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INL manages its aviation fleet in a decentralized manner. The Air Wing manages about two-thirds of INL’s 357 aircraft, while the NAS at four embassies manages the remainder. Figure 1 shows the distribution of INL supported aircraft worldwide. The Air Wing is responsible for assisting host nations eradicate illicit drug... | The Department of State's (State) Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) owns 357 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft (valued at over $340 million) primarily to help carry out its counternarcotics efforts, such as aerial eradication of drug crops in Colombia. INL relies on contractor suppor... |
We identified three national databases that, as part of broader data collection efforts, collect information on the occurrence of concussion in high school sports, but they do not provide an overall national estimate of occurrence. These databases are the NCCSI database, the CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillan... | Participation in school sports can benefit children but also carries a risk of injury, including concussion. Concussion is a brain injury that can affect memory, speech, and muscle coordination and can cause permanent disability or death. Concussion can be especially serious for children, who are more likely than adult... |
VA’s disability compensation program pays monthly cash benefits to eligible veterans who have service-connected disabilities resulting from injuries or diseases incurred or aggravated while on active military duty. The benefit amount is based on the veteran’s degree of disability, regardless of employment status or lev... | The House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs asked GAO to update a 2002 study to determine what VA has done to (1) correct reported weaknesses in methods used by the Board to select decisions for quality review and calculate the accuracy rates reported by the Board and (2) address the potential ... |
The federal government has a long-standing policy to maximize contracting opportunities for small businesses. For example, the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 amended the Small Business Act to establish an annual government-wide goal of awarding at least 20 percent of prime contract dollars to small... | Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act requires federal agencies with procurement powers to establish an OSDBU to advocate for small businesses. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 established additional requirements for OSDBUs and required SBPAC to review OSDBU compliance with section 15(k) re... |
To encourage employers to sponsor retirement plans for their employees, the federal government provides preferential tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for plans that meet certain requirements. In addition, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, sets forth certain prot... | This testimony discusses the challenges that small employers face when sponsoring retirement plans for their workers. About 42 million workers, or about one third of all private-sector employees, work for employers with less than 100 employees and recent federal data suggest many of these workers lack access to a work-... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to be here today to provide the results of our assessment of the securities industry’s readiness to trade stocks using decimal prices. In 1997, your Subcommittee held a series of hearings on a proposed amendment to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that wou... | GAO discussed the results of its assessment of the securities industry's readiness to trade stock using decimal prices. GAO noted that: (1) in 1997, the House Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials held hearings on proposed legislation that would have directed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to re... |
While federal agencies are beginning to recognize the need to adapt to climate change, there is a general lack of strategic coordination across agencies, and most efforts to adapt to potential climate change impacts are preliminary. However, some states and localities have begun to make progress on adaptation independe... | Changes in the climate attributable to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases may have significant impacts in the United States and the world. For example, climate change could threaten coastal areas with rising sea levels. Greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere will continue altering the climate system into ... |
The first federal effort to publicly display comprehensive data on federal awards was USAspending.gov. Among other things, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) required OMB to establish a free, publicly accessible website containing data on federal awards no later than January 1, 2008... | It is important to ensure the transparency of information detailing how the federal government spends more than $1 trillion annually in the form of contracts, grants, loans, and other awards. Toward this end, the government has multiple initiatives under way to increase such transparency, including publicly accessible ... |
SSA projects that its current data center will not be adequate to support the demands of its growing workload. In fiscal year 2008, SSA’s benefit programs provided a combined total of approximately $650 billion to nearly 55 million beneficiaries. According to the agency, the number of beneficiaries is estimated to incr... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provides resources to the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help replace its National Computer Center. This data center, which is 30 years old, houses the backbone of the agency's automated operations, which are critical to providing benefits to ne... |
The Department of the Navy (DON) is a major component of DOD, consisting of two uniformed services: the Navy and the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps’ primary mission is to serve as a “total force in readiness” by responding quickly in a wide spectrum of responsibilities, such as attacks from sea to land in support of na... | GAO has designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) business systems modernization as a high-risk program because, among other things, it has been challenged in implementing key information technology (IT) management controls on its thousands of business systems. The Global Combat Support System-Marine Corps program i... |
Autism is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. Individuals with autism may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from others. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of individuals with autism can range from g... | Research has shown that early intervention can greatly improve the development of a child with autism. Children with disabilities—including children with autism—can receive intervention services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Low income children may also receive intervention services through M... |
The Columbia River Basin is North America’s fourth largest, draining about 258,000 square miles and extending predominantly through the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and into Canada. (See fig. 1.) It contains over 250 reservoirs and about 150 hydroelectric projects, including 18 dams on the Columbia ... | Before 1850, an estimated 16 million salmon and steelhead returned to the Columbia River Basin annually to spawn. Over the past 25 years, the number of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River Basin has averaged only 660,000 per year although annual population levels have varied widely. Factors such as over... |
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 established NFIP as an alternative to providing direct disaster relief after floods. NFIP, which makes federally backed flood insurance available to residential property owners and businesses, was intended to reduce the government’s escalating costs for repairing flood damage. F... | NFIP, established in 1968, provides policyholders with insurance coverage for flood damage. FEMA, within the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for managing the program. NFIP offers two types of flood insurance premiums to property owners: subsidized and full-risk. The subsidized rates are not based on flo... |
Several mechanisms to facilitate coordination among FAA and partner agencies – including interagency committees, advisory boards, and working groups – are in place. First, the Senior Policy Committee, as the interagency governing body for NextGen, is meant to facilitate coordination and planning on NextGen across feder... | To prepare for future air traffic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including its Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) and Air Traffic Organization, is planning and implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in partnership with other federal agencies, such as the Depar... |
Addressing the Year 2000 problem in time will be a tremendous challenge for the federal government. Many of the federal government’s computer systems were originally designed and developed 20 to 25 years ago, are poorly documented, and use a wide variety of computer languages, many of which are obsolete. Some applicati... | GAO discussed: (1) the year 2000 risks facing the government; (2) major concerns with the government's progress in fixing its systems; and (3) guidance on year 2000 testing, which is designed to assist agencies in the most extensive and expensive part of remediation. GAO noted that: (1) addressing the year 2000 problem... |
In 1867, Congress enacted legislation that allowed the government to pay awards to individuals who provided information that aided in detecting and punishing those guilty of violating tax laws. Initially, Congress appropriated funds to pay these awards at the government’s discretion. In 1996, Congress increased the sco... | Tax whistleblowers who report on the underpayment of taxes by others have helped IRS collect almost $2 billion in additional revenue since 2011, when the first high-dollar claim was paid under the expanded program that pays qualifying whistleblowers a minimum of 15 percent of the collected proceeds. These revenues help... |
Mutual funds are structured so that each investor in the fund owns shares, which represent a percentage of the fund’s investment portfolio, and investors share in the fund’s gains, losses, and its costs. Mutual fund families offer investors multiple funds from which to choose, each with its own level of risk and invest... | Mutual fund investments represent more than 20 percent of Americans' pension plan assets. Since late 2003, two abusive trading practices in mutual funds have come to light. Late trading allowed some investors to illegally place orders for funds after the close of trading. Market timing allowed some investors to take ad... |
Information security is a critical consideration for any agency that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission and is especially important for a federal agency such as FDA, which collects, processes, and stores sensitive information on drugs and other products pending approval; the s... | FDA has a demanding responsibility of ensuring the safety, effectiveness, and quality of food, drugs, and other consumer products. In carrying out its mission, FDA relies extensively on information technology systems to receive, process, and maintain sensitive industry and public health data, including proprietary busi... |
The mineral-rich DRC, Africa’s second-largest country, has been plagued by cycles of violence and instability. Since 1998, violent conflicts, poverty, and disease have killed more than 5.4 million people in the country, according to estimates by the International Rescue Committee. The DRC was colonized as a personal po... | The eastern part of the DRC has experienced recurring conflicts involving armed groups that have resulted in severe human rights abuses. In addition, armed groups have profited from the exploitation of minerals. In 2010, Congress enacted Section 1502(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act t... |
The U.S. government has invested more than $5 billion since 2009 in GPS and provides GPS service free of direct charge to users worldwide. As shown in figure 1, GPS consists of the space segment, the ground- control segment, and the user segment. The U.S. Air Force develops, maintains, and operates the space and ground... | GPS provides positioning, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide and is used extensively in many of the nation's 16 critical infrastructure sectors, such as communications and transportation. GPS is also a key component in many of the modern conveniences that people rely on or interact with daily. However, sect... |
We conducted our work for GAO-09-879 from September 2008 to September 2009 and updated the analysis of the number and duration of continuing resolutions from February to March 2013. until agreement is reached on final appropriations, they create uncertainty for agencies about both when they will receive their final app... | Congress annually faces difficult decisions on what to fund among competing priorities and interests with available resources. Continuing resolutions (CRs) can create budget uncertainty, complicating agency operations and causing inefficiencies. In all but 3 of the last 30 years, Congress has passed CRs to provide fund... |
Our prior work highlights some of the challenges VA faces in formulating its budget. As we reported in 2006, these challenges include making realistic assumptions about the budgetary impact of some of its policies, making accurate calculations, and obtaining sufficient data for useful budget projections. In 2009, we ag... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates it will provide health care to 5.8 million patients with appropriations of $41.2 billion in fiscal year 2009. The President has proposed an increase in VA's health care budget for fiscal year 2010 to expand services for veterans. VA's patient population includes aging v... |
As of September 30, 1993, the District of Columbia’s three defined benefit pension plans for police officers and firefighters, teachers, and judges had a total of about 24,000 participants. During 1993, the District contributed a total of about $292.3 million to the plans and the federal government paid about $52.1 mil... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the District of Columbia's pension plans for certain employees, focusing on: (1) the history and status of the plans' unfunded pension liability and the number of plan participants prior to Home Rule; (2) a comparison of the plans' unfunded liability with other state an... |
Since the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) began in 1956 and was expanded in 1966, it functioned much like a fee-for-service insurance program. Beneficiaries have been free to select providers and required to pay deductibles and copayments, but, unlike with most insurance programs... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed defense health care, focusing on: (1) procurement process problems identified by the bid protest experiences; (2) the Department of Defense's (DOD) actions to improve and help ensure the fairness of the procurement process; and (3) what problems and concerns remain and ... |
Governmentwide, spending on services contracts has grown substantially over the past several years. At DHS, in fiscal year 2005 services accounted for $7.9 billion, or 67 percent, of total procurement obligations, with $1.2 billion obligated for four types of professional and management support services: program manage... | In fiscal year 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obligated $1.2 billion to procure four types of professional and management support services--program management and support, engineering and technical, other professional, and other management support. While contracting for such services can help DHS meet ... |
The District of Columbia Jail and CTF house inmates awaiting trial or who have been sentenced for misdemeanors. The Jail was opened in 1976, and from 1985 to July 2002, a court order limited the population to 1,674 inmates. Since July 2002 the population has grown, and during March 2004, the facility had an average dai... | Since the end of a court-ordered receivership overseeing medical services at the District of Columbia Jail in September 2000, the Department of Corrections (DoC) has contracted with the Center for Correctional Health and Policy Studies, Inc. (CCHPS) to provide inmate medical services. GAO was asked to provide informati... |
Our October 2009 report on climate change adaptation found no coordinated national approach to adaptation, but our May 2011 report on climate change funding cited indications that federal agencies were beginning to respond to climate change more systematically. About the same time as the issuance of our October 2009 re... | A 2009 assessment by the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) found that many types of extreme weather events, such as heat waves and regional droughts, have become more frequent and intense during the past 40 to 50 years. According to the assessment, changes in extreme weather and climate events will ... |
A domestic bioterrorist attack is considered to be a low-probability event, in part because of the various difficulties involved in successfully delivering biological agents to achieve large-scale casualties. However, a number of cases involving biological agents, including at least one completed bioterrorist act and n... | Federal research and preparedness activities related to bioterrorism center on detecting of such agents; developing new or improved vaccines, antibiotics, and antivirals; and developing performance standards for emergency response equipment. Preparedness activities include: (1) increasing federal, state, and local resp... |
DOD operates one of the largest and most complex health care systems in the nation and has a dual health care mission—readiness and benefits. DOD’s health care system is referred to as the Military Health System. The readiness mission provides medical services and support to the armed forces during military operations ... | The Navy determined that its current hospital on Guam does not meet modern facility standards. Moreover, the military population on Guam is expected to grow from 15,000 to over 39,000 due to DOD plans to move Marine Corps units from Okinawa, Japan to Guam and expand other on- island capabilities. The Navy plans to cons... |
The jointly funded federal-state Medicaid program is the primary source of financing for long-term care services. About one-third of the total $228 billion in Medicaid spending in fiscal year 2001 was for long-term care in both institutional and community-based settings. States administer this program within broad fede... | Home and community-based settings have become a growing part of states' Medicaid long-term care programs, serving as an alternative to care in institutional settings, such as nursing homes. To cover such services, however, states often obtain waivers from certain federal statutory requirements. GAO was asked to review ... |
Enactment of the TANF block grant in 1996 significantly changed federal welfare policy, as it both limited HHS’s authority to regulate welfare programs and gave states more flexibility in designing and funding related programs. The TANF block grant is a $16.5 billion per year fixed federal funding stream to states, whi... | The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) reauthorized the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and made modifications expected to strengthen work requirements for families receiving cash assistance through state TANF programs. Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and states w... |
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 created the VWP as a pilot program, and the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act permanently established the program in October 2000. The program’s purpose is to facilitate the legitimate travel of visitors for business or tourism. By providing visa-free travel to the United ... | The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows eligible nationals from 36 member countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without a visa. In 2007, Congress required the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to implement an automated electronic tra... |
LSC is a private, nonprofit corporation that is federally funded for the purpose of making federal resources available to support local providers of civil legal services for low-income people, with the goal of providing equal access to the justice system “for individuals who seek redress of grievances” and “who would b... | The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) was federally created as a private nonprofit corporation to support legal assistance for low-income people to resolve their civil matters and relies heavily on federal appropriations. Due to its unique status, its governance and accountability requirements differ from those of feder... |
Decennial census data play a key role in the allocation of many grant programs. In fiscal year 2004, the federal government administered 1,172 grant programs, with $460.2 billion in combined obligations. Most of these obligations were concentrated in a small number of grants. For example, Medicaid was the largest formu... | The decennial census is a constitutionally-mandated activity that produces critical data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. This testimony discusses (1) the various measures of population used to allocate federal grant funds (2)... |
Six organizational entities within NOAA have responsibilities related to its ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing systems. NOAA has six line offices, which are responsible for executing the agency’s broad mission and programs. Five of those line offices operate and maintain observing systems. Staff offices support... | NOAA operates and maintains a portfolio of observing systems to capture the environmental data needed to achieve its diverse missions. Some of these systems focus on the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. An observing system is a collection of one or more sensing elements that measures specific environmental conditions a... |
To address the problems associated with unstable forms of plutonium and inadequate packaging for long-term storage, DOE established a standard for the safe storage of plutonium for a minimum of 50 years that sets plutonium stabilization and packaging requirements. Stabilization is achieved by heating the material to re... | Plutonium is very hazardous to human health and the environment and requires extensive security because of its potential use in a nuclear weapon. The Department of Energy (DOE) stores about 50 metric tons of plutonium that is no longer needed by the United States for nuclear weapons. Some of this plutonium is in the fo... |
DOD buys hand tools for a wide range of maintenance and repair activities that include maintaining everything from facilities and vehicles to aircraft and ships. DOD buys tools either from GSA or by local purchase. DOD regulations state that use of established supply sources, such as GSA, should be maximized. If the su... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the military services' controls over hand tools, focusing on: (1) whether the services' policies and procedures for preventing the loss or unnecessary purchase of hand tools are adequate; (2) whether information is available on the costs associated with missing, lost, a... |
The United States, along with its coalition partners and various international organizations and donors, has embarked on a significant effort to rebuild Iraq. As of October 2006, the United States had obligated about $29 billion for reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Iraq. The United States has relied heavily ... | The Department of Defense's (DOD) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) awarded the $2.5 billion Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO I) contract to Kellogg Brown & Root in March 2003 in an effort to reestablish Iraq's oil infrastructure. The contract was also used to ensure adequate fuel supplies inside Iraq. RIO I was a cost-plus-a... |
DOE’s December 2008 contract with SRR to empty, clean, and close the Savannah River Site’s underground tanks is a cost plus award fee contract. Under this type of contract, SRR’s costs to conduct cleanup work are reimbursed by DOE. Such costs include, among other things, workers’ salaries and fringe benefits such as em... | Decades of nuclear materials production at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site in South Carolina have left 37 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste in 49 underground storage tanks. In December 2008, DOE entered into a contract with Savannah River Remediation, LLC (SRR) to close, by 2017, 22 of th... |
Distribution of materiel, such as supplies and equipment, into and around Afghanistan is a complex process involving many DOD organizations and utilizing both surface and air modes of transportation over various routes. DOD’s ability to provide timely logistics support to units deploying to Afghanistan or already in th... | In fiscal year 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that it spent $4 billion to move troops and materiel into Afghanistan, a mountainous, arid, land-locked country with few roads, no railway, and only four airports with paved runways over 3,000 meters. The terrain and weather in Afghanistan and surrounding co... |
Antipsychotic drugs are classified into two sub-groups. The first group, or generation, of antipsychotic drugs—also known as “conventional” or “typical” antipsychotic drugs—was developed in the mid-1950s. Examples include haloperidol (Haldol®) and loxapine (Loxitane®). The second generation of antipsychotic drugs, know... | Dementia affects millions of older adults, causing behavioral symptoms such as mood changes, loss of communication, and agitation. Concerns have been raised about the use of antipsychotic drugs to address the behavioral symptoms of the disease, primarily due to the FDA's boxed warning that these drugs may cause an incr... |
In fiscal year 1995, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend over $79 billion for research, development, test, evaluation, and production of weapon systems. While DOD has acquired some of the most technologically advanced and effective weapon systems, DOD has often been criticized for not acquiring the systems i... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of low-rate initial production (LRIP) in its systems acquisition programs, focusing on whether: (1) DOD LRIP practices result in the production of adequate systems; and (2) the legislation underlying LRIP policies is adequate. GAO f... |
Herbal dietary supplements are traditionally used to alleviate certain medical conditions, such as anxiety, digestive problems, and depression, and to improve general quality of life. However, for many traditional uses, there is not clear scientific evidence to show that they prevent or treat underlying diseases or con... | Recent studies have shown that use of herbal dietary supplements--chamomile, echinacea, garlic, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng--by the elderly within the United States has increased substantially. Sellers, such as retail stores, Web sites, and distributors, often claim these supplements help improve memory, circulation, an... |
SBA’s 7(a) loan program is intended to help businesses obtain credit that they are unable to secure in the conventional lending market. Under the 7(a) program, SBA guarantees loans made by commercial lenders. Borrowers may use 7(a) loan proceeds to establish a new business, expand an existing business, or purchase an e... | From fiscal years 2003 to 2012, SBA guaranteed franchise loans under its 7(a) program totaling around $10.6 billion. SBA made guarantee payments on approximately 28 percent of these franchise loans, representing about $1.5 billion, according to SBA. GAO was asked to examine SBAguaranteed loans to franchisees, and to in... |
Nonpoint source pollution can result when water, such as precipitation, runs over land surfaces and into bodies of water. Significant nonpoint sources of pollution can include paved urban areas, agricultural practices, forestry, and mining. However, in urban and suburban areas, this runoff generally enters a sewer syst... | The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the contaminants in storm water runoff as a significant threat to water quality across the nation. Prompted by Congress, EPA has responded with various initiatives, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Storm Water Program, which requires more ... |
Personal services contracts are a type of contract in which the government exercises relatively continuous supervision and control over the individuals performing the work. FPDS-NG reports that the federal government obligated approximately $1.5 billion on personal services contracts from fiscal years 2011 through 2015... | A personal services contract is one that makes contractor personnel appear to be government employees. These contracts must be authorized by federal law. According to FPDS-NG, the government reported obligating about $1.5 billion on personal services contracts in fiscal years 2011 through 2015. GAO was asked to examine... |
As the central human resources agency for the federal government, OPM is tasked with ensuring that the government has an effective civilian workforce. To carry out this mission, OPM delivers human resources products and services including policies and procedures for recruiting and hiring, provides health and training b... | The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the central human resources agency for the federal government and, as such, is tasked with ensuring the government has an effective civilian workforce. As part of its mission, OPM defines recruiting and hiring processes and procedures; provides federal employees with various ... |
The procedures the Bureau used during the 1990 Census to count people without conventional housing had limitations that resulted in incomplete data. To address these limitations and help improve the quality of the data, the Bureau used a procedure for the 2000 Census called Service-Based Enumeration that attempted to c... | The Bureau of the Census partnered with local governments, advocacy groups, and other organizations to help it enumerate people without conventional housing. Counting this population--which includes shelter residents and the homeless--has been a longstanding challenge for the Bureau. A number of organizations put subst... |
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) primary mission is to ensure safe, orderly, and efficient air travel throughout the United States. FAA’s ability to fulfill this mission depends on the adequacy and reliability of the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system, a vast network of computer hardware, software, an... | GAO reviewed the reliability of the cost information critical to capital investment decisionmaking on air traffic control (ATC) projects, focusing on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) processes for estimating what projects will cost and the related accounting for actual project costs. GAO found that: (1) FAA'... |
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the President signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) into law on November 19, 2001, with the primary goal of strengthening the security of the nation’s civil aviation system. ATSA created TSA as the agency with responsibility for securing all modes ... | TSA trains TSOs to screen passengers and baggage for items that could pose a threat at nearly 440 airports across the country. One way TSA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) measure TSO performance is through covert testing of TSA screening operations. In response to the fin... |
The Federal Acquisition Regulation is the primary regulation for use by all federal agencies in acquiring supplies and services. Sections 46 and 52, which discuss and set forth quality assurance and contract clauses, respectively, provide guidance in determining quality assurance responsibilities. According to the Fede... | In the 2004 Defense Appropriations Act, Congress mandated that GAO examine and report on the oversight of prime contractors by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the oversight of subcontractors by the prime contractors. Contract quality assurance oversight is intended to assess whether contractors are capable of and a... |
Over the past 50 years, as a result of producing tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, DOE’s facilities have also produced radioactive and other toxic substances that pose potential health threats to DOE’s workers and the communities located nearby. These substances include the radionuclides uranium, plutonium, and ces... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) epidemiological database, focusing on: (1) whether the database functions as a comprehensive repository of epidemiological data about DOE workers and the communities surrounding DOE facilities; (2) whether the system is accessible to out... |
With the end of the Cold War, the number, scope, and size of operations other than war have increased dramatically, and the United States has become an active participant in some of these operations. Senior administration officials have testified that multilateral peace operations are an important part of this administ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the impact of peace operations on the U.S. military forces' capability to respond to regional conflicts, focusing on the: (1) force structure limitations that affect the military's ability to respond to other national security requirements while engaged i... |
The Knutson-Vandenberg Trust Fund, as authorized by the Act of June 9, 1930, as amended (16 U.S.C. 576-576b), allows portions of the receipts from timber sales to be deposited into the K-V Fund to be used to reforest timber sale areas. In addition to being used for planting trees, these deposits may also be used for el... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the shortcomings in the Forest Service's administration of the Knutson-Vandenberg Trust Fund (K-V Fund), focusing on the: (1) transfers from the K-V Fund that have not been fully restored; (2) effect of unrestored transfers on planned projects; (3) lack of financial in... |
The Parole Commission and Reorganization Act of 1976 established USPC as an independent agency within DOJ. In particular, the act required USPC to develop rules and regulations establishing guidelines for (1) granting or denying an application or recommendation to parole any eligible prisoner, (2) imposing reasonable c... | USPC was established in 1976, in part to carry out a national parole policy that would govern the release of offenders to community supervision prior to completing their full custody sentences. USPC's budget is just over $13 million for fiscal year 2015. Over time, changes in laws have abolished parole and introduced s... |
DHS invests in a wide array of complex acquisitions to achieve its national security mission. DHS components and offices sponsor investments to address mission capability gaps and are the end-users of the developed acquisitions. DHS has stated that the Undersecretary for Management, as the Chief Acquisition Officer, is... | In fiscal year 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obligated about $12 billion for acquisitions to support homeland security missions. DHS's major investments include Coast Guard ships and aircraft; border surveillance and screening equipment; nuclear detection equipment; and systems to track finances and h... |
A domestic bioterrorist attack is considered to be a low-probability event, in part because of the various difficulties involved in successfully delivering biological agents to achieve large-scale casualties. However, a number of cases involving biological agents, including at least one completed bioterrorist act and n... | Federal research and preparedness activities related to bioterrorism center on detecting of such agents; developing new or improved vaccines, antibiotics, and antivirals; and developing performance standards for emergency response equipment. Preparedness activities include: (1) increasing federal, state, and local resp... |
Contractor protective forces—including 2,339 unionized officers and their 376 nonunionized supervisors—are not uniformly managed, organized, staffed, trained, or compensated across the six DOE sites we reviewed. For example, we found the following: Three different types of protective force contracts are in use. These c... | The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks raised concerns about the security of Department of Energy (DOE) sites with weapons-grade nuclear material, known as Category I special nuclear material (SNM). To better protect these sites against attacks, DOE has sought to transform its protective forces protecting SNM into a... |
A cyber incident can occur under many circumstances and for many reasons. It can be inadvertent, such as from the loss of an electronic device, or deliberate, such as from the theft of a device, or a cyber-based attack by a malicious individual or group, agency insiders, foreign nation, terrorist, or other adversary. I... | The number of cyber incidents reported by federal agencies increased in fiscal year 2013 significantly over the prior 3 years (see figure). An effective response to a cyber incident is essential to minimize any damage that might be caused. DHS and US-CERT have a role in helping agencies detect, report, and respond to c... |
In 2001, DOD conducted missile defense reviews to determine how best to fulfill the nation’s need to defend the United States, deployed forces, allies, and friends from ballistic missile attacks. The findings of these reviews led the Secretary of Defense to declare the need for a new strategy to acquire and deploy miss... | In 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) implemented a new acquisition model to develop a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) that included all major missile defense acquisitions, some of which were being developed by the military services. The model called for the management and funding responsibility for producti... |
Physicians incur a variety of expenses in operating their practices that contribute to the costs of performing procedures. These include salary costs for nurses, technicians, and administrative staff plus spending for medical equipment, medical supplies, rent, utilities, and general office equipment and supplies. Expen... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) ongoing efforts to develop resource-based practice expense relative value units (RVUs), focusing on: (1) whether the new methodology is an acceptable approach for revising Medicare's fee schedule; (2) questions about the... |
TBI can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on specific criteria, such as the length of time an individual is unconscious following their injury. For example, an individual would meet the criteria for mild TBI if they suffered a loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less. Similarly, an individual would m... | TBI and PTSD are signature wounds for servicemembers returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Within the military, the majority of TBI cases have been classified as mild. Studies have found that one-third or more of servicemembers with mild TBI also have PTSD. As an alternative to traditional treatments, s... |
As we testified in July, time is running out for agencies and the pace needs to be accelerated if widespread systems problems are to be avoided as the Year 2000 approaches. We stressed in our testimony that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and key federal agencies need to move with more urgency. Among the othe... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed federal progress in addressing the Year 2000 problem, focusing on: (1) action taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a whole; (2) steps taken by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in response to recommendations contained in a GAO report; and (3) re... |
Although default rates (loans 90 days or more past due) fell from an all- time high of 5.09 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 to 3.94 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 (a nearly 23 percent drop over the course of a year), the percentage of loans in foreclosure rose to equal the highest lev... | Two years after the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) first made available up to $50 billion for the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, foreclosure rates remain at historically high levels. Treasury recently introduced several new programs intended to further help homeowners. This report examines (1) the status ... |
The federal real property portfolio is vast and diverse, totaling more than 900,000 buildings and structures—including office buildings, warehouses, laboratories, hospitals, and family housing—and worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The six largest federal real property holding agencies— DOD; GSA; the U.S. Postal Se... | The federal government holds more than 45,000 underutilized properties that cost nearly $1.7 billion annually to operate, yet significant obstacles impede efforts to close, consolidate, or find other uses for these properties. GAO has designated federal real property management as a high-risk area, in part because of t... |
The “Support for Others” business line covers the Corps’ activities related to interagency and international support. Corps headquarters, divisions, and districts are all involved in developing the President’s budget request for the Corps. As part of the executive budget formulation process, Corps headquarters staff, w... | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the world's largest public engineering, design, and construction management agency. In fiscal year 2006 it began incorporating performance information into its budget process, but Congress raised concerns that the criteria used by the Corps to prioritize projects are not tran... |
According to DOD, there were 287 aircraft in the OSA fleet as of May 2017. All OSA aircraft are military variants of commercial aircraft. (See appendix IV for more information and images of these aircraft.) Table 1 lists the number of OSA aircraft by DOD owner/operator and type of usage. A majority of the executive air... | OSA missions support the movement of a limited number of high-priority passengers and cargo with time, place, or mission-sensitive requirements. DOD's OSA aircraft are variants of commercial aircraft. OSA aircraft are categorized as either executive (used to transport DOD, congressional, and cabinet officials) or non-e... |
STARS will replace controller workstations with new color displays, processors, and computer software at FAA and DOD terminal air traffic control facilities. (See fig. 1.) The total number of facilities scheduled to receive STARS has fluctuated between 70 and 190 because some of the facilities have received interim sys... | Since September 1996, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been developing the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) project to replace the outdated computer equipment that air traffic controllers currently use in some facilities to control air traffic within 5 to 50 nautical miles of an airp... |
Each fiscal year, the Millennium Challenge Act requires MCC to select countries as eligible for MCA assistance by identifying candidate countries, establishing an eligibility methodology, and making eligibility determinations. MCC evaluates eligible countries’ proposals and negotiates compacts, which must be approved b... | In January 2004, Congress established the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to administer the Millennium Challenge Account. MCC's mission is to promote economic growth and reduce extreme poverty in developing countries. The act requires MCC to rely to the maximum extent possible on quantitative criteria in determi... |
The National US&R task forces are designed to assist state and local governments in responding to structural collapse incidents and in conducting search and rescue operations. When a state requests federal search and rescue assistance, FEMA program managers identify one or multiple task forces for deployment and issue ... | In a disaster requiring a federal response, the Department of Homeland Security's FEMA provides various response resources to state, local, and tribal governments. Such assistance can include deploying US&R teams to help locate survivors and human remains, IMAT teams to help coordinate and provide federal support, and ... |
Community and migrant health centers are financed in part with federal grants administered by HRSA. HHS awards grants to public and nonprofit entities to plan, develop, and operate health centers for medically underserved populations. To assist in providing health care to these groups, HHS awarded over $750 million in ... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the implementation of Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage for community health centers, focusing on the: (1) health centers' use of FTCA coverage; (2) status of claims filed against FTCA-covered centers through March 21, 1997; and (3) Department of Health and Huma... |
In testimony before the U.S. Senate in March 2000, the Chief of Staff of the Army stated that the Army had to transform to meet current and future strategic requirements. The Army believes that the transformation is necessary to respond more effectively to (1) the growing number of peacekeeping operations and small-sca... | In 1999, the Army announced its plans to transform its forces during the next 30 years to enable them to deploy more rapidly and operate more effectively during all types of military conflicts, from small-scale contingencies to major wars. The Army's goal is to be able to deploy a brigade anywhere in the world within 9... |
Farming is inherently risky because farmers are exposed to both production and price risks. Farm production levels can vary significantly from year to year, primarily because farmers operate at the mercy of nature and frequently are subjected to weather-related and other natural disasters. Farm operators can also exper... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed various issues pertaining to the Department of Agriculture's new crop revenue insurance plans. GAO noted that: (1) the three government-subsidized revenue insurance plans differ in the revenue guarantees they provide to farmers and in their relative cost to the governme... |
The Forest Service, an agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), manages 155 national forests covering about 192 million acres of land, or about 9 percent of the nation’s land surface, under the leadership of the Chief of the Forest Service, who reports to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resou... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the extent and seriousness of forest-health-related problems in national forests in the interior West; (2) the status of efforts by the Forest Service to address the most serious of these problems; and (3) barriers to successfully addressing these pr... |
moved from retrospective, cost-and-charge-based reimbursements to prospective systems and fee schedules designed to contain cost growth. The August 1997 passage of BBA dramatically changed the existing paradigm, setting Medicare on a course toward a more competitive and consumer-driven model. HCFA, the agency charged w... | GAO discussed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) implementation of Medicare provisions contained in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), focusing on: (1) an overview of how HCFA's implementation has progressed since GAO's earlier testimony; (2) the efforts to inform Medicare beneficiaries about the exp... |
The United States and China have cooperated for over 35 years on science and technology initiatives. In 1979, the two countries signed a bilateral science and technology agreement that has served as an umbrella agreement for subsequent bilateral environment and energy initiatives. In 2008, the countries established the... | The United States and China lead the world in energy consumption, and both are investing in renewable resources and efforts to increase the efficiency of traditional fossil fuel sources in part to address climate change. In 2014, a congressional commission raised questions about bilateral cooperation between the United... |
Flooding disasters of the 1920s and 1930s led to federal involvement in protecting life and property from flooding, with the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1936. Generally, the only available financial recourse to assist flood victims was postdisaster assistance. When flood insurance was first proposed in the 1950... | NFIP was created, in part, because private insurers historically have been unwilling to insure against flood damage. The private flood insurance market remains small. The 2012 Biggert-Waters Act took steps to encourage private-sector participation by requiring regulators to direct lenders to accept private flood insura... |
TSA receives thousands of air passenger screening complaints through five centralized mechanisms but does not have an agencywide policy, consistent processes, or an agency focal point to guide the receipt of these complaints, or “mine” these data to inform management about the nature and extent of the screening complai... | This testimony discusses the findings of our November 2012 report assessing the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts to improve the air passenger screening complaints processes. TSA screens or oversees the screening of more than 650 million air passengers per year at 752 security checkpoints in more t... |
The Corps is the world’s largest public engineering, design, and construction management agency, responsible for water resources infrastructure such as dams, levees, hurricane barriers, and floodgates in every state. Through its Civil Works program, the Corps plans, designs, and operates water resources infrastructure ... | The Corps operates over 700 dams, which are aging and may require major repairs to assure safe operation. At some dams, sponsors that benefit from dam operations share in the cost of operating and repairing these dams based on original congressional authorizations for dam construction or subsequent agreements with the ... |
When disasters such as floods, tornadoes, or earthquakes strike, federal, state, and local government agencies coordinate to provide assistance to disaster victims. SBA, through its Disaster Loan Program, is part of this concerted effort. In the event of a disaster, SBA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), ... | The September 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent federal action had a substantial impact on businesses in both the declared disaster areas and around the nation. In the aftermath of the attacks, the Congress, among other actions, appropriated emergency supplemental funds to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to a... |
The ISS⎯the largest orbiting man-made object⎯is being constructed to support three activities: scientific research, technology development, and development of industrial applications. Its facilities allow for ongoing research in microgravity, studies of other aspects of the space environment, tests of new technology, a... | In 2010, after about 25 years of work and the expenditure of billions of dollars, the International Space Station (ISS) will be completed. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the ISS crew will then be able to redirect its efforts from assembling the station to conducting research. In ... |
The law and regulations that govern federal procurement are designed to foster competition and to promote desirable social objectives, among other goals. The Congress has long encouraged agencies to ensure that small businesses have an opportunity to participate in federal procurements and has authorized agencies to re... | Congress appropriates billions of dollars annually to construct buildings and other facilities for military training and operations. Small business have carried out a significant portion of this work. Congress and small business advocates, however, had become concerned that agencies were combining requirements into lar... |
Generally, we have broad authority to evaluate agency programs and investigate matters related to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public money. To carry out our audit responsibilities, we have a statutory right of access to agency records. Specifically, federal agencies are required to provide us information abou... | For decades, GAO has assisted Congress in its oversight role and helped federal departments and agencies with disparate missions to improve the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of their operations. GAO's work provides important insight on matters such as best practices to be shared and benchmarked and how governm... |
The adult limited English proficient population in the United States is diverse regarding immigration status, country of origin, educational background, literacy in native language, age, and family status. Generally, adults with limited English proficiency have immigrated to the United States and include legal permanen... | Millions of adults in the U.S. report that they speak limited English, and English language ability appears linked to multiple dimensions of adult life, such as civic participation and workforce participation and mobility. GAO examined (1) the trends in the need for and enrollment in federally funded adult English lang... |
“A basic objective of a modern workmen’s compensation program is to provide protection to workers against loss of income from work-related injuries and diseases. To achieve this goal, the program must carefully weigh the worker’s interest in substantial income benefits against factors such as the loss of incentive for ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on workers' compensation benefits for lost wages provided to workers with job-related injuries under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), focusing on: (1) the percentages of take-home pay that FECA benefits replaced for beneficiaries on the long-t... |
The use of information technology (IT) to electronically collect, store, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial health information has great potential to help improve the quality and efficiency of health care and is important to improving the performance of the U.S. health care system. Historica... | The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 required the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accelerate their exchange of health information and to develop systems or capabilities that allow for interoperability (generally, the ability of systems to exchange data) ... |
During calendar year 2010, HHS had 6,697 employees who were appointed under sections 209(f) or (g).served at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while the remaining employees served in the Office of the Secretary or wi... | HHS and EPA have been using special hiring authority provided under 42 U.S.C. §§209(f) and (g)referred to in this testimony as Title 42to appoint individuals to fill mission critical positions in science and medicine and, in many cases, pay them above salary limits usually applicable to federal government employees. GA... |
In addition to 90-day petition findings, 12-month status reviews, listings, and delistings, other key categories of ESA decisions include critical habitat designations, recovery plans, section 7 consultations, and habitat conservation plans (see table 1). Service staff at headquarters, eight regional offices, and 81 fi... | The Department of the Interior's (Interior) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is generally required to use the best available scientific information when making key decisions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Controversy has surrounded whether former Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald may have inap... |
Medicare’s physician fee schedule includes payments for over 7,000 services, such as office visits, surgical procedures, and tests. Most services are defined as discrete and stand-alone in that they may be furnished independently of other services, but a small number of services are defined as supplemental because they... | Medicare's physician fees may not always reflect efficiencies that occur when a physician performs multiple services for the same patient on the same day, and some resources required for these services do not need to be duplicated. In response to a request from Congress, GAO examined (1) the Centers for Medicare & Medi... |
The Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees the efforts of all nonmilitary international broadcasting, which reaches an estimated audience of more than 100 million people each week in more than 125 markets worldwide. The Board manages the operations of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), VOA, the Middle East ... | The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were a dramatic reminder of the importance of cultivating a better understanding of the United States and its policies with overseas audiences. U.S. public diplomacy activities include the efforts of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all nonmilitary U.S. in... |
As technology has advanced, the federal government has become increasingly dependent on computerized information systems to carry out operations and process, maintain, and report essential information. Federal agencies rely on such systems to process, maintain, and report large volumes of sensitive data, such as person... | In collecting taxes, processing returns, and providing taxpayer service, IRS relies extensively on computerized information systems. Accordingly, it is critical that sensitive taxpayer and other data are protected. Recent data breaches at IRS highlight the vulnerability of taxpayer information. In addition, identity th... |
Today, federal employees are issued a wide variety of identification (ID) cards, which are used to access federal buildings and facilities, sometimes solely on the basis of visual inspection by security personnel. These cards often cannot be used for other important identification purposes—such as gaining access to an ... | Smart cards--credit-card-like devices that use integrated circuit chips to store and process data--offer a range of potential uses for the federal government, particularly in increasing security for its many physical and information assets. GAO was asked to review the use of smart cards across the federal government (i... |
SROs are responsible for the surveillance of the trading activity on their markets. Market transactions take place on electronic or floor-based platforms. SROs employ electronic surveillance systems to monitor market participants’ compliance with SRO rules and federal securities laws. Electronic surveillance systems ar... | Self-regulatory organizations (SRO) are exchanges and associations that operate and govern the markets, and that are subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Among other things, SROs monitor the markets, investigate and discipline members involved in improper trading, and make referrals to ... |
Labor required states to implement major provisions of WIA by July 1, 2000, although some states began implementing provisions of WIA as early as July 1999. Services provided under WIA represent a marked change from those provided under the previous program, allowing for a greater array of services to the general publi... | With rising federal deficits and greater competition for public resources, it is increasingly important for federal programs, such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs, to show results. This report examines (1) how useful WIA performance data are for gauging program performance; (2) what local areas are doing... |
In 1993, the most recent year for which published Uniform Crime Reporting data were available, there were 142,520 arrests in the United States for forcible rape and other sexual offenses. Public alarm about sex crimes has prompted legislative activity at both the state and federal levels. Since 1994, 49 states have ena... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed research results on the effectiveness of sex offender treatment programs in reducing recidivism. GAO noted that: (1) all of the research studies reviewed provided qualitative and quantitative summaries of sex offender treatment programs; (2) nearly all of the studies id... |
Once the most prevalent type of pension plan, defined benefit plans no longer predominate, but they still constitute a significant part of the nation’s retirement landscape. They usually base retirement income on salary and years of service (for example, a benefit of 1.5 percent of an employee’s highest annual salary m... | Information about the financial condition of defined benefit pension plans is provided in two sources: regulatory reports to the government and corporate financial statements. The two sources can often appear to provide contradictory information. For example, when pension asset values declined for most large companies ... |
In an international context, the Treasury Department is the United States’ counterpart to other nations’ ministries of finance. The department’s responsibilities, among other things, include safeguarding the U.S. financial system from abuse by money launderers, terrorists, and other criminals. Over the years, in carryi... | Money laundering and terrorist financing can severely affect the nation's economy and also result in loss of lives. To combat these transnational crimes, the Treasury Department (Treasury) and its component bureau, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), have key roles. Section 330 of the USA PATRIOT Act enc... |
The National Guard of the United States, which performs both federal and state missions, represents about 52 percent of the armed services’ selected reserve and consists of approximately 457,000 members: about 350,000 in the Army National Guard and about 107,000 in the Air National Guard. Overall, the Army National Gua... | The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the global war on terrorism have triggered the largest activation of National Guard forces since World War II. As of June 2004, over one-half of the National Guard's 457,000 personnel had been activated for overseas warfighting or domestic homeland security missions in fede... |
Since 2006, the Army has relied on the practice known as reset to restore equipment readiness through a variation of repair, recapitalization, and replacement of equipment activities. The Army defines reset as: “Actions taken to restore equipment to a desired level of combat capability commensurate with a unit’s future... | From 2007 to 2012, the Army received about $42 billion to fund its expenses for the reset of equipmentincluding more than $21 billion for depot maintenancein support of continuing overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. Reset is intended to mitigate the effects of combat stress on equipment by repairing, r... |
Information technology should enable government to better serve the American people. However, despite spending hundreds of billions on IT since 2000, the federal government has experienced failed IT projects and has achieved little of the productivity improvements that private industry has realized from IT. Too often, ... | The federal government reportedly plans to spend at least $82 billion on IT in fiscal year 2014. Given the scale of such planned outlays and the criticality of many of these systems to the health, economy, and security of the nation, it is important that OMB and federal agencies provide appropriate oversight and transp... |
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.