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Each year, OMB and federal agencies work together to determine how much the government plans to spend on IT investments and how these funds are to be allocated. In fiscal year 2011, government IT spending reported to OMB totaled approximately $79 billion. OMB plays a key role in helping federal agencies manage their in... | Each year the federal government spends billions of dollars on information technology (IT) investments. Given the importance of program oversight, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a public website, referred to as the IT Dashboard, that provides detailed information on about 800 federal IT investmen... |
Commuter rail is a type of public transit that is characterized by passenger trains operating on railroad tracks and providing regional service (e.g., between a central city and adjacent suburbs). Commuter rail systems are traditionally associated with older industrial cities, such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, an... | Commuter and freight rail services have the potential to play increasingly important roles in the nation's economy and transportation system as demand for these services increases. Because the cost of building new infrastructure can be costprohibitive, commuter rail agencies typically seek to use existing infrastructur... |
Multiple executive-branch agencies have key roles and responsibilities for different steps of the federal government’s personnel security clearance process. For example, in 2008, Executive Order 13467 designated the DNI as the Security Executive Agent. As such, the DNI is responsible for developing policies and procedu... | A high-quality personnel security clearance process is necessary to minimize the associated risks of unauthorized disclosures of classified information and to help ensure that information about individuals with criminal activity or other questionable behavior is identified and assessed as part of the process for granti... |
The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, is the primary body of law governing immigration and visa operations. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 generally grants DHS exclusive authority to issue regulations on, administer, and enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act and all other immigration and nation... | GAO reported in October 2002 that the visa process needed to be strengthened as an antiterrorism tool and recommended that the Secretary of State, in consultation with appropriate agencies, (1) develop a clear policy on the role of national security in the visa process, (2) create more comprehensive guidance on how con... |
The Small Business Act of 1953 created SBA, whose function is to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small businesses. The Act also stipulated that SBA would ensure small businesses a fair proportion of government contracts. The Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 amended the Small Busine... | The Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 directed the President to set a goal of awarding not less than 23 percent of the federal government's prime contracting dollars to small business for each fiscal year. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is charged with working with federal agencies to ensure that agen... |
Welfare reform in 1996 made sweeping changes to the national welfare policy, including a new emphasis on marriage as an area of societal and governmental concern. With the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Familie... | Strengthening marriages and relationships in low-income families has emerged as a national strategy for enhancing the well-being of children. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) appropriated $150 million in discretionary grants each year from 2006 through 2010 to implement the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fathe... |
The SSI program is administered by SSA. Claims representatives at SSA field offices are responsible for processing all applications and determining the amount of monthly SSI payments. SSI is a program based on need. The maximum monthly SSI benefit in 1996 was $470. Clients receive less than the maximum or become inelig... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) use of online access to state databases on income information to determine whether it could: (1) improve the administration of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program; (2) reduce overpayments; and (3) easily implement on... |
During the last 50 years, many analysts and researchers have raised concerns that cash-based budgeting does not provide complete information on the cost of some federal programs. Concerns that the cash-based budget badly distorted information on credit programs led to the inclusion of accrual-based costs in the budget ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the budget treatment of federal insurance programs to assess whether the current cash-based budget provides complete information on the government's cost and whether accrual concepts could be used to improve budgeting for these programs, focusing on: (1) potential appro... |
The United States imports substantial amounts of food. In 1993, the value of food imports from countries other than Canada amounted to about $21 billion. Similarly, the value of Canadian food imports from countries other than the United States totaled about $3.2 billion. The United States and Canada are concerned about... | GAO reviewed how the United States and Canada share information on and coordinate activities for shipments of unsafe imported foods, focusing on whether opportunities exist to make better use of limited inspection resources and thereby increase the likelihood that unsafe imported foods would be stopped from entering th... |
Several federal legislative and executive provisions support preparation for and response to emergency situations. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) primarily establishes the programs and processes for the federal government to provide major disaster and emergency as... | The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces the simultaneous challenges of preparing for the season and implementing the reorganization and other provisions of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. The Act stipulated major changes to FEMA tha... |
When the Congress enacted FACA in 1972, one of the principal concerns it was responding to was that certain special interests had too much influence over federal agency decision makers. In this act, the Congress articulated certain principles regarding advisory committees, including broad requirements for balance, inde... | Because advisory committees provide input to federal decision makers on significant national issues, it is essential that their membership be, and be perceived as being, free from conflicts of interest and balanced as a whole. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) was enacted in 1972, in part, because of concerns t... |
Following the Persian Gulf War, the Department of Defense (DOD) identified a number of problems with its deep attack weapons and suggested improvements designed to ensure target destruction with minimum casualties, delivery sorties, weapons, and unwanted collateral damage. In response, the services initiated a number o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Department of Defense's (DOD) major guided weapon programs, focusing on whether: (1) the services' plans for developing or procuring guided weapons can be carried out as proposed within relatively fixed defense budgets; (2) the number of guided weapons the services ... |
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 and Executive Order 12902 require federal agencies to reduce their consumption of energy in federal buildings. The act set a goal for the agencies of lowering their consumption (measured in British thermal units per square foot) by 20 percent below fiscal year 1985 levels by fiscal year 20... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the implementation of energy savings performance contracting by two federal civilian agencies, focusing on the: (1) characteristics of the firms that the Department of Energy (DOE) deemed qualified for performance contracts; (2) firms that submitted project proposals ... |
Federal funds for subsidizing child care for low-income families, particularly those on welfare, are primarily provided to the states through two block grants—CCDF and TANF. Within certain guidelines established by the block grants, states have discretion in deciding how these funds will support child care, including w... | Nationwide, states reported that federal and state expenditures for child care under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) block grant and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant grew from $4.1 billion in fiscal year 1997 to $6.9 billion in fiscal year 1999 and totaled over $16 billion in co... |
Addressing the Year 2000 problem is a tremendous challenge for the federal government. To meet this challenge and monitor individual agency efforts, OMB directed the major departments and agencies to submit quarterly reports on their progress, beginning May 15, 1997. These reports contain information on where agencies ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed federal agencies' progress in addressing the year 2000 computing challenge and outlined actions needed to ensure a smooth conversion to the next century, focusing on the: (1) status of the federal government's remediation of its mission-critical systems; (2) remaining ... |
Homeland security is a complex mission that involves a broad range of functions performed throughout government, including law enforcement, transportation, food safety and public health, information technology, and emergency management, to mention only a few. Federal, state, and local governments have a shared responsi... | The challenges posed by homeland security exceed the capacity and authority of any one level of government. Protecting the nation against these threats calls for a truly integrated approach, bringing together the resources of all levels of government. The proposed Department of Homeland Security will have a central rol... |
Sole proprietors are relatively numerous in terms of tax filers but small as measured by receipts. In 2003, the most recent year for which IRS data were available, sole proprietors constituted about 72 percent of all businesses in the United States, while earning about 5 percent of all business receipts. Sole proprieto... | Sole proprietors, who own unincorporated businesses by themselves, underreported their net income by 57 percent or $68 billion for 2001, according to the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) most recent estimate. The underreporting includes both understated receipts and overstated expenses and may result in losses that can... |
In our March 2014 report, we assessed OTIA’s schedules as of March 2013 for the IFT, RVSS, and MSC programs and found that these program schedules addressed some, but not all, best practices for scheduling. The Schedule Assessment Guide identifies 10 best practices associated with effective scheduling, which are summar... | This testimony summarizes the information contained in GAO's March 3, 2014 report, entitled Arizona Border Surveillance Technology Plan: Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Management and Assess Effectiveness , GAO-14-368 . The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) sched... |
Each heroin-producing region has a unique production process, or signature, which generally can be determined through chemical analyses. In the HSP, seized or purchased substances are forwarded to one of DEA’s regional laboratories, which confirms whether the substance is heroin. If the substance is confirmed to be her... | The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) runs two programs--the Heroin Signature Program and the Domestic Monitor Program--that provide information on trends in heroin trafficking. The only programs of their kind in this country, these two program conduct chemical analyses to pinpoint the geographic origin of heroin b... |
The use of information technology (IT) to electronically collect, store, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial health information has great potential to help improve the quality and efficiency of health care. Historically, patient health information has been scattered across paper records kept ... | VA and DOD operate two of the nation's largest health care systems-- systems that serve populations of veterans and active service members and their dependents. To better serve these populations, VA and DOD have been collaborating for about 15 years on a variety of initiatives to share data among the departments' healt... |
DOD is currently implementing several major force structure and basing initiatives that are expected to result in a large number of personnel movements and changes in the size and shape of its domestic installation infrastructure, most of which are expected to be completed by the end of 2011. First, under the 2005 BRAC... | The unprecedented growth at 26 military installations across the country due to the implementation of several concurrent Department of Defense (DOD) initiatives is expected to stress transportation needs for surrounding communities. The Defense Access Roads program, while small when compared to other transportation fun... |
Our preliminary results indicate that, in the absence of RAMP, FPS currently is not assessing risk at the over 9,000 federal facilities under the custody and control of GSA in a manner consistent with federal standards such as NIPP’s risk management framework, as FPS originally planned. According to this framework, to ... | FPS provides security and law enforcement services to over 9,000 federal facilities managed by the General Services Administration (GSA). GAO has reported that FPS faces challenges providing security services, particularly completing FSAs and managing its contract guard program. To address these challenges, FPS spent a... |
In 2009, approximately 156 million nonelderly individuals obtained health insurance through their employer and another 16.7 million purchased health insurance in the individual market. Of those with employer- sponsored group health plans, in 2009, 43 percent were covered under a fully insured plan where the employer pa... | The large percentage of Americans that rely on private health insurance for health care coverage could expand with enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010. Until PPACA is fully implemented, some consumers seeking coverage can have their applications for enrollment denied, and those e... |
The Head Start program, which is overseen by HHS’s Office of Head Start, performs its mission to promote school readiness and development among children from low-income families through its nearly 1,600 grantees. More specifically, Head Start grants are awarded directly to state and local public agencies, private nonpr... | In 2015, the Head Start child development program provided federal funds to local grantees that employed over 90,000 teachers. Some of these grantees run programs that do not run during the summer, and some teachers may, in turn, seek UI benefits to help meet expenses during that time. All states have laws generally pr... |
The National School Lunch Program was established in 1946 and the School Breakfast Program was established in 1975 to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches and breakfasts to children in participating schools. At the federal level, the programs are administered by USDA’s FNS. At the state level, the N... | In fiscal year 2013, 30.7 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program and 13.2 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program, partly funded by $14.6 billion from the USDA. The majority of these children came from low-income families and received school meals free or at a reduced-p... |
FBI’s review and approval process for Trilogy contractor invoices, which was carried out by a review team consisting of officials from FBI, GSA, and Mitretek, did not provide an adequate basis for verifying that goods and services billed were actually received by FBI or that payments were for allowable costs. This occu... | The Trilogy project--initiated in 2001--is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) largest information technology (IT) upgrade to date. While ultimately successful in providing updated IT infrastructure and systems, Trilogy was not a success with regard to upgrading FBI's investigative applications. Further, the pr... |
SSA administers two disability programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program, enacted in 1956, and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, enacted in 1972. In order to be eligible for DI or SSI benefits based on a disability, an individual must meet the definition of disability for these progr... | SSA administers two of the largest federal disability programs. GAO designated federal disability programs as a high-risk area, in part because eligibility criteria had not been updated to reflect medical and technological advances and labor market changes. Given the size and cost of its disability programs, SSA needs ... |
Defense biometrics activities involve a number of military services, commands, and offices across the department. Figure 2 depicts the relationship among several of the key DOD biometrics organizations. Roles and responsibilities for defense biometrics activities are explained in DOD’s 2008 biometrics directive, and su... | The collection of biometrics data, including fingerprints and iris patterns, enables U.S. counterinsurgency operations to identify enemy combatants and link individuals to events such as improvised explosive device detonations. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which (1) DOD's biometrics training supports warfight... |
The radio-frequency spectrum is the part of the natural spectrum of electromagnetic radiation lying between the frequency of 3 kilohertz (kHz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). It is the medium that makes possible wireless communications and supports a vast array of commercial and governmental services. Commercial entities use ... | The radio-frequency spectrum enables an array of wireless communications services that are critical to the U.S. economy and national security, such as wireless broadband. In 2010, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) task force issued the National Broadband Plan that included recommendations to reform spectrum pol... |
In 2005, the National Academies recommended to Congress the creation of an organization within DOE like DARPA. In 2007, the America COMPETES Act created a new agency within DOE called ARPA-E. In line with the National Academies’ recommendation, the America COMPETES Act as amended directs ARPA-E to achieve its goals by ... | The Department of Energys (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy's (ARPA-E) purpose is to overcome long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the development of energy technologies. Since 2009, ARPA-E has awarded $521.7 million to universities, public and private companies, and national laboratories to ... |
The tens of thousands of individuals who responded to the September 11, 2001, attack on the WTC experienced the emotional trauma of the disaster and were exposed to a noxious mixture of dust, debris, smoke, and potentially toxic contaminants, such as pulverized concrete, fibrous glass, particulate matter, and asbestos.... | Six years after the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC), concerns persist about health effects experienced by WTC responders and the availability of health care services for those affected. Several federally funded programs provide screening, monitoring, or treatment services to responders. GAO has previously report... |
All Army and Marine Corps forces are required to annually complete individual training requirements, such as weapons qualification; sexual assault prevention and response; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense training. Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Army and Marine Corps all have th... | Over the past decade, Army and Marine Corps forces have deployed repeatedly with limited time between deployments. At their home stations, combat training centers, and other locations, units have focused their limited training time on training for counterinsurgency operations. Prior to deploying, units also conduct a l... |
AIG is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in a broad range of insurance and insurance-related activities in the United States and abroad, including general insurance, life insurance and retirement services, financial services, and asset management. The AIG organization includes the largest dom... | The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) have made available over $182 billion in assistance to American International Group (AIG) to prevent its failure. However, questions have been raised about the goals of the assistance and how it is being... |
OPM is the central management agency of the federal government charged with administering and enforcing federal civil service laws, regulations, and rules and aiding the President in carrying out his responsibilities for managing the federal workforce. OPM has policy responsibilities related to hiring, managing, compen... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) annual performance plan for fiscal year (FY) 1999, focusing on whether OPM's plan complies with the statutory requirements and congressional intent as contained in the Government Performance and Results Act and related guidance... |
In 2001, we reported that the UN Headquarters Complex in New York City—built largely between 1949 and 1952—no longer conformed to current safety, fire, and building codes or to UN technology and security requirements. The UN General Assembly noted that conditions in the UN Headquarters Complex posed serious risks to th... | In December 2006, the UN approved a $1.88 billion plan to modernize its headquarters by 2014 (the CMP project), including renovating five buildings. In a separate effort, the UN is considering options to address its future needs for office space. As the UN's largest financial contributor, the United States has a signif... |
Since the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), AHRQ, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has been one of several federal agencies responsible for supporting and disseminating the results of CER. The dissemination of CER refers to ... | In 2010, PPACA authorized the establishment of PCORI as a federally funded, nonprofit corporation to improve the quality and relevance of CER. PCORI, which began operation in 2010, is required to identify research priorities, establish a research project agenda, fund research consistent with its research agenda, and di... |
The United States has approximately 360 commercial sea and river ports that handle more than $1.3 trillion in cargo annually. A wide variety of goods travels through these ports each day—including automobiles, grain, and millions of cargo containers. While no two ports are exactly alike, many share certain characterist... | The nation's maritime ports handle more than $1.3 trillion in cargo each year: a disruption at one of these ports could have a significant economic impact. Increasingly, port operations rely on computerized information and communications technologies, which can be vulnerable to cyber-based attacks. Federal entities, in... |
Collecting information is one way that federal agencies carry out their missions. For example, IRS needs to collect information from taxpayers and their employers to know the correct amount of taxes owed. The U.S. Census Bureau collects information used to apportion congressional representation and for many other purpo... | Americans spend billions of hours each year providing information to federal agencies by filling out information collections (forms, surveys, or questionnaires). A major aim of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) is to minimize the burden that these collections impose on the public, while maximizing their public benefit.... |
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), established in May 2003, was the U.N.-recognized coalition authority led by the United States and the United Kingdom that was responsible for the temporary governance of Iraq. In May 2003, the CPA dissolved the military organizations of the former regime and began the process ... | Since the fall of the former Iraq regime in April 2003, the multinational force has been working to develop Iraqi military and police forces capable of maintaining security. To support this effort, the United States provided about $5.8 billion in 2003-04 to develop Iraq's security capability. In February 2005, the pres... |
RAND and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine developed a process for determining the appropriateness of a specific health care service for a particular patient, known as the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method. An appropriate service was defined as one in which the expected health benefit... | PAMA required the establishment of a Medicare AUC program for advanced diagnostic imaging services. The Act also included a provision for GAO to report on the extent to which AUC could be used for other Medicare services, such as radiation therapy and clinical diagnostic laboratory services. In this report, GAO describ... |
The commercial motor-carrier industry is a vital part of the U.S. economy. As of December 2013, FMCSA estimates that there were more than 539,000 active motor carriers and 5.6 million commercial drivers operating in the United States that transport freight and move people, numbers that fluctuate over time due to the te... | FMCSA—within the Department of Transportation (DOT)—issues rules to address safety concerns of the motor carrier industry, including on truck drivers' HOS. In July 2013, FMCSA began to enforce three new provisions of its HOS rule. GAO was asked to review a 2014 FMCSA study on the rule, as well as the rule's assumptions... |
This section describes (1) the balancing of supply and demand in regional electricity systems, (2) restructuring of the electricity sector and the expanding role of competition in markets, and (3) two key demand- response approaches. The electricity industry includes four distinct functions: generation, transmission, d... | Electricity demand fluctuates throughout the day and year and, as GAO has reported, electricity is generated first at U.S. power plants with the lowest operating costs, and, as demand rises, at more costly plants. Prior to being sold to retail consumers such as households and businesses, electricity is traded in wholes... |
Our work on the Bureau’s 2010 Census life-cycle cost estimate found that it was not reliable, because it lacked adequate documentation and was not comprehensive, accurate, or credible. For example, in our 2008 report on the Bureau’s cost estimation process, Bureau officials were unable to provide documentation that sup... | In October 2015, the Bureau estimated that with its new approach it can conduct the 2020 Census for $12.5 billion, $5 billion less than the $17.8 billion it estimated it would cost to repeat the design and methods of the 2010 Census. Reliable cost estimates can help an agency manage large complex activities like the 20... |
Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has a workers’ compensation program. These programs vary by state, as each is authorized by its own state law. There are three federal workers’ compensation programs including the one authorized by FECA, which covers federal employees. Federal and most state workers’ c... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO compared the: (1) criteria used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation program and federal and state workers' compensation programs to determine compensation; and (2) compensation individuals with selected work-related injuries and diseases would rece... |
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is responsible for addressing nuclear and hazardous wastes, including some of the most dangerously radioactive wastes in the world, and special nuclear materials, such as plutonium, resulting from more than 50 years of nuclear weapons production. DOE has pla... | In February 2002, following years of rising costs to its nuclear waste cleanup program, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new initiative--the accelerated cleanup plan--and committed to reduce costs of cleanup by $50 billion, shorten the cleanup schedule by 35 years, and reduce risks to human health and the env... |
GSA manages the federal government’s purchase card program, which has existed since the late 1980s. The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 first defined a micropurchase threshold, and permitted certain agency employees to make purchases under this amount without competitive quotations if the employee consider... | For fiscal year 2014, the most recently available data at the time of GAO's review, the federal government spent $8.7 billion in micropurchases using purchase cards. In its last government-wide review of the program in 2008, GAO found that internal control weaknesses in agency purchase card programs left the government... |
The VA health care system was established in 1930, primarily to provide for the rehabilitation and continuing care of veterans injured during wartime service. VA developed its health care system as a direct delivery system in which the government owned and operated its own health care facilities. It grew into the natio... | GAO discussed ways in which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could operate more efficiently and reduce resources needed to meet its mandatory care obligations. GAO noted that: (1) VA has overstated its resource needs to meet its mandatory care obligations because its projections do not reflect the expected decli... |
Egypt is currently among the largest recipients of U.S. foreign assistance, along with Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Since 1979, Egypt has received an annual average of more than $2 billion in economic and military aid. Egypt has generally received about $1.3 billion each year in foreign military financing assistance ... | Since 1979, Egypt has received about $60 billion in military and economic assistance with about $34 billion in the form of foreign military financing (FMF) grants that enable Egypt to purchase U.S.-manufactured military goods and services. In this report, GAO (1) describes the types and amounts of FMF assistance provid... |
State’s overall public diplomacy goal is to inform, engage, and influence global audiences. This goal is aimed at reaching out beyond foreign governments to promote better appreciation of the United States abroad, greater receptivity to U.S. policies among foreign publics, and sustained access and influence in importan... | The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, focused attention on the need to improve public diplomacy efforts to cultivate a better public opinion of the United States abroad. However, recent opinion research indicates that many foreign publics, especially in countries with significant Muslim populations, view the Uni... |
FOIA establishes a legal right of access to government records and information on the basis of the principles of openness and accountability in government. Before the act (originally enacted in 1966), the government required individuals to demonstrate “a need to know” before granting the right to examine federal record... | The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires federal agencies to generally provide the public with access to government information. In December 2005, the President issued Executive Order 13392, to improve agencies' FOIA processing. The order required each agency to review its operations and develop plans for improve... |
An LTCH is a type of ACH that specializes in treating critically ill individuals who require an intense level of health care with frequent physician and nurse visits for relatively extended periods—more than 25 days, on average. For example, a significant subset of LTCH patients is dependent on a ventilator for breathi... | Allegations about quality-of-care problems have raised questions about the oversight of long-term care hospitals (LTCH), which provide care to individuals with multiple acute or chronic conditions. Medicare pays for about 80 percent of LTCH patient care. To ensure compliance with federal quality standards, accrediting ... |
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (the 1996 Act), which amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),as amended, was enacted September 30, 1996 (P.L. 104-208). Among other things, the 1996 Act included a new provision, which is called expedited removal, for dealing with aliens... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, focusing on: (1) how the expedited removal process and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) procedures to implement it are different from the process and procedures used to exclude al... |
Since the mid-1980s, banks have been expanding into securities activities by providing retail brokerage services—buying and selling securities for customers, which may involve making buy and sell recommendations—and underwriting and dealing in securities. These securities activities can provide additional income for ba... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal bank regulators' oversight of banks' securities activities, focusing on the: (1) extent to which banks provide securities brokerage services; (2) how those services are regulated; (3) results of Federal Reserve inspections of bank holding company subsidiaries au... |
In 1991, a group of for-profit and nonprofit public and private funders started NCDI, currently known as Living Cities, to revitalize urban communities. NCDI is composed of 17 major corporations, foundations, and the federal government—HUD and the Office of Community Services of the Department of Health and Human Servi... | Congress recognized the importance of building the capacity of community development organizations by passing Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993. The act authorized the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to partner with several national nonprofit organizations that provide funding to these co... |
The Bureau’s cost projections for the 2010 decennial census continue an escalating trend, with the 2010 Census currently estimated to cost approximately $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion. At a March 2008 hearing, Commerce and the Bureau stated that the FDCA program was likely to incur significant cost overruns and that a ... | The 2010 Census will be the most expensive census in our nation's history, even after adjusting for inflation. The Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates that the life cycle cost of the 2010 Census will be from $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion. GAO was asked to (1) assess the extent to which the Bureau's 2010 Census life cycle... |
USPS is the single largest federal civilian agency, with a mission vital to the nation’s communication and commerce. Compared with private U.S. companies, USPS is the second largest employer with its nearly 900,000 full-time and part-time employees. Four major unions represent the interest of bargaining unit employees;... | The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) continues to experience deficits, severe cash-flow problems, rising debt, and liabilities that exceed its assets. USPS also lacks enough income to fund needed investments in safety, maintenance, expansion, and modernization and to cover its liabilities. USPS reported a $1.68 billion defic... |
Peer review is well established as a mechanism for assuring the quality, credibility, and acceptability of individual and institutional work products. This assurance is accomplished by having the products undergo an objective, critical review by independent reviewers. Peer review has long been used by academia, profess... | GAO discussed its recent report on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of its peer review policy, focusing on EPA's: (1) progress in implementing its peer review policy; and (2) efforts to improve the peer review process. GAO noted that: (1) despite some recent progress, peer review continues to ... |
For retirees aged 65 or older, Medicare is typically the primary source of health insurance coverage. Medicare covered about 41 million beneficiaries as of July 2003. The program covers hospital care as well as doctor visits and outpatient services but has never covered most outpatient prescription drugs. Under traditi... | The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) created a prescription drug benefit for beneficiaries, called Medicare part D, beginning in January 2006. The MMA included incentives for sponsors of employment-based retiree health plans to offer prescription drug benefits to Medicare-eli... |
According to an Army Human Resource official, the Army uses the workforce-planning model—CIVFORS—for human resources management. CIVFORS is a collection of software programs that anticipate future impacts on the workforce so that management can plan for changes instead of reacting to them. The model is used to evaluate... | Between fiscal years 1989 and 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) reduced its civilian workforce by about 38 percent, with little attention to shaping or specifically sizing this workforce for the future. As a result, the civilian workforce is imbalanced in terms of the shape, skills, and experience needed by the dep... |
The Medicaid drug rebate program, the 340B drug pricing program, and the Medicare Part D program help pay for or reduce the costs of prescription drugs for eligible individuals and entities. Medicaid is the joint federal-state program that finances medical services for certain low-income adults and children. CMS, an ag... | Several federal programs help pay for or reduce the costs of prescription drugs for eligible individuals and entities. Three examples are the Medicaid drug rebate program, part of the joint federal-state Medicaid program that finances medical services for certain low-income people; the 340B drug pricing program, which ... |
APHIS, CBP, CDC, and FWS share responsibility for preventing the importation of live animals that may introduce and spread zoonotic and animal diseases. APHIS, CDC, and FWS have developed regulations that provide specific requirements and restrictions on the importation of animals. In some cases, more than one agency m... | The United States legally imported more than 1 billion live animals from 2005 through 2008. With increased trade and travel, zoonotic diseases (transmitted between animals and humans) and animal diseases can emerge anywhere and spread rapidly. The importation of live animals is governed by five principal statutes and i... |
Higher education provides important private and public benefits, and multiple parties are involved in financing higher education costs. In terms of private benefit, students may seek a postsecondary degree as a key to a better economic future. In addition to providing such private benefits, higher education has also be... | There is widespread concern that the rising costs of higher education are making college unaffordable for many students and their families. Federal and state support is central to promoting college affordability; however, persistent state budget constraints have limited funding for public colleges. GAO was asked to stu... |
The Military Construction Authorization Act, 1984, established the Military Family Housing Leasing Program, commonly referred to as the Section 801 housing program. This authority provided a mechanism for DOD to contract with private developers to build new rental housing on or near military installations. The Section ... | In the Military Construction Authorization Act, 1984, Congress authorized the Section 801 housing program, which provided a means for improving and expanding military family housing through private developers' investment. Under this authority, the Department of Defense (DOD) awarded eight contracts for the construction... |
While numerous military aircraft provide refueling services, the bulk of U.S. refueling capability lies in the Air Force fleet of 59 KC-10 and 543 KC-135 aircraft. These are large, long-range aircraft that have counterparts in the commercial airlines, but which have been modified to turn them into tankers. The KC-10 is... | This testimony discusses the Air Force's report on the planned lease of 100 Boeing 767 aircraft modified for aerial refueling. These aircraft would be known by a new designation, KC-767A. Section 8159 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2002 authorizes the Air Force to lease up to 100 KC-767... |
As a result of 150 years of changes to financial regulation in the United States, the regulatory system has become complex and fragmented. Today, responsibilities for overseeing the financial services industry are shared among almost a dozen federal banking, securities, futures, and other regulatory agencies, numerous ... | This testimony discusses issues relating to efforts to reform the regulatory structure of the financial system. In the midst of the worst economic crisis affecting financial markets globally in more than 75 years, federal officials have taken unprecedented steps to stem the unraveling of the financial services sector. ... |
INS regulates immigration to the United States and oversees immigrants, who intend to remain permanently in the United States, and nonimmigrants, who intend to remain in the United States temporarily. INS receives and maintains alien address information for benefits administration, law enforcement, and national securit... | Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the federal government's need to locate aliens in the United States was considerably heightened. Without reliable alien address information, the government is impeded in its ability to find aliens who represent a national security threat or who could help with the ... |
Since the 1960s, the United States has operated polar-orbiting satellite systems that obtain environmental data to support weather observations and forecasts. These data are processed to provide graphical weather images and specialized weather products. Data from polar satellites are also the predominant input to numer... | Polar-orbiting satellites provide data that are essential to support weather observations and forecasts. NOAA is preparing to launch the second satellite in the JPSS program in March 2017, but a near-term gap in polar satellite coverage remains likely. Given the criticality of satellite data to weather forecasts and th... |
SSI provides financial assistance to people who are age 65 or older, blind or disabled, and who have limited income and resources. The program provides individuals with monthly cash payments to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. In 2002, about 6.8 million recipients were paid about $35 billion in SSI ben... | The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program paid about $35 million recipients in 2002. In recent years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has identified a general increase in the amount of annual overpayments made to (1) individuals who are found to have violated program residency requirements or (2) recipien... |
Few people are aware of recycling options for their old televisions and personal computers. Because of the perceived value of used electronics, some pass their used equipment to family members or friends before eventually storing these units in their attics, basements, or garages. Eventually, though, consumers need to ... | Advances in technology have led to rapidly increasing sales of new electronic devices. With this increase comes the dilemma of managing these products at the end of their useful lives. Some research suggests that the disposal of used electronics could cause a number of environmental problems. Research also suggests tha... |
The decennial census is the nation’s largest, most complex survey. To conduct its decennial activities, the Bureau recruits, hires, and trains over half a million field staff based out of local census offices nationwide, temporarily making it one of the nation’s largest employers. The first operation for the 2010 Censu... | The decennial census is a Constitutionally-mandated activity that produces critical data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. The Census Bureau (Bureau) estimates the 2010 Census will cost $11.3 billion, making it the most expensi... |
A “claim” may be defined simply as a demand for money or property. The settlement of claims against the United States, called “payment claims,” is the subject of this chapter. Claims by the government against others, called “debt claims,” are covered in Chapter 13. Claims against the government can arise out of virtual... | This document is superseded by Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Second and Third Editions. GAO published a second edition of Volume III of its Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, which includes a discussion of the statutes and regulations governing appropriations matters as well as references to significa... |
A number of federal statutes prohibit housing discrimination, but the Act is the most comprehensive. This report focuses on enforcement of fair housing rights under the Act, which is one of the federal government’s central tools for fighting discrimination in housing. The Act (as amended) prohibits discrimination on th... | Discrimination in housing on the basis of race, sex, family status, and other grounds is illegal in the United States. Each year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) and related agencies carry out enforcement activities for several thousand complaints of... |
In 1986, Congress called for the establishment of a joint service special operations capability under a single command. In April 1987, the Secretary of Defense established SOCOM with the mission to provide trained and combat-ready special operations forces to DOD’s geographic combatant commands. SOCOM is a unified comb... | SOF are specially organized, trained, and equipped to conduct operations in hostile or politically sensitive environments. Since 2001, DOD has increased the size and funding of SOF and emphasized SOF's importance to meet national security needs. SOF deployments have focused on the Middle East and placed significant dem... |
In 1993, we reported that USAID had not adequately managed changes in its overseas workforce and recommended that USAID develop a comprehensive workforce planning system to better identify staffing needs and requirements. In the mid-1990s, USAID reorganized its activities around strategic objectives and began reporting... | USAID oversees humanitarian and economic assistance--an integral part of the U.S. global security strategy--to more than 160 countries. GAO recommended in 1993 that USAID develop a comprehensive workforce plan; however, human capital management continues to be a high-risk area for the agency. GAO was asked to testify o... |
The nation’s special operations forces provide the National Command Authorities a highly trained, rapidly deployable joint force capable of conducting special operations anywhere in the world. In November 1986, Congress enacted section 1311 of Public Law 99-661, which directed the President to establish USSOCOM, a unif... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the U.S. Special OperationsCommand's (USSOCOM) acquisition strategy for aircraft electronic warfare systems, focusing on the: (1) fixed-wing C-130 aircraft operated by USSOCOM's Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC); (2) soundness of AFSOC's electronic warfare ac... |
VBA’s disability compensation and pension claims processing is done in its 57 regional offices. Each state, except Wyoming, has at least 1 regional office; California has 3, and New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas have 2 each. VBA also has regional offices in Washington, D.C.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Manila, the Phili... | The Chairman, former Chairman, and Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs asked GAO to review the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) efforts to realign its compensation and pension claims processing field structure to improve performance. This report (1) identifies the actions VBA has take... |
DHS’s federal leadership role and responsibilities for emergency preparedness as defined in law and executive order are broad and challenging. To increase homeland security following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, President Bush issued the National Strategy for Homeland Security in July... | The Homeland Security Act was enacted in November 2002, creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve homeland security following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The act centralized the leadership of many homeland security activities under a single federal department and,... |
At the request of Congress, we have previously studied a number of leading public sector organizations that were successful in pursuing management reform initiatives and becoming more results-oriented.These included selected state governments as well as foreign governments, such as Australia and the United Kingdom. We ... | This testimony focuses on the District of Columbia's progress and challenges in performance management. GAO discusses whether the District: (1) met the 29 performance goals that it scheduled for completion by the end of fiscal year 2000 that Congress chose from the more than 400 performance measures contained in the Ma... |
Over the last two decades, the Army began transforming its warfighting capabilities to more effectively counter a broad and complex set of potential threats with smaller, adaptable, more agile and deployable brigade combat teams. The Army wanted the force components— soldiers, platforms, weapons, and sensors—to be “net... | For nearly 20 years, the Army has had limited success in developing an information network--sensors, software, and radios--to give soldiers the exact information they need, when they need it, in any environment. Such a network is expected to improve situational awareness and decision making in combat. Under its network... |
Illegal drug use, particularly of cocaine and heroin, continues to be a serious health problem in the United States. Under the National Drug Control Strategy, the United States has established domestic and international efforts to reduce the supply and demand for illegal drugs. Over the past 10 years, the United States... | GAO discussed its observations on the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to combat drug production and the movement of drugs into the United States, focusing on: (1) the challenges of addressing international counternarcotics issues; (2) obstacles to implementation of U.S. drug control efforts; and (3) areas requiring atten... |
Since the opening of the first public charter school in Minnesota in 1992, approximately 2,700 public charter schools have opened across the country. As shown in figure 1, 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have enacted charter school laws, although, as of July 2003, no charter schools had opened in 4... | As of the 2002-2003 school year, nearly 2,700 charter schools operated in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Charter schools are public schools that are exempt from certain state and local regulations in exchange for agreeing to certain student performance goals. To increase their understanding of pr... |
The U.S. financial regulatory structure is a complex system of multiple federal and state regulators as well as self-regulatory organizations that operates largely along functional lines. That is, financial products or activities generally are regulated according to their function, no matter which entity offers the pro... | The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act requires or authorizes various federal agencies to issue hundreds of rules to implement reforms intended to strengthen the financial services industry. As amended by Public Law No. 112-10, the act also mandates that GAO annually study financial services regulations. This report examines (1) the ... |
UNOPS originated in 1974 as part of the UN Development Program (UNDP), but has since become an autonomous, self-financing UN entity. UNDP, which is the UN’s global development agency, established the office to provide flexible procurement services for multidisciplinary projects. Effective January 1995, the UN General A... | The United Nations (UN) Office for Project Services (UNOPS) provides numerous services for its clients, including procurement and project management. Recent audits and investigations of UNOPS have revealed alleged violations of law, weak internal controls, and financial mismanagement. UNOPS officials misused some of th... |
Before the airports’ transfer to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), Dulles and Reagan National were operated by the Federal Aviation Administration and financed with federally appropriated funds. MWAA’s funding now comes from operational revenues (rents, payments from concessionaires, landing fees, ... | The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 transferred operating responsibility for Dulles and Reagan National Airports from the federal government to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), an independent, nonfederal, public entity. MWAA, which has a 50-year lease to run the two airports, has ente... |
DHS conducts four main types of efforts abroad that can help to combat terrorism by thwarting terrorists and their plots before they reach the homeland: deploying programs and activities abroad—especially screening and targeting programs, along with select immigration benefit processing—to help interdict people who pre... | Combating terrorism is a governmentwide effort, to which DHS contributes. In such efforts abroad, DHS partners with the Department of State (State)-- the lead agency at U.S. missions. DHS deploys resources abroad to carry out programs and build capacity within its areas of expertise--border, maritime, aviation, and cyb... |
The U.N. Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally Displaced Persons estimates that there are 20 million internally displaced persons in the world, scattered across more than 50 countries. (Fig. 1 depicts the countries with internally displaced persons from which we received surveys.) However, lack of access to ... | Internally displaced persons--those forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict and persecution but who remain within their own country--are among the most at-risk, vulnerable populations in the world. Although some protections have been provided to internally displaced persons, international organizations hav... |
The GS classification system is a mechanism for organizing federal white- collar work, notably for the purpose of determining pay, based on a position’s duties, responsibilities, and difficulty, among other things. The GS system—which is administered by OPM—influences other human capital practices such as training, sin... | Strategic human capital management plays a critical role in maximizing the government's performance and assuring its accountability to Congress and to the nation as a whole. GAO designated strategic human capital management as a government-wide high-risk area in 2001 because of a long-standing lack of leadership. Since... |
In our June 2010 report on DHS’s foreign language capabilities, we identified challenges related to the Department’s efforts to assess their needs and capabilities and identify potential shortfalls. Our key findings include: DHS has no systematic method for assessing its foreign language needs and does not address fore... | Foreign language skills are an increasingly key element to the success of diplomatic efforts; military, counterterrorism, law enforcement and intelligence missions; and to ensure access to federal programs and services to Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations within the United States. GAO has issued reports eval... |
The 50 states and the District of Columbia spent an estimated $50 billion on special education for children from birth through age 21 in school year 1999-00. About 12 percent of this amount came from federal funds, specifically IDEA grants (10 percent) and Medicaid funds (2 percent).(See fig. 1.) In addition to federal... | In fiscal year 2001, the federal government spent $7 billion on the following three special education grant programs: Special Education Grants to States (School-age Grants), Special Education Grants Preschool (Preschool Grants) and Special Education Grants for Infants and Families with Disabilities (Infants Grants). Sc... |
The financing of terrorism is the financial support, in any form, of terrorism or of those who encourage, plan, or engage in it. Terrorist financing may derive from licit activities, such as fundraising by charities, or from illicit activities, such as selling counterfeit goods, contraband cigarettes, and illegal drugs... | Disrupting terrorists' financing is necessary to impede their ability to organize, recruit, train, and equip adherents. U.S. efforts to strengthen domestic and global security include, among others, the provision of training and technical assistance in countering terrorist financing abroad. An interagency Terrorist Fin... |
In 1980, the Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, to clean up highly contaminated hazardous waste sites. The act gave EPA the authority to clean up contaminated sites or to compel the parties responsible for the contamination to... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund cleanup efforts, focusing on trends in the time taken to: (1) evaluate and process hazardous waste sites for possible placement on the National Priorities List (NPL); and (2) clean up these sites following their list... |
When one steps back and collectively evaluates how the government has traditionally managed and acquired information technology, some conclusions are painfully obvious. On the whole, the federal government’s track record in delivering high value information technology solutions at acceptable cost is not a good one. Put... | GAO discussed the implementation of the Information Technology (IT) Management Reform Act (ITMRA). GAO noted that: (1) federal agencies have failed to reengineer their business and program delivery processes before acquiring new information systems, which results in costly IT resources; (2) ITMRA should empower federal... |
TVA is a multipurpose, independent, wholly owned federal corporation established by the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (TVA Act). The TVA Act established TVA to improve the quality of life in the Tennessee River Valley by improving navigation, promoting regional agricultural and economic development, and contro... | Although the criteria used to rate the bonds of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other electric utilities are the same, they are weighted differently and, as a result, the basis for TVA's bond rating is more nonfinancial in nature than that for other electric utilities. According to bond analysts, TVA's high bo... |
There are several federal legislative and executive provisions that support preparation for and response to emergency situations. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) primarily establishes the programs and processes for the federal government to provide major disaster a... | The size and strength of Hurricane Katrina resulted in one of the largest natural disasters in our nation's history. Hurricane Katrina raised major questions about our nation's readiness and ability to respond to catastrophic disasters. Hurricane Rita increased demands on an already stressed response and recovery effor... |
In operating a system of military health care delivery, the Department of Defense (DOD) has twin missions: care and treatment of military personnel where and when they need it, and cost-effective and accessible health care benefits for their families as well as retired military personnel and their families. Today, the ... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) pharmacy programs, focusing on the: (1) adequacy of the information that DOD and its contractors have to manage the pharmacy benefit; (2) merits and feasibility of DOD and its contractors applying commercial best practices, including ... |
As federal employees, USCP and other federal police officers are eligible to participate in one of the two federal retirement plans—the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). CSRS is available to employees entering federal service before 1984, while FERS is available t... | The Washington, D.C. metropolitan (DC metro) area is home to many federal police forces, including the United States Capitol Police (USCP), which maintain the safety of federal property, employees, and the public. Officials are concerned that disparities in pay and retirement benefits have caused federal police forces ... |
DOD manages nearly 517,000 buildings and structures (replacement value of $650 billion) and over 46,000 square miles of real estate at its bases and installations worldwide. These facilities must be properly maintained or they are subject to premature deterioration. At these bases and installations, DOD prepares for an... | Concerns have surfaced in Congress and various media regarding the adequacy of funding for base operations support (BOS) functions of military installations as well as the quality and level of support being provided. As requested, this report addresses (1) the historical funding trends for BOS as contrasted with fundin... |
According to NIOSH, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung disease, has been a contributor or underlying cause of death for more than 73,800 United States workers since 1968 (see fig.1). Following the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, which established the first compr... | The Department of Labor (DOL) Black Lung Benefits Program provides medical and income assistance to coal miners who suffer total disability or death due to lung disease caused by coal dust. To provide insight into DOL's administration of the Black Lung Benefits Program, GAO is reporting on (1) how long it takes to proc... |
The FBI Laboratory, located in Quantico, Virginia, provides a full range of forensic services including forensic examinations, technical support, and expert witness testimony. As of fiscal year 2015, the FBI Laboratory had an operational budget of approximately $102.4 million and a staffing budget of approximately $97.... | The FBI Laboratory, within the Department of Justice (DOJ), is responsible for analysis of forensic evidence for the FBI, other parts of DOJ, and domestic law enforcement agencies, among others. GAO was asked to examine how the FBI Laboratory ensures the reliability of its forensic examinations, in particular within it... |
GAO was established just over 90 years ago. After World War I, the U.S. Congress wanted better information on, and control over, government spending. In1921, the Budget and Accounting Act required the President to issue an annual federal budget. This law also established GAO—then known as the General Accounting Office—... | GAO's mission is to support the U.S. Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. Each year, GAO presents its findings, conclusions, and recommendations in reports and testimony... |
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.