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NAHASDA authorized two HUD-administered programs—IHBG and Title VI—that aim to provide affordable housing assistance to Native Americans living on or near Indian tribal lands or areas, including assistance for housing-related infrastructure. NAHASDA was first funded in fiscal year 1998 and was most recently reauthorize... | The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) changed how the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides housing assistance to Native Americans. Congress created NAHASDA to recognize self-determination for tribes in addressing their low-income housing needs. In NAHA... |
In conducting the 2010 Census, the Bureau encountered two sets of challenges: internal management challenges that affected the Bureau’s overall readiness and led us to designate the 2010 Census as a high-risk area, as well as external sociodemographic challenges such as more non- English speakers and people residing in... | GAO added the 2010 Census to its list of high-risk programs in 2008 in part because of (1) long-standing weaknesses in the Census Bureau's (Bureau) information technology (IT) acquisition and contract management function, (2) difficulties in developing reliable life-cycle cost estimates, and (3) key operations that wer... |
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 471-486), places responsibility for the disposition of government real and personal property with the General Services Administration. That agency delegated disposal of DOD personal property to the Secretary of Defense, who in turn dele... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) disposal process for surplus parts with both military technology and flight safety risks, focusing on DOD's efforts to: (1) identify and destroy parts with military technology; and (2) implement a flight safety program to prevent aircra... |
Information security is a critical consideration for any agency that depends on information systems and computer networks to carry out its mission and is especially important for a government corporation such as FDIC, which has responsibilities to oversee the financial institutions that are entrusted with safeguarding ... | FDIC has a demanding responsibility enforcing banking laws, regulating financial institutions, and protecting depositors. Because of the importance of FDIC's work, effective information security controls are essential to ensure that the corporation's systems and information are adequately protected from inadvertent or ... |
Sudan is the largest country in Africa (see fig. 1), and its population, estimated at about 40 million, is one of the continent’s most diverse. Sudan’s population comprises two distinct major cultures, Arab and black African, with hundreds of ethnic and tribal subdivisions and language groups. More than half of Sudan’s... | In 2003, violent conflict in Darfur, Sudan broke out between rebel groups, government troops, and government-supported Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed. The conflict has displaced about 2 million Darfurians and has so affected over 1.9 million others that they require assistance. Since October 2003, the U.S. gover... |
This section provides information on the role and economic value of bees, bee population trends, factors affecting bee health, effects of bee losses on agriculture and ecosystems, and the roles and responsibilities that USDA’s ARS, FSA, NASS, NIFA, and NRCS, and EPA have played with respect to addressing bee health iss... | Honey bees and other managed and wild, native bees provide valuable pollination services to agriculture worth billions of dollars to farmers. Government and university researchers have documented declines in some populations of bee species, with an average of about 29 percent of honey bee colonies dying each winter sin... |
Recent statistics from CDC show that many high school students engage in sexual behavior that places them at risk for unintended pregnancy and STDs. In 2005, 46.8 percent of high school students reported that they have ever had sexual intercourse, with 14.3 percent of students reporting that they had had sexual interco... | Reducing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies is one objective of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS provides funding to states and organizations that provide abstinence-until-marriage education as one approach to address this objective. GAO was asked to describe... |
DOD defines category I items as those that are highly explosive, extremely lethal, portable, and a potential threat if they were to be used by unauthorized individuals or groups. Category I missiles and rockets are nonnuclear and handheld. The missiles are the Stinger, Dragon, and Javelin; the rockets are the light ant... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the actions taken by the Department of Defense (DOD) to correct weaknesses cited in GAO's September 1994 report on the military services' most sensitive category I missiles and to determine if problems still remained. GAO also reviewed DOD's oversight of category I rock... |
AGOA, signed into law on May 18, 2000, was designed to promote free markets, stimulate economic growth in SSA, and facilitate SSA’s integration into the global economy. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), AGOA provides duty-free access to U.S. markets for more than 6,000 dutiable items in t... | According to U.S. government officials, sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) textile and apparel industry has not achieved the growth anticipated under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Despite the tariff reductions under AGOA, after an initial surge, U.S. imports of these products from beneficiary countries have de... |
Uranium undergoes a number of processing steps in the production of nuclear fuel. To ensure its efficiency and ability to be used safely in nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel must meet rigorous technical specifications. For example, if certain contaminants are present in the material, they must be at or below specified lev... | Prior to the 1998 privatization of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC), the Department of Energy (DOE) transferred about 45,000 metric tons of natural uranium to USEC to, among other things, be enriched to fulfill USEC's nuclear fuel contracts. About 9,550 metric tons were subsequently discovered to be contaminated ... |
State relies on a variety of decentralized information systems and networks to help it carry out its responsibilities and support business functions, such as personnel, financial management, medical, visas, passports, and diplomatic agreements and communications. The data stored in these systems is sensitive enough to ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) how susceptible the Department of State's unclassified automated information systems are to unauthorized access; (2) what State is doing to address information security issues; and (3) what additional actions may be needed to address the computer security problem. ... |
The Results Act is the centerpiece of a statutory framework to improve federal agencies’ management activities. The Results Act was designed to shift the focus of attention of federal agencies from the amount of money they spend, or the size of their workloads, to the results achieved by their programs. Agencies are ex... | GAO discussed the September 30, 1997 strategic plan developed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act. GAO noted that: (1) SBA's plan represents an improvement over its March 1997 version; (2) the plan contains the six elements required by the Results Act; (3) ... |
CS plays a major role in U.S. export promotion activities as the primary agency providing export assistance to individual businesses, especially small- and medium-sized businesses. It is a unit of the Department of Commerce’s (Commerce) International Trade Administration (ITA), and its services include the following: C... | Since the recent recession, policymakers have emphasized the role exports can play in strengthening the U.S. economy and in creating higher paying jobs. In March 2010 the President signed an Executive Order creating the National Export Initiative (NEI), with a goal of doubling U.S. exports in 5 years. However, since 20... |
Distinctions between cruise missiles and UAVs are becoming blurred as the militaries of many nations, in particular the United States, attach missiles to traditional reconnaissance UAVs and develop UAVs dedicated to combat missions. A UAV, a pilotless vehicle that operates like an airplane, can be used for a variety of... | Cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) pose a growing threat to U.S. national security interests as accurate, inexpensive delivery systems for conventional, chemical, and biological weapons. GAO assessed (1) the tools the U.S. and foreign governments use to address proliferation risks posed by the sale of t... |
Pain, which affects millions of Americans, can be characterized in terms of intensity—mild to severe—and duration—acute or chronic. While the appropriate medical treatment of pain varies according to these two dimensions, opioid analgesics can provide pain relief for some patients. These prescription pain relievers can... | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of prescription drug overdose deaths, with deaths associated with prescription pain relievers of particular concern. To address this issue, federal agencies are raising awareness by educating prescribers an... |
According to one study, in 2011, 54 percent of wage and salary workers aged 21-64 worked for an employer that sponsored a pension plan, such as a defined benefit (DB) plan or a DC plan, but only about 45 percent of wage and salary workers aged 21-64 actually participated in the plan. DB plans provide periodic benefits ... | Participants in DC plans and IRAs may receive tax incentives for their contributions and lower-earning households may qualify for the Saver's Credit, an additional tax incentive for their contributions. However, less than half of the workforce participates in an employer-sponsored plan and upper-income workers have bee... |
Recognizing the potential value of IT for public and private health systems, the federal government has, for several years, been working to promote the nationwide use of health IT. In April 2004, President Bush called for widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records within 10 years and issued an execu... | Although advances in information technology (IT) can improve the quality and other aspects of health care, the electronic storage and exchange of personal health information introduces risks to the privacy of that information. In January 2007, GAO reported on the status of efforts by the Department of Health and Human ... |
As you know, Mr. Chairman, the decennial census is a critical national effort mandated by the Constitution. Census data are used to apportion seats in Congress, redraw congressional districts, allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance to state and local governments, and for numerous other public and private se... | The decennial census is a constitutionally-mandated activity that produces data used to apportion congressional seats, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance. In March 2008, GAO designated the 2010 Census a high-risk area in part because of problems with the performance o... |
Congress established the HBCU Capital Financing Program in 1992 under Title III, Part D, of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to provide HBCUs with access to low-cost capital to help them to continue and expand upon their educational missions. (See app. II for locations of HBCUs eligible to participate in t... | Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), which number around 100, undertake capital projects to provide appropriate settings for learning, but many face challenges in doing so. In 1992, Congress created the HBCU Capital Financing Program to help HBCUs fund capital projects by offering loans with interest ra... |
Both social service agencies and the courts play an important role in addressing child welfare issues. In the District, CFSA, in conjunction with other agencies, provides important services to promote the safety and well being of children and families. CFSA coordinates public and private partnerships to preserve famili... | Congress passed the D.C. Family Court Act of 2001 to reform court practices and establish procedures to improve interactions between the District of Columbia's Family Court, of D.C. Superior Court, and social service agencies in the District. The act directed the Mayor to prepare a plan to integrate the computer system... |
DHS’s mission is to lead the unified national effort to secure the United States by preventing and deterring terrorist attacks and protecting against and responding to threats and hazards to the nation. As part of that mission, DHS is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s borders are safe and secure, that they wel... | DHS's border enforcement system, known as TECS, is the primary system available for determining admissibility of persons to the United States. It is used to prevent terrorism, and provide border security and law enforcement, case management, and intelligence functions for multiple federal, state, and local agencies. It... |
DOD submitted the first version of its long-term corrosion strategy to Congress in December 2003. DOD developed this long-term strategy in response to direction in the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003. In November 2004, DOD revised its long-term corrosion strategy and issued its DOD Cor... | According to DOD, corrosion can significantly affect the cost of equipment maintenance and expected service life of equipment. Corrosion affects military readiness by taking critical systems out of action and creating safety hazards. GAO was asked to review DOD's military-equipment corrosion-prevention and mitigation p... |
Foreign language needs have significantly increased throughout DOD and the federal government with the presence of a wider range of security threats, the emergence of new nation states, and the globalization of the U.S. economy. The difficulties in maintaining sufficient foreign language capabilities among federal agen... | Of the 44,000 special operations forces (SOF) that perform difficult, complex, and sensitive military missions on short notice anytime and anywhere in the world, more than 12,000 (28 percent) have a foreign language requirement to operate in places where English is not spoken. In the Senate Report on the Fiscal Year 20... |
In order to meet our mandate to conduct bimonthly reviews and prepare reports on selected states’ and localities’ use of funds, we have selected 16 states and the District of Columbia to track over the next few years to provide an ongoing longitudinal analysis of the use of funds under the Recovery Act. These states co... | This testimony discusses GAO's efforts to coordinate with the accountability community--the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (the Board), the Inspectors General (IGs), and state and local government auditors--to help ensure effective and efficient oversight of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recov... |
While the 75 percent rule has been in effect in one form or another for over two decades, the current payment system and review procedures for IRFs went into effect in recent years. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 changed the Medicare hospital payment system from a cost-based retrospective reimbursement system t... | Medicare classifies inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) using the "75 percent rule." If a facility can show that during 1 year at least 75 percent of its patients required intensive rehabilitation for 1 of 13 specified conditions, it may be classified as an IRF and paid at a higher rate than is paid for less inte... |
The Navy determines the number of sailors and the skills needed to operate its ships through a standardized manpower requirements process. The Navy then mans the ships by filling the required positions— to the extent that the number and type of positions are funded and the trained and qualified personnel are available ... | In 2001, the Navy began reducing crew sizes on surface ships through an initiative called optimal manning, which was intended to achieve workload efficiencies and reduce personnel costs. In 2010, the Navy concluded that this initiative had adversely affected ship readiness and began restoring crew sizes on its ships. T... |
Concerns about long-term national economic growth have focused attention on the federal government’s role in promoting investment necessary to sustain the economy’s capacity to maintain and improve future living standards. The federal government contributes to investment in two primary ways. First, the federal governme... | GAO reviewed whether: (1) federal agencies are depreciating transportation infrastructure, research and development (R&D), and human capital investments for accounting and budgeting purposes; and (2) depreciation of these investments could be useful in federal budgeting. GAO found that: (1) the federal government gener... |
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 outlines DHS’s responsibilities for initiatives supporting both a homeland security and a non-homeland security mission. DHS’s homeland security mission is to prevent, reduce vulnerability to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States. DHS’s non-homeland security miss... | The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was the largest government reorganization in over 50 years, involving 170,000 employees and a $40 billion budget. Given the magnitude of this effort, strategic planning is critical for DHS to ensure that it meets the nation's homeland security challenges. GAO wa... |
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA is responsible for regulating contaminants that may pose a public health risk and that are likely to be present in public water supplies. EPA may establish an enforceable standard—called a maximum contaminant level—that limits the amount of a contaminant that may be present in dri... | Elevated lead levels in the District of Columbia's tap water in 2003 prompted questions about how well consumers are protected nationwide. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), states, and local water systems share responsibility for providing safe drinking water. Lead typically enters tap water as a result of the... |
NOAA has a process for updating its flyout charts, but this process is not established in policy. NOAA’s process for updating its flyout charts involves obtaining updated information on the health of operational satellites from internal specialists and program based studies, such as satellite availability assessments; ... | NOAA manages two weather satellite programs that provide critical environmental data used in weather forecasts and warnings: a geostationary and a polar-orbiting satellite program. The agency is acquiring the next generation of satellites to replace existing satellites that are approaching the end of their expected liv... |
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 extended the authority of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, with some modifications, to authorize an additional BRAC round in 2005. The legislation also required that DOD provide Congress in 2004, as part of its budget justification documen... | The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 authorized an additional Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round in 2005. The legislation requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide Congress in early 2004 with a report that addresses excess infrastructure and certifies that an additional BRAC roun... |
DOD’s DTM 09-007 established business rules, or standard procedures, to estimate and compare the full cost of military and DOD civilian personnel and contractor support. These rules were incorporated with amendments into DOD Instruction 7041.04, which supersedes the DTM. According to the DTM and the instruction, when d... | DOD must make cost-effective decisions in the use of its military, civilian, and contractor workforces, and CAPE issued guidance that provides a methodology for cost estimates and comparisons among workforces. The conference report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated that G... |
User fees—charges individuals or firms pay for services they receive from the federal government—are not new but have begun to play an increasingly important role in financing federal programs, particularly since the Balanced Budget Act of 1985. Increases and extensions of user fees could be used to help meet the natio... | GAO reviewed opportunities to increase the share of funding by beneficiaries for food-related services provided by the federal government, focusing on: (1) the types of food-related services provided by the federal government; (2) the extent to which beneficiaries currently pay for such services through user fees; and ... |
The AOC’s authority to contract for goods and services is vested by statute in the agency head who has delegated this responsibility to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). The CAO has responsibility to, among other things, administer the procurement function on behalf of AOC. AMMD, which falls under the CAO, is aut... | The AOC is responsible for the maintenance, operation, and preservation of the buildings and grounds of the U.S. Capitol complex, which covers more than 17.4 million square feet in buildings and 587 acres of grounds. In fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated $600.3 million to fund AOC's operations, over half of which ... |
The goals of the Recovery Act are to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and ... | The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided $3.2 billion for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to develop and manage projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. The Recovery Act requir... |
In total, 103 schools are currently designated HBCUs. They range in size and scope from 2-year colleges with relatively few programs to 4-year universities offering graduate degrees in several fields and enrolling more than 10,000 students. Although most students who attend are black, about one student in every six is ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed several issues regarding default rates at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), focusing on: (1) a comparison of freshman students at HBCUs with those at all colleges and universities in terms of the academic and socioeconomic characteristics that have be... |
Within USDA, FNS has overall responsibility for overseeing the school- meals programs, which includes promulgating regulations to implement authorizing legislation, setting nationwide eligibility criteria, and issuing guidance. School-meals programs are administered at the state level by a designated state agency that ... | In fiscal year 2014, 30.4 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program and 13.6 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program, partly funded by $15.1 billion from USDA. In May 2014, GAO issued a report on (1) steps taken to help identify and prevent ineligible beneficiaries from re... |
SSA’s disability programs provide cash benefits to people with long-term disabilities. The DI program provides monthly cash benefits and Medicare eligibility to severely disabled workers; SSI is an income assistance program for blind and disabled people. The law defines disability for both programs as the inability to ... | GAO discussed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) actions to reduce the current backlog of cases appealed to the agency's administrative law judges, focusing on: (1) how functional assessments, differences in procedures, and quality review contribute to inconsistent results between different decisionmakers; and ... |
Although many of the larger agencies that transferred to DHS have been able to obtain unqualified or “clean” audit opinions on their annual financial statements, most employed significant effort and manual work- arounds to do so in order to overcome a history of poor financial management systems and significant interna... | Based on its budget, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the largest entity in the federal government that is not subject to the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990. The department, with an estimated $39 billion in assets, an almost $40 billion fiscal year 2004 budget request, and more than 170,000 empl... |
For the 2020 Census, the Bureau intends to limit its per-household cost to not more than that of the 2010 Census, adjusted for inflation. To achieve this goal, the Bureau is significantly changing how it conducts the census, in part by re-engineering key census-taking methods and infrastructure. The Bureau’s innovation... | With a life-cycle cost of about $12.3 billion, the 2010 Census was the most expensive enumeration in U.S. history. To help control costs and maintain accuracy, the 2020 Census design includes new procedures and technology that have not been used extensively in earlier decennials, if at all. While these innovations show... |
NARA’s mission is to safeguard and preserve the records of the U.S. government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. In this way, NARA is to ensure continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. In... | NARA manages the Federal Records Centers Program, which is to ensure the storage and preservation of federal records, including paper, photographic, audio, video, and film. Records storage facilities are required to meet certain minimum structural, environmental, property, and life safety standards set forth in federal... |
The National Park System is one of the most visible symbols of who we are as a land and a people. As the manager of this system, the National Park Service is caretaker of many of the nation’s most precious natural and cultural resources, ranging from the fragile ecosystems of Arches National Park in Utah to the histori... | GAO discussed its views on the National Park Service's (NPS) knowledge of the condition of the resources that the agency is entrusted to protect within the National Park System. GAO noted that: (1) GAO's work has shown that although NPS acknowledges, and its policies emphasize, the importance of managing parks on the b... |
NPS Projected Returns from Concessioners. GAO/RCED-96-48R. November 28, 1995. BACKGROUND: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the assumptions that the National Park Service (NPS) used to project future financial returns to the government from concessioners through year 2002. GAO noted that NPS: (1) overst... | GAO published a list and abstracts of its natural resources-related reports and testimony issued from January 1991 through December 1995, regarding such issues as: (1) land and natural resources management; (2) the National Park System; (3) national forests; (4) concessioners; (5) recreation activities; (6) financial m... |
Vomitoxin, a toxin associated with a fungal disease called scab, only occurs when scab is present. Since 1993, scab and vomitoxin have affected wheat and barley crops in the Northern Great Plains, which includes North Dakota; Minnesota; South Dakota; and Manitoba, Canada. Crops in the Red River Valley region (the easte... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effect of scab and vomitoxin on North Dakota barley crops, focusing on: (1) the financial impact from scab and vomitoxin on barley farmers; (2) the performance of vomitoxin test methods; and (3) short- and long-term actions that could help reduce the impact of scab ... |
Overall federal support for education includes not only federal funds, but also nonfederal funds associated with federal legislation. More than 30 departments or agencies administer federal education dollars, although the Department of Education administers the most, accounting for about 43 percent. Of the about $73 bi... | GAO discussed: (1) the amount and complexity of federal support for education; (2) additional planning, implementation, and evaluative information needed by agencies and the Congress on federal education programs; and (3) some of the challenges of obtaining more and better information. GAO noted that: (1) billions in f... |
According to 2013 Census estimates, more than 640,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives reside on tribal lands. The federal government has recognized many American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages as distinct, independent political communities with inherent sovereignty. Tribal lands vary in size, demographics... | High-speed Internet service is viewed as a critical component of the nation's infrastructure and an economic driver, particularly to remote tribal communities. However, in 2015, FCC reported that the lack of service in tribal areas presents impediments. GAO was asked to review the status of high-speed Internet on triba... |
Among other things, FSA is responsible for implementing USDA’s direct and guaranteed loan programs. FSA’s county office staff administers the direct loan program and has primary decision-making authority for approving loans. As of September 30, 2001, there were about 95,000 borrowers with direct loans outstanding, with... | The Farm Service Agency (FSA) runs a direct loan program that provides loans to farmers who are unable to obtain private commercial credit to buy and operate farms. FSA is required to administer this program in a fair, unbiased manner. GAO found that during fiscal years 2000 and 2001, FSA averaged 4 days longer to proc... |
Created in 1961 to counter hijackers, the organization that is now FAMS was expanded in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On September 11, 2001, 33 air marshals were operating on U.S. flights. In accordance with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), enacted in November 2001, TSA is a... | FAMS, within TSA, is the federal entity responsible for promoting confidence in the nation's aviation system through deploying air marshals to protect U.S. air carriers, airports, passengers, and crews. GAO was asked to assess FAMS's training program for federal air marshals. This report examines (1) how TSA assesses t... |
In February 2008, we reported that FERC had made few substantive changes to either its merger and acquisition review process or its postmerger oversight as a consequence of its new responsibilities and, as a result, does not have a strong basis for ensuring that harmful cross- subsidization does not occur. Specifically... | Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) and other laws, federal agencies and state commissions have traditionally regulated utilities to protect consumers from supply disruptions and unfair pricing. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) repealed PUHCA 1935, removing some limitations on the com... |
The Single Audit Act is intended to, among other things, promote sound financial management, including effective internal controls, with respect to federal awards administered by nonfederal entities; promote the efficient and effective use of audit resources; and ensure that federal departments and agencies, to the max... | In examining the efforts of the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation to ensure that recipients corrected single audit report findings, GAO found that each agency had procedures for obtaining and distributing the audit reports to appropriate officials for action. However, they ofte... |
Breast-conservation therapy involves a number of physician decisions not required for mastectomy, including the selection of patients for breast conservation, the amount of tissue to be removed from the area surrounding the tumor, the details of administering radiation, and so forth. (See Sacks and Baum, 1993; Winchest... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the survival rates of patients receiving breast-conservation therapy versus mastectomy therapy, focusing on whether patients' survivability is affected by having treatment in single-center studies rather than multi-center studies. GAO found that: (1) the 5-year survival... |
Education disburses grant and loan payments by electronic funds transfer and processes these payments in GAPS. This disbursement process relies extensively on various computer systems application controls, or edit checks, to help ensure the propriety of these payments. Because these edit checks are important to the Dep... | GAO and the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General have issued many reports in recent years on the Department's financial management problems, including internal control weaknesses that put the Department at risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. In an April 2001 assessment of the internal cont... |
Charter schools are public schools that operate under charters (or contracts) specifying the terms by which they may operate. In general, they are established under state law, charge no tuition, and are nonsectarian. State charter school laws and policies vary widely regarding the degree of autonomy the schools have, t... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the way selected states allocate Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds to charter and other public schools; (2) factors that help and hinder charter schools in accessing Title I an... |
In pursuing its mission of assisting small businesses, SBA facilitates access to capital and federal contracting opportunities, offers entrepreneurial counseling, and provides disaster assistance. Program offices are located at SBA’s headquarters and include the offices responsible for oversight of the agency’s key pro... | SBA was created in 1953, and its regional offices were established shortly thereafter. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the agency downsized the staff and responsibilities of the regional offices. These offices, which are managed by politically appointed administrators, are currently responsible for supervising SBA's... |
The federal government has implemented a number of initiatives to address sexual violence or mitigate its effects. For example, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), created in 1995 in order to help implement the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sponsors grant programs for local la... | Concerns have grown about sexual violence—in general, unwanted sexual acts—in the United States, particularly involving certain populations such as college students, incarcerated individuals, and military personnel. Data on the occurrence of sexual violence are critical to preventing, addressing, and understanding the ... |
Social Security is one the largest federal programs in the United States, providing about $546 billion in benefits in 2006 to over 49 million beneficiaries. Although the majority of Social Security benefits are paid to retirees, Social Security does much more than provide retirement income. Social Security Disability I... | Many recent Social Security reform proposals to improve program solvency include elements that would reduce benefits currently scheduled for future recipients. To date, debate has focused primarily on the potential impact on retirees, with less attention to the effects on other Social Security recipients, such as disab... |
The Postal Service’s goal is to deliver at least 95 percent of local First-Class Mail overnight and to achieve 100-percent customer satisfaction. Delivery performance is measured in 96 metropolitan areas across the nation and results are published quarterly. This measurement system, known as the External First-Class Me... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed mail delivery service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, focusing on the: (1) recent on-time delivery service problems for overnight first-class mail; (2) reasons why mail service is below the desired level; and (3) United States Postal Service's (USPS) actions ... |
Providers and beneficiaries may appeal any denied claim. Claims are denied for a variety of reasons. In fiscal year 2001, the most common reason for denying claims was that the services provided were determined not to have been medically necessary for the beneficiaries. Other reasons for denials include that Medicare d... | Appellants and others have been concerned about the length of time it takes for a decision on the appeal of a denied Medicare claim. In December 2000, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA), required, among other things, shorter decision time frames. BIPA's provisions r... |
DHS and TSA share responsibility for the research, development, and deployment of passenger checkpoint screening technologies. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act established TSA as the federal agency with primary responsibility for securing the nation’s civil aviation system, which includes the screening of a... | TSA accelerated the deployment of AIT systems, or full-body scanners, in response to the December 25, 2009, attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Pursuant to the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, TSA was mandated to ensure that AIT systems were equipped with AT... |
For children who have been abused or neglected by their caregivers, the child welfare system is an expensive and often poor substitute for a permanent home. The children and families in the system often have serious and difficult problems that can require intensive and time-consuming services. Unfortunately, most exper... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the states' efforts to implement managed care into their child welfare systems, focusing on determining the: (1) extent to which public agencies are using managed care to provide child welfare services; (2) financial and service delivery arrangements being used under a ... |
Community policing is generally defined as a shift in police efforts from a solely reactive response to crime to also proactively working with residents to prevent crime. Citizens, police departments, and other agencies are to work together to identify problems and apply appropriate problem-solving strategies. The prac... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed various aspects of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, focusing on the reasons some jurisdictions did not apply for federal community policing grants. GAO found that: (1) jurisdictions with higher crime rates were more likely to apply for COPS grant... |
IHS oversees the CHS program through 12 area offices. Federal and tribal CHS programs in each of these areas pay for services from external providers if services are not available directly through IHS-funded facilities, if patients meet certain requirements, and if funds are available. IHS conducts an annual assessment... | The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. When care at an IHS-funded facility is unavailable, IHS's contract health services (CHS) program pays for care from external providers if the patient meets certai... |
VA policy is to allocate comparable resources for comparable workloads in its 22 health care networks as an important step in ensuring equitable access to care for the nation’s veterans. To achieve this allocation in its national health care system, VA has used VERA since fiscal year 1997 to prospectively allocate reso... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent $21 billion in fiscal year 2001 to treat 3.8 million veterans--most of whom had service-connected disabilities or low incomes. Since 1997, VA has used the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system to allocate most of its medical care appropriation. GAO found that... |
The West Valley site, about 30 miles southeast of Buffalo, includes an approximately 200-acre area of nuclear operations within a 3,300-acre area owned by the state of New York. (See fig. 1.) The facility began construction in 1963 as the first—and ultimately the only—commercial spent fuel reprocessing plant to be oper... | The West Valley nuclear facility in western New York State was built in the 1960s to convert spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors into reusable nuclear fuel. New York State, the owner of the site, and the Atomic Energy Commission--the predecessor of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of E... |
DeCA, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia, is the Department of Defense’s designated agency for managing commissaries on a worldwide basis. A Commissary Operating Board, which is comprised of representatives from each of the military services, has day-to-day operational oversight responsibilities for DeCA. The Under Se... | In response to concerns about the impact of proposed cuts in the Defense Commissary Agency's workforce, the House Armed Services Committee placed in its report on the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 a requirement that we evaluate the effect of the personnel reductions. Specifically, we... |
Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), CMS is responsible for overseeing Medicaid at the federal level, while states are responsible for the day-to-day operations of their Medicaid programs. Under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of HHS may waive certain Medicaid requirements to... | Medicaid, a federal-state health financing program for certain low-income individuals, offers NEMT benefits to individuals who are unable to provide their own transportation to medical appointments. This benefit can be an important safety net for program enrollees as research has identified the lack of transportation a... |
As the government’s lender of last resort to the nation’s farmers, FSA lends federal funds directly to farmers who are unable to obtain financing elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms. It also guarantees loans made by other agricultural lenders. The emergency disaster loan program—in operation since 1949—is one of se... | GAO analyzed the financial condition of the Department of Agriculture's multi-billion dollar farm loan portfolio, focusing on: (1) the factors that contribute to the financial risk associated with these loans; and (2) the extent to which farmers attempted to minimize the need for farm loans by purchasing insurance to p... |
The Trust Fund’s uncommitted balance depends on the revenues flowing into the fund and the appropriations made available from the fund for various spending accounts. The amount of revenue flowing into the Trust Fund has fluctuated from year to year but has generally trended upward, as shown in figure 2. Some of the flu... | The Airport and Airway Trust Fund was established by the Airport and Airway Revenue Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-258) to help fund the development of a nationwide airport and airway system and to fund investments in air traffic control facilities. It provides all of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) c... |
With almost 700,000 civilian employees on its payroll, DOD is the second largest federal employer of civilians in the nation, after the Postal Service. Defense civilian personnel, among other things, develop policy, provide intelligence, manage finances, and acquire and maintain weapon systems. Given the current global... | DOD is in the midst of a major transformation effort including a number of initiatives to transform its forces and improve its business operations. DOD's legislative initiative would provide for major changes in the civiliean and military human capital management, make major adjustments in the DOD acquisition process, ... |
PPACA provided for additional health care coverage options for millions of lower income individuals through the expansion of eligibility for the Medicaid program and the creation of health insurance exchanges where eligible individuals can qualify for federal subsidies to purchase private health insurance coverage. Med... | GAO regularly prepares long-term federal budget simulations under different assumptions about broad fiscal policy decisions. GAO's Baseline Extended simulation illustrates the long-term outlook assuming current law at the time the simulation was run is generally continued, while the Alternative simulation illustrates t... |
VA’s mission is to promote the health, welfare, and dignity of all veterans in recognition of their service to the nation by ensuring that they receive medical care, benefits, social support, and lasting memorials. VA is the second largest federal department and, in addition to its central office located in Washington,... | The use of IT is crucial to helping VA effectively serve the nation's veterans, and each year, the department spends over $4 billion on IT. However, over many years, VA has had difficulty managing its information systems, raising questions about the effectiveness of its operations and its ability to deliver intended ou... |
Beginning on April 27, 2005, DOD made TRICARE coverage available for purchase through TRS for certain reservists when they were not on active duty or eligible for pre- or postactivation TRICARE coverage. Enrollees in TRS can obtain care from MTFs or from TRICARE-authorized civilian providers or hospitals. TRS enrollees... | (DOD) TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) program allows most reservists to purchase coverage under TRICARE, the military health insurance program, when not on active duty. DOD intends to set premiums at a level equal to the expected costs of providing TRS benefits. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2007 required GAO... |
When EESA was enacted on October 3, 2008, the U.S. financial system was facing a severe crisis that rippled throughout the global economy, moving from the U.S. housing market to the financial markets and affecting an array of financial assets and interbank lending. The crisis restricted access to credit and made the fi... | The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) authorized Treasury to create TARP, designed to restore liquidity and stability to the financial system and to preserve homeownership by assisting borrowers struggling to make their mortgage payments. Congress reduced the initial authorized amount of $700 billion ... |
To determine the primary reasons for the growth in reported CMP debt at CMS and whether CMS’ CMP receivables have similar financial accountability and reporting issues as its non-CMP receivables, we obtained and reviewed CMS’ audited financial statements, HHS’ accountability reports, and other financial reports that re... | This report focuses on the debt collection processes and procedures used by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The primary reason for the growth of CMS' civil monetary penalties (CMP) receivables was the expansion of fraud and abuse detection activities ... |
Conditions in Cuba continue to pose substantial challenges for U.S. assistance. Cuba is a Communist state that restricts nearly all political dissent on the island; tactics for suppressing dissent in Cuba include surveillance, arbitrary arrests, detentions, travel restrictions, exile, criminal prosecutions, and loss of... | Since 1996, Congress has appropriated $205 million to USAID and State to support democracy assistance for Cuba. Because of Cuban government restrictions, conditions in Cuba pose security risks to the implementing partnersprimarily NGOsand subpartners that provide U.S. assistance. For this report, GAO (1) identified c... |
DOD is a massive and complex organization entrusted with more taxpayer dollars than any other federal department or agency. Organizationally, the department includes the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military departments, numerous defense agencies and field activities, and various u... | Since 1995, GAO has designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) multibillion dollar business systems modernization program as high risk, and it continues to do so today. To assist in addressing DOD's modernization challenges, the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (the act) requir... |
The USFHP is a statutorily required component of the MHS that offers the TRICARE Prime option to eligible military beneficiaries through 6 designated providers in certain locations across the country. Over the years, the number of designated providers has dropped from 10 to 6. The 6 USFHP designated providers that curr... | DOD provides health care to about 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries through its TRICARE program. The department contracts with MCSCs to administer TRICARE's benefit options in three regions across the United States. Separately, DOD contracts with six USFHP designated providers to offer TRICARE Prime—the managed care o... |
IRS improved its 2006 filing season performance in important areas that affect large numbers of taxpayers. This continues a trend of improvement since at least 2002. Returns processing has gone smoothly and electronic filing continues to grow, although at a slower rate than in previous years. Taxpayer assistance has im... | The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) filing season performance affects tens of millions of taxpayers who expect timely refunds and accurate answers to their tax questions. IRS's budget request is a planning tool showing how it intends to provide taxpayer service and enforce the tax laws in 2007. It is also the first in... |
Employers can sponsor two broad types of retirement plans, referred to in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as pension plans: (1) DB plans, which promise to provide benefits generally based on an employee’s years of service and frequently are based on salary, regardless of the performance of t... | American workers are primarily saving for retirement through their 401(k) plans and will likely need assistance making complicated decisions about how to spend their money throughout retirement. Other countries with defined contribution (DC) systems are also dealing with this spend-down challenge. To identify lessons f... |
The problems in the D.C. public school system have persisted for years despite numerous efforts at reform. In 1989, a report by the D.C. Committee on Public Education noted declining achievement levels as students move through grades, the poor condition of the school system’s physical facilities, and the lack of accoun... | In response to long-standing problems with student academic performance, the condition of school facilities, and the overall management of the D.C. public school system, the D.C. Council approved the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007 (Reform Act). The Reform Act made major changes to the operations and gove... |
MDA’s BMDS is being designed to counter ballistic missiles of all ranges—short, medium, intermediate, and intercontinental.ballistic missiles have different ranges, speeds, sizes, and performance characteristics, MDA is developing multiple systems that when integrated, provide multiple opportunities to destroy ballisti... | MDA has spent more than $80 billion since its initiation in 2002 and plans to spend $44 billion more by 2016 to develop, produce, and field a complex integrated system of land-, sea-, and space-based sensors, interceptors, and battle management, known as the BMDS. Since 2002, National Defense Authorization Acts have ma... |
Several factors constrain CNMI’s economic potential, including the lack of diversification, scarce natural resources, small domestic markets, limited infrastructure, and shortages of skilled labor. The United States exercises sovereignty over CNMI, and, in general, federal laws apply to CNMI. However, federal minimum w... | The U.S. insular area of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a self-governing commonwealth of the United States that comprises 14 islands in the North Pacific. In a December 2006 report--U.S. Insular Areas: Economic, Fiscal, and Financial Accountability Challenges (GAO-07-119)--regarding four ins... |
Because of the abundance of coal and its historically low cost, coal-fueled electricity generating units provide a large share of the electricity produced in the United States. In 2012, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, there were 1,309 coal-fueled generating units in the United States, with a ... | EPA recently proposed or finalized four regulations affecting coal-fueled electricity generating units, which provide about 37 percent of the nation's electricity supply. These regulations are the: (1) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule; (2) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards; (3) Cooling Water Intake Structures regulation; ... |
The Safe Drinking Water Act established a federal-state arrangement in which states may be delegated primary implementation and enforcement authority (“primacy”) for the drinking water program. Except for Wyoming and the District of Columbia, all states and territories have received primacy. For contaminants that are k... | Media reports on elevated lead in the District of Columbia's drinking water raised concern about how local and federal agencies are carrying out their responsibilities. The Lead and Copper Rule requires water systems to protect drinking water from lead. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Washington Aqueduct treats and s... |
For the past several decades, computer systems have typically used two digits to represent the year, such as “98” for 1998, in order to conserve electronic data storage and reduce operating costs. In this format, however, 2000 is indistinguishable from 1900 because both are represented as “00.” As a result, if not modi... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the information technology challenges facing the Social Security Administration and its recently appointed commissioner. GAO noted that: (1) SSA made significant early progress in assessing and renovating mission-critical mainframe systems--those necessary to prevent t... |
While many estates are kept open for legitimate reasons, we found that FSA field offices do not systematically determine the eligibility of all estates kept open for more than 2 years, as regulations require, and when they do conduct eligibility determinations, the quality of the determinations varies. Without performi... | Farmers receive about $20 billion annually in federal farm program payments, which go to individuals and "entities," including corporations, partnerships, and estates. Under certain conditions, estates may receive payments for the first 2 years after an individual's death. For later years, the U.S. Department of Agricu... |
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the President signed under the authority of the Stafford Act a major disaster declaration for the state of New York. The presidential declaration allowed the state of New York to apply for federal assistance to help recover from the disaster. FEMA was responsible f... | To help alleviate the psychological distress caused by the September 11, 2001, attacks the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the state of New York two grants totaling $154.9 million to provide crisis counseling and public education. Because of questions about whether the program, called Project Liberty... |
The United States extends unilateral tariff reductions to over 130 developing countries through one general trade preference program (GSP) and three regional programs—CBI, ATPA, and AGOA (see table 1). The preference programs are tools that the U.S. government uses to assist countries in the developing world. At the Un... | U.S. trade preference programs promote economic development in poorer nations by providing export opportunities. The Generalized System of Preferences, Caribbean Basin Initiative, Andean Trade Preference Act, and African Growth and Opportunity Act unilaterally reduce U.S. tariffs for many products from over 130 countri... |
In 1986, Congress amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to authorize federal funds targeted to assist youth aged 16 and over in making the transition from foster care to living independent of the child welfare system and created the Independent Living Program. This program was designed to prepare adolescents in... | Congress passed the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (FCIA), which doubled annual federal funds for independent living programs to $140 million. This testimony discusses (1) states' FCIA funding allocations, (2) services provided and remaining challenges, (3) state coordination of programs to deliver services, and ... |
In an effort to expedite receipt processing, the IRS conducted its first pilot project to obtain lockbox services from a commercial bank in 1984. The receipts processed were limited to tax receipts for estimated tax payments, which are typically paid by taxpayers on a quarterly basis. The bank was compensated from the ... | Lockbox banks are commercial banks that process certain taxpayer receipts on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Following an incident at a lockbox site during 2001, which involved the loss and destruction of about 78,000 tax receipts totaling more than $1.2 billion, the Senate Committee on Finance asked GAO ... |
FTA generally funds New Starts projects through FFGAs, which are required by statute to establish the terms and conditions for federal participation in a New Starts project. FFGAs also define a project’s scope, including the length of the system and the number of stations; its schedule, including the date when the syst... | The New Starts program is an important source of new capital investment in mass transportation. As required by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must prioritize transit projects for funding by evaluating, rating, and recomm... |
Today there is widespread frustration with the budget process. It is attacked as confusing, time-consuming, burdensome, and repetitive. In addition, the results are often disappointing to both participants and observers. Although frustration is nearly universal, there is less agreement on what specific changes would be... | GAO discussed how the federal government could improve its financial management and budgets. GAO noted that: (1) over the last 6 years, the government has established a solid framework for improving its financial management through legislative mandates, an accounting standards advisory board, and budget process improve... |
The number of families receiving welfare cash assistance fell significantly after the creation of TANF, decreasing by almost 50 percent from a monthly average of 3.2 million families in fiscal year 1997 to a low of 1.7 million families in fiscal year 2008 (see fig. 1). Several factors likely contributed to this caseloa... | The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, created in 1996, is one of the key federal funding streams provided to states to assist low-income families. A critical aspect of TANF has been its focus on employment and self-sufficiency, and the primary means to measure state efforts in this area has been T... |
In December 2007, the United States entered what has turned out to be the deepest recession since the end of World War II. In responding to this downturn, the Recovery Act employs a combination of tax relief and government spending. About one-third of the funds provided by the act are for tax relief to individuals and ... | This testimony discusses the report being issued today on the first set of recipient reports made available in October 2009 in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's section 1512 requirement. On October 30, Recovery.gov (the federal Web site on Recovery Act spending) reported that more than 100,000 re... |
We have been reporting on the department’s financial management as an area of high risk since 1995. As discussed in our recent report on the results of our review of the fiscal year 2000 Financial Report of the U.S. Government, DOD’s financial management deficiencies, taken together, continue to represent the single la... | The results of the Defense Department (DOD) financial audit for fiscal year 2000 highlight long-standing financial management weaknesses that continue to plague the military. These weaknesses not only hamper the department's ability to produce timely and accurate financial management information but also unnecessarily ... |
The 2006 Act requires VA to establish annual contracting goals for SDVOSBs and other nonservice-disabled VOSBs; the goal for SDVOSBs must at least match the government-wide SDVOSB contracting goal of 3 percent of federal contract dollars. VA set its goals at 3 percent for SDVOSBs and 7 percent for all VOSBs (SDVOSBs an... | VA is required to give contracting preference to service-disabled and other veteran-owned small businesses. It must also verify the ownership and control of these firms to confirm eligibility. Prior reports by GAO and VA's Office of Inspector General identified weaknesses in VA's processes and controls that allowed ine... |
To help measure the quality of the 2000 Census and to possibly adjust for any over- or undercounts of various demographic groups, the Bureau designed the A.C.E. program, a separate and independent sample survey conducted as part of the 2000 Census. When matched to the census data, A.C.E. data were to enable the Bureau ... | Decennial census data need to be as accurate as possible because the population counts are used for, among other purposes, allocating federal grants to states and local governments. The U.S. Census Bureau (Bureau) used statistical methods to estimate the accuracy of 1990 and 2000 Census data. Because the Bureau conside... |
Since 1974, the SSI program, under title XVI of the Social Security Act, has provided benefits to low-income blind and disabled persons—adults and children—who meet financial eligibility requirements and SSA’s definition of disability. SSA determines applicants’ financial eligibility; state DDSs determine their medical... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effects of the judicially mandated individualized functional assessment (IFA) process on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, focusing on: (1) allegations that parents may be coaching their children to fake mental impairments to qualify under the lower eligi... |
JPDO has made progress in planning NextGen by facilitating collaboration among its partner agencies, working to finalize key planning documents, and improving its collaboration and coordination with FAA. Among the challenges JPDO faces are institutionalizing collaboration among the partner agencies, and identifying and... | The skies over America are becoming more crowded every day. The consensus of opinion is that the current aviation system cannot be expanded to meet this projected growth. Recognizing the need for system transformation, in 2003 Congress authorized the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) and requires the office ... |
Generally, the Congress authorizes the Corps’ water resources projects every 2 years through a Water Resources Development Act. After project authorization, the Corps may request construction appropriations in order to initiate a project; the Congress might not appropriate construction funding for all authorized projec... | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must mitigate potential damage to fish and wildlife caused by dam construction, harbor dredging, and other projects. In the past, the Corps has acquired lands to replace lost habitat, created wetlands, or planted vegetation to stabilize soil and prevent erosion. The Corps' Civil Works P... |
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.