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Section 107 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Benefits Act required VA to conduct a study to evaluate the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans. Under the study, VA was directed to provide diagnostic testing and medical examinations to any individual who (1) is the spouse or child of a vete... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) implementation of the Persian Gulf Spouse and Children Examination Program, focusing on: (1) outreach efforts; (2) obstacles to family members' participation; and (3) contracting issues. GAO noted that: (1) the Persian Gulf Spous... |
Time—specifically the period that begins with the submission to FDA of a new drug application (NDA) and that ends when a final decision is made on that application (the period known as the NDA review phase of drug development)—is the focus of this report. At your request, we have assembled data on all new drug applicat... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided data on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) new drug application (NDA) process, focusing on: (1) whether the timeliness of the review and approval process for new drugs changed in recent years; (2) the factors that distinguish NDA that are approved quickly from tho... |
The DOD Joint Ethics Regulation defines ethics as standards that guide someone’s behavior based on their values—which the regulation defines as core beliefs that motivate someone’s attitudes and actions. The Joint Ethics Regulation identifies 10 primary ethical values that DOD personnel should consider when making deci... | Professionalism and sound ethical judgment are essential to executing the fundamental mission of DOD and to maintaining confidence in military leadership, but recent DOD and military service investigations have revealed misconduct related to, among other things, sexual behavior, bribery, and cheating. House Report 113-... |
There is no single definition for financial literacy, which is sometimes also referred to as financial capability, but it has previously been described as the ability to make informed judgments and to take effective actions regarding current and future use and management of money. Financial literacy encompasses financi... | Financial literacy plays an important role in helping to promote the financial health and stability of individuals and families. Economic changes in recent years have further highlighted the need to empower all Americans to make informed financial decisions. In addition to the important roles played by states, nonprofi... |
During the last decade, a new kind of entity has emerged in public education: the for-profit provider of education and management services. Historically, school districts have contracted with private companies for noninstructional services, such as transportation and food service, and have also relied on contractors in... | In recent years, local school districts and traditional public schools have taken various initiatives to improve failing schools. School districts and charter schools are increasingly contracting with private, for-profit companies to provide a range of education and management services to schools. In the District of Co... |
Ex-Im is the official export credit agency of the United States, and operates under the authority of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended. It operates as an independent agency of the U.S. government with a staff of approximately 370 full-time permanent employees. Ex-Im’s core mission is to support U.S. export... | Congress established the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) to encourage U.S. exports. Congress has directed Ex-Im to consider the economic impact of its work and not to fund activities that will adversely affect U.S. industry. In this context, GAO reviewed (1) Ex-Im's policies and procedures for determini... |
The QDR was required by the Military Force Structure Review Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (P.L. 104-201). The act directed the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, to conduct a review of the defense needs from 1997 to 20... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) for fiscal year 1999, focusing on: (1) DOD's plans to address the financial and programmatic risk areas that the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) found in DOD's program; (2) comparing DOD's 1999 FYDP ... |
The transition to ICD-10 codes, which has widespread implications for health care transactions and quality measurement in the United States, offers the potential for several improvements over the current ICD-9 code set. Medicare and Medicaid will incorporate the ICD-10 codes into multiple program functions that current... | In the United States, every claim submitted by health care providers to payers—including Medicare and Medicaid—for reimbursement includes ICD codes. On October 1, 2015, all covered entities will be required to transition to the 10th revision of the codes, requiring entities to develop, test, and implement updated infor... |
FTAs—which phase out barriers to trade in goods with particular countries or groups of countries and contain rules designed to improve access to foreign markets for U.S. goods, services, and investment— remain a major component of U.S. trade policy. Collectively, according to USTR, FTAs with 20 countries accounted for ... | The United States has signed free trade agreements that lower barriers to trade with 20 countries, including 5 Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. Reflecting Congress's interest in balancing commercial interests with environmental protection, the United States and FTA partners have agreed to strength... |
Medicare traditionally has paid DMEPOS suppliers through fee schedule amounts based on suppliers’ historical charges to Medicare. The purpose of CBP is to improve how Medicare payment amounts are set by paying only competitively selected contract suppliers amounts based on competitive bids, thereby providing Medicare p... | To achieve Medicare savings for DME, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 required that CMS implement the CBP for certain DME. In 2008, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act terminated the first round of supplier contracts and required CMS to repeat the CBP round... |
Since 2000, Congress and OPM have gradually shifted to performance- based pay for senior executives through legislative and regulatory changes. In October 2000, OPM amended its senior executive performance management regulations requiring agencies to (1) hold senior executives accountable for their individual and organ... | Agencies are allowed to raise pay caps for their Senior Executive Service (SES) members if the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) certifies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concurs that their appraisal systems meet applicable criteria. As requested, this report examines selected agencies' policies and pr... |
Since the early 1990s, the unprecedented growth in computer interconnectivity, most notably growth in use of the Internet, has revolutionized the way our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. The benefits have been enormous in terms of facilitating communications, business proc... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges of developing effective information sharing and coordination strategies needed to deal with computer security threats. GAO noted that: (1) developing the information sharing and coordination capabilities needed to effectively deal with computer threats a... |
VA pays basic compensation benefits to veterans incurring disabilities from injuries or diseases that were incurred or aggravated while on active military duty. VA rates the severity of all service-connected disabilities by using its Schedule for Rating Disabilities. The schedule lists types of disabilities and assigns... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides disability compensation to veterans disabled by injuries or diseases that were incurred or aggravated while on active military duty. Under Individual Unemployability (IU) benefit regulations, a veteran can receive increased compensation at the total disability compensati... |
For more than 30 years, federal law has provided comprehensive health coverage for low-income children through Medicaid. The children eligible for such care have made up a significant and growing portion of the nation’s population, as eligibility for Medicaid benefits has expanded to cover increasing numbers of previou... | The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program calls for states to provide children and adolescents under age 21 with access to comprehensive, periodic evaluations of health, development, and nutritional status, as well as vision, hearing, and dental services. There is concern that state Me... |
Flooding is the most widespread natural hazard in the country, affecting virtually every state. From February 1978 through August 2008, there were 90 significant flood events. Since its inception in 1968, NFIP has sought to have local communities adopt floodplain management ordinances and offered flood insurance to the... | The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), estimates that subsidized properties--those that receive discounted premium rates that do not fully reflect the properties' actual flood risk--experience as much... |
HUBZone program fraud and abuse continues to be problematic for the federal government. We identified 19 firms in Texas, Alabama, and California participating in the HUBZone program even though they clearly do not meet program requirements (i.e., principal office location or percentage of employees residing in the HUBZ... | Created in 1997, the HUBZone program provides federal contracting assistance to small businesses in economically distressed communities, or HUBZone areas, with the intent of stimulating economic development in those areas. On July 17, 2008, we testified before Congress that SBA's lack of controls over the HUBZone progr... |
In general, federal housing assistance is available only to people or households that have low incomes. Consequently, income, not age, is the single biggest factor in deciding on an elderly person’s need and eligibility for federal housing assistance. HUD also identifies problems that, regardless of age, exacerbate a p... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the similarities and differences between the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program and HOME Investment Partnership Program, focusing on: (1) the amount and types of new multifamily rental housing that ... |
Tax expenditures are tax provisions that are exceptions to the normal structure of individual and corporate income tax necessary to collect federal revenue. They represent revenue losses—the amount of revenue that the government forgoes—resulting from federal tax provisions that grant special tax relief for certain kin... | Tax expenditures—special credits, deductions, and other tax provisions that reduce taxpayers’ tax liabilities—represent a substantial federal commitment. If Treasury’s estimates are summed, an estimated $1.23 trillion in federal revenue was forgone from the 169 tax expenditures reported for fiscal year 2015, an amount ... |
IRS uses multiple channels to provide customer service to taxpayers and process tax returns: Telephone service: Taxpayers can speak with IRS assistors to obtain information about their accounts throughout the year or to ask basic tax law questions during the filing season. Taxpayers can also listen to recorded tax info... | GAO was asked to review IRS's 2016 filing season. This report assesses, among other things, how well IRS provided service to taxpayers compared to its performance in prior years, and its efforts to improve service for IDT victims, including selected internal control processes. GAO analyzed IRS documents and data for fi... |
The Congress established the REACH program to minimize the health and safety risks that result from high energy burdens prevent homelessness as a result of inability to pay energy bills, increase the efficiency of energy usage by low-income families, and target energy assistance to individuals who are most in need. The... | Rising prices for natural gas, electricity, and other fuels have made it even harder for low-income families to pay their utility bills. By the end of fiscal year 2000, the Office of Community Services had awarded $30 million in Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option (REACH) program grants to 24 states and 12 t... |
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is the primary transportation link for 20 percent of the nation’s domestically produced oil. For nearly 20 years, TAPS, which was built between 1974 and 1977 to meet specific environmental and technical requirements for arctic conditions, has transported more that 10 billion barr... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the progress made in correcting deficiencies in the operation and management of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), focusing on: (1) whether the planned corrective actions will address deficiencies in the pipeline's electrical systems, quality, and p... |
As shown in figure 1, biosurveillance is a concept that emerged in response to increased concern about biological threats from emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism. Biosurveillance is carried out by and depends on a wide range of dispersed entities, including state, tribal, local, and insular jurisdictions. As... | The nation is at risk for a catastrophic biological event. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act directed GAO to report on biosurveillance--to help detect and respond to such events--at multiple jurisdictional levels. In June 2010, GAO recommended that the National Security Staff lead the developm... |
Approximately 49 million elderly and disabled individuals were enrolled in Medicare in 2011, of which about 29 million were enrolled in Part D. Medicare beneficiaries obtain Part D coverage by choosing from multiple, competing plans offered by plan sponsors—often private insurers—that contract with CMS to offer the pre... | The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 established the Discount Program to help Medicare Part D beneficiaries with their prescription drug costs while in the coverage gap, which occurs between the initial and catastrophic coverage periods where Medicare helps pay for drug costs. Until the Discount Progr... |
Medicare is the national health insurance program for those aged 65 and older and certain disabled individuals. In 1998, Medicare insured approximately 39 million people. All beneficiaries can receive health care through Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service arrangement, and many beneficiaries live in areas where they... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Medicare Choice program, focusing on: (1) the extent to which managed care organizations' (MCO) member literature provides beneficiaries with accurate and useful plan information; and (2) whether the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) revie... |
The Missile Defense Agency plans to develop and field ballistic missile defense elements in increments called “blocks,” with each block providing increasing levels of capability over the previous block. In doing so, MDA’s charter states that MDA is responsible for assuring the supportability of the system and for devel... | The Department of Defense (DOD) has spent a total of over $115 billion since the mid-1980s to develop a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) comprised of land, air, and sea-based elements--such as missiles and radars--working together as an integrated system. Since the cost to operate and support a weapon system usu... |
USPS has a vast mail processing network consisting of multiple facilities with different functions, as shown in figure 2. In fiscal year 2011, according to USPS, it had a nationwide mail processing network that included 461 facilities, 154,325 full-time employees, and about 8,000 pieces of mail processing equipment. Th... | Since 2006, the U.S. Postal Service has taken actions to reduce its excess capacity. Such actions have made progress toward consolidating the mail processing network to increase efficiency and reduce costs while meeting delivery standards. However, since 2006, the gap between USPS expenses and revenues has grown signif... |
The Treasury first began its technical assistance program in 1990 in Central Europe and then expanded it to include the countries of the former Soviet Union. The Treasury receives funds from USAID to pay for the cost of advisors. For fiscal years 1990-98, USAID transferred about $134.2 million to the Treasury to suppor... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of the Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) foreign aid program, focusing on: (1) the types of technical assistance OTA advisors have provided to Russia and Romania; (2) oversight by OTA of advisors' activities; (3) advisor qualifications, prog... |
OPM’s mission and responsibilities are found in Title 5 of the U.S. Code, which provides for the effective implementation of civil service laws, rules, and regulations. OPM also evaluates the effectiveness of personnel policies, agency compliance with laws, rules, regulations and office directives, and agency personnel... | As the agency responsible for the federal government's human capital initiatives, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must have the capacity to successfully guide human capital transformations necessary to meet the governance challenges of the 21st century. Given this key role, GAO was asked to assess OPM's capaci... |
In general, SCHIP funds are targeted to uninsured children in families whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but are at or below 200 percent of FPL. Recognizing the variability in state Medicaid programs, federal SCHIP law allows a state to cover children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of FPL o... | In August 1997, Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with the goal of significantly reducing the number of low-income uninsured children, especially those who lived in families with incomes exceeding Medicaid eligibility requirements. Unlike Medicaid, SCHIP is not an entitlement to ser... |
In conducting our review, we compared LSSC’s progress in planning and managing its Year 2000 project to our Year 2000 Assessment Guide. We also reviewed DOD’s Year 2000 Management Plan, Department of the Army and Army Materiel Command (AMC) Year 2000 guidance, and private industry Year 2000 guidance. We focused our rev... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the status of the Logistics Systems Support Command's (LSSC) efforts to correct Commodity Command Standard System (CCSS) Year 2000 systems problems; and (2) the appropriateness of LSSC's strategy and actions for ensuring that CCSS Year 2000 issues will be successfu... |
This report examines two types of LTA platforms: aerostats and airships. Both use a lifting gas—most commonly helium—but an aerostat is tethered to the ground while an airship is free moving. Aerostats lack a propulsion mechanism and are connected to a mooring station on the ground by a long cable called a tether. The ... | Use of lighter-than-air platforms, such as aerostats, which are tethered to the ground, and airships, which are freeflying, could significantly improve U.S. ISR and communications capabilities, and move cargo more cheaply over long distances and to austere locations. DOD is spending about $1.3 billion in fiscal year 20... |
Spare parts are defined as repair parts and components, including kits, assemblies, and subassemblies required for the maintenance of all equipment. Repair parts and components can include (1) reparable items, which are returned to the supply system to be repaired when they are no longer in working condition, and (2) n... | The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) reported that a shortage of spare parts has caused a decline in the military services' readiness, particularly in aviation readiness. In response, Congress provided $1.1 billion in additional funding to purchase spare parts. According to DLA, shortages are a result of aging systems an... |
In addition to processing approximately 150 million individual tax returns and issuing more than 100 million refunds during the filing season, IRS provides a range of taxpayer services, including through telephones, written correspondence, and on its website. Based on recent data from IRS, compared to last year, IRS’s ... | IRS provides service to tens of millions of taxpayers and processes most tax returns during the filing season. It is also a time when legitimate taxpayers may learn that they are a victim of IDT refund fraud, which occurs when a thief files a fraudulent return using a legitimate taxpayer's identity and claims a refund.... |
The credit card industry is composed of issuers, processors, and card networks. Typically banks, thrifts, and credit unions are the organizations that issue credit cards and underwrite the credit that is provided to consumers. The issuance of credit cards is highly concentrated, with the eight largest issuers represent... | The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 requires that credit card issuers (issuers) include in all cardholder billing statements a generic warning, or "disclosure," about the potential financial consequences of consistently making only the minimum payment due on a credit card. However, some ... |
The fee-for-service part of the Medicare program processes more than a billion claims each year from about 1.5 million providers of health care or related services and equipment to beneficiaries. These providers bill Medicare for their services and supplies which, among other things, consist of inpatient and outpatient... | GAO has designated Medicare as a high-risk program, in part because its complexity makes it particularly vulnerable to fraud. CMS, as the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for administering Medicare and reducing fraud, uses a variety of systems that are intended to identity fra... |
According to DOD, the department relies on over 2.5 million unclassified computer systems, 10,000 local area networks, and hundreds of long- distance networks for mission-critical operations. These systems and networks run on multiple hardware and software platforms consisting of interconnected mainframes, systems, and... | This report reviews the department of Defense's (DOD) implementation of computer incident response capabilities and identifies challenges to improving these. GAO found that during the last several years, DOD has taken several steps to build incident response capabilities and enhance computer defensive capabilities acro... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to have this opportunity to discuss matters related to deceptive mail marketing practices, which have been used by various organizations and individuals to induce consumers to purchase goods and services or send money for misrepresented purposes. My statement... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed matters related to deceptive mail marketing practices, focusing on the extent and nature of consumers' problems with deceptive mail and the initiatives various federal agencies and other organizations have made to address deceptive mail problems and educate consumers. ... |
The United States is divided into 94 federal judicial districts, each containing the federal trial courts, where criminal and civil cases are tried. Congress placed each of the 94 districts in 1 of 12 regional circuits, each containing a court of appeals, to which district court decisions may be appealed. Figure 2 is a... | Created in 1984, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) was charged with developing the federal sentencing guidelines to limit disparities in sentencing among offenders with similar criminal backgrounds found guilty of similar crimes. Judges determine a specific sentence based on an applicable sentencing guidel... |
As described at the beginning of this report, DOD recognized the need for additional base closures and realignments following the 1995 closure round and made repeated efforts to gain congressional authorization for an additional closure round. Congress authorized an additional round for 2005 with the passage of the Nat... | On May 13, 2005, the Secretary of Defense submitted proposed base realignment and closure (BRAC) actions to an independent commission for its review. The Commission must submit its recommendations to the President by September 8, 2005, for his acceptance or rejection in their entirety. Congress has final action to acce... |
VA’s integrated health care delivery system is one of the largest in the United States and provides enrolled veterans, including women veterans, with a range of services including primary and preventive health care services, mental health services, inpatient hospital services, long-term care, and prescription drugs. VA... | Historically, the vast majority of VA patients have been men, but that is changing. VA provided health care to over 281,000 women veterans in 2008--an increase of about 12 percent since 2006--and the number of women veterans in the United States is projected to increase by 17 percent between 2008 and 2033. Women vetera... |
The D.C. Family Court Act of 2001 fundamentally changed the way the Superior Court handled its family cases. One of the central organizing principles for establishing the Family Court was the one family/one judge case management concept, whereby the same judge handles all matters related to one family. To support the i... | The Family Court, established by the D.C. Family Court Act of 2001, was created in part to transition the former Family Division of the D.C. Superior Court into a court solely dedicated to matters concerning children and families. The act required the transfer of abuse and neglect cases by October 2003 and the implemen... |
While parents are primarily responsible for the education and care of children who are younger than school age, a variety of factors have led to an increased demand for early learning and child care programs. For example, workforce participation among mothers with children age 5 and under has generally increased since ... | Millions of children age 5 and under participate each year in federally funded preschool and other early learning programs, or receive federally supported child care. Federal support for early learning and child care has evolved over time to meet emerging needs. In 2012, GAO reported that multiple federal agencies admi... |
Medicaid finances the delivery of health care services for a diverse low- income and medically needy population. The Social Security Act, which Congress amended in 1965 to establish the Medicaid program, provides the statutory framework for the program, setting broad parameters for states that choose to participate and... | The Medicaid program marks its 50th anniversary on July 30, 2015. The joint federal-state program has grown to be one of the largest sources of health care coverage and financing for a diverse low-income and medically needy population. Medicaid is undergoing transformative changes, in part due to PPACA, which expanded ... |
The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is responsible for maintaining and caring for the buildings and grounds primarily located in the Capitol Hill complex, such as the Capitol building, the House and Senate office buildings, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court. AOC is also responsible for making ... | The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) plays an important role in supporting the effective functioning of the Congress and its neighboring institutions. With a budget of $426 million, AOC is responsible for the maintenance, renovation, and new construction of all buildings and grounds within the Capitol Hill ... |
Since 1955, the executive branch has encouraged federal agencies to obtain commercially available goods and services from the private sector when the agency determines it is cost-effective. However, in the past, both the private and public sectors expressed concern about the fairness with which these sourcing decisions... | Federal agencies face a complicated set of decisions in finding the right mix of government and contractor personnel to conduct their missions. While contractors, when properly used, can play an important role in helping agencies accomplish their missions, GAO has found that agencies face challenges with increased reli... |
The Military Selective Service Act requires virtually all male U.S. citizens worldwide and all other males residing in the United States ages 18 through 25 to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of turning 18 years of age under procedures established by a presidential proclamation and other rules ... | The Selective Service System is an independent agency in the executive branch. Its responsibilities include maintaining a database that will enable it to provide manpower to DOD in a national emergency, managing a program for conscientious objectors to satisfy their obligations through a program of civilian service, an... |
Under a variety of statutes, federal employees, including postal workers, can file a complaint alleging unlawful employment discrimination. Each discrimination complaint contains two key elements that provide information about the nature of the conflict. The first of these two elements is the “basis” of the allegation ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the nature and extent of workplace conflicts that underlie the rising number of discrimination cases, focusing on: (1) the statutory bases (e.g., race, sex, or disability discrimination) under which employees filed complaints; (2) the kinds of issues (e.g... |
The Corporation for National and Community Service was created to help meet community needs in education, the environment, and public safety and to expand educational opportunity by rewarding individuals who participate in national service. The Corporation is part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foste... | In November 2002, the Corporation for National and Community Service suspended enrollments in the AmeriCorps program due to concern that the National Service Trust may not contain enough funds to meet the education award obligations resulting from AmeriCorps enrollments. This testimony reflects GAO's preliminary review... |
On August 29, 2005, and in the ensuing days, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma devastated the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Hurricane Katrina alone affected more than a half million people located within approximately 90,000 square miles spanning Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and ultimately resulted ... | Hurricane Katrina severely tested disaster management at the federal, state, and local levels and revealed weaknesses in the basic elements--leadership, capabilities, and accountability--of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. In its 2006 work on the response to Hurricane Katrina, GAO noted that... |
Because of a number of security incidents, Diplomatic Security’s missions and resources have grown tremendously in the past decade. The growth in Diplomatic Security’s mission includes key areas such as enhanced physical security and investigations. Following the 1998 attacks on U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Di... | This testimony discusses the Department of State's (State) Bureau of Diplomatic Security (Diplomatic Security), which is responsible for the protection of people, information, and property at over 400 embassies, consulates, and domestic locations. Since the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in East Africa, the scope and ... |
To address our objectives, we reviewed ongoing efforts within Defense to reduce Defense Transportation System (DTS) costs by eliminating redundancy in automated information systems and in the business processes they support. We examined governing regulations and directives, evaluated plans and actions to select transpo... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defenses' (DOD) transportation migration systems. GAO found that DOD: (1) has little assurance that its transportation migration systems are cost-effective; (2) selected its transportation migration systems without fully evaluating government or commer... |
Eligibility for benefits under SSI, DI, Medicare, and Medicaid programs for individuals with disabilities is determined in part on whether an individual has a disability as defined in the Social Security Act. For purposes of these programs, a person is disabled if he or she has a medically determined physical or mental... | Over 7 million individuals with disabilities rely on medical and supportive services covered by Medicaid. However, if working-age individuals with disabilities desire to increase their self-sufficiency through employment, they could jeopardize their eligibility for Medicaid coverage, possibly leaving them without an al... |
Funded at $8 billion to nearly $10 billion annually, MDA’s BMDS is the largest research development program in the Department of Defense’s budget. Since the 1980s, DOD has spent more that $100 billion on the development and early fielding of this system and it estimates that continued development will require an additi... | Funded at $8 billion to $10 billion per year, the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) effort to develop and field a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is the largest research and development program in the Department of Defense (DOD). The program has been managed in 2-year increments, known as blocks. Block 2006, the s... |
FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of human drugs that are marketed in the United States, whether they are manufactured in foreign or domestic establishments. Foreign establishments that market their drugs in the United States must register with FDA. As part of its efforts to ensure the safe... | The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of human drugs that are marketed in the United States, whether they are manufactured in foreign or domestic establishments. FDA inspects foreign establishments to ensure that they meet the same standards required of domest... |
FACE was enacted on May 26, 1994. The act gave the federal government a new tool for investigating and prosecuting abortion-related violence and disruptions. It established federal criminal penalties and civil remedies for “certain violent, threatening, obstructive and destructive conduct that is intended to injure, in... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the occurrence of abortion clinic incidents before and after the enactment of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (FACE); (2) views regarding FACE and its effectiveness from representatives of these clinics, selected police departme... |
Many federal statutes, and the regulations that implement them, impose requirements on state, local, and tribal governments or private sector parties in order to achieve certain legislative goals. Such statutes and their regulations can provide substantial benefits, as well as imposing costs. OMB’s 2003 final report on... | The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) was enacted to address concerns about federal statutes and rules that require state, local, and tribal governments or the private sector to expend resources to achieve legislative goals. UMRA generates information about the nature and size of potential federal mandates to... |
Each weekday, 11.3 million passengers in 35 metropolitan areas and 22 states use some form of rail transit (commuter, heavy, or light rail). Commuter rail systems typically operate on railroad tracks and provide regional service (e.g., between a central city and adjacent suburbs). Commuter rail systems are traditionall... | The July 2005 bombing attacks on London's subway system dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of passenger rail systems worldwide to terrorist attacks, and the need for an increased focus on security for these systems. This testimony provides information on how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including ... |
The Postal Service’s letter mail automation program was designed to increase productivity, reduce postal costs, and provide postal customers with more consistent delivery service. The program relies on optical character readers and barcode sorters to automate the mechanized and manual sorting of letter mail, and curb t... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the status of the Postal Service's (USPS) efforts to implement Delivery Point Sequencing (DPS), focusing on: (1) USPS goals for DPS implementation, its projected letter carrier workhour savings, and the extent to which the Service has achieved these; and ... |
Remote barcoding is a part of the Service’s letter mail automation efforts that began in 1982. In the late 1980s, the Postal Service determined that it needed a system for barcoding the billions of letters containing addresses that cannot be read by the Service’s optical character readers. Remote barcoding entails maki... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO compared the direct costs to the U.S. Postal Service of contracting out for remote barcoding services versus having the work done by postal employees, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of using postal employees for these services. GAO found that: (1) in-house barcodin... |
Overall, NTSB has fully implemented or made significant progress in following leading management practices in all eight areas that our recommendations addressed in 2006 and 2008—communication, strategic planning, IT, knowledge management, organizational structure, human capital management, training, and financial manag... | The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whose reauthorization is the subject of today's hearing, plays a vital role in advancing transportation safety by investigating accidents, determining their causes, issuing safety recommendations, and conducting safety studies. To support the agency's mission, NTSB's Tra... |
The decision to provide substantial amounts of funding to the auto industry—more than 12 percent of all authorized TARP funds—and to accept equity in the companies in return for some of the assistance reflects Treasury’s view of the automotive industry’s importance to the U.S. economy. According to Treasury officials, ... | As part of its Auto Industry Financing Program (AIFP), funded through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Treasury committed $67.3 billion to automaker GM and to Ally Financial, a large bank holding company whose primary business is auto lending. TARP's authorizing legislation mandates that GAO report every 60 da... |
Federal, state, and local governments share the financing of our nation’s public schools. The federal share is the smallest, averaging about 7 percent of public school funding in the 1991-92 school year. Nationwide, the other 93 percent of funding was about evenly split between state and local funding (see fig. 2). How... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed state and federal efforts to target poor students and the funding gaps between districts with high and low proportions of poor students, focusing on: (1) the extent to which state and federal funding is targeted to districts on the basis of the number of poor students; ... |
The demonstration program affords opportunities to collect new and increased fees to the major agencies that provide the public with recreational opportunities on federal land—the Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service (all within the Department of the Interior), and the Forest Service (... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Park Service's Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, focusing on the: (1) rate at which the Park Service spends revenue collected under the program in comparison with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service; a... |
The DI and SSI programs are the two largest federal programs providing assistance to people with disabilities. DI is the nation’s primary source of income replacement for workers with disabilities who have paid Social Security taxes and are entitled to benefits. The DI program also pays benefits to disabled dependents ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs, focusing on: (1) the backlog of DI and SSI cases due for continuing disability reviews (CDR); (2) the number and characteristics of individuals who are due for CDR; (3) whether adequate resou... |
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 children were identified as having ASD in 2012 (about 1.5 percent of 8-year olds). ASD is a complex developmental disorder with characteristics that can range from mild to more pronounced (see fig. 1). Each autism characteristic may vary in type... | About a half a million youth with ASD will enter adulthood over the next decade. As they exit high school, they must obtain services as adults. Previous GAO work has shown that students with disabilities who are transitioning to adulthood face challenges identifying and obtaining adult services. GAO was asked to study ... |
In their efforts to modernize their health information systems and share medical information, VA and DOD begin from different positions. As shown in table 1, VA has one integrated medical information system, VistA (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture), which uses all electronic records. All ... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are engaged in ongoing efforts to share medical information, which is important in helping to ensure high-quality health care for active-duty military personnel and veterans. These efforts include a long-term program to develop modernized healt... |
The U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) was created in 1987 to unify defense transportation under a single manager during war, contingencies, and exercises. In 1992, the Secretary of Defense directed that USTRANSCOM’s mission be expanded to provide air, land, and sea transportation in time of peace and war. The mi... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Department of Defense (DOD) is providing cost-effective and efficient transportation operations, focusing on: (1) the factors that increase DOD transportation costs; and (2) DOD efforts to reengineer its transportation operations. GAO found that: (1) defense... |
The data that we are reporting today provide a demographic snapshot of the career SES as well as the levels that serve as the SES developmental pool for October 2000 and September 2007. Table 1 shows the number of career SES as well as those in the developmental pool, including the percentages of women and minorities. ... | A diverse Senior Executive Service (SES), which generally represents the most experienced segment of the federal workforce, can be an organizational strength by bringing a wider variety of perspectives and approaches to policy development and decision making. In January 2003, GAO provided data on the diversity of caree... |
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 established special immigrant and nonimmigrant categories for religious workers, religious professionals, and ministers. The act authorizes special immigrants to be admitted to the United States as religious workers if, for 2 years prior to admission, they have been members o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the extent and nature of any fraud the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Department of State have identified in the religious worker visa program; and (2) any steps INS and State have taken or plan to take to change the visa screen... |
Federal efforts to use collaboration, broadly, and collaborative resource management more specifically have their roots in natural resource and environmental law, litigation, and alternative efforts to resolve environmental conflicts. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s as environmental concerns over species, wilderness p... | Conflict over the use of our nation's natural resources, along with increased ecological problems, has led land managers to seek cooperative means to resolve natural resource conflicts and problems. Collaborative resource management is one such approach that communities began using in the 1980s and 1990s. A 2004 Execut... |
All international mail and packages entering the United States through the U.S. Postal Service and private carriers are subject to potential CBP inspection at the 14 USPS international mail facilities and 29 express consignment carrier facilities operated by private carriers located around the country. CBP inspectors c... | Consumers can be violating the law and possibly risking their health by purchasing imported prescription drugs over the Internet. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), work... |
To trace the information flow and document key data systems used to procure, control, and pay for JSLIST, we reviewed and analyzed procedures and system documentation. Further, we discussed business processes with managers and observed processing at key DOD organizations, including the JSLIST Program Office, DLA, DFAS-... | This testimony reviews two case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for the Department of Defense (DOD) to reform its business operations. These two case studies are microcosms of the broad management challenges facing DOD that were highlighted in GAO's June 2002 testimony (See GAO-02-784T). GAO provided views on... |
Treasury’s Office of Homeownership Preservation within the Office of Financial Stability, which administers Treasury’s TARP-related efforts, is tasked with finding ways to help prevent avoidable foreclosures and preserve homeownership. The $27.8 billion in TARP funds that Treasury has obligated for MHA is to be used to... | Since 2009 Treasury has obligated $27.8 billion in TARP funds through its MHA program to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes a provision for GAO to report every 60 days on TARP activities. This report examines the extent to which Treasury is reviewing ... |
The LDA, as amended by HLOGA, requires lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House and file quarterly reports disclosing their lobbying activity. Lobbyists are required to file their registrations and reports electronically with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the Hous... | The LDA requires lobbyists to file quarterly lobbying disclosure reports and semiannual reports on certain political contributions. The LDA also requires that GAO annually (1) audit the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with disclosure requirements, (2) identify challenges to compliance that lobbyist... |
In 2001, the President announced his management agenda for making the government more focused on citizens and results, which included expanding Electronic Government (E-Government). The President’s E- Government Strategy identified several governmentwide initiatives with a goal of eliminating redundant systems and sign... | Federal agencies have increasingly relied on contact centers--centers handling inquiries via multiple channels such as telephone, Web page, e-mail, and postal mail--as a key means of communicating with the public. Many of these centers are contractor-operated. Concerns exist about the accuracy of responses provided thr... |
Our work has identified several challenges related to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. Among those we highlighted in our 2013 key issues report are a dangerous security environment, the prevalence of corruption, and the limited capacity of the Afghan government to deliver services and sustain donor funded projects. Dangero... | The U.S. government has engaged in multiple efforts in Afghanistan since declaring a global war on terrorism that targeted al Qaeda, its affiliates, and other violent extremists, including certain elements of the Taliban. These efforts have focused on a whole-of-government approach that calls for the use of all element... |
The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 was enacted to address longstanding problems in financial management in the federal government. The act established CFO positions throughout the federal government and mandated that, within each of the largest federal departments and agencies, the CFO oversee all financial... | Pursuant to a legislative mandate, GAO provided information on key financial managers within the Department of the Air Force, specifically focusing on the qualifications and professional work experience of 4 Air Force management executives and 173 key financial management staff representing 79 of the 88 Air Force organ... |
NRC is an independent agency of over 3,200 employees established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to regulate civilian—that is, commercial, industrial, academic, and medical—use of nuclear materials. NRC is headed by a five-member Commission. The President appoints the Commission members, who are confirmed by t... | The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has the responsibility to provide oversight to ensure that the nation's 103 commercial nuclear power plants are operated safely. While the safety of these plants has always been important, since radioactive release could harm the public and the environment, NRC's oversight has be... |
Since DHS began operations in March 2003, it has developed and implemented key policies, programs, and activities for implementing its homeland security missions and functions that have created and strengthened a foundation for achieving its potential as it continues to mature. However, the department’s efforts have be... | The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led to profound changes in government agendas, policies and structures to confront homeland security threats facing the nation. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003 with key missions that included preventing terrorist attacks from ... |
The objective of the Navy’s ship maintenance program is to perform all necessary maintenance consistent with available funding and provide reasonable assurance that ships will be available for required operations. Ship maintenance, conducted during periods the Navy calls availabilities, includes three types of requirem... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Navy's declining ship maintenance workload, focusing on: (1) the Navy's policies and procedures for allocating ship maintenance work to public and private facilities in the Norfolk area; (2) ship maintenance and modernization funding obligated to the Norfolk Naval S... |
In fiscal year 2000, VA’s pharmacy benefit provided approximately 86 million prescriptions at a cost of approximately $2 billion—or about 12 percent of VA’s total health care budget, compared to 6 percent of VA’s total health care budget a decade ago. VA provides outpatient pharmacy services free to veterans receiving ... | Although the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made significant progress establishing a national formulary that has generally met with acceptance by prescribers and patients, VA oversight has not fully ensured standardization of its drug benefit nationwide. The three medical centers GAO visited did not comply wit... |
The D.C. Family Court Act fundamentally changed the way the Superior Court’s Family Division handled its family cases. To transition the Family Division into a Family Court, the Family Court Act required that the Superior Court prepare a transition plan describing such things as the function of the presiding judge and ... | The D.C. Family Court Act (P.L. 107-114) mandated that GAO examine the performance of the D.C. Family Court. GAO addressed the following objectives: (1) What procedures were used to make judicial appointments to the Family Court and what effect did qualification requirements have on appointment timeframes? (2) How time... |
As I noted, known demographic trends and rising health care costs are major drivers of the nation’s large and growing structural deficits. The nation cannot ignore this fiscal pressure—it is not a matter of whether the nation deals with the fiscal gap, but how and when. GAO’s long-term budget simulations illustrate the... | As part of its work to improve the management and performance of the federal government, GAO monitors progress and continuing challenges in performance budgeting and the Administration's related initiatives, such as the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). In light of the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance and other... |
The enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 dramatically altered the nati’on’s system to provide assistance to the poor. The 1996 act replaced the existing entitlement program for poor families with block grants to the states to provide temporary assistance for needy fam... | Pursuant to Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), GAO periodically reports on the implementation of the Job Access and Reverse Commute (Job Access) program. The program is designed to assist low-income people in accessing employment opportunities. This report examines the Department of Transportation... |
We assessed MDA’s progress made during fiscal year 2003 toward its Block 2004 program goals by reviewing the progress of individual BMDS elements, because MDA program goals are ultimately derived from element-level efforts. We selected seven elements for our review on the basis of congressional interest and because the... | The Department of Defense (DOD) has treated ballistic missile defense as a priority since the mid-1980s and has invested tens of billions of dollars to research and develop such capabilities. In 2002 two key events transformed DOD's approach in this area: (1) the Secretary of Defense consolidated existing missile defen... |
The U.S. government’s economic assistance in Egypt focuses primarily on partnering with the Egyptian government to promote economic growth and development. This support has three core components: Traditional project assistance, managed by USAID, focuses on, among other things, private sector development, health and edu... | The Commodity Import Program (CIP), managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is intended to foster a competitive private sector in Egypt, in addition to assisting U.S. exporters. The program also supports the government of Egypt and USAID activities and expenses in Egypt. Since 1992, Congress h... |
As computer technology has advanced, both government and private entities have become increasingly dependent on computerized information systems to carry out operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information. Public and private organizations rely on computer systems to transmit proprietary and other... | Effective cybersecurity for federal information systems is essential to preventing the loss of resources, the compromise of sensitive information, and the disruption of government operations. Since 1997, GAO has designated federal information security as a government-wide high-risk area, and in 2003 expanded this area ... |
Generally, DOD’s S&T community (which includes DOD laboratories and testing facilities as well as contractors and academic institutions that support these facilities) conducts research and develops technologies to support military applications, such as satellites or weapon systems. Like the acquisition community in DOD... | The Department of Defense (DOD) is depending heavily on new space-based technologies to support and transform future military operations. Yet there are concerns that efforts to develop technologies for space systems are not tied to strategic goals for space and are not well planned or coordinated. In the National Defen... |
Our objectives were to determine (1) the overall status of Defense’s effort to identify and correct its date sensitive systems and (2) the appropriateness of Defense’s strategy and actions to correct these systems. In conducting our review, we used our Year 2000 Assessment Guide to assess Defense’s Year 2000 efforts. T... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) program for solving the year 2000 computer systems problem, focusing on the: (1) overall status of DOD's effort to identify and correct its date-sensitive systems; and (2) appropriateness of DOD's strategy and actions to correct its yea... |
To help Iraq assume responsibility for sustaining U.S. reconstruction efforts, U.S. agencies are implementing programs to build the capacity of Iraq’s central and provincial governments, including State’s PRDC program to strengthen the capacity of Iraqi provincial governments to deliver essential services such as water... | Since 2003, the United States has provided $49 billion to help rebuild Iraq. To build the capacity of Iraq's central and provincial governments to sustain this effort, the United States is implementing programs including Department of State's (State) Provincial Reconstruction Development Committee (PRDC) and the U.S. A... |
In 1986, IRCA established the employment verification process based on employers’ review of documents presented by employees to prove identity and work eligibility. On the Form I-9, employees must attest that they are U.S. citizens, lawfully admitted permanent residents, or aliens authorized to work in the United State... | In 1996, the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, now within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) began operating a voluntary pilot program, recently named the E-Verify program, to provide participating employers with a means for electronically verifying... |
After volunteers separate from the Peace Corps they typically return to the United States, and may transition into new employment. As they make this employment transition, the Peace Corps offers various health care services and benefits to returned volunteers. First, each volunteer receives a close-of-service medical e... | Peace Corps volunteers who suffer a service-connected illness or injury are eligible to receive certain health care and other benefits under FECA--a workers' compensation program administered by DOL. FECA provides health care benefits--reimbursements for medical expenses--to federal employees and volunteers for illness... |
There are four types of HUBZones. Initially, the HUBZone Act of 1997 (which established the HUBZone program) identified qualifying areas as qualified census tracts, which are determined by the area’s poverty rate or household income; qualified nonmetropolitan counties, which are determined by the area’s unemployment ra... | Small firms participating in SBA's HUBZone program received about $4 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2013. The program's purpose is to stimulate economic development in economically distressed areas. A certified HUBZone firm is eligible for federal contracting benefits, including limited competition awards ... |
The authorizing legislation for the federal crop insurance program states that the purpose of the program is to promote the national welfare by improving the economic stability of agriculture. According to RMA’s mission statement, the agency provides risk-management tools, such as crop insurance, to strengthen the econ... | The federally subsidized crop insurance program, which helps farmers manage the risk inherent in farming, has become one of the most important programs in the farm safety net. Since 2000, the government's costs for the crop insurance program have increased substantially. The program's cost has come under scrutiny as th... |
The South Florida ecosystem extends from the Chain of Lakes south of Orlando to the reefs southwest of the Florida Keys. This vast region, which is home to more than 6 million Americans, a huge tourism industry, and a large agricultural economy, also encompasses one of the world’s unique environmental resources—the Eve... | The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative is a complex, long-term effort to restore the South Florida ecosystem--including the Everglades--that involves federal, state, local, and tribal entities, as well as public and private interests. In response to growing signs of the ecosystem's deterioration, federal ag... |
Studies published by the Institute of Medicine and others have indicated that fragmented, disorganized, and inaccessible clinical information adversely affects the quality of health care and compromises patient safety. In addition, long-standing problems with medical errors and inefficiencies increase costs for health ... | As GAO and others have reported, the use of information technology (IT) has enormous potential to improve the quality of health care and is critical to improving the performance of the U.S. health care system. Given the federal government's role in providing health care in the U.S., it has been urged to take a leadersh... |
CDC currently serves as the national focal point for developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of Americans. CDC is also responsible for leading national efforts to detect, respond to, and prevent illnesses ... | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)--an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--has experienced an expanding workload due to emerging health threats, such as bioterrorism. Strategic planning helps agencies like CDC sustain a workforce with the necessary education, skills, and compe... |
DFAS Columbus uses MOCAS to make contract payments for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and other DOD organizations. In fiscal year 2002, DFAS Columbus reported that it made about $87 billion of contract payments. DOD, including DFAS Columbus, uses a line of accounting to accumulate appropriation, budget, and management info... | GAO has reported that the Department of Defense's (DOD) inability to accurately account for and report on disbursements is a long-term, major problem. GAO was requested to determine (1) the magnitude of the adjustments and related costs in fiscal year 2002, (2) why contracts, including payment terms, are so complex, (3... |
Medicare FFS consists of Part A, hospital insurance, which covers inpatient stays, care in skilled nursing facilities, hospice care, and some home health care; and Part B, which covers certain physician visits, outpatient hospital treatments, and laboratory services, among other services. Most persons aged 65 and older... | Although private health plans were originally envisioned in the 1980s as a potential source of Medicare savings, such plans have generally increased program spending. In 2006, Medicare paid $59 billion to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans--an estimated $7.1 billion more than Medicare would have spent if MA beneficiaries ha... |
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), service headquarters, and inventory control points are responsible for managing secondary inventory. Through their respective item managers, DLA and service inventory control points ensure that needed items are available to the operating forces when and where needed. An item manager’... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory management system, focusing on the: (1) size and space occupied by DOD secondary inventory; (2) cost of storing this inventory; and (3) efforts taken to reduce DOD secondary inventory. GAO found that: (1) DOD secondary invento... |
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.