A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Institutions of higher education, including for-profit, nonprofit, and public schools, receive billions of dollars each year from the Department of Education (Education) to help students pay for school. In the 2009-2010 school year, Education provided $132 billion in grants and loans to students under federal student aid programs, up from $49 billion in the 2001-2002 school year. However, relatively little information is available about the quality of education being provided by these schools. Student characteristics are also important to consider when comparing educational outcomes at schools in different sectors (for-profit, nonprofit, and public). Measuring the quality of educational programs (i.e., how much knowledge or skill students gain) is difficult. Because few direct measures are available, indirect outcome measures, such as graduation and student loan default rates, are often used. Although no single outcome can be used to fully measure something as complex as educational quality, looking at multiple outcome measures (e.g., graduation rates, pass rates on licensing exams, employment outcomes, and student loan default rates) can shed light on the quality of education provided by schools. Available data indicate that for-profit schools enroll a higher proportion …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A total of 22 of the 39 former high-ranking officials (admiral-level and SES officials) who separated from the Coast Guard from 2006 through 2010 were compensated at some point from 2006 through 2011 by contractors that received obligations from the Coast Guard in calendar year 2011. We found that 12 of these former officials were compensated in calendar year 2011 by major Coast Guard contractors--those contractors receiving more than $10 million in obligations during that calendar year. The responsibilities of these officials vary, but 9 of these 12 officials were assigned by major contractors to positions involving the development of new business."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Complex acquisition processes and weaknesses in project planning contributed to the delays experienced on the Networx transition, resulting in cost increases and missed savings. In particular, the complexity of the acquisition process was related to duplicative contract vehicles, the large number of service options, and changes related to the process for ensuring fair competition among service providers, among others. These issues were reported by the General Services Administration (GSA) to have been compounded by a decline in contracting and technical expertise within the agencies. GAO has identified skills gaps in the federal workforce as a government-wide high-risk area and highlighted the need for agencies to work with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to close them. Weaknesses in agencies' project planning also contributed to the delays. For example, agencies tended to transition easier items first, to demonstrate progress, before they transitioned items that needed a long lead time such as data networks and international services. As a result of the delays, GSA's estimated cost to complete the transition increased by $66.4 million, 44 percent over the baseline estimate. In addition to the extra transition costs, agencies …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Our reviews of open sources published between January 1, 2009 and September 30, 2012 identified a total of 17 foreign firms that were reported to have sold refined petroleum products to Iran during that same time period. Our review of open sources published from January 2012 through September 2012 indicated that only 1 of these 17 firms--Sytrol--was reported to have sold refined petroleum products to Iran during that same time period. In addition, our open source review and communication with firms indicated that 12 of the 17 firms were reported to have stopped selling these products to Iran before September 30, 2012; however, our review did not identify sufficient information to indicate either that the remaining 4 firms had continued to sell or ceased selling refined petroleum products to Iran at some point between January 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Certain indicators suggest that the financial condition of the RRG industry in aggregate generally has remained profitable. In 2003, RRGs wrote about $1.8 billion, or 1.17 percent of commercial liability insurance. In 2010, RRGs continued to comprise a small percentage of the total market, writing about $2.5 billion--or about 3 percent of commercial liability coverage. Other financial indicators, such as ratios of RRG premiums earned compared to claims paid--also suggest profitability. In addition, the number of RRGs has increased since 2004, with the most growth occurring in health care-related lines. In 2010, more than 80 percent of RRGs were domiciled in Vermont, South Carolina, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona, but RRGs wrote about 95 percent of their premiums outside their state of domicile. Evidence suggests that RRGs may choose to domicile in a particular state, partly due to some financial and regulatory advantages such as lower minimum capitalization requirements. RRG representatives opined that RRGs have expanded the availability of commercial liability insurance--particularly in niche markets--but differed in their opinions of whether RRGs have improved its affordability. Different interpretations of LRRA have led to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) generally completed the field data collection phase of the 2010 Census consistent with its operational plans, at $13 billion, 2010 was the costliest census in the nation's history. Moving forward, it will be important to both refine existing operations as well as to reexamine the fundamental approach to the census to better address long-standing issues such as securing participation and escalating costs. As requested, this report reviews (1) the conduct of nonresponse follow-up (NRFU), where enumerators collect data from households that did not return their census forms, (2) the implementation of other field operations critical to a complete count, and (3) potential reexamination areas that could help produce a more cost-effective 2020 Census. The report is based on GAO's analysis of Bureau data and documents, surveys of local census office managers, and field observations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A catastrophic public health event could threaten our national security and cause hundreds of thousands of casualties. Recognizing the need for efficient sharing of real-time information to help prevent devastating consequences of public health emergencies, Congress included in the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in December 2006 a mandate for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with state, local, and tribal public health officials, to develop and deliver to Congress a strategic plan for the establishment and evaluation of an electronic nationwide public health situational awareness capability. Pursuant to requirements of the act, GAO reviewed HHS's plans for and status of efforts to implement these capabilities, described collaborative efforts to establish a network, and determined grants authorized by the act and awarded to public health entities. GAO assessed relevant strategic planning documents and interviewed HHS officials and public health stakeholders."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The gradual retreat of polar sea ice, combined with an expected increase in human activity--shipping traffic, oil and gas exploration, and tourism in the Arctic region--has increased the strategic interest that the United States and other nations have in the Arctic. As a result, the U.S. Coast Guard, within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has responsibilities in the Arctic, which are expected to increase. This testimony provides an update of: (1) the extent to which the Coast Guard has taken actions to identify requirements for future Arctic operations; (2) issues related to the U.S. icebreaking fleet; and (3) the extent to which the Coast Guard is coordinating with stakeholders on Arctic issues. This statement is based on GAO-10-870, issued in September 2010, and includes selected updates. For the selected updates, GAO analyzed Coast Guard, Department of Defense (DOD,) and other related documents on Arctic operations and capabilities. GAO also interviewed Coast Guard and DOD officials about efforts to identify Arctic requirements and coordinate with stakeholders."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) filing season is an enormous undertaking that includes processing individual income tax returns, issuing refunds, and responding to taxpayers. GAO was asked to assess IRS's 2010 filing season performance in relation to its goals and prior years' performance processing individual tax returns, answering telephones, and delivering Web and face-to-face services. To conduct the analysis, GAO analyzed data and documents from IRS, interviewed IRS officials, observed IRS operations, and interviewed tax industry experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Clinical data registries (CDR) have demonstrated a particular strength in assessing physician performance through their capacity to track and interpret trends in health care quality over time. Studies examining results reported by several long-established CDRs demonstrate the utility of CDR data sets for analyzing trends in both outcomes and treatments. CDR efforts to improve outcomes typically involve a combination of performance improvement activities including feedback reports to participating physicians, benchmarking physician performance relative to that of their peers, and related educational activities designed to stimulate changes in clinical practice. Studies GAO reviewed provided less insight on ways to improve the efficiency of care."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In summary, 1,964 hospitals and 45,962 professionals were awarded a total of approximately $2.7 billion in Medicaid EHR incentive payments for 2011. These 1,964 hospitals, which represented 39 percent of the 5,013 eligible hospitals, were awarded a total of $1.7 billion in Medicaid EHR incentive payments for 2011. While the amount of Medicaid EHR incentive payments awarded to each hospital ranged from $7,528 to $7.2 million, the median payment amount was $613,512. Participation rates, as well as total payments, were higher for hospitals in the Medicaid EHR program when compared to the Medicare EHR program, though the median payment amount in the Medicaid EHR program was less than half as large. About 50 percent of hospitals accounted for about 80 percent of the total amount of Medicaid incentive payments awarded to hospitals. Among hospitals awarded a Medicaid EHR incentive payment for 2011, we found that"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "What GAO Found"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs within the military departments use a variety of practices and tools to facilitate technology transition--the act of passing technologies developed in the science and technology environment on to users such as weapon system acquisition programs or warfighters in the field. GAO identified some common transition practices and tools across SBIR programs. For example, specific initiatives, such as the Commercialization Readiness Program, are used by each SBIR program and focus resources on enhancing technology transition opportunities. Transition facilitators are also used by each program to provide a network of personnel who manage SBIR activities that support technology transition. GAO also found some different practices and tools used to support technology transition efforts, such as the Navy Transition Assistance Program, which provides consulting services and helps showcase SBIR projects in an effort to improve small businesses' abilities to transition their projects. Transition facilitation efforts are supported by administrative funds provided through each program's SBIR budget and from other funds received from their respective military department. A recent increase in the amount of administrative funding that can come from SBIR budgets is …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "CBP revised its training program for newly hired CBP officers in accordance with its own training development standards. Consistent with these standards, CBP convened a team of subject-matter experts to identify and rank the tasks that new CBP officers are expected to perform. As a result, the new curriculum was designed to produce a professional law enforcement officer capable of protecting the homeland from terrorist, criminal, biological and agricultural threats. In addition, the curriculum stated that the CBP officer is to draw conclusions and take appropriate action to identify behavioral indicators displayed by criminals, effectively interview travelers to identify potential threats, identify fraudulent documents, and use technology in support of the inspection process."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins ""

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has broad authority to identify, assess, and address product risks, but faces some challenges in identifying and responding to new risks in a timely manner. CPSC uses various means to stay informed about risks that may be associated with new or existing products. These methods include (1) market surveillance activities for imported products, retail stores, and Internet sales; and (2) formal agreements and various activities with other agencies. However, certain legal restrictions may hamper CPSC's ability to stay informed about new product hazards to public health and safety. Specifically, because of certain restrictions in the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), CPSC cannot agree to allow foreign agencies to disclose nonpublic information they receive from CPSC. While the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) allows CPSC greater freedom to disclose information to U.S. courts, Congress, and state and local agencies, CPSC has been unable to complete information-sharing agreements with foreign counterparts as envisioned because it cannot offer its counterparts reciprocal terms on disclosure of nonpublic information. Due to the growing number of imported consumer products, this restriction on sharing information may …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since implementation of the Screening Partnership Program (SPP) in 2004, 29 airports have applied to the program, citing various advantages and relatively few disadvantages. Of the 25 approved, 16 are participating in the program, 6 are currently in the contractor procurement process, and the remainder withdrew from participation because their commercial airline services were discontinued. In 2011, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) denied applications for 6 airports because, according to TSA officials, the airports did not demonstrate that participation in the program would "provide a clear and substantial advantage to TSA security operations." After enactment of the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FAA Modernization Act) in February 2012, TSA revised its SPP application, removing the "clear and substantial advantage" question. Four of the 6 airports that had been denied in 2011 later reapplied and were approved. In GAO's survey and in interviews with airport operators (of SPP and non-SPP airports) and aviation stakeholders, improved customer service and increased staffing flexibilities were most commonly cited as advantages or potential advantages of the SPP. Individual Federal Security Directors we interviewed cited reduced involvement in …