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Since the 1940s, the U.S. government has assisted private voluntary organizations’ (PVO) overseas activities. After World War II, as PVOs responded to emergency needs in Europe, the U.S. government began donating excess property and supplies and financing shipping costs to assist PVOs’ efforts. The Congress authorized ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed private voluntary organizations' (PVO) role in delivering federally funded foreign assistance, focusing on the: (1) implications of increasing PVO role in delivering assistance; (2) success of PVO projects in achieving their objectives; and (3) extent to which PVO are d... |
Our work over the past several years has demonstrated that improper payments are a long-standing, widespread, and significant problem in the federal government. In December 2007, we reported on DOD’s fiscal year 2006 travel program improper payment estimates. We found that (1) the improper payment estimate was understa... | The Department of Defense (DOD) is required, as are other federal executive agencies, to report improper payment information under the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) and recovery auditing information under section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, commonly known as th... |
Producing the Memorial Day and Fourth of July concerts involves obtaining funding; determining each concert’s artistic program; arranging for performing artists, talent, and production staff; and arranging for the television broadcast of the concerts. CCI received both federal and nonfederal funding to support the prod... | CCI, a private nonprofit organization in the District of Columbia, has produced the annual Memorial Day and Fourth of July concerts held on the U.S. Capitol Grounds for over 25 years and over 35 years, respectively. GAO was asked to audit all concerts hosted by CCI for the past 3 years. This report examines (1) how muc... |
Congress authorized the five-year MPNDI pilot program in Section 866 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2011 with the intent to test whether streamlined acquisition procedures, similar to those available for commercial items, can serve as an effective incentive for “nontraditional defense contractors” to innovate in areas use... | Section 866 of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 established a pilot program authorizing DOD to award contracts for MPNDI to nontraditional defense contractors—companies that had not contracted with DOD for at least a year. The pilot program was designed to streamline acquisition p... |
Generally, the term counterfeit refers to instances in which the identity or pedigree of a product is knowingly misrepresented by individuals or companies. Counterfeiters often try to take advantage of the established worth of the imitated product, and the counterfeit product may not work as well as the genuine article... | Counterfeit parts--generally those whose sources knowingly misrepresent the parts' identity or pedigree--have the potential to seriously disrupt the Department of Defense (DOD) supply chain, delay missions, and affect the integrity of weapon systems. Almost anything is at risk of being counterfeited, from fasteners use... |
Medicare is a health insurance program available to almost all people 65 years of age and older and to certain disabled people. The program provides protection under two parts. Part A, the hospital insurance program, covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health, and hospice services. Part B, the sup... | GAO provided information on home health services provided by Medicare health maintenance organizations (HMO), focusing on: (1) how Medicare HMOs provide and manage home health services, as compared to fee-for-service providers; and (2) what is known about the appropriateness of home health services provided to HMO enro... |
Under the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), piracy consists of any of several acts, including any illegal act of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship and direct... | Piracy and maritime crime continues to threaten ships off the Horn of Africa's east coast and in the Gulf of Guinea off Africa's west coast, putting seafarers in harm's way and costing governments and industry billions of dollars in ransom, insurance, and protective measures. The types and causes of piracy and maritime... |
The Results Act requires that strategic plans include six broad elements—mission statements, general goals and objectives, strategies for achieving goals, a description of the relationship between general goals and annual performance goals, key external factors, and a description of the actual use and planned use of pr... | GAO discussed (1) the strategic plans that agencies submitted to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget in September; and (2) how Congress and the agencies can build on those plans to more effectively implement the Government Performance and Results Act. GAO noted that: (1) because of the progress that agenci... |
As computer technology has advanced, federal agencies have become dependent on computerized information systems to carry out their operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information. Virtually all federal operations are supported by computer systems and electronic data, and agencies would find it dif... | Federal laws and policy have assigned important roles and responsibilities to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for securing computer networks and systems. DHS is charged with coordinating the protection of computer-reliant critical infrastructure--m... |
Inventory management and oversight for the Air Force is a shared responsibility between the Offices of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics is responsible for developing and ensuring the uniform implementation of DOD inven... | At a time when U.S. military forces and their equipment are in high demand, effective management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory is critical to ensure that the warfighter has the right items at the right time. The Air Force is the largest contributor to DOD's total on-hand inventory on the basis of inven... |
Created in 2010, CDCI was one of the later TARP programs and was intended to help mitigate the adverse impact that the financial crisis was having on communities underserved by traditional banks. CDCI is structured much like the TARP Capital Purchase Program (CPP), in that both provide capital to financial institutions... | Treasury established CDCI under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in February 2010 to help banks and credit unions certified as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) maintain their services to underserved communities in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Treasury invested a total of $... |
To obtain VHA health care, most veterans submit an application by mail or online to VHA’s Health Eligibility Center (HEC) in Atlanta or in person at a local VHA medical center. Generally, the nature and extent of an individual veteran’s service-connected medical conditions are established through VBA. HEC processes app... | In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) billed veterans millions of medical copayment charges totaling more than $1 billon. Witnesses at a 2009 Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, hearing raised concerns about inappropriate copayment c... |
U.S. copyright law protects books, photographs, videos, movies, sound recordings, software code, and other creative works of expression from unauthorized copying. A copyright gives its owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license a work, and the exclusive right to produce or license ... | The emergence of peer-to-peer file-sharing applications that allow networks to share computer files among millions of users has changed the way copyrighted materials, including digital music, videos, software, and images can be distributed and has led to a dramatic increase in the incidence of copyright infringement (p... |
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all. To carry out this mission, the department administers community and housing programs that affect millions of households each year. These programs provide affordable rental housing opportunities and help homeless... | HUD relies extensively on IT to deliver services and manage programs in support of its mission. For fiscal year 2017, HUD requested $36 million for IT investments intended to deliver modernized enterprise-level capabilities that better support the department's mission. Critical to the success of such efforts is the dep... |
In 2002, Congress passed legislation renewing the President’s ability to enter into certain trade agreements and submit implementing bills on an expedited legislative track without possibility of amendment. The bill granting this “fast track” authority, renamed TPA, passed the House by one vote amid contentious debate,... | Congress granted the President Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to negotiate agreements, including free trade agreements (FTA) in 2002. TPA stipulated negotiating objectives and procedural steps for the administration, including consulting with Congress and trade advisory committees. TPA lapsed in July 2007 amidst quest... |
DOD’s health care system, known as the Military Health System, is one of the largest and most complex health care systems in the nation. Operationally, DOD’s Military Health System has two missions: supporting wartime and other deployments, known as the readiness mission, and providing peacetime care, known as the bene... | The roles for women in the military have been expanding and evolving. Servicewomen today are integral to combat, combat support, and counterinsurgency operations, and serve in many roles they previously did not hold. Pub. L. No. 112-81, 725 (2011) mandated that GAO conduct a review of the female-specific health care se... |
Since EPA was created in 1970, the agency has been responsible for enforcing the nation’s environmental laws. This responsibility has traditionally involved monitoring compliance by those in the regulated community (such as factories or small businesses that release pollutants into the environment or use hazardous chem... | Congress enacted the Clean Water Act to help reduce water pollution and improve the health of the nation's waterways. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers its enforcement responsibilities under the act through its Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), as well as its 10 regional offices... |
As table 1 shows, at the end of fiscal year 2013, USPS had about $100 billion in unfunded liabilities for pension, retiree health, and workers’ compensation benefits as well as outstanding debt. These unfunded liabilities have increased by 62 percent since fiscal year 2007. Since fiscal year 2007, USPS has experienced ... | USPS continues to be in a serious financial crisis, with insufficient revenue to cover its expenses and financial obligations as the volume of USPS's most profitable product, First-Class Mail, continues to decline. At the end of fiscal year 2013, USPS had about $100 billion in unfunded liabilities: $85 billion in unfun... |
For decades, oil has been relatively inexpensive and plentiful, helping to spur the United States’ economic growth. Despite price spikes primarily caused by instability in the Middle East and other oil-producing regions or by natural disasters, the price of oil has historically returned to low levels. However, in recen... | The United States consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil each day, two-thirds of which is imported, leaving the nation vulnerable to rising prices. Oil combustion produces emissions linked to health problems and global warming. In January 2003, the administration announced a 5-year, $1.2 billion Hydrogen Fuel Ini... |
The passenger airline industry is primarily composed of network, low- cost, and regional airlines. Network airlines were in operation before the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and support large, complex hub-and- spoke operations with thousands of employees and hundreds of aircraft. These airlines provide service at v... | Since 2007, there have been four major airline mergers. As a result of this consolidation, about 85 percent of passengers in the U.S. flew on four domestic airlines in 2013. Certain industry observers have raised concerns that consolidation could have adverse effects on airline competition, such as higher airfares and ... |
According to the Institute of Medicine, the federal government has a central role in shaping nearly all aspects of the health care industry as a regulator, purchaser, health care provider, and sponsor of research, education, and training. According to HHS, federal agencies fund more than a third of the nation’s total h... | In April 2004, President Bush called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of health information technology (IT). The plan is to recommend methods to ensure the privacy of electronic health information. GAO was asked to sum... |
The 340B program was created in 1992 following the enactment of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and gives certain safety net providers discounts on outpatient drugs comparable to those made available to state Medicaid agencies. HRSA, through its Office of Pharmacy Affairs, is responsible for administering and overseei... | The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), within in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), oversees the 340B Drug Pricing Program, through which participating drug manufacturers give certain entities within the health care safety net--known as covered entities--access to discounted prices on ... |
To enable DOD to close unneeded bases and realign others, Congress enacted BRAC legislation that instituted base closure rounds in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995. For the 1991, 1993, and 1995 rounds, special BRAC Commissions were established to recommend specific base realignments and closures to the President, who in turn... | This testimony reviews the progress of the Department of Defense's (DOD) base realignments and closures (BRAC) in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995 and the implementation of the BRAC Commissions' recommendations. Although some communities surrounding closed base areas are faring better than others, most are recovering from th... |
The reserve forces are divided into three major categories, one of which is the Ready Reserve. The Ready Reserve, with approximately 1.2 million reservists at the end of fiscal year 2002, is further subdivided into the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, and the Inactive National Guard. The Selected Reserve... | Since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, National Guard and Reserve personnel have been deployed to a number of contingency operations. Since September 2001, about 300,000 reservists have been called to active duty, and the pace of reserve operations is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future. House Report 107-436 a... |
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 expanded the scop... | The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 expanded the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) whistleblower program, increasing rewards for submitting information on others' tax underpayments to up to 30 percent of collected proceeds. The expanded program targets tax underpayments over $2 million and could reduce the gap be... |
The cornerstone of federal hiring is its merit basis. Congress has retained the principle of appointment by merit throughout its various amendments and compilations of civil service laws. In enacting the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Congress reiterated the importance of merit in hiring by including a merit princip... | Improving the federal hiring process is critical, as the number of new hires is expected to increase substantially. Federal agencies are responsible for their hiring processes, but must generally comply with applicable Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rules and regulations. Congressional requesters asked GAO to ide... |
The ADA is one of the major laws in the statutory scheme by which the Congress exercises its constitutional control of the public purse. Despite the name, it is not a single act, but rather a series of related provisions that evolved over a period of time in response to various abuses. As late as the post-Civil War per... | Senate Report No. 110-77 directed GAO to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) procedures for Antideficiency Act (ADA) violations. GAO focused on whether (1) existing DOD funds control systems, processes, and internal controls provide reasonable assurance that ADA violations will be prevented or detected and whether... |
CDC estimates that contaminated food causes 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. On the basis of the number of confirmed outbreaks of foodborne disease in 1997, the latest year for which CDC’s data are available, seafood is one of the leading causes of foodbor... | More than 80 percent of the seafood that Americans consume is imported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring that imported seafood is safe and produced under sanitation and safety systems comparable to those of the United States. Since GAO reported in 2001 that FDA's seafood inspection pro... |
Critical infrastructures are physical or virtual systems and assets so vital to the nation that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating impact on national and economic security, public health, and safety. These systems and assets—such as the electric power grid, chemical plants, and water treatmen... | Control systems--computer-based systems that monitor and control sensitive processes and physical functions--perform vital functions in many of our nation's critical infrastructures, including electric power, oil and gas, water treatment, and chemical production. The disruption of control systems could have a significa... |
Under its constitutional authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, the Congress has enacted laws authorizing the President to enter into trade agreements with other countries to reduce tariff and nontariff barriers. One major recent law to provide this authority is the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Ac... | Free trade agreements (FTA) involve trade liberalization between the United States and selected countries or regions and are also expected to provide economic and other benefits. GAO was asked to review how potential FTA partners are selected, in view of the increased number of FTAs and their growing importance to U.S.... |
The 1996 Military Housing Privatization Initiative allows private-sector financing, ownership, operation, and maintenance of military family and unmarried junior servicemember (barrack) housing. Under the program, the department can provide direct loans, loan guarantees, and other arrangements to encourage private deve... | In 2000, Congress required the Department of Defense (DOD) to report quarterly on the services' expenditures for consultants in support of the military family housing privatization programs. GAO was asked to review the costs of the consultants DOD used to support privatizing housing for servicemembers and their familie... |
ONDCP was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to, among other things, enhance national drug control planning and coordination and represent the drug policies of the executive branch before Congress. In this role, the office is responsible for (1) developing a national drug control policy, (2) developing and ... | According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2015, the most recent year for which national data are available, over 52,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, or approximately 144 people every day. Policymakers, criminal justice officials, health care providers, and the public at large are turning with renewed... |
Transit fringe benefits—employer-provided benefits designed to encourage public and private employees to use mass transit for their home-to-work commute—date back to the early 1990s. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 created a new category of qualified fringe benefits— the “qualified transportation fringe”—that is excludib... | In 1992, Congress created a transportation fringe benefit that allowed public and private employers to offer employees transit benefits, excludable from gross income, to cover out-of-pocket public transportation commuting costs. Federal agencies may distribute these transit benefits directly or enter into an agreement ... |
NASA and its international partners—Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia—are building the space station to serve as an orbiting research facility. The space shuttle is the primary vehicle supporting the assembly and resupply of the station. Figure 1 shows the Space Shuttle Endeavour docked to the International Space Stati... | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space shuttle fleet has been key to International Space Station operations. Since the grounding of the fleet in February 2003, Russia has provided logistics support. However, due to the limited payload capacity of the Russian space vehicles, on-orbit assembly o... |
The commercial motor carrier industry represents a range of businesses, including private and for-hire freight transportation, passenger carriers, and specialized transporters of hazardous materials. As of 2012, FMCSA estimates that there were more than 531,000 active motor carriers, a number that fluctuates over time ... | From 2009 to 2012, large commercial trucks and buses have averaged about 125,000 crashes per year, with about 78,000 injuries and over 4,100 fatalities. In 2010, FMCSA replaced its tool for identifying the riskiest carriers--SafeStat--with the CSA program. CSA is intended to reduce the number of motor carrier crashes b... |
In July 1997, the Secretary General proposed a broad reform program to focus the United Nations on achieving results as it carried out its mandates. These reforms included restructuring U.N. leadership and operations, developing a human capital system based on results, and introducing a performance-based programming an... | The U.N. regular budget for the 2004-2005 biennium exceeded $3 billion for the first time. In light of the organization's increasing demands, the U.N. Secretary General and member states have called on the Secretariat to better define priorities and eliminate outdated activities. In response, the Secretary General laun... |
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA establishes health-based air quality standards that the states must meet and regulates air pollutant emissions from various sources. These include industrial facilities and mobile sources, such as automobiles and other transportation. EPA has issued air quality standards for six primary pol... | Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revisions to the New Source Review (NSR) program to control industrial emissions have drawn attention from state and local agencies that implement the program, as well as industry and environmental and health groups. Under the revisions, companies may not have to install pollution ... |
Dioxins persist for a long time in the environment because they do not dissolve in water and are relatively immobile in soil and sediment. When animals consume plants, feed, and water contaminated with dioxins, they accumulate in the animals’ fatty tissue. Similarly, when humans consume these animals, the dioxins then ... | Dioxins--chemical compounds that share structural and biological characteristics--have been linked to human illnesses, including cancer. Often the byproducts of combustion and industrial processes, complex mixtures of dioxins enter the food chain and human diet through emissions into the air. The Environmental Protecti... |
A range of programs and tax expenditures assist individuals and families. Programs under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Human Resources can roughly be grouped under three missions for children and working-age adults: providing income support, providing child care, and providing child welfare services. Other ke... | The federal government, often in concert with states, provides assistance to millions of individuals and families each year through a multiplicity of programs. These programs play a key role in supporting workers who have lost their jobs, families with low-incomes, and vulnerable children who have experienced abuse and... |
The number of defined-contribution pension plans, especially 401(k)s, has been growing, and by 1993, they accounted for 88 percent of all pension plans and 61 percent of all active pension-plan participants. Many participants’ defined-contribution plans supplement another pension plan. A 401(k) pension, or salary-reduc... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) determined the effects of pension-plan borrowing on participation in and contributions to 401(k) pension plans; (2) described the demographic and economic characteristics of workers who borrow from their pension accounts; and (3) identified the potential consequences for pa... |
Created in 1961, Peace Corps is mandated by statute to help meet developing countries’ needs for trained manpower while promoting mutual understanding between Americans and other peoples. Volunteers commit to 2-year assignments in host communities, where they work on projects such as teaching English, strengthening far... | About 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers currently serve in 70 countries. The administration intends to increase this number to about 14,000. Volunteers often live in areas with limited access to reliable communications, police, or medical services. As Americans, they may be viewed as relatively wealthy and, hence, good targ... |
Historically, new weapon systems have been developed by the military services to counter specific threats. Under DOD’s Requirements Generation System, the precursor to JCIDS, requirements frequently grew out of the military services’ unique strategic visions and often lacked clear linkages to the national military stra... | Increasing combat demands and fiscal constraints make it critical for the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that its weapon system investments not only meet the needs of the warfighter, but make the most efficient use of available resources. GAO's past work has shown that achieving this balance has been a challenge... |
The government has been providing housing assistance in rural areas since the 1930s. At that time, most rural residents worked on farms, and rural areas were generally poorer than urban areas. For example, in the 1930s very few rural homes had electricity or indoor plumbing. Accordingly, the Congress authorized housing... | Federal housing assistance in rural America dates back to the 1930s, when most rural residents worked on farms. Without electricity, telephone service, or good roads connecting residents to population centers, residents were comparatively isolated and their access to credit was generally poor. These conditions led Cong... |
In August 2015, we reported that USCIS had identified fraud and national security risks in the EB-5 Program in various assessments it conducted over time and in collaboration with its interagency partners. For example, in 2012, USCIS met with interagency partners and National Security Staff to assess fraud and national... | Congress created the EB-5 visa category to promote job creation by immigrant investors in exchange for visas providing lawful permanent residency. Participants are required to invest $1 million in a business that is to create at least 10 jobs—or $500,000 for businesses located in an area that is rural or has experience... |
The BEA program’s goals are to encourage banks to increase their investments in CDFIs and lending and other financial services in distressed communities. Unlike grant programs, which are usually prospective—meaning they award applicants based on their plans for the future—the BEA program is retrospective, awarding appl... | Established in 1994, the Department of the Treasury's Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) program provides cash awards to banks that increase their investments in community development financial institutions (CDFI) and lending in economically distressed communities. CDFIs are specialized institutions that provide financial ser... |
The U.S. passenger airline industry is principally composed of legacy, regional, and low-cost airlines. Legacy (sometimes called network) airlines support large, complex hub-and-spoke operations with thousands of employees and hundreds of aircraft (of various types), with flights to domestic communities of all sizes as... | Flight delays and cancellations are disruptive and costly for passengers, airlines, and the economy. Long tarmac delays have created hardships for some passengers. To enhance passenger protections in the event of flight disruptions, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently introduced passenger protection re... |
SIPC’s mission is to promote confidence in securities markets by seeking to return customers’ cash and securities when a broker-dealer fails. SIPC provides advances for these customers up to the SIPA protection limits— $500,000 per customer, except that claims for cash are limited to $250,000 per customer. SIPA establi... | After the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC--a brokerdealer and investment advisory firm with thousands of individual and institutional clients--the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which oversees a fund providing up to $500,000 of protection to qualifying individual customers o... |
Federal courthouses vary in size and scope. While typically, one to five district court judges are located in small- to medium-sized courthouses, in several large metropolitan areas, 15 or more district judges are located in a single courthouse. Courthouses may also include space for appellate, bankruptcy, and magistra... | The federal judiciary and the General Services Administration (GSA) are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative, which began in the early 1990s and has since faced rising construction costs. As requested, for 33 federal courthouses completed since 2000, GAO examined (1) whether they con... |
Before Hurricane Katrina, 16 acute care hospitals operated in the greater New Orleans area. These hospitals included public as well as private for- profit and not-for-profit facilities. Because of the hurricane and resulting flooding, 7 hospitals remained closed as of June 2006. (See table 1.) Charity and University ho... | In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, questions remain concerning the availability of hospital inpatient care and emergency department services in the greater New Orleans area--which consists of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes. Because of broad-based congressional interest, GAO, under the Com... |
ERISA and the IRC require administrators of pension and welfare benefit plans (collectively referred to as employee benefit plans) to file annual reports concerning, among other things, the financial condition and operation of plans. Labor, IRS, and PBGC jointly developed the Form 5500 so that plan administrators can s... | The Form 5500 is the primary source of information for both the federal government and the private sector regarding the operation, funding, assets, and investments of private pension and other employee benefit plans. Currently, the Department of Labor (Labor) requires about 3 years to provide certain usable Form 5500 i... |
In fiscal year 2000, VA’s Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provided primary and specialty medical care to approximately 3.2 million veterans at a cost of about $18 billion. VA’s pharmacy benefit cost approximately $2 billion—about 12 percent of the total VHA budget—and provided approximately 86 million prescription... | During the last three years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made significant progress in establishing its national drug formulary, which has generally met with the prescriber acceptance. Most veterans are receiving the drugs the need and rarely register complaints about prescription drugs. However, VA has ... |
You have requested that we investigate these relationships more comprehensively and that we set the discussion of car size and safety into the larger context of the relative contributions to highway safety of driver attributes, vehicle characteristics, and their multiple interactions. Our response to your request invol... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the factors that contribute to vehicular crashes, focusing on: (1) drivers' age, gender, and driving history; and (2) vehicle size and age. GAO found that: (1) driver characteristics far outweigh vehicle factors in predicting vehicular crashes; (2) drivers who are young... |
Medicare covers SNF care for beneficiaries who need daily skilled nursing care or therapy for conditions related to a hospital stay of at least 3 consecutive calendar days, if the hospital discharge occurred within a specific period—generally, no more than 30 days—prior to admission to the SNF. For qualified beneficiar... | The nation's 15,000 skilled nursing facilities (SNF) play an essential role in our health care system, providing Medicare-covered skilled nursing and rehabilitative care each year for 1.4 million Medicare patients who have recently been discharged from acute care hospitals. In recent years, many analysts and other obse... |
Over the last decade, DOD has been managing many challenging space systems acquisitions. A long-standing problem for the department is that program costs have tended to increase significantly from original cost estimates. In recent years, DOD has overcome many of the problems that had been hampering program development... | Each year, DOD spends billions of dollars to acquire space-based capabilities that support military and other government operations. The majority of DOD's space programs were beset by significant cost and schedule growth problems during their development. Most programs are now in production, however, and acquisition pr... |
VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the United States providing care to nearly 5 million veterans per year. The VA health care system consists of hospitals, ambulatory clinics, nursing homes, residential rehabilitation treatment programs, and readjustment counseling centers. In addition to providin... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employs about 190,000 individuals including physicians, nurses, and therapists at its facilities. It supplements these practitioners with contract staff and medical residents. Cases of practitioners causing intentional harm to patients have raised concerns about VA's screening of... |
The acquisition process at federal agencies generally consists of three phases: (1) acquisition planning; (2) contract award; and (3) contract monitoring. Each phase involves a number of key activities, as shown in figure 1: In the acquisition planning phase, agencies establish their requirements and develop a plan to ... | The NSF spends more than $400 million of its $7 billion annual budget acquiring goods and services in support of its mission to promote science and engineering. Much of this spending involves exploration activities in remote locations throughout the world, such as the Arctic and Antarctic. GAO examined the extent to wh... |
African American children were more likely to be placed in foster care than White or Hispanic children in 2006, and at each decision point in the child welfare process the disproportionality of African American children grows. Nationally, although African American children made up less than 15 percent of the overall ch... | A significantly greater proportion of African American children are in foster care than children of other races and ethnicities relative to their share of the general population. Given this situation, GAO was asked to analyze the (1) major factors influencing their proportion in foster care, (2) strategies states and l... |
The Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (the 1987 Act) authorized Farmer Mac to promote the development of a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural housing loans. As a GSE, Farmer Mac is a federally chartered, privately owned and operated corporation that operates as a special purpose corporation. Farmer M... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the progress that the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) has made in achieving its statutory mission and examined its future viability, focusing on: (1) actions taken by Farmer Mac to promote the development of a secondary market, including the intro... |
PPACA established minimum MLR standards for insurers offering group or individual health insurance coverage using a new MLR formula that differs from the way MLRs have traditionally been calculated. To implement the PPACA MLR provisions, HHS issued an interim final rule that provided specific definitions and methodolog... | To help ensure that Americans receive value for their premium dollars, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) established minimum "medical loss ratio" (MLR) standards for health insurers. The MLR is a basic financial indicator, traditionally referring to the percentage of premiums spent on medical claim... |
A reverse mortgage is a loan against the borrower’s home that the borrower does not need to repay for as long as the borrower meets certain conditions. These conditions, among others, require that borrowers live in the home, pay property taxes and homeowners’ insurance, maintain the property, and retain the title in th... | Reverse mortgages--a type of loan against home equity available to seniors--are growing in popularity. A large majority of reverse mortgages are insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA)... |
DOD defines a UAS as a system whose components include the necessary equipment, networks, and personnel to control an unmanned aircraft— that is, an aircraft that does not carry a human operator and is capable of flight under remote control or autonomous programming. Battlefield commanders have experienced a high level... | The Department of Defense (DOD) requested about $6.1 billion in fiscal year 2010 for new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and for expanded capabilities in existing ones. To support ongoing operations, the Air Force and Army have acquired a greater number of larger systems. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which ... |
Last June, I highlighted the importance of the FBI’s success in transforming itself, noting several basic aspects of a successful transformation as well as the need for broader government transformation. Today, the importance of the FBI’s transformation has not diminished. The FBI continues to stand at the forefront of... | Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI needed to refocus its efforts to investigate those attacks and to detect and prevent possible future attacks. To do this the FBI has taken steps to change its priorities and sought to transform itself to more effectively address the potential terrorist threat... |
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 covers more than 100 million working men and women and about 6.5 million employers.Excluded from coverage are the self-employed; state and local government employees in some states; and some transportation workers, miners, and others covered by other federal laws. OSHA reg... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) efforts to collect establishment-specific data on injuries and illnesses. GAO noted that: (1) with about $2.6 million available annually in 1996, 1997, and 1998 for its data collection surveys, OSHA determined i... |
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) established four purposes for the TANF block grant: 1. provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or homes of relatives; 2. end dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promot... | The TANF block grant requires states to engage a certain percentage of work-eligible cash assistance recipients in specified work-related activities, such as job search assistance and training. Yet, data suggest that more TANF recipients could receive assistance that would help them gain employment and reduce their dep... |
Phosphate is used in the manufacture of a variety of products, including toothpaste, soft drinks, and dishwashing and laundry detergents. Over 95 percent of the phosphate produced in the United States, however, is used in the manufacture of fertilizers and animal feed supplements. This section provides information on p... | For over 100 years in the United States, phosphate has been mined on federal land primarily for use in fertilizer and herbicides. The Department of the Interiors Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for leasing and overseeing such mines on federal land. In 1996, selenium contamination from phosphate mines wa... |
Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could potentially save billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. These actions, however, ... | This testimony discusses our first annual report to Congress responding to the statutory requirement that GAO identify federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives--either within departments or governmentwide--that have duplicative goals or activities. This work can help inform government policymakers as they a... |
Our investigator was easily able to obtain four genuine U.S. passports using counterfeit or fraudulently obtained documents. In the most egregious case, our investigator obtained a U.S. passport using counterfeit documents and the SSN of a man who died in 1965. In another case, our undercover investigator obtained a U.... | A genuine U.S. passport is a vital document, permitting its owner to travel freely in and out of the United States, prove U.S. citizenship, obtain further identification documents, and set up bank accounts, among other things. Unfortunately, a terrorist or other criminal could take advantage of these benefits by fraudu... |
BIE’s Indian education programs derive from the federal government’s trust responsibility to Indian tribes, a responsibility established in federal statutes, treaties, court decisions, and executive actions. It is the policy of the United States to fulfill this trust responsibility for educating Indian children by work... | BIE is responsible for providing quality education opportunities to Indian students. It currently oversees 185 schools, serving about 41,000 students on or near Indian reservations. Poor student outcomes raise questions about how well BIE is achieving its mission. In September 2013, GAO reported that BIE student perfor... |
Mr. Chairman, there is a continuing and heightened need for better and more effective and comprehensive information sharing. We agree the intelligence community needs to move from a culture of “need to know” to “need to share.” The 9/11 Commission has made observations regarding information sharing, and recommended pro... | The sorrow, loss, anger, and resolve so evident immediately following the September 11, 2001, attacks have been combined in an effort to help assure that our country will never again be caught unprepared. As the 9/11 Commission notes, we are safer today but we are not safe, and much work remains. Although in today's wo... |
The U.S. government maintains more than 250 diplomatic posts overseas (embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic offices) with approximately 60,000 personnel representing more than 50 government agencies and subagencies. The departments of Defense and State together comprise more than two-thirds of American personnel... | There have been recurring calls to evaluate and realign, or "rightsize," the number and location of staff at U.S. embassies and consulates and to consider staff reductions to reduce security vulnerabilities. The Office of Management and Budget is implementing this rightsizing initiative by analyzing the U.S. overseas p... |
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons consists of three entities: the Conference of the States Parties, the Executive Council, and the Technical Secretariat. The Conference of the States Parties currently comprises 147 representatives, one from each member state, and oversees the implementation of th... | The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is responsible for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the use of chemical weapons and requires their elimination. The United States and other member states have raised concerns that a number of management weaknesses may prevent the organizat... |
Since its founding in 1718, the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas have been subject to numerous floods from the Mississippi River and hurricanes. The greater New Orleans area, composed of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany Parishes, sits in the tidal lowlands of Lake Pontchartrain... | The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans area is from hurricane-induced storm surges, waves, and rainfalls. To protect the area from this threat, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) was authorized by Congress in 1965 to design and construct a system of levees as part of the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicin... |
Multilateral export control regimes are a key policy instrument in the overall U.S. strategy to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons. Current U.S. policy calls for enhanced multilateral cooperation of all key policy instruments— international treaties, multilateral export con... | Multilateral export control regimes are consensus-based, voluntary arrangements of supplier countries that produce technologies useful in developing weapons of mass destruction or conventional weapons. The regimes aim to restrict trade in these technologies to keep them from proliferating states or terrorists. The Unit... |
In 1998, following a Presidential call for VA and DOD to start developing a “comprehensive, life-long medical record for each service member,” the two departments began a joint course of action toward achieving the capability to share patient health information for active duty military personnel and veterans. As their ... | Providing readily accessible health information on veterans and active duty military personnel is highly essential to ensuring that these individuals are given quality health care and assistance in adjudicating disability claims. Moreover, ready access to health information is consistent with the President's recently a... |
Under federal securities laws, public companies are responsible for the preparation and content of financial statements that are complete, accurate, and presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Financial statements, which disclose a company’s financial position, stockholders’ equity... | Following major failures in corporate financial reporting, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted to protect investors through requirements intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures and to restore investor confidence. The act included reforms intended to strengthen auditor independen... |
DHS coordinates the federal government’s overall response to or recovery from terrorist attacks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the primary agency for the public health response to a biological terrorism attack or naturally occurring outbr... | The ability to attribute the source of an intentionally released biological threat agent and quickly apprehend and prosecute the perpetrator is essential to our nation's safety. However, questions remain about whether DHS's and the FBI's capabilities have improved since the 2001 anthrax attack. GAO was asked to report ... |
It is important to look at the President’s proposal in the context of the fiscal situation in which we find ourselves. After nearly 30 years of unified budget deficits, we look ahead to projections for “surpluses as far as the eye can see.” At the same time, we know that we face a demographic tsunami in the future that... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the President's proposal for addressing social security and use of the budget surplus. GAO noted that: (1) the President's proposal: (a) reduces debt held by the public from current levels, thereby also reducing new interest costs, raising national saving, and contribu... |
In response to tribes’ concerns that BIA had not consistently provided them with statements on their account balances, that their trust fund accounts had never been reconciled, and that BIA planned to contract with a third party for management of trust fund accounts, the Congress established the requirement in the Inte... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) efforts to reconcile and certify tribal trust fund accounts. GAO found that: (1) BIA has spent over $21 million over 5 years in its attempts to reconcile and certify Indian trust fund accounts; (2) BIA and its reconciliation and certi... |
Different federal agencies have jurisdiction to control various types of nuclear-related exports; DOE regulates the export of nuclear technology through Part 810, which implements Section 57(b) of the Atomic Energy Act; DOE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have roles in enforcing Part 810. Four federal agencies shar... | Encouraging U.S. exports of civilian nuclear products, services, and technology while ensuring they are not used for foreign nuclear weapons programs is a fundamental goal of U.S. policy. Exports of U.S. civilian nuclear technology, assistance, and services are regulated by DOE through 10 C.F.R. Part 810. Depending on ... |
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused catastrophic destruction to the Gulf Coast region, with an estimated combined total of $160 billion in damage. Estimates indicate that Hurricanes Gustav and Ike also caused billions of dollars in damage along the Gulf Coast region. FEMA assists disaster victims in part through its Ind... | GAO's previous work on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita identified fraud, waste, and abuse resulting from a lack of fraud-prevention controls within the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) assistance programs. For example, FEMA did not verify the identities or addresses of individuals applying for aid under its Ind... |
The United States has a long history of military research and development. To help conduct and manage this research, DOD has a diverse network of 80 in-house laboratories and 26 test centers. Their missions range from basic scientific research to direct technical support to operational commands. The management, operati... | In fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2003, the Congress authorized pilot programs to help the Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories and test centers explore innovative business partnerships and human capital strategies. Congressional concerns about DOD's implementation of the pilot programs have been growing. The Congres... |
Credit cards are widely used in the United States. Seventy-eight percent of consumers had a credit card in 2008. As of 2009, credit cardholders had more than $800 billion in outstanding debt on roughly 600 million credit cards, according to Federal Reserve estimates. More than 6,000 depository institutions issued credi... | Debt protection and credit insurance products can cancel or suspend part or all of a credit card debt under specific circumstances, such as loss of life, disability, or involuntary unemployment. In response to a mandate in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, this report reviews the... |
EPA is organized into 13 major headquarters offices (including OECA) that are located in Washington, D.C. (App. II shows EPA's organizational structure.) These offices receive administrative, investigative, and laboratory support from numerous headquarters field offices located throughout the country. EPA also maintain... | During the last decade, as most federal agencies downsized, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) workforce grew by about 18 percent. Much of this growth occurred in EPA's 10 regional offices, which carry out most of the agency's efforts to encourage industry compliance with environmental regulations. Currently, ... |
Both the federal government and the states share responsibility for administering the Medicaid program. At the federal level, CMS is responsible for overseeing states’ design and operation of their Medicaid programs, and ensuring that federal funds are appropriately spent. The federal government sets broad federal requ... | Historically, Medicaid eligibility has been limited to certain categories of low-income individuals, but PPACA, enacted on March 23, 2010, gave states the option to expand coverage to nearly all adults with incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, beginning January 1, 2014. States that do so are el... |
To reduce out-of-pocket costs that result from cost sharing and the utilization of non-Medicare covered services and items, FFS Medicare beneficiaries may either purchase a private supplemental insurance policy, known as a Medigap plan, or enroll in a private health plan that has contracted to serve Medicare beneficiar... | Preferred provider organizations (PPO) are more prevalent than other types of health plans in the private market, but, in 2003, only six PPOs contracted to serve Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare+Choice (M+C), Medicare's private health plan option. In recent years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), t... |
In 1986, the Air Force began developing TSSAM to provide a low observable conventional cruise missile. Key characteristics included long-range, autonomous guidance, automatic target recognition, and precision accuracy with a warhead able to destroy a well-protected structure. After the TSSAM procurement unit cost incre... | GAO evaluated the Air Force's and Navy's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program, focusing on: (1) the acquisition process; (2) schedule and cost risks; (3) the Air Force's plan to acquire 35 pilot production missiles; and (4) the Navy's commitment to the program. GAO found that: (1) the Air Force is usin... |
Purchasing a home is one of the greatest financial undertakings of most American families. In 1994, about 3.5 million families and individuals bought homes. Another 2.5 million families and individuals refinanced the mortgages on their existing homes. A variety of public- and private-sector institutions are involved in... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) role in helping people to obtain home mortgages. GAO found that: (1) FHA and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs allow borrowers to make smaller downpayments and accumulate higher total debt to income ra... |
Since the 1960s, the United States has used polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites to observe the earth and its land, ocean, atmosphere, and space environments. Polar-orbiting satellites constantly circle the earth in a nearly north-south orbit, providing global coverage of conditions that affect the weather and c... | As requested, this statement summarizes two reports being released today on (1) the JPSS program's status and plans, schedule quality, and gap mitigation strategies, and (2) the GOES-R series program's status, requirements management, and contingency planning. Since the 1960s, the United States has used polar-orbiting ... |
Among mandatory spending programs—and indeed tax expenditures—the health area is especially important because the long-term fiscal challenge is largely a health care challenge. Contrary to public perceptions, health care is the biggest driver of the long-term fiscal challenge. While Social Security is important because... | This testimony discusses entitlement and other mandatory spending programs in light of our nation's long-term fiscal outlook and the challenges it poses for the budget and oversight processes. In our report entitled 21st Century Challenges: Reexamining the Base of the Federal Government, we presented illustrative quest... |
When USDA was established in 1862, more than half of the American workforce was engaged in farming. The Department’s objectives, as outlined by the first Commissioner of Agriculture, were to (1) collect, arrange, and publish statistical and other useful agricultural information; (2) introduce valuable plants and animal... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Agriculture (USDA) activities that are similar to the activities conducted by other federal agencies and discussed USDA's efforts to comply with the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act. GAO noted that: (1) many of ... |
VA pays monthly disability compensation to veterans with service- connected disabilities (i.e., injuries or diseases incurred or aggravated while on active military duty) according to the severity of the disability. VA also pays additional compensation for some dependents––spouses, children, and parents––of veterans. I... | For years, the disability compensation claims process has been the subject of concern and attention by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Congress, and veteran service organizations (VSO), due in part to long waits for decisions and the large number of claims pending a decision. As GAO and other organizations hav... |
To address Medicare’s vulnerability to fraud, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) established the Medicare Integrity Program (MIP). In particular, HIPAA required the Secretary of HHS to enter into contracts to promote the integrity of the Medicare program. In exercising its authority... | GAO has designated Medicare as a high-risk program, in part because its size and complexity make it particularly vulnerable to fraud. To help detect and prevent potential Medicare fraud, CMS--the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program--contracts with ZPICs.... |
Coastal properties in the United States that lie on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico are at risk of both flood and wind damage from hurricanes. One study put the estimated insured value of coastal property in states on these coasts at $7.2 trillion as of December 2004, and populations in these areas are growin... | Disputes between policyholders and insurers after the 2005 hurricanes highlight the challenges of determining the cause and extent of damages when properties are subject to both high winds and flooding. Additionally, insurers want to reduce their exposure in high-risk areas, and state wind insurance programs have grown... |
FDA, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of drugs marketed within the United States. These responsibilities begin before a product is brought to the market, and include reviewing drug sponsors’ proposals for conducting clinical t... | Before approving a new drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)--an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--assesses a drug's effectiveness. To do so, it examines information contained in a new drug application (NDA), including data from clinical trials in humans. Several types of trials may be... |
The various types of fees and other collections received by federal agencies are, in general, governed by two authorities—an authority to charge a fee and an authority to retain and obligate fee collections. An agency’s authority to charge fees or establish other collections is derived either from the general statutory... | The uncertain budgetary environment highlights the need for DHS to effectively manage and oversee billions of dollars in fees and other collections from users of homeland security program services. Each DHS component is responsible for administering, managing, and reviewing their respective programs to ensure that, con... |
GAO is a key source of professional and objective information and analysis and, as such, plays a crucial role in supporting congressional decision making. For example, in fiscal year 2003, as in other years, the challenges that most urgently engaged the attention of the Congress helped define our priorities. Our work o... | GAO exists to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO's work covers virtually every area in which the federal government is or may become involved, anywhere... |
The federal Marketplace approved coverage for 11 of our 12 fictitious applicants who initially applied online, or by telephone. We later received notices in 10 of 11 of these cases that failure to submit documentation needed to verify eligibility could lead to loss of coverage or subsidies we received. For 1 of the 11 ... | PPACA provides for the establishment of health insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, where consumers can compare and select private health insurance plans. The act also expands the availability of subsidized health care coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the net federal cost of coverage provisions at $... |
The JSF program goals are to develop and field an affordable, highly common family of stealthy, next-generation strike fighter aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and U.S. allies. The JSF family consists of three variants. The conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant will primarily be an air-to-groun... | The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program seeks to produce and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The estimated total investment for JSF now approaches $1 trillion to acquire and maintain 2,458 aircraft. Under congressional mandate, GAO has annually revie... |
The MEP program traces its origins to the Manufacturing Technology which was established by NIST’s predecessor, the Centers Program,National Bureau of Standards (NBS). In July 1988, NBS published the first of 12 federal funding opportunity announcements that have been issued to date for the establishment of MEP centers... | Manufacturing plays a key role in the U.S. economy. Congress established the MEP program in NIST in 1988. The program's objectives are to enhance productivity and technological performance and to strengthen the global competitiveness of target manufacturing firms, namely small and medium-sized U.S.-based firms. Under t... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to be here today to discuss recent Medicaid spending trends and their potential implications for future outlays. My comments are based on work that we have in progress at the request of the Chairmen of the Senate and House Budget Committees. Their request was p... | GAO discussed recent Medicaid spending trends and their potential implications for future outlays, focusing on: (1) key factors that explain the Medicaid 3.3-percent growth rate in fiscal year 1996; and (2) the administration's proposal to contain Medicaid cost growth through decreases in disproportionate share hospita... |
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.