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IHS was established within the Public Health Service in 1955 to provide health services to members of AI/AN tribes primarily in rural areas on or near reservations. IHS provides these services directly through a network of hospitals, clinics, and health stations operated by IHS, and it also funds services provided at t... | IHS is charged with providing health care to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people who are members or descendants of 567 tribes. AI/AN people born today have a life expectancy that is 4.4 years lower than all races in the United States, and they continue to die at higher rates than other Americans from preventab... |
VA provides medical services to various veteran populations—including an aging veteran population and a growing number of younger veterans returning from the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. VA operates approximately 170 VAMCs, 130 nursing homes, and 1,000 outpatient sites of care. In general, veterans must... | VA projected a funding gap in its fiscal year 2015 medical services appropriation account and obtained temporary authority to use up to $3.3 billion in Veterans Choice Program funding to close this gap. GAO was asked to examine VA's fiscal year 2015 projected funding gap and changes VA has made to help prevent potentia... |
Congress has incrementally expanded the use and scope of “other transaction” authority since first authorizing its use more than a decade ago. In 1989, Congress gave DOD, acting through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), authority to temporarily use “other transactions” for basic, applied, and advan... | In April 2000, GAO reported on the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of Section 845 agreements, also referred to as "other transactions" for prototype projects. These are transactions other than contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements that generally are not subject to federal laws and regulations applicable to pro... |
The Navy has reported that more than $8.5 billion of Navy resources was applied in fiscal year 1996 to maintenance programs in support of fleet ships and aircraft. Each type of “platform,”—surface ships, submarines, aircraft carriers, and aircraft—has a separate maintenance infrastructure. Maintenance is done at three ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Navy Regional Maintenance (RM) Program, focusing on the: (1) progress made in implementing the program; (2) savings that have been achieved; (3) opportunities for additional savings; and (4) barriers that inhibit full implementation of the program and achievement of... |
DOD’s primary medical mission is to maintain the health of its 1.6 million active duty service personnel and to provide health care for them during military operations. DOD also offers health care to 6.7 million nonactive duty beneficiaries, including dependents of active duty personnel, military retirees, and dependen... | Under TRICARE, the Department of Defense's (DOD) managed care program, military-operated hospitals and clinics are supplemented by contracted civilian services. Since the inception of TRICARE, DOD has made many changes to these contracts via contract change orders. Since July 1997, when GAO reported that DOD was trying... |
As the nation’s largest cash-assistance program for workers with disabilities, DI provides benefits to eligible individuals under Title II of the Social Security Act. An individual is eligible to receive DI benefits if he or she has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that (1) has lasted (or is expec... | The DI and UI trust funds face serious fiscal sustainability challenges. In addition to other services, both programs provide cash benefits to their targeted populations to replace lost earnings. DI is available to workers who are unable to engage in SGA because of physical or mental impairments expected to last at lea... |
As part of its constitutional authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, Congress has long delegated to the President authority to proclaim reciprocal tariff reductions with U.S. trading partners and has encouraged the President to enter into certain trade agreements that meet congressionally mandated objecti... | In 1974, Congress mandated creation of a private sector advisory system to ensure that representatives from private business and other groups with a stake in trade policy could provide input as negotiations unfolded. The hope was that such involvement would result in trade agreements that Congress could approve with co... |
This section discusses key aspects of relevant laws and history related to the implementation of Superfund and the reporting and cleanup of hazardous substances and hazardous waste at DOD installations. In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), establishing requirements, as well as giv... | Before the passage of federal environmental legislation in the 1970s and 1980s, Department of Defense (DOD) activities contaminated millions of acres of soil and water on and near DOD sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certain oversight authorities for cleaning up contaminants on federal property, and... |
Electricity-related R&D encompasses both basic and applied research and includes all aspects of electricity generation, including nuclear, fossil, and renewable energy technologies; transmission and distribution technologies; energy storage technologies; and environmental studies of electricity-related issues, accordin... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) changes in the amount of funding for electricity-related research and development (R&D); and (2) the impact of these changes on the types of R&D being funded. GAO found that: (1) Department of Energy (DOE) funding for electricity-related R&D increase... |
As we reported in October 2009, insufficient site-specific data, such as local projections of expected changes, make it hard for federal, state, and local officials to predict the impacts of climate change, and thus hard for these officials to justify the current costs of adaptation efforts for potentially less certain... | Climate change is a complex, crosscutting issue that poses risks to many existing environmental and economic systems, including agriculture, infrastructure, ecosystems, and human health. A 2009 assessment by the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) found that climate-related changes--such as rising tem... |
GPRA is intended to shift the focus of government decision making, management, and accountability from activities and processes to the results and outcomes achieved by federal programs. New and valuable information on the plans, goals, and strategies of federal agencies has been provided since federal agencies began im... | This report reviews the Department of the Treasury's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance report plan required by the Government Performance and Results Act. Specifically, GAO discusses Treasury's progress in addressing several key outcomes that are important to Treasury's mission. In ge... |
FTC is an independent agency headed by five Commissioners appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, each serving staggered 7-year terms. FTC’s mission is, in part, to prevent business practices that are anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair to consumers. It acts to prevent business practices that restrain... | The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to prevent business practices that are anticompetitive, deceptive, or unfair to consumers. If FTC determines that a merger may harm competition in the marketplace, the agency may decide to block the merger or select a remedy that addresses the anticompetitive problems it has ide... |
The United States is the world’s largest net importer of oil. In 2006, the United States had net imports of 12.2 million gallons of oil per day, more than twice as much as Japan and over three times as much as China, the world’s next largest importers. The transport of oil into the United States occurs primarily by sea... | When oil spills occur in U.S. waters, federal law places primary liability on the vessel owner or operator--that is, the responsible party--up to a statutory limit. As a supplement to this "polluter pays" approach, a federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund administered by the Coast Guard pays for costs when a responsibl... |
The commercial space launch industry continues to develop and evolve, with changes in technology and facilities. Historically, commercial space launches carried payloads, generally satellites, into orbit using expendable launch vehicles that did not return to earth. Figure 1 shows examples of expendable launch vehicles... | The U.S. commercial space launch industry has changed considerably since the enactment of the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004. FAA is required to license or permit commercial space launches; however, to allow space tourism to develop, the act prohibited FAA from regulating crew and spaceflight participan... |
The 1987 Act requires that an individual or entity be actively engaged in farming in order to receive farm program payments. To be considered actively engaged in farming, the act requires an individual or entity to provide a significant contribution of capital, land, or equipment, as well as a significant contribution ... | Farmers receive about $15 billion annually in federal payments to help produce major crops, such as corn, cotton, rice, and wheat. The Farm Program Payments Integrity Act of 1987 (1987 Act) limits payments to individuals and entities--such as corporations and partnerships--that are "actively engaged in farming." This t... |
Competitive sourcing is a process under which federal agencies subject the performance of their commercial activities to competition among public and private sector sources. It is intended to contribute to cost savings, improved performance, and a better alignment of the agency’s workforce to its mission. OMB’s Circula... | Competitive sourcing is a management tool where federal agencies conduct competitions between federal employees and private companies to determine the best source to provide commercially available services. Concerns have been raised in the Congress that differences in the costs of federal and private health insurance b... |
The tax code allows individuals and businesses to make noncash contributions (e.g., vehicles, paintings, used clothing, and household goods) to qualifying charities by allowing taxpayers to claim deductions for their donations on their tax returns. However, not all organizations are granted nonprofit or tax-exempt stat... | Donating a vehicle to charity enables a donor to support a charitable cause, dispose of an unwanted vehicle, and receive a tax benefit. More charities are turning to vehicle donation programs as a means for raising funds. As a result, our objectives were to: (1) determine the number of charities with vehicle donation p... |
CCOs are congressionally created entities that are in part privately funded but operate under some level of government oversight, generally through the appointment of their leadership, management oversight, or The missions of these entities vary substantially, additional regulation.but individually they are narrowly de... | Through congressional charters, Congress has created independent organizations which receive support from federal and nonfederal sources. These organizations, known as CCOs, are authorized to receive and retain financial and nonfinancial resources from nonfederal partners to help meet their core mission and goals. In 2... |
VA arranges for the delivery of home health care services to veterans through two methods. Under its HBHC programs, teams of VA hospital staff deliver primary care services directly to veterans in their homes. Under VA’s second method, community-based providers deliver home health care services to veterans. VA pays for... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) meets veterans' home health care needs, focusing on: (1) the characteristics and services of the home health care programs VA uses; (2) the available data describing program costs; and (3) how VA ensures that ve... |
State derives its authority to grant leave and travel reimbursements to its foreign service employees from the Foreign Service Act of 1980. To implement provisions of the act, the department issued the FAM and the FAH. Travel by State’s civil service employees is generally governed by the General Services Administratio... | The relative size of the Department of State's (State) travel program and continuing concerns about fraud, waste, and abuse in government travel card programs led to this request to audit State's centrally billed travel accounts. GAO was asked to evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls over (1) the authorizatio... |
FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco products under a public health standard is unique among its regulatory responsibilities. CTP is the FDA center with primary responsibility for executing this regulatory responsibility, and its offices conduct work in several areas, including reviewing submissions for new tobacco prod... | In 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act granted FDA, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), authority to regulate tobacco products such as cigarettes. The act requires that tobacco manufacturers submit information to be reviewed by FDA in order to market new tobacco p... |
This section describes (1) DOE’s project management requirements for capital asset projects and cleanup projects, (2) TRU waste operations at Area G, (3) the TRU waste removal project, (4) the TWF construction project, and (5) GAO’s Cost Guide. DOE has established separate project management requirements for its capita... | Nuclear weapons activities at LANL have generated large quantities of TRU waste that must be disposed of properly. To address a 2005 cleanup agreement with the state of New Mexico requiring DOE to close LANL's TRU waste site, NNSA is to oversee two TRU waste projects. The first is to remove the waste stored at LANL and... |
On August 10, 1993, the Congress enacted the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 1993, P.L. 103-66), which established the EZ/EC program’s eligibility criteria, designation procedures, and benefits. The act specified that an area could not be selected for the program unless it (1) met specific criteria for ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) Program, focusing on the: (1) status of the program's implementation in the urban EZs, including the extent to which public housing officials and residents have bee... |
The definition of “elderly families” used to determine eligibility for certain public housing has evolved over time. Until 1992, the term encompassed low-income families whose head, spouse, or sole member was aged 62 or older, as well as low-income individuals with disabilities, regardless of age. All housing authoriti... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed: (1) the impact of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 on the availability of public housing for persons with disabilities; (2) how incremental Section 8 certificates and vouchers that were made available since the passage of the 1992 act were assisting ... |
Every time responsibility for cargo changes hands along the global supply chain there is the potential for a security breach. As a result, vulnerabilities exist that terrorists could take advantage of by, for example, placing a WMD into a container bound for the United States. While there have been no known incidents o... | The U.S. economy is dependent on the expeditious flow of millions of tons of cargo each day through the global supply chain—the flow of goods from manufacturers to retailers. Criminal or terrorist attacks using cargo shipments can cause disruptions to the supply chain and can limit global economic growth and productivi... |
The DI program provides monthly cash benefits to insured, severely disabled workers; the SSI program provides monthly cash payments to aged, blind, or disabled people whose income and resources fall below a certain threshold. Claimants under either program file an application for disability benefits with one of SSA’s m... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Short-Term Disability Plan (STDP), focusing on: (1) progress made by SSA's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) in meeting STDP backlog reduction and case processing goals; (2) the current OHA allowance rate for appealed cases ... |
Full and open competition is the preferred method for federal agencies to award contracts. This preference was established through the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984, which required agencies to obtain full and open competition through the use of competitive procedures in their procurement activities unle... | Competition is a critical tool for achieving the best return on the government's investment. While federal agencies are generally required to award contracts on the basis of full and open competition, they are permitted to award noncompetitive contracts in certain situations. Agencies are also required to establish com... |
Many DOD organizations, collectively known as the missing persons accounting community, have a role in accounting for the missing, as discussed below. The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD (PACOM) are the two top-level Policy) and U.S. Pacific Commandleadership organizations in the accounting community. USD Po... | This testimony discusses GAO's findings and recommendations about DOD's missing persons accounting mission from our recently issued report, DOD's POW/MIA Mission: Top-Level Leadership Attention Needed to Resolve Longstanding Challenges in Accounting for Missing Persons from Past Conflicts. DOD reports that more than 83... |
While the term “data center” can be used to describe any room used for the purpose of processing or storing data, as defined by OMB in 2010, a data center was a room greater than 500 square feet, used for processing or storing data, and which met stringent availability requirements. Other facilities were classified as ... | In 2010, as focal point for information technology management across the government, OMBs Federal Chief Information Officer launched the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiativean effort to consolidate the growing number of federal data centers. In July 2011, GAO evaluated 24 agencies progress on this effort and... |
Performance-based logistics is the DOD term for the process of (1) identifying a level of performance required by the warfighter and (2) negotiating a performance-based contract between the government and the product support integrator—that is generally the original equipment manufacturer of the total system—to provide... | The Department of Defense (DOD) is pursuing a policy that promotes performance-based logistics at the platform level as the preferred product support strategy for its weapon systems, based in part on DOD's perception that this is an industry best practice. GAO was asked to compare industry practices for activities usin... |
The IG Act originally established IGs appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate in 12 major departments and agencies of the government in 1978. Since then, additional IGs have been added through a series of amendments to the IG Act. The Inspector General Act Amendments of 1988 established IGs appointed by ... | The IGs play a key role in federal agency oversight by enhancing government accountability and protecting the government's resources. This includes a strong leadership role in making recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of government offices and programs at a time when they are needed most. This ... |
The use of SSNs by government and the private sector has grown over time, in part because of federal requirements. In addition, the growth in computerized records has further increased reliance on SSNs. This growth in use and availability of the SSN is important because SSNs are often one of the “identifiers” of choice... | The Social Security numbers (SSN), originally created in 1936 to track workers' earnings and eligibility for Social Security benefits is now used for many other purposes by both government and private sectors. The growth in electronic record keeping and the availability of information over the Internet, combined with t... |
Agencies communicate with the public for various reasons. In September 2016, we reported on categories of advertising and public relations activities that agencies may engage in, including: Public education and awareness – providing information on public health and safety issues, informing the public of its rights and ... | Agencies communicate with the public regarding their functions, policies, and activities. In September 2016, GAO reported that the federal government spends about $1.5 billion per year on public relations activities, carried out through advertising and public relations contracts and by public affairs employees. GAO was... |
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division (Division) was established in 1957 to enforce federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender preference, disability, religion, and national origin. The Division’s enforcement responsibilities include enforcing antidiscrimination protections in education, employ... | The sensitive nature of taxpayer-funded travel necessitates that federal agencies have strong internal controls in place to help ensure that travel complies with rules and regulations. GAO was asked to review the Division's travel controls. This report examines the extent to which the Division effectively implemented i... |
Among other things, FSA is responsible for implementing USDA’s direct and guaranteed loan programs. FSA’s district office staff administer the direct loan program and have primary decision-making authority for approving loans. As of September 30, 2001, there were about 95,000 borrowers with direct loans outstanding, wi... | For years, some minority and women farmers have alleged that the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) discriminates against them, treating them differently from other farmers during the loan approval or foreclosure process. During fiscal years 2000 and 2001, FSA took, on average, four days longe... |
The federal government established education provisions for American Indians through treaties dating back to the late 1700s. Since the early 1800s the federal government has funded schools to educate American Indians, and Interior’s BIE currently administers this school system. These federally funded schools were estab... | The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NC... |
Because DOD is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, overhauling its business operations represents a huge management challenge. In fiscal year 2004, DOD reported that its operations involved $1.2 trillion in assets, $1.7 trillion in liabilities, over 3.3 million military and civilian personne... | Despite its significant investment in business systems, the Department of Defense (DOD) continues to have long-standing financial and business management problems that preclude the department from producing reliable and timely information for making decisions and for accurately reporting on its billions of dollars of a... |
The Census Bureau has discretion under the Constitution and federal statutes to decide whether to count Americans residing overseas. The federal decennial census is conducted pursuant to the requirement imposed by Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, and Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, that Congre... | In the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, U.S. military and federal civilian employees overseas were included in the numbers used for apportioning Congress. Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) is assessing the practicality of counting all Americans abroad by holding a test census in France, Kuwait, and Mexico. GAO was aske... |
To establish and manage its inventories, the Coast Guard must comply with the criteria contained in federal property management regulations and with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) policy. Federal property management regulations state that each agency shall establish and maintain control of inventories to ensu... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Coast Guard's inventory management system for its fleet of 240 cutters to identify any wasteful or inefficient practices that should be changed, focusing on: (1) whether the Coast Guard has the systems it needs to effectively manage its inventory of spare and repair... |
We assessed the DEAMS schedule using the GAO Schedule Guide to determine whether it was comprehensive, well-constructed, credible, and controlled. To assess the schedule, we obtained and reviewed documentation, including the integrated master plan and work breakdown structure. In assessing the program’s cost estimate, ... | The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that the development and implementation of DEAMS is critical to the department's goal of producing auditable financial statements by September 2017. In October 2010, GAO reported that although the Air Force had developed a cost estimate that met best practices, it had not deve... |
UAVs are pilotless aircraft, controlled remotely or by preprogrammed on-board equipment. The Outrider system consists of four air vehicles, ground control equipment, one remote video terminal, four modular mission payloads, communications devices, a means of launch and recovery, and one mobile maintenance facility for ... | GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) acquisition of the Outrider, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, through a streamlined acquisition process known as the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD), focusing on whether: (1) DOD is applying lessons learned from prior UAV programs to the Outrider; ... |
As of December 31, 2010, there were 6,364 community banks (commercial banks with total assets of $1 billion or less). This represents about 92 percent of all commercial banks, although only about 10 percent of commercial bank assets nationwide. Banks in the United States are supervised by one of the following three fed... | Since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, commercial real estate (CRE) loan delinquencies have more than doubled. The federal banking regulators have issued statements and guidance encouraging banks to continue lending to creditworthy borrowers and explaining how banks can work with troubled borrowers. However, ... |
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) provided the first whistleblower protections for disclosures of, among other things, violations of laws, mismanagement, or gross waste of funds for federal employees, former employees, and applicants for employment. The act established both MSPB and OSC and placed OSC within ... | Federal employee whistleblowers—individuals who report violations of law or certain agency mismanagement— may risk reprisals from their agencies. WPEA seeks to strengthen the rights of and protections for federal whistleblowers. WPEA includes a provision for GAO to report on the law's implementation. This report (1) de... |
As a result of coverage limits, restrictions, and exclusions in NFIP policies, insurance payments for flood damage may not pay all of the costs of repairing or replacing flood-damaged property. Certain NFIP limitations are embedded in statute; others have been promulgated by FEMA pursuant to its statutory authority. FE... | According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), 90 percent of all natural disasters in the United States involve flooding. Because of the catastrophic and unpredictable nature of floods, private insurance companies do not typically cover flood losses. Congress established the NFIP in 1968 to provide an insura... |
The HEA, as amended, specifies a formula, known as the federal need analysis methodology, to determine students’ eligibility for federal need- based student aid. A student’s need for financial aid is calculated using a formula that subtracts a student’s expected family contribution (EFC) from the student’s cost of atte... | Federal student aid is intended to play an integral part in fulfilling the promise of greater academic access and success for less affluent students. However, many experts have expressed concern about the length and complexity of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the statutory need analysis formu... |
The Department of Defense understands that a comprehensive transformation of its logistics structures, processes, and supporting information systems is necessary to improve its customer services and reduce the cost of support. To lead this transformation, the Department established the Logistics Reform Senior Steering ... | The Department of Defense's (DOD) Logistics Strategic Plan is not comprehensive enough and does not provide an adequate overall logistics strategy to effectively guide the defense components' logistics plans. The military services, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the U.S. Transportation Command each developed separat... |
Under the Stafford Act, when a major natural catastrophe, fire, flood, or explosion occurs that is beyond the capabilities of a state and local government response, the President may declare that a major disaster exists. This declaration activates the federal response plan for the delivery of federal disaster assistanc... | The terrorist attacks on New York City created the most costly disaster in U.S. history. In response, the President pledged at least $20 billion in aid to the city. Approximately $7.4 billion of this aid is being provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) public assistance program, which provides... |
When the WTC buildings collapsed on September 11, 2001, an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 people in the vicinity were immediately exposed to a noxious mixture of dust, debris, smoke, and potentially toxic contaminants in the air and on the ground, such as pulverized concrete, fibrous glass, particulate matter, and asbest... | Responders to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack--individuals involved in rescue, recovery, or cleanup--included New York City Fire Department (FDNY) personnel, federal government workers, and others from New York and elsewhere. They were exposed to numerous hazards, and concerns remain about the long-term effects on ... |
In its role as the nation’s tax collector, IRS is responsible for collecting taxes, processing tax returns, and enforcing the nation’s tax laws. Since 1990, we have designated IRS’s enforcement of tax laws as a governmentwide high-risk area. In attempting to ensure that taxpayers fulfill their obligations, IRS is chall... | GAO previously testified that federal contractors abused the tax system with little consequence. While performing those audits, GAO noted that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records sometimes contained inaccurate or outdated tax information that prevented IRS from taking appropriate collection actions against those... |
IRS’s Business Systems Modernization program, which began in 1999, is a multibillion-dollar, high-risk, highly complex effort that involves the development and delivery of a number of modernized tax administration and internal management systems, as well as core infrastructure projects, which are intended to replace th... | In August 2008, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began defining a new strategy for modernizing the way it manages individual taxpayer accounts. The strategy, known as Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) 2, is expected to provide service, compliance, and other benefits to IRS and to taxpayers beginning in 2012. IRS ex... |
Not since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 has the federal government undertaken an organizational merger of the magnitude of DHS. In 2003, we designated the implementation and transformation of DHS as one of the high-risk areas across the federal government because it represented an enormous undertaki... | Significant management challenges exist for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as it continues to integrate its varied management processes, policies, and systems in areas such as financial management and information technology. These activities are primarily led by the Under Secretary for Management (USM), depa... |
DOD faces a number of long-standing and systemic challenges that have hindered its ability to achieve more successful acquisition outcomes, such as ensuring that DOD personnel use sound contracting approaches and maintaining a workforce with the skills and capabilities needed to properly manage the acquisitions and ove... | Since 2002, DOD obligated at least $166.6 billion on contracts supporting reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these contingency contracts, in particular those awarded in Iraq, need to be closed. Contract closeout is a key step to ensure the government receives the goods and service... |
FAA engages in three primary activities: aviation safety oversight, ATC, and airport infrastructure development (see fig. 1). The costs associated with each of these activities generally depend on the nature and usage of the specific service FAA provides. FAA safety activities include the licensing of pilots and mechan... | The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund), and the excise taxes that support the Trust Fund are scheduled for reauthorization at the end of fiscal year 2007. FAA is primarily supported by the Trust Fund, which receives revenues from a series of excise taxes paid by users ... |
On September 30, 1991, 8 months after his inauguration as Haiti’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown by a military coup. On September 18, 1994, after 3 years of economic and diplomatic pressure, including the threat of direct U.S. military intervention, Haiti’s military regime... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed U.S. efforts to foster democratic elections and increased respect for human rights in Haiti, focusing on: (1) how the elections in Haiti were conducted; (2) the nature and extent of U.S. support for Haitian elections; (3) whether election assistance funds were properly ... |
Since 2000, legacy airlines have faced unprecedented internal and external challenges. Internally, the impact of the Internet on how tickets are sold and consumers search for fares and the growth of low cost airlines as a market force accessible to almost every consumer has hurt legacy airline revenues by placing downw... | Since 2001, the U.S. airline industry has confronted unprecedented financial losses. Two of the nation's largest airlines--United Airlines and US Airways--went into bankruptcy, terminating their pension plans and passing the unfunded liability to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). PBGC's unfunded liabilit... |
Depot maintenance is a key part of the total DOD logistics effort and is a vast undertaking, supporting millions of equipment items, 53,000 combat vehicles, 514,000 wheeled vehicles, 372 ships, and 17,300 aircraft of over 100 different models. Depot maintenance requires extensive shop facilities, specialized equipment,... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the privatization of defense depot maintenance activities. GAO noted that: (1) the Department of Defense's (DOD) evolving depot maintenance policy includes a public-private mix and shifts work to the private sector where feasible; (2) depot privatization could worsen e... |
GPS is a global positioning, navigation, and timing system consisting of space, ground control, and user equipment segments that support the broadcasts of military and civil GPS signals. These signals each include positioning and timing information, which enables users with appropriately-equipped GPS receivers to deter... | The satellite-based GPS provides positioning, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide. The Air Force is modernizing the satellite, ground control, and user equipment segments to enhance GPS performance. The Senate and House Armed Services Committee reports accompanying bills for the National Defense Authorizatio... |
In 1986, the Congress replaced CSRS with FERS for federal employees hired beginning January 1, 1984, in part to (1) recognize the inclusion of federal employees under Social Security and (2) reduce federal pension costs. Among the concerns of congressional deliberators in crafting FERS were that its retirement benefits... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), focusing on: (1) the extent to which employees under FERS voluntarily contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); (2) how well TSP educational materials address the importance of employee participation; and ... |
Legislation related to telework began to emerge from Congress in the 1990s. For example, beginning in 1992, Congress provided funding to GSA to establish the first federal telework centers. Three years later, Congress permanently authorized federal agencies to spend money to install telephone lines and related equipmen... | When historic snowstorms forced lengthy closings of federal offices in the National Capital Region in 2010, thousands of employees continued to work from their homes, making clear the potential of telework in mitigating the effects of emergencies. GAO was asked to (1) describe the guidance lead agencies have issued per... |
Information security is a critical consideration for any organization that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission and is especially important for a government corporation such as FDIC, which has responsibilities to oversee the financial institutions that are entrusted with safegua... | The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has a demanding responsibility enforcing banking laws, regulating financial institutions, and protecting depositors. Because of the importance of FDIC's work, effective information security controls are essential to ensure that the corporation's systems and information a... |
Mass transit and passenger rail systems provided 10.7 billion passenger trips in the United States in fiscal year 2008. The nation’s mass transit and passenger rail systems include all multiple-occupancy vehicle services designed to transport customers on local and regional routes, such as transit buses, heavy rail, co... | Terrorist incidents worldwide have highlighted the need for securing mass transit and passenger rail systems. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the primary federal entity responsible for securing these systems. GAO was asked to assess (1) the extent to which fed... |
OMB’s Uniform Guidance was issued on December 26, 2013, and became effective on December 26, 2014. The Uniform Guidance establishes the principles for defining, calculating, and negotiating ICRs for federally funded research. The guidance describes the classification and types of allowable indirect costs; methods of al... | NSF awards billions of dollars to institutions of higher education (universities), K-12 school systems, industry, science associations, and other organizations to promote scientific progress by supporting research and education. NSF reimburses awardees for direct and indirect costs incurred for most awards. Direct cost... |
The federal government has helped provide affordable housing to low- income households since the 1930s. Since then, a number of federal housing programs have subsidized the construction of housing for the poor, provided rental assistance to tenants in existing privately owned housing, and insured mortgages for both sin... | According to the 2003 American Housing Survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), nearly one-third of elderly households--those whose head was age 62 or older--were experiencing housing affordability problems. Further, a congressional commission reported in 2002 that investment in a... |
The DOD purchase card program is part of the Governmentwide Commercial Purchase Card Program, which was established to streamline federal agency acquisition processes by providing a low-cost, efficient vehicle for obtaining goods and services directly from vendors. The purchase card can be used for both micropurchases ... | This study responds to a legislative mandate, which directs the Comptroller General to review the actions taken by the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement provisions included in the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003 (Public Law 107-314) concerning management of the purchase card pro... |
Unmanned aircraft systems generally consist of (1) multiple aircraft, which can be expendable or recoverable and can carry lethal or non-lethal payloads; (2) a flight control station; (3) information and retrieval or processing stations; and (4) in some cases, wheeled land vehicles that carry launch and recovery platfo... | For the last several years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has planned to invest billions of dollars in development and procurement of unmanned aircraft systems. In its fiscal year 2011 budget request the department indicated a significant increase in these investments, expecting to need more than $24 billion from 201... |
The SSO program covers all states with fixed guideway systems operating in their jurisdictions. FTA defines a rail fixed guideway system as any light, heavy, or rapid rail system, monorail, inclined plane, funicular, trolley, or automated guideway that is not regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and i... | Rail transit generally has been one of the safest forms of public transportation. However, several recent notable accidents are cause for concern. For example, a July 2009 crash on the Washington Metro Red Line resulted in nine deaths. The federal government does not directly regulate the safety of rail transit. Throug... |
The diversion and abuse of prescription drugs are associated with incalculable costs to society in terms of addiction, overdose, death, and related criminal activities. DEA has stated that the diversion and abuse of legitimately produced controlled pharmaceuticals constitute a multibillion-dollar illicit market nationw... | The increasing diversion of prescription drugs for illegal purposes or abuse is a disturbing trend in the nation's battle against drug abuse. Diversion can include such activities as prescription forgery and "doctor shopping" by individuals who visit numerous physicians to obtain multiple prescriptions. The most freque... |
FEMA’s workforce consists of employees hired under both Title 5 and the Stafford Act, as well as individuals from two other workforce components who are not FEMA employees, but who can be deployed for disaster response: the DHS Surge Capacity Force and FEMA Corps. Title 5 employees are permanent and temporary employees... | FEMA is responsible for coordinating government-wide efforts in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural or man-made disasters, including acts of terror. The agency relies on permanent and disaster-related temporary employees and has a total workforce of over 22,000. Employee misconduct incidents can d... |
CMS and states share responsibilities for overseeing QHPs offered through the exchanges. Specifically, CMS is responsible for establishing minimum QHP certification standards that all QHPs must meet in order to participate in any exchange. Federal regulations require that all exchanges have procedures to certify QHPs a... | The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted in 2010, included provisions that were intended to make health insurance more available and affordable for individuals seeking coverage, including the establishment of health insurance exchanges. Health insurance was made available to individuals through t... |
The safe, efficient, and convenient movement of people and goods depends on a vibrant transportation system that meets those needs. Our nation has built a vast transportation system of roads, airways, railways, pipelines, transit, and waterways that facilitate commerce and improve our quality of life. The flow of peopl... | A safe, efficient, and convenient transportation system is integral to the health of our economy and quality of life. Our nation's vast transportation system of airways, railways, roads, pipelines, transit, and waterways has served this need, yet it is under considerable strain from (1) increasing congestion, (2) the l... |
The National Cemeteries Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-43) authorized NCS to bury eligible veterans and their family members in national cemeteries. NCS operates and maintains 114 national cemeteries located in 38 states and Puerto Rico. In fiscal year 1996, NCS performed about 72,000 interments and maintained more than two mill... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery System (NCS), focusing on: (1) NCS' plans for addressing veterans' future burial demands; (2) the relative 30-year costs of three types of cemeteries: casket-only internment, cremated internment in columbarium n... |
The F/A-22 is an air superiority aircraft with advanced features to make it less detectable to adversaries (stealth characteristics) and capable of high speeds for long ranges. It is being developed under contracts with Lockheed Martin Corporation for the aircraft and Pratt & Whitney Corporation for the engine. Because... | In 1991, the Air Force began developing the F/A-22 aircraft with advanced features to make it less detectable to adversaries and capable of high speeds for long distances. After a history of program cost increases, Congress limited the cost of F/A-22 production to $37.5 billion in 1997. Congress has remained interested... |
DOD recognizes that it is neither practical nor feasible to protect its entire infrastructure against every possible threat and, similar to DHS, it is pursuing a risk-management approach to prioritize resource and operational requirements. Risk management is a systematic, analytical process to determine the likelihood ... | The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on a network of DOD and non-DOD infrastructure assets in the United States and abroad so critical that its unavailability could hinder DOD's ability to project, support, and sustain its forces and operations worldwide. DOD established the Defense Critical Infrastructure Program (D... |
As part of a multilayered defense strategy, MTSA required vessels and port facilities to have security plans in place by July 1, 2004, including provisions establishing and controlling access to secure areas of vessels and ports. Given that ports are not only centers for passenger traffic and import and export of cargo... | As part of a multilayered effort to strengthen port security, the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 calls for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue a worker identification card that uses biological metrics, such as fingerprints, to control access to secure areas of ports or ships. Charged... |
VA pays monthly compensation to veterans with service-connected disabilities (i.e., injuries or diseases incurred or aggravated while on active military duty) according to the severity of the disability. It pays additional compensation for certain dependent spouses, children, and parents of veterans. The department pro... | VBA pays disability benefits for disabling conditions incurred or aggravated while in military service, while pension benefits are for low-income veterans who are either elderly or have disabilities unrelated to military service. In fiscal year 2014, the department paid about $58 billion in disability compensation and ... |
Although people across the country were exposed through the media to the emotional trauma of the WTC attack, the residents, office workers, and others living, working, or attending school in the WTC area and the WTC responders not only experienced the traumatic event in person but also were exposed to a complex mixture... | When the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings collapsed on September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people died and an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 people who were visiting, living, working, and attending school nearby, or responding to the attack, were exposed to a mixture of dust, debris, smoke, and various chemicals. In the m... |
Each year, CMS evaluates approximately 3,000 acute care hospitals participating in HVBP on their performance in prior years on a series of quality and efficiency measures. Prior to the HVBP program, hospitals received slightly higher Medicare payments for submitting data on measures within CMS’s public Inpatient Qualit... | The HVBP program, enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), evaluates hospital performance on quality and efficiency (Medicare spending per beneficiary) measures. Based on those results, CMS adjusts Medicare payments, leading to bonuses or penalties for hospitals. The first HVBP payment... |
“Every telecommunication user suffers from telabuse. The only question is how much each loses each month.” “There are two kinds of customers: those who have been victims of toll fraud, and those who will be.” The abuse and theft of telecommunications services is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. A... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) use of its telecommunications resources, focusing on: (1) whether USDA ensures that the commercial telephone and long-distance services it pays for are used in accordance with federal regulations and departmental policy; and (2) US... |
The dramatic decline in the U.S. housing market that began in 2006 precipitated a decline in the price of mortgage-related assets, particularly mortgage assets based on subprime loans, in 2007. Some institutions found themselves so exposed that they were threatened with failure, and some failed because they were unable... | In 2008 and 2009, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provided emergency assistance that required the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to make a determination of systemic risk under the systemic risk exception of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act). The FDI Act requires GAO to... |
CBP is the lead federal agency charged with keeping terrorists, criminals, and inadmissible aliens out of the country while facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and commerce at the nation’s borders. CBP has three main components that have border security responsibilities. First, CBP’s Office of Field Operations i... | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for keeping terrorists and other dangerous people from entering the country while also facilitating the cross-border movement of millions of travelers. CBP carries out this responsibility at 326 air, sea, and land ports of entry. In response to a congressional req... |
Congress established the RFS as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in response to concerns about the nation’s dependence on imported oil. The RFS initially required that a minimum of 4 billion gallons of renewable fuels be blended into transportation fuels in 2006, ramping up to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. Two yea... | Since 2006 the RFS has required that transportation fuels—typically gasoline and diesel—sold in the United States be blended with increasing volumes of biofuels to meet environmental and energy goals. Annual targets for the volumes of biofuels to be blended are set by statute. EPA is responsible for adjusting the statu... |
The United States has historically sought to attract international students to its colleges and universities. In recent years international students have earned about one-third or more of all of the U.S. degrees at both the master’s and doctoral levels in several of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics... | More international students obtain a higher education in the United States than in any other country, and they make valuable contributions while they are here. For those students returning home after their studies, such exchanges support federal public diplomacy efforts and can improve understanding among nations. Inte... |
ICPs provide services associated with the acquisition, distribution, maintenance, and disposal of consumable and reparable parts, and supplies needed to operate weapon systems and components. DLA manages 5 ICPs at 5 locations, and the services manage 11 ICPs at 13 locations. DLA’s ICPs manage consumable items such as r... | GAO reviewed the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) report on its review of the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) management of all Department of Defense (DOD) inventory control points (ICP). GAO noted that: (1) OSD used conservative assumptions and cost factors in estimating cost savings from consolidating serv... |
DOD is a massive and complex organization. Overhauling its business operations will take years to accomplish and represents a huge management challenge. In fiscal year 2005, the department reported that its operations involved $1.3 trillion in assets and $1.9 trillion in liabilities, more than 2.9 million military and ... | The Department of Defense (DOD) bears sole responsibility for eight DOD-specific high-risk areas and shares responsibility for six governmentwide high-risk areas. These high-risk areas reflect the pervasive weaknesses that cut across all of DOD's major business operations. Several of the high-risk areas are inter-relat... |
The Office of National Drug Control Policy has reported that international drug trafficking organizations have become sophisticated, multibillion-dollar industries that quickly adapt to new U.S. drug control efforts. According to Customs’ Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 1997 - 2002, drug smugglers have moved from (1) usin... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Custom Service's drug-enforcement operations along the Southwest border of the United States, focusing on: (1) Customs' low-risk, cargo entry programs in use at three ports on the Southwest border--Otay Mesa, California; Laredo, Texas; and Nogales, Arizona; (2) the ... |
To meet property management requirements and provide data for personal property reporting needs, VA field facilities use an inventory accounting system, the Automated Engineering Management System/Medical Equipment Reporting System. The system was originally designed to schedule preventive maintenance. In 1996, the sys... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care to veterans through the $27 billion Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical programs. VHA administers and operates VA's medical system, providing care to nearly 5 million patients in 2003. As of September 2003, VHA operated 160 hospitals, 847 outpatient ... |
On January 6, 1993, the Institute of Medicine published a report that discussed secret U.S. chemical weapons programs during World War II. The report found that an estimated 60,000 military personnel participated as human experimental subjects in tests of exposure to mustard agents and lewisite and unknown numbers of a... | Tens of thousands of military personnel and civilians were potentially exposed to chemical or biological substances through Department of Defense (DOD) tests since World War II. DOD conducted some of these tests as part of its Project 112 test program, while others were conducted as separate efforts. GAO was asked to (... |
The Army’s modular force transformation affected the Army’s combat units and the related command and support organizations in both the active and reserve components. The Army’s objective in redesigning its force structure was to create more units to meet operational needs and be more flexible in deploying independently... | The Army considers its modular force transformation, which began in 2004, to be its most extensive restructuring since World War II. The Army expanded the number of deployable units and incorporated advanced equipment and specialized personnel, but removed a maneuver battalion from its brigades. Throughout the transfor... |
The federal government encourages federal prime contractors’ use of small businesses as subcontractors by requiring prime contractors to develop plans with stated goals for subcontracting to various types of small businesses. Federal regulations require a subcontracting plan for each contract or contract modification t... | Subcontracting on federal contracts is a large and growing marketplace for small businesses. The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Commercial Marketing Representatives (CMRs) have long been considered to be key to fostering small businesses' participation in subcontracts. GAO was asked to assess the role that CMRs ... |
Because of potential cost increases, the Air Force established a team—the Joint Estimating Team—to review the total estimated cost of the F-22 program. This team reported in 1997 that the cost of the F-22 production program could grow substantially from the amount planned, but that the contractors should design cost re... | The Air Force F-22 Raptor, an air superiority aircraft with an air-to-ground attack capability is set for completion in September 2003. However, contracts to begin 10 low-rate initial production aircraft for fiscal year 2001 have been delayed until after completion of the President's review of Department of Defense (DO... |
Data breaches involving PII can occur under many circumstances and for many reasons. They can be inadvertent, such as from the loss of an electronic device, or deliberate, such as from the theft of a device or a cyber-based attack by a malicious individual or group, foreign nation, terrorist, or other adversary. Incide... | The federal government collects large amounts of PII from the public, including taxpayer data, Social Security information, and patient health information. It is critical that federal agencies ensure that this information is adequately protected from data breaches, and that they respond swiftly and appropriately when b... |
For almost a decade, the government of Mexico has sought to combat the growing power of criminal groups that initially emerged as DTOs in the 1980s and 1990s. This struggle became a national priority in 2006 when then-President Felipe Calderón mobilized the Mexican military and law enforcement agencies to disrupt DTO o... | Violent crimes committed by drug trafficking organizations in Mexico often involve firearms, and a 2009 GAO report found that many of these firearms originated in the United States. ATF and ICE have sought to stem firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. GAO was asked to undertake a follow-up review to it... |
States began adopting charter school laws in the early 1990s, beginning with Minnesota in 1991. Charter schools are permitted more flexibility in school operation for agreeing to accomplish specific academic goals contained in their charters. The specifics of these arrangements vary, as each state adopting a charter sc... | Charter schools are public schools that are granted increased autonomy by states in exchange for meeting specified academic goals. State law determines who approves the formation of a charter school, often the board of education. As public schools, charter schools are subject to the performance requirements of the No C... |
The Medicare statute divides benefits into two parts: (1) “hospital insurance,” or part A, which covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, and certain home health care services, and (2) “supplementary medical insurance,” or part B, which covers physician and outpatient hospital services, diagnostic ... | GAO discussed Medicare benefit fraud and abuse in the home health industry, focusing on: (1) the general nature of beneficiary eligibility criteria; (2) the diminished Medicare contractor review and audit effort; (3) weaknesses in Medicare's home health provider certification processes; and (4) new tools Congress provi... |
Highway public-private partnerships have the potential to provide numerous benefits to the public sector. There are also potential costs and trade-offs. Highway public-private partnerships created to date have resulted in advantages from the perspective of state and local governments, such as the construction of new in... | The private sector is increasingly involved in financing and operating highway facilities under long-term concession agreements. In some cases, this involves new facilities; in other cases, firms operate and maintain an existing facility for a period of time in exchange for an up-front payment to the public sector and ... |
Spending for the elderly’s long-term care was $91 billion, or about $12,000 per disabled elderly person, in 1995, the last year for which data on expenditures from all sources are available. The elderly and their families represent the largest single group of purchasers of long-term care, spending almost $36 billion do... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges the country will face in financing long-term care for the baby boom generation, focusing on: (1) the current spending for long-term care for the elderly; (2) the increased demand that the baby boom generation will likely create for long-term care; (3) re... |
In the mid-2000s, the Navy was developing the DDG 1000 Zumwalt class destroyer—a new multimission land-attack ship—and laying the analytical framework to support a new air warfare cruiser acquisition program known as CG(X). The Navy planned to end DDG 51 production with the delivery of DDG 112 in 2011 (which would have... | After nearly a decade and almost $10 billion in development on Zumwalt class destroyers, the Navy changed its acquisition approach from procuring Zumwalts to restarting production of Arleigh Burke class destroyers (DDG 51) and building a new version, known as Flight III. As requested, GAO reviewed the Navys plans for ... |
According to data from the NTD, there were about 2,200 transit agencies in the U.S. in 2013, most of which used buses. The bus fleets ranged in size from large agencies operating more than a thousand buses to small agencies with a single bus. For example, MTA New York City Transit reported that it had more than 3,300 b... | Buses are critical to the nation's public transportation services. According to data from FTA's National Transit Database, buses carry more passengers than all other modes combined. FTA provides grants to transit agencies to buy buses. When making these purchases, agencies must comply with a range of federal requiremen... |
Two “secret shopper” surveys of bank and thrift sales of mutual funds have been issued since we released our report. One was done by a private research organization called Prophet Market Research & Consulting and was completed in April 1996. The other was done for FDIC by another research organization, Market Trends, I... | GAO discussed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) survey concerning the risks associated with mutual fund investing. GAO noted that: (1) sales of mutual funds through banks and thrifts have increased dramatically; (2) the value of assets managed by these institutions doubled from $219 billion in December... |
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) created PBGC as a government agency to help protect the retirement income of U.S. workers with private-sector defined benefit plans by guaranteeing their benefits up to certain legal limits. PBGC administers two separate insurance programs for these plans: a s... | The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) insures the pension benefits of more than 44 million people. Since its inception in 1974, PBGC's assets have grown from about $34 million to almost $80 billion in 2010, largely through assets received in plan terminations. Despite significant swings in PBGC's investment... |
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.