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Today it is evident that recent surpluses were the result not only of hard choices made earlier in the 1990s, but also of fortuitous economic, demographic, and policy trends that are no longer working for us as we enter the 21st century. In retrospect, the nation emerged from deficits of nearly three decades only to fi... | Combating terrorism and ensuring homeland security have created urgent claims on the nation's attention and on the federal budget. Although an economic recovery seems to be underway, the recession that began last spring has had real consequences for the budget. At the same time, the fiscal pressures created by the reti... |
Air ambulance providers inhabit a unique position at the intersection of aviation and medical services. Providing air ambulance service is capital intensive and requires both aviation and medical investments (see fig. 1). Air ambulances must be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice in response to emergencies. Air ambula... | Helicopter air ambulances reduce transport times for critically ill patients during life-threatening emergencies. Although patients typically have little to no choice over the service or provider given the often emergency nature of the transports, they might be billed for charges that have potentially devastating finan... |
In the last 10 years, the Congress has expanded federal efforts to promote employment for people with more severe disabilities by creating new programs, expanding existing programs, and providing employment protections. In the past, social attitudes toward people with mental retardation or psychiatric conditions often ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal programs targeted to disabled persons, focusing on: (1) how many of the programs provide employment-related services; (2) coordination of information, eligibility criteria, and services among various programs; and (3) the programs' effectiveness in promoting emp... |
FTA generally funds New Starts projects through FFGAs, which are required by statute to establish the terms and conditions for federal participation in a New Starts project. FFGAs also define a project’s scope, including the length of the system and the number of stations; its schedule, including the date when the syst... | The New Starts program is an important source of new capital investment in mass transportation. To be eligible for federal funding, a project must advance through the different project development phases of the New Starts program, including alternatives analysis, preliminary engineering, and final design. The Federal T... |
Insurance is a mechanism for spreading risk over time, across large geographical areas, and among industries and individuals. While insurers assume some financial risk when they write policies, they employ various strategies to manage risk so that they earn profits, limit potential financial exposures, and build capita... | Weather-related events have cost the nation billions of dollars in damages over the past decade. Many of these losses are borne by private insurers and by two federal insurance programs--the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which insures properties against flooding, and the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (F... |
A component of DOJ, BOP has obligations to confine offenders in a controlled, safe, and humane prison environment, while providing a safe workplace where officers can perform their duties without fear of injury or assault. In fiscal year 2010, $6.2 billion was appropriated for BOP to carry out its mission. For all 116 ... | The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages more than 209,000 inmates, up 45 percent between fiscal years 2000 and 2010. As the prison population grows, so do concerns about correctional officer safety. As requested, GAO examined the (1) equipment that BOP and selected state departments of... |
In order for students attending a school to receive Title IV funds, a school must be: 1. licensed or otherwise legally authorized to provide higher education in the state in which it is located, 2. accredited by an agency recognized for that purpose by the Secretary 3. deemed eligible and certified to participate in fe... | Postsecondary schools must comply with a variety of federal requirements to participate in student financial aid programs authorized under Title IV. While these requirements offer potential benefits to schools, students, and taxpayers, questions have been raised as to whether they may also distract schools from their p... |
Pension plans defer compensation from working years to retirement years. There are two major types of pension plans. A defined benefit plan specifies a formula for computing benefits payable at retirement based on age, length of plan participation, and earnings history. A defined contribution plan provides a framework ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of public pension plan funding, focusing on federally sponsored defined benefit and contribution plans subject to reporting requirements legislation. GAO found that: (1) 34 federal government defined benefit plans have over 10 million participants and 17 defi... |
Ten states concentrated in the western, midwestern, and southeastern United States—all areas where the housing market had experienced strong growth in the prior decade—experienced 10 or more bank failures between 2008 and 2011 (see fig.1). Together, failures in these 10 states comprised 72 percent (298), of the 414 ban... | Between January 2008 and December 2011--a period of economic downturn in the United States--414 insured U.S. banks failed. Of these, 85 percent (353) had less than $1 billion in assets. These small banks often specialize in small business lending and are associated with local community development and philanthropy. The... |
The Coast Guard is a multimission, maritime military service within DHS. The Coast Guard’s responsibilities fall into two general categories—those related to homeland security missions, such as port security and vessel escorts, and those related to the Coast Guard’s traditional missions, such as search and rescue and p... | The Deepwater Program includes efforts to build or modernize ships and aircraft and to procure other capabilities. In 2002, the Coast Guard contracted with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) to manage the acquisition as systems integrator. After a series of project failures, the Coast Guard announced in April 2007 t... |
USPS faces a dire financial situation and does not have sufficient revenues to cover its expenses, putting its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and efficient universal services to the public at risk. USPS continues to incur operating deficits that are unsustainable, has not made required payments of $11.1 billion... | USPS is in a serious financial crisis as its declining mail volume has not generated sufficient revenue to cover its expenses and financial obligations. First-Class Mail--which is highly profitable and generates the majority of the revenues used to cover overhead costs--declined 33 percent since it peaked in fiscal yea... |
Servicemembers are entitled to Social Security benefits, just like the vast majority of U.S. workers. We reported that Social Security covers about 96 percent of all U.S. employees and about three-fourths of federal, state, and local government employees pay Social Security taxes on their earnings. Social Security’s pr... | The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 noted that it was the sense of the Congress that "the sacrifices made by the members of the Armed Forces are significant and are worthy of meaningful expressions of gratitude by the United States, especially in cases of sacrifice through loss of life." In addi... |
A transfer price is the price charged by one company for a product or service supplied to a related company, such as the price a parent corporation charges its wholly-owned subsidiary. Any company that has a related company with which it transacts business establishes transfer prices for those intercompany transactions... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information regarding transfer pricing issues and foreign-controlled corporations' (FCC) and U.S.-controlled corporations' (USCC) tax compliance, focusing on: (1) the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) handling of transfer pricing issues through its examinations, appeals,... |
The next Congress and new administration will confront a set of pressing issues that will demand urgent attention and continuing oversight to ensure the nation’s security and well-being. The goal of our transition planning is to look across the work we have done and across the scope and breadth of the federal governmen... | The upcoming 2009 transition will be a unique and critical period for the U.S. government. It marks the first wartime presidential transition in 40 years. It will also be the first administration change for the relatively new Department of Homeland Security operating in the post 9/11 environment. The next administratio... |
The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are to: preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; assist those most impacted by the recession; provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; invest in transportation, environmental protection, an... | In response to the recent serious recession, Congress enacted the Recovery Act to promote economic recovery, make investments, and minimize or avoid reductions in state and local government services. Approximately $219 billion was distributed as grants for use in states and localities, making grants a major component o... |
The federal financial regulators are responsible for examining and monitoring the safety and soundness of approximately 22,000 financial institutions, which, together, manage more than $6 trillion in assets and hold over $3 trillion in deposits. Specifically, The Federal Reserve System supervises about 992 state-charte... | GAO discussed the progress of the federal regulatory agencies in ensuring that the thousands of financial institutions they oversee are ready for the upcoming century date change. GAO noted that: (1) because financial institutions are heavily dependent on information technology, their viability hinges on whether they c... |
In 2005, we reported that 207 federal STEM education programs across 13 different agencies spent $2.8 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2004. We noted that before increasing investment in STEM education, it is important to know the extent to which existing STEM education programs are appropriately targeted and wh... | Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs help to enhance the nations global competitiveness. Many federal agencies have been involved in administering these programs. Concerns have been raised about the overall effectiveness and efficiency of STEM education programs. GAO examined (1)... |
Virtually all federal operations are supported by automated systems, mobile devices, and electronic media that may contain sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, medical records, law enforcement data, national or homeland security information, and proprietary information that could be inappropriately di... | Many federal operations are supported by automated systems that may contain sensitive information such as national security information that, if lost or stolen, could be disclosed for improper purposes. Compromises of sensitive information at numerous federal agencies have raised concerns about the extent to which such... |
DOD has a long history of troubled space systems acquisitions. Over the past decade, most of the large DOD space systems acquisition programs collectively experienced billions of dollars in cost increases and delayed schedules. In particular, a long-standing problem in DOD space systems acquisitions is that program cos... | Each year, DOD spends billions of dollars to acquire space-based capabilities that support military and other government operations. Just a few years ago, the majority of DOD's space programs were characterized by significant cost and schedule growth. In 2012, GAO reported that the worst of those space acquisition prob... |
Created in 2008, CPP was the primary initiative under TARP to help stabilize the financial markets and banking system by providing capital to qualifying regulated financial institutions through the purchase of senior preferred shares and subordinated debt. Rather than purchasing troubled mortgage-backed securities and ... | CPP was established as the primary means of restoring stability to the financial system under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Under CPP, Treasury invested almost $205 billion in 707 eligible financial institutions between October 2008 and December 2009. CPP recipients have made dividend and interest payments ... |
Recovery Act funds are being distributed to states, localities, other entities, and individuals through a combination of formula and competitive grants and direct assistance. Nearly half of the approximately $580 billion associated with Recovery Act spending programs will flow to states and localities affecting about 5... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) is estimated to cost about $787 billion over the next several years, of which about $280 billion will be administered through states and localities. The Recovery Act requires GAO to do bimonthly reviews of the use of funds by selected states and localiti... |
States and localities play the principal role in educating all students, including those with limited English proficiency, with most states providing supplemental aid specifically to address the special needs of these students. According to a November 1997 report (the latest available) by the Institute for Research in ... | Experts disagree about the best methods to teach student who speak little English. Even though different approaches to English language instruction may be effective, many variables may influence a given school's program choices. Moreover, there is no clear time line for acquiring English proficiency. Local decisions ab... |
The sale or transfer of U.S. defense items to friendly nations and allies is an integral component in both U.S. national security and foreign policy. The U.S. government authorizes the sale or transfer of military equipment, including spare parts, to foreign countries either through government-to government agreements... | From 1993 through 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) delivered over $150 billion in services and defense articles--including classified spare parts and unclassified items containing military technology--to countries through foreign military sales programs. GAO was asked to review whether the Army's key internal cont... |
Freight railroads are an important component of the nation’s transportation system, operating over 700 million train-miles in 2010. The freight railroad industry is primarily composed of 7 large railroads (called class I railroads) and about 570 smaller class II and III railroads. Within the industry, class I railroads... | The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) overhauled requirements for how much time certain freight railroad workers can spend on the job (called "hours of service"). Changes included limiting the number of consecutive days on duty before rest is required, increasing minimum rest time from 8 to 10 hours, and requi... |
The Trust Fund provides the primary source of funding for FAA and receives revenues principally from a variety of excise taxes paid by users of the national airspace system. The excise taxes are imposed on airline ticket purchases and aviation fuel, as well as the shipment of cargo. Revenues deposited in the Trust Fund... | This testimony discusses the status of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund). Established in 1970, the Trust Fund helps finance the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) investments in the airport and airway system, such as construction and safety improvements at airports and technological upgrades to the ai... |
Since 1989, DOE has spent about $23 billion cleaning up the environmental contamination resulting from over 50 years of nuclear weapons production. During this time, the agency has completed the restoration of less than 20 percent of the total number of contaminated sites. One reason DOE cites for the slow progress is ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) process for hiring new employees and improving the productivity of environmental cleanup, focusing on: (1) the process DOE used to justify the new hires; (2) whether DOE justifications support the claimed cost savings and productivity im... |
The electricity industry has been predominantly monopolistic and noncompetitive. Utilities (primarily investor-owned utilities—IOU) build power plants and power lines to provide all of the electricity needed by all existing and future customers in their exclusive service areas. Regulators in the states allow utilities ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed various issues concerning the role of certain power marketing administrations (PMA) and other federal agencies in restructuring electricity markets, focusing on: (1) whether the government operates them and the related electric power assets in a businesslike manner; and... |
Estimates of the numbers of North Koreans outside of North Korea have varied widely over the past decade, according to NGOs and scholars. Estimates have ranged from 6,000 to over 300,000, depending on the source of the data and the time period in which the data were collected. Scholars and NGOs said that a number of fa... | Famine killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans in the 1990s and compelled a large number of others to leave in search of food, economic opportunities, and escape from a repressive regime. This migration continues. Some North Koreans seek resettlement in other countries, such as South Korea and the United States. ... |
IRS formulates its budget at three levels: appropriation account, budget activity, and program activity, as shown in figure 1. (See appendix II for the non-interactive figure of IRS’s budget formulation structure.) The annual budget request for IRS presents funding and FTE data at the appropriation and budget activity ... | The financing of the federal government depends largely on IRS's ability to administer the tax laws, which includes providing service to taxpayers and enforcing the law to ensure everyone pays the taxes they owe. For fiscal year 2014, the President requested $12.9 billion for IRS, an increase of 9 percent over fiscal y... |
The Coast Guard began a recapitalization effort in the late 1990s to modernize a significant portion of its entire surface and aviation fleets by rebuilding or replacing assets. This effort was formerly known as Deepwater, and included the FRC and NSC programs, among others. In 2006, the Coast Guard acknowledged that i... | The Coast Guard is procuring the FRC and NSC to replace its aging cutters. Both cutters have had operational problems—such as propulsion system issues—that are being addressed through maintenance. Prior GAO work identified issues related to performance and maintenance of these vessels, particularly related to the main ... |
Within the Department of Justice, EOIR immigration judges conduct hearings to determine whether an alien is removable from the United States and whether he or she is eligible for a form of relief or protection from removal. If an immigration judge determines that an alien is removable from the United States and not eli... | Aliens awaiting removal proceedings or found to be removable from the United States are detained in ICE custody or released into the community under one or more options, such as release on bond and under supervision of the ATD program. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE is responsible for overseeing ... |
SSS is an independent agency within the executive branch of the federal government. Its missions are to (1) provide untrained manpower to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military service in the event of a national emergency declared by the Congress or the President, (2) administer a program of alternative service f... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the organization and costs of the Selective Service System (SSS) draft registration program and estimates of the comparative costs and organizational structure changes of two selected alternatives: (1) a suspended registration alternative, under which most of SSS' infra... |
The scope of the nation’s transportation system is vast and increasingly congested. Two key components of the transportation network are the nation’s highways and transit system. There are approximately 4 million miles of highway in the United States, which serve to provide mobility to millions of passengers and millio... | Mobility is critical to the nation's economy. Projections of future passenger and freight travel suggest that increased levels of investment may be needed to maintain the current levels of mobility provided by the nation's highway and transit systems. However, calls for greater investment in transportation come amid gr... |
Under the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, the United States has established domestic and international efforts to reduce the supply and demand for illegal drugs. The strategy includes five goals intended to integrate the budgets and activities of all organizations involved in counterdrug efforts. The goals focus o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed drug trafficking lanes into the United States from the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific Ocean, focusing on: (1) the nature of drug trafficking activities through the transit zone; (2) host nation efforts, capabilities, and impediments to an effective c... |
Given the condition and needs of the transportation system and the federal government’s fiscal outlook, DOT faces several challenges in leveraging investment in surface transportation networks to further national interests. More specifically, DOT faces challenges related to (1) transitioning to a goal-oriented, perform... | The nation's transportation system--including highways, airways, pipelines, and rail systems that move both people and freight--is critical to the economy and affects the daily lives of most Americans. However, this system is under growing strain, and estimates of the cost to repair and upgrade the system to meet curre... |
DI and SSI provide cash benefits to people with long-term disabilities. While the definition of disability and the process for determining disability are the same for both programs, the programs were initially designed to serve different populations. The DI program, enacted in 1954, provides monthly cash benefits to di... | This testimony discusses Social Security Administration (SSA) improvements in the claims process for its two disability programs, Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Managing its disability caseloads with fair, consistent, and timely eligibility decisions in the face of resource constraint... |
A U.S. passport is not only a travel document but also an official verification of the bearer’s origin, identity, and nationality. Under U.S. law, the Secretary of State has the authority to issue passports. Only U.S. nationals may obtain a U.S. passport, and evidence of citizenship or nationality is required with ever... | Maintaining the integrity of the U.S. passport is essential to the State Department's efforts to protect U.S. citizens from terrorists, criminals, and others. State issued about 8.8 million passports in fiscal year 2004. During the same year, State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security arrested about 500 individuals for pass... |
PACE integrates Medicare and Medicaid financing to provide comprehensive delivery of those programs’ services to individuals age 55 and older who have been certified as eligible for nursing home care by a state under Medicaid. PACE providers are, or are a separate part of, government entities or are not-for-profit priv... | Approximately 28 percent of all Medicare spending in 1999 was used to provide care for beneficiaries in the last year of their lives. The Medicare hospice benefit is specifically designed for end-of-life care but is an elected benefit for individuals who have a terminal diagnosis with a prognosis of 6 months or less if... |
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood, containing nutrients, electrolytes (dissolved salts), gases, albumin, clotting factors, hormones, and wastes. Many components of plasma are used, and include treatments for the trauma of burns and surgery and for replacing blood elements that are lacking as a result of disease, su... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on blood plasma safety, focusing on: (1) comparing the risk of incorporating an infectious unit of plasma into further manufacturing from volunteer versus paid plasma donors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C (HCV); (2... |
Visa applicants, including science students and scholars, generally begin the visa process by scheduling an interview at a consular post. On the day of the appointment, a consular officer reviews the application, interviews the applicant, and checks the applicant’s name in the Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS... | Each year thousands of international science students and scholars apply for visas to enter the United States to participate in education and exchange programs. They offer our country diversity and intellectual knowledge and are an economic resource. At the same time, the United States has important national security i... |
For our 2013 high risk update, we determined that two areas warranted removal from the High Risk List due to the progress that had been made—Management of Interagency Contracting and IRS Business Systems Modernization. Additional details for both areas can be found in Appendix I. A brief summary follows. Interagency co... | The federal government is a large and complex entity, with about $3.5 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2012 funding a broad array of programs and operations. GAO maintains a program to focus attention on government operations that it identifies as high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse,... |
The FCS concept is designed to be part of the Army’s Future Force, which is intended to transform the Army into a more rapidly deployable and responsive force that differs substantially from the large division-centric structure of the past. The Future Force is to be offensively oriented and will employ revolutionary co... | The Future Combat System (FCS) program is the centerpiece of the Army's effort to transition to a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force. By law, GAO is to report annually on the FCS program. Also, law requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to hold a milestone review of the FCS program, now planned for 20... |
Federal agencies are required to have an occupant emergency program that establishes procedures for safeguarding lives and property during According to ISC, an OEP is a emergencies in their respective facilities.critical component of an effective occupant emergency program. Further, these plans are intended to minimize... | Recent emergencies, such as earthquakes in the nation's capital, have raised concerns about how prepared federal agencies are in the 9,600 facilities owned or leased by GSA and protected by the Department of Homeland Security's FPS to safely evacuate occupants in federal buildings. All federal agencies are required to ... |
The government relies on contractors to provide a range of mission- critical support from operating information technology systems to battlefield logistics support. Federal regulations state that prime contractors are responsible for managing contract performance, including planning, placing, and administering subcontr... | DOD, State, and USAID collectively spent approximately $322 billion on goods and services in fiscal year 2013. Nearly two-thirds of this dollar amount was awarded to prime contractors reportedly having a plan for using subcontractors. Concerns remain that the government could overpay contractors that provide no, or lit... |
DHS’s primary strategic planning effort in recent years has been the QHSR. DHS approached the 9/11 Commission Act requirement for a quadrennial homeland security review in three phases. In the first phase, DHS defined the nation’s homeland security interests, identified the critical homeland security missions, and deve... | The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Commission Act) requires that beginning in fiscal year 2009 and every 4 years thereafter the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conduct a review that provides a comprehensive examination of the homeland security strategy of the United States. ... |
Since people began traveling in pressurized, climate-controlled aircraft more than 40 years ago, questions have arisen about the quality of air inside aircraft cabins and its effect on the health of passengers and cabin crews. In addition, the number of people traveling by commercial aircraft has increased dramatically... | Over the years, the traveling public, flight attendants, and the medical community have raised questions about how airliner cabin air quality contributes to health effects, such as upper respiratory infections. Interest in cabin air quality grew in 2003 when a small number of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in... |
The number of persons in the United States over age 55 will grow substantially over the next two decades. Due to the aging of the baby boom generation, older persons are becoming an increasingly significant proportion of all persons and workers. In 2002, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were 61 million peopl... | In recent years, the challenges of aging populations have become a topic of increasing concern to the developed nations. These challenges range from the fiscal imbalance in national pension systems caused by fewer workers having to provide benefits for greater numbers of retirees, to potential economic strains due to s... |
In our body of work on federal user fees we have reported on principles for designing federal user fees and evaluated several individual fees. Our 2008 User Fee Design Guide described principles for setting, collecting, using, and reviewing federal user fees. That report examined fees using four criteria: efficiency, e... | Regulatory user fees are assessed on certain nonfederal entities subject to regulation in conjunction with regulatory activities. They represent a significant source of federal government revenue—some individual regulatory user fees exceed $1 billion in annual collections—and often support agencies' regulatory missions... |
SAFETEA-LU authorized over $45 billion for federal transit programs, including $8 billion for the New Starts program, from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2009. Under New Starts, FTA identifies and recommends fixed-guideway transit projects for funding—including heavy, light, and commuter rail; ferry; and certain ... | Through the New Starts program, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) identifies and recommends new fixed-guideway transit projects for funding--including heavy, light, and commuter rail; ferry; and certain bus projects. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETE... |
CMS has made progress strengthening provider enrollment to try to better ensure that only legitimate providers and suppliers are allowed to bill Medicare. However, CMS has not completed other actions that could help prevent individuals intent on fraud from enrolling, including implementation of some relevant PPACA prov... | GAO has designated Medicare as a high-risk program. Since 1990, every two years GAO has provided Congress with an update on this program, which highlights government operations that are at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse mismanagement or in need of broad reform. Medicare has been included in this program in part beca... |
The DOD supply chain is a global network that provides materiel, services, and equipment to the joint force. DOD’s supply-chain responsiveness and reliability affect the readiness and capabilities of military forces and are critical to the overall success of joint operations. Inventory management, a key component of th... | The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains WRM to reduce reaction time and sustain forces in future military operations. WRM is managed by DLA and the military services. WRM is intended to meet short-term needs until supply pipelines are established. Cost-effective management of WRM that maintains war-fighting capabilit... |
Children who have suffered a severe and potentially life threatening physical injury as a result of an event such as a motor vehicle crash or a fall need specialized care because of their unique anatomical, physiological, and psychological characteristics. Trauma centers—a key part of a region’s trauma system—have spec... | Pediatric trauma—a severe and potentially disabling or life threatening injury to a child resulting from an event such as a motor vehicle crash or a fall—is the leading cause of disability for children in the United States. More children die of injury each year than from all other causes combined. GAO was asked to exam... |
Of the 1,700 drug court programs operating or planned as of September 2004, about 1,040—nearly 770 operating and about 270 being planned— were adult drug court programs, according to data collected by the Office of Justice Programs’ Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance Project. The primary purpose of these... | Drug court programs, which were established in the late 1980s as a local response to increasing numbers of drug-related cases and expanding jail and prison populations, have become popular nationwide in the criminal justice system. These programs are designed to reduce defendants' repeated crime (that is, recidivism), ... |
In any real estate transaction, the lender providing the mortgage needs a guarantee that the buyer will have clear ownership of the property. Title insurance is designed to provide that guarantee by generally agreeing to compensate the lender (through a lender’s policy) or the buyer (through an owner’s policy) up to th... | In a previous report and testimony, GAO identified issues related to title insurance markets, including questions about the extent to which premium rates reflect underlying costs, oversight of title agent practices, and the implications of recent state and federal investigations. This report addresses those issues by e... |
The DOD centrally billed travel card program is part of a governmentwide travel card program started in 1983 with the express purpose of increasing convenience to the traveler and lowering (1) the government’s cost of travel by reducing the need for cash advances to the traveler and (2) the associated administrative co... | Ineffective oversight and management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) travel card program, which GAO previously reported on, have led to concerns about airline tickets DOD purchased but did not use and for which it did not claim refunds. GAO was asked to (1) determine whether, and to what extent, airline tickets pu... |
HUD, through FHA, provides insurance that protects private lenders from financial losses stemming from borrowers’ defaults on mortgage loans for both single-family homes and multifamily rental housing properties for low- and moderate-income households. When a default occurs on an insured loan, a lender may “assign” the... | GAO discussed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to reengineer its multifamily rental housing portfolio. GAO noted that: (1) the portfolio's excessive subsidy costs, high exposure to insurance loss, and poor physical condition stem from program design flaws, HUD dual role as loan insurer an... |
SEC is an independent agency created in 1934 to protect investors; maintain fair, honest, and efficient securities markets; and facilitate capital formation. The agency has a five-member Commission that the President appoints, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that a Chairman designated by the President le... | The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) ability to conduct investigations and bring enforcement actions for violations of securities laws is critical to its mission to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets. SEC's Division of Enforcement (Enforcement) is charged with investigating securities law... |
The debt problems of many of the world’s heavily indebted lowest income countries continue to be a challenge for the international community. Most of these countries’ debt is owed to official creditors consisting of other governments (bilateral) and international financial institutions (multilateral). Despite debt reli... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative; and (2) initiative's potential to achieve its stated goal of bringing poor countries' debts to sustainable levels. GAO noted that: (1) the HIPC initiative will help reduce participati... |
In fiscal year 2007, the federal government obligated nearly $27 billion for basic research, with DOD obligations accounting for $1.5 billion of that total. As shown in figure 1, more than half of DOD basic research funding was provided to schools in the form of research grants and contracts. “Other” includes Federally... | In fiscal year 2007, the majority of the Department of Defense's (DOD) basic research obligations were provided to higher education institutions. DOD reimburses these institutions for both direct and indirect costs for research. Two federal agencies, DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), negotiate ... |
The Tongass, one of 154 national forests managed by the Forest Service, is located in southeast Alaska and is the largest national forest in the country (see fig. 1). Given its size, the Tongass, within the Forest Service’s Alaska Region, is divided into 10 ranger districts. The Tongass is approximately 16.7 million ac... | The Tongass National Forest, managed by the Forest Service within USDA, is located in southeast Alaska and is the nation's largest national forest. Since the early 20th century, the Tongass has had a timber program based on harvesting old-growth trees, which are generally more than 150 years old. In 2010, USDA announce... |
PBGC was established by ERISA to pay participants in private defined benefit plans in the event that the sponsor could not. PBGC is financed through insurance premiums paid by sponsors and by investment returns on held assets. Sponsors are responsible for making legally required contributions to pension trust funds tha... | When sponsors terminate underfunded plans during bankruptcy, it can deplete resources of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which protects the pensions of almost 44 million American workers and retirees who participate in over 29,000 defined benefit pension plans. In 2009, PBGC reported an estimated defic... |
Identity thieves can obtain a legitimate taxpayer’s name and Social Security number (SSN) in a variety of ways. They can obtain identity information by hacking into a computer system or paper files at one of the many entities that use names and SSNs in their records (e.g., employers, schools, or financial institutions)... | Identity theft is a growing and evolving problem that imposes a financial and emotional toll on its victims. As of September 30, 2012, IRS had identified almost 642,000 incidents of identity theft that impacted tax administration in 2012 alone, a large increase over prior years. A taxpayer may have his or her tax refun... |
The Postal Service and its predecessors have delivered mail to and from other countries since the 1840s. International mail to and from the United States is regulated by both U.S. postal laws and international agreements. The 1970 Act authorizes the Postal Service, with consent of the President, to negotiate and conclu... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Postal Service's (USPS) participation in the international mail market, focusing on: (1) USPS responsibility for delivering and receiving international mail; (2) the competition for international mail delivery and USPS plans to increase its competitiveness; (3) lega... |
U.S. international broadcasting efforts support the three key objectives of U.S. public diplomacy, which are to engage, inform, and influence overseas audiences. As a news organization, the BBG must maintain its journalistic independence while also serving U.S. strategic interests as a member of the public diplomacy ap... | Prompted by a desire to reverse declining audience trends and to support the war on terrorism, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the agency responsible for U.S. international broadcasting, began developing its new strategic approach to international broadcasting in July 2001. This approach emphasizes the need ... |
Federal law and policy have established roles and responsibilities for federal agencies to work with industry in enhancing the physical and cyber-security of critical government and industry infrastructures. For example, consistent with law, presidential policies stress the importance of coordination between the govern... | Federal efforts to protect the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber threats has been on GAO's list of high-risk areas since 2003. Critical infrastructure is assets and systems, whether physical or cyber, so vital to the United States that their destruction would have a debilitating impact on, among other things,... |
All 50 states and the District of Columbia submitted strategic highway safety plans to FHWA before October 2007, a deadline established by SAFETEA-LU. Additionally, the 25 state strategic highway safety plans we reviewed generally contained the key elements specified in SAFETEA-LU, such as consideration of all three ap... | About 43,000 traffic fatalities occur annually, and another 290,000 people are seriously injured on the nation's roads. To reduce these numbers, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) nearly doubled funding for the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Hi... |
Congress has long been concerned about the movement of government officials from DOD to private employers who do business with their former agencies and has passed laws that place limitations on the employment of former government officials. The laws include penalties for violations by the former government employee an... | Department of Defense (DOD) officials who serve in senior and acquisition positions and then leave for jobs with defense contractors are subject to the restrictions of post-government employment laws, in order to protect against conflicts of interest. Congress required GAO to report on employment of such officials by c... |
The NGJ is DOD’s program to replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system. The ALQ-99 is a five-pod jamming system that is capable of automatically processing, and jamming radio frequency signals. It counters a variety of threats in low-, mid-, and high-band frequency ranges. Figure 1 shows the radars that operate in diff... | At an estimated cost of over $7 billion, the Navy's NGJ program represents a significant investment in airborne electronic attack capabilities. Jammers, like the planned NGJ, fly on aircraft, such as Navy EA-18Gs, and transmit electronic signals that can neutralize or temporarily degrade enemy air defenses and communic... |
The practice of advertising prescription drugs to consumers has been controversial. The United States is one of only two nations that allow DTC advertising (the other is New Zealand). In the United States, there have been concerns about the impact of DTC advertising on prescription drug spending and about potential saf... | The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs. If FDA identifies a violation of laws or regulations in a DTC advertising material, the agency may issue a regulatory letter asking the drug company to take specific actions. GAO was asked to... |
The District of Columbia Family Court Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-114) was enacted on January 8, 2002. The act stated that, not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment, the chief judge of the Superior Court shall submit to the president and Congress a transition plan for the Family Court of the Superior Court and ... | The District of Columbia Family Court Act of 2001 was enacted to (1) redesignate the Family Division of the Superior Court as the Family Court of the Superior Court, (2) recruit trained and experienced judges to serve in the Family Court, and (3) promote consistency and efficiency in the assignment of judges and the co... |
In recent years, federal agencies, the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, GAO, and others have documented hundreds of secret, intentional government releases of radiation and other pollutants into the environment in connection with the Cold War. The releases occurred in the years after World War II at l... | GAO discussed its review of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) capability to conduct environmental oversight of classified federal research. GAO noted that: (1) EPA conducts limited oversight of classified federal research, primarily relying on agencies' internal environmental monitoring programs; (2) although... |
Under the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, Congress created the federal public housing program to assist communities in providing decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for low-income families. Today, more than 4,100 public housing agencies provide housing for low- income households. Over 3,100 agencies ope... | The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 was designed to improve the quality of public housing and the lives of its residents. Since fiscal year 2000, housing agencies managing low-rent or tenant-based Section 8 units have been required to develop and submit five-year and annual plans. As of January 2002... |
Information security is a critical consideration for any organization that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission or business. It is especially important for government agencies, where maintaining the public’s trust is essential. The dramatic expansion in computer interconnectivit... | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relies extensively on computerized systems to carry out its demanding responsibilities to collect taxes, process tax returns, and enforce the nation's tax laws. Effective information security controls are essential to protect financial and taxpayer information from inadvertent or deli... |
All outpatient therapy providers are subject to Medicare part B payment and coverage rules. Payment amounts for each type of outpatient therapy service are based on the part B physician fee schedule. In 2000, Medicare paid approximately $2.1 billion for all outpatient therapy services, of which $87.1 million was paid t... | Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (CORF) are highly concentrated in Florida. These facilities, which provide physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, and other related services, have been promoted as lucrative business opportunities for investors. Aware of such promot... |
PBGC was created as a self-financing, nonprofit, wholly owned government corporation under ERISA to protect the retirement income of workers with private-sector defined benefit plans—that is, plans that promise a set benefit amount upon retirement to vested employees typically based on a formula. PBGC administers two s... | The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insures the pension benefits of more than 44 million U.S. workers and retirees in more than 27,500 private defined benefit plans. In response to growing workloads over the last 20 years, PBGC has come to rely heavily on contractors to perform its work. With the influx of ... |
As federal agencies expand their use of information technology, they face an increasing challenge to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information that is vital to their missions. Like the nation as a whole, our government is becoming increasingly dependent on widely interconnected computer sy... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided a general overview of the adequacy of information security at 15 major federal agencies, focusing on: (1) recent reviews and self-audits of information security at these agencies; (2) the most significant information security weaknesses and their causes; and (3) the Off... |
In May 1985, the Secretary of Agriculture established EEP to address, in part, continuing declines in U.S. agricultural exports and to pressure foreign nations to reduce trade barriers and eliminate trade-distorting practices. Subsequently, the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198, Dec. 23, 1985) specifically authori... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the participation of foreign-owned companies in the Foreign Agricultural Service's (FAS) Export Enhancement Program (EEP). GAO found that: (1) foreign exporters' participation in EEP is consistent with the program's basic objectives of discouraging other countries' unfa... |
In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act created the Superfund program to clean up highly contaminated hazardous waste sites. Under the act, EPA is authorized to compel the parties responsible for the contamination to perform the cleanup. EPA may also pay for the cleanup and at... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund Program expenditures, focusing on: (1) the relative shares of Superfund expenditures for contractor cleanup work, site-specific support, and non-site-specific support; (2) the activities carried out wi... |
The Navy can maintain a 12-carrier force for less cost than that projected in the Bottom-Up Review (BUR) and the Navy’s Recapitalization Plan by using one of several options that consider cost and employment levels. The least expensive investment option that also maintains employment levels at or above minimum levels a... | GAO reviewed the Navy's aircraft carrier program, focusing on: (1) the budget implications of the options for meeting the Department of Defense's Bottom-Up Review (BUR) force structure requirement for 12 carriers; and (2) each option's effect on the shipbuilding contractor's employment levels. GAO found that: (1) there... |
SSA administers three major federal programs. OASI and DI, together commonly known as Social Security, provide benefits to retired and disabled workers and their dependents and survivors. In fiscal year 2001, SSA provided OASI retirement benefits totaling more than $369 billion to over 38 million individuals and DI ben... | The Social Security Administration (SSA) provided $450 billion in benefits to 50 million recipients in fiscal year 2001. Since 1995, when SSA became an independent agency, GAO has called for effective leadership and sustained management attention to several unresolved management challenges, including the redesign of it... |
The Magnuson-Stevens Act granted responsibility for managing marine resources to the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary delegated this responsibility to NMFS, which is part of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The act established eight regional fishery management councils, each with r... | To assist in deliberations on individual fishing quota (IFQ) programs, GAO determined (1) the extent of consolidation of quota holdings in three IFQ programs (Alaskan halibut and sablefish, wreckfish, and surfclam/ocean quahog); (2) the extent of foreign holdings of quota in these programs; and (3) the economic effect ... |
FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of medical devices that are marketed in the United States, whether manufactured in domestic or foreign establishments. All establishments that manufacture medical devices for marketing in the United States are required to register annually with FDA. As part... | As part of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) oversight of the safety and effectiveness of medical devices marketed in the United States, it inspects certain foreign and domestic establishments where these devices are manufactured. To help FDA address shortcomings in its inspection program, the Medical Device Use... |
Contracts and grants are two instruments the government may use to achieve its missions, with their selection principally governed by the nature of the activity. Contracts are procurement instruments and, as such, are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency procurement regulations. Contracts are... | The Departments of Defense (DOD) and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, including using contractors to help administer other contracts or grants. Relying on contractors to perform such functions can provide benefits but also in... |
DOD policy states that each military service must administer the PDHRA to active component, Reserve component, and separated servicemembers 90 to 180 days following deployment if they meet the following conditions: deployed for greater than 30 days, deployed to locations outside the continental United States, and deplo... | The Department of Defense (DOD) implemented the post-deployment health reassessment (PDHRA), which is required to be administered to servicemembers 90 to 180 days after their return from deployment. DOD established the PDHRA program to identify and address servicemembers' health concerns that emerge over time following... |
Although aviation-related activities currently account for only 0.5 percent of total air pollution in the United States, the types of pollutants emitted by these activities are among the most prevalent and harmful in the atmosphere, and are expected to grow over time. The major sources of aviation-related emissions are... | Although noise has long been a problem around airports, the anticipated growth in demand for air travel has also raised questions about the effect of airport operations on air quality. Aviation-related emissions of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to the formation of ozone, have been of particular concern to many airp... |
History is a good teacher, and to solve the problems of today, it is instructive to look to the past. The problems with the department’s financial management operations date back decades, and previous attempts at reform have largely proven to be unsuccessful. These problems adversely affect DOD’s ability to control cos... | Financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) are complex, long-standing, and deeply rooted throughout its business operations. DOD's financial management deficiencies represent the single largest obstacle to achieving an unqualified opinion on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements.... |
Combined Medicare and Medicaid payments to nursing homes for care provided to vulnerable elderly and disabled beneficiaries were expected to total about $63 billion in 2002, with a federal share of approximately $42 billion. Oversight of nursing homes is a shared federal-state responsibility. Based on statutory require... | Since July 1998, GAO has reported numerous times on nursing home quality-of-care issues and identified significant weaknesses in federal and state oversight. GAO was asked to assess the extent of the progress made in improving the quality of care provided by nursing homes to vulnerable elderly and disabled individuals,... |
The private sector, driven by today’s globally competitive business environment, is faced with the challenge of maintaining and improving quality service at lower costs. As a result, many firms have radically changed, or reengineered, their ways of doing business to meet customer needs. Since the Department of Defense’... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Air Force's management of its reparable parts inventory, focusing on: (1) commercial airline industry practices to streamline logistics operations and improve customer service; (2) Air Force reengineering efforts to improve its logistics system and reduce costs; and... |
The Air Force has rapidly expanded its use of RPAs in the last decade to support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force flies three types of RPAs—the MQ-1 (Predator), the MQ-9 (Reaper) and the larger RQ-4 (Global Hawk). Beyond the traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability t... | Since 2008, the Air Force has more than tripled the number of its active-duty pilots flying RPAs, which is the term the Air Force uses to refer to unmanned aerial systems such as the MQ-1 Predator. Due to increases in demand, RPA pilots have had a significant increase in workload since 2007. GAO was asked to evaluate t... |
Iraq possesses the third largest oil reserve in the world, estimated at a total of 115 billion barrels. As shown in figure 1, only Saudi Arabia and Iran have larger proved world oil reserves. Iraq’s ability to extract these reserves has varied widely over time and Iraq’s oil infrastructure has deteriorated over several... | Iraq has an estimated 115 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, the third largest in the world. Oil export revenues are critical to Iraq's reconstruction, accounting for over 90 percent of the Iraqi government's revenues. In June 2008, GAO reported low 2007 spending rates by the Iraqi government for some critical sect... |
The tax gap is an estimate of the difference between the taxes—including individual income, corporate income, employment, estate, and excise taxes—that should have been paid voluntarily and on time and what was actually paid for a specific year. The estimate is an aggregate of estimates for the three primary types of n... | The tax gap--the difference between the tax amounts taxpayers pay voluntarily and on time and what they should pay under the law--has been a long-standing problem in spite of many efforts to reduce it. Most recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimated a gross tax gap for tax year 2001 of $345 billion and esti... |
FAA defines an unmanned aircraft as one that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft. In the past, these aircraft were sometimes called “unmanned aerial vehicles,” “remotely piloted vehicles,” or “unmanned aircraft.” FAA and the international community have adopte... | Government and private-sector interest is growing in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for use in a variety of missions such as U.S. border protection, hurricane research, law enforcement, and real estate photography. However, UASs can fly only after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducts a case-by-case safet... |
Effective leadership is the key driver of successful human capital management. Simply put, the tone starts from the top. As one example, in September 2011, OPM and the CHCO Council, as part of ongoing discussions between OPM, OMB, and us on progress needed to address the federal government’s human capital high risk are... | GAO designated strategic human capital management as a governmentwide high risk area in 2001 because of a long-standing lack of leadership. Since then, important progress has been made. However, the area remains high risk because of a need to address current and emerging critical skills gaps that undermine agencies' ab... |
Located in FAA’s Office of Aviation Safety, the Aircraft Certification Service (Aircraft Certification) and Flight Standards Service (Flight Standards) issue certificates and approvals for the operators and aviation products used in the national airspace system based on standards set forth in federal aviation regulatio... | Among its responsibilities for aviation safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues thousands of certificates and approvals annually. These certificates and approvals, which FAA bases on its interpretation of federal standards, indicate that such things as new aircraft, the design and production of aircraf... |
Some context for my remarks is appropriate. The threat of terrorism was significant throughout the 1990s; a plot to destroy 12 U.S. airliners was discovered and thwarted in 1995, for instance. Yet the task of providing security to the nation’s aviation system is unquestionably daunting, and we must reluctantly acknowle... | A safe and secure civil aviation system is critical to the nation's overall security, physical infrastructure, and economy. Billions of dollars and countless programs and policies have gone into developing such a system. Although many of the specific factors contributing to the terrible events of September 11 are still... |
On the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the President’s declaration of a major disaster under the Stafford Act activated the Federal Response Plan (superseded by and incorporated into the National Response Plan). The Federal Response Plan established the process and structure for the federal gove... | The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and World Trade Center (WTC) collapse blanketed Lower Manhattan in dust from building debris. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an indoor clean and test program from 2002 to 2003. In 2003, EPA's Inspector General (IG) recommended improvements to t... |
Since the CFO Act’s passage, steady progress has been made in improving federal financial management. A set of comprehensive accounting standards has been completed by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), agencies are progressing in receiving unqualified audit opinions on financial statements, and s... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO discussed ways Congress can help to ensure that agencies effectively implement federal financial management reform legislation. GAO noted that: (1) an essential foundation to help achieve the goals of implementing financial management reforms is the requirement that the 24 Chi... |
Since the 1960s, geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental satellites have been used by the United States to provide meteorological data for weather observation, research, and forecasting. NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) is responsible for managing the civilian geostat... | The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the aid of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), plans to procure the next generation of geostationary operational environmental satellites, called the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series (GOES-R). This new seri... |
In any real estate transaction, the buyer and lender providing the mortgage need a guarantee that the buyer will have clear ownership of the property. Title insurance is designed to provide that guarantee by agreeing to compensate the lender (through a lender’s policy) or the buyer (through an owner’s policy) up to the... | Title insurance is a required element of almost all real estate purchases and is not an insignificant cost for consumers. However, consumers generally do not have the knowledge needed to "shop around" for title insurance and usually rely on professionals involved in real estate--such as lenders, real estate agents, and... |
Automation of the battlefield has been a long-term goal of the Army because of its promise as a force multiplier: it produces greater fighting effectiveness through better use of battlefield resources. Digitization of the battlefield is the Army’s latest effort to bring it closer to its long-term goal. Prior Army effor... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Army's plans to digitize its battlefield operations. GAO found that: (1) as part of its battlefield digitization plan, the Army plans to conduct a series of costly experiments from 1995 to 1997 to demonstrate the utility of a digitized force; (2) risks that the Ar... |
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.