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For the school year 1998- 1999, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) reported that there were about 11.8 million public high school students in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. School-based sports programs include about 6.5 million participants in more than 17,850 high schools acr... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed high school interscholastic athletics, focusing on the: (1) number of uninsured high school students in the United States and the extent to which the lack of health insurance poses a barrier to participation in high school athletic programs; and (2) strategies school ... |
Federally owned civilian buildings range from multi-story buildings located in urban centers to remotely located storage facilities in national parks or national forests. Federally owned buildings are used for offices, warehouses, schools, hospitals, housing, data centers, and laboratories, among others uses. Similarly... | Federal property management has been on GAO's High-Risk list since 2003, in part because the government maintains too much excess and underutilized property. GSA has the authority to dispose of property for all federal entities under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended. However, som... |
DOD currently uses both military and commercial SATCOM to meet its global communications requirements. DOD leases commercial SATCOM to meet outstanding military SATCOM requirements, to satisfy users who need a disproportionate share of military satellite resources, and to continue to provide capability to the military ... | DOD depends on commercial SATCOM to support a variety of critical mission needs, from unmanned aerial vehicles and intelligence to voice and data for military personnel. In fiscal year 2011, the most recent information available, DOD spent over $1 billion leasing commercial SATCOM. In prior work, GAO found that some ma... |
The radio-frequency spectrum supports a vast array of government and commercial services, including radio and television broadcasts, personal communications services, satellite communications, wireless local area networks, public safety communications, air traffic control, scientific research, and radar-based weather f... | Recent advances in technologies that rely on the use of the radiofrequency spectrum have turned science fiction of the past into reality. Cellular telephones, wireless computer networks, global positioning system receivers, and other spectrum-dependent technologies are quickly becoming as common to everyday life as rad... |
The business of banking involves taking and managing a variety of risks. Major risks facing banking institutions include those listed in table 1. Changes in the banking industry and financial markets have increased the complexity of banking risks. Banking assets have become more concentrated among a small number of ver... | Concerned about the potential impacts of the proposed risk-based capital rules, known as Basel II, Congress mandated that GAO study U.S. implementation efforts. This report examines (1) the transition to Basel II and the proposed changes in the United States, (2) the potential impact on the banking system and regulator... |
Over the last decade, telework has emerged as a management tool in the federal government. Congress and the executive branch have shown interest in telework, primarily based upon the belief that its use will benefit the federal government. Benefits of telework include reducing traffic congestion and pollution, improvin... | Telework--work done at a location other than a traditional office--has gained widespread attention over the past decade as a human capital flexibility offering various potential benefits to employers, employees, and society. Using such flexibilities as management tools can help the federal government address its human ... |
The practice of requiring criminal offenders to register certain identifying information with law enforcement agencies began in the 1930s in response to the increased mobility of criminals upon their release. At the time, offender registries were viewed primarily as tools for law enforcement personnel, who needed a way... | Studies estimate that about 1 in every 5 girls and 1 in every 7 to 10 boys are sexually abused. In 2006, Congress passed SORNA, which introduced new sex offender registration standards for all 50 states, 5 U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), t... |
With their central role in making payments and mobilizing and distributing savings, banks are a key part of a country’s economy and the international financial system. Weaknesses in a country’s banking system can threaten financial stability both within that country and internationally. These problems are not limited t... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO analyzed the efforts to improve the financial sectors of the emerging market countries of Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand, focusing on: (1) the nature of weaknesses in the countries' financial sectors; (2) the extent to which the countries have achieved reforms in their fin... |
Working-age adults with disabilities can obtain benefits in the form of services and cash assistance from a number of public and private programs. After the onset of a disabling condition, a worker with a temporary work incapacity may receive short-term cash benefits from an employer, a private insurer, one of the few ... | GAO updated information in previous reports regarding the Social Security Administration's (SSA) return-to-work program for Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. Although GAO did not independently verify the data used in the analysis of this report, the data cited came from eit... |
In 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which required federal agencies to include in all defense contracts a provision prohibiting contractors from discriminating against any worker because of race, color, creed, or national origin. President Johnson expanded these obligations in 1965 when he issued ... | OFCCP is charged with ensuring that about 200,000 federal contractor establishments refrain from discrimination and take affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities for certain protected classes of workers. GAO was asked to review OFCCP practices. In this report, GAO (1) assessed how OFCCP conducts sup... |
The primary objective of the Clean Water Act is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” As authorized under the act, states have primary responsibility for implementing programs to manage water quality. As a first step, states set water quality standards to ach... | The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that more than 20,000 bodies of water throughout the country are too polluted to meet water quality standards. States use different approaches to identify impaired waters. This variation has led not only to inconsistencies in the listing of impaired waters but also to ... |
CFPB defines its mission as helping consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. CFPB’s strategic plan articulates four broad goals: Prevent financial harm to consumers while pr... | The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created CFPB to regulate the provision of consumer financial products and services. In 2014, congressional hearings included testimony from CFPB employees about allegations of discrimination and retaliation, which raised concerns about CFPB's management prac... |
To address the potential threat of an influenza pandemic, the President and his HSC issued two planning documents. The Strategy was issued in November 2005 and is intended to provide a high-level overview of the approach that the federal government will take to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic. It also ... | An influenza pandemic is a real and significant potential threat facing the United States and the world. Pandemics are unlike other emergencies because they are not a singular event nor discretely bounded in space and time. This testimony addresses (1) federal leadership roles and responsibilities for preparing for and... |
Although wildland fires are inevitable natural disturbances that have helped shape ecosystems over time, they can be unpredictable and destructive as well. Fires can kill trees and other vegetation, alter wildlife habitat and soils, and destroy roads, buildings, campgrounds and other infrastructure. Fires can also leav... | Since 2001, Congress and federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have recognized the importance of rehabilitating and restoring lands unlikely to recover on their own after wildland fires. However, while funding has increased for fire prevention, ... |
Under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), employers are permitted to sponsor two broad categories of pension plans. They are (1) defined benefit plans—in which employers generally maintain a fund to provide a fixed level of monthly retirement income based on a formula specified in th... | GAO has reported that millions of U.S. workers lack access to employer-sponsored pension plans and that some small businesses, which offered plans at lower rates than large businesses, may be deterred by the cost of plan administration. MEPs, a type of pension plan maintained by more than one employer, have been suppor... |
GPRA is intended to shift the focus of government decisionmaking, management, and accountability from activities and processes to the results and outcomes achieved by federal programs. New and valuable information on the plans, goals, and strategies of federal agencies has been provided since federal agencies began imp... | This report reviews the Department of Commerce's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan required by the Government Performance and Results Act to assess Commerce's progress on achieving selected key outcomes. Commerce's combined performance report and performance plan is a significant... |
Under traditional indemnity plans, the physician has no legal relationship to the patient’s health plan. The contractual relationships are between the patient and the physician—under which the patient is obligated to pay the physician a fee for service rendered—and between the patient and the plan—under which the plan ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the key features that are important to indemnity plans' complaint and appeal systems, focusing on: (1) the elements that are considered important to a system for processing indemnity plan member complaints and appeals; (2) the extent to which indemnity plan complaint an... |
Congress enacted the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (the Energy Act) during the aftermath of the energy crisis created by the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and 1974 to reduce oil consumption by the transportation sector in the United States. The act established what is commonly known as the CAFE program, which requ... | Concerns over national security, environmental stresses, and economic pressures from increased fuel prices have led to the nation's interest in reducing oil consumption. Efforts to reduce oil consumption will need to include the transportation sector. For example, several Members of Congress have introduced bills propo... |
The Navy uses a four-step process and considers various factors in crewing its ships. First, it determines the workload of its ships. Second, it loads workload data into its Manpower Requirements System model to generate workforce requirements. Third, it determines the proportion of its requirements it can fund and the... | Since 2000, the Navy has undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve greater efficiencies and reduce costs. For example, it has reduced crew sizes on some of its surface ships and has moved from instructor-led to more computer-based training. In House Report 111-166, which accompanied the National Defense Authorizati... |
According to the 190 ferry operators responding to the 2008 National Census of Ferry Operators, more than 82 million passengers and over 25 million vehicles were carried on their vessels in the United States. As reported in 2008, the ferry systems that carried the most passengers and vehicles in 2008 were the New York ... | Ferries are a vital component of the U.S. transportation system and 2008 data show that U.S. ferries carried more than 82 million passengers and over 25 million vehicles. Ferries are also potential targets for terrorism in the United States and have been terrorist targets overseas. GAO was asked to review ferry securit... |
Beginning in the mid-1970s, major structural changes took place in the American economy, as advances in technology, international competition, plant closings, and corporate streamlining resulted in the dislocation of thousands of workers from their jobs. Some of these individuals possessed skills that were no longer in... | Changes to the U.S. economy have led to longer-term unemployment. Many unemployed workers receive Unemployment Insurance (UI), which provided about $30 billion in benefits in 2006. In 1993, Congress established requirements--now known as the Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) initiative--for state UI age... |
DOD’s current missing persons accounting mission began largely in response to public concerns raised during and after the Vietnam War. The mission originally focused on recovering missing persons from the Vietnam War. It has evolved over time into an enduring mission for the department. In 1994, DOD was required to pro... | DOD reports that more than 83,000 persons are missing from past conflicts in Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf, and World War II. Several DOD organizations, known as the accounting community, have a role in accounting for the missing. Between 2002 and 2012, DOD accounted for an average of 72 persons each y... |
School districts’ contracting with private, for-profit companies reflects an increasing trend toward private management of public services and concerns about the quality of U.S. education. As a result, school districts nationwide are experimenting with a range of reform options, including school-based management, chart... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the experiences of four school districts that contracted for public school management, focusing on the effects of private management contract arrangements on students. GAO found that: (1) in Baltimore, Maryland, one contractor used its average per pupil allocation to ma... |
FFMIA and other financial management reform legislation have emphasized the importance of improving financial management across the federal government. Beginning in 1990, the Congress has passed a series of management reform legislation to improve the general and financial management of the federal government. As shown... | The ability to produce the data needed to efficiently and effectively manage the day-to-day operations of the federal government and provide accountability to taxpayers has been a long-standing challenge to most federal agencies. To help address this challenge, the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (... |
Our analysis of limited airline data found that DOD had purchased millions of dollars in airline tickets that it did not use and did not process for refund. Because DOD did not maintain data on unused tickets, DOD was not aware of this problem prior to our audit. Further assessment of the data indicated that it is poss... | In November 2003, GAO testified on the significant level of improper premium class travel purchased with centrally billed accounts. These findings led to concerns over the Department of Defense's (DOD) overall management of the centrally billed account program. At the request of this Committee, Senator Grassley, and Re... |
The transportation-disadvantaged population generally includes those individuals who cannot provide their own transportation due to age, disability, or income constraints. Although the size of this population can vary over time, this population is large. The Census Bureau estimated that in 2010 there were about 40 mill... | Access to transportation services is essential for millions of Americans to fully participate in society and access human services, including medical care. NEMT is nonemergency, nonmilitary, surface transportation service of any kind provided to beneficiaries or clients for the purpose of receiving medical care. GAO wa... |
BOP uses a network of cost centers—individual accounting units in which costs can be segregated—to obligate, account for, and manage various costs. Managers of each cost center are provided with information to control and manage costs within their area of responsibility. Cost centers can be structured along different d... | BOP is responsible for the custody and care of 216,000 federal inmates—an almost 9-fold increase since 1980. At the same time, BOP appropriations increased more than 20-fold. DOJ states that the costs of the growing population are BOP's greatest challenge. BOP's population size is driven by several factors, such as law... |
Our prior work has found that U.S. multinational corporations engage in offshore operations to reduce labor and administrative costs. For example, many U.S. companies have found cost efficiencies by outsourcing manufacturing jobs based in the U.S. to countries with skilled labor available at lower cost. U.S. and foreig... | Many federal contractors establish offshore subsidiaries to take advantage of labor and market conditions. GAO has found that they also use offshore subsidiaries to reduce their U.S. tax burdens. In 2008, Congress passed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act which resulted in contractor offshore sub... |
Let me start by telling you a little more about the genesis of this report. GAO has long had a statutory responsibility for monitoring the nation’s finances. Recently, in our role as the auditor of the U.S. government’s consolidated financial statements, we included an emphasis paragraph in the audit report for fiscal ... | This report stems from the recognition that the Congress faces a daunting challenge: the need to bring government and its programs in line with 21st century realities. This challenge has many related pieces: addressing the nation's large and growing long-term fiscal gap; deciding on the appropriate role and size of the... |
The military health system has three missions: (1) maintaining the health of active-duty service members; (2) maintaining readinessthe capability to treat wartime casualties; and (3) providing care to the dependents of active-duty personnel, retirees and their families, and survivors of military personnel. In fiscal y... | The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 authorized the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct the Medicare subvention demonstration for a three-year period. Under this demonstration, DOD formed Medicare managed care organizations--collectively called TRICARE Senior Prime--at six sites that provided the full range of Medicare-c... |
State authorities uncovered various abusive practices in the mutual fund industry in 2003, but since then SEC has taken swift action designed to punish wrongdoers and better prevent or detect abusive practices in the future. In September 2003, the Attorney General of the State of New York filed a case alleging abusive ... | Having grown to over $7.5 trillion in assets, mutual funds have become vital components of the financial security of more than 95 million American investors. However, in 2003, various allegations of misconduct and abusive practices involving mutual funds came to light. Therefore, ensuring that the Securities and Exchan... |
Emergency plans for commercial nuclear power plants are intended to protect public health and safety whenever plant accidents cause radiation to be released to the environment. Since the March 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, significantly more attention has been focused on em... | Consolidated Edison Company shut down the Indian Point 2 commercial nuclear power plant in February 2000 because a tube had ruptured in a steam generator, raising the possibility that radioactively contaminated water could leak into the environment. In this case, the total amount of radioactivity released posed no thre... |
Education is the primary agency overseeing federal investments in support of students enrolled in postsecondary education. Education’s grant and loan programs are the largest source of student aid in the United States; however, tax provisions recently enacted by Congress have created new sources of support to assist st... | Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA), as first adopted in 1965, authorizes federal grant and loan programs, providing a total of $53 billion in assistance to 8.1 million students in fiscal year 1999. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 allowed eligible taxpayers to reduce their tax liability by receiving up to $1,500... |
For nearly 80 years, the United States produced and stored chemical weapons to deter other countries from using them against U.S. military personnel. In 1985, the Congress directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to destroy the U.S. stockpile of chemical munitions and establish a management organization within the Army... | GAO assessed the Department of Defense's (DOD) programs for destroying the U.S. stockpile of chemical munitions and planning for the disposal of nonstockpile chemical warfare materiel, focusing on: (1) the programs' cost and schedule; (2) alternatives for improving program effectiveness and efficiency; and (3) actions ... |
GSA is responsible for ensuring that federal agencies have access to the telecommunications services and solutions that they need to meet mission requirements. The organization responsible for carrying out these duties is the Integrated Technology Services Office within GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. Within the Int... | GSA is responsible for ensuring that federal agencies have access to the telecommunications services and solutions needed to meet their mission requirements. As agencies' telecommunications needs have evolved, so too have GSA's contracts to help support them. Its latest contracts, signed in 2007 and collectively called... |
Space transportation is the movement of, or means of moving objects, such as satellites and vehicles carrying cargo, scientific payloads, or passengers, to, from, or in space. Space activity in the United States is conducted by the civil, military, and commercial sectors. Commercial space transportation is carried out ... | The U.S. commercial space launch industry has changed considerably since the enactment of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. FAA is required to license or permit commercial space launches, but to allow the space tourism industry to develop, the act prohibited FAA from regulating crew and spaceflight pa... |
ICE has received funding specifically designated for removing criminal aliens. For example, the fiscal year 2008 DHS appropriations act made $200 million of ICE’s salaries and expenses appropriation available through the end of fiscal year 2009 to “improve and modernize efforts to identify aliens convicted of a crime, ... | Initiated in 2008, Secure Communities is an ICE program designed to identify potentially removable aliens, particularly those with criminal convictions, in state and local law enforcement custody. Fingerprints checked against a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal database are checked against DHSs immigration data... |
All full-power television broadcasters are required by law to cease broadcasting their analog signal by February 17, 2009. There are numerous benefits to transitioning to digital-only broadcast signals, such as enabling better quality television picture and sound reception and using the radiofrequency spectrum more eff... | The Digital Television (DTV) Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, requires all full-power television station in the United States to cease analog broadcasting by February 17, 2009. Low-power stations are not required to cease analog transmissions and most will continue broadcasting in analog. Federal law also requ... |
W&I supports IRS’s mission by maintaining an enforcement presence and encouraging the correct reporting of income tax to instill the highest degree of public confidence in the tax system’s integrity, fairness, and efficiency. Audit programs in W&I cover mainly refundable credits on the Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income ... | Audit activities help ensure taxpayers pay the right amount of tax and help address the net $385 billion tax gap—the difference between the amount of taxes paid voluntarily and on time, and the amount owed. Audit programs in W&I mainly cover refundable credits reported on the Form 1040, Individual Income Tax Return. Th... |
Because of such emergencies as natural disasters, hazardous material spills, and riots, all levels of government have had some experience in preparing for different types of disasters and emergencies. Preparing for all potential hazards is commonly referred to as the “all-hazards” approach. While terrorism is a compone... | Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, train... |
SEC is composed of a five-member Commission that oversees SEC operations and provides final approval over staff interpretation of federal securities laws, proposals for new or amended rules to govern securities markets, and enforcement activities. The Commission, which is headed by the SEC chairman, oversees 5 division... | Personnel management is important to the mission of federal agencies. Several high-profile enforcement failures have raised concerns about SECs personnel management. Section 962 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandates GAO to report on SEC's personnel management. This report examines (... |
DLA is DOD’s logistics manager for all DOD consumable items and some DOD repair items; its primary business function is providing supply support to sustain military operations and readiness. In addition to this primary function, which DLA refers to as either materiel management or supply-chain management, DLA performs ... | The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) plays a critical role in supporting America's military forces worldwide. DLA employs about 28,000 civilian and military workers at about 500 sites in all 50 states and 28 countries; in round numbers, it manages 4 million supply items and processes 30 million annual supply distribution... |
USDA contracts for billions of dollars in goods and services every year, including hundreds of millions of dollars in professional services. Professional services constitute a wide range of functions needed by USDA, including human resources support, such as developing position descriptions or reviewing resumes; develo... | USDA obligated nearly $1.8 billion for professional service contracts in fiscal years 2009 through 2013. OMB has raised concerns about such contracts, reporting that agencies are twice as likely to use higher-risk contract types when buying such services as when buying other services or goods. GAO was asked to review a... |
In November 2002, the Homeland Security Act was enacted into law, creating DHS. This act defined the department’s missions to include preventing terrorist attacks within the United States; reducing U.S. vulnerability to terrorism; and minimizing the damages, and assisting in the recovery from, attacks that occur within... | The events of September 11, 2001, led to profound changes in government policies and structures to confront homeland security threats. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003 with key missions that included preventing terrorist attacks from occurring in the United States, and mi... |
There are more than 400 airports in the United States at which TSA provides or oversees passenger and checked baggage screening. These airports, often referred to as the nation’s “commercial” airports, each contain one or more passenger screening checkpoints, and each checkpoint is composed of one or more screening lan... | Over 600 million people travel by air each year in the United States, and the screening of airline passengers and their carry-on and checked baggage is vital to securing our transportation security system. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, enacted in November 2001, established the Transportation Security Ad... |
For centuries, the Everglades has provided habitat for many species of wading birds and other native wildlife, including the American alligator, which depend on the water flow patterns that existed before human intervention. With Florida Bay, the Everglades provides important nursery grounds for fin fish, shrimp, lobst... | Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO reviewed: (1) federal efforts to involve nonfederal stakeholders in environmental restoration efforts in South Florida; and (2) the lessons learned about federal and nonfederal collaboration and consensus-building in South Florida that might be applicable elsewhere. GAO found tha... |
Broker-dealers may provide a range of financial services to clients, including corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals. A full-service broker-dealer (or a related subsidiary or affiliate) may employ (1) investment bankers to assist clients with raising capital through underwritings and privat... | In 2003 and 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), self-regulatory organizations (SRO), and others settled with 12 broker-dealers to address conflicts of interest between the firms research and investment banking personnel. The regulators alleged that the firms allowed their investment bankers to pressure... |
To encourage defense contractor consolidations, DOD announced in July 1993 that it would pay for restructuring costs on transferred flexibly priced contracts, provided that (1) the restructuring costs were allowable under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and (2) a DOD contracting officer determined that the business ... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on: (1) the six business combinations for which the Department of Defense (DOD), as of September 30, 1998, had certified that the projected restructuring savings should exceed associated restructuring costs; and (2) on a seventh combination, Hughes Aircraf... |
The Zadroga Act established the WTCHP to provide medical monitoring and treatment benefits, and reactivated the VCF to provide financial compensation to eligible individuals. As of March 31, 2014, there were 67,783 WTCHP enrollees, including responders and survivors from the WTC attack site and responders from the Pent... | The WTCHP provides health benefits to eligible responders and survivors of the September 11, 2001, attacks. In September 2012, the WTCHP added 60 types of cancer to the list of covered conditions. The VCF—which provides financial compensation to eligible individuals—uses the WTCHP list as a basis for eligibility. GAO w... |
Each state administers its Medicaid program in accordance with its own state plan, which must be reviewed and approved by HHS, and must delineate, among other things, the groups of individuals to be covered, services to be provided, and methodologies for providers to be reimbursed. Within broad federal requirements, st... | Medicaid, an over $500 billion joint federal-state program, provides health care coverage to low-income individuals. Section 1115 of the Social Security Act authorizes the Secretary of HHS to waive certain Medicaid requirements and authorize expenditures not otherwise allowed for demonstration projects likely to promot... |
Medicaid, by design, allows significant flexibility for states to design and implement their programs. Within broad federal guidelines and under federally approved plans, states have some discretion in setting Medicaid eligibility standards and provider payment rates; determining the amount, scope, and duration of cove... | To inform its oversight of Medicaid, CMS relies on state-reported data that contain information on multiple aspects of the program, including expenditures and service utilization. Recent increases in Medicaid improper payments, which were an estimated $36 billion in fiscal year 2016, have exacerbated concerns about the... |
Our analysis shows that the Iraqi government has met one of the eight legislative benchmarks and partially met another. Specifically, the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature are protected through existing provisions in the Iraqi Constitution and Council of Representatives’ by-laws; however, mi... | Public Law 110-28 requires GAO to report to Congress by September 1, 2007, on whether or not the government of Iraq has met 18 benchmarks contained in the Act, and the status of the achievement of these benchmarks. The benchmarks stem from commitments first articulated by the Iraqi government in June 2006. In compariso... |
SSA’s disability programs provide cash benefits to people with long-term disabilities. The DI program provides monthly cash benefits and Medicare eligibility to severely disabled workers; SSI is an income assistance program for blind, disabled, or aged people whose income and resources fall below a certain threshold. T... | GAO discussed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) plan to eliminate the backlog of continuing disability reviews (CDRs) in the Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, focusing on: (1) SSA's progress toward achieving its current 7-year plan cost-effectively and on schedule; (2) SSA's... |
Since May 1999, IRS has submitted two spending plans and two interim, stopgap plans. On June 15, 1999, we reported on IRS’ first spending plan, stating that the $35 million requested satisfied the legislative conditions for the use of ITIA funds and was consistent with our open recommendations. We also said that it was... | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has tried unsuccessfully to modernize its information systems. To prevent a repeat of past mistakes, Congress legislated explicit controls over IRS spending on systems modernization. Congress did so by creating Senate and House appropriations subcommittees, which specified four condit... |
Over the years, Congress has enacted various laws in an attempt to improve the government’s management of its IT resources. In doing so, it has provided OMB with broad IT management and oversight responsibilities and given agencies a wide range of IT-related responsibilities. With regard to CIO responsibilities relativ... | Federal agencies annually invest over $80 billion on IT. As part of overseeing this spending, OMB directs federal CIOs to report on their management of IT in such areas as capital planning and investment management, security, and strategic planning. GAO was asked to review the usefulness of such CIO reporting requireme... |
Exporters and their customers sometimes need export financing to make export transactions. Export financing includes export loans, loan guarantees, and export credit insurance. Export loan guarantees and export credit insurance are referred to as “export cover.” Although export financing is available from commercial ba... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the types of export-financing assistance that the United States and five European Union (EU) countries provide to exporters, focusing on the: (1) types of export-financing delivery systems used in the countries; (2) differences in and types of trade-offs among U.S. and ... |
Development of Indian energy resources is a complex process that may involve a range of stakeholders, including federal agencies, state agencies, tribal governments, individual Indian mineral owners, and private oil and gas operators. When an operator seeks to develop land that includes Indian resources, the operator m... | The development of Indian-owned oil and gas resources is one of the largest revenue generators in Indian country, and individual Indian mineral owners may rely on royalty payments from such development to pay for living expenses. Various offices within Interior are responsible for management and oversight of oil and ga... |
Arguably, while each at-risk locality must be provided adequate resources to effectively fight this war, no single jurisdiction or response discipline can fight it alone. Effective homeland security efforts require continuous regional collaboration and coordination. Such an approach includes developing national guideli... | Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising jurisdictions including the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia, has been recognized as a significant potential target for terrorism. GAO was asked to report on (1) what federal funds hav... |
The WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs provide employment services to a wide range of participants. The Adult Program serves all individuals age 18 and older, and the Dislocated Worker Program serves individuals who have been or will be terminated or laid off from employment, among others. The Adult Program prior... | The economy is recovering from the recession, but employers still have difficulty filling certain jobs. DOL's Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Dislocated Worker programs are designed in part to help employers find the skilled workers they need. The programs provide participants with services including job train... |
To be eligible for Disability Insurance (DI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, an individual generally must have a medically determined physical or mental impairment that (1) has lasted or is expected to last at least 1 year or result in death and (2) prevents the individual from engaging in substantial g... | This testimony discusses the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket program). Created by law in 1999, the Ticket program was intended to assist disability beneficiaries in obtaining and retaining employment, and potentially bring about significant savings to the Disab... |
In the past we have suggested four broad goals or criteria for a budget process. The process should provide information about the long-term impact of decisions while recognizing the differences between short-term forecasts, medium-term projections, and longer-term simulations; provide information and be structured to f... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implications of H.R. 853 on the congressional budget process, focusing on: (1) the importance of the long-term perspective; (2) the long-term and insurance commitments in the budget; and (3) how this relates to the need for control, accountability, and transparency... |
SLD manages three programs: the Megaports Initiative, the Core Program, and the Sustainability Program. The Core Program funds the installation of radiation detection equipment at land borders, airports, and strategic seaports—primarily in Russia, other former Soviet Union countries, and Eastern Europe. The Sustainabil... | NNSA established the Megaports Initiative in 2003 to deter, detect, and interdict nuclear or other radiological materials smuggled through foreign seaports. The Initiative funds the installation of radiation detection equipment at select seaports overseas and trains foreign personnel to use this equipment to scan shipp... |
The Food Stamp Program provides monthly benefits to millions of needy people who meet specific income, asset, and employment-related eligibility requirements. With federal benefit payments of about $24 billion and an average monthly caseload of over 27 million individuals in fiscal year 1994, the program ranks as one o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed fraud, waste, and abuse in the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) food stamp program, focusing on: (1) the causes of benefit overpayments; (2) whether USDA controls and procedures are adequate to prevent retailer involvement in the trafficking of food stamp coupons; and... |
The Northern Mariana Islands are a group of 14 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, lying just north of Guam, 5,500 miles from the U.S. mainland. After World War II, the U.S. Congress approved the Trusteeship Agreement that made the United States responsible to the United Nations for the administration of the islands.... | The United States enacted legislation in May 2008 applying federal immigration law to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) subject to a transition period. The CNMI is subject to most U.S. laws but has administered its own immigration system, including admitting foreign workers, tourists, and foreign ... |
The Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness (USD (P&R)) is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management as it relates to readiness, health affairs, training, personnel requirements, and quality-of-life matters. USD (P&R) is the Secretary’s senior policy advisor on... | According to the Defense Commissary Agency, servicemembers on active duty spent over $21 million in SNAP benefits at commissaries from September 2014 through August 2015. This suggests that people serving our country may be having difficulty making ends meet. House Report 114-102 includes a provision that GAO review fo... |
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States began military operations to combat terrorism both in the United States and overseas. Operations to defend the United States from terrorist attacks are known as Operation Noble Eagle. Overseas operations to combat terrorism are known as Operation ... | Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) has reported spending $191 billion through May 2005 to conduct the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). On an ongoing basis, DOD compiles and reports information on the incremental costs of the war, and uses these data in preparing future funding reque... |
According to the State Department, no country in the world poses a more immediate narcotics threat to the United States than Mexico. Estimates indicate that up to 70 percent of the more than 300 tons of cocaine that entered the United States in 1994 came through Mexico. In March 1996, the State Department reported that... | GAO discussed the results of its review of counternarcotics efforts in Mexico. GAO noted that: (1) U.S. and Mexican interdiction efforts have had little impact on the flow of illegal drugs from Mexico into the United States; (2) instead of concentrating on intercepting drugs as they move through the transit zone, the U... |
Several entities and U.S. agencies have played important roles in U.S. efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq. From May 2003 through June 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was responsible for overseeing, directing, and coordinating rebuilding efforts. After its dissolution, the Secretary of State assumed r... | Since 2001, Congress has appropriated nearly $700 billion for the global war on terrorism. The majority of these funds have supported U.S. efforts in Iraq. Congressional oversight is crucial to improve performance, ensure accountability, and protect U.S. programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. Since 2003, GAO has issued... |
Natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and other adverse weather events, pose risks to agricultural producers. The federal government has played an active role in mitigating those risks through a variety of disaster assistance programs. USDA provides a basic safety net of permanently authorized and re... | Farmers and other agricultural producers are exposed to natural disasters, such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. In the aftermath of such events, FSA and SBA disaster assistance programs can provide an important safety net for these producers. However, after past natural disasters, industry groups and ot... |
Federal assistance to farmers have been at the heart of federal farm policy since the early 1930s, when the Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 as one of the first pieces of New Deal legislation. This assistance began as a means to address the “farm problem,” low and uncertain farm prices and income... | Payments to farmers under federal farm programs have reached an historic high--over $20 billion in fiscal year 2000. Nearly half of U.S. farms are receiving payments for income or price support purposes and/or for engaging in activities such as land conservation. These payments, in total, made up almost one-half of net... |
In response to your requests, our objectives were to assess the pace and progress of efforts by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Energy, and Commerce and by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement CIP requirements to protect their own critical infrastructures and assets from cyber and ... | The explosive growth of computer interconnectivity is transforming the workings of our nation, its government, and its critical infrastructures. But with the enormous benefits of this interconnectivity comes a threat: both physical and cyber assets are potentially vulnerable to computer-based attack. In response, Presi... |
Given the record number of ex-inmates leaving prisons and returning to communities, research and policy experts have begun to focus attention on reintegration issues. In March 2000, for example, DOJ sponsored a symposium for members of the judiciary and the courts, criminal justice professionals, representatives of vic... | The number of federal and state inmates released to communities increased more than threefold from 1980 to 1998. Since 1980, recidivism rates have been about 40 percent. Within the group of recidivists, the number of offenders reincarcerated for violating parole or other release conditions rose more than sevenfold from... |
The primary function of a GIS is to link multiple sets of geospatial data and graphically display that information as maps with potentially many different layers of information. Assuming that all the information is at the same scale and has been formatted according to the same standards, users can potentially overlay s... | Geographic information systems (GIS) manipulate, analyze, and graphically present an array of information associated with geographic locations, have been invaluable to all levels of government. Their usefulness in disaster response was recently demonstrated during the Space Shuttle Columbia recovery effort. GIS provide... |
Over the years, DOD has initiated several broad-based reform efforts to address its long-standing financial management weaknesses. However, as we have reported, those efforts did not achieve their intended purpose of improving the department’s financial management operations. The FIAR Plan, which was first prepared in ... | The Department of Defense (DOD) has initiated several efforts over the years to address its long-standing financial management weaknesses and ultimately achieve unqualified (clean) opinions on its financial statements. In 2005, the DOD Comptroller first issued the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Plan f... |
SSA administers two main programs under the Social Security Act that provide benefits to individuals with disabilities—Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Individuals are generally considered disabled if they are unable to do their previous work, and considering age, education and work exp... | SSA relies on medical evidence to determine whether the millions of new claimants each year qualify for disability benefits. This evidence—and those who provide it—have been the subject of intense scrutiny as questions have been raised about the potential for fraud schemes that include falsified medical evaluations. GA... |
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, as amended, requires that the Secretary of the Interior conduct an investigation and issue a report on deaths, serious injuries, fires, and pollution events that occur as a result of offshore oil and gas operations. BSEE carries out these investigations on behalf of the Se... | On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in 11 deaths, serious injuries, and the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. In response, in May 2010, Interior reorganized offshore oil and gas management activities—energy development, revenue collection, and regulator... |
M+C and FEHBP both represent large health care purchasing programs that contract with HMOs and other types of health care organizations to provide services. NAIC, JCAHO, and NCQA are not purchasers of health care, but they play important roles in establishing certain HMO requirements. M+C is a component of Medicare, th... | Since the early 1980s, health maintenance organizations (HMO) have entered into risk-based contracts with Medicare and offered beneficiaries an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program. By 1997, 5.2 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in an HMO. Although Medicare HMOs were available in most... |
Nearly half a million persons die from heart disease each year. As many women as men die from CHD, although women die about 7 to 10 years later than men on the average. The American Heart Association estimates that heart disease costs $55 billion or more each year. Taken together, these figures provide a strong rationa... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the evidence from clinical trials that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) used to develop its National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines. GAO found that: (1) meta-analyses of trial data consistently show that cholesterol treated persons, regard... |
FAA’s mission is to promote the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the United States. To accomplish this, FAA provides uninterrupted air traffic control services throughout the year. A key component of these services is FAA’s air traffic controller workforce, which includes its air traffic controller... | Each day, nearly two million passengers on 25,000 flights depend on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Control (ATC) system to safely reach their destinations. Because the ATC system requires thousands of controllers, each of whom typically manages just a section of airspace or one aspect of an air... |
DOD has the unique dual mission of maintaining adequate medical readiness capability while providing peacetime health care. During the early 1990s, in a time of military downsizing, medical cost escalation, and budgetary constraints, DOD restructured its system into TRICARE to improve beneficiaries’ access to health ca... | This testimony discusses lessons learned from the Department of Defense's (DOD) TRICARE contracts and their implications for the future. TRICARE's successes and maturity reflect the ability of the DOD and its contractors to work within the current contract structure. However, it has not been easy, and there are importa... |
Compounded drugs may include sterile and nonsterile preparations, which, like all drug products, are made up of active and inactive ingredients. The active ingredient or ingredients in a compounded drug may be one or more FDA-approved products, or may be bulk drug substances. Bulk drug substances—usually raw powders—ar... | DOD offers comprehensive health care coverage—pharmacy and medical benefits—to eligible beneficiaries through its TRICARE program. As part of its benefits package, TRICARE pays for compounded drugs. Traditionally, a drug is compounded through the process of mixing, combining, or altering ingredients, to create a custom... |
Medicaid is one of the largest programs in federal and state budgets. In fiscal year 2005, the most recent year for which complete information is available, total Medicaid expenditures were an estimated $317 billion. The estimated federal share that year was about $182 billion. States pay qualified health providers for... | The 31 million children enrolled in Medicaid are particularly vulnerable to tooth decay, which, if untreated, may lead to more serious health conditions and, on rare occasion, result in death. Congress established a comprehensive health benefit for children enrolled in Medicaid to cover Early and Periodic Screening, Di... |
TEA-21 authorized a total of $36 billion in “guaranteed” funding through 2003 for a variety of transit programs, including financial assistance to states and localities to develop, operate, and maintain transit systems. One of these programs, the New Starts program, provides funds to transit providers for constructing ... | Since the early 1970's, the federal government has provided a large share of the nation's capital investment in urban mass transportation. Much of this funding has come through the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) New Starts Program, which helps pay for rail, bus, and trolley projects. The Transportation Equity A... |
The recent theft of personally identifiable information on millions of veterans is only the latest of a series of such data breaches involving the loss or theft of information on magnetic tapes, computer hard drives, and other devices, as well as incidents in which individuals gained unauthorized access to large commer... | The recent security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs, in which personal data on millions of veterans were compromised, has highlighted the importance of the federal government's processes for protecting personal information. As the federal government obtains and processes information about individuals in in... |
PPACA directed the federal government to establish and operate a health insurance marketplace, referred to as the federally facilitated marketplace, on behalf of states electing not to establish and operate a marketplace by January 1, 2014. CMS operated a federally facilitated marketplace or partnership marketplace for... | The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required the establishment of health insurance marketplaces to assist individuals in obtaining health insurance coverage. CMS, a component of HHS, was responsible for establishing a federally facilitated marketplace for states that elected not to establish their own. This ... |
Some key sources of retirement income are Social Security benefits, defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), as well as personal savings. In recent years, employment-based retirement plan coverage, especially in the private sector, has shifted from defined benefit to def... | Part of DOL's mission is to promote the retirement security of America's workers, a goal that has become increasingly challenging. One tool for assessing the adequacy of retirement income is the replacement rate. However, recommendations for the replacement rate that a household should target vary widely, in part becau... |
Both Congress and the administration have agreed that federal employment levels should be cut as a means of reducing federal costs and controlling deficits. Through a series of executive orders and legislation, goals have been established for reducing federal staffing levels. Two driving forces in the reductions have b... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal workforce downsizing, focusing on the projected costs and savings from federal workforce buyouts and reductions-in-force (RIF) over a 5-year period. GAO found that: (1) employee buyouts could produce over $60,000 more in net savings over 5 years than RIF for eac... |
Ensuring access to postsecondary education while reducing vulnerability of student financial aid programs to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement is one of the key management challenges Education faces. Education helps millions of students enroll in higher education programs by providing for more than $50 billion in ... | In its 2003 performance and accountability report on the Department of Education, GAO identified challenges in, among other areas, student financial aid programs and financial management. The information GAO presents in this testimony is intended to assist Congress in assessing Education's progress in addressing and ov... |
On October 1, 1993, an international donors group met in Washington, D.C., to raise funds for long-term development projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in support of the Declaration of Principles signed between PLO and the government of Israel. A total of $2.3 billion for a 5-year period beginning in 1994 was pled... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) finances, focusing on whether: (1) PLO is able to help finance the Palestine Authority's operations in the West Bank and Gaza; (2) international donors have effectively analyzed the need to help fund the Palestinian Authorit... |
To become eligible to bill for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, prospective Medicare providers and suppliers apply to the program by completing an online enrollment application in PECOS or by submitting a paper enrollment application that is manually entered into PECOS. Application information, such as name... | An effective provider and supplier enrollment process is a cornerstone of ensuring Medicare program integrity and limiting improper payments. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contained provisions designed to strengthen CMS's enrollment screening process. In response, CMS implemented a revised screening pr... |
DHS and Coast Guard acquisition guidelines require operational test and evaluation by an independent test agency to confirm that the production configured system meet all requirements before approval for full-rate production. The Coast Guard uses the U.S. Navy’s COTF to conduct operational tests and other evaluations f... | The Coast Guard's flagship, 418-foot NSC was first commissioned in 2008. It completed initial testing, an event designed to test all critical systems that are necessary for successful operations, in the spring of 2014, after 7 of the 8 planned cutters were already under contract and 3 ships were operational. GAO has be... |
The Department of State is the lead agency in formulating and implementing U.S. foreign policy. The department represents the United States in about 172 countries, operating approximately 266 embassies, consulates, and other posts. During several years in the 1990s, State lost more staff than it hired, and the resultan... | GAO has reported in recent years on a number of human capital issues that have hampered the Department of State's ability to carry out U.S. foreign policy priorities and objectives, particularly at posts central to the war on terror. In 2002, State implemented the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative (DRI) to address shortf... |
Federal census data show that an estimated 12.3 million Americans age 6 years and older needed LTSS in 2010. LTSS are a distinct set of services that are critical elements of support for people with functional limitations due to health conditions. Individuals’ needs for LTSS are often measured in terms of their need fo... | Millions of elderly individuals and persons with disabling conditions rely on LTSS to help them perform routine daily activities, such as eating and bathing. Direct care workers are among the primary providers of LTSS. Reported difficulties recruiting and retaining direct care workers and the anticipated growth in the ... |
As we have previously reported, DOD began the F-35 acquisition program in October 2001 without adequate knowledge about the aircraft’s critical technologies or design. In addition, DOD’s acquisition strategy called for high levels of concurrency between development, testing, and production. In our prior work, we identi... | With estimated acquisition costs of nearly $400 billion, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter—also known as the Lightning II —aircraft is DOD's most costly and ambitious acquisition program. Since 2001, GAO has reported extensively on the F-35 program's cost, schedule, and performance problems. The program plans to begin incr... |
FMCSA’s primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. In order to meet this mission FMCSA, among other things, establishes commercial motor carrier regulations, educates motor carriers, drivers, and the public, and partners with stakeholders such as state governments o... | In 2011, the Department of Transportation (DOT) determined that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had violated federal appropriations statues in awarding some grants for 1 of its 10 grant programs from fiscal years 2006 to 2010. This was caused in part by weaknesses in FMCSAs internal controls an... |
Information technology should enable government to better serve the American people. However, according to OMB, despite spending more than $600 billion on IT over the past decade, the federal government has achieved little of the productivity improvements that private industry has realized from IT. Too often, federal I... | The federal government budgets more than $82 billion annually for IT. Given the magnitude of this investment, it is important that federal agencies avoid investing in duplicative systems to ensure the most efficient use of resources. GAO's prior work has shown that agencies were funding IT investments that perform simi... |
In 1970, the Congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act, which created Amtrak to operate and revitalize intercity passenger rail service. Amtrak acquired ownership of most of the right-of-way along the Northeast Corridor from the bankrupt Penn Central Transportation Company through the Regional Rail Reorganization ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the use of the Northeast Corridor by Amtrak and other commuter and freight railroads, focusing on: (1) sources of funding for the corridor's expenditures; and (2) annual funding required to operate and maintain the corridor's infrastructure. GAO noted tha... |
When establishing the U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC) in 1993, the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) designated the U.S. Department of Commerce as the primary provider of export promotion services, such as market information and counseling, to export-ready firms. The other USEAC partners, the U.S. Ex... | The Export Enhancement Act of 1992 created the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee to coordinate the delivery of federal export promotion services and to eliminate the areas of overlap and duplication among federal export promotion programs. The Export Enhancement Act of 1999 reiterated that eliminating duplication ... |
In prior reports, we found that a higher percentage of FCCs than USCCs reported no U.S. income tax from 1987 through 1995. Some of the reasons why FCCs and USCCs may not report U.S. income tax include current-year operating losses, losses carried forward from preceding tax years, sufficient tax credits available to off... | In prior reports, GAO found differences in the percentages of foreign-controlled corporations (FCC) and U.S.-controlled corporations (USCC) reporting no tax liability. Based on concerns that FCCs could be avoiding taxes by improperly shifting income to lower tax countries, GAO was asked to compare, for the years 1996 t... |
Commerce’s authority to conduct PSV checks is established in the Export Administration Act of 1979, which provides the legal and administrative basis for U.S. controls on dual-use exports and is supplemented by the Export Administration Regulations. Commerce’s Control List, which is included in the regulations, specifi... | The United States controls certain dual-use technologies that could be used to enhance the military capabilities of countries of concern. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) conducts post-shipment verification (PSV) checks to ensure that these technologies arrive at their intended destination and are used for the pur... |
Subsets and Splits
Short Government Reports Sample
Retrieves short reports or summaries from the training dataset, which helps identify potentially incomplete or truncated entries that might need data quality improvement.
Short Government Reports Filtering
Retrieves short reports from the training dataset, providing basic filtering but offering limited analytical value beyond simple length constraints.