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Five ESE sites collectively contain substantial quantities of Category I special nuclear material. These include the following: the Savannah River Site in Savannah River, South Carolina, and the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, which are managed by EM; the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory an... | A successful terrorist attack on Department of Energy (DOE) sites containing the material used in nuclear weapons, called special nuclear material, could have devastating consequences for the site and its surrounding communities. Because of these risks, DOE needs an effective safeguards and security program. A key comp... |
In Bosnia, conflict raged from 1992 through 1995 and involved the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia’s three major ethnic groups. All were fighting for control of specific territories tied to each group’s definition of its own state. During this time an estimated 2.3 million people became refugees or w... | The circumstances of armed conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan differed in many respects, but in all three cases the United States and the international community became involved in the wars and post-conflict assistance because of important national and international interests. Over the past 10 years, GAO has ... |
Savings bonds offer investors the ability to purchase securities with lower minimum denominations than those for marketable Treasury securities. In response to concerns raised regarding the cost-effectiveness of the savings bond program as a funding mechanism for federal government operations, Treasury created a cost-e... | While the Treasury generally pays lower interest rates on U.S. Savings Bonds than it does on other forms of borrowing from the public, it also incurs substantially higher administrative costs to issue and redeem the paper savings bond certificates. To determine whether these higher administrative costs exceed its inter... |
Critical infrastructures are physical or virtual systems and assets so vital to the nation that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating impact on national and economic security and on public health and safety. These systems and assets—such as the electric power grid, chemical plants, and water tre... | Control systems--computer-based systems that monitor and control sensitive processes--perform vital functions in many of our nation's critical infrastructures such as electric power generation, transmission, and distribution; oil and gas refining; and water treatment and distribution. The disruption of control systems ... |
SARS is a severe viral infection that is sometimes fatal. The disease first emerged in China in 2002 and then spread through Asia to 26 countries around the world. Although national governments are responsible for responding to infectious disease outbreaks such as SARS, WHO plays an important role in coordinating the r... | Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in southern China in November 2002 and spread rapidly along international air routes in early 2003. Asian countries had the most cases (7,782) and deaths (729). SARS challenged Asian health care systems, disrupted Asian economies, and tested the effectiveness of the Inte... |
The Food Stamp Program is designed to promote the general welfare and to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s population by raising the nutrition levels of low-income families. Recipients use their food stamp benefits to purchase allowable food products from authorized retail food merchants. Eligibility ... | GAO provided information on Food Stamp Program overpayments, focusing on: (1) how many prisoners were included as members of households that received food stamp benefits, hereafter referred to as prisoner participation, and the estimated value of improper benefits that were issued to the households; (2) how prisoner pa... |
VHA’s health care system is geographically divided into 21 VISNs, each of which is headed by a VISN director. Each VISN is comprised of a network of VAMCs, and the VISN office serves as the basic budgetary and decision-making unit for providing health care services to veterans within that geographical area. Each VAMC a... | VHA provided nearly 80 million outpatient medical appointments to veterans in fiscal year 2011. While VHA has reported continued improvements in achieving access to timely medical appointments, patient complaints and media reports about long wait times persist. GAO was asked to evaluate VHAs scheduling of timely medic... |
Clearly, the acquisition process has produced superior weapons, but it does so at a high price. Weapon systems routinely take much longer time to field, cost more to buy, and require more support than investment plans provide for. These consequences reduce the buying power of the defense dollar, delay capabilities for ... | Over the next 5 years, DOD's overall investments are expected to average $150 billion a year to modernize and transition our forces. In addition, DOD must modernize its forces amid competing demands for federal funds, such as health care and homeland security. Therefore, it is critical that DOD manage its acquisitions ... |
U.S. agencies have different responsibilities related to international regulatory cooperation. For example, Commerce, State, USTR, OMB, and USDA have government-wide responsibilities. Their roles and responsibilities are determined primarily through statutes and executive orders. U.S. treaty obligations also influence ... | Trade has increased as a share of the economy for several years, but U.S. companies can face difficulties competing in foreign markets when countries apply different regulatory requirements to address similar health, safety, or other issues. GAO was asked to examine what U.S. agencies are doing to engage in internation... |
Increased demand for consumer goods worldwide has intensified competition between private express carriers and postal services for providing international parcel delivery services. Private carriers have expressed long-standing concerns about trade barriers, such as foreign customs’ clearance requirements that they say ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Global Package Link (GPL) service, focusing on whether differences existed in customs treatment for GPL and private express carrier parcels by foreign customs services in Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. GAO noted that: (1... |
As computer technology has advanced, federal agencies have become dependent on computerized information systems to carry out their operations and to process, maintain, and report essential information. Virtually all federal operations are supported by automated systems and electronic data, and agencies would find it di... | Pervasive and sustained cyber attacks continue to pose a potentially devastating threat to the systems and operations of the federal government. In recent testimony, the Director of National Intelligence highlighted that many nation states, terrorist networks, and organized criminal groups have the capability to target... |
MSPB is an independent, quasijudicial executive agency created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Its mission is to ensure that (1) federal employees are protected against abuses by their agencies’ management, (2) executive branch agencies make employment decisions in accordance with merit system principles, and ... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Merit Systems Protection Board's (MSPB) performance, management, and operations, focusing on: (1) whether the MSPB appeals process is effectively protecting federal employees against improper personnel practices; (2) the accountability mechanisms MSPB has in place t... |
According to 2009 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, about 3.2 million U.S. residents identify themselves as solely of American Indian or Alaska Native origin. Furthermore, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in DOI reported that for 2005—the most recent year for which data are available—the total number ... | The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) gives American Indian tribes the option to administer their own Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant programs. GAO first reported on the use of this flexibility by tribes in 2002 (GAO-02-768), and given the upcomi... |
DOD has designated four locations to process DCPS payroll transactions. Three of the locations—Denver, Colorado; Pensacola, Florida; and Charleston, South Carolina—were in operation at the time of our review. The fourth location in Omaha, Nebraska is scheduled to begin processing DCPS transactions in August 1995. DCPS ... | GAO reviewed the Navy's civilian payroll operations, focusing on the: (1) propriety and accuracy of payments made to civilian personnel; and (2) vulnerability of the internal control system to prevent fraud and abuse. GAO found that: (1) 134 of 225,000 Navy civilians were overpaid a total of at least $62,500 in 1 year;... |
According to IRS data, between tax years 2002 to 2011, the number of large partnerships more than tripled from 2,832 to 10,099. Over the same time, total assets of large partnerships more than tripled to $7.49 trillion. However, these numbers suffer from the double-counting complexities illustrated in figure 1. For com... | Businesses organized as partnerships have increased in number in recent years while the number of C corporations (i.e. those subject to the corporate income tax) has decreased. The partnership population includes large partnerships (those GAO defined as having $100 million or more in assets and 100 or more direct and i... |
The purpose of the Corps’ civil works project study process is to inform federal decision makers whether a water resources project warrants further federal investment. The study process is conducted in two phases: reconnaissance and feasibility. In the reconnaissance phase, the Corps conducts an initial evaluation of p... | Section 2034 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 requires that certain U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) civil works project studies undergo independent external peer review to assess the adequacy and acceptability of the methods, models, and analyses used. In the act, Congress established a 7-year trial ... |
Numerous international bodies with different missions and members have played a role in implementing the G20 financial regulatory reform agenda. In general, many of these bodies operate on a consensus basis and have no legally binding authority. Thus, financial reform agreements reached by these bodies must be adopted ... | Cross-border interconnections in the financial markets and other factors helped spread disruptions during the 2007-2009 financial crisis and increased systemic risk. In response to the crisis, the G20 positioned itself as the main international forum for reforming financial regulations. In 2008, the G20 leaders committ... |
Each year, Congress appropriates new discretionary funds for DOD across a number of appropriation accounts with different purposes, including appropriations for operation and maintenance, RDT&E, procurement, and military construction, among others. Depending on the type of appropriation, DOD may have several accounts f... | In March 2013, the President ordered across-the-board spending reductions, known as sequestration, for all federal agencies and departments. As a result, DOD's discretionary resources were reduced by about $37.2 billion over the remainder of FY 2013. The joint explanatory statement accompanying the National Defense Aut... |
SBA’s Disaster Loan Program, which has been a part of the agency since its inception in 1953, is the primary federal program for funding long-term recovery assistance. SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA) responds to disasters and administers the program––which provides affordable, timely and accessible financial ... | After the Small Business Administration (SBA) was widely criticized for its performance following the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, the agency took steps to reform the Disaster Loan Program and Congress enacted the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008 (Act). GAO was asked to determine (1) th... |
In accordance with section 1842 (42 U.S.C. 1395u) of the Social Security Act, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) contracts with 32 insurance carriers to process and issue benefit payments on claims submitted under Medicare Part B coverage. Carriers are required to process claims in a timely, efficient, eff... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicare Part B claims processing, focusing on the: (1) differences in carriers' denial rates for lack of medical necessity; and (2) factors that contribute to intercarrier variations in denial rates. GAO found that: (1) in 1992 and 1993, denial rates for lack of medica... |
The United States consumes energy from three major categories of sources: fossil, nuclear, and renewable. Fossil energy comes from coal, natural gas, crude oil, and petroleum products. Nuclear energy comes from uranium, which is mined and processed into nuclear fuel. This fuel undergoes nuclear fission in a nuclear rea... | Federal energy policy since the 1970s has focused primarily on ensuring a secure supply of energy while protecting the environment. The federal government supports and intervenes in U.S. energy production and consumption in various ways, such as providing tax incentives, grants, and other support to promote domestic pr... |
DHS has some of the most extensive acquisition needs within the federal government. In fiscal year 2007, DHS obligated about $12 billion to acquire goods and services ranging from the basic goods and services federal agencies purchase, such as information technology equipment and support, to more complex and unique acq... | Since it was created in 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has obligated billions of dollars annually to meet its expansive homeland security mission. The department's acquisitions support complex and critical trade, transportation, border security, and information technology investments. In fiscal year 20... |
A DOD directive assigns the Secretary of the Army the mission of the single manager for conventional ammunition within DOD. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics is responsible for providing policy and guidance for the single manager for conventional ammunition’s mission, and ensurin... | Following the end of the Cold War, the Department of Defense (DOD) significantly reduced its purchases of small and medium caliber ammunition and reduced the number of government-owned plants that produce small and medium caliber ammunition. Since 2000, however, DOD's requirements for these types of ammunition have inc... |
The U.S. government provides GPS service free of charge and plans to invest more than $5.8 billion over the next 5 years in the GPS satellites and ground control segments. The Department of Defense (DOD) develops and operates GPS, and an interdepartmental committee—co-chaired by DOD and the Department of Transportation... | The Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides position, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide, has become essential to U.S. national security and a key tool in an expanding array of public service and commercial applications at home and abroad. The United States provides GPS data free of charge. The Air ... |
Energy oversees a nationwide network of 40 contractor-operated industrial sites and research laboratories that have historically employed more than 600,000 workers in the production and testing of nuclear weapons. In implementing EEOICPA, the President acknowledged that it had been Energy’s past policy to encourage and... | The Department of Energy (Energy) and its predecessor agencies and contractors have employed thousands of workers in the nuclear weapons production complex. Some employees were exposed to toxic substances, including radioactive and hazardous materials, during this work and many subsequently developed illnesses. Subtitl... |
Neither federal nor state regulators collected comprehensive data on the uses and prevalence of business-owned life insurance. Although no comprehensive data were available on the uses of such policies, businesses may purchase life insurance to ensure recovery of losses in the event of the untimely death of key employe... | Business-owned life insurance is held by employers on the lives of their employees, and the employer is the beneficiary of these policies. Unless prohibited by state law, businesses can retain ownership of these policies regardless of whether the employment relationship has ended. Generally, business-owned life insuran... |
Approximately 2.6 million federal employees throughout the United States and abroad execute the responsibilities of the federal government. Fed employees work in every state, with about 90 percent outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Federal workers perform functions across a multitude of sectors, from thos... | Protecting federal workers essential to ensuring the continuity of the country's critical operations will involve new challenges in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak. This requested report discusses (1) the extent to which agencies have made pandemic plans to protect workers who cannot work remotely and are no... |
This section discusses EPA’s risk assessment and risk management practices and the May 2009 IRIS process. EPA’s IRIS Program is an important source of information on health effects that may result from exposure to chemicals in the environment. As figure 1 shows, the toxicity assessments in the IRIS database fulfill the... | The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program supports EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment by providing the agency's scientific position on the potential human health effects from exposure to various chemicals in the environment. The IRIS database co... |
The Sempra and Intergen plants are located in close proximity to each other near Mexicali, Mexico—an area 3 miles south of the U.S.-Mexican border and Imperial County, California (see fig. 1). Final permitting and construction for both of the plants and the associated transmission lines to the United States began in 20... | Power plants emit pollutants that have been linked to various negative health effects. In 2003, two new power plants, owned by Sempra Energy and Intergen, began operations 3 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border near Imperial County, California. The county does not meet some federal and state air quality standards and ... |
The transportation of large amounts of spent fuel to an interim storage or permanent disposal location is inherently complex and the planning and implementation may take decades to accomplish. The actual time it would take depends on a number of variables including distance, quantity of material, mode of transport, rat... | Spent nuclear fuel—the used fuel removed from commercial nuclear power reactors—is an extremely harmful substance if not managed properly. The nation's inventory of spent nuclear fuel has grown to about 72,000 metric tons currently stored at 75 sites in 33 states, primarily where it was generated. Under the Nuclear Was... |
VA provides health care and other benefits to veterans in recognition of their service to our country. As of July 1, 1997, 26 percent of the nation’s population—approximately 70 million persons who are veterans, veterans’ dependents, or survivors of deceased veterans—was potentially eligible for VA benefits and service... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on weaknesses in general computer controls that support key financial management and benefit delivery operations of the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). GAO noted that: (1) general computer control weaknesses place critical VA operations, such as financ... |
School buses are used to transport students to and from home and school and extracurricular activities like field trips and athletic events. The industry defines four basic types of school buses. Types A and B are comparatively small in size, while types C and D are comparatively large in size, as shown in figure 1. In... | School buses transport over 26 million students to school and other activities every day. While school buses have a strong safety record, crashes with fatalities and injuries do occur. Since school buses transport precious cargo—our children—government and industry strive to further improve their safety. Federal and st... |
DHS was created in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Not since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 has the federal government undertaken an organizational merger of this magnitude. Enacted on November 25, 2002, the Homeland Security Act established DHS by merging 22 distinct agencie... | Because terrorists do not operate on a 9-5 schedule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its operational components have established information gathering and analysis centers that conduct activities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Staff at these operations centers work to help detect, deter, ... |
Through its participation in a series of aid effectiveness forums beginning in 2005, the U.S. government, along with other donor and partner countries, has committed to improving the effectiveness of assistance programs, in part through increased use of partner-country systems and strengthening of local capacity to ach... | USAID's Local Solutions initiative, launched in 2010 as part of USAID Forward, seeks to reform how the agency administers development assistance and to increase funding implemented through partner-country systems, including partner governments. In fiscal years 2012 through 2014, average annual obligations to G2G activi... |
In fiscal year 2014, the Air Force recorded payroll obligations of over $23 billion for direct compensation of active duty military personnel, a force of approximately 324,000. This compensation, including, among other things, basic pay, allowances, and incentives, was distributed among the various pay categories, as s... | As part of DOD's efforts to achieve auditability of its financial statements, the Air Force in July 2014 asserted audit readiness for its Schedule of Budgetary Activity, of which military payroll is a significant part. In fiscal year 2014, the Air Force obligated over $23 billion for direct compensation of active duty ... |
On June 20, 1997, the nation’s largest tobacco companies and attorneys general representing 40 states proposed a national settlement that, if implemented, would significantly change the way tobacco products are manufactured, marketed, and distributed in the United States. The tobacco industry agreed to pay about $368.5... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed issues surrounding a proposed national tobacco settlement, focusing on: (1) tobacco-related industries and existing studies that assess the national and regional economic impacts of the tobacco industry; (2) smoking trends for United States and Canadian youths; (3) the ... |
The Army maintains maintenance depots for overhauling, upgrading, and maintaining missiles, combat vehicles, tactical vehicles, and communication and electronic equipment for the Army, other military services, and foreign countries. These depots, which were established from 1941 through 1961, repair end itemssuch as g... | The Army's five maintenance depots produced work valued at $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2002, with the remaining 49 percent of the Army's depot work performed by contractors. GAO was asked to assess (1) the trends in and the reliability of depot workload projections; (2) whether workloads are sufficient for efficient de... |
The end of the cold war left the United States with a surplus of weapons- grade plutonium. Much of this material is found in a key nuclear weapon component known as a pit. In 1997, DOE announced a plan to dispose of surplus, weapons-grade plutonium through an approach that included fabrication of plutonium into MOX fue... | NNSA, a separately organized agency within DOE, manages the Plutonium Disposition program to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium by burning it as MOX fuel—a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides—in specially modified commercial nuclear reactors. In 2012, DOE forecasted cost increases of close to $3 billion ove... |
NASA and its international partners—Japan, Canada, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Russia—are building the ISS as a permanently orbiting laboratory to conduct materials and life sciences research under nearly weightless conditions. Each partner is providing station hardware and crew members and is expected to shar... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the International Space Station (ISS), which is being developed by the United States and others, focusing on: (1) Russia's performance problems and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) reaction to them, including the additional cost ... |
The rapid growth in the consumption of bottled water has been attributed to a variety of factors. In a 2002 survey, The Gallup Organization (Gallup) found that the leading reason that consumers purchased bottled water was due to health-related issues; taste was the second leading reason, and the convenience of bottled ... | Over the past decade, per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States has more than doubled. With this increase have come several concerns in recent years about the safety, quality, and environmental impacts of bottled water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water under the Federal ... |
In fiscal year 1993, GAO made over 1,600 recommendations. This report includes summaries highlighting the impact of GAO’s work and information on the status of all GAO recommendations that have not been fully implemented. This information should help congressional and agency leaders prepare for upcoming appropriations ... | GAO reported on the conclusions and recommendations resulting from its audits and other reviews of federal departments and agencies. Information is presented on recommendations in the areas of national security, international affairs, natural resources, economic development, human resource management, justice, general ... |
The nation’s highway transportation system includes infrastructure, vehicles and users, equipment, facilities, and control and communications. Infrastructure or the “fixed” aspect of the highway transportation system includes roads, bridges, tunnels, and terminals, where travelers and freight can enter and leave the sy... | The nation's highway transportation system is vast and open--vehicles and their operators can move freely and with almost no restrictions. Securing the U.S. highway infrastructure system is a responsibility shared by federal, state and local government, and the private sector. Within the Department of Homeland Security... |
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended, prohibits the “misbranding” of food, which includes, among other things, labeling that is false or misleading. In 1990, Congress amended the act to mandate that certain nutrition information be provided on packaged foods in a specified, standardized format—only rece... | Two thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, and childhood obesity and diabetes are on the rise. To reverse these health problems, experts are urging Americans to eat healthier. Food labels contain information to help consumers who want to make healthy food choices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees federal ... |
In 1993, DOE and the Russian government began working together to secure sites housing weapons-usable nuclear material and, in 1995, DOE established the MPC&A program, which is now administered by NNSA. DOE’s Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation, within NNSA, consists of five offices whose collec... | Safeguarding nuclear warheads and materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons is a primary national security concern of the United States. Since 1993, the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Defense (DOD) have worked to improve security at sites housing weapons-usable nuclear material and warheads in Russia and othe... |
JCIDS; the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution process; and the Defense Acquisition System broadly make up DOD’s overall defense acquisition management framework. JCIDS was implemented in 2003 to guide future defense programs from a joint capabilities perspective. JCIDS is one of the first steps in DOD’s acq... | The Department of Defenses Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) is charged with assisting in the prioritization of capability needs from a joint perspective and helping guide investments. The JROC is supported by the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) process. However, a congressional... |
With the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) in November 2001, TSA assumed responsibility for civil aviation security from the Federal Aviation Administration and for passenger and checked baggage screening from air carriers. As part of this responsibility, TSA oversees security operations at... | The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), established in November 2001, has developed and implemented a variety of programs to secure the commercial aviation system. To implement these efforts, TSA funding related to aviation security has totaled about $20 billion since fiscal year 2004. Other Department of Hom... |
We found significant pay problems at the six Army Guard units we audited related to processes, human capital, and systems. The six units we audited, including three special forces and three military police units, were: Colorado B Company, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Virginia B Company, 3rd Battalion, 20th Specia... | In light of the recent mobilizations associated with the war on terrorism, GAO was asked to determine if controls used to pay mobilized Army Guard personnel provided assurance that such pays were accurate and timely. This testimony focuses on the pay experiences of Army Guard soldiers at selected case study units and d... |
Connected vehicles offer services and features to consumers through wireless communication systems. Technologies, such as in-vehicle sensors and global positioning systems, generate data that are transmitted through two-way communication between a vehicle and a central computer system or a call center. As shown in figu... | The prevalence of connected vehicles—those with technology that wirelessly transmits and receives data—has raised questions about how the collection, use, and sharing of these data affect consumer privacy. GAO was asked to review consumer privacy issues related to connected vehicles. This report: (1) examines the types... |
In 2004, the United States consumed about 20.5 million barrels per day of crude oil accounting for roughly 25 percent of world oil production. A great deal of the crude oil consumed in this country goes into production of gasoline and, as a nation, we use about 45 percent of all gasoline produced in the world. Californ... | Gasoline prices have increased dramatically in recent weeks and currently, California has the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Consequently, consumers are expected to spend significantly more on gasoline this year than last. Specifically, EIA recently projected that, because of higher expected gasoline prices, th... |
Individuals seeking to establish a regional center under the EB-5 Program must submit an initial application and supporting documentation as well as an update for each fiscal year (or as otherwise requested by USCIS) showing that the regional center continues to meet the program requirements to maintain its regional ce... | Congress created the EB-5 visa category to promote job creation by immigrant investors in exchange for visas providing lawful permanent residency. Participants are required to invest $1 million in a business that is to create at least 10 jobs--or $500,000 for businesses located in an area that is rural or has experienc... |
From the 1950s until the early 1970s, concerns about physician shortages prompted measures by the federal and state governments to increase physician supply. Federal and state governments supported the growth in the physician population by providing funds for constructing medical schools and increasing medical school c... | Through a variety of programs, the federal government supports the training of physicians and encourages physicians to work in underserved areas or pursue primary care specialties. GAO was asked to provide information on the physician supply and the generalist and specialist mix of that supply in the United States and ... |
The complexity of the environment in which CMS and its contractors operate the Medicare program cannot be overstated. CMS is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) but has responsibilities over expenditures that are larger than those of most other federal departments. Under the fee-for-servi... | In fiscal year 2000, Medicare made more than $200 billion in payments to hundreds of thousands of health care providers who served nearly 40 million beneficiaries. Because of the program's vast size and complexity, GAO has included Medicare on its list of government areas at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, and misma... |
To determine which federal government programs and functions should be added to the High Risk List, we consider whether the program or function is of national significance or is key to government performance and accountability. Further, we consider qualitative factors, such as whether the risk involves public health or... | The federal government is one of the world's largest and most complex entities; about $3.5 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2014 funded a broad array of programs and operations. GAO maintains a program to focus attention on government operations that it identifies as high risk due to their greater vulnerabilities to ... |
DOD acquisition policy defines an acquisition program as a directed, funded effort that provides a new, improved, or continuing materiel, weapon, or information system, or a service capability in response to an As shown in table 1, defense acquisition programs are approved need.classified into acquisition categories th... | DOD requested $168 billion in fiscal year 2014 to develop, test, and acquire weapon systems and other products and equipment. About 40 percent of that total is for major defense acquisition programs or ACAT I programs. DOD also invests in other, non-major ACAT II and III programs that are generally less costly at the i... |
Nonrecourse loans have long been the government’s major price-support instrument and provide operating capital to producers of commodities, including cotton, rice, wheat, feedgrains, and oilseeds. Producers store their commodities under loan until later in the marketing year, when prices are usually higher than they ar... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the impact of support provisions on selected commodity prices, focusing on: (1) whether marketing loan provisions prevent loan rates from acting as price floors and whether they allow U.S. prices to fall to levels closer to world prices; (2) the effect lower loan rates ... |
For any organization that depends on information systems to carry out its mission, protecting those systems that support critical operations and infrastructures is of paramount importance. Without proper safeguards, the speed and accessibility that create the enormous benefits of the computer age may allow individuals ... | The Federal Reserve System's Federal Reserve Banks (FRB) serve as fiscal agents of the U.S. government when they are directed to do so by the Secretary of the Treasury. In this capacity, the FRBs operate and maintain several mainframe and distributed-based systems--including the systems that support the Department of t... |
The Naval Inventory Control Point authorizes movement of its inventory from the Defense Logistic Agency, Navy-managed shipping and receiving activities, and Navy repair contractors. With prior approval from Naval Inventory Control Point item managers, Navy repair contractors can also use material located at their facil... | GAO has reported in a number of products that the lack of control over inventory shipments increases vulnerability to undetected loss or theft and substantially increases the risk that million of dollars can be spent unnecessarily. This report evaluates the Navy's and its repair contractors' adherence to Department of ... |
To meet our objective we took the following steps: Reviewed and analyzed IRS documents and data, including performance and workload data, reports, testimonies, budget submissions, and compared these to IRS’s goals and past performance to identify trends and anomalies. Reviewed various criteria, including industry stand... | The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) filing season is an enormous undertaking that includes processing individual income tax returns, issuing refunds, and responding to taxpayers. GAO was asked to assess IRS's 2010 filing season performance in relation to its goals and prior years' performance processing individual tax... |
In 1998, about 7 million—or 18 percent—of Medicare’s 39 million beneficiaries were enrolled in a managed care plan. About 90 percent of Medicare managed care enrollees belong to one of 307 risk-contract HMOs.These plans are paid a predetermined monthly amount for each Medicare enrollee, regardless of the amount of Medi... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicare's managed care beneficiary appeals process, focusing on: (1) the appeals process available to beneficiaries when managed care plans deny care or payment for services; (2) beneficiaries' use of the appeals process and the extent to which they are informed of the... |
Among other things, title VII programs support the education and training of primary care providers, such as primary care physicians, physician assistants, general dentists, pediatric dentists, and allied health practitioners. HRSA includes in its definition of primary care services, health services related to family m... | Most of the funding for programs under title VII of the Public Health Service Act goes toward primary care medicine and dentistry training and increasing medical student diversity. Despite a longstanding objective of title VII to increase the total supply of primary care professionals, health care marketplace signals s... |
The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) established RTC in 1989 to contain, manage, and resolve hundreds of failed thrift institutions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 clarified or expanded RTC’s and FDIC’s responsibilities for resolving failed thrifts... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have sufficient systems to assist hiring and management officials in culpability determinations. GAO found that: (1) RTC and FDIC are vulnerable to fraud, abuse, or misma... |
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States has undertaken military operations worldwide to fight terrorism as part of GWOT. To pay for the incremental costs of GWOT, the Congress has provided over $165 billion in appropriations for military operations through fiscal year 2004. This amount incl... | To support the Global War on Terrorism in fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated $65 billion to the Department of Defense (DOD) in an emergency supplemental appropriations act. To assist the Congress in its oversight role, GAO reviewed (1) the adequacy of current funding for fiscal year 2004 war-related activities... |
HUD implemented the MTW demonstration program in 1999. As of June 2013, 35 public housing agencies (PHA) were participating through the end of their fiscal year 2018. To put in place the innovations intended under the program’s authorizing legislation, agencies may request waivers of certain provisions in the United St... | Implemented in 1999, HUDs MTW demonstration program gives participating PHAs the flexibility to create innovative housing strategies. MTW agencies must create activities linked to three statutory purposesreducing costs, providing incentives for self-sufficiency, and increasing housing choicesand meet five statutory ... |
The Results Act is aimed at improving performance of government programs by requiring agencies to clarify their missions, establish goals and strategies for reaching them, measure performance, and report on their accomplishments. Beginning with fiscal year 1999, the head of each agency is to prepare and submit to Congr... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO identified some of the challenges agencies face in producing credible performance information and how those challenges may affect performance reporting, focusing on: (1) whether the weaknesses identified in agencies' performance plans imply challenges for the performance reports... |
Drinking water infrastructure includes treatment and storage facilities and distribution systems (pipes and conduits), while wastewater infrastructure includes sewage collection systems and treatment works. According to EPA officials, there are some 2 million miles of pipe in drinking water systems alone. While estimat... | U.S. drinking water and wastewater systems encompass thousands of treatment and collection facilities and more than a million miles of pipes and conduits. The estimated cost to repair, replace, or upgrade aging facilities; accommodate the nation's growing population; and meet new water quality standards ranges from $30... |
One of DOE’s strategic goals is to promote a diverse supply of reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy. To that end, DOE is promoting further reliance on nuclear energy under the administration’s National Energy Policy. According to DOE officials, the department has three priorities for promoting nuclear... | Under the administration's National Energy Policy, the Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting nuclear energy to meet increased U.S. energy demand. In 2003, DOE began developing the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, an advanced nuclear reactor that seeks to improve upon the current generation of operating commercial nucle... |
In response to an increase in the threat of potential terrorist attacks in the United States involving WMDs, Congress directed the federal government to enhance its capability to deter, prevent, respond, and recover from terrorist attacks using such weapons. Among the resulting efforts, Congress in fiscal year 1999 app... | To prepare for potential attacks in the United States involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Congress approved the development of National Guard Civil Support Teams (CST) tasked to identify chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive weapons; assess consequences; advise civil authorities ... |
Recent research on private sector companies indicates that many companies are using ASD, generally referred to in the private sector as “outsourcing,” as an integral and permanent part of their human capital strategies. Along with extensive use of technology and consolidation of service delivery units, outsourcing acco... | Human capital offices have traditionally used alternative service delivery (ASD)--the use of other than internal staff to provide a service or to deliver a product--as a way to reduce costs for transaction-based services. GAO was asked to identify which human capital activities agencies were selecting for ASD, the reas... |
We reviewed reconstruction contracts that had been funded, in whole or in part, with U.S. appropriated funds. We focused our review on new contracts, modifications, task orders under existing contracts, and contract actions using the General Services Administration’s (GSA) federal supply schedule program as of Septembe... | Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion since April 2003 to support rebuilding efforts in Iraq. This complex undertaking, which is occurring in an unstable security environment and under significant time constraints, is being carried out largely through contracts with private-sector companies. As of September 2... |
A number of human capital management tools and flexibilities are available to assist agencies in their recruitment and hiring processes. The competitive service and excepted service hiring approaches provide different and complementary ways to acquire employees in the general schedule (GS) grades of GS-15 and below. In... | The Treasury Department, on behalf of the Customs Service, requested Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approval for Schedule A appointment authority for 10 positions for oversight policy and direction of sensitive law enforcement activities. Treasury's request stated that "due to the sensitive nature of the operatio... |
Since 1992, physicians in Medicare have been paid under a national fee schedule in conjunction with a system of spending targets. Under the design of the fee schedule and target system, annual adjustments (updates) to physician fees depend, in part, on whether actual spending has fallen below or exceeded the target. Fe... | The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) directed GAO to study the compensation of physicians in traditional fee-for service (FFS) Medicare. GAO explored linking physician compensation to efficiency--defined as providing and ordering a level of services that is sufficient to meet... |
Several components within DOJ, DHS, and the Departments of Defense, Labor, and State have responsibility for investigating and prosecuting human trafficking crimes, as shown in figure 1. In addition to federal investigative and prosecutorial agencies, other agencies play a role in helping to identify human trafficking,... | Human trafficking involves the exploitation of a person typically through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced labor, involuntary servitude, or commercial sex. Human trafficking victims include women, men and transgender individuals; adults and children; and foreign nationals and U.S. citizens or nationa... |
CID carries out IRS’ criminal law enforcement responsibilities under three principal statutes. Under title 26 U.S.C., IRS has authority to investigate alleged criminal tax violations, such as tax evasion and filing a false tax return. Under title 18 U.S.C., IRS has authority to investigate a broad range of fraudulent a... | GAO reported on the actions the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has taken since the early 1990s to increase the time spent on tax investigations versus nontax investigations, focusing on: (1) investigations initiated by CID; and (2) referrals to U.S. Attorneys for prosecution and ... |
How and when federal agencies can dismiss or take action to address poor performance has been a long-standing personnel issue that dates back to the creation of the civil service and has been the subject of a number of reforms since the civil service began. Modern merit principles state that appointments should be base... | Federal agencies' ability to address poor performance has been a long-standing issue. Employees and agency leaders share a perception that more needs to be done to address poor performance, as even a small number of poor performers can affect agencies' capacity to meet their missions. GAO was asked to examine the rules... |
Meeting veterans’ long-term care needs has become a more pressing issue as the veteran population ages. The elderly veteran population most in need of long-term care—those 85 years and older—-grew dramatically from about 387,000 to about 764,000, an increase of about 100 percent from fiscal years 1998 to 2003. (See fig... | The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is likely to see a significant increase in long-term care need over the next decade. The number of veterans most in need of longterm care services--those 85 years old and older--is expected to increase from about 870,000 to 1.3 million over this period. Many of these veterans wil... |
Most federal civilian employees are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS). Both of these retirement plans include survivor benefit provisions. Three separate retirement plans apply to various groups of judges in the federal judiciary, with JSAS being av... | The Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992 requires GAO to review certain aspects of the Judicial Survivors' Annuities System (JSAS), one of several survivor benefit plans applicable to federal employees. JSAS provides annuities to surviving spouses and dependent children of deceased Supreme Court Justices, judges o... |
Identified in 1937 and named after the Ugandan province where its discovery took place, West Nile virus has a widespread distribution in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East, occasionally causing epidemics also in Europe. Many people infected with the virus do not become ill or show symptoms, and even when they do, s... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the West Nile virus outbreak, focusing on: (1) establishing a thorough chronological account of the significant events and communications that occurred, from doctors and others who first saw the symptoms and from the officials mounting a response; and (2)... |
Over 600 organizations develop, market, or sell offsets in the United States, and the market involves a wide range of participants, prices, transaction types, and projects. While the exact scope of the U.S. voluntary market is uncertain because of a lack of complete data, available information shows that the supply of ... | Carbon offsets--reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from an activity in one place to compensate for emissions elsewhere--are a way to address climate change by paying someone else to reduce emissions. To be credible, an offset must be additional--it must reduce emissions below the quantity emitted in a business-as-u... |
VA policy specifies how VAMCs can purchase expendable medical supplies and RME. VAMCs can purchase expendable medical supplies and RME through their acquisition departments or through purchase card holders, who have been granted the authority to make such purchases. Purchase cards are issued to certain VAMC staff, incl... | VA clinicians use expendable medical supplies--disposable items that are generally used one time--and reusable medical equipment (RME), which is designed to be reused for multiple patients. VA has policies that VA medical centers (VAMC) must follow when purchasing such supplies and equipment and tracking--that is, acco... |
RBS operates loan programs that are intended to assist in the business development of the nation’s rural areas and the employment of rural residents. Within USDA, RBS is located in the Rural Development (RD) mission area. The agency’s national office in Washington, D.C., provides policy direction and guidance on the lo... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) number and dollar value of business assistance loans approved by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS); (2) federal government's costs associated with the agency's loans; and (3) financial condition of the agenc... |
In the context of international corporate taxation, countries determine their method to tax on two factors: the residence of the taxpayer and the source of the income to be taxed. The U.S. government taxes U.S. corporations largely on a residence basis, meaning that the worldwide income (both domestic and foreign) of c... | Globalization has increased incentives for multinational corporations to shift profits from country to country to use differences in the countries' corporate tax systems to reduce taxes. This profit shifting can lead to the erosion of U.S. and other countries' corporate tax bases, reducing tax revenues. OECD did a comp... |
The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest system of freshwater on earth. Covering more than 94,000 square miles, they contain about 84 percent of North America’s surface freshwater and 21 percent of the world’s supply. The lakes provide water for a multitude of activities and occupations, including... | The virtual elimination of toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes is a goal shared by the United States and Canada. While some progress has been made, pollution levels remain unacceptably high. The Great Lakes Initiative (GLI) requires stringent water quality standards for many pollutants in discharges regulated by states... |
Although states and localities have traditionally held the major responsibility for preventing and controlling crime in the United States, a significant aspect of the federal government’s role has been its provision of financial and other assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies. Grants are the largest fu... | Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the crime technology assistance provided by the federal government to state and local law enforcement agencies for fiscal years 1996 through 1998, focusing on the types and amounts of assistance provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Treasury... |
States and localities have developed and largely funded their own indigent defense systems. To do so, they have generally adopted one or more of the following methods for providing indigent defense—employing full or part-time public defenders to handle the bulk of cases requiring counsel; entering into contracts with p... | The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every person accused of a crime the right to counsel. States and localities generally fund indigent defense services, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) also provides funding that can be used for these services. GAO was asked to review federal support for indigen... |
Ballistic missiles have different ranges—short, medium, intermediate, and intercontinental—as well as different speeds, sizes, and performance characteristics. Short-range ballistic missiles have a range of less than 621 miles; medium-range ballistic missiles have a range from 621 to 1,864 miles; intermediate-range bal... | Since 2002, MDA has spent approximately $98 billion and has requested $38 billion more through fiscal year 2018 to develop, test, and field a system to defend against enemy ballistic missiles. The BMDS is comprised of a command and control system, sensors that identify incoming threats, and intercepting missiles. GAO i... |
OPM’s mission is to ensure that the federal government has an effective civilian workforce. In this regard, one of the agency’s major human resources tasks is to manage and administer the retirement program for federal employees. According to the agency, the program serves federal employees by providing (1) retirement ... | For the past two decades, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has been working to modernize the paper-intensive processes and antiquated systems used to support the retirement of federal employees. By moving to an automated system, OPM intends to improve the program's efficiency and effectiveness. In January 2008,... |
CHCS is a comprehensive medical information system that Defense has developed to provide automated support to its military medical treatment facilities. As shown in figure 1, the system is multi-faceted and complex, composed of nine integrated modules and shared capabilities, such as order-entry, results retrieval, and... | Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Composite Health Care System (CHCS), focusing on: (1) DOD efforts to complete deployment of CHCS to military medical treatment facilities worldwide; (2) DOD efforts to address previously identified problems; and (3) a new CHCS operati... |
With over 235,000 employees, including physicians, nurses, counselors, statisticians, computer specialists, architects, and attorneys, VA is the second largest federal department. It carries out its mission through three agency organizations—Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), ... | In May 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that computer equipment containing personal information on approximately 26.5 million veterans and active duty military personnel had been stolen. Given the importance of information technology (IT) to VA's mission, effective information security controls a... |
Interoperable communications is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a necessary means for achieving an important goal—the ability to respond effectively to and mitigate incidents that require the coordinated actions of first responders, such as multi-vehicle accidents, natural disasters, or terrorist attacks. Public sa... | Lives of first responders and those whom they are trying to assist can be lost when first responders cannot communicate effectively as needed. This report addresses issues of determining the status of interoperable wireless communications across the nation, and the potential roles that federal state, local governments ... |
Since the 1960s, the United States has used satellites to observe the earth and its land, oceans, atmosphere, and space environments. Satellites provide a global perspective of the environment and allow observations in areas that may be otherwise unreachable or unsuitable for measurements. Used in combination with grou... | Environmental satellites provide data used for weather forecasting, measuring variations in climate over time, and predicting space weather. Due to the continuing cost, schedule, and tri-agency management challenges of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)--a key satellite acqu... |
Outreach efforts by EAC representatives indicate that most employees support many portions of the legislative proposal under consideration by the Subcommittee but have concerns about provisions in the proposal related to pay. Specifically, employees generally support provisions that make the authorities provided to GAO... | This testimony discusses how the Comptroller General formed the Employee Advisory Council (EAC) about 4 years ago to be fully representative of the GAO population and to advise him on issues pertaining to both management and employees. The members of the EAC represent a variety of employee groups and almost all employe... |
As noted earlier, before a rule can become effective, it must be filed in accordance with the statute. Prior to the March 10 hearing, GAO conducted a review to determine whether all final rules covered by CRA and published in the Federal Register were filed with the Congress and GAO. We performed this review to both ve... | GAO discussed its experience in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and its efforts to coordinate implementation of the Act with the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). GAO noted that: (1) under CRA two types of rules, major and non... |
Congress created FDIC in 1933 to restore and maintain public confidence in the nation’s banking system. The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 sought to reform, recapitalize, and consolidate the federal deposit insurance system. It created the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Associ... | Effective controls over information systems are essential to ensuring the protection of financial and personnel information and the security and reliability of bank examination data maintained bythe Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As part of GAO's 2002 financial statement audits of the three FDIC funds, w... |
The state and local government sector consists of 50 state governments and 87,525 local governments. These local governments include 3,034 county governments, 19,429 municipal governments, 16,504 townships, 13,506 school districts, and 35,052 special districts. State and local governments provide vital services to citi... | State and local governments provide an array of services to their residents, such as primary and secondary education, libraries, police and fire services, social programs, roads and other infrastructure, public colleges and universities, and more. These subnational governments may face fiscal stress similar to the fede... |
The FCS concept is designed to be part of the Army’s Future Force, which is intended to transform the Army into a more rapidly deployable and responsive force that differs substantially from the large division-centric structure of the past. The FCS family of weapons is now expected to include 14 manned and unmanned gro... | Active Protection Systems (APS) protect vehicles from attack by detecting and intercepting missiles or munitions. In 2005, the lead systems integrator for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program sought proposals for an APS developer and design and to deliver APS prototypes on vehicles by fiscal year 2009. Raythe... |
Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to establish a comprehensive policy and program for the safe, permanent disposal of commercial spent fuel and other highly radioactive wastes in one or more mined geologic repositories. The act charged DOE with (1) establishing criteria for recommending sites for re... | The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to obtain a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The project, which began in the 1980s, has been beset by delays. In a 2004 report, GAO raised concerns that persistent quality assurance problem... |
Students’ pursuit of a college degree may include transferring from one school to another. Students typically transfer from a 2-year school to a 4- year school, a direction known as a vertical transfer. Students can also transfer from a 4-year school to a 2-year school, known as a reverse transfer, or laterally transfe... | College students sometimes opt to transfer schools in response to changing interests or for financial reasons. The extent to which students can transfer previously earned course credits can affect the time and cost for completing a degree. Given the federal government's sizeable investment in student aid—$125 billion i... |
Tactical air forces are critical to achieving and maintaining air dominance during combat operations. These forces include Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fixed-wing fighters and attack aircraft with air-to-air combat, air-to-ground attack, and defense suppression missions, and related equipment and support activitie... | The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to invest $109 billion in its tactical air forces between 2007 and 2013. Long term, DOD plans to replace aging legacy aircraft with fewer, more expensive but more capable and stealthy aircraft. Recapitalizing and modernizing tactical air forces within today's constrained budget env... |
Among other impacts, climate change could threaten coastal areas with rising sea levels, alter agricultural productivity, and increase the intensity and frequency of severe weather events such as floods, drought, and hurricanes that have cost the nation tens of billions of dollars in damages over the past decade. For e... | According to the United States Global Change Research Program, the costs and impacts of weather disasters resulting from floods, drought, and other events are expected to increase in significance as previously “rare” events become more common and intense. These impacts pose financial risks to the federal government. Wh... |
Justice is responsible for collecting criminal debt and has delegated operating responsibility to its FLUs within all of Justice’s U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAO). Justice’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) provides administrative and operational support, including support required for debt collectio... | In the wake of a recent wave of corporate scandals, Senator Byron L. Dorgan noted that the American taxpayers have a right to expect that those who have committed corporate fraud and other criminal wrongdoing will be punished, and that the federal government will make every effort to recover assets held by the offender... |
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.