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Since it started development in 2003, FCS has been at the center of the Army’s efforts to modernize into a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force. The FCS concept involved replacing existing combat systems with a family of manned and unmanned vehicles and systems linked by an advanced information network. T... | Since 2003, the Future Combat System (FCS) program has been the centerpiece of the Army's efforts to transition to a lighter, more agile, and more capable combat force. In 2009, however, concerns over the program's performance led to the Secretary of Defense's decision to significantly restructure and ultimately cancel... |
Egypt is a key strategic partner of the United States and is among the top recipients of U.S. security-related assistance. According to U.S. officials, the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership is based on shared interests of promoting a stable and prosperous Egypt, securing regional peace and maintaining peace between Egyp... | The U.S. government has allocated an average of about $1.3 billion annually in security assistance for Egypt in fiscal years 2011 through 2015. DOD and State have established end-use monitoring programs to ensure that military equipment transferred to foreign countries is safeguarded and used for its intended purposes.... |
Nearly two-thirds of the world’s coca crop is grown in Peru. Most of that coca is processed into cocaine base, which is flown to Colombia to make cocaine for shipment to the United States and Europe. Since the 1980s, the primary coca-growing and drug-trafficking activities in Peru have been in its Upper Huallaga Valley... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on U.S. antidrug efforts in Peru, focusing on the: (1) rationale for, and costs associated with, the construction, maintenance, and operations of the Santa Lucia antidrug base; (2) rationale for discontinuing support of the Santa Lucia base; and (3) current ... |
FHWA is the DOT agency responsible for federal highway programs— including distributing billions of dollars in federal highway funds to the states—and developing federal policy regarding the nation’s highways. The agency provides technical assistance to improve the quality of the transportation network, conducts transp... | The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has received hundreds of millions of dollars for its surface transportation research and technology program during the past decade. For example, in 1998 the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, included over $447 million for fiscal year 2002 for FHWA's transportation... |
National securities exchanges and registered securities associations, along with registered clearing agencies and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, are collectively termed self-regulatory organizations (SROs) under Section 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). NASD is the SRO of the s... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Association of Securities Dealers' (NASD) automated quotation (NASDAQ) SmallCap Stock Market and the events surrounding the listing of Comparator Systems Corporation stock. GAO noted that: (1) the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken actions to me... |
The federal government plays a role in overseeing Internet pharmacy activity to the extent that these entities engage in interstate commerce or violate federal laws. However, states have traditionally regulated the practice of pharmacy and the practice of medicine. State boards of pharmacy license pharmacists and pharm... | The Internet offers consumers a convenient method for purchasing drugs that is sometimes cheaper than buying from traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacies. According to a recent FDA survey, nearly 1 in 4 adult U.S. Internet consumers have purchased prescription drugs online. However, many Internet pharmacies are fraudul... |
NRC’s primary mission is to protect the public health and safety, and the environment, from the effects of radiation from nuclear plants, materials, and waste facilities. Because decommissioning a nuclear power plant is a safety issue, NRC has authority to ensure that owners are financially qualified to decommission th... | Following the shutdown of a nuclear power plant a significant radioactive waste hazard remains until the waste is removed and the plant site decommissioned. In 1999, GAO reported that the combined value of the owners' decommissioning funds was insufficient to ensure enough funds would be available for decommissioning. ... |
On October 30, 2000, the Congress enacted GISRA, which became effective November 29, 2000, for a period of 2 years. GISRA supplemented information security requirements established in the Computer Security Act of 1987, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, and was consistent with exist... | Since 1996, GAO has reported that poor information security in the federal government is a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences. Further, GAO has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue in reports to the Congress since 1997--most recently in January 2003. To strengthe... |
Under the EB-5 Program Regional Center model, first enacted as a pilot program in 1992 and reauthorized numerous times since, a certain number of the EB-5 visas are set aside annually for immigrant investors investing within economic units called regional centers, which are established to promote economic growth. Most ... | Congress created the EB-5 visa category to promote job creation and capital investment by immigrant investors in exchange for lawful permanent residency and a path to citizenship. Participants must invest either $500,000 or $1 million in a business that is to create at least 10 jobs. Upon meeting program requirements, ... |
While part of today’s hearing focuses specifically on FDA’s responsibilities for the oversight of food safety, it is important to note that FDA is one of 15 federal agencies that collectively administer at least 30 laws related to food safety. This fragmentation is a key reason we designated federal oversight of food s... | The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of roughly 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including $417 billion worth of domestic food and $49 billion in imported food annually. The recent outbreaks of E. coli in spinach, Salmonella in peanut butter, and contamination in pet food hig... |
HMOs are expected to provide all covered services to members in return for fixed premiums. HMOs may have their own staff of physicians and other providers to deliver care, or they may contract with individual providers or medical groups to deliver services. From the Medicare beneficiaries’ perspective, HMOs may offer a... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed federal oversight of health maintenance organizations (HMO) that enroll Medicare beneficiaries, focusing on: (1) the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) monitoring of HMO compliance with federal quality assurance standards; (2) HCFA enforcement actions against... |
Although policies concerning compensation for deployed civilians are generally comparable across agencies, we found some issues that affect the amount of compensation they receive—depending on such things as the agency’s pay system or the civilian’s grade/band level—and the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of thi... | The Department of Defense (DOD) and other executive agencies increasingly deploy civilians in support of contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prior GAO reports show that the use of deployed civilians has raised questions about the potential for differences in policies on compensation and medical benefits. Wh... |
The Cleveland voucher program is officially called the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program and provides state funding to help primarily low-income children in kindergarten through the eighth grade attend private schools in Cleveland or to attend public schools in districts adjacent to the Cleveland school distri... | This report reviews the Cleveland and Milwaukee school voucher programs, which provide money for low-income families to send their children to private schools. Both programs require participating private schools to be located within the city or the city's school district and to adhere to state standards for private sch... |
The Navy delivered its first DDG 51 destroyer in April 1991, and 62 ships currently operate in the fleet. Two shipbuilders (Bath Iron Works Corporation in Bath, Maine, and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi) build DDG 51 destroyers, with four separate configurations in the class (Flights I, II, II... | Over the next 10 years, the Navy plans to spend more than $50 billion to design and procure 22 Flight III destroyers, an upgrade from Flight IIA ships. Flight III ships will include the new SPY-6 radar system and Aegis (ballistic missile defense) combat system upgrades. The Navy's MYP approach requires the Navy to seek... |
The Military Health Services System (MHSS), with an annual cost of over $15 billion, has the dual mission of providing medical care to the military forces during war or conflict and to military dependents and retirees. The MHSS consists of over 90 deployable combat hospitals that are solely devoted to the wartime missi... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO studied the reasonableness of the models each military service uses to determine appropriate wartime medical personnel force levels, focusing on the models' results, their methodologies, and their inclusion of active duty and reserve medical personnel. GAO found that: (1) in 1... |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to be here today to discuss some of the possible implications of legislative proposals that would give new personnel flexibility to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). With federal agencies now called upon to improve customer service and deliver better results to ... | GAO discussed the possible implications of proposed legislation that would give new personnel flexibility to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). GAO noted that: (1) it examined two bills that would give IRS new flexibilities in managing its workforce: H.R. 2676 and S. 1174; (2) the bills are similar in that both would ... |
An election is the act or process by which citizens cast a vote to select an individual for an office. Although an election is a single event, an election system involves the integration of the people, processes, and technology that are generally associated with the preparation and administration of an election. The ba... | Events surrounding the 2000 presidential election raised concerns about the reliability of various types of voting equipment, the role of election officials, the disqualification of absentee ballots, and the accuracy of vote counts and recounts. As a result, public officials and various interest groups have proposed re... |
The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 established terms for negotiating employee benefits in collectively bargained multiemployer plans and placed certain restrictions on the operation of these plans, including the placement of plan assets in a trust. For example, the law required a collectively bargained plan and its assets to... | Thirty years ago Congress enacted protections to ensure that participants in multiemployer pension plans received their promised benefits. These defined benefit plans are created by collective bargaining agreements covering more than one employer. Today, these plans provide pension coverage to over 10.4 million partici... |
Advances in the use of IT and the Internet are continuing to change the way that federal agencies communicate, use, and disseminate information; deliver services; and conduct business. For example, electronic government (e-government) has the potential to help build better relationships between government and the publi... | Over the years, the Congress has promulgated laws and the Office of Management and Budget and GAO have issued policies and guidance, respectively, on (1) information technology (IT) strategic planning/performance measurement (which defines what an organization seeks to accomplish, identifies the strategies it will use ... |
Millions of current and future retirees rely on private or public DB pension plans, which promise to pay retirement benefits that are generally based on an employee’s salary and years of service. The financial condition of these plans—and hence their ability to pay promised retirement benefits when such benefits are du... | Millions of retired Americans rely on defined benefit pension plans for their financial well-being. Recent reports have noted that some plans are investing in 'alternative' investments such as hedge funds and private equity funds. This has raised concerns, given that these two types of investments have qualified for ex... |
Various entities and groups develop and distribute video content. Content producers, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment and CBS Television Studios, sell the right to use their content to a variety of users, such as broadcast networks, cable networks, and local television stations. The financial compensation received b... | Video provided through subscription video services, such as cable and satellite television, is a central source of news and entertainment for the majority of U.S. households. Technological advances have ushered in a wave of new products and services, bringing online distribution of video to consumers. Federal laws and ... |
Climate change is having a variety of impacts on natural resources in the United States, ranging from more severe drought to increased flooding, and is altering assumptions that have been central to water resource planning and management. Congress and the Executive Office of the President have directed federal agencies... | The effects of climate change on water resources have already been observed and are expected to continue. The Corps and Reclamation own and operate key water resource management infrastructure, such as dams and reservoirs. Adaptation-- adjustments in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that exploi... |
FDA’s approval is required before brand-name drugs and generic drugs can be marketed for sale in the United States. To obtain FDA’s approval to market a brand-name drug, sponsors must submit a new drug application (NDA) containing data on the safety and effectiveness of the drug as determined through clinical trials an... | Drug shortages are a serious public health concern. GAO previously found that many shortages were of sterile injectable drugs and could generally be traced to supply disruptions caused by manufacturers slowing or halting production to address quality issues. Congress included a provision in statute for GAO to review se... |
As trustee, the Secretary of the Interior is responsible for administering the government’s trust responsibility to tribes and Indians. Several Interior agencies administer various portions of the government’s Indian trust responsibility, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)... | GAO discussed the results of its analysis of the Special Trustee for American Indians' Strategic Plan for Indian trust fund accounting and asset management improvement, focusing on: (1) the trust asset management problems that the Strategic Plan proposes to resolve; (2) a high-level summary of the Strategic Plan; (3) t... |
The risks associated with natural disasters have always been a part of farming. Historically, farmers assumed these risks as part of the hazards of doing business. Since the 1930s, many farmers have been able to transfer part of the financial losses from these risks to the federal government through subsidized crop ins... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined whether the Department of Agriculture (USDA): (1) set insurance rates to achieve the legislative requirement of 91-percent adequacy; (2) reduced the losses caused by high-risk farmers; (3) based payments to farmers for claimed losses on their actual production history; ... |
Wildland fire triggered by lightning is a normal, inevitable, and necessary ecological process that nature uses to periodically remove excess undergrowth, small trees, and vegetation to renew ecosystem productivity. However, various human land use and management practices, including several decades of fire suppression ... | Wildland fires are increasingly threatening communities and ecosystems. In recent years, these fires have become more intense due to excess vegetation that has accumulated, partly as a result of past management practices. Experts have said that the window of opportunity for effectively responding to wildland fire is ra... |
Before a drug can be marketed in the United States, its sponsor must demonstrate to FDA that the drug is safe and effective for its intended use. FDA approves a drug for marketing when the agency judges that its known benefits outweigh its known risks. However, because premarket evaluations are limited in their ability... | There have been long-standing concerns regarding the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) oversight of postmarket drug safety. In 2006, GAO reported that FDA had not clearly defined the roles of two offices involved in making decisions about postmarket safety--the Office of New Drugs (OND) and the Office of Surveillanc... |
Export credits are financing arrangements designed to mitigate risks to buyers and sellers associated with international transactions. Export credits generally take the form of direct loans, loan guarantees, and export credit insurance, and may be short-term (0-1 year), medium-term (1-7 years), and long-term (7 plus ye... | The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im), the United States official export credit agency (ECA), helps U.S. firms export goods and services by providing a range of financial products. Ex-Im, whose primary mission is to support jobs through exports, has a range of policy requirements, including support of small business. Th... |
SSA administers the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance programs under Title II of the Social Security Act. About 96 percent of the nation’s work force is in social security-covered employment and pays tax on its annual earnings. When workers pay social security taxes, they earn coverage credits, and 40 credit... | Totalization agreements foster international commerce, protect benefits for persons who have worked in foreign countries, and eliminate dual social security taxes that employers and their employees pay when they operate and reside in countries with parallel social security systems. Because Mexicans are believed to repr... |
This section details the objectives of the project, the structure and interrelationships of the various teams and stakeholders, the time frames for undertaking the projects and, the measurements that are required to monitor and evaluate the projects. To implement reforms in the job management process that result in a r... | GAO described its strategy to implement job process reforms and the roles and responsibilities of the project's key personnel. GAO noted that the objectives of the project are to: (1) implement reforms in the job management process that result in a reduction in average production time; (2) quantify the expected staff t... |
When it was enacted in 1998, WIA created a new, comprehensive workforce investment system designed to change the way employment and training services are delivered. Under WIA, each state designates local workforce investment areas across the state. Each local area is governed by local workforce investment boards that m... | Since 2001, Labor has spent nearly $900 million on the High Growth Job Training Initiative (High Growth), Community-Based Job Training Initiative (Community Based), and the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED). This testimony addresses 1) the intent of the grant initiatives and the extent to wh... |
There are three main types of space launches—national security, civil, and commercial. National security launches are by DOD for defense purposes, and civil launches are by NASA for scientific and exploratory purposes. Many commercial launches are internationally competed and carry payloads, such as satellites, that ge... | In 2004, the successful launches of SpaceShipOne raised the possibility of an emerging U.S. commercial space tourism industry that would make human space travel available to the public. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has responsibility for safety and industry promotion, licenses operations of commerci... |
The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft—one that operates as a helicopter for takeoffs and landings and, once airborne, converts to a turboprop aircraft—developed to fulfill medium-lift operations such as transporting combat troops, supplies, and equipment for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force special operati... | Since the 1980s, the V-22, developed to transport combat troops, supplies, and equipment for the U.S. Marine Corps and to support other services' operations, has experienced several fatal crashes, demonstrated various deficiencies, and faced virtual cancellation--much of which it has overcome. Although recently deploye... |
The sun provides the energy that determines the climate and weather. Solar radiation passes through space and is largely absorbed by components of the global climate system (the atmosphere, oceans, and land, as well as the biosphere, which includes all living things); the remaining radiation is reflected. The solar rad... | Pursuant to congressional request, GAO reviewed the accuracy of general circulation models (GCM) in forecasting global warming trends, focusing on the: (1) factors limiting the accuracy of GCM estimates of future climatic changes; and (2) federal expenditures for GCM for fiscal years (FY) 1992 through 1994. GAO found t... |
As shown in table 1, DOD spent nearly $124 million on airline tickets that included at least one leg of premium class service during fiscal years 2001 and 2002. However, because DOD did not maintain centralized data on premium class travel, we had to extract these data from Bank of America’s databases of DOD centrally ... | Long-standing financial management problems, coupled with ineffective oversight and management of the Department of Defense's (DOD) travel card program, which GAO has previously reported on, have led to concerns about DOD's use of first and business class airfares. At the request of the Subcommittee on Investigations, ... |
Private banking has been broadly defined as financial and related services provided to wealthy clients. It is difficult to measure precisely how extensive private banking is in the United States, partly because the area has not been clearly defined and partly because financial institutions do not consistently capture o... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed money laundering in relation to private banking and highlighted some regulatory issues related to the vulnerability of selected offshore jurisdictions to money laundering, focusing on: (1) regulators' oversight of private banking in general; (2) regulators' oversight o... |
The Loma Prieta earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, struck northern California on October 17, 1989, causing many deaths and widespread property damage. It also severely damaged several major transportation structures in the Bay Area, including the Embarcadero Freeway, the Bay Bridge, and the Cypress Viaduct... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of the replacement of the Cypress Viaduct in Oakland, California, focusing on the: (1) expected completion date and reasons for construction delays; (2) estimated cost of the project and reasons for any cost growth; and (3) guidance governing the Federal High... |
The federal budget is the primary financial document of the government. The Congress and the American people rely on it to frame their understanding of significant choices about the role of the federal government and to provide them the information necessary to make informed decisions about individual programs and the ... | GAO discussed: (1) current budget reporting and accrual-based reporting; and (2) accrual budgeting and its specific application for insurance programs. GAO noted that: (1) the cash-based budget often provides incomplete or misleading information about cost where cash flows to and from the government span many budget pe... |
In 1984, a catastrophic accident caused the release of methyl isocyanate— a toxic chemical used to make pesticides—at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing thousands of people, injuring many others, and displacing many more from their homes and businesses. One month later, it was disclosed that the same chemi... | U.S. industry uses billions of pounds of chemicals to produce the nation's goods and services. Releases of these chemicals during use or disposal can harm human health and the environment. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use more... |
The federal government funds a wide array of programs intended to provide benefits and services or both to individuals, families, and households needing financial assistance or other social supports. Representing a range of programs available through federal and state partnerships, the seven programs in this review hav... | The cost of administering human service programs has been a long-standing concern among policy makers interested in ensuring that federal programs are run in a cost-efficient manner so that federal funds go directly to helping vulnerable people. Little is known about how administrative costs compare among programs, or ... |
Many of NASA’s projects are one-time articles, meaning that there is little opportunity to apply knowledge gained to the production of a second, third, or future increments of spacecraft. In addition, NASA often partners with other domestic partners and other space-faring countries, including several European nations, ... | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to invest billions in the coming years in science and exploration space fl ight initiatives. The scientifi c and technical complexities inherent in NASA's mission create great challenges in managing its projects and controlling costs. In the past, NASA has ... |
A global technological upheaval, fueled by rapid advances in information processing, storage, switching, and transmission technologies, is beginning to blur the lines between computing, telephony, television, and publishing. This convergence is creating a new breed of information service industry, and permitting the de... | GAO reviewed the technical issues associated with protecting the information superhighway from unauthorized access. GAO found that: (1) the information superhighway poses technical challenges concerning the security, privacy, and reliability of personal and proprietary information; (2) a large proportion of the informa... |
In May 2006, the department announced its National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network (the “congestion initiative”), a comprehensive national initiative to reduce congestion on the nation’s roads, rails, runways, and waterways. A major component of this initiative is the UPA initiative, u... | As part of a broad congestion relief initiative, the Department of Transportation awarded about $848 million from 10 grant programs to five cities (Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle) in 2007 as part of the Urban Partnership Agreements (UPA) initiative. The UPA initiative is intended to demonstrat... |
About 15,000 SNFs provide care for patients who are temporarily or permanently unable to care for themselves, but who do not require the level of care furnished in an acute care hospital. SNFs provide a variety of services to patients, including nursing care; physical, occupational, respiratory, and speech therapy; and... | This report addresses (1) the relationship between Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) payments and the costs of treating Medicare patients in freestanding SNFs, as well as the effect of Medicare SNF payments on the financial condition of these facilities, and (2) the relationship between Medicare SNF payments and ... |
Hospitals, which account for over 40 percent of U.S. health care expenditures, are changing rapidly and dramatically. Growing costs, advancing technology, and an aging population are driving these changes. As health care costs have increased, both public health financing programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and pri... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major issues and challenges that Congress and the administration will face in the next few years concerning Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, focusing on: (1) how VA and community hospitals' care evolved during the twentieth century, including changes in su... |
ISTEA made it U.S. policy to develop a national intermodal transportation system that “provides the foundation for the Nation to compete in the global economy, and will move people and goods in an energy efficient manner.” In terms of freight transportation, an intermodal shipment is one that moves by two or more modes... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed intermodal freight transportation issues, focusing on: (1) the Department of Transportation's (DOT) efforts to track how states use Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funds to facilitate intermodal transportation; (2) the nature and extent of ISTEA... |
DOD defines UAS as a powered aircraft that does not carry a human operator; can be land-, air-, or ship-launched; uses aerodynamic forces to provide lift; can be autonomously or remotely piloted; can be expendable or recoverable; and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. Generally, UAS consist of the aircraft; a fli... | Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) consist of an unmanned aircraft; sensor, communications, or weapons, carried on board the aircraft, collectively referred to as payloads; and ground controls. UAS have been used successfully in recent operations, and are in increasingly high demand by U.S. forces. To meet the demand, the... |
The Coast Guard has responsibilities divided into 11 programs that fall under two broad missions—homeland security and non-homeland security—which are recognized in the Homeland Security Act. To accomplish its wide range of responsibilities, the Coast Guard is organized into two major commands that are responsible for ... | Using performance measures, the Coast Guard explains how well its programs are performing. To do so, it reports one "primary" measure for each program (such as percent of mariners rescued) and maintains data on other, "secondary" measures (such as percent of property saved). Concerns have been raised about whether meas... |
FAA’s roughly 6,100 technicians are part of the agency’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) and are located organizationally within ATO’s Technical Operations Services. (See app. II for ATO’s organization.) Physically, the technicians are located throughout the country at approximately 600 air traffic control facilities, w... | Since 2006, air traffic control (ATC) equipment outages and failures at Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities have caused hundreds of flight delays and raised questions about FAA's maintenance capabilities. About 6,100 technicians maintain FAA's current (legacy) facilities and equipment and will be responsib... |
The U.S. government has imposed numerous sanctions targeting Iran since 1987, in part to deter Iran from supporting terrorism and developing its nuclear program. U.S. laws and executive orders have established a U.S. trade and investment ban targeting Iran, have been used to impose sanctions against foreign entities th... | Since 1987, the United States has implemented a broad range of sanctions targeting Iran to deter it from developing its nuclear program, supporting terrorism, and continuing its human rights abuses. Beginning in 2010, Congress has enacted additional financial sanctions which generally restrict Iranian access to the U.S... |
From an insurance standpoint, measuring and predicting terrorism risk is challenging. The difficulties of measuring and predicting losses associated with terrorism risks stem from factors including lack of experience with similar attacks, difficulty in predicting terrorists’ intentions, and the potentially catastrophic... | After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, insurers generally stopped covering terrorism risk because losses could be too high relative to the premiums they could charge. Congress enacted TRIA to share losses from a certified act of terrorism between insurers and the government, address market disruptions, and ... |
The majority of satellite programs we have reviewed over the past 2 decades experienced problems during their acquisition that drove up costs and schedules and increased technical risks. Several programs were restructured by DOD in the face of delays and cost growth. At times, cost growth has come close to or exceeded ... | DOD's space system acquisitions have experienced problems over the past several decades that have driven up costs by hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars, stretched schedules by years, and increased performance risks. GAO was asked to testify on its findings on space acquisition problems and steps needed to i... |
Fragmentation refers to circumstances in which more than one federal agency (or more than one organization within an agency) is involved in the same broad area of national interest. Overlap involves programs that have similar goals, devise similar strategies and activities to achieve those goals, or target similar user... | Economic development programs that effectively provide assistance to entrepreneurs may help businesses develop and expand. GAO focused on 52 economic development programs, with an estimated $2.0 billion in funding, at Commerce, HUD, SBA, and USDA that support entrepreneurs. In response to a statutory requirement, this ... |
Radio frequency spectrum is used to provide an array of commercial and governmental services, like mobile voice and data, air-traffic control, broadcast television and radio, and public safety activities. In the United States, responsibility for spectrum management is divided between two agencies: FCC and the Departmen... | Radio frequency spectrum is a natural resource used to provide a variety of communication services, such as mobile voice and data. The popularity of smart phones, tablets, and other wireless devices among consumers, businesses, and government users has increased the demand for spectrum. FCC takes a number of steps to p... |
The Secretary of the Treasury delegated overall authority for enforcement of, and compliance with, BSA and its implementing regulations to the Director of FinCEN. FinCEN develops policy and provides guidance to other agencies, analyzes BSA data for trends and patterns, and pursues enforcement actions when warranted. It... | To assist law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires financial institutions to file suspicious activity reports (SAR) to inform the federal government of transactions related to possible violations of law or ... |
Collecting information is one way that federal agencies carry out their missions. For example, IRS needs to collect information from taxpayers and their employers to know the correct amount of taxes owed. The U.S. Census Bureau collects information used to apportion congressional representation and for many other purpo... | Americans spend billions of hours each year providing information to federal agencies by filling out information collections (forms, surveys, or questionnaires). A major aim of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) is to minimize the burden that responding to these collections imposes on the public, while maximizing their ... |
The General Services Administration (GSA) administers the federal government’s contracts in support of agencies’ purchase card programs. GSA contracts with commercial banks to issue purchase cards to federal employees to make official government purchases. The Bank of America issues purchase cards to USDA agencies, inc... | Since 1999, GAO has designated Forest Service's financial management as a high-risk area because of internal control and accounting weaknesses that have been identified by the Inspector General and GAO. Given these known risks and the hundreds of millions of dollars in credit card purchases made by the agency each year... |
Prior to passage of the CFO Act in 1990, the seemingly never ending disclosures of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in federal programs painted a picture of a government unable to manage its programs, protect its assets, or provide taxpayers with the effective and economical services they expect. As the Comptroll... | In 1990, the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act, heralded as the most comprehensive financial management reform legislation in 40 years, was enacted. The Act's goal is to improve management through reliable, useful, and timely financial and performance information for day-to-day decisionmaking and accountability. This ... |
Since 2007, a series of overlapping food, fuel, and financial crises have negatively affected the world economy, prompting the IFIs to respond. (See fig. 1.) Between 2007 and 2009, a financial crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market gradually extended to other developed countries and became a global financial crisi... | The 40 poorest countries in the world, known as low-income countries (LICs), have been negatively impacted by successive food, fuel, and financial crises since 2007. In response, international financial institutions (IFI), including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have taken actions to increase fi... |
Three primary types of pipelines form a 2.2 million-mile network across the nation. Natural gas transmission pipelines transport natural gas over long distances from sources to communities. Natural gas distribution pipelines continue to transport natural gas from transmission lines to consumers. Hazardous liquid pipeli... | From 1998 through 2002, a total of 1,770 pipeline accidents occurred, resulting in 100 fatalities and $621 million in property damage. The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) within the Department of Transportation operates a research and development (R&D) program aimed at advancing the most promising technologies for ensu... |
Overall, the Service’s financial condition has continued to decline. Large deficits continue as volumes and revenues decline; rates and debt are spiraling upward; capital needs are going unmet; and the Service’s liabilities exceed its assets. Despite multiple rate increases, the Service’s net income continually decline... | The U.S. Postal Service continues to face financial and transformation challenges. Since GAO placed the Service's long-term outlook and transformation efforts on its high-risk list, the Service's financial situation has continued to decline, and its operational challenges have increased. The Service took a good first s... |
ERM allows management to understand an organization’s portfolio of top- risk exposures, which could affect the organization’s success in meeting its goal. As such, ERM is a decision-making tool that allows leadership to view risks from across an organization’s portfolio of responsibilities. ERM recognizes how risks int... | Federal leaders are responsible for managing complex and risky missions. ERM is a way to assist agencies with managing risk across the organization. In July 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an updated circular requiring federal agencies to implement ERM to ensure federal managers are effectively m... |
Many billions of tons of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, are exchanged naturally each year between the atmosphere, the oceans, and vegetation on the land. Greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere are determined by the difference between processes that generate greenhouse gases (sources) and... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed selected aspects of the U.S. Initiative on Joint Implementation, intended to encourage investments by U.S. entities in projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside the United States, focusing on the: (1) criteria used to accept proposed projects; (2) number and t... |
American Samoa, CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are five territories of the United States. With the exception of Puerto Rico, the populations in the territories are small relative to the states, and are generally poorer. Within broad federal guidelines and under federally approved plans, territorie... | Notable differences exist in the funding and operation of Medicaid and CHIP—joint federal-state health financing programs for low-income and medically needy individuals—in the territories versus the states. For example, the territories are subject to certain funding restrictions, such as capped annual federal funding, ... |
We have previously reported that because procurement at federal departments and agencies is generally decentralized, the federal government is not fully leveraging its aggregate buying power to obtain the most advantageous terms and conditions for its procurements. Agencies act more like many unrelated medium-sized bus... | GAO has reported that the government is not fully leveraging its aggregate buying power, and that strategic sourcing, a process that moves a company away from numerous individual procurements to a broader aggregate approach, allowed companies to achieve savings of 10 to 20 percent. A similar savings rate applied to the... |
Within DOD, the commitment to make significant investments in developing a new product typically takes place at a decision review known as Milestone B, which authorizes military service officials to enter the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the DOD acquisition process, select a development contractor... | The Navy expects to invest almost $2.5 billion through fiscal year 2022 in the development of an unmanned aerial refueling system referred to as the MQ-25 . The MQ-25 is the result of a restructure of the former Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system. The program is expected to deliver an unm... |
VA provides health care services to various veteran populations— including an aging veteran population and a growing number of younger veterans returning from the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. VA operates approximately 150 hospitals, 130 nursing homes, 800 outpatient clinics, as well as other facilities ... | The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 requires GAO to report on the Presidents annual budget request to Congress for VA health care services. GAOs previous work found that VAs NRM spending exceeded its estimates in recent years and that some of VAs estimates of savings from operational... |
Congress passed the Overseas Differentials and Allowances Act of 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) to (1) provide a means for more effectively compensating government employees for the extra costs and hardships associated with overseas assignments; (2) provide for the uniform treatment of government employees s... | DOD provides LQA as an incentive to recruit eligible individuals for civilian employee assignments overseas. In 2014 DOD spent almost $504 million on LQA for about 16,500 civilian employees to help defray overseas living expenses, such as rent and utilities. GAO was asked to review DOD's implementation of LQA policies ... |
In 1980, the Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which established the Superfund program to clean up highly contaminated hazardous waste sites. EPA administers the program, oversees cleanups performed by the parties responsible for contaminating the sites,... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions, other federal agencies, and states to: (1) determine the number of sites classified as awaiting a National Priorities List (NPL) decision that remain potentially eligible for the list; (2) describe the characteristics of th... |
As amended, the PSDA requires Medicare and Medicaid funded hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, HHAs, and managed care plans— including MA and Medicaid health maintenance organizations—to maintain written policies and procedures related to advance directives. Among other things, the policies and procedures maintained by... | Advance directives, such as living wills or health care powers of attorney, specify—consistent with applicable state law—how individuals want medical decisions to be made for them should they become unable to communicate their wishes. Many individuals receive medical care from Medicare and Medicaid funded providers dur... |
Several circumstances make it difficult to make the best possible determination of FDLP’s financial performance at this time. First, because FDLP is a relatively new program, it has a short history of repayment activity and little historical data are available. Second, because Education lacks historical FDLP data, Educ... | The Department of Education runs two major federal student loan programs, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Under FDLP, students or their parents borrow money directly from the federal government through the schools the students attend. Under F... |
Customs’ mission is to ensure that all goods and persons entering and exiting the United States do so in compliance with all United States laws and regulations. The mission includes protecting the American public from the introduction of illegal drugs into society. In August 1995, Customs considered the Southwest borde... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the U.S. Customs Service's implementation of blue ribbon panel recommendations concerning allegations of corruption and mismanagement by Customs employees. GAO found that Customs: (1) accepted the findings of the panel and took steps to rectify the problems identified b... |
During the course of our review Defense changed its strategy for materiel management systems. We therefore refocused our review to include evaluating the risks associated with the new migration strategy and the extent to which it will facilitate improvement of DOD’s materiel management operations. We reviewed DOD’s dir... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Joint Logistics Systems Center's (JLSC) development and deployment of standard materiel management systems. GAO found that: (1) DOD development of nine integrated materiel management systems will cost more than the $5.3 billion origin... |
Congress chartered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as for-profit, shareholder-owned corporations in 1968 and 1989, respectively. They share a primary mission, which is to enhance the liquidity, stability, and affordability of mortgage credit. To accomplish this goal, the enterprises purchase conventional mortgages that meet... | In 2008, FHFA used its authority under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorships out of concern that their deteriorating financial condition threatened the stability of the financial market. Eight years later, the enterprises remain in conservatorships. However, FHF... |
According to the July 2012 National Strategy for Biosurveillance, biosurveillance is the ongoing process of gathering, integrating, interpreting, and communicating essential information related to all- hazards threats or disease activity affecting human, animal, or plant health, for the purpose of (1) achieving early d... | A biological event, such as a naturally occurring pandemic or a terrorist attack with a weapon of mass destruction, could have catastrophic consequences for the nation. This potential threat underscores the importance of a national biosurveillance capability—that is, the ability to detect biological events of national ... |
We sent a questionnaire to all 57 IGs to obtain information on IG organization structure, staffing, and workload. The following series of 11 questions and answers provide an overall profile of the 56 IGs who responded. More specifically, information is provided that relates to the IGs’ budget obligations, number and cl... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO surveyed inspectors general (IG) to obtain: (1) information on their organizational structure, staffing, and workload; and (2) their views on current policy issues affecting them. GAO noted that: (1) IGs' work covers a broad spectrum of agency programs and operations; (2) in gen... |
As the central human resources agency for the federal government, OPM is tasked with ensuring that the government has an effective civilian workforce. To carry out this mission, OPM delivers human resources products and services including policies and procedures for recruiting and hiring, provides health and training b... | The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the central human resources agency for the federal government and, as such, is responsible for ensuring that the government has an effective civilian workforce. As part of its mission, OPM defines recruiting and hiring processes and procedures; provides federal employees with... |
DOD’s efforts to improve its financial management and achieve audit readiness have evolved over a number of years into its current FIAR effort. In 1995, we first designated DOD financial management as one of the federal government’s programs at high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement because of long-standing... | A congressional panel examined the capacity of DOD's financial management system for providing timely, reliable, and useful information for decision making and reporting. The panel, in its January 2012 report, included 29 recommendations addressed to DOD in four areas: (1) FIAR strategy and methodology, (2) challenges ... |
Foreign nationals who wish to come to the United States on a temporary basis must generally obtain an NIV to be admitted. State manages the visa process, as well as the consular officer corps and its functions, at 219 visa- issuing posts overseas. The process for determining who will be issued or refused a visa contain... | After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress and the Department of State (State) initiated changes to the visa process to increase security, but these changes also increased the amount of time needed to adjudicate a visa. Although maintaining security is of paramount importance, State has acknowledged that long waits for... |
SOCOM is one of ten combatant commands directly responsible to the Secretary of Defense. The command was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987, and codified in 10 USC Section 167. As a functional command, SOCOM’s primary responsibility is to prepare the special operations forces (SO... | Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) duties have greatly increased since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Today, Special Operations Forces are at work in Afghanistan and Iraq, and SOCOM has been assigned to lead U.S. efforts in the Global War on Terrorism. SOCOM's acquisitions budget has also greatly increased in thi... |
Federal programs to prepare for and respond to chemical and biological terrorist attacks operate under an umbrella of various policies and contingency plans. Federal policies on combating terrorism are laid out in a series of presidential directives and implementing guidance. These documents divide the federal response... | Since the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the terrorist threat has risen to the top of the national agenda. Preparing for all possible contingencies is impractical, so a risk management approach should be used. This would include a threat assessment to determine which chemical or biological age... |
Multiple agencies and organizations within DHS and DOD have key roles and responsibilities for different steps of the personnel security clearance revocation process. In 2008, Executive Order 13467 designated the DNI as the Security Executive Agent. As such, the DNI is responsible for developing policies and procedures... | Personnel security clearances allow people access to classified information that, through unauthorized disclosure, can cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security. In light of recent events, having a high-quality process to determine whether an individual's eligibility to access classified information sh... |
Crude oil prices are a major determinant of gasoline prices. As figure 1 shows, crude oil and gasoline prices have generally followed a similar path over the past three decades and have risen considerably over the past few years. Also, as is the case for most goods and services, changes in the demand for gasoline relat... | Few issues generate more attention and anxiety among American consumers than the price of gasoline. The most current upsurge in prices is no exception. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States has increased almost ever... |
Although VA is required by law to assist claimants in obtaining the evidence necessary to substantiate a claim for benefits, accreditation helps ensure that claimants have access to qualified representation. By law, only individuals accredited by VA can represent claimants in the VA claims process. Table 1 below descri... | Representatives accredited by VA serve a critical role in helping veterans or their family members file claims for VA benefits. By law, accredited individuals must demonstrate good moral character and program knowledge and VA's OGC is tasked to ensure they do so by reviewing initial applications and monitoring ongoing ... |
DOD is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world. For fiscal year 2012, the budget requested for the department was approximately $671 billion—$553 billion in discretionary budget authority and $118 billion to support overseas contingency operations. The department is currently facing near- and lon... | As one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) faces many challenges in resolving its long-standing financial and related business operations and system problems. DOD is in the process of implementing modern multifunction enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to ... |
The federal government began with a public debt of about $78 million in 1789. Since then, the Congress has attempted to control the size of the debt by imposing ceilings on the amount of Treasury securities that can be outstanding. In February 1941, an overall ceiling of $65 billion was set on all types of Treasury sec... | In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audit the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt, which includes testing compliance with the debt ceiling. To assist us in this testing and because of the nature of and sensitivity towa... |
Nurse staffing is a critical part of health care because of the effects it can have on patient outcomes and nurse job satisfaction. According to VHA, its staffing methodology aims to maximize nurses’ productivity and efficiency, while providing safe patient care by ensuring appropriate nurse staffing levels and skill m... | GAO and others have raised prior concerns about the adequacy and qualifications of VHA's nurse staffing. In part to address these concerns, VHA issued a directive in 2010 requiring all VAMCs to implement a standardized methodology for determining an adequate and qualified nurse workforce, which includes developing and ... |
The Division is responsible for promoting and maintaining competition in the American economy by enforcing the federal antitrust laws. To accomplish its mission, the Division has 16 sections in headquarters and 7 field offices located throughout the United States. As of July 21, 2000, the Division had 561 full-time sta... | This report reviews the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division's overall policies and procedures for carrying out its statutory responsibilities, particularly as they apply to the agriculture industry. GAO describes (1) the Division's interaction with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Agricul... |
Our March 2015 report found that FCC has made progress implementing reform efforts contained in the Order. In particular, FCC has implemented eight reforms, including the one-subscription-per-household rule, uniform eligibility criteria, non-usage requirements, payments based on actual claims, and the audit requirement... | Through FCC's Lifeline program, companies provide discounts to eligible low-income households for telephone service. Lifeline supports these companies through the Universal Service Fund (USF); in 2014, Lifeline’s disbursements totaled approximately $1.7 billion. Companies generally pass their USF contribution obligatio... |
Medicare pays for most DMEPOS through fee schedules based on suppliers’ previous charges to Medicare. The fee schedule payment is generally equal to 80 percent of the lesser of either the supplier’s actual charge or the Medicare fee schedule for a particular item or service. In general, Medicare beneficiaries are respo... | To achieve Medicare savings for DME, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) required that CMS implement the CBP for certain DME. In 2008, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) terminated the first round of supplier contracts and required CMS to repeat... |
While the law shifted responsibility to the states for designing and implementing TANF programs, HHS remains the primary federal agency responsible for assisting states with the development of these programs. ACF administers and oversees TANF and other programs related to the economic and social well-being of families,... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) implementation of the mandates resulting from the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, focusing on the: (1) extent to which HHS reduced its full-time equivalent (FTE) staff levels to ... |
FFMIA and other financial management reform legislation have emphasized the importance of improving financial management across the federal government. The primary purpose of FFMIA is to ensure that agency financial management systems routinely provide reliable, useful, and timely financial information. With such infor... | Effective management of the government's day-to-day operations has been hampered by a lack of necessary data. The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 calls for the modernization of federal financial management systems, including the systematic measurement of performance; the development of cost information; and ... |
BPCA was enacted on January 4, 2002, to encourage drug sponsors to conduct pediatric drug studies. BPCA allows FDA to grant drug sponsors pediatric exclusivity—6 months of additional market exclusivity—in exchange for conducting and reporting on pediatric drug studies. BPCA also provides mechanisms for pediatric drug s... | About two-thirds of drugs that are prescribed for children have not been studied and labeled for pediatric use, placing children at risk of being exposed to ineffective treatment or incorrect dosing. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA), enacted in 2002, encourages the manufacturers, or sponsors, of drugs t... |
In 1938, Congress established a program under the Wagner-O’Day Act that created employment opportunities for the blind. People employed under the program manufactured and sold certain products, such as brooms and mops, to the federal government. In 1971, Congress expanded the program under the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act t... | In 1938, Congress created a program providing employment opportunities for people who are blind and expanded it in 1971 to include people with severe disabilities. Now known as AbilityOne, the programs public-private structure consists of the federal, independent U.S. AbilityOne Commission (15 part-time presidentially... |
The Joint Strike Fighter is DOD’s most expensive aircraft acquisition program. The number of aircraft engines and spare parts expected to be purchased, along with the lifetime support needed to sustain the engines, mean the future financial investment will be significant. DOD is expected to develop, procure, and mainta... | The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is the linchpin of future Department of Defense (DOD) tactical aircraft modernization efforts because of the sheer size of the program and its envisioned role as the replacement for hundreds of aircraft that perform a wide variety of missions in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. DOD ... |
The 340B Program, which is administered and overseen by HRSA, within HHS, is named for the statutory provision authorizing it, which was added Eligibility for the program is to the Public Health Service Act in 1992.statutorily defined and is limited to entities that participate in specified federal programs and hospita... | Approximately 40 percent of all U.S. hospitals participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and the majority of 340B discounted drugs are sold to hospitals. Medicare reimburses hospitals for Part B drugs under a statutory formula regardless of the prices hospitals paid for the drugs. Stakeholders have questioned the i... |
The DI program was established in 1956 to provide monthly cash benefits to individuals unable to work because of severe long-term disability. Cash benefits are payable monthly, as long as the worker remains eligible for benefits, until the worker reaches full retirement age or dies. In fiscal year 2011, more than 10 mi... | SSA's DI program is the nation's largest cash assistance program for workers with disabilities. Though program rules allow limited work activity, some work activity indicates beneficiaries are not disabled and therefore not entitled to DI benefits. Consequently, SSA might overpay beneficiaries if the agency does not de... |
Traditionally, employers that sponsored retirement plans generally established “defined benefit” plans. Under such plans, participation is generally automatic for eligible workers, and retirement benefits are established by a formula, often based on a worker’s salary and years of service. Since the 1980s, defined contr... | Although employer-sponsored retirement plans can be an important component of income security after retirement, only about half of all workers participate in such plans. To foster greater participation among workers who have access to such plans, Congress included provisions that facilitate plan sponsors' adoption of a... |
Before I discuss these issues in detail, let me sketch the background of air service to small communities and these programs. Air service to many small communities has declined in recent years, particularly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. As of 2005, scheduled departures at small-, medium-, and large-hub airports... | Over the last decade, significant changes have occurred in the airline industry. Network carriers are facing challenging financial conditions and low-cost carriers are attracting passengers away from some small community airports. These changes, and others, have challenged the ability of small communities to attract ad... |
Long-term care includes many types of services needed when a person has a physical or mental disability. Individuals needing long-term care have varying degrees of difficulty in performing some activities of daily living without assistance, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, and moving from one location to a... | As more and more of the baby boomers enter retirement age, spending for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is expected to absorb correspondingly larger shares of federal revenue and crowd out other spending. The aging of the baby boomers will also increase the demand for long-term care and contribute to federal an... |
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.