report stringlengths 320 1.32M | summary stringlengths 127 13.7k |
|---|---|
For about 50 years, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors have used contracting policies that were developed during the crisis of World War II. Since that time, billions in taxpayer dollars have been spent on contracts where competition was the exception, almost any contractor’s cost was reimbursed, and l... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain aspects of the Department of Energy's (DOE) contract reform initiative. GAO found that: (1) DOE has completed action on 47 of the 48 contract reform recommendations, but 9 of the completed actions did not meet the requirements of the Contract Reform Team; (2) DO... |
Examinations involving offshore tax evasion take much more time to develop and complete than examinations of other types of returns, but when offshore examinations are completed, the resulting median assessment is almost three times larger than for all other types of examinations. However, because of the 3-year statute... | Offshore tax evasion is difficult for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to address. IRS examines tax returns to deal with offshore evasion that has occurred. IRS's Qualified Intermediary (QI) program seeks to foster improved tax withholding and reporting. GAO was asked to testify on two topics. First, GAO was asked to... |
FmHA, a lending agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides direct government-funded loans to farmers who are unable to obtain financing elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms. FmHA’s assistance is intended to be temporary. Once farmers have become financially viable, they are to “graduate” to co... | GAO reviewed the Farmers Home Administration's (FmHA) debt settlements, focusing on: (1) how well FmHA protects government interests during debt settlements; and (2) additional FmHA loans to borrowers whose previous debts were forgiven. GAO found that: (1) FmHA is not adequately protecting government interests during d... |
Since the mid-1990s, large and mid-sized U.S. corporations have increasingly used syndicated loans as a source of credit. Federal banking regulators collect data on large loan commitments and loans shared by three or more commercial banks as part of the Shared National Credit (SNC) Program. SNC program data show that o... | Federal banking regulators reported that commercial banks held about $1.6 trillion in syndicated loans in 2003. Loan commitments--a promise to make a set amount of credit available in the future--represented $1 trillion (about 64 percent) of these loans. Issues have been raised whether commercial banks systematically u... |
Fiscal year 2002 was a year of challenges, not just for GAO but also for the Congress and the nation. The nation’s vulnerabilities were exposed in a series of events—America’s vulnerability to sophisticated terrorist networks, bioterrorism waged through mechanisms as mundane as the daily mail, and corporate misconduct ... | GAO is a key source of objective information and analyses and, as such, plays a crucial role in supporting congressional decision-making and helping improve government for the benefit of the American people. This testimony focuses on GAO's (1) fiscal year 2002 performance and results, (2) efforts to maximize our effect... |
DOD is one of the largest federal agencies with its budget representing over half of the entire federal government’s discretionary spending. For fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated over $694 billion for DOD. This included $530 billion in regular appropriations for base needs and about $164 billion in regular and su... | As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving its pervasive and long-standing financial management and related business operations and systems problems. DOD is required by various statutes to (1) improve its financial management pro... |
Each year, OMB and federal agencies work together to determine how much the government plans to spend for IT and how these funds are to be allocated. Federal IT spending has risen to an estimated $64 billion in fiscal year 2007. OMB plays a key role in overseeing federal IT investments and how they are managed. To driv... | The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plays a key role in overseeing federal IT investments. The Clinger-Cohen Act, among other things, requires OMB to establish processes to analyze, track, and evaluate the risks and results of major capital investments in information systems made by agencies and to report to Cong... |
BEA divided federal spending into two broad categories: discretionary and mandatory. Discretionary spending refers to outlays from budget authority that is provided in and controlled by appropriation acts; it can and has been controlled through annual, adjustable dollar limits (spending caps) that permanently lower the... | Prepared as part of GAO's basic statutory responsibility for monitoring the condition of the nation's finances, the objectives of this report were to (1) determine the feasibility of designing and using trigger mechanisms to constrain growth in mandatory spending programs and (2) provide an analysis of the factors that... |
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, made up of approximately 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, has both military and civil works missions. The Corps’ military mission includes managing and executing engineering, construction, and real estate programs for DOD components, other federal agencies, state and local g... | GAO tested selected general and application controls of the Corps of Engineers Financial Management System (CEFMS). The Corps relies on CEFMS to perform key financial management functions supporting the Corps' military and civil works missions. The Corps has made substantial progress in improving computer controls at e... |
Various environmental statutes, including CERCLA and RCRA, govern the reporting and cleanup of hazardous substances and hazardous waste at DOD sites. Specific provisions in these laws establish requirements for addressing hazardous waste cleanup or management. Key aspects of these requirements for federal facilities ar... | Prior to the 1980s and the passage of environmental legislation--particularly the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) governing environmental cleanup--Department of Defense (DOD) activities contaminated millions of acres of soil and water on and near DOD sites. The Environment... |
The extent of foodborne illness in the United States and its associated costs are significant. CDC estimates that unsafe foods cause as many as 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths annually. In terms of medical costs and productivity losses, foodborne illnesses associated with seven major pa... | The national school lunch and breakfast programs provide inexpensive or free meals to more than 27 million children each day. During the 1990s, nearly 300 outbreaks of foodborne illness at the nation's schools sickened 16,000 students. The rise in the number of school outbreaks mirrors a rise in the number of outbreaks... |
Most children enter foster care when the state’s child welfare agency determines that they have been subjected to abuse or neglect and it is not in their best interest to immediately return home. On September 30, 2002—the latest date for which HHS figures were available for our review, 532,000 children were in foster c... | On September 30, 2002, the most recent date for which Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data were available, about 126,000 foster children were waiting to be adopted. Estimates suggest that a significant portion of these children had one or more special needs, such as a medical condition or membership in a ... |
The Food Stamp Program is designed to promote the general welfare and to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s population by raising the nutrition levels of low-income families. Recipients use their food stamp benefits to purchase allowable food products from authorized retail food merchants. Eligibility ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Food Stamp Program, focusing on: (1) how many deceased individuals were included as members of households that received food stamp benefits and the estimated value of improper benefits that were issued to the households; (2) how these individuals could be included w... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to be here today to discuss the proposed creation of a new Federal Statistical Service, which would be formed by consolidating the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) from the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistic... | GAO discussed proposed legislation that would create a Federal Statistical Service by consolidating the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). GAO noted that: (1) any reorganization of these agencies should consider the principles of coordination, goal orientatio... |
IRS has made a concerted effort to implement the Restructuring Act’s taxpayer rights and protections mandates. Not surprisingly, given the magnitude of change required by these provisions, work remains in completing, and in some instances expanding on, current implementation efforts. To manage Restructuring Act impleme... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) progress in implementing the taxpayer rights and protection mandates of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 and IRS' ongoing efforts to modernize its organizational structure, performance management system, and information ... |
FRA enforces federal railroad safety statutes under a delegation of authority from the Secretary of Transportation. FRA’s mission is to protect railroad employees and the public by ensuring the safe operation of freight and passenger trains. FRA has three major safety-related activities: (1) administering safety statut... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed operational and safety trends in the rail industry over the past 20 years and how the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has revised its rail safety program to address these trends. GAO noted that: (1) the railroad industry has changed significantly since the Stagge... |
When the United States and its coalition allies invaded Iraq on March 17, 2003, and the Iraqi government no longer functioned, many areas experienced widespread looting and the breakdown of public services, such as electricity and water in the cities. U.S. and coalition forces were then confronted with the challenges o... | GAO is releasing a report today on lessons learned concerning the need for security over conventional munitions storage sites which provides the basis for this testimony. Following the invasion of Iraq in March 2003--known as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)--concerns were raised about how the Department of Defense (DOD) ... |
Members of the U.S. military serve in different branches in locations across the country and around the world. The various branches within DOD include the Department of the Air Force, the Department of the Army, and Department of the Navy, which also incorporates forces of the Marine Corps. DOD also oversees the member... | In 2004, a series of press articles alleged that financial firms were marketing expensive and potentially unnecessary insurance or other financial products to members of the military. To assess whether military service members were adequately protected from inappropriate product sales, GAO examined (1) features and mar... |
As we described in our July 2014 testimony, the federal Marketplace approved subsidized coverage for 11 of 12 fictitious applicants who initially applied online or by telephone. For the 11 approved applications, we paid the required premiums to put health-insurance policies into force. We obtained the advance premium t... | PPACA provides for the establishment of health-insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, where consumers can compare and select private health-insurance plans. The act also expands the availability of subsidized health-care coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of subsidies and related spending under... |
HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and ensure affordable housing. In carrying out its mission, the department relies on IT to support managing financial data for its programs that offer affordable rental housing opportunities for about 12 million residents; work with state and local g... | HUD is responsible for managing and reporting on the nearly $45 billion it spends annually for housing programs. The department has reported its reliance on outdated and costly-to-maintain systems used for financial management functions. In 2013, HUD initiated a modernization program called New Core, which involved mig... |
Passenger screening is a process by which screeners inspect individuals and their property to deter and prevent an act of violence or air piracy, such as the carrying of any unauthorized explosive, incendiary, weapon, or other prohibited item on board an aircraft or into a sterile area. Screeners inspect individuals fo... | The attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 highlighted the importance of detecting improvised explosive devices on passengers. This testimony focuses on (1) the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts to procure and deploy advanced imaging technology (AIT), and related challenges; and (2) TSA's effort... |
According to the Institute of Medicine, health care delivery in the United States has long-standing problems with medical errors and inefficiencies that increase health care costs. The U.S. health care delivery system is an information-intensive industry that is complex and highly fragmented, with estimated spending of... | Health care delivery in the United States has long-standing problems with medical errors and inefficiencies that increase costs. Hence, health information technology (IT) has great potential to improve the quality of care, bolster preparedness of our public health infrastructure, and save money on administrative costs.... |
In February 2014, DOD began mailing notices to TRICARE for Life beneficiaries eligible for the pilot informing them of the pilot requirements for filling covered medications through mail order or MTF pharmacies, rather than retail pharmacies. In its contract with DOD, ESI is responsible for implementing the mail-order ... | DOD offers a pharmacy benefit to TRICARE beneficiaries who may obtain prescriptions from TRICARE's mail-order program, MTF pharmacies, or retail pharmacies. In 2013, the DOD Inspector General reported it was more cost efficient to fill prescriptions through mail order than retail pharmacies. To reduce costs, the Nation... |
We, the Bureau, and others have observed that some of the information the Bureau collects during the census has already been gathered by other government agencies in the course of administering their programs. Accessing that information could provide the Bureau with data to help conduct the census and, in some cases, c... | With a life-cycle cost of about $13 billion, the 2010 Census was the most expensive U.S. census in history and was 56 percent more costly than the $8.1 billion 2000 Census (in constant 2010 dollars). The Bureau estimates that its use of administrative records in the 2020 Census will reduce the cost compared to traditio... |
The Section 521 rental assistance program, authorized in 1974, is administered by RHS’s Multi-Family Housing Portfolio Management Division and its network of state and local offices. The program provides rental assistance for tenants living in properties created through RHS’s Multi-Family Direct Rural Rental Housing Lo... | RHS, an agency within USDA, paid property owners about $1 billion in fiscal year 2011 to help more than 270,000 low-income rural tenants afford rental housing. Each year, some of RHSs rental subsidy payments are improperthat is, too high or too low. Federal requirements regarding improper payments are set forth in st... |
In late 1992, about 13 million workers and retirees participated in state and local government pension plans. Eighty-seven percent of state and local full-time employees participated in defined benefit plans, while 9 percent participated in defined contribution plans. Some employees participated in both; 93 percent par... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of public pension plan funding, focusing on the basic pension plans of state and local governments. GAO found that: (1) states and localities with underfunded pension plans run the risk of reducing future pension benefits to taxpayers or raising revenues; (2)... |
Apprenticeship is an employee training approach that combines on-the-job training and formal instruction to teach workers the practical and theoretical aspects of a skilled occupation. It is appropriate for many occupations that require at least 1 year of hands-on training and formal instruction. Apprentices work under... | Apprenticeship, which combines supervised on-the-job training with formal instruction, benefits both employers and employees by providing the skills and knowledge necessary for a specific job and a credential recognized throughout an industry. The use of apprenticeship is standard practice in some industries, but expan... |
Pipelines transport about 65 percent of the crude oil and refined oil products and nearly all of the natural gas in the United States. Table 1 shows the three primary types of pipelines that form a 2.2-million-mile network across the nation. Pipelines are inherently safer than other modes of freight transportation for ... | The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is implementing a new approach to overseeing the safety of a 2.2-million-mile network of pipelines in the United States that transports potentially dangerous materials, including hazardous liquids, such as oil and natural gas. OPS has to complete several important steps to implement ... |
The Hunter is a pilotless aircraft resembling a small airplane that is controlled from a ground station. (See fig. 1.) It is intended to perform reconnaissance, target acquisition, and other military missions by flying over enemy territory and transmitting video imagery back to ground stations for use by military comma... | GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) acquisition of the Hunter Short-Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), focusing on whether: (1) the system is logistically supportable; (2) previously identified performance deficiencies have been corrected; and (3) the system represents a valid joint-service effort. GAO fou... |
When PTO receives a patent application, it assigns it to a team of patent examiners with relevant technology expertise. PTO does not begin examining patent applications upon receiving them and PTO’s data shows that, as of June 2013, the average time between filing and an examiner’s initial decision on the application w... | Legal commentators, technology companies, Congress, and others have raised questions about patent infringement lawsuits by entities that own patents but do not make products. Such entities may include universities licensing patents developed by university research, companies focused on licensing patents they developed,... |
As discussed in our previous report, according to congressional supporters of the legislation, the goals of the NMTC program are to direct new business capital to low-income communities, facilitate economic development in these communities, and encourage investment in high-risk areas. The program strives to meet these ... | The Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 authorized up to $15 billion under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program to stimulate capital investment in low-income and economically distressed communities. The act mandated that GAO report to Congress on the NMTC program by January 31, 2004, 2007, and 2010. Based on ... |
VA and DOD have a long-standing history of sharing health care resources to provide services to their beneficiaries. However, the FHCC is unique among VA and DOD collaborations to deliver health care services in several ways, notably its level of integration, the way it is funded, and its governance structure. The Exec... | The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010 authorized VA and DOD to establish a 5-year demonstration to integrate VA and DOD medical care into a first-of-its-kind FHCC in North Chicago, Illinois. Expectations for the FHCC are outlined in the Executive Agreement signed by VA and DOD in April 2010. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010, as a... |
The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) and its implementing regulations provide compensation for federal civilian employees who suffer disabilities resulting from work-related injuries or diseases. DOL’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs administers the FECA program through its 12 district offices locate... | DOD employs more than 720,000 civilians—approximately 35 percent of the federal civilian workforce—in an array of critical positions worldwide. DOD civilians who are injured or ill as a result of a work-related incident are covered under the DOL-administered FECA program. DOL, along with employing agencies like DOD, wo... |
Yemen is an important U.S. partner that faces significant humanitarian, economic, and security challenges. As figure 1 shows, Yemen is strategically located, sharing a land border with Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, and a maritime border with a critical shipping lane connecting the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The most... | The terrorist group AQAP, one of the top threats to U.S. national security, is based in Yemena country facing serious economic and social challenges and undergoing a difficult political transition following civil unrest in 2011. Since 2007, State, DOD, and USAID have allocated over $1 billion in assistance to help Yem... |
The F/A-22 is to be an air superiority and ground attack aircraft with advanced features to make it less detectable to adversaries (stealth characteristics) and capable of high speeds for long ranges. It is designed to have integrated avionics that greatly improve pilots’ awareness of the situation surrounding them. Th... | The Air Force is developing the F/A-22 aircraft to fly at higher speeds for longer distances, be less detectable, and improve the pilot's awareness of the surrounding situation. The F/A-22 will replace the Air Force's existing fleet of F-15 aircraft. Over the past several years the program has experienced significant c... |
When Congress passed the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970, it prohibited tying practices by banks involving products other than those regarded to be traditional products provided by banks. The prohibition, in Section 106(b) of the 1970 amendments, was based on the unique role banks have in the economy, in pa... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on banks' compliance with the tying provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970, focusing on: (1) evidence of tying abuses by banks and their affiliates and regulatory efforts to ensure compliance with the provisions; (2) views on the tying... |
The complexity of the environment in which HCFA operates the Medicare program cannot be overstated. It is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) but has responsibilities over expenditures that are larger than those of most other federal departments. Medicare alone ranks second only to Social... | Medicare is a popular program that millions of Americans depend on for covering their essential health needs. However, the management of the program has fallen short of expectations because it has not always appropriately balanced or satisfied the needs of beneficiaries, providers, and taxpayers. For example, stakehold... |
Countries can take varying approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since energy use is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, policies designed to increase energy efficiency or induce a switch to less greenhouse-gas-intensive fuels, such as from coal to natural gas, can reduce emissions in the short... | Countries can take varying approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since energy use is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, policies designed to increase energy efficiency or induce a switch to less greenhouse-gas-intensive fuels, such as from coal to natural gas, can reduce emissions in the short... |
The requirement for timely, accurate, and useful financial and performance management information is greater than ever. The long-term fiscal pressures created by the retirement of the baby boom generation and new homeland security and defense commitments, including the ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom, sharpen the need ... | GAO is required by law to audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Timely, accurate, and useful financial information is essential for making informed operating decisions day to day, managing the federal government's operations more efficiently and effectively, meeting the goals of federal fi... |
The main mission of the MHSS, which spends more than $15 billion a year, is medical readiness. This mission requires the MHSS to (1) provide medical support to active-duty military personnel in preparation for and during combat and (2) maintain the health of the active-duty force during peacetime. The Army, Navy, and A... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Military Health Services System's (MHSS) Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project (PDP), focusing on the: (1) need for prescribing psychologists in the MHSS; (2) implementation of the PDP; and (3) PDP's costs and benefits. GAO noted that: (1) the MHSS has more psy... |
I will briefly review, and in some cases update, our report’s findings on progress made in achieving the Bosnia peace operation’s four key objectives. These objectives were to (1) provide a secure environment for the people of Bosnia; (2) create a unified, democratic Bosnia that respects the rule of law and internation... | GAO discussed international efforts to promote an enduring peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Agreement. GAO noted that: (1) the internationally-supported peace operation in Bosnia, part of a longer-term peace process, has helped that country take important first steps toward ... |
Natural gas is a crucial source of energy in the United States. It is used in five sectors: residential, commercial, industrial, electric generation, and transportation. The United States used about 23.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas in 2000. Figure 2 shows the percentages of total gas usage by each of the f... | During the winter of 2000-2001, the wholesale price of natural gas peaked at a level four times greater than its usual level. Responding to the congressional interest and concern caused by these high prices, GAO undertook a study to address the (1) factors that influence natural gas price volatility and the high prices... |
The basic structure of the U.S. military retirement system was established in legislation over a period of years, ending in the late 1940s. The system provides benefits to nondisabled service members when they retire from active or reserve duty and service members who retire on disability. It also provides for optional... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed selected aspects of the military retirement system, focusing on: (1) military retirement costs; (2) the role of military retirement in shaping and managing U.S. forces; and (3) proposed changes to modernize the system and contribute to more efficient force management. G... |
Formal phased retirement is an employer-based program in which older workers can reduce their working hours in order to transition into retirement. Phased retirement may include partial drawdown of defined contribution or defined benefit pension benefits and a knowledge-transfer component. Depending on the employer, th... | As the large baby boomer generation retires, the workforce will lose much of their knowledge and experience. Encouraging phased retirement, in which older workers reduce their work hours with their current employer to transition into retirement, has been cited by retirement experts as one way to mitigate this loss. GAO... |
JWST is envisioned to be a large deployable, infrared-optimized space telescope and the scientific successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope. JWST is being designed for a 5-year mission to find the first stars and trace the evolution of galaxies from their beginning to their current formation, and is intended to op... | JWST is one of NASA's most complex and expensive projects, at an anticipated cost of $8.8 billion. With significant integration and testing scheduled in the 3 remaining years until the planned launch date, the JWST project will need to continue to address many challenges and identify problems, many likely to be reveale... |
DOD defines “UAS” as systems whose components include the necessary equipment, networks, and personnel to control unmanned aircraft—that is, aircraft that do not carry human operators and are capable of flight under remote control or autonomous programming. The components of a UAS include an unmanned aircraft ground co... | The demand for UAS combat operation support has grown dramatically in the last decade. Since 2008, the Air Force has more than quadrupled its requirements for UAS pilots but faced challenges meeting the requirements due to UAS pilot shortages. Meanwhile, a 2015 Army review found that Army UAS units' mishap rate was hig... |
Despite a substantial investment in IT, the federal government’s management of information resources has produced mixed results. Although agencies have taken constructive steps to implement modern strategies, systems, and management policies and practices, we continue to find that agencies face significant challenges. ... | Federal agencies rely extensively on information technology (IT) to effectively implement major government programs. To help agencies manage their substantial IT investments, the Congress has established a statutory framework of requirements, roles, and responsibilities relating to IT management. GAO was asked to summa... |
As part of its fiscal year 2012 budget request, DOD outlined estimated savings of about $178 billion to be realized over a 5-year time period beginning in fiscal year 2012. According to DOD, these savings included about $154 billion from the Secretary’s initiative and about $24 billion from other sources. Specifically,... | In May 2010, the Secretary of Defense announced a department-wide initiative with the goal of achieving efficiencies and reducing excess overhead costs while reinvesting those savings in sustaining DOD's force structure and modernizing its weapons portfolio. The Secretary tasked the military departments and SOCOM to fi... |
DOD is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world. Overhauling its business operations will take many years to accomplish and represents a huge management challenge. Execution of DOD’s operations spans a wide range of defense organizations, including the military services and their respective major ... | Of the 26 areas on GAO's high-risk list of federal programs or activities that are at risk for waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement, 8 are Department of Defense (DOD) programs or operations and another 6 are governmentwide high-risk areas that also apply to DOD. These high-risk areas relate to most of DOD's major busi... |
The federal government was unable to demonstrate the reliability of significant portions of the U.S. government’s accrual-based consolidated financial statements for fiscal years 2011 and 2010, principally resulting from limitations related to certain material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. As... | GAO annually audits the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. The Congress and the President need reliable, useful, and timely financial and performance information to make sound decisions and conduct effective oversight of federal government programs and policies. However, over the years, certain m... |
GPRAMA requires OMB to annually determine whether agencies have met the performance goals and objectives outlined in their performance plans and submit a report on unmet goals. In implementing this provision, OMB’s guidance directs agencies to continue reporting on unmet performance goals in their annual performance re... | The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) provides important tools that can help inform federal decision making. In implementing GPRAMA, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a strategic review process in which agencies, beginning in 2014, were to annually assess their progress in achieving each strat... |
Today the Social Security program faces a long-range and fundamental financing problem driven largely by known demographic trends. The lack of an immediate solvency crisis affects the nature of the challenge, but it does not eliminate the need for action. Acting soon reduces the likelihood that the Congress will have t... | Social Security is an important social insurance program affecting virtually every American family. It is the foundation of the nation's retirement income system and also provides millions of Americans with disability insurance and survivors' benefits. Over the long term, as the baby boom generation retires, Social Sec... |
MSHA’s Coal Mine Safety and Health Administration is responsible for carrying out enforcement activities related to surface and underground coal mines. As of January 2007, MSHA employed approximately 550 underground coal inspectors in its 11 coal districts. MSHA’s principal enforcement responsibility for underground co... | The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, the Department of Labor's Office of the Solicitor, the states, and the mining industry share responsibility for ensuring mine safety. In two reports ... |
LCS is designed to move fast and transport manned and unmanned mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and anti-submarine warfare systems into theater. For the LCS, the seaframe consists of the hull; command and control systems; automated launch, handling, and recovery systems; and certain core combat systems like an ai... | GAO has reported extensively on LCS—an innovative Navy program, consisting of a ship and its mission packages. The Navy bought the first two ships using research and development funds, initially planning to experiment with them to test concepts and determine the best design. As GAO reported in July 2013, the Navy later... |
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4, 1949, by 12 European and North American countries to provide collective defense against the emerging threat that the Soviet Union posed to the democracies of Western Europe. Since its inception, NATO’s key objective has been to achieve a lasting peace in the North Atlant... | The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) established the Partnership for Peace (PfP) to increase cooperation with former Warsaw Pact members and provide many of these countries with a path to NATO membership. As NATO confronts new security challenges, including the war in Afghanistan, its relationships with partne... |
The WTO administers rules for international trade, provides a mechanism for settling disputes, and offers a forum for conducting trade negotiations. Such negotiations periodically involve comprehensive “rounds,” with defined beginnings and ends, in which a large package of trade concessions among members is developed a... | Trade ministers from 146 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), representing 93 percent of global commerce, convened in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003. Their goal was to provide direction for ongoing trade negotiations involving a broad set of issues that included agriculture, nonagricultural market access, ... |
NASA and its international partners (Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia) are building the space station as a permanently orbiting laboratory to conduct materials and life sciences research and earth observations and to provide for commercial utilization and related uses under nearly weightless conditions. Each partner i... | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed that the cost to complete assembly of the international space station has risen from $25 billion to $30 billion. Much of that cost growth is due to inadequate definition of requirements, changes in program content, schedule delays, and poor program overs... |
The strategic objective of USAID’s Cuba Program—part of the agency’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean—is to help build civil society in Cuba by increasing the flow of accurate information on democracy, human rights, and free enterprise to, from, and within Cuba. The responsibilities of the Cuba Program office... | The U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID)Cuba Program provides assistance to support human rights and promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba. From 1996 through 2008, the program awarded $83 million in grants to nongovernmental organizations and universities. In 2006, GAO found weaknesses in program ... |
The U.S. export control system for items with military applications is divided into two regimes. State licenses munitions items, which are designed, developed, configured, adapted, or modified for military applications, and Commerce licenses most dual-use items, which are items that have both commercial and military ap... | GAO discussed the military sensitivity of commercial communications satellites and the implications of the 1996 change in export licensing jurisdiction, focusing on: (1) key elements in the export control systems of the Departments of Commerce and State; (2) how export controls for commercial satellites have evolved ov... |
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been concern that another terrorist attack on U.S. soil could occur involving biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear weapons. Concerns like these have prompted increased federal attention to and investment in national emergency preparedness—that is, the nation’... | The United States faces potentially dangerous biological threats that occur naturally or may be the result of a terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is developing two major initiatives to provide early detection and warning of biological threats: the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (N... |
While about half of all employers are aware of their local one-stops, awareness increases with employer size, with about half of small, two- thirds of medium, and three-quarters of large employers knowing about their local one-stops. Similarly, of all employers aware of the one-stops, about three-quarters of large empl... | The economy of the United States is fueled by 8 million private sector businesses that employ 106 million of the nation's 137 million workers. Employers are seeking better ways to meet their workforce needs as they compete in the global economy. This report examines (1) the extent to which employers, including small bu... |
Fiscal year 2011 marked the eighth year of implementation of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA), as well as the first year of implementation for the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA). IPIA requires executive branch agencies to annually review all programs and activities to... | Over the past decade, GAO has issued numerous reports and testimonies highlighting improper payment issues across the federal government as well as at specific agencies. Fiscal year 2011 marked the eighth year of implementation of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA), as well as the first year of implem... |
Nearly all nursing homes accept residents with either Medicare or Medicaid and are projected to receive nearly $39 billion in federal payments from these programs in 1999. The federal government, through HCFA, has responsibility for establishing requirements that nursing homes must meet to participate in the Medicare a... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how states implement the federal requirement that establishes a process for nursing home complaint investigations, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of state complaint investigation practices as a component of the system to ensure sustained compliance wi... |
To promote efficient commercial exchange and economic growth, national governments and central banks issue money, including paper notes and coins in various denominations. The federal government experiences a financial gain when it issues notes or coins because both forms of currency usually cost less to produce than t... | Since coins are more durable than notes and do not need replacement as often, many nations have replaced lower-denomination notes with coins to obtain a financial benefit. GAO has estimated the annual net benefit to the U.S. government of replacing the $1 note with a $1 coin four times over the past 20 years, most rece... |
Through the budget system, the President and Congress determine the allocation of resources among the agencies of the federal government. OMB, as part of the Executive Office of the President, guides the annual budget process, makes decisions on executive agencies’ budgets, aggregates submissions for departmental compo... | BOP, a component of DOJ, is responsible for the custody and care of over 219,000 federal inmates--a population that has grown by 27 percent over the past decade. BOP had a fiscal year 2013 operating budget of about $6.5 billion, and BOP projects that its costs will increase as the federal prison population grows. Accor... |
The Department of Defense (DOD) spends close to $100 billion annually to research, develop, and acquire weapon systems, and this investment is expected to grow substantially. Over the next 5 years, starting in fiscal year 2003, DOD’s request for weapon system development and acquisition funds is estimated to be $700 bi... | This report examines how best practices offer improvements to the way the Department of Defense (DOD) develops new weapons systems, primarily the design and manufacturing aspects of the acquisition process. Knowledge about a product's design and producibility facilitates informed decisions about whether to significantl... |
Grants, along with contracts and cooperative agreements, are tools used by the federal government to achieve national priorities via nonfederal parties, including state and local governments, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Diverse in structure and purpose, grants can be generally classified as e... | Maximizing the extent to which grants achieve their long-term performance goals is critical to successfully addressing the challenges of the 21st century. While performance accountability mechanisms are fairly new to federal grants, they have been used in contracts for some time and lessons learned have begun to inform... |
With this framework in mind, I will now return to the six categories of the foreign affairs budget that I established earlier. I will note funding levels and trends for activities in each category and then discuss the particular set of issues and questions that could be raised with respect to relevance, priority, and e... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the programs and activities funded by the international affairs budget, the function 150 account of the federal budget, focusing on the issues that should be raised in assessing the current programs and activities on the books that support U.S. foreign policy and econo... |
For the approximately 10,000 individuals who age into Medicare every day, the first opportunity to sign up for an MA plan may occur during their initial Medicare election period. After that, beneficiaries in FFS Medicare may enroll in MA—and MA beneficiaries may change their plan selection—during the annual election pe... | MAOs contract with a network of providers to manage health care delivery to their enrollees. MAOs can initiate or terminate contracts with providers at any time for any reason. Recently, some MAOs have been narrowing their provider networks, prompting concerns about ensuring enrollee access to care and CMS's oversight ... |
Each year, American consumers arrange more than 2 million funerals at a total cost of billions of dollars. During 1997, according to Conning & Company, an insurance industry publications and research firm, almost 27,000 funeral service providers, such as funeral homes and crematories, had sales revenue of about $10 bil... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined various issues involving consumers' dealings with funeral-related or death care industries, which include businesses that provide funeral and cemetery goods or services, focusing on: (1) the availability of information on the nature and extent of consumer complaints abo... |
Although there are numerous disclaimers indicating that the tests we purchased do not diagnose disease, the 14 results we received predicted that our fictitious consumers were at risk of developing a myriad of medical conditions. These predictions were similar for all of our fictitious consumers, no matter which DNA or... | Scientists increasingly believe that most, if not all, diseases have a genetic component. Consequently, genetic testing is becoming an integral part of health care with great potential for future test development and use. Some genetic tests are sold directly to the consumer via the Internet or retail stores, and purpor... |
The National Park System is a network of natural, historic, and cultural treasures. The system’s 385 park units include 56 areas that are formally titled “national parks,” as well as many other designations. As the network’s federal manager, the National Park Service is charged with conserving “the scenery and the natu... | Two types of nonprofit organizations, cooperating associations and friends groups, provide substantial support to the national parks. GAO was asked to report on (1) the number of park units supported by nonprofits and the amount of their contributions, (2) the revenue-generating activities of nonprofits and how they co... |
USERRA has extremely broad coverage, provides a wide range of protections, and applies over long time periods. The discrimination provisions of the law cover every individual who serves in, plans to serve in, or has served in the uniformed services of the United States. The law’s reemployment and benefit provisions are... | The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 protects millions of people, largely National Guard and Reserve members, as they transition between their federal duties and their civilian employment. The act is intended to eliminate or minimize employment disadvantages to civilian careers... |
Addressing the Year 2000 problem in time will be a formidable challenge for the District of Columbia. The District government is composed of approximately 80 entities, responsible for carrying out a vast array of services for a diverse group of stakeholders. These services include municipal, state, and federal function... | GAO discussed the year 2000 risks facing the District of Columbia, focusing on: (1) its progress to date in fixing its systems; and (2) the District's remediation strategy. GAO noted that: (1) until June 1998, the District had made very little progress in addressing the year 2000 problem; (2) to compensate for its late... |
In recent years, much discussion about education technology has focused on the use of computers, networks, and connections to the Internet to augment learning. These technologies can be used in a variety of ways: Drill-and-practice programs can provide a way for students to improve basic skills (such as addition or spe... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how five school districts funded their technology goals and their difficulties in finding those resources, focusing on: (1) the funding sources school districts used to develop and fund their technology programs; (2) the barriers school districts have faced in funding t... |
Since 1992, DOD has obligated more than $2.5 billion of the over $3 billion the Congress has appropriated to help CTR recipient countries destroy weapons of mass destruction, transport and store weapons to be destroyed, and prevent weapons proliferation. Early in the program, CTR assistance was largely provided to reci... | Since 1992, Congress has authorized more than $3 billion for the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program to help Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, and Georgia secure and eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Concerned about proper oversight of equipment and services provided by the program,... |
Of the TARP performance audit recommendations we have made, some have been program specific, while others have addressed crosscutting issues such as staffing and communications. Our program-specific recommendations have focused on the following TARP initiatives: CPP was designed to provide capital to financially viable... | The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) authorized the creation of TARP to address the most severe crisis that the financial system had faced in decades. Treasury has been the primary agency responsible for TARP programs. EESA provided GAO with broad oversight authorities for actions taken under TARP an... |
Created in 2008, CPP was the primary initiative under TARP to help stabilize the financial markets and banking system by providing capital to qualifying regulated financial institutions through the purchase of senior preferred shares and subordinated debt. On October 14, 2008, Treasury allocated $250 billion of the ori... | The Capital Purchase Program (CPP) was established as the primary means of restoring liquidity and stability to the financial system under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Under CPP, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) invested almost $205 billion in 707 eligible financial institutions between 2008 and D... |
Congress first authorized the F2F program in the 1985 Farm Bill to provide for the transfer of knowledge and expertise of U.S. agricultural producers and businesses to middle-income countries and emerging democracies on a voluntary basis. Most recently, Congress reauthorized the program in the 2014 Farm Bill. Congress ... | First authorized in the 1985 Farm Bill, the F2F program leverages U.S. agricultural expertise by sending volunteers on short-term assignments to provide technical assistance to farmers, farm groups, and agribusinesses in developing and middle-income countries. During fiscal years 2009 through -2013, F2F funded about 2,... |
DHS issued the National Response Framework for federal, state, and local agencies to use in planning for emergencies. It establishes standardized doctrine, terminology, and processes for responding to disasters and other catastrophic events in the United States. The framework is based on a tiered, graduated response; t... | Hurricane Katrina in 2005 highlighted gaps in the nation's preparedness to respond effectively to catastrophic incidents. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designed the Task Force for Emergency Readiness (TFER) pilot program to advance and integrate state and federal... |
The Military Whistleblower Protection Act of 1988, as amended, and its implementing directive, Department of Defense Directive 7050.06, establish the basic concepts and framework for the investigative process and establish the roles and responsibilities of the various affected organizations. DODIG is the central organi... | Whistleblowers help guard the federal government against waste, fraud, and abuse. The Military Whistleblower Protection Act provides servicemembers with a means to seek relief from reprisals and to hold subjects accountable. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) has (1) satisfie... |
Prevention is the most effective and efficient way to minimize fraud, waste, and abuse in any federal program, including disaster assistance, and is also a key element described in the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government. The most crucial element of fraud prevention is to substantially diminish the... | Federal agencies spend billions of dollars annually to aid victims of natural and other disasters and acts of terrorism. Managers of federal disaster assistance programs face a dual challenge--delivering aid as quickly as possible while at the same time ensuring that relief payments go only to those who are truly in ne... |
In 1968, Congress created NFIP to address the increasing cost of federal disaster assistance by providing flood insurance to property owners in flood-prone areas, where such insurance was either not available or prohibitively expensive. The 1968 law authorized subsidies to encourage community and property owner partici... | As of September 30, 2013, FEMA, which administers NFIP, had more than 1.1 million subsidized flood insurance policies—about 21 percent of all of its policies. Because their premiums do not reflect the full risk of losses, subsidized policies have been a financial burden on the program. Due to NFIP's financial instabili... |
GA is composed of a diverse fleet of aircraft, including airplanes, gliders, and helicopters, that are flown for a variety of purposes (see fig. 1). In 2013, FAA estimated there were about 340,000 licensed GA pilots, and approximately 200,000 aircraft were in the active GA fleet, with airplanes comprising the vast majo... | A substantial proportion of all domestic aviation accidents and fatalities that occur each year involve GA, which includes all aviation except commercial and military. Under federal law, the Secretary of Transportation is responsible for ensuring that commercial air carriers carry liability insurance. However, no such ... |
The SBIR program was initiated in 1982 and, as described on the SBIR website, has four main purposes: (1) use small businesses to meet federal R&D needs, (2) stimulate technological innovation, (3) increase commercialization of innovations derived from federal R&D efforts, and (4) encourage participation in technologic... | Federal agencies have awarded contracts and grants totaling more than $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—$100 million for SBIR and $... |
VA comprises three major components: the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VA’s mission is summed up in its mission statement, a quotation from Abraham Lincoln: “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his wi... | In carrying out its mission of serving the nation's veterans and their dependents, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies extensively on information technology (IT), for which it is requesting about $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2006. VA's vision is to integrate its IT resources and streamline interactions with c... |
NAGPRA covers five types of Native American cultural items, which we refer to collectively, in this report, as NAGPRA items (see table 1). Since the early 1800s, federal agencies have amassed archeological collections with items numbering in the millions. Some, such as NPS, acquired their collections through archeologi... | The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) required federal agencies and museums to (1) identify their Native American human remains and other objects, (2) try to culturally affiliate them with a present day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, and (3) repatriate them under the terms i... |
In December 2006, in response to SAFE Port Act requirements, DHS, and the Department of Energy (DOE) jointly announced the formation of the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) pilot program to test the feasibility of scanning 100 percent of U.S.-bound container cargo at three foreign ports (Puerto Cortes, Honduras; Qasim, ... | Securing the nation's transportation and information systems is a primary responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Within DHS, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for securing all transportation modes; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for cargo cont... |
Executive Order 12958, Classified National Security Information, as amended, specifies three incremental levels of classification— Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret—to safeguard information pertaining to the following: military plans, weapons systems, or operations; foreign government information; intelligence activ... | Misclassification of national security information impedes effective information sharing, can provide adversaries with information to harm the United States and its allies, and incurs millions of dollars in avoidable administrative costs. As requested, GAO examined (1) whether the implementation of the Department of De... |
IRS relies on automated information systems to process over 200 million taxpayer returns and collect over $1.6 trillion in taxes annually. IRS uses its computer systems to, among other things, process tax returns, maintain taxpayer data, calculate interest and penalties, and generate refunds. IRS operates facilities th... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) progress in correcting serious computer security weaknesses at five IRS facilities, focusing on: (1) additional security weaknesses identified at the five facilities and at an IRS facility not included in GAO's previous report; and (... |
Bid protests and related litigation have resulted in changes to DHS’ approach for the TASC program and have contributed to a significant delay in awarding a contract. The initial TASC approach was to migrate its component systems to two financial management systems—Oracle Federal Financials and SAP—that were already in... | In June 2007, GAO reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had made little progress in integrating its existing financial management systems and made six recommendations focused on the need for DHS to define a departmentwide strategy and embrace disciplined processes. In June 2007, DHS announced its new ... |
Over the last decade, our government and our nation have become increasingly reliant on computer systems to support critical operations and infrastructures, such as telecommunications, power distribution, financial services, emergency services, national defense, and critical government operations. Over the same period,... | Information sharing and coordination are key elements in any defense against cyber attacks. The organizations GAO reviewed identified factors they considered critical to their success in building successful information-sharing relationships with and among their members. All of the organizations identified trust as esse... |
Air power has played a pivotal role in America’s military force since World War I when aircraft were first used in combat. In World War II, it was indispensable to U.S. forces to achieve victory. After the war, the Department of the Navy invested in longer-range aircraft and larger aircraft carriers to provide worldwid... | GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) plans to modernize its combat air capabilities, focusing on whether DOD has sufficient information from a joint perspective to: (1) prioritize its air power programs; (2) objectively weigh the merits of new program investments; and (3) decide whether existing programs shou... |
Commerce is responsible for licensing exports of U.S. dual-use items—items with both military and commercial applications—and helps enforce controls over them. Depending on the item involved and the country of destination, an exporter may be required to submit a license application to Commerce to obtain government appr... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the circumstances surrounding the export of machine tools by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation to the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC), focusing on: (1) the military and civil applications of the equipment and whether these military a... |
All six projects serve adults who are economically disadvantaged, with a range of reasons why they have been unable to get and keep a job that would allow them to become self-sufficient. Many participants lack a high school diploma or have limited basic skills or English proficiency; have few, if any, marketable job sk... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the merits of 6 highly successful employment training programs for economically disadvantaged adults. GAO found that the programs: (1) serve adults with little high school education, limited basic skills and English language proficiency, few marketable job skills, and ... |
Under the Clean Water Act, EPA is responsible for publishing water quality criteria that establish thresholds at which contamination— including waterborne pathogens—may threaten human health. States are required to develop standards, or legal limits, for these pathogens by either adopting EPA’s recommended water qualit... | Waterborne pathogens can contaminate water and sand at beaches and threaten human health. Under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to states to develop water quality monitoring and public notification programs. This statement su... |
Experts agree that chemical facilities are among the most attractive targets for terrorists intent on causing massive damage. Despite the risk these facilities pose, no one has yet comprehensively assessed security at the nation’s chemical facilities. EPA regulates about 15,000 facilities under the 1990 amendments to t... | Terrorist attacks on U.S. chemical facilities could damage public health and the economy. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinates federal efforts to protect these facilities from attacks. GAO was asked to provide a statement for the record based on its report Homeland Security: DHS Is Taking Steps to Enha... |
We have identified several key elements of an effective national strategy that should be considered by the new administration in developing national strategies for Iraq and Afghanistan to guide the way forward. First, our work shows that new strategies for both countries should reflect a comprehensive governmentwide ap... | The United States is in the process of developing its strategy for operations in Afghanistan, as well as for the drawdown and continued operations of forces in Iraq. As of December 2008, approximately 32,500 U.S. troops were deployed in Afghanistan. Moreover, DOD may add an additional 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. Sinc... |
The Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, provides ICE with broad authority to detain aliens believed to be removable while awaiting a determination of whether they should be removed from the United States as well as aliens ordered removed, and mandates that ICE detain certain categories of aliens. The Illegal I... | DHS has reported that the number of noncitizens in immigration detention has increased from about 230,000 in fiscal year 2005 to about 440,600 in fiscal year 2013. ICE applies various sets of detention standards—such as medical services—at over 250 facilities owned by ICE or private contractors, or owned by or contract... |
Responsibility for dietary supplement oversight is shared among several offices at FDA: FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) manages the CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS), which collects and stores AERs related to foods and dietary supplements. CFSAN also houses the Division of Dietary ... | Dietary supplements, such as vitamins and botanical products, are a multibillion dollar industry; national data show that over half of all U.S. adults consume them. FDA regulates dietary supplements and generally relies on postmarket surveillance, such as monitoring AERs, to identify potential concerns. Since December ... |
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.