related to GAO recommendations for action, and (2) what steps Labor has taken to ensure an understanding of what works and for whom in addressing the needs of workers and employers."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of more than 202,000 federal offenders with approximately 35,000 employees, almost half of whom are correctional officers, dispersed across BOP's 114 correctional facilities in 6 regions. In response to a request, GAO identified whether BOP had policies and procedures and how it assessed the management of those policies and procedures for (1) employee-requested lateral transfers of BOP employees between correctional facilities and (2) day-to-day changes in correctional services or temporary assignments of BOP employees within a correctional facility. GAO reviewed available documentation on BOP's policies and procedures on lateral transfers and temporary assignments. GAO also interviewed officials from BOP's central and regional offices and seven facilities selected on the basis of the number of staff; at least one facility was selected from within each of BOP's six regions."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has spent about $56 billion and will spend about $50 billion more through 2013 to develop a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). This testimony is based on two reviews GAO was directed to conduct in 2008. In addition to our annual review assessing the annual cost, testing, schedule, and performance progress MDA made in developing BMDS, we have also reported on MDA's targets program. In this testimony we discuss (1) the productivity of MDA's recent test program, (2) the consequences of the testing shortfalls, and (3) key factors that should be considered as MDA revises its approach to testing. GAO assessed contractor cost, schedule, and performance; tests completed; and the assets fielded during 2008. GAO also reviewed pertinent sections of the U.S. Code, acquisition policy, and the activities of a new missile defense board."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the government's interests, any agency can exclude (i.e., debar or suspend) parties from receiving federal contracts or assistance for a range of offenses. Exclusions of companies or individuals from federal contracts or other funding are listed in the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), a Web-based system maintained by GSA. Recent allegations indicate that excluded parties have been able to receive federal contracts. As a result, GAO was asked (1) to determine whether these allegations could be substantiated and (2) to identify the key causes of any improper awards and other payments detected. GAO investigated parties that were excluded for offenses such as fraud, theft, and violations of federal statutes and received awards in excess of $1,000."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000, Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service to allow the Colorado State Forest Service to conduct certain activities, such as reducing hazardous vegetation, on U.S. Forest Service land when performing similar activities on adjacent state or private land. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received similar "Good Neighbor" authority in 2004, as did the U.S. Forest Service in Utah. Congress has also considered the authority's expansion to other states. GAO was asked to determine (1) the activities conducted under the authority; (2) the federal and state guidance, procedures, and controls used to conduct Good Neighbor projects; and (3) successes, challenges, and lessons learned resulting from the authority's use. To do so, GAO reviewed Good Neighbor project documentation and interviewed federal and state officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health-care-associated infections (HAI) are a leading cause of death. Recent high-profile cases of HAIs in ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) due to lapses in recommended infection control practices may indicate a more widespread problem in ASCs, but the prevalence of such lapses is unknown. The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other entities collect data on HAIs, including process data on the use of recommended practices and outcome data on HAI incidence. CMS conducts standard surveys on about half of ASCs every 3 to 4 years, assessing compliance with its standard on infection control. In this report, GAO examines the availability of data on HAIs in ASCs nationwide. GAO interviewed subject-matter experts, agency officials, and trade and professional group officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO recently completed an engagement regarding the use of term appointments by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for civil servant positions. Congress expanded NASA's ability to use term appointments to fill civil service positions in 2004 through the passage of the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 (Pub. L. No. 108-201). NASA sought this flexibility to ensure that it could hire and retain the workforce it desired. In October 2008, we briefed the Congressional committee on the results of our review, and were asked to respond to additional questions several members on your committee had regarding NASA's use of term appointments. 1. What policies and procedures are in place to protect the independence of scientists and engineers hired under term appointment authority? 2. What are the rates of conversion from term to career or careerconditional appointments? 3. What policies and procedures are in place for term appointees to challenge NASA decisions regarding non conversion of their appointments? 4. What is the declination rate to employment offers at the NASA centers?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Individual taxpayers used commercial tax software to prepare over 39 million tax returns in 2007, making it critical to the tax administration system. The majority were then filed electronically, resulting in fewer errors and reduced processing costs compared to paper returns. GAO was asked to assess what is known about how pricing of tax software influences electronic filing, the extent to which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides oversight of the software industry, and the risks to tax administration from using tax software. To do so, GAO analyzed software prices, met with IRS and software company officials, examined IRS policies, and reviewed what is known about the accuracy, security, and reliability of tax software."