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The federal government’s financial condition and long-term fiscal outlook present enormous challenges to the nation’s ability to respond to emerging forces reshaping American society, the United States’ place in the world, and the future role of the federal government. Over the next few decades as the baby boom generat... | The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) most recent estimate of the difference between what taxpayers timely and accurately paid in taxes and what they owed was $345 billion. IRS estimates it will eventually recover some of this tax gap, resulting in an estimated net tax gap of $290 billion. The tax gap arises when taxpay... |
Some context for my remarks is appropriate. The threat of terrorism was significant throughout the 1990s; a plot to destroy 12 U.S. airliners was discovered and thwarted in 1995, for instance. Yet the task of providing security to the nation’s aviation system is unquestionably daunting, and we must reluctantly acknowle... | A safe and secure civil aviation system is a critical component of the nation's overall security, physical infrastructure, and economic foundation. Billions of dollars and myriad programs and policies have been devoted to achieving such a system. Although it is not fully known at this time what actually occurred or wha... |
In 2002, after more than 15 years of scientific investigation, Congress approved the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as a suitable location for the development of a long-term permanent repository for high-level nuclear waste. DOE is responsible for developing and operating the repository, and NRC is responsible for licen... | The Department of Energy (DOE) must obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In licensing, a quality assurance program helps ensure that the information used to demonstrate the safety of the repository is defensible and well documen... |
The ability to find, organize, use, share, appropriately dispose of, and save records—the essence of records management—is vital for the effective functioning of the federal government. In the wake of the transition from paper-based to electronic processes, records are increasingly electronic, and the volumes of electr... | Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to develop a modern Electronic Records Archive (ERA) system, a major information system that is intended to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types and formats of electronic records. The system is being developed in... |
Of the four agencies that received over $40 billion in funding for science- related activities under the Recovery Act, DOE received the largest amount of funds. Table 1 shows Recovery Act funding, obligations, and expenditures for these agencies. Of the $35.2 billion it received under the Recovery Act for science-relat... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) is intended to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery, among other things. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2011 that the Recovery Act would cost $840 billion, including more than $40 billion in science-related activities at t... |
To identify steps Chrysler and GM have taken since December 2008 to reorganize, we reviewed information on the companies’ finances and operations, including financial statements, select documents from their bankruptcy proceedings, and company-provided data, and interviewed representatives of the companies. To determine... | The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) provided $81.1 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) aid to the U.S. auto industry, including $62 billion in restructuring loans to Chrysler Group LLC (Chrysler) and General Motors Company (GM). In return, Treasury received 9.85 percent equity in Chrysler, 60.8 percen... |
The GS pay system covered 69 percent of federal civilian workers in 2011, with compensation costing about $147 billion (about 67 percent of total federal civilian compensation of about $220 billion). The GS workforce is divided into 15 pay grades, with 10 rates of pay (referred to as steps) within each grade. Agencies ... | A careful consideration of federal pay is an essential part of fiscal stewardship and is necessary to support the recruitment and retention of a competent, successful workforce. Recent studies comparing the compensation of federal workers to workers in other sectors have produced varying findings. To improve understand... |
DOD has undergone five BRAC rounds with the most recent occurring in 2005. Under the first four rounds in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995, DOD closed 97 major bases and had 55 major base realignments and hundreds of minor closures and realignments. DOD has reported that under the prior BRAC rounds it had reduced the size of... | The cleanup of environmental contamination on unneeded property resulting from prior defense base realignment and closure (BRAC) rounds has been a key impediment to the transfer of these properties and could be an issue in the transfer and reuse of unneeded property resulting from the 2005 BRAC round. GAO's analysis of... |
Federal assistance for highway and bridge infrastructure—about $40 billion each year—is distributed through multiple formula and discretionary grant programs collectively known as the federal-aid highway program. The federal-aid highway program is financed through the Highway Trust Fund, a dedicated source of federal r... | The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) provides about $40 billion to the states annually to build and maintain highways and bridges through the federal-aid highway program. While this program has grown and changed over time, the federal-state relationship has been consistently one of partnership since 1916. DOT... |
Congress established the Smithsonian in 1846 to administer a large bequest left to the United States by James Smithson, an English scientist, for the purpose of establishing, in Washington, D.C., an institution “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” In accepting Smithson’s bequest on behalf of the nat... | The Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) is the world's largest museum complex. Its funding comes from its own private trust fund assets and federal appropriations. The Smithsonian Board of Regents, the Smithsonian's governing body, is responsible for the long-term stewardship of the Smithsonian. In recent years, GAO ... |
Our work over the past several years has demonstrated that improper payments are a long-standing, widespread, and significant problem in the federal government. IPIA has increased visibility over improper payments by requiring executive branch agency heads to identify programs and activities susceptible to significant ... | The federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend more than $2 trillion of taxpayer dollars and is responsible for safeguarding those funds against improper payments as well as for recouping those funds when improper payments occur. The Congress enacted the Improper Payments Information Act ... |
According to OMB, its predominant mission is to assist the President in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget and to supervise budget administration in executive branch agencies. In helping to formulate the President’s spending plans, OMB is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of agency programs, po... | For the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2005, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated that of the nearly 1,200 major information technology (IT) projects in the budget, it had placed approximately half--621 projects, representing about $22 billion--on a Management Watch List, composed of mission-critical pr... |
General aviation is characterized by a diverse fleet of aircraft flown for a variety of purposes. In 2010, FAA estimated that there were more than 220,000 aircraft in the active general aviation fleet, comprising more than 90 percent of the U.S. civil aircraft fleet. Included among these aircraft are airplanes, balloon... | Although the U.S. aviation system is one of the safest in the world, hundreds of fatalities occur each year in general aviationwhich includes all forms of aviation except commercial and military. The general aviation industry is composed of a diverse fleet of over 220,000 aircraft that conduct a wide variety of operat... |
VA pays monthly disability compensation to veterans with service- connected disabilities (i.e., injuries or diseases incurred or aggravated while on active military duty) according to the severity of the disability. VBA staff in 57 regional offices process disability compensation claims.These claims processors include ... | With a backlog of disability compensation claims, VBA faces difficulties in improving the accuracy and consistency of the claim decisions made by staff in its 57 regional offices. To help achieve its goal of 98 percent accuracy by fiscal year 2015, VBA recently implemented a new way of measuring accuracy and changed se... |
Under the national military strategy, the military services are required to maintain enough ammunition for wartime needs and for peacetime needs, such as training. The Defense Planning Guidance lays out general guidelines for the services to determine how much ammunition they need to conduct operations under the strate... | This report reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) management practices for demilitarizing excess ammunition. Specifically, GAO evaluates (1) the extent to which the excess ammunition stockpile has been reduced and whether the liability associated with excess ammunition has been fully identified, (2) the Army's reli... |
DOE is responsible for a diverse set of missions, including nuclear security, energy research, and environmental cleanup. These missions are managed by various organizations within DOE and largely carried out by management and operating (M&O) contractors at DOE sites. According to federal budget data, NNSA is one of th... | The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), is responsible for managing its contractors nuclear weapon- and nonproliferation-related national security activities in laboratories and other facilities, collectively known as the nuclear securit... |
The nation’s surface transportation systems facilitate mobility through an extensive network of infrastructure and operators, as well as through the vehicles and vessels that permit passengers and freight to move within the system. Maintaining the systems is critical to sustaining America’s economic growth. This is esp... | This testimony discusses challenges in defining the federal role with respect to freight transportation issues. There are concerns that the projected increases in freight tonnage for all transportation modes will place pressures on the marine, aviation, and highway transportation systems. As a result, there is growing ... |
LIHTCs follow a multistep process that begins with the allocation of tax credits to HFAs. The process of allocating, awarding, and using LIHTCs is depicted in figure 1. As the figure shows, there are four primary steps in the LIHTC process. 1. HFAs receive tax credit allocations. State ceilings for LIHTCs are allocated... | IRS and state HFAs administer the LIHTC program, the largest source of federal assistance for developing affordable rental housing. HFAs are allocated tax credits on a per capita basis and award them to developers. By acquiring project equity from developers, investors may become eligible for the credits, which offset ... |
Given the large influx of Recovery Act funds that LEAs and IHEs are receiving, the Administration has stated its intention to ensure that federal agencies provide information to the public that is transparent and useful. Further, the Act contains numerous provisions to increase transparency and accountability. For exam... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provides $70.3 billion for three education programs--the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I), and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Act requires recipients to be ac... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to have this opportunity to assist you in your continuing review of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Tax Systems Modernization (TSM). In March 1996, we appeared before this Committee to discuss the managerial and technical weaknesses of TSM. Today, our testimo... | GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) progress in achieving its business vision for 2001 and how its Tax Systems Modernization (TSM) supports that vision. GAO noted that: (1) as part of its business vision, IRS will increase the number of returns it receives electronically, consolidate its paper processing... |
Ensuring the quality and safety of nursing home care has been a focus of considerable congressional attention since 1998. Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act establish minimum requirements in statute that all nursing homes must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, respectively. With th... | In 1998 and 1999 reports, GAO concluded that enforcement actions, known as sanctions, were ineffective in encouraging nursing homes to maintain compliance with federal quality requirements: sanctions were often rescinded before being implemented because homes had a grace period to correct deficiencies. In response, the... |
In January 2001, we reported on Department of Defense management challenges and noted that the Department has had serious weaknesses in its management of logistics functions and, in particular, inventory management. We have identified inventory management as a high-risk area since 1990. In 1999, we reported on the Air ... | Spare parts shortages on the three Air Force systems GAO reviewed have undermined the performance of assigned missions and the economy and efficiency of maintenance activities. Specifically, the Air Force did not meet its mission-capable goals for the E-3 or C-5 aircrafts during fiscal years 1996-2000, nor did it have ... |
DISA was included in our review because of its unique role in DOD’s information processing and the Year 2000 process. DISA is responsible to the ASD/C3I for maintaining DIST as the Department’s enterprise inventory database and its primary tool for performing oversight of the Year 2000 correction efforts. In assessing ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to improve the Defense Integration Support Tools (DIST) database, which serves as the DOD inventory of automated information systems and is intended to be used as a tool to help DOD components in addressing year 2000 date proble... |
States have contracted out social services for decades. Federally funded social service programs generally support the financial, employment, and other public assistance needs of children and families. In recent years, the amount of contracting for state-administered social services has increased and the nature of priv... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on states' social service contracting, focusing on: (1) the extent to which state government employees have moved to positions at social service contractors and the impact such movement has had on the management of publicly provided social services; (2) dete... |
With the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the threat of terrorism rose to the top of the country’s national security and law enforcement agendas. In response to these growing threats, the Congress passed and the President signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created DHS. We have previously identified... | In July 2002, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two memorandums directing agencies expected to be part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to temporarily cease funding for new information technology (IT) infrastructure and business systems investments and submit information to OMB on current or ... |
The two main fee basis care delivery methods—preauthorized care and emergency care—are approved using two different processes.Preauthorizing fee basis care involves a multistep process conducted by the VAMC that regularly serves a veteran. The preauthorization process is initiated by a VA provider who submits a request... | While VA treats the majority of veterans in VA-operated facilities, in some instances it must obtain the services of non-VA providers to ensure that veterans are provided timely and accessible care. These non-VA providers are commonly reimbursed by VA using a fee-for-service arrangement known as fee basis care. VA's fe... |
In October 1994, the Improving America’s Schools Act, which reauthorized education programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), revised and expanded drug education under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994, which is title IV of ESEA. The purpose of the Safe and Drug-F... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the accountability measures the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act requires at the federal, state, and local levels; (2) the activities that the Department of Education uses for overseeing state and local programs; (3) how state education agencies (SEA)... |
The Marine Corps’ HMX-1 squadron uses a fleet of 19 VH-3D and VH- 60N helicopters to transport the President in the national capital region, as well as when the President is traveling in the continental U.S. and overseas locations. These aircraft have been in service for decades. The events following the September 11, ... | The VXX is a Navy program to develop a replacement for the current fleet of presidential helicopters. The Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 directed GAO to review and report annually to the congressional defense committees on the program. GAO has reported on the program twice previousl... |
At the federal level, the cleanup of hazardous waste sites is primarily addressed under the Superfund and RCRA corrective action programs. The Superfund program is directed primarily at addressing contamination resulting from past activities at inactive or abandoned sites or from spills that require emergency action. T... | The burden of cleaning up Superfund and other hazardous waste sites is increasingly shifting to taxpayers, particularly since businesses handling hazardous substances are no longer taxed under Superfund and the backlog of sites needing cleanup is growing. While key environmental laws rely on the "polluter pays" princip... |
GPRAMA requires agencies to publicly report on how they are ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the performance information they use to measure progress towards APGs and performance goals. Priority Goals and Performance Measures: GPRAMA requires agencies to identify their highest priority performance goals as APGs... | Federal agencies have not always clearly and transparently explained to Congress and the public how they ensure the quality of their performance information. GPRAMA requires agencies to publicly explain how they ensure the accuracy and reliability of their performance information used to assess progress for their APGs.... |
To help protect against threats to federal systems, FISMA sets forth a comprehensive framework for ensuring the effectiveness of information security controls over information resources that support federal operations and assets. Its framework creates a cycle of risk management activities necessary for an effective sec... | For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security can lead to serious consequences--such as intrusions by malicious individuals, compromised networks, and the theft of sensitive information including personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide ... |
Aerospace is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation that provides scientific and technical support, principally general systems engineering and integration services, for the Air Force and other government agencies. Aerospace is headquartered in El Segundo, California, and has offices throughout the United States. The c... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed executive compensation at The Aerospace Corporation, which operates an Air Force-sponsored federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). GAO found that: (1) as of September 1994, Aerospace employed 32 senior management personnel (referred to as Aerospace exe... |
Federal law provides states with flexibility in how they operate their CHIP programs and how states implement more recent coverage options under PPACA. For example, states may operate CHIP as a separate program, include CHIP-eligible children in their Medicaid programs, or use a combination of the two approaches. State... | CHIP is a joint federal-state program that finances health insurance for over 8 million children. Since the program's inception, the percentage of uninsured children nationwide has decreased by half, from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 6.6 percent in the first three months of 2014. This year, Congress will decide whether to e... |
IRS is currently replacing its antiquated tax administration and financial systems. This effort, as we have reported numerous times, has suffered delays and cost overruns due to a number of reasons, including inadequate development and management of requirements. The IRS tax administration system, which collects approx... | The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) effort to modernize its tax administrative and financial systems--Business Systems Modernization (BSM)--has suffered delays and cost overruns due to a number of factors, including inadequate development and management of requirements. Recognizing these deficiencies, IRS created a Re... |
A working capital fund relies on sales revenue rather than direct appropriations to finance its continuing operations. A working capital fund is intended to (1) generate sufficient resources to cover the full costs of its operations and (2) operate on a break-even basis over time—that is, neither make a gain nor incur ... | According to the Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year 2006 budget estimates, working capital fund activity groups (depot maintenance, ordnance, and research and development) will have about $6.3 billion of funded work that will be carried over from fiscal year 2006 into fiscal year 2007. The congressional defense ... |
OMB was established under presidential reorganization authority in 1970, in large part to increase the attention given to management issues in the federal government. OMB is the lead agency for overseeing a framework of recently enacted financial, information resources, and performance planning and measurement reforms ... | GAO discussed its observations on the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) efforts to carry out its responsibilities to set policy and oversee the management of the executive branch. GAO noted that: (1) OMB is the lead agency for overseeing a framework of recently enacted financial, information resources, and perfor... |
Since 1955, the executive branch has encouraged federal agencies to obtain commercially available goods and services from the private sector through competitions when the agencies determined that such action was cost-effective. OMB formalized the policy in OMB Circular A-76, issued in 1966. As part of this process, the... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) use Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 as a means of realizing an estimated $6 billion savings in support costs between fiscal years (FY) 1997 and 2003, focusing on: (1) identifying the competition and savings goals; (2) asse... |
Satellites provide many significant services, including communication, navigation, remote sensing, imaging, and weather and meteorological support. Satellites support direct radio communication and provide television broadcast and cable relay services, as well as home reception. Satellite services also support applicat... | Government and private-sector entities rely on satellites for services such as communication, navigation, remote sensing, imaging, and weather and meteorological support. Disruption of satellite services, whether intentional or not, can have a major adverse economic impact. Techniques to protect satellite systems from ... |
Emergency plans for commercial nuclear power plants are intended to protect public health and safety whenever plant accidents cause radiation to be released to the environment. Since the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, significantly more attention has been focused on emergency preparedness. ... | After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, emergency preparedness at nuclear power plants has become of heightened concern. Currently, 104 commercial nuclear power plants operate at 64 sites in 32 states and provide about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. In July 2001, GAO reported on emergency preparedness... |
When the air quality problem occurred at NIEHS in 1981, far less was known about indoor air pollution than is known today, and there was a strong emphasis on energy conservation. As a result of the emphasis on energy conservation at that time, building engineers at facilities across the country had reduced the air exch... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) quality of air inside the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) building when it was occupied in 1981; (2) health effects associated with exposure to formaldehyde; and (3) current management practices at NIEHS for air handli... |
Part of the Mariana Islands Archipelago, the CNMI is a chain of 14 islands in the western Pacific Ocean—just north of Guam and about 3,200 miles west of Hawaii (see fig. 1). The CNMI had a total population of 53,890, according to preliminary results of the CNMI’s 2016 Household, Income, and Expenditures survey. Almost ... | A 2007 law required the minimum wage in the CNMI to rise incrementally to the federal level in a series of scheduled increases. GAO has been periodically required to report on the economic impact of the minimum wage increases in the territory. A 2008 law established federal control of CNMI immigration. It required the ... |
Prescription drug discount cards are a relatively new option for consumers. Most of the large PBM-administered programs have been operating for less than 5 years, although some cards, such as one administered by Express Scripts, have been available for about a decade. Pharmaceutical-manufacturer-sponsored discount card... | While prescription drugs have become an increasingly important part of health care for the elderly, more than one-quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug coverage. Over the past decade, private companies and not-for-profit organizations have sponsored prescription drug discount cards that offer ... |
First enacted in 1975, IDEA entitles children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education designed to meet the unique needs of each child. To be eligible for IDEA funding, states are required to provide special education in the least restrictive environment; meaning that, to the maximum extent appropriate,... | IDEA provides federal support to school districts through grants to states for the excess cost of educating students with disabilities. Education is responsible for monitoring states' oversight of district compliance with IDEA, including an MOE requirement to ensure special education spending generally is at least equa... |
CAT/BPSS, which is part of TSA’s Passenger Screening Program, has undergone initial testing and is in the operational testing and evaluation phase of acquisition, according to TSA. The goal of CAT/BPSS is to deploy a computerized system that will read and analyze data and embedded security features on every passenger’s... | This testimony discusses our past work examining the Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) progress and challenges in developing and acquiring technologies to address aviation security needs. TSAs acquisition programs represent billions of dollars in life cycle costs and support a wide range of aviation secur... |
Smartphones combine the telecommunications functions of a mobile phone with the processing power of a computer, creating an Internet- connected mobile device capable of running a variety of software applications for productivity or leisure. The functioning of a mobile phone involves locating the user, and FCC’s rules e... | Smartphones can provide services based on consumers' location, raising potential privacy risks if companies use or share location data without consumers' knowledge. FTC enforces prohibitions against unfair and deceptive practices, and NTIA sets national telecommunications policy. GAO was asked to examine this issue. GA... |
The FBI serves as the primary investigative unit of the Department of Justice. The FBI’s mission includes investigating serious federal crimes, protecting the nation from foreign intelligence and terrorist threats, and assisting other law enforcement agencies. Approximately 12,000 special agents and 16,000 analysts and... | The Sentinel program is intended to replace and expand on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) failed Virtual Case File (VCF) project and thereby meet the bureau's pressing need for a modern, automated capability to support its field agents and intelligence analysts' investigative case management and information... |
OJP’s bureaus and offices provide grants and other awards to various organizations, including state and local governments, universities, and private entities, which are intended to develop the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist crime victims. Within OJP, NIJ serves as DOJ’s r... | Since 2008, Congress has appropriated more than $100 million each year to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that may be used, among other things, to reduce DNA backlogs and enhance crime laboratory capacity. NIJ, within DOJ, is responsible for, among other things, providing awards for DNA analysis and forensic activities... |
In February 1994, the Attorney General and INS Commissioner announced a five-part strategy to strengthen enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. The strategy’s first priority was to strengthen enforcement along the southwest border. The strategy to strengthen the border called for “prevention through deterrence,”... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Attorney General's strategy for reducing and deterring illegal entry along the southwest border, focusing on: (1) the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) progress in implementing the southwest border strategy during fiscal year (FY) 1998;... |
The growing demand throughout the world for wildlife and wildlife parts and products has created a market in which commercial exploitation has threatened certain wildlife populations. The oriental medicine trade, for example, has created an illicit market in bear gall bladders, rhinoceros horns, and parts of other thre... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) wildlife inspection program, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of the wildlife inspection program; (2) potential impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on wildlife trade and wildlife shipment inspections; and (3)... |
DOD’s organizational structure includes the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military departments, numerous defense agencies and field activities, and various unified combatant commands that contribute to the oversight of DOD’s acquisition programs. Figure 1 provides a simplified depic... | The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 includes a provision for GAO to select, assess, and report on DOD MAIS programs annually through March 2018. MAIS programs are intended to help the department sustain its key operations. This report: (1) evaluates DOD's implementation of statutory reporting re... |
In its September 2015 report, DOD addressed the committee direction to identify root causes regarding the improper documentation and packaging of HAZMAT shipments and any needed corrective actions, but it is too soon to determine the effectiveness of the department’s efforts. DOD identified the root causes of the impro... | Commercial carriers transport over 3 billion tons of HAZMAT in commerce in the United States each year, transporting an estimated 1 million HAZMAT shipments per day. DOD relies heavily on commercial carriers to transport HAZMAT, using them to transport about 90 percent of the department's HAZMAT shipments. DOD uses the... |
Our April 1996 report found that since deregulation, fares have fallen and service has improved for most large-community airports. Our report also found that substantial regional differences exist in fare and service trends, particularly among small- and medium-sized community airports. A primary reason for these diffe... | GAO discussed the barriers that limit aviation competition, focusing on: (1) the actions the Department of Transportation (DOT) has taken to address those barriers; and (2) how the Aviation Competition Enhancement Act of 1997 and other initiatives seek to address those problems. GAO noted that: (1) a combination of fac... |
The SBIR program was initiated in 1982 and has four main purposes: (1) stimulate technological innovation, (2) use small businesses to meet federal R&D needs, (3) encourage participation in technological innovation by small businesses owned by women and disadvantaged individuals, and (4) increase commercialization of i... | Federal agencies have awarded more than 156,000 contracts and grants, totaling nearly $40 billion through the SBIR and STTR programs to small businesses to develop and commercialize innovative technologies. The Small Business Act requires agencies with extramural R&D obligations that meet certain thresholds for partici... |
Small employers with low-wage employees do not commonly offer health insurance, compared with large employers with low-wage employees, as shown in figure 1. A combination of factors explains why small, low-wage employers tend not to offer health insurance. For very low-wage employees, such as minimum wage employees, he... | Many small employers do not offer health insurance. The Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit was established to help eligible small employersbusinesses or tax-exempt entitiesprovide health insurance for employees. The base of the credit is premiums paid or the average premium for an employers state if premiums... |
A great deal of budget reporting focuses on a single number—the unified budget deficit, which was $248 billion in fiscal year 2006. This largely cash-based number represents the difference between revenues and outlays for the government as a whole. It is an important measure since it is indicative of the government’s d... | The Comptroller General testified before Congress for a hearing entitled "Why Deficits Matter." The presentation touched on several points. First, the current financial condition in the United States is worse than is widely understood. Second, the current fiscal path is both imprudent and unsustainable. Third, improvem... |
Two types of residential mortgage loans are common: fixed-rate mortgages, which have interest rates that do not change over the entire term of the loans, and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM), which have interest rates that change periodically based on changes in a specified index. Residential mortgages also fall into se... | Amid concerns that risky mortgage products and poor underwriting standards contributed to the recent housing crisis, Congress included mortgage reform provisions (QM and QRM) in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. CFPB's regulations establishing standards for QM loans became effective in Janu... |
On May 4, 2000, the National Park Service initiated a prescribed burn on federal land at Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, in an effort to reduce the threat of wildfires in the area. The plan was to burn up to 900 acres. On May 5, 2000, the prescribed burn exceeded the capabilities of the National Park Service, ... | While the federal government has accepted responsibility for the Cerro Grande fire and enacted the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act (CGFAA) to expeditiously compensate those injured by the fire, it is incumbent on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as the administering agency to establish an effective syste... |
Port security overall has improved because of the development of organizations and programs such as AMSCs, Area Maritime Security Plans (area plans), maritime security exercises, and the International Port Security Program, but challenges to successful implementation of these efforts remain. Additionally, agencies may ... | Because the safety and economic security of the United States depend in substantial part on the security of its 361 seaports, the United States has a vital national interest in maritime security. The Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act), modified existing legislation and created and codified n... |
Section 884 of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 changed the rules for the amount taxpayers could claim as a deduction on their tax returns for donating a qualified vehicle to a charity. The new rules were effective for all vehicle donations made after December 31, 2004. Prior to this change, eligible taxpayers co... | In 2003, GAO found that many taxpayers' estimates of the value of their vehicles, claimed as tax deductions, were in excess of the charities' subsequent sales of the vehicles. Subsequently, effective January 1, 2005, the rules related to the amount taxpayers can claim as a deduction on their tax returns for vehicles do... |
The Army’s reserve components are the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. The Army Reserve is comprised of units that support combat forces and is restricted to federal missions. The Guard has both combat and support units and federal and state responsibilities. The Guard is to be organized and resourced for federal ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the: (1) roles and missions of the Army National Guard's combat units; and (2) efforts by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Army to redesign the Guard's combat divisions. GAO found that: (1) despite reductions, the Army National Guard's combat units may still be t... |
Responsibility for helping to prepare members of the community for all hazards is shared by federal, state, local, and tribal entities, and nongovernmental organizations. At the federal level, FEMA is responsible for developing national strategies, policies, and guidelines related to emergency preparedness, response, a... | Individuals can reduce their need for first responder assistance by preparing for a disaster. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to develop a National Preparedness System (NPS) that includes community preparedness programs. These programs account for l... |
The Social Security Act of 1935 required most workers in commerce and industry, then about 60 percent of the workforce, to be covered. Amendments to the act in 1950, 1954, and 1956 allowed states, generally acting for their employees, to voluntarily elect Social Security coverage through agreements with SSA. The amendm... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the implications of extending mandatory social security coverage to all newly hired state and local employees, focusing on: (1) the implications of mandatory coverage for the Social Security Program and for public employers, employees, and pension plans; and (2) potenti... |
The JTRS program was initiated to exploit advancements in software- defined radio technology and provide battlefield commanders with superior information capabilities. Since its initiation in 1997, the program has experienced cost and schedule overruns and performance shortfalls, due primarily to immature technologies,... | In 1997, the Department of Defense (DOD) initiated the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program, a key element of its effort to transform military operations to be network centric. Using emerging software-defined radio technology, the JTRS program plans to develop and procure hundreds of thousands of radios that give... |
Aviation safety is a priority goal for FAA. That priority is reflected in the Administration’s budget for fiscal year 2008, which requests $1.9 billion to promote aviation safety and efficiency. To the credit of FAA and the aviation industry, U.S. commercial aviation has had an extraordinary safety record in recent yea... | FAA operates one of the safest air transportation systems in the world. It is, however, a system under strain. The skies over America are becoming more crowded every day. FAA faces the daunting task of safely integrating a growing influx of passengers and aircraft into the system and simultaneously leading the transiti... |
Through a number of legislative actions, Congress has indicated its desire that agencies create telework programs to accomplish a number of positive outcomes. These actions have included recognizing the need for program leadership within the agencies; encouraging agencies to think broadly in setting eligibility require... | Telework continues to receive attention within Congress and federal agencies as a human capital strategy that offers various flexibilities to both employers and employees, including the capacity to continue operations during emergency events, as well as benefits to society, such as decreased energy use and pollution. T... |
Annually, the Forest Service receives appropriations to operate its nationwide programs. On the basis of these appropriations, the Forest Service allocates a portion to each of its regions to carry out the regional and field office programs. In the case of the Alaska Region, appropriations are further allocated to (1) ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed: (1) the National Forest Service's Alaska Region's allocation of funds for its operating costs for fiscal year (FY) 1993 through FY 1998; (2) the nature, purpose, and allocation of centralized field costs and the steps the Alaska Region is taking to comply with the con... |
For some time, we have been reporting that the U.S. financial regulatory system has relied on a fragmented and complex arrangement of federal and state regulators to oversee its institutions.place over the last 150 years—has not kept pace with major developments in financial markets and products in recent decades. In p... | In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created FSOC to identify and address threats to the stability of the U.S. financial system and OFR to support FSOC and Congress by providing financial research and data. GAO was asked to examine (1) any challenges FSOC and OFR face in fulfilling the... |
In general, drug abuse is defined by the level and pattern of drug consumption and the severity of resulting functional problems. People who are dependent on drugs often use multiple drugs and have substantial health and social problems, including mental health disorders. One of the many challenges to providing effecti... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its recent report on drug abuse treatment research findings, focusing on: (1) the overall effectiveness of drug abuse treatment; (2) the methodological issues affecting drug abuse treatment evaluations; and (3) what is known about the effectiveness of specific treatmen... |
VBA’s Compensation and Pension Service, located at VA headquarters, formulates the policy and guidance used by the RO staff who receive, develop, and evaluate veterans’ compensation and pension claims. The compensation program pays monthly benefits to veterans with service-connected disabilities (injuries or diseases i... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) regional offices' (RO) accuracy in processing disability claims, focusing on: (1) the extent of improvements made by the Systematic Technical Accuracy Review (STAR) system in measuring claims-processing accuracy; (2) additional e... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to be here today to discuss our observations on the Department of Justice’s August draft of its strategic plan. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (the Results Act) requires that all executive branch agencies submit their plans to Congress and the ... | GAO discussed the Department of Justice's August 1997 draft strategic plan developed in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, focusing on the plan's compliance with the Act's requirements and on the extent to which it covered crosscutting program activities, management challenges, and Just... |
Iran is a nation of strategic importance due to its central geographic location and huge reserves of fossil fuels. Iran’s neighbors include Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries with ongoing U.S. and coalition military operations, and Pakistan and Turkey, key U.S. allies in the global war on terrorism (see fig. 1). Furth... | The 2006 U.S. National Security Strategy stated that the United States faces challenges from Iran, including Iran's proliferation efforts and involvement in international terrorism. To address these concerns, the United States employs a range of tools, including diplomatic pressure, a military presence in the Gulf, and... |
The contracting processes, activities, and challenges associated with rebuilding Iraq can be viewed as similar to, albeit more complicated than, those DOD normally confronts. We and others have already reported on the large and continuing drain on reconstruction dollars to meet unanticipated security needs. Further, mu... | The United States, along with its coalition partners and various international organizations, has undertaken a challenging, complex, and costly effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq. The Department of Defense (DOD) has responsibility for a significant portion of the reconstruction effort. Amid signs of progress, the coa... |
The nearly 12,000 federally insured banks and thrifts in the United States, which hold more than $5 trillion in assets, are regulated and supervised by four federal agencies with similar and sometimes overlapping regulatory and supervisory responsibilities. Although many industry representatives, legislators, and regul... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed its previous work on the structure and operations of bank oversight in five countries, focusing on: (1) aspects of those systems that may be useful for Congress to consider in any future modernization efforts; (2) perceived problems with federal bank oversight in the Un... |
Civil settlements are one of several enforcement tools used by some federal agencies to help ensure that individuals and companies comply with the laws and regulations they enforce. For purposes of this report, civil settlements involve negotiations by federal agencies with companies to resolve issues about their compl... | Although some civil settlement payments are deductible, their deterrence factor could be lessened if companies can deduct certain settlement payments from their income taxes. GAO was asked to (1) identify federal agencies that negotiated some of the largest dollar civil settlements, (2) determine whether selected feder... |
As the steward of taxpayer dollars, the federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend hundreds of billions of dollars and is responsible for safeguarding those funds against improper payments. Our work over the past several years has demonstrated that improper payments are a significant and ... | This report discusses (1) the amount of improper payments reported in agencies' fiscal year 2000 financial statements, (2) the extent to which agencies' fiscal year 2002 performance plans address improper payments, (3) the extent to which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has implemented previous GAO recommenda... |
The judiciary and GSA are responsible for managing the multibillion-dollar federal courthouse construction program, which is designed to address the judiciary’s long-term facility needs. AOUSC, the judiciary’s administrative agency, works with the nation’s 94 judicial districts to identify and prioritize needs for new ... | The General Services Administration (GSA) and the federal judiciary are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar courthouse construction initiative aimed at addressing the housing needs of federal district courts and related agencies. From fiscal year 1993 through fiscal year 2005, Congress appropriated approximately $4.5... |
In our four annual reports issued from 2011 through 2014, we identified over 180 areas with approximately 440 actions that the executive branch and Congress could take to address fragmentation, overlap, and duplication; achieve other cost savings; or enhance revenue. Figure 1 outlines the definitions we use for fragmen... | As the fiscal pressures facing the government continue, so too does the need for executive branch agencies and Congress to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs and activities. Such opportunities exist throughout the government. GAO reports annually to Congress on federal programs, agencies, o... |
VHA’s National Patient Safety Improvement Handbook identifies key staff involved in the RCA process, establishes minimum requirements for conducting RCAs, and outlines the RCA process. VISNs are regional systems of care that oversee the day-to-day functions of VAMCs that are within their network. Each VAMC is assigned ... | Adverse events are incidents that pose a risk of injury to a patient as the result of a medical intervention or the lack of an appropriate intervention. VAMCs use the RCA process to identify and evaluate systems or processes that caused an adverse event, recommend changes to prevent the event's recurrence, and determin... |
Climate changes, including rising temperatures and shifting patterns of rainfall, are expected to impact public health across the nation in a variety of ways. Though state and local governments have primary responsibility for protecting the public health in their jurisdictions, the federal government also plays an impo... | The World Health Organization projects climate change will adversely affect health significantly over the next several decades. Some health effects of climate change are already being felt in the United States, according to assessments by the National Research Council, USGCRP, and others. Since the federal government i... |
In the mid-1990s, the Army Military History Institute began developing proposed legislation for charging and retaining fees to defray costs of providing historical information to the public. The Institute, whose mission is to preserve the Army’s history and ensure access to historical research material, was experiencin... | The National Defense Authorization Act for 2001 authorized the military archives to (1) charge fees to persons requesting information and (2) retain collected fees to help defray costs of providing the information. Although none of the archives has yet implemented a fee, one archive plans to do so by October 2001. The ... |
Many foreign physicians who enter U.S. graduate medical education programs do so as participants in the Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program—an educational and cultural exchange program aimed at increasing mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries. Participants in the E... | Many U.S. communities face difficulties attracting physicians. To address this problem, states and federal agencies have turned to foreign physicians who have just completed graduate medical education in the United States under J-1 visas. Ordinarily, these physicians must return home after completing their programs, bu... |
The Recovery Act provides funding to states for restoration, repair, and construction of highways and other activities allowed under the Federal- Aid Highway Surface Transportation Program and for other eligible surface transportation projects. In March 2009, $26.7 billion was apportioned to all 50 states and the Distr... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) included more than $48 billion for the Department of Transportation's (DOT) investment in transportation infrastructure, including highways, rail, and transit. This testimony--based on Government Accountability Office (GAO) report GAO-10-231 , issued on ... |
Virtually all federal operations are supported by automated systems and electronic data, and agencies would find it difficult, if not impossible, to carry out their missions and account for their resources without these information assets. Hence, the degree of risk caused by security weaknesses is high. For example, re... | For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high... |
FGM/C comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies FGM/C into four major types: Type I (clitoridectomy) partially or totally removes the clitoris and/o... | More than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM/C in the 30 countries where available data show this harmful practice is concentrated. More than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk for FGM/C annually in Africa. FGM/C comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the exte... |
U.S. laws authorize the imposition of AD/CV duties to remedy unfair trade practices of other countries and foreign companies that cause material injury (or threat thereof) to domestic industries, namely dumping (i.e., sales at less than fair market value), and countervailable foreign government subsidies. The AD/CV dut... | The United States and many of its trading partners have enacted laws to remedy the unfair trade practices of other countries and foreign companies that cause or threaten to cause material injury to domestic producers and workers. U.S. laws authorize the imposition of AD duties on certain imports that were dumped (i.e.,... |
Freight shipped by rail travels over an extensive network that consists of 140,000 route-miles across the United States. Freight railroads are generally privately owned and rely on their revenues to invest in maintenance and operations that support safe and efficient transportation services. During the last 40 years, t... | The nation's freight rail network is vital to the economy, moving about 40 percent of U.S. freight and generating over $73 billion in revenue in 2013. Railroads charge various rates for moving freight from a particular origin to a particular destination. A rate may be set by the railroad in a public pricing document—kn... |
Historically, a principal concern in noncompetitive contracting situations has been how to ensure that the prices proposed by contractors are fair and reasonable. Recognizing this risk, the Congress enacted the Truth in Negotiations Act in 1962. The act represents the government’s key safeguard against inflated contrac... | Although most federal contracts are awarded through competition, the government also buys unique products and services, including sophisticated weapons systems, for which it cannot always rely on competition to get the best prices and values. Instead, it uses a single source for its procurements. In these cases, contra... |
The Coast Guard’s 2006 budget request continues a trend of increasing budgets that began in fiscal year 2002, as figure 1 shows. If the Coast Guard’s full budget request is granted, its funding will have increased by 45 percent in nominal terms in this 5-year period. A major portion of this growth will have occurred in... | The Coast Guard's budget has steadily increased in recent years, reflecting the agency's need to address heightened homeland security responsibilities while also addressing traditional programs such as rescuing mariners in distress and protecting important fishing grounds. The fiscal year 2006 budget request, which tot... |
Civil aviation in the United States can be generally divided into two broad categories—general aviation and commercial aviation. General aviation comprises all aviation activities other than military and commercial airlines. All civilian students are trained in the general aviation sector until they are hired as airlin... | Regional airlines have experienced the last six fatal commercial airline accidents, and pilot performance has been cited as a potential contributory factor in four of these accidents. As a result, Congress and others have raised questions about, among other issues, the initial pilot education and training required befo... |
As established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, federal law generally prohibits retaliation against federal government employees or applicants for employment for reporting wrongdoing, or whistleblowing. Under these provisions, most federal employees pursue whistleblower retaliation complaints with OSC and MSPB.... | Whistleblowers help safeguard the federal government against waste, fraud, and abuse—however, they also risk retaliation by their employers. For example, in 2002, a former FBI agent alleged she suffered retaliation after disclosing that colleagues had stolen items from Ground Zero following the September 11, 2001, terr... |
Corporations can be located in tax haven countries through a variety of means, including corporate inversions, acquisition, or initial incorporation abroad. Location in a tax haven country can change a company’s tax liability because the United States taxes domestic corporations differently than it taxes foreign corpor... | The federal government was involved in about 8.6 million contract actions, including new contract awards, worth over $250 billion in fiscal year 2002. Some of these contracts were awarded to tax haven contractors, that is, U.S. subsidiaries of corporate parents located in tax haven countries. Concerns have been raised ... |
Threats to IT systems, both intentional and unintentional, are evolving and growing. Unintentional or nonadversarial threat sources include failures in equipment, environmental controls, or software due to aging, resource depletion, or other circumstances that exceed expected operating parameters. These threats also in... | GAO first designated federal information security as a governmentwide high-risk area 20 years ago. First enacted in 2002, FISMA required federal agencies to develop, document, and implement information security programs and have independent evaluations of those programs and practices. As amended in 2014, FISMA assigns ... |
The National Strategy for Homeland Security characterizes terrorism as “any premeditated, unlawful act dangerous to human life or public welfare that is intended to intimidate or coerce civilian populations or governments.” This definition includes attacks involving CBRN materials. The National Strategy recognizes that... | First responders are responsible for responding to terrorist-related and accidental releases of CBRN materials in urban areas. Two primary tools for identifying agents released and their dispersion and effect are equipment to detect and identify CBRN agents in the environment and plume models to track the dispersion of... |
Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act establish minimum requirements that all nursing homes must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, respectively. With the passage of OBRA ‘87, Congress responded to growing concerns about the quality of care that nursing home residents received by requi... | With the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA '87), Congress responded to growing concerns about the quality of care that nursing home residents received by requiring reforms in the federal certification and oversight of nursing homes. These reforms included revising care requirements that homes must meet to... |
SFA manages and administers student financial assistance programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). These postsecondary programs include the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP--often referred to as the "Direct Loan"), the Federal Family Education Loan Progra... | Although the Department of Education spent millions of dollars to modernize and integrate its nonintegrated financial aid systems during the past 10 years, these efforts have met with limited success. Recently, Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (SFA) began using a software approach known as middleware ... |
After about 30 years of relatively steady growth, USPS’s expenses began consistently exceeding revenues in fiscal year 2007 (see fig. 1). As a result, USPS has lost a total of $56.8 billion since fiscal year 2007. The continued deterioration in USPS’s financial condition is due primarily to two factors. 1. Declining ma... | USPS is a critical part of the nation's communication and commerce, delivering 154 billion pieces of mail in fiscal year 2015 to 155 million delivery points. However, USPS's mission of providing prompt, reliable and efficient universal services to the public at risk due to its poor financial condition. USPS's net loss ... |
During the 1990s, the primary means for residential users to access the Internet was a dial-up connection, in which a standard telephone line is used to make an Internet connection at data transmission speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second (kbps). Broadband access to the Internet became available to residential custom... | Increasingly, broadband Internet service is seen as critical to a nation's physical infrastructure and economic growth. Universal access to, and increased use and adoption of, broadband service are policy goals stated in the National Broadband Plan, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released in March 20... |
SSI is an income assistance program for people who are aged, blind, or disabled. It was authorized in 1972 and is administered by SSA. To be eligible for SSI, individuals cannot have income greater than the maximum benefit level (in 1995, $458 per month for an individual and $687 for a couple if both spouses were eligi... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, focusing on: (1) the number of SSI recipients reporting resource transfers; (2) the kind and worth of resources being transferred; and (3) the possible savings resulting from a reinstatement of the SSI transfer-of-resource... |
The advent of the Internet and digital transmission of sound recordings through personal computers has revolutionized the music industry and created a new way to transmit music directly to listeners. Although personal computers have been available since the late 1970s and music in digital form since the early 1980s, it... | The emergence of webcasting as a means of transmitting audio and video content over the Internet has led to concerns about copyright protection and the payment of royalties to those who own the recording copyrights. Arriving at an acceptable rate for calculating royalties has been particularly challenging. Under the Sm... |
In the early 1970s, BIA began giving tribes more training, involvement, and influence in BIA’s budget process, in efforts that evolved into TPA. At that time, according to BIA officials, few tribes were experienced in budgeting or contracting, and most depended on BIA for services. Over the years, tribes have become mo... | GAO discussed the preliminary results of its review of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) distribution of Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA)--or TPA--funds, focusing on: (1) BIA's basis for distributing 1998 TPA funds; (2) total distributions of TPA funds in fiscal year (FY) 1998 and a per-capita analysis of those distr... |
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.