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SBA and FEMA have independent authorities for providing disaster assistance. State governors’ requests for SBA’s assistance are directed to the SBA Administrator through SBA’s regional offices. Under the Small Business Act, the Administrator is authorized to make or guarantee loans to victims of sudden physical disaste... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the federal disaster declaration process, focusing on: (1) whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster declaration policies differ for rural and urban areas; (2) the length of time taken ... |
WHO, in conjunction with the United States and other governments, has developed an international strategy for forestalling the onset of an influenza pandemic. Elements of this strategy include restricting the movement of people in and out of the affected area, isolation of ill persons, and school closures. Antivirals a... | Pandemic influenza poses a threat to public health at a time when the United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO) has said that infectious diseases are spreading faster than at any time in history. The last major influenza pandemic occurred from 1918 to 1919. Estimates of deaths worldwide if a similar pandemic were... |
For the 2020 Census, the Bureau is significantly changing how it intends to conduct the census, in part by re-engineering key census-taking methods and infrastructure, and making use of new IT applications and systems. The CEDCAP program, which began in October 2014, is intended to provide data collection and processin... | The U.S. Census Bureau (a component of the Department of Commerce) plans to significantly change the methods and technology it uses to count the population with the 2020 Decennial Census, such as by offering an option for households to respond to the survey via the Internet. The Bureau's redesign of the Census program ... |
IRIS was created in 1985 to help EPA develop consensus opinions within the agency about the health effects of chronic exposure to chemicals. Its importance has increased over time as EPA program offices and the states have increasingly relied on IRIS information in making environmental protection decisions. Currently, ... | The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains EPA's scientific position on the potential human health effects of exposure to more than 540 chemicals. Toxicity assessments in the IRIS database constitute the first two critical steps of the risk assessment process, which i... |
The Army started fielding the M1 Abrams tank (the Army’s main battle tank) in the early 1980s. Table 1 shows as of October 1995, there were about 7,600 M1s (in various configurations) in active and reserve Army and Marine Corps units and war reserve and prepositioned storage sites. Since the initial fielding, the M1 ha... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the absence of a procurement program to modernize the M1 tank fleet beyond the upgrade of existing tanks and to address new tank threats, focusing on: (1) whether the current readiness level of the M1 tank is adequate to meet its war-fighting requirements; (2) whether... |
Established in 1956, DI is an insurance program that provides monthly cash benefits to workers who are unable to work because of severe long term disability. Workers who have worked long enough and recently enough are insured for coverage under the DI program. To meet the definition of disability under the DI program,... | Since 1980, the Congress has required the Social Security Administration (SSA) to conduct demonstration projects to test the effectiveness of possible program changes that could encourage individuals to return to work and decrease their dependence on Disability Insurance (DI) benefits. To conduct these demonstrations, ... |
On November 19, 2002, pursuant to ATSA, TSA began a 2-year pilot program at 5 airports using private screening companies to screen passengers and checked baggage. In 2004, at the completion of the pilot program, and in accordance with ATSA, TSA established the SPP, whereby any airport authority, whether involved in the... | TSA maintains a federal workforce to screen passengers and baggage at the majority of the nation's commercial airports, but it also oversees a workforce of private screeners at airports who participate in the SPP. The SPP allows commercial airports to apply to have screening performed by private screeners, who are to p... |
DOD acquires many different products developed by commercial companies to enable the warfighter to protect our country. For the purposes of this report, we describe the three types of products that DOD acquires as the following: 1. Products that are commercially available, such as computers and software. DOD acquires t... | Private industry investments in research and development have significantly outpaced DOD's own spending in this area over the past three decades. Recognizing that this situation is likely to continue, Congress has passed legislation aimed at enabling DOD to leverage technologies made by companies that do not typically ... |
NCLBA required the Secretary of the Interior to develop a definition of AYP for BIE schools, but also allows tribal groups to waive all or part of BIE’s definition of AYP and propose an alternative. After a process of negotiated rulemaking, Interior issued regulations specifying that each BIE school must adopt the stan... | The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NCLBA allo... |
Federal and tribal CHS programs in each of IHS’s 12 areas pay for services from external providers if services are not available directly through IHS-funded facilities, if patients meet certain requirements, and if funds are available. IHS uses three primary methods—base funding, annual adjustments, and program increas... | IHS, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. When care at an IHS-funded facility is unavailable, IHSs CHS program pays for care from non-IHS providers if the patient meets certain requirements and funding is available. The Patient Pro... |
The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Toward this end, Education distributes federal grant funds to applicants throughout the nation to improve access to and the quality of educati... | The Department of Education (Education) awards about $45 billion in grants each year to school districts, states, and other entities. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided an additional $97 billion in grant funding. In a series of reports from 2002 to 2009, Education's Inspector Gener... |
The Missile Defense Agency’s mission is to develop an integrated and layered BMDS to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends. The BMDS is expected to be capable of engaging all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight. This is a challenging expectation, requiring a complex c... | By law, GAO annually assesses the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) progress in developing and fielding a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Funded at $8 billion to nearly $10 billion per year, it is the largest research and development program in the Department of Defense (DOD). The program has been managed in 2-ye... |
Under the authority of the Arms Export Control Act, the State Department controls the export and temporary import of defense articles and services. The State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations explain specific licensing procedures. Companies that manufacture or export defense articles or provide def... | The U.S. defense industry and some foreign government purchasers have expressed concern that the U.S. export control process is unnecessarily burdensome. Defense industry officials contend that extended reviews of export license applications by the State Department have resulted in lost sales and are harming the nation... |
As cyber threats have grown in sophistication, federal efforts to address them have evolved. Presidential Decision Directive 63, signed in May 1998, established a structure under White House leadership to coordinate the activities of designated lead departments and agencies, in partnership with their counterparts from ... | According to the U.S. Strategic Command, the Department of Defense (DOD) is in the midst of a global cyberspace crisis as foreign nation states and other actors, such as hackers, criminals, terrorists, and activists exploit DOD and other U.S. government computer networks to further a variety of national, ideological, a... |
FSA provides benefits through various programs of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Appendix III provides a listing of USDA farm programs and payments made from 1999 through 2005. The three- entity rule applies to certain USDA payments, including direct and counter-cyclical payments; loan deficiency p... | Farmers receive about $20 billion annually in federal farm program payments, which go to individuals and "entities," including corporations, partnerships, and estates. Under certain conditions, estates may receive payments for the first 2 years after an individual's death. For later years, the U.S. Department of Agricu... |
Under the Direct Loan program, Education issues several types of student loans. They are Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Consolidation Loans. The federal government sets limits on the maximum interest rate, loan origination fee and other charges, and annual and aggregate amounts that can be ... | As of September 2014, outstanding federal student loan debt exceeded $1 trillion, and about 14 percent of borrowers had defaulted on their loans within 3 years of entering repayment, according to Education data. GAO was asked to review options intended to help borrowers repay their loans. For Direct Loan borrowers GAO ... |
O&M is large, diverse, and widespread. Since 1987, the O&M accounts have been the largest appropriation group in DOD’s budget and are expected to remain the largest through fiscal year 2001. O&M is one of six appropriation groups for DOD. When compared with the federal budget, DOD’s fiscal year 1997 O&M budget request ... | GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 1997 for its operation and maintenance (O&M) accounts, focusing on: (1) how annual funding relates to military and civilian personnel levels through 2001; (2) overall trends from fiscal years 1985 though 2001; and (3) key areas in which ... |
Kenya has attempted constitutional reform several times over the past 50 years, but has been unsuccessful until recently. (See app. II for a detailed chronology of Kenyan constitutional reform-related events.) A disputed presidential election in 2007, followed by allegations of vote rigging and ethnic violence that kil... | Following a 2007 disputed election and widespread violence, Kenya reformed its constitution, which its voters approved in August 2010. The United States has provided over $18 million to support this process to date. GAO was asked to (1) describe any involvement that U.S. officials have had in Kenya's constitutional ref... |
One unconventional energy resource that has received renewed attention in recent years in the United States is oil shale. Historically, interest in oil shale development as a domestic energy source has waxed and waned since the early 1900s, as average crude oil prices have generally been lower than the threshold necess... | Fossil fuels are important to both the global and U.S. economies, and unconventional oil and gas resourcesresources that cannot be produced, transported, or refined using traditional techniquesare expected to play a larger role in helping the United States meet future energy needs. With rising energy prices one suc... |
Polar-orbiting satellites provide data and imagery that are used by weather forecasters, climatologists, and the military to map and monitor changes in weather, climate, the oceans, and the environment. Since the 1960s, the United States has operated two separate operational polar-orbiting meteorological satellite syst... | The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)--a tri-agency acquisition managed by the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)--is considered critical ... |
Information security is an important consideration for any organization that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission or business. The dramatic expansion in computer interconnectivity and the rapid increase in the use of the Internet are changing the way our government, the nation, ... | A number of serious control weaknesses in the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) electronic filing systems placed personal taxpayer data in IRS' electronic filing system at significant risk of unauthorized disclosure, use, and modification during the 2000 tax filing season. IRS recognized the importance of promptly addre... |
Most federal highway transportation funds are distributed as grants to states as part of the federal aid highway program through a set of complex formulas that take into account a number of factors, including the estimated share of taxes highway users in each state contributes. The Highway Trust Fund is the principal s... | Created in 1998, the TIFIA program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial nonfederal investment by providing federal credit assistance to help finance surface transportation projects including highway, transit, rail, and intermodal projects. Since 2008, demand for the program has surged, annually exce... |
In recent years, the Congress passed two pieces of legislation intended, in part, to foster greater coordination between education, welfare, and employment and training programs. The Workforce Investment Act was passed in 1998 to consolidate services of many employment and training programs, mandating that states and l... | The 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) required states to provide most federally funded employment-related services through one-stop centers. Two years earlier, welfare reform legislation created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant which provided flexibility to states to focus on helping nee... |
IRS develops its tax gap estimate by measuring the rate of taxpayer compliance—the degree to which taxpayers fully complied with their tax obligations. IRS uses such compliance data, along with other data and assumptions, to estimate the dollar amount of taxes not paid accurately and on time. For tax year 2001, IRS est... | According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a gap arises each year between what taxpayers pay accurately and on time in taxes and what they should pay under the law. The tax gap is composed of underreporting of tax liabilities on tax returns, underpaying of taxes due from filed returns, and nonfiling of required t... |
Systems engineering and test and evaluation are critical parts of the weapon system acquisition process and how well these activities are conducted early in the acquisition cycle can greatly affect program outcomes. Systems engineering translates customer needs into specific product requirements for which requisite tec... | In May 2009, Congress passed the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Reform Act). The Reform Act contains a number of systems engineering and developmental testing requirements that are aimed at helping weapon programs establish a solid foundation from the start of development. GAO was asked to examine (1) D... |
The Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998, 21 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., required the Office of National Drug Control Policy to conduct a national media campaign to reduce and prevent drug abuse among America’s youth. The act specified certain uses of funds provided for the media campaign to include (1) the purchase of media ... | The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was required by the Drug Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 (21 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) to conduct a national media campaign to reduce and prevent drug use among America's youth. Since 1998, Congress has appropriated over $1 billion for the media campaign. However, a 2003 re... |
The federal government has enriched uranium for use by commercial nuclear power plants and for defense-related purposes for more than 40 years at three plants, located near Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio (see fig. 1). The Oak Ridge plant, known as East Tennessee Technology Park, is locate... | Cleaning up the nation's three uranium enrichment plants will cost billions of dollars and could span decades. These plants--located near Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Paducah, Ky.; and Portsmouth, Ohio--are contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials. In 1992, the Energy Policy Act created the Uranium Enrichment Deconta... |
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit law enforcement officers from engaging in discriminatory behavior on the basis of individuals’ race, ethnicity, or national origin. The Fifth Amendment protects against discrimination by federal law enforcement officers, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amen... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the racial profiling of motorists, focusing on the: (1) findings and methodologies of analyses that have been conducted on racial profiling of motorists; and (2) federal, state, and local data available, or expected to be available, on motorist stops. GAO... |
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 allows the use of several best value competitive source selection techniques to meet agency needs. Within the best value continuum, DOD may choose an approach that it considers the most advantageous to the government, including the lowest price technically acceptable (LP... | The Department of Defense (DOD) obligated about $380 billion in fiscal year 2009 to acquire products and services. One approach DOD can take to evaluate offerors' proposals is the best value tradeoff process in which the relative importance of price varies compared to non-cost factors. The National Defense Authorizatio... |
The introduction of significantly redesigned currency began in March 1996, with the introduction into circulation of the newly designed $100 note. Redesigned lower denomination notes were expected to be introduced into circulation at subsequent 9- to 12-month intervals, but the introduction of the $50 note has been del... | GAO discussed issues related to the Treasury's recent production of flawed, newly redesigned $50 notes. GAO noted that: (1) neither the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) nor the Federal Reserve know specifically how many flawed notes are among the 217.6 million redesigned notes produced before September 8, 1996; (... |
Runway safety is a longstanding major aviation safety concern; prevention of runway incursions, which are precursors to aviation accidents, has been on NTSB’s list of most wanted transportation improvements since 1990 because runway collisions can be catastrophic. Recent data indicate that runway incursions are growing... | While aviation accidents in the United States are relatively infrequent, recent incidents have heightened concerns about safety on airport runways. As the nation's aviation system becomes more crowded every day, increased congestion at airports may exacerbate ground safety concerns. This statement discusses (1) the tre... |
The radio-frequency spectrum is the part of the natural spectrum of electromagnetic radiation lying between the frequency limits of 9 kilohertz and 300 gigahertz. It is the medium that makes wireless communications possible and supports a vast array of commercial and governmental services. Commercial entities use spect... | The radio-frequency spectrum is used to provide an array of wireless communications services that are critical to the U.S. economy and various government missions, such as national security. With demand for spectrum exploding, and most useable spectrum allocated to existing users, there is growing concern that the curr... |
Established in 1965, Head Start is a federally funded early childhood development program that served over 900,000 children at a cost of $6.8 billion in 2004. Head Start offers low-income children a broad range of services, including educational, medical, dental, mental health, nutritional, and social services. Childre... | In September 2003, the Head Start Bureau, in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF), implemented the National Reporting System (NRS), the first nationwide skills test of over 400,000 4- and 5-year-old children. The NRS is intended to provide information on how w... |
In 2000, mass transit systems provided over 9 billion passenger trips and employed about 350,000 people in the United States. The nation’s transit systems include all multiple-occupancy-vehicle services designed to transport customers on local and regional routes, such as bus, trolley bus, commuter rail, vanpool, ferry... | About one-third of terrorist attacks worldwide target transportation systems, and transit systems are the mode most commonly attacked. In light of the history of terrorism against mass transit and the terrorist attacks on September 11, GAO was asked to examine challenges in securing transit systems, steps transit agenc... |
The 7(a) loan program, which is authorized by Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act, is SBA’s largest business loan program. It is intended to serve small business borrowers who otherwise cannot obtain financing under reasonable terms and conditions from the private sector. In administering the 7(a) program, SBA has e... | The Small Business Administration (SBA) is responsible for oversight of its 7(a) loan program lenders, including those who participate in the Preferred Lenders Program or PLP. SBA delegates full authority to preferred lenders to make loans without prior SBA approval. In fiscal year 2002, preferred lenders approved 55 p... |
Our April 2014 report noted that VA has experienced substantial delays in executing new outpatient-clinic lease projects; nearly all of the delays occurred in the planning stages prior to entering into a lease agreement with the developer. Specifically, we found that 39 of the 41 outpatient- clinic projects for which a... | VA operates one of the nation's largest health-care delivery systems. To help meet the changing medical needs of the veteran population, VA has increasingly leased medical facilities to provide health care to veterans. In April 2014, GAO reported that VHA's leasing program had long-term liability of $5.5 billion and wa... |
We reported in 2006 that DOD had established force health protection and surveillance policies aimed at assessing and reducing or preventing health risks for its deployed federal civilian personnel; however, at the time of our review, the department lacked a quality assurance mechanism to ensure the components’ full im... | As the Department of Defense (DOD) has expanded its involvement in overseas military operations, it has grown increasingly reliant on its federal civilian workforce to support contingency operations. GAO was asked to discuss DOD's (1) force health protection and surveillance policies, (2) medical treatment policies tha... |
Terrestrial television service—also known as over-the-air broadcast television—is transmitted from television towers through the radiofrequency spectrum to rooftop antennas or antennas attached directly to television sets inside of homes. With traditional analog technology, pictures and sounds are converted into “wavef... | In Berlin, Germany, the transition from analog to digital television (DTV), the DTV transition, culminated in the shutoff of analog television signals in August 2003. As GAO previously reported, the December 2006 deadline for the culmination of the DTV transition in the United States seems unlikely to be met. Failure t... |
Medicaid and CHIP are the nation’s largest health care financing programs for low-income children, accounting for about $79 billion in shared federal and state expenditures in 2009, the most recent year for which data are available. Medicaid is a federal-state program for certain categories of low-income children, fami... | Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--two joint federal-state health care programs for certain low-income individuals--play a critical role in addressing the health care needs of children. The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 required GAO to study children's access ... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to be here today to discuss the Federal Housing Finance Board’s (FHFB) regulatory oversight of the nation’s third largest government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), the Federal Home Loan Bank System (System). At your request, we recently issued a report on FHFB’s... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Federal Housing Finance Board's (FHFB) regulatory oversight of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, focusing on: (1) FHFB's annual safety and soundness and mission compliance examinations of the Federal Home Loan Banks; (2) other aspects of FHFB's oversight; and (3) ... |
The SSI program was established in 1972 under Title XVI of the Social Security Act and provides payments to low-income aged, blind, and disabled persons—both adults and children—who meet the financial eligibility requirements. A disability is defined for adults as the inability to engage in any substantial gainful acti... | The SSI program, administered by SSA, provides cash assistance to eligible aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited financial means. In fiscal year 2014, the program paid nearly $56 billion in federally funded benefits to about 8.2 million individuals. The program has grown substantially in recent years, and ... |
FAA’s Federal Air Marshal program expanded the Sky Marshal program, which was established as part of the Customs Service in the 1970s to deter hijackings to and from Cuba. Shortly after TWA Flight 847 was hijacked in Athens, Greece, in June 1985, then President Ronald Reagan called for an expansion of the Sky Marshal p... | To help strengthen aviation security after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Congress expanded the size and mission of the Federal Air Marshal Service (the Service) and located the Service within the newly created Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Between November 2001 and July 1, 2002, the Ser... |
DOD is subject to various laws dating back to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 that govern remediation (cleanup) of contamination on military installations. DOD must also follow federal accoun... | Because of concerns about the long-term budgetary implications associated with the environmental cleanup of the Department of Defense (DOD) training ranges, GAO examined (1) the potential magnitude of the cost to clean up these ranges in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, (2) the scope and reliability of ... |
Congress established FHA in 1934 under the National Housing Act (P.L. 73- 479) to broaden homeownership, shore up and protect lending institutions, and stimulate employment in the building industry. FHA’s single-family program insures private lenders against losses (up to almost 100 percent of the loan amount) from bor... | The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has faced several challenges in recent years, including rising default rates, higher-than-expected program costs, and a sharp decline in program participation. To help FHA adapt to market changes, HUD has proposed a number of c... |
Reverse auctions are similar to traditional auctions, except that the sellers compete against each other to sell their products or services to the buyer. Unlike a traditional auction, in which multiple buyers bid against one another to push the price up, reverse auctions enable a buyer to evaluate proposals submitted f... | Reverse auctions are one tool used by federal agencies to increase competition and reduce the cost of certain items. Reverse auctions differ from traditional auctions in that sellers compete against one another to provide the lowest price or highest-value offer to a buyer. GAO was asked to review issues related to agen... |
The general purpose of facility security is to protect people, property, and the facility itself by deterring, detecting, and responding to potentially criminal and dangerous acts and people. Threats to facility security may include theft, unauthorized access, natural disasters, and terrorism, among others. An organiza... | The Federal Protective Service (FPS) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides security and law enforcement services to over 9,000 federal facilities through its federal and contract security workforce. Over the years, GAO has made numerous recommendations to address significant weaknesses in FPS's over... |
The department is facing near and long-term internal fiscal pressures as it attempts to balance competing demands to support ongoing operations, rebuild readiness following extended military operations, and manage increasing personnel and health care costs as well as significant cost growth in its weapon systems progra... | As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving serious problems in its financial management and related business operations and systems. DOD is required by various statutes to (1) improve its financial management processes, controls,... |
In the 1980s, FAA began considering how a satellite-based navigation system might eventually replace the ground-based system that has long provided navigation guidance to aircraft. In August 1995, after several years of research, FAA contracted with Wilcox Electric to develop WAAS to enhance GPS. However, because of co... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the status of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) project, focusing on: (1) whether the Secretary of Transportation's report provides a complete assessment of FAA's risks in developing the WAAS project; and (2) how alternat... |
One of the main purposes of guidance is to explain and help regulated parties comply with agency regulations. As shown in figure 1, guidance may explain how agencies plan to interpret regulations. Agencies sometimes include disclaimers in their guidance to note that the documents have no legally binding effect on regul... | Regulatory guidance is an important tool agencies use to communicate timely information about regulatory and grant programs to regulated parties, grantees, and the public. Guidance provides agencies flexibility to articulate their interpretations of regulations, clarify policies, and address new issues more quickly tha... |
In the past several years, we have made a number of recommendations for CMS to address missed opportunities for savings in the Medicare program, which the agency has not fully implemented. These include recommendations related to the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Advantage (MA) programs. Minimizing improp... | HHS manages hundreds of complex programs benefiting the health and well-being of Americans, accounting for a quarter of all federal outlays. For fiscal year 2012, HHS is responsible for approximately $76 billion in discretionary spending and for an estimated $788 billion in mandatory spending. The size and critical mis... |
Federal departments and agencies receive funding through regular annual appropriations acts. However, in the years covered in this study, all appropriations acts were not enacted before the beginning of the new fiscal year. If one or more of the regular appropriations acts are not enacted, a funding gap may result and ... | In all but 3 of the last 30 years, Congress enacted a continuing resolution (CR) allowing federal agencies to continue operating when their regular appropriations had not been passed. CRs appropriate funds generally through rates for operations--funding formulas frequently referenced to the previous years' appropriatio... |
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) defines pension plans as either defined benefit or defined contribution and includes separate requirements for each type of plan. The employer, as plan sponsor, is responsible for funding the promised benefit, investing and managing the plan assets, and bearing the investment risk. If a ... | The collapse of the Enron Corporation and the resulting loss of employee retirement savings highlighted several key vulnerabilities in the nation's private pension system. Asset diversification was a crucial lesson, especially for defined contribution plans, in which employees bear the investment risk. The Enron case u... |
In the United States, the practice of pharmacy is regulated by state boards of pharmacy, which establish and enforce standards intended to protect the public. State boards of pharmacy also license pharmacists and pharmacies. To legally dispense a prescription drug, a licensed pharmacist working in a licensed pharmacy m... | As the demand for and the cost of prescription drugs rise, many consumers have turned to the Internet to purchase them. However, the global nature of the Internet can hinder state and federal efforts to identify and regulate Internet pharmacies to help assure the safety and efficacy of products sold. Recent reports of ... |
The 1986 Compact of Free Association between the United States, the FSM, and the RMI provided a framework for the United States to work toward achieving its three main goals: (1) to secure self-government for the FSM and the RMI, (2) to assist the FSM and the RMI in their efforts to advance economic development and sel... | In 1986, the United States entered into a Compact of Free Association with the Pacific Island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or RMI. The Compact provided about $2.1 billion in U.S. funds, supplied by the Department of the Interior, over 17 years (1987-20... |
State and local governments that receive grants from HHS must follow the uniform administrative requirements set forth in federal regulations.When procuring property and services, these regulations require that states follow the same policies and procedures they use for procurements supported with nonfederal funds. Und... | The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWPRA) of 1996 changed the nation's cash assistance program for needy families with children. The former program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was replaced with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, which ... |
Our review found that VHA’s internal controls were not designed to provide reasonable assurance that improper purchase card and convenience check purchases would not occur or would be detected in the normal course of business. We found that (1) VHA lacked adequate segregation of duties between those purchasing and rece... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has continued to identify significant vulnerabilities in the department's use of government purchase cards. Over the years, the OIG has identified internal control weaknesses that resulted in instances of fraud and numerous improper and questiona... |
As part of our undercover investigation, we produced counterfeit documents before sending our two teams of investigators out to the field. We found two NRC documents and a few examples of the documents by searching the Internet. We subsequently used commercial, off-the-shelf computer software to produce two counterfeit... | Given today's unprecedented terrorism threat environment and the resulting widespread congressional and public interest in the security of our nation's borders, GAO conducted an investigation testing whether radioactive sources could be smuggled across U.S. borders. Most travelers enter the United States through the na... |
Every satellite has a bus and payload. The bus is the body of the satellite and is managed by the satellite control operations to maintain a desired location. It carries the payload and is composed of a number of subsystems, such as the power supply, antennas, and mechanical and thermal control equipment. The bus also ... | The GPS--a space-based satellite system that provides positioning, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide--has become an essential U.S. national security asset and component in daily life. The GPS program is being modernized to enhance its performance, accuracy and integrity. In 2013, the House Armed Services C... |
The basic process by which all federal agencies typically develop and issue regulations is set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and is generally known as the rulemaking process. Rulemaking at most regulatory agencies follows the APA’s informal rulemaking process, also known as “notice and comment” rulema... | Occupational safety and health standards are designed to help protect about 130 million public and private sector workers from hazards at more than 8 million U.S. worksites. Questions exist concerning how long it takes OSHA to issue its standards. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the time OSHA takes to develop and issue s... |
In 2011, Congress enacted the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), which amended the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA), to impose spending limits (or caps) on discretionary spending for fiscal years 2012 through 2021. These initial caps were intended to reduce projected spending by about $... | Federal discretionary appropriations declined by roughly 12 percent between FY 2010 and 2015. To better understand issues agencies face in an environment of declining resources and how agencies could address them, GAO developed a framework in 2012 for examining agencies' efforts to manage declining resources. GAO was a... |
In November 1985, the Congress directed the Army to destroy the Department of Defense’s (DOD) stockpile of unitary chemical weapons. The stockpile is stored at eight Army installations in the continental United States and one installation on the Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of various lethal weapons... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's nonstockpile disposal program, focusing on: (1) the Army's planning process for the nonstockpile disposal program; (2) the Army's estimated disposal cost and schedule; and (3) applicable lessons learned from the Army's stockpile disposal program. GAO found th... |
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, causing human casualties and billions of dollars in damage. During major disasters such as this, the Stafford Act authorizes the federal government to assist in saving lives, reducing human suffering, mitigating the effects of lost income, and help... | Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region of the United States and caused billions of dollars in damage. Hurricanes Rita and Wilma further exacerbated damage to the region. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was tasked with the primary role of mana... |
During fiscal years 2002 through 2008, the United States spent approximately $16.5 billion to train and equip the Afghan army and police forces in order to transfer responsibility for the security of Afghanistan from the international community to the Afghan government. As part of this effort, Defense—through the U.S. ... | This testimony discusses the GAO report on accountability for small arms and light weapons that the United States has obtained and provided or intends to provide to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)--the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Given the unstable security conditions in Afghanistan,... |
Since his inauguration in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has mobilized the Mexican military and law enforcement in a series of large scale counternarcotics operations throughout the country. These efforts have targeted areas, particularly along the U.S.-Mexican border, where DTOs have exerted most influence. ... | In recent years, violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated dramatically, due largely to the Mexican government's efforts to disrupt Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO). U.S. officials note the violence associated with Mexican DTOs poses a serious challenge for U.S. law enforcement, threatening citize... |
Many of the 62 million people living in over 2,300 rural counties in the United States lack access to a supply of clean water and sanitary waste disposal facilities. In 1937, the Congress created a program that provided low-cost loans to ranchers, farmers, and rural residents of 17 arid and semiarid western states for ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) process for allocating and distributing loan and grant funds for water and sewer projects, focusing on: (1) funding levels for the Water and Waste Disposal Program; (2) the formula used to allocate funds among USDA state offices; a... |
FAA has authority to authorize all UAS operations in the national airspace—military; public (academic institutions and federal, state, and local governments including law enforcement organizations); and civil (non-government including commercial). Currently, since a final rulemaking is not completed, FAA only allows UA... | UAS—often called drones—are aircraft that do not carry a pilot but instead operate on pre-programmed routes or are manually controlled. Currently, UAS only operate in the United States with FAA approval on a case-by-case basis. However, in the absence of regulations, unauthorized UAS operations have, in some instances,... |
Section 232 of the National Housing Act, as amended, authorizes FHA to insure mortgages made by private lenders to finance the construction or renovation of nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, board and care homes, and assisted living facilities. Congress established the Section 232 program in 1959 to provide ... | Through its Section 232 program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures approximately $12.5 billion in mortgages for residential care facilities. In response to a requirement in the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Conference Report and a congressional reque... |
Since 1796, the federal government has had a role in developing and funding surface transportation infrastructure such as roads and canals to promote the nation’s economic vitality and improve the quality of life for its citizens. In 1956, Congress substantially broadened the federal role in road construction by establ... | Surface transportation programs need to be reexamined in the context of the nation's current unsustainable fiscal path. Surface transportation programs are particularly ready for review as the Highway Trust Fund faces a fiscal imbalance at a time when both congestion and travel demand are growing. As you requested, thi... |
Congress appropriates federal assistance grant funds to executive branch agencies that then use funding formulas to distribute federal assistance to states or local entities. These funding formulas are typically established through statute and expressed as one or more equations containing one or more variables. Executi... | Many federal assistance programs are funded by formula grants that have historically relied at least in part on population data from the decennial census and related data to allocate funds. In June 2009, the Census Bureau reported that in fiscal year 2007 the federal government obligated over $446 billion through fundi... |
To be considered eligible for benefits for either SSI or DI as an adult, a person must be unable to perform any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that is expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of at... | Delivering high-quality service to the public in the form of fair, timely, and consistent eligibility decisions for disability benefits is one of SSA's most pressing challenges. This testimony discusses (1) the difficulties SSA faces managing disability claims processing; (2) the outmoded concepts of SSA's disability p... |
The U.S. agricultural sector—renowned for its productivity—owes much of its success to a continuing flow of improved crop varieties that produce higher yields and better withstand pests, diseases, and climate extremes. The genes necessary for these improved crops are contained in plant germplasm—the material in seeds o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed the 680 members of the 40 crop germplasm committees (CGC) for their views on the sufficiency of the National Plant Germplasm System's (NPGS) principal activities focusing on: (1) acquiring germplasm to ensure the diversity of the collections in order to reduce crop vuln... |
WIA created a comprehensive workforce investment system that brought together multiple federally funded employment and training programs into a single system, called the one-stop system. Prior to the enactment of WIA, services were often provided through a fragmented employment and training system. One-stop centers ser... | As the United States continues to face high unemployment in the wake of the recent recession, federally funded workforce programs can play an important role in bridging gaps between the skills present in the workforce and the skills needed for available jobs. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) sought to strengt... |
Floods are the most frequent natural disasters in the United States, causing billions of dollars of damage annually. In 1968, Congress created NFIP to address the increasing cost of federal disaster assistance by providing flood insurance to property owners in flood-prone areas, where such insurance was either not avai... | NFIP helps protect property in high-risk floodplains by, among other things, requiring communities that participate in the program to adopt floodplain management regulations, including building requirements for new or substantially improved structures such as elevating, dry flood-proofing, or wet flood-proofing structu... |
On average, about 3 people have died and about 8 people have been injured each year over the last 10 years in natural gas transmission pipeline incidents. The number of incidents has increased from 77 in 1996 to 122 and 200 in 2004 and 2005, respectively, mostly reflecting more frequent occurrence of property damage. M... | About a dozen people are killed or injured in natural gas transmission pipeline incidents each year. In an effort to improve upon this safety record, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 requires that operators assess pipeline segments in about 20,000 miles of highly populated or frequented areas for safety risk... |
CMS and states jointly administer the Medicaid program. States have flexibility within broad federal parameters for designing and implementing their Medicaid programs. For example, state Medicaid programs must cover certain populations and benefits—known as mandatory populations and benefits—but may choose to also cove... | Medicaid is the largest payer of mental health services in the United States and Medicaid spending on such services is likely to grow. Some states provide mental health services to Medicaid beneficiaries separately from physical health care services through contracts with limited benefit plans, which are paid on a per ... |
In order to be adequately prepared for a major public health threat, state and local public health agencies need to have several basic capabilities, whether they possess them directly or have access to them through regional agreements. Public health departments need to have disease surveillance systems and epidemiologi... | Following the bioterrorist events of the fall of 2001, there has been concern that the nation may not be prepared to respond to a major public health threat, such as the current outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Whether a disease outbreak occurs naturally or is due to the intentional release of a ha... |
The Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) is a cabinet-level interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of Commerce. It began meeting in 1993, and it has met at least once annually, except during an 18- month period between 1999 and 2001. The TPCC also encouraged the formation of various interagency staff-l... | Ten years ago, to coordinate the activities of the various federal agencies involved in export promotion and to ensure better delivery of services to potential exporters, Congress established the interagency Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) under the Export Enhancement Act of 1992. Among other things, the ... |
DOE is responsible for a diverse set of missions, including nuclear security, energy research, and environmental cleanup. These missions are managed by organizations within DOE and largely carried out by M&O contractors at various DOE sites. According to federal budget data, NNSA is one of the largest organizations in ... | DOE and NNSA are responsible for managing nuclear weapon- and nonproliferation-related national security activities in national laboratories and other sites and facilities, collectively known as the nuclear security enterprise. Major portions of NNSA's mission are largely carried out by contractors at each site. GAO ha... |
ATSA applied the personnel management system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to TSA employees, and further authorized TSA to make any modifications to the system it considered necessary. Therefore, similar to FAA, TSA is exempt from many of the requirement s imposed and enforced by OPM—the agency responsib... | The Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Transportation Security Executive Service (TSES) consists of executive-level staff serving in key agency positions just below political appointees. Committees of Congress have raise questions about the frequency of turnover within the TSES and have directed GAO to exam... |
USPS is an independent establishment of the executive branch mandated to provide postal services to bind the nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. Established by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, USPS is one of the largest organizations in the natio... | In 1999, the congressionally requested Data Quality Study (the Study) found opportunities to improve ratemaking data quality. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) agreed to make improvements, but concerns remained that it is still unclear, from an overall perspective, what actions USPS has taken to improve data quality. Rate... |
Since the former Soviet Union launched its first Sputnik satellite 40 years ago, the number of manmade space objects orbiting the earth—active and inactive satellites and debris generated from launch vehicle and satellite breakups—has increased dramatically. In 1995, a National Science and Technology Council report est... | GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space surveillance requirements and DOD's space surveillance capabilities, focusing on: (1) how well DOD's existing surveillance capabilities support DOD's and NASA's current and future surveillance requirement... |
In establishing related guidance on solid waste management in 1978, DOD has recognized that burning waste in open pits poses environmental and health hazards. However, burn pits—shallow excavations or surface features with berms used to conduct open-air burning—were often chosen as a method of waste disposal during rec... | Burn pits help base commanders manage waste generated by U.S. forces overseas, but they also produce harmful emissions that military and other health professionals believe may result in chronic health effects for those exposed. Section 313 of the NDAA for FY 2015 requires the Secretary of Defense to review DOD complian... |
NRC is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s 103 operating commercial nuclear power plants pose no undue risk to public health and safety. According to one study, as many as 26 of the nation’s nuclear sites are vulnerable to shutdown because production costs are higher than the projected market prices of electrici... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined various issues related to the safe operation of commercial nuclear power plants, focusing on: (1) some of the challenges that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the nuclear power industry could experience in a competitive environment; (2) issues that NRC needs ... |
Even after several years of defense downsizing, DOD operates hundreds of major military bases and many smaller facilities in the United States. These bases can range in size from less than 10 acres to several hundred thousand acres. There are bases, such as Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base located in North Carolina, ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to promote interservicing, which includes one service's reliance on another for base support and greater reliance on intraservice consolidated support; and (2) opportunities that exist for military bases to save on installa... |
In our 2015 annual report, we identify 12 new areas in which we found evidence of fragmentation, overlap, or duplication, and we present 20 actions to executive branch agencies and Congress to address these issues. As described in table 1, these areas span a wide range of federal functions or missions. We consider prog... | As the fiscal pressures facing the government continue, so too does the need for executive branch agencies and Congress to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs and activities. Such opportunities exist throughout government. To bring these opportunities to light, Congress included a provision ... |
Information security is an important consideration for any organization that depends on information systems to carry out its mission. The dramatic expansion in computer interconnectivity and the exponential increase in the use of the Internet are changing the way our government, the nation, and much of the world commun... | This testimony discusses information security controls over computer systems at the Department of Commerce. Dramatic increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, are revolutionizing the way the government, the nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. However, th... |
DOD hires contractors to provide a wide range of services that may include basic services (custodial and landscaping); administrative types of services (travel and management support); and complex professional and management (i.e., advisory and assistance) services that closely support inherently governmental functions... | Many defense contractor employees work side-by-side with federal employees in Department of Defense (DOD) facilities performing substantially the same tasks affecting billions in DOD spending. Given concerns with protecting the integrity of DOD operations, GAO was asked to assess (1) how many contractor employees work ... |
Real-estate taxes in the United States are levied by a number of different taxing authorities, including state and local governments, but mostly by local governments. Local governments, such as counties, can levy and collect taxes on behalf of smaller jurisdictions within their boundaries. For example, a county could c... | The Joint Committee on Taxation identified improved taxpayer compliance with the real-estate tax deduction as a way to reduce the federal tax gap--the difference between taxes owed and taxes voluntarily and timely paid. Regarding the deduction, GAO was asked to examine (1) factors that contribute to taxpayers including... |
Appropriations for VA’s health care services are made through three separate appropriations accounts: Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, and Medical Facilities. VA allocates resources from these appropriations to its networks and medical centers for general purposes and specific purposes at the beginning... | Through fiscal year 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) permitted its 21 health care networks to develop their own methodologies for allocating resources to medical centers. These methodologies varied considerably. Concerned that network methodologies were not fully transparent to VA headquarters, in fiscal y... |
Under CERCLA, the parties responsible for releasing hazardous substances into the environment are liable for their cleanup. The cleanup of hazardous waste sites is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Superfund program, which is financed mainly by taxes on corporate income, crude oil, and... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed natural resource damage provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), focusing on: (1) the prospect for future claims by the federal government against polluters for natural resources damage; (2) the amount and use of ... |
Prior to the early 1970s, the federal government provided affordable multifamily housing to low- and moderate-income households by subsidizing the production of either privately owned housing or government-owned public housing. Under the production programs, the subsidy is tied to the unit (project-based), and tenants ... | The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has subsidized the development of over 23,000 properties by offering owners favorable long-term mortgage financing or rental assistance payments in exchange for owners' commitment to house low-income tenants. When owners pay off mortgages--the mortgages "mature"--th... |
The electricity industry is based on four distinct functions: generation, transmission, distribution, and system operations. (See fig. 1.) Once electricity is generated—whether by burning fossil fuels; through nuclear fission; or by harnessing wind, solar, geothermal, or hydro energy—it is sent through high-voltage, hi... | The electricity industry is in the midst of many changes, collectively referred to as restructuring, evolving from a highly regulated environment to one that places greater reliance on competition. This restructuring is occurring against a backdrop of constraints and challenges, including a shared responsibility for im... |
The NSSN program is intended to address the Joint Chiefs of Staff requirement for 10 to 12 new attack submarines with Seawolf level quieting by the year 2012 and to maintain future force structure goals. In funding the NSSN program, Congress expected the Navy to deliver a less costly submarine than its predecessor, the... | GAO reviewed: (1) the status of the new attack submarine (NSSN) development program; (2) current information on the antisubmarine warfare threat; and (3) the Navy's plans to model the NSSN's survivability. GAO noted that: (1) since modeling the NSSN's survivability in 1995, the Navy, because of technical and funding li... |
Strategic human capital management is receiving increased attention across the federal government. In January 2001, we designated strategic human capital management as a governmentwide high-risk area and continued this designation with the release of High-Risk Series: An Update in January 2003. Despite the considerable... | The federal government is in a period of profound transition and faces an array of challenges and opportunities to enhance performance, ensure accountability, and position the nation for the future. High-performing organizations have found that to successfully transform themselves, they must often fundamentally change ... |
SBIRS is intended to be a more capable successor to DSP and provide initial warning of a ballistic missile attack on the United States, its Once complete, the nominal SBIRS deployed forces, or its allies.constellation is to consist of two hosted HEO sensors and four GEO satellites. The GEO satellite constellation provi... | SBIRS is a key part of DOD's missile warning and defense systems. To replace the first two satellites currently on orbit, the Air Force plans to build two more with the same design as previous satellites. The basic SBIRS design is years old and some of its technology has become obsolete. To address obsolescence issues ... |
According to forum participants, nanomanufacturing is an emerging megatrend that will bring diverse societal benefits and new opportunities—potentially creating jobs through disruptive innovation. Further, nanomanufacturing has characteristics of a general purpose technology (GPT)—such as electricity or computers, or h... | Nanotechnology has been defined as the control or restructuring of matter at the atomic and molecular levels in the size range of about 1–100 nanometers (nm); 100 nm is about 1/1000th the width of a hair. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), begun in 2001 and focusing primarily on R&D, represents a cumula... |
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and gave it responsibility for visa policy. Section 428 of the act also authorized DHS to immediately assign personnel to Saudi Arabia to review all visa applications prior to final adjudication, as well as the future assignment of ... | The Homeland Security Act of 2002 required that the Department of Homeland Security's on-site personnel in Saudi Arabia review all visa applications. The act also authorized the expansion of the Visa Security Program to other embassies and consulates to provide expert advice and training to consular officers, among oth... |
During fiscal year 2006, DOD reported obligations of over $685 billion, the second largest amount reported by an executive branch entity. Of this, travel obligations were $8.46 billion for fiscal year 2006. Travel includes expenses such as air fare, lodging, per diem, and local transportation. Travel conducted by DOD r... | Fiscal year 2006 was the first year that the Department of Defense (DOD) reported improper payment information for its travel program under the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA). For fiscal year 2006, DOD reported obligations of approximately $8.5 billion for travel. Congress mandated that GAO assess the... |
DOD’s current space network is comprised of constellations of satellites, ground-based systems, and associated terminals and receivers. Among other things, these assets are used to perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance functions; perform missile warning; provide communication services to DOD and other ... | The Department of Defense is spending nearly $18 billion annually to develop, acquire, and operate satellites and other spacerelated systems. The majority of satellite programs that GAO has reviewed over the past 2 decades experienced problems that increased costs, delayed schedules, and increased performance risk. In ... |
Amtrak was created by the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 to operate and revitalize intercity passenger rail service. Prior to its creation, intercity passenger rail service was provided by private railroads, which had continually lost money, especially after World War II. The Congress gave Amtrak specific goals, in... | GAO discussed preliminary information from its ongoing work looking at Amtrak's progress in achieving operating self sufficiency, focusing on: (1) Amtrak's financial condition and progress toward self-sufficiency; (2) Amtrak's need for, and use of, capital funds; and (3) some of the factors that will play a role in Amt... |
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.