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In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, security experts have raised concerns that terrorists may try to smuggle radiological or nuclear materials into the United States to produce either an RDD or IND. These experts have also raised concerns that terrorists could obtain radioactive materials u... | A terrorist's use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or improvised nuclear device (IND) to release radioactive materials into the environment could have devastating consequences. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which the federal government is planning to fulfill its responsibilities to help cities and ... |
Almost all American workers are covered under Social Security, and in 2011, 55 million Americans are receiving Social Security benefits. The statement is a key tool for communicating with the public about these benefits and the long-term financial challenges the system faces. At present, the cost of Social Security ben... | The Social Security Statement (the statement) is the federal government's main document for communicating with more than 150 million workers about their Social Security benefits. Provided annually, it serves as a key financial literacy tool that can educate the public about Social Security Administration (SSA) program ... |
Each year, OMB and federal agencies work together to determine how much the government plans to spend on IT projects and how these funds are to be allocated. Planned federal IT spending has now risen to an estimated $79.4 billion for fiscal year 2011, a 1.2 percent increase from the 2010 level of $78.4 billion. OMB pla... | Federal IT spending has risen to an estimated $79 billion for fiscal year 2011. To improve transparency and oversight of this spending, in June 2009 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) deployed a public website, known as the IT Dashboard, which provides information on federal agencies' major IT investments, inclu... |
EO 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, requires that all federal agencies take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to their programs and services for people with LEP. DOJ has issued guidance that spells out four factors agencies need to consider in determining whet... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) faces challenges in bridging language and cultural barriers as it seeks to provide quality health care services to an increasingly diverse veteran population in terms of race, ethnicity, sex, and age. To meet the needs of veterans with limited English proficiency (LEP), VA issued... |
The basic goal of the elections system in the United States is straightforward: All eligible persons, but only eligible persons, should be able to cast their votes and, if such votes have been properly cast by the voters, have those votes counted accurately. Faith in the fairness and accuracy of the U.S. election syste... | The 2004 general election was the first presidential election that tested substantial changes states made to their election systems since the 2000 election, including some changes required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). HAVA required some major changes in the nation's elections processes, not all which ha... |
Given DOD’s difficulties in achieving audit readiness and addressing its long-standing financial management deficiencies, you asked us to assess DOD’s risk management process for implementing its FIAR Plan. Our objective was to determine the extent to which DOD has established an effective process for identifying, anal... | The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2010 mandated that DOD's consolidated financial statements be validated as audit ready by September 30, 2017. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 further mandated that DOD's General Fund Statement of Budgetary Resources be audit ready by the end of fiscal year 2014... |
In general, safeguards are temporary import restrictions that provide an opportunity for domestic industries to adjust to increasing imports. Both the WTO Agreement on Safeguards and article XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade establish general rules for the application of safeguard measures. Safeguard ac... | In joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001, China agreed to a number of mechanisms to allow other WTO members to address disruptive import surges from that country. Among these was a transitional product-specific safeguard. In general, safeguards are temporary import restrictions of limited duration... |
No one commonly accepted definition of SWFs exists, although the feature of a government-controlled or government-managed pool of assets is a part of most definitions. Government officials and private researchers use varying characteristics to categorize SWFs, and depending on the source and primary defining characteri... | Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are government-controlled funds that seek to invest in other countries. With new funds being created and many growing rapidly, some see these funds providing valuable capital to world markets, but others are concerned that the funds are not transparent and could be used to further national ... |
Amtrak was established by the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970, after the nation’s railroads found passenger service unprofitable. It operates a 22,000-mile passenger rail system over 43 routes. (See fig. 1.) Amtrak owns 650 miles of track, primarily in the Northeast Corridor, which runs between Boston, Massachusetts... | In light of its continuing financial deterioration and its stated goal of eliminating federal operating assistance by December 2002, Amtrak undertook several steps to improve its financial condition, including changing in its routes and services. Amtrak has been unsuccessful in implementing its Network Growth Strategy ... |
The FSM, the Marshall Islands, and Palau are among the smallest countries in the world. In 2008, the three FAS had a combined resident population of approximately 179,000—104,000 in the FSM, 54,000 in the Marshall Islands, and 21,000 in Palau. Under the compacts of free association, citizens of the FAS are exempt from ... | U.S. compacts with the FAS permit those three countries' citizens to migrate to the United States and its territories (U.S. areas) without regard to visa and labor certification requirements. Thousands of FAS citizens have migrated to U.S. areas (compact migrants)—particularly to Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI. In fiscal y... |
The Forest Service’s mission includes sustaining the nation’s forests and grasslands; managing the productivity of those lands for the benefit of citizens; conserving open space; enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities; and conducting research and development in the biological, physical, and social sciences. The age... | In the early 2000s, the Forest Service, within the Department of Agriculture, centralized the operations of three major business services: (1) budget and finance, (2) human resources management, and (3) information technology. The agency's goals in centralizing these services, which were previously delivered by staff i... |
Under the Stafford Act, FEMA may provide temporary housing units (such as travel trailers and mobile homes) directly to disaster victims who are unable to make use of financial assistance to rent alternate housing accommodations because of a lack of available housing resources. The act limits this direct assistance to ... | Hurricane Katrina destroyed or damaged 134,000 homes and 10,000 rental units in Mississippi alone. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in part responded by providing displaced individuals with temporary housing in the form of mobile homes and travel trailers, placed on both private property and at FEMA-const... |
Congressional concerns that banks and thrifts (institutions) were not adequately responsive to credit needs of the communities they served, including low- and moderate-income areas, prompted the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1977. The act requires each federal bank and thrift regulator—the Federal ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the major problems in implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), focusing on the: (1) extent to which regulatory reforms address these problems; (2) challenges regulators face in ensuring the success of CRA reforms; and (3) initiatives taken to enhance lending o... |
Even though FAA has increased security procedures as the threat has increased, the domestic and international aviation systems continue to have numerous vulnerabilities. According to information provided by the intelligence community, FAA makes judgments about the threat and decides which procedures would best address ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed aviation security, focusing on: (1) vulnerabilities in the aviation security system; (2) the availability and limitations of explosives detection technology; and (3) efforts under way to improve aviation security. GAO noted that: (1) the Federal Aviation Administration... |
Dramatic increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, continue to revolutionize the way our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. The benefits have been enormous. Vast amounts of information are now literally at our fingertips, facilitating re... | Computerized control systems perform vital functions across many of our nation's critical infrastructures. For example, in natural gas distribution, they can monitor and control the pressure and flow of gas through pipelines. In October 1997, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection emphasized t... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to be here today to discuss the U.S. Census Bureau’s preparations and operational plans for its dress rehearsal for the 2000 Census, which is currently under way at three sites: Sacramento, CA; 11 counties in the Columbia, SC, area; and Menominee County in Wisc... | GAO discussed the Census Bureau's preparations and operational plans for its dress rehearsal for the 2000 Census, focusing on the progress that the Bureau has made since July 1997. GAO noted that: (1) the dress rehearsal for the 2000 Census is currently under way at three sites: (a) Sacramento, California; (b) 11 count... |
Microelectronics focuses on the study and manufacture of micro devices, such as silicon integrated circuits, which are fabricated in submicron dimensions and form the basis of all electronic products. In DOD research, microelectronics extends beyond silicon integrated circuits and cuts across scientific disciplines suc... | The Department of Defense's (DOD) ability to provide superior capabilities to the warfighter is dependent on its ability to incorporate rapidly evolving, cutting-edge microelectronic devices into its defense systems. While many commercial microelectronics advances apply to defense systems, DOD has some unique microelec... |
Wildland fires triggered by lightning are both natural and inevitable and play an important ecological role on the nation’s landscapes. These fires shape the composition of forests and grasslands, periodically reduce vegetation densities, and stimulate seedling regeneration and growth in some species. Over the past cen... | The nation's wildland fire problems have worsened dramatically over the past decade, with more than a doubling of average annual acreage burned and federal appropriations for wildland fire management. The deteriorating fire situation has led the agencies responsible for managing wildland fires on federal lands--the For... |
The Department of Defense (DOD) spends about $8 billion annually to provide housing for families of active-duty military personnel. Seeking to provide military families with access to adequate, affordable housing, DOD either pays a cash allowance for families to live in private-sector housing or provides housing by ass... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) military family housing program to determine whether the program: (1) is cost-effective; and (2) provides equal housing benefits to all military families. GAO found that: (1) DOD reliance on private-sector housing to meet military famil... |
DOD inventory control points are responsible for managing insurance items. We performed our review at the Aviation Supply Office (ASO), one of two Navy inventory control points, and the Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC), one of six DLA inventory control points. As of March 1994, ASO managed insurance inventories ... | GAO reviewed the Navy's and the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) management of their spare parts and supplies inventories, focusing on whether their insurance stocks are limited to: (1) mission-essential parts; and (2) one replacement unit as required by Department of Defense (DOD) regulations. GAO found that: (1) the ... |
Despite the increasing importance of a high school education, only an estimated two thirds of students graduate from high schools nationwide. Students in certain subgroups, such as the economically disadvantaged and certain racial and ethnic groups, have historically graduated from high school at substantially lower ra... | About one third of students entering high school do not graduate and face limited job prospects. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states to use graduation rates to measure how well students are being educated. To assess the accuracy of states' graduation rates and to review programs that may increase these... |
Under EPCA, as amended, covered product and equipment categories may need one or two rulemakings for the following reasons: Most often, if Congress established a standard in the law, DOE must publish a rule revising the standard or explaining why a revision is not justified. Generally, such statutes require two rulemak... | The Department of Energy (DOE) sets energy efficiency standards through the rulemaking process for certain consumer product categories, such as kitchen ranges, and industrial equipment, such as distribution transformers. Congress reported in 2005 that DOE was late in setting standards and required DOE to report every 6... |
FTA’s New Starts program supports new or extensions to existing fixed- guideway transit capital projects, such as light rail, commuter rail, ferry, and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects. Sponsors of New Starts projects— those with a total cost of $250 million or more or a capital investment program contribution of $75 m... | The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Capital Investment Grant program funds, among other things, projects for fixed-guideway systems--often called New Starts projects. In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) established a category of lower-cost... |
During the 1970s, the Postal Service invested in data centers and mainframe computers to support administrative functions, such as personnel, accounting, and payroll processing. During the 1980s, the Service expanded its IT technology network to cover essentially all facets of postal operations. However, as networking ... | While the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rationalizes its infrastructure, it is weighing a proposal to close and sell its Information Technology (IT) center located in San Mateo, California. According to USPS, closing the IT center and selling the facility should save USPS about $74 million over the next 10 years and resul... |
In January 1999, INS issued its Interior Enforcement Strategy. This strategy focused resources on areas that would have the greatest impact on reducing the size and annual growth of the illegal resident population. Certain criteria were used to develop the priorities and activities of the strategy. The criteria focused... | Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration Interior Enforcement Strategy's implementation is now the responsibility of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE). This strategy was originally created by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). In the 1990s, INS developed a strategy to co... |
Securing transportation systems and facilities is complicated, requiring balancing security to address potential threats while facilitating the flow of people and goods. These systems and facilities are critical components of the U.S. economy and are necessary for supplying goods throughout the country and supporting i... | The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is developing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) to ensure that only workers that do not pose a terrorist threat are allowed to enter secure areas of transportation facilities. TSA completed TWIC program testing in June 2005 and is moving forward ... |
The Comptroller General convened this expert panel from the U.S. and abroad to advance a national dialogue on strengthening the use of risk management principles to better manage homeland security programs. The forum brought together a diverse array of experts from the public and private sectors, including, from the pu... | From the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to Hurricane Katrina, homeland security risks vary widely. The nation can neither achieve total security nor afford to protect everything against all risks. Managing these risks is especially difficult in today's environment of globalization, increasing security interde... |
The FBI, DHS, and DOD are responsible for managing and maintaining the following major biometric systems: (1) FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Established in July 1999 and managed by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services division, IAFIS is a national fingerprint and crimin... | Biometrics technologies that collect and facilitate the sharing of fingerprint records, and other identity data, are important to national security and federal agencies recognize the need to share such information. The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend $3.5 billion for fiscal years 2007 to 2015 on biometrics. ... |
Definitions vary somewhat, but for the purpose of this report, we define alternative jet fuels as drop-in liquid fuels that are derived from non- petroleum feedstocks, including renewable biomass (such as crop and tree residues, algae, or separated municipal solid waste) and some nonrenewable sources (such as natural g... | The federal government has encouraged the development and use of alternative fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with aviation and to enhance economic development and energy security for the United States. To help achieve these goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the aviation industry is activel... |
About 90 percent of the U.S. blood supply is collected by two suppliers— the American Red Cross and independent centers affiliated with ABC. Generally, suppliers collect, test, and process blood and sell it to health care providers. FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of the U.S. blood supply, which it does by i... | According to the American Association of Blood Banks, every year about 8 million individuals donate 14 million pints of blood, and 4.5 million patients receive life saving blood transfusions. The available data indicate that the blood supply has increased in the last 5 years and that growth has kept pace with the rise ... |
The United States Army is responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military. The modern Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed on June 14, 1775, before the establishment of the United States, to meet the demands of the American Rev... | The Defense Finance and Accounting Service-Indianapolis (DFAS-IN) reported that fiscal year 2010 active Army military payroll totaled $46.1 billion. However, for several years, GAO and others have reported continuing deficiencies with Army military payroll processes and controls, raising questions about the validity an... |
For most people and many pharmacies, filling a prescription is a matter of dispensing a commercially available drug product that has been manufactured in its final ready-to-use form. This has been particularly true in the United States since the rise of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. In addition to meeting fed... | Drug compounding--the process of mixing, combining, or altering ingredients--is an important part of the practice of pharmacy because there is a need for medications tailored to individual patient needs. Several recent compounding cases that resulted in serious illness and deaths have raised concern about oversight to ... |
Medicare’s prospective payment system (PPS) provides incentives for hospitals to operate efficiently by paying them a predetermined, fixed amount for each inpatient hospital stay, regardless of the actual costs incurred in providing the care. Although the fixed, or standardized, amount is based on national average cost... | This testimony discusses Medicare program payment adjustments to hospitals and physicians that account for geographic differences in costs. Because Medicare's hospital and physician payment systems are based on national rates, these geographic cost adjustments are essential to account for costs beyond providers' contro... |
The Mojave Desert tortoise is a relatively large reptile, with adults measuring up to 15 inches in shell length (see fig. 1). Desert tortoises live in creosote bush and Joshua tree habitats in valleys, plains, and washes at elevations generally ranging up to 4,000 feet above sea level. In these habitats, desert tortois... | Since the 1980s, biologists have been concerned about declines in the Mojave Desert Tortoise, which ranges through millions of acres in the western United States. The tortoise was first listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in Utah in 1980; it was later listed as threatened rangewide in 1990. ... |
In response to the growing threat of weapons of mass destruction, in December 2002 President Bush signed National Security Presidential Directive 23, which stated an initial ballistic missile defense capability to defend the United States and deployed forces should be deployed in 2004. Also in 2002, the Secretary of De... | The Department of Defense (DOD) has spent about $91 billion since the mid-1980s to develop a capability to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. In 2002, recognizing the new security environment after the September 11 attacks, President Bush directed that an initial set of defensive ballistic missile capabilities be put... |
STARS is a BMDO program managed by the U. S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command (SSDC). It began in 1985 in response to concerns that the supply of surplus Minuteman I boosters used to launch targets and other experiments on intercontinental ballistic missile flight trajectories in support of the Strategic Defens... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's (BMDO) Strategic Target System (STARS), focusing on the status of STARS, planned launches, costs, and the status of major hardware acquisition and refurbishment. GAO found that: (1) the Secretary of Defense's 1... |
Aviation weather refers to any type of weather that can affect the operation of an aircraft—anything from a brief delay in departure because of low visibility to a catastrophic accident during flight. For example, in March 1992, a USAir flight crashed during takeoff from La Guardia Airport in New York City, killing 27 ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to implement the weather-related recommendations made by the National Research Council (NRC) and FAA's advisory committee, focusing on: (1) policy and leadership; (2) interagency coordination; (3) meeting different typ... |
In passing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Congress sought to encourage individuals to save for retirement in tax-favored retirement arrangements. Traditionally, account owners participating in these arrangements defer taxes on contributions to these accounts up to certain statutory limits,... | Federal law places few restrictions on the types of investments allowable in tax-favored retirement accounts, such as IRAs or employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. Recent federal and state investigations and litigation have raised questions as to whether investing in unconventional assets may jeopardize the accounts' tax-fa... |
According to AOC, the entire base project is about 60 percent complete. Except for some punch-list items, such as fixing water leaks, construction work under the sequence 1 contract is now complete. This work includes the basic structure, the truck and Library of Congress tunnels, and the East Front interface. AOC and ... | Approved in the late 1990s, the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is the largest project on the Capitol grounds in over 140 years. Its purposes are to provide greater security for all persons working in or visiting the U.S. Capitol and to enhance the educational experience of visitors who have come to learn about Congress a... |
Our objective was to assess IRS’ performance during the 1997 filing season, with particular emphasis on those areas that were identified as problematic in our reviews of past filing seasons. To achieve our objective, we interviewed IRS National Office officials and IRS officials in the Atlanta, Cincinnati, Fresno, and ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) performance during the 1997 tax filing season, focusing on: (1) the ability of taxpayers seeking answers to questions to reach IRS via the telephone; (2) the number of returns filed by means other than the traditional paper method; (... |
DHS satisfied or partially satisfied each of the applicable legislative conditions specified in the appropriations act. In particular, the plan, including related program documentation and program officials’ statements, satisfied or provided for satisfying all key aspects of federal acquisition rules, requirements, gui... | The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program--the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)--to collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers, on selected foreign nationals who travel to the United States. By congressional mandate, DHS is to dev... |
In October 1992, the Congress established SAMHSA to strengthen the nation’s health care delivery system for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental illnesses. SAMHSA has three centers that carry out its programmatic activities: the Center for Mental Health Services, the Center for Substance Abuse Pre... | The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the lead federal agency responsible for improving the quality and availability of prevention and treatment services for substance abuse and mental illness. The upcoming reauthorization review of SAMHSA will enable the Congress to examine the agen... |
To assess IRS’s 2008 filing season performance in the key filing season activities compared to goals and past performance, report on the effect of ESP, and highlight areas where IRS could expand use of MEA, we reviewed and analyzed IRS reports, testimonies, budget submissions, and other documents and data, including wo... | The tax filing season is when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has most of its contacts with taxpayers, answering questions and processing returns and refunds. The 2008 filing season was particularly challenging due to the unanticipated mandate to make economic stimulus payments. The filing season is also the start o... |
The U.S. air transportation structure is dominated by “hub-and-spoke” networks and by agreements between major airlines and their regional affiliates. Since the deregulation of U.S. commercial aviation in 1978, most major airlines have developed hub-and-spoke systems. For example, Northwest Airlines (Northwest) has hub... | Most major U.S. airlines began realizing net operating losses early in the 2001, and all of the major U.S. passenger carriers except Southwest Airlines reported losses for the year. Travelers throughout the nation shared in the difficulties. In October 2000, the typical or median small community that GAO analyzed had s... |
Each year, several million passengers travel on foreign airlines that have established code-share arrangements with U.S. air carriers. Code-sharing is a marketing arrangement in which an airline places its designator code on a flight operated by another airline and sells and issues tickets for that flight. On foreign c... | U.S. airlines are increasingly relying on code-share partnerships with foreign carriers to provide additional sources of revenue. Code-sharing is a marketing arrangement in which an airline places its designator code on a flight operated by another airline and sells and issues tickets for that flight. To determine whet... |
The Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998 (Strategy Act) required the President—acting through the Secretary of the Treasury and in consultation with the Attorney General and other relevant federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory officials—to develop and submit an annual NMLS to th... | Money laundering provides the fuel for terrorists, drug dealers, arms traffickers, and other criminals to operate and expand their activities. GAO focused on two issues. The first is whether the nation's annual National Money Laundering Strategy has served as a useful mechanism for guiding federal law enforcement effor... |
The Park Service’s mission has dual objectives. On one hand, the agency is to provide for the public’s enjoyment of the resources that have been entrusted to its care. This objective involves providing for the use of the parks by supplying appropriate visitor services (such as campgrounds and visitor centers) and infra... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the process used by the National Park Service to develop budgets and establish operating priorities; (2) the limitations, if any, of the agency's priority-setting processes at a sample of parks; (3) what, if any, implications the Government Performance and Results ... |
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (NDAA) directed DOD to establish centers of excellence for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the NDAA described responsibilities for the centers, it did not specify where the centers should be located within the DOD organizati... | The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 established the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCOE) in January 2008 to develop excellence in prevention, outreach, and care for service members with psychological health (PH) conditions and traumatic brain i... |
The purpose of DOD’s Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program, as established in statute, is to provide incentives to major DOD contractors to furnish eligible disadvantaged small business concerns with assistance designed to (1) enhance the capabilities of eligible disadvantaged small business concerns to perform as subcontractor... | DOD's Pilot Mentor-Protégé Program, was first authorized as a pilot program in 1990, and has been repeatedly renewed as a pilot program, most recently through September 30, 2018. For fiscal year 2016, total funding for this program was $28.3 million. The joint explanatory statement to accompany the National Defense Aut... |
Figure 1 provides an overview of CBP organizational components that had prime contractor invoice review, approval, and payment responsibilities under the original SBInet program. CBP’s Contracting Division, which is part of the Office of Administration Procurement Directorate’s Enterprise Contracting Office, was assign... | In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated a multibillion-dollar contract to secure part of the nation's borders, the Secure Border Initiative (SBI). At that time, SBI was to include a single solution technology component; SBInet. DHS assigned the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responsibilit... |
The 2000 and 2002 wildland fire seasons proved to be two of the worst in over 50 years. During the 2000 fire season, almost 123,000 fires burned more than 8.4 million acres and cost the federal government over $1.3 billion. In 2002, almost 89,000 fires burned about 7 million acres, an area larger than the states of Mar... | The federal fire community's decades old policy of suppressing wildland fires as soon as possible has caused a dangerous increase in vegetation density in our nation's forests. This density increase combined with severe drought over much of the United States has created a significant threat of catastrophic wildfires. I... |
The nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile remains a cornerstone of U.S. national security policy. As a result of changes in arms control, arms reduction, and nonproliferation policies, the President and the Congress in 1993 directed that a science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program be developed to maintain the stockpile ... | As a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) administers the Stockpile Life Extension Program, whose purpose is to extend, through refurbishment, the operational lives of the weapons in the nuclear stockpile. NNSA encountered significant man... |
Traditionally, the Service’s local post offices deposited their daily remittances of coin, cash, and checks in accounts with local banks. Before 1997, according to the Service’s Assistant Treasurer for Banking, the thousands of individual retail postal units deposited their daily remittances in some 9,300 bank accounts... | In fiscal year 2001, the United States Postal Service reported that it lost about $6.3 million in remittances (cash and checks) to robberies, internal theft, and mishandling. One particular loss--a June 2001 theft of over $3.2 million from a Phoenix, Arizona, postal facility by a Career Service employee--received consi... |
The JSF program is a joint program between the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for developing and producing next-generation fighter aircraft to replace aging inventories. The program is currently in year 3 of an estimated 11-year development phase. The current estimated cost for this phase is about $40.5 billion. In ... | As the Department of Defense's (DOD) most expensive aircraft program, and its largest international program, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has the potential to significantly affect the worldwide defense industrial base. As currently planned, it will cost an estimated $245 billion for DOD to develop and procure about 2... |
Select agent regulations do not mandate that specific perimeter security controls be present at BSL-4 labs, resulting in a significant difference in perimeter security between the nation’s five labs. According to the regulations, each lab must implement a security plan that is sufficient to safeguard select agents agai... | Biosafety laboratories are primarily regulated by either the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), depending on whether the substances they handle pose a threat to the health of humans or plants, animals, and related products, respectively. Currently, all operationa... |
Before restructuring, electric service was provided primarily by federal- and state-regulated investor-owned electric utilities. A utility typically owned the power plants, transmission system, and local distribution lines that supplied electricity to all of the consumers in a geographic area. Under this system, the Fe... | Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have restructured electricity markets by shifting from service provided through a regulated monopoly to service provided through open competition among the local utilities and their competitors. The restructuring was intended to boost competition and expand consumer choic... |
The gross tax gap is an estimate of the difference between the taxes— including individual income, corporate income, employment, estate, and excise taxes—that should have been paid voluntarily and on time and what was actually paid for a specific year. Of the estimated $345 billion tax gap for tax year 2001, IRS estima... | Taxes are necessary because they fund the services provided by government. Several years ago, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimated that the gross tax gap--the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid on time--was $345 billion for 2001. In the face of large and growing deficits, it is important to seek out p... |
VHA provides health care services to veterans at VHA’s 152 VAMCs and associated outpatient clinics. Such care can include providing surgical implants, where required—including biological implants, such as skin grafts, and non-biological implants, such as cardiac pacemakers.Surgeons and other clinicians at VAMCs determi... | VHA spending on surgical implants--such as stents and bone and skin grafts--has increased to about $563 million in fiscal year 2012. Clinicians at VAMCs determine veterans' needs and request implant purchases either from a contract or from the open market (i.e., not from an existing contract). VHA requirements--which i... |
In January 2013, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2013 was enacted into law. Section 955 of the act required the Secretary of Defense to: develop and implement a plan to achieve savings in the total funding for civilian and contractor workforces that are not less, as a percentage, than savings in funding for basic military per... | With long-term fiscal challenges likely to continue, DOD must operate strategically and efficiently, to include cost-effective management of its human capital. Section 955 of the NDAA for FY 2013 requires DOD to, among other things, develop and implement a plan to achieve savings in total funding for civilian and contr... |
Factors commonly used to evaluate tax policy in general can be applied to decisions of whether and how to extend expiring tax provisions, including tax expenditure provisions. The factors, listed in table 1 and discussed below, may also be relevant to evaluating other policy tools, such as spending programs or regulati... | GAO was asked to discuss the extension of tax provisions, sometimes called tax extenders, that either expired in 2011 or are scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. For a prior hearing of this subcommittee, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) prepared a document detailing 64 expiring tax provisions. Most of these pro... |
The FBI serves as the primary investigative unit of the Department of Justice. The FBI’s mission responsibilities include investigating serious federal crimes, protecting the nation from foreign intelligence and terrorist threats, and assisting other law enforcement agencies. Approximately 12,500 special agents and 18,... | The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently began a 6-year, $425 million program called Sentinel to replace and expand on both its failed Virtual Case File (VCF) project and its antiquated, paper-based, legacy system for supporting mission-critical intelligence analysis and investigative case management activiti... |
Agencies reported improper payment estimates of almost $55 billion in their fiscal year 2007 PARs or annual reports, an increase from the fiscal year 2006 estimate of about $41 billion. The reported increase was primarily attributable to a component of the Medicaid program reporting improper payment estimates for the f... | The federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and is responsible for safeguarding those funds against improper payments and recouping those funds when improper payments occur. The Congress enacted the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPI... |
Under NCLBA, states are required to hold their Title I schools accountable for students’ performance by developing academic standards and tests, measuring student proficiency in certain grades and subjects, and determining whether schools are meeting proficiency goals. Schools that have not met state established goals ... | Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), the federal government provides millions of dollars annually to assist schools that have not met state academic goals. In the 2006-2007 school year, over 10,000 such schools were identified for improvement. NCLBA requires states to set aside 4 percent of their Title I funds t... |
The services’ O&M appropriation gives them the funds to carry out day-to-day activities, such as recruiting and fielding a trained and ready force, equipment maintenance and repair, child care and family centers, transportation services, civilian personnel management and pay, and maintaining the infrastructure to suppo... | GAO reviewed how the Army and Air Force obligated their annual operation and maintenance (O&M) funds. GAO found that; (1) the services have a great deal of flexibility as to how they use their O&M funds; (2) this flexibility is evident in the O&M obligation trends, which illustrate that the proposed uses of O&M identif... |
The Bureau’s budget for real estate appraisals of Indian trust land is about $4.1 million for fiscal year 1999, and the agency estimates that approximately 27,000 appraisals will be completed this year. The Bureau does not maintain data on the number of appraisals that are prepared for leases, but appraisal logs from f... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Indian Affairs' methods of establishing the lease value of Indian land, focusing on: (1) how the Bureau uses appraisals and other methods to establish the lease value of Indian land; (2) how its appraisal methods compare to those of other federal and sta... |
The speed, functionality, and accessibility that create the enormous benefits of the computer age can, if not properly controlled, allow individuals and organizations to easily eavesdrop on or interfere with computer operations from remote locations for mischievous or malicious purposes, including fraud or sabotage. As... | Computer networks and infrastructures, on which the United States and much of the world rely to communicate and conduct business, contain vulnerabilities that can leave them susceptible to unauthorized access, disruption, or attack. Investing in research and development (R&D) is essential to protect critical systems an... |
USSTRATCOM’s global missions provide a wide range of capabilities that are intended to respond to a dramatically changing security environment brought about by emerging global, transregional, and asymmetric threats to U.S. national security. Unlike the command’s nuclear deterrence and space operations missions, the com... | In 2002, the President and Secretary of Defense called for the creation of the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to anticipate and counter global threats. Currently, USSTRATCOM has responsibility for seven mission areas including nuclear deterrence and integrated missile defense. GAO was asked to determine t... |
Medicare’s payments in MSP situations can vary depending on the circumstances of the situation. CMS oversees all MSP activities and administers the MSP program, with contractors performing most of CMS’s administrative activities within the process for MSP situations involving NGHPs. The process for MSP situations that ... | The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for protecting Medicares fiscal integrity. Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) situations exist when Medicare is a secondary payer to other insurers, including non-group health plans (NGHP), which include auto or other liability insurance, no-fault insurance... |
Federal, state, and local government agencies have differing roles with regard to public health emergency preparedness and response. The federal government conducts a variety of activities, including developing interagency response plans, increasing state and local response capabilities, developing and deploying federa... | Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax incidents, there has been concern about the ability of the federal government to prepare for and coordinate an effective public health response given the broad distribution of responsibility for that task at the federal level. More then 20 fe... |
Between 1968 and 1988, the federal government required states to operate various programs designed to help AFDC recipients get jobs. However, these programs were criticized because they served too few AFDC recipients, focused on the most employable, and did little to reduce welfare dependence. Dissatisfied with the wel... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the progress the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program has made in: (1) serving a larger portion of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients; and (2) ensuring that JOBS participants obtain employment and leave AFDC. GAO found ... |
Many federal agencies fund research to serve their goals and objectives. For example, NIH, the largest source of federal support for nondefense research, is the federal focal point for medical and behavioral research to help extend healthy life and reduce illness and disability. Each of the 27 institutes and centers th... | An institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and an office in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) entered into collaborative arrangements with the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to support research on the health effects of chemical exposures. NIH accepted a gift from ACC to help fund the research. EP... |
Established by the Communications Act, FCC is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The Telecommunications Act, which substantially revised the Communications Act, established that FCC should promote competition and reduce regulation to sec... | The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established that FCC should promote competition and reduce regulation to secure lower prices and higher-quality services... |
Section 8 rental housing assistance, managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is the main form of federal housing assistance for low-income tenants. In fiscal year 1997, it had expenditures totaling $16.4 billion. Under the Section 8 program, residents in subsidized units generally pay 30 perce... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) systems for budgeting and accounting for Section 8 rental assistance funds, focusing on whether the systems ensure that unexpended Section 8 project-based funds do not reach unreasonable levels and that obligatio... |
Over the last 50 years, the composition of the American household has changed dramatically. During this period, the proportion of unmarried individuals in the population increased steadily as couples chose to marry at later ages and cohabit prior to marriage—and as divorce rates rose (see fig. 1). From 1960 to 2010, th... | Over the past 50 years, poverty rates among older Americans have declined dramatically, in large part due to the availability and expansion of Social Security benefits. Social Security is now the most common type of income for retirees. Social Security retirement benefits are available not only to those who qualify bas... |
U.S. relations with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands began during World War II, when the United States ended Japanese occupation of the region. The United States administered the region under a United Nations trusteeship beginning in 1947. The four states of the FSM voted in a 1978 referendum to become an independen... | In 2003, the United States signed Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), amending a 1986 compact with the countries. The amended compacts provide the countries with a combined total of $3.6 billion from 2004 to 2023, with the annual gra... |
Of VA’s $48.8 billion budget in fiscal year 2001, $20.9 billion was for carrying out its four health care missions. Its first, most visible health care mission is to provide medical care for veterans. VA operates a national health system of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other facilities that provide a broad spe... | In the event of a domestic terrorist attack or other major disasters, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to provide backup medical resources to the military health system and local communities. VA now assists other federal agencies that have lead responsibility for responding to disasters, including terrorism. ... |
In 1968, the Congress added Section 242 to the National Housing Act establishing the Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program to address a serious shortage of hospitals and the need for existing hospitals to expand and renovate. Through this program, FHA insures the loans lenders make for the construction and renovation of ... | Under its Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures nearly $5 billion in mortgage loans for the renovation or construction of hospitals that would otherwise have difficulty accessing capital. In response to a requirement in ... |
Most Army cardholders properly used their travel cards and paid amounts owed to Bank of America promptly. However, we found that the Army's delinquency rate is higher than any other DOD component or executive branch agency in the federal government. As shown in figure 1, for the eight quarters ending March 31, 2002, th... | In fiscal year 2001, the Army had 430,000 individually billed travel card accounts, and about $619 million in related charges. Most Army cardholders properly used their travel cards and promptly paid amounts owed. However, the Army's delinquency rate is higher than any other Department of Defense (DOD) component or exe... |
Many businesses, including corporations, partnerships, and any business that has employees, are required to request an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from IRS to be used in filing returns. Entities that must file business returns include corporations, partnerships, trusts, estates of decedents, and government age... | The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not know how many businesses failed to file required returns, nor does it have an estimate of the associated lost tax revenue--the business nonfiling tax gap. Many cases it does investigate are unproductive because the business does not owe the return IRS expects. GAO was asked t... |
Today, the Social Security program does not face an immediate crisis, but it does face a long-range financing problem driven primarily by known demographic trends that is growing rapidly. While the crisis is not immediate, the challenge is more urgent than it may appear. Acting soon to address these problems reduces th... | Social Security is the foundation of the nation's retirement income system, helping to protect the vast majority of American workers and their families from poverty in old age. However, it is much more than a retirement program and also provides millions of Americans with disability insurance and survivors' benefits. O... |
Since 1955, the executive branch has encouraged federal agencies to obtain commercially available goods and services from the private sector when the agency determines that it is cost-effective. In 1966, OMB formalized this policy in its Circular A-76 and, in 1979, issued a handbook with procedures for determining whet... | In August 2001, the administration announced competitive sourcing as one of five initiatives in the President's Management Agenda. Under competitive sourcing, federal agencies open their commercial activities to competition among public and private sector sources. While competitive sourcing is expected to encourage inn... |
Used only sparingly in past military operations, UAVs are now making national headlines as they are used in ways normally reserved for manned aircraft. UAVs come in a variety of sizes and configurations, ranging from as small as an insect to as large as a small commercial airliner. In our work, we focused on mini, tact... | The global use of UAVs has increased significantly over time, raising concerns about their proliferation. MTCR and Wassenaar are the multilateral regimes that address UAV proliferation. MTCR seeks to limit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction delivery systems, while Wassenaar seeks to limit the spread of ce... |
Since passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), more than 40 years ago, the Congress has sought to improve student learning through several initiatives. Current legislation, NCLBA, builds upon previous legislation—the IASA—by adding provisions meant to strengthen accountability requirements ... | Under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), districts and schools must demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all students. Because schools may spend more time improving students' academic skills to meet NCLBA's requirements, some are concerned that arts education might be cut back. To determine how, if at all,... |
During the past several years, we have visited over 75 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics to assess operating policies, procedures, and practices. These efforts have resulted in a wide range of recommended actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the VA system. Some of these actions involve ways to restr... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) health care system, focusing on ways that VA could: (1) operate more efficiently; (2) reduce the resources needed to meet veterans' health care needs; and (3) reorganize its health care system and create efficiency... |
Federal agencies and our nation’s critical infrastructures—such as energy, transportation systems, communications, and financial services— are dependent on computerized (cyber) information systems and electronic data to carry out operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information. Federal and nonfede... | Cyber-based intrusions and attacks on federal systems and systems supporting our nation's critical infrastructure, such as communications and financial services, have become more numerous, damaging, and disruptive. GAO first designated information security as a government-wide high-risk area in 1997. This was expanded ... |
VA provides health care services nationwide through a direct delivery system of 172 hospitals, 365 outpatient clinics, and 128 nursing homes. In addition to operating its own nursing homes, VA pays for care provided to veterans by community and state veterans’ nursing homes. VA’s goal is to have 40 percent of those vet... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) plans to provide accessible medical and other services to veterans in East Central Florida, focusing on: (1) VA acquisition of the former Orlando Naval Hospital; (2) whether the conversion of the hospital to a nursing home is the... |
To help respond quickly to crises overseas, the military services store, or preposition, military equipment and supplies on land and on ships near potential conflict areas. With these stocks prepositioned near danger spots, U.S. response times to a crisis are shortened, since only the troops and a relatively modest amo... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the readiness of the Department of Defense (DOD) prepositioning programs, focusing on the: (1) basis for the program requirements; and (2) rates of inventory fill and maintenance condition of prepositioned stocks and the reliability of this readiness data. GAO noted tha... |
SSA provides financial assistance to eligible individuals through three major benefit programs: Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)—provides retirement benefits to older workers and their families and to survivors of deceased workers. Disability Insurance (DI)—provides benefits to eligible workers who have qualifyin... | SSA is responsible for providing benefits and services that affect the lives of nearly every American. In calendar year 2012, SSA paid over 62 million people more than $826 billion in Social Security retirement and disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments. However, SSA faces increased workloads and... |
The Forest Service, created in 1905, manages about 192 million acres of land that include about one-fifth of the nation’s forest lands. The Organic Administration Act of 1897 and the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 guide the management of these lands. The Forest Service is to manage its lands under the princip... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Forest Service's management of national forests, focusing on the issues related to multiple use of forest land. GAO noted that: (1) the Forest Service's decisions are affected by changing natural land conditions, funding, and new information and event... |
After the Peru accident, a joint investigation by the United States and Peru reviewed the circumstances of the accident and made several conclusions. The investigation team was comprised of U.S. representatives from the Departments of State and Defense, as well as Peruvian officials from its Ministries of Foreign Affai... | In the 1990s, the United States operated a program in Colombia and Peru called Air Bridge Denial (ABD). The ABD program targeted drug traffickers that transport illicit drugs through the air by forcing down suspicious aircraft, using lethal force if necessary. The program was suspended in April 2001 when a legitimate c... |
VHA provides a broad range of primary and specialized health care, as well as related medical and social support services through a network of more than 1,200 medical facilities. In carrying out its responsibilities, VHA uses “miscellaneous obligations” to obligate (or administratively reserve) estimated funds against ... | In September 2008, GAO reported internal control weaknesses over the Veteran Health Administration's (VHA) use of $6.9 billion in miscellaneous obligations in fiscal year 2007. In November 2009, GAO reported on deficiencies in corrective action plans to remediate financial reporting control deficiencies. This testimony... |
Federal agencies reported improper payments of an estimated $125.4 billion in fiscal year 2010. This estimate represents about 5.5 percent of the $2.3 trillion of reported outlays for the related programs in fiscal year 2010. The $125.4 billion estimate is an increase of $16.2 billion from federal agencies’ prior year ... | GAO's work over the past several years has highlighted long-standing, widespread, and significant problems with improper payments in the federal government. Fiscal year 2010 marked the 7th year of implementation of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA). IPIA requires executive-branch agencies to identify... |
The Veterans’ Education Assistance Act of 1984 created the current Montgomery GI bill program. Under the GI bill program (Title 38 United States Code Chapter 30), veterans who have met their duty obligation and were honorably discharged are eligible to receive GI benefits. Active-duty personnel are also eligible to use... | The Montgomery GI Bill provides a monthly stipend to pay postsecondary education expenses for veterans and eligible service members. Concerns have been raised about whether GI benefits adequately cover educational costs and whether the receipt of GI benefits affects other federal financial assistance available to posts... |
DOD provides information to the public about its animal use projects through two main sources—an annual report to the Congress and the BRD. The annual report to the Congress provides information in a summary form on animal use activities, including numbers and types of animals used, general purposes for which animals w... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined several issues related to the Department of Defense's (DOD) administration of its animal research programs, focusing on: (1) the extent to which DOD's research using animals addresses validated military objectives, does not unnecessarily duplicate work done elsewhere, a... |
As of December 2004, IRS classified approximately $7.7 billion in delinquent tax debt as potentially available for private debt collection— $5.5 billion in low-priority work and $2.2 billion that was not likely to be assigned to IRS employees for collection. In the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, Congress authorize... | Every year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not collect tens of billions of dollars in delinquent taxes. In 2004, Congress authorized IRS to use private collection agencies (PCA) to help collect some of these debts. To ensure that taxpayers are treated properly and that the program achieves the desired results, ... |
APA outlines the process for informal rulemaking, commonly referred to as notice-and-comment rulemaking. APA includes six broad categorical exceptions to this process, including, for example, rules dealing with agency organization and procedure (see sidebar). 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(B). Agencies may also find “good cause” to... | Agencies publish thousands of rules each year, with significant benefits and costs. Before issuing a final rule, agencies are generally required to publish an NPRM in the Federal Register. Agencies must then respond to public comments when issuing final rules. Agencies may use exceptions in certain circumstances to for... |
As part of Congress’ efforts to improve the availability of information on and management of services acquisitions, it enacted Section 801 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, which required the Secretary of Defense to establish a data-collection system to provide management information with ... | The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on contractors to perform myriad functions, which can offer benefits and flexibility for DOD. GAO's work has shown that reliance on contractors to support core missions, however, can place the government at risk of transferring government responsibilities to contractors. In April ... |
The Navy comprises a very significant amount of total DOD operations. It accounted for 31 percent, or $78 billion, of DOD’s fiscal year 1994 gross budget authority; controls about 50 percent, or a reported half trillion dollars in DOD’s assets, including 540 ships and over 5,200 aircraft; and employs over one million c... | GAO reviewed the Navy's fiscal year (FY) 1994 consolidated financial reports, focusing on how the Navy and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) can: (1) improve the credibility of the Navy's FY 1995 financial reports; and (2) enhance their ability to prepare the Navy's FY 1996 annual financial statements. ... |
Autism—a complex and pervasive developmental disability—usually becomes evident in early childhood, although signs and symptoms vary.According to CDC, autism begins before age 3 and lasts throughout a person’s life. Some children show signs of autism within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms might not ap... | CDC considers autism to be an important public health concern. In 2012, CDC reported that an estimated 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified as having autisma 23 percent increase from its estimate of 1 in 110 reported in 2009. Autism is a developmental disorder involving communication and social im... |
Approximately 88,000 miles in length, the nation’s marine coastline is composed of a variety of coastal ecosystem types (see fig. 1). The potential effects of climate change on these ecosystems are complex and often difficult to predict, according to the 2014 National Climate Assessment. For example, climate scientists... | Coastal areas—home to over half of the U.S. population—are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic damage from floods and other extreme weather events that are expected to become more common and intense, according to the 2014 Third National Climate Assessment. This assessment further indicated that less acute effects f... |
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.