Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is Appendix 2 of GAO's 2006 Performance and Accountability Report. Section 6 of the GAO Personnel Flexibilities Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-303 (2000), and section 11 of the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-271 (2004), require GAO to report to the Congress regarding its use of certain of the provisions of these acts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 by doubling the frequency of lobbyists' reporting and increasing criminal and civil penalties. This is GAO's second report in response to the Act's requirement for GAO to annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with the Act by providing support for information on their registrations and reports, (2) describe challenges identified by lobbyists to complying with the Act, and (3) describe the resources and authorities available to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia's efforts to enforce the Act. For this report, GAO placed increased emphasis on written documentation to support disclosure reports. GAO reviewed a random sample of 100 lobbyist disclosure reports filed during the first three quarters of calendar year 2008. GAO also selected a random sample of 100 reports of federal political contributions, filed for the first time, for mid-calendar-year 2008. This methodology allowed GAO to generalize the sample results to the populations of 40,169 lobbying activity disclosure reports and 6,048 reports with contributions filed. GAO met with lobbyists regarding …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA). This is GAO's third report in response to the LDA's requirement for GAO to annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with the LDA by providing support for information on their registrations and reports, (2) identify challenges and potential improvements to compliance for registered lobbyists, and (3) describe the efforts the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (the Office) has made to improve its enforcement of the LDA. GAO reviewed a random sample of 134 lobbying disclosure reports filed from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2008 through the third quarter of calendar year 2009. GAO also selected two random samples of federal political campaign contributions reports from year-end 2008 through midyear 2009. GAO sampled 100 reports listing contributions and 100 reports listing no contributions. This methodology allowed GAO to generalize to the population of 53,756 disclosure reports, 10,928 contributions reports, and 22,572 reports with no contributions. GAO also met with officials from the Office regarding efforts to focus resources on lobbyists who …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Rigorous planning is key to a successful census as it helps ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates the 2010 Census will cost around $11.3 billion, which would make it the most expensive census in our country's history, even after adjusting for inflation. GAO was asked to testify on (1) the Bureau's progress in preparing for the 2010 Census, (2) the challenges that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita might pose for the Bureau's future activities, and, (3) more broadly, the importance of planning for a range of events that could severely disrupt the census."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires that GAO annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with disclosure requirements, (2) identify any challenges that lobbyists report to compliance, and (3) describe the resources and authorities available to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (the Office), and the efforts the Office has made to improve its enforcement of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 as amended (LDA). This is GAO's fourth report under the mandate. GAO reviewed a stratified random sample of 100 lobbying disclosure reports filed from the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009 through the third quarter of calendar year 2010. GAO also selected two random samples totaling 160 reports of federal political campaign contributions from year-end 2009 and midyear 2010. This methodology allowed GAO to generalize to the population of 55,282 disclosure reports with $5,000 or more in lobbying activity. GAO also met with officials from the Office regarding efforts to focus resources on lobbyists who fail to comply. GAO provided a draft of this report to the Attorney General for review and comment. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Most lobbyists were able to provide documentation to demonstrate compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA). For lobbying disclosure reports (LD-2), GAO estimates that"

A chapter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report is intended to help the Congress in reviewing and reconsidering the base of federal spending and tax programs. It is intended as one input among many that Congress will receive as it decides what its agenda will be for oversight and program review. We have framed the issues presented as illustrative questions for policymakers to consider as a supplement to their own efforts. The questions are drawn from GAO's issued work, our strategic plan prepared in consultation with the Congress, input from several inspectors general and the institutional knowledge of our staff. They cover discretionary spending, mandatory spending, including entitlements, as well as tax policies and programs. While answers to these questions may draw on the work of GAO and others, only elected officials can and should decide which questions to address as well as how and when to address them. The report is organized in three sections. The first section sets the stage by providing the rationale for reexamining the base of the federal government and the scope of GAO's effort. The second section is organized around 12 areas of federal activity and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch. GAO provides Congress with the best information available to help members make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO meets Congress' information needs by (1) evaluating how government programs and policies are working, (2) auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively, (3) investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities, and (4) issuing legal decisions and opinions. Most GAO work is done at the request of committees or members, but some reports are self-initiated or done in response to congressional mandates included in public laws or committee reports. GAO's annual index is a two-volume set. The first volume--Abstracts of Reports and Testimony: Fiscal Year 2000--contains summaries of 878 publicly released reports and testimony listed alphabetically by division or staff office. Classified reports, correspondence, and legal publications are not included. The second volume--Indexes for Reports and Testimony: Fiscal Year 2000--contains several indexes to help you locate reports and testimony by issue category, subject matter, title, or GAO witness. The annual index is also available in electronic …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This is one in a series or reports designed to help federal agencies improve or maintain effective internal control, financial management systems, and financial reporting. GAO discusses the status of the 13 remaining standards in Title 2, "Accounting," of the GAO Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies in light of the most recent compendium of Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) standards and guidance. GAO either (1) reprinted the standards that remain in effect, along with any updated citations to relevant guidance, or (2) provided the citation of current guidance replacing that standard."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-650G, Acquisition/Financial Systems Interface Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, June 2004. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are described in detail in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance and in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP). JFMIP intends for its requirements series to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems that support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-04-218G, Acquisition/Financial Systems Interface Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (Exposure Draft), December 2003. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are described in detail in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance and in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP). JFMIP intends for its requirements series to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems that support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its report on adverse drug events (ADE), focusing on the: (1) different types and causes of ADEs; (2) evidence on the overall incidence and cost of ADEs in the United States; and (3) measures that have been proposed to reduce the number and severity of ADEs."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Although the October 2012 and the August 2013 versions of the U.S. Civil-Military Strategic Framework for Afghanistan have similarities, the two versions differ in several aspects. These differences reflect, among other things, the U.S. government's heightened emphasis on the transition, through the end of 2014, of security responsibility for Afghanistan to Afghan security institutions and the Afghan National Security Forces as well as the transition in U.S. policy toward a more traditional diplomatic and development model. Both versions of the framework address four categories of U.S. efforts in support of U.S. national goals in Afghanistan, with security, the first category, as the foundation for the other three categories, or "pillars"--governance, rule of law, and socioeconomic development. Both versions also address the same crosscutting issues. Differences between the two versions include the following:"

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the views of members of state technical committees on (1) the effectiveness of USDA's conservation efforts in addressing environmental concerns related to agriculture, (2) any program elements that hinder the achievement of related environmental objectives, and (3) any program characteristics that current or new programs might include to better meet these objectives. GAO summarizes the responses of the state technical committee members and stratifies them by geographic region and organization."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's analysis of the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) fee and cost data revealed a more than $325 million gap between fee revenues and total program costs in fiscal year 2011, or 38 percent of AQI program costs. The program, which is co-administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), has a gap for several reasons: 1) APHIS's authority does not permit it to charge all persons seeking entry to the United States (e.g., pedestrians) and does not permit it to charge the costs of those inspections to others; 2) APHIS has chosen not to charge some classes of passengers, citing administrative fee collection difficulties; 3) CBP does not charge a portion of all primary inspections to agriculture functions, as required by CBP guidance; 4) APHIS does not consider all imputed costs (that is, costs incurred by other agencies on behalf of the AQI program) when setting fees; and 5) the allowable rates for overtime services are misaligned with the personnel costs of performing those services. APHIS is considering fees …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Border Smog Reduction Act's impact on ozone levels and the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on ozone in the San Diego, California, area, focusing on: (1) estimates of the act's potential impact on ozone-causing chemicals in the San Diego area; and (2) trends in commercial border traffic and ozone levels in the San Diego area before and after NAFTA was implemented."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2000, United Airlines proposed acquiring US Airways and divesting part of those assets to create a new airline to be called DC Air. More recently, American Airlines has proposed buying Trans World Airlines (TWA), along with certain assets from United. These proposals have raised questions about how such consolidation within the airline industry could affect competition in general and consumers in particular. Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Transportation need to answer several questions in evaluating the proposed mergers. For example, questions remain about whether American's purchase of financially-strapped TWA represents the last anticompetitive means to preserve its assets. The proposals by American, TWA, United, US Airways, and DC Air constitute the most significant recent changes that have occurred in the airline industry, and the outcome of these decisions could have both positive and negative effects for consumers for years to come. This testimony summarizes a December report (GAO-01-212)."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed Alaska and California energy production, focusing on the effects of lifting the export ban on: (1) Alaskan North Slope and California crude oil prices and production; and (2) refiners, consumers, and the oil shipping industry on the West Coast."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) implementation of a strategy to combat alien smuggling, focusing on: (1) the nature and extent of alien smuggling into the United States; (2) INS' strategy for combatting alien smuggling; and (3) how well the strategy has been implemented and the results to date."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Ground ambulance providers' costs per transport for 2010 varied widely. The median cost per transport for the providers in GAO's sample was $429, ranging from $224 to $2,204 per transport. Provider characteristics that affected cost per transport were volume of transports (including both Medicare and non-Medicare transports), intensity of transports (the proportion of Medicare transports that were nonemergency), and the extent to which providers received government subsidies. Higher volume of transports, higher proportions of nonemergency transports, and lower government subsidies were associated with lower costs per transport. Providers reported that personnel cost was the largest cost component in their 2010 total costs and the biggest contributor to increases in their total costs from 2009 to 2010."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on animal waste management practices, focusing on: (1) waste management practices used in the United States; (2) practices used in other countries; (3) potential new practices based on technologies transferred from other industries; (4) federal financial and technical assistance available to producers for waste management and the processes for obtaining this assistance; and (5) the role of federal agencies in conducting or supporting research to develop new waste management practices, including innovative uses of current practices."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) advertising contract for Phase III of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. GAO found that the contractor, Ogilvy & Mather, improperly charged the government for some of its labor costs incurred under this contract. Ogivley & Mather submitted time sheets claiming hours that some employees said they did not work on the anti-drug media campaign. In addition, the company made little progress toward restructuring its accounting system to meet government requirements until nearly two years after the contract was awarded. The government poorly managed aspects of the award and administration of the contract. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should not have awarded this cost-reimbursement contract without determining whether the contractor had an adequate cost accounting system. In addition, HHS should have reviewed the appropriateness of the large amount of money that the technical representative recommended be disallowed from the contractor's invoices, or arranged for an audit of the contract. The technical representative appropriately brought allegations of improper billing to the attention of ONDCP management, but ONDCP management did not take prompt action to investigate …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Infections that were once treatable have become more difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance. Resistance occurs naturally but is accelerated by inappropriate antibiotic use in people, among other things. Questions have been raised about whether agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have adequately assessed the effects of antibiotic use and disposal on resistance in humans. GAO was asked to (1) describe federal efforts to quantify the amount of antibiotics produced, (2) evaluate HHS's monitoring of antibiotic use and efforts to promote appropriate use, (3) examine HHS's monitoring of antibiotic-resistant infections, and (4) describe federal efforts to monitor antibiotic disposal and antibiotics in the environment, and describe research on antibiotics in the development of resistance in the environment. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed officials, conducted a literature review, and analyzed antibiotic sales data."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers' (Corps) civil works mission has grown over the years, while its three-tiered headquarters, division, and district structure has remained the same since it was created in 1893. GAO was asked to examine for the Civil Works Program (1) over time, how the Corps has realigned its organization to take into account its changing mission, budget, staffing, and workload; (2) the challenges that the Corps has faced in realigning its organization; and (3) areas where officials and stakeholders believe changes to organizational alignment, if any, could enhance the Corps' civil works mission. Organizational alignment refers to, among other things, changes in structure, roles and responsibilities, and technical and policy guidance. GAO completed a historical and legislative review of the Corps' mission and past realignment efforts, reviewed budget, staffing, and workload data, and interviewed current and former officials and stakeholders."