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2008 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Lobbyists' Compliance with Disclosure Requirements

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 amended the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 by doubling the frequency of lobbyists' reporting and increasing criminal and civil penalties. This is GAO's second report in response to the Act's requirement for GAO to annually (1) determine the extent to which lobbyists can demonstrate compliance with the Act by providing support for information… more
Date: April 1, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Acquisition Workforce: DOD Can Improve Its Management and Oversight by Tracking Data on Contractor Personnel and Taking Additional Actions

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, Department of Defense's (DOD) spending on goods and services has more than doubled to $388 billion in 2008, while the number of civilian and military acquisition personnel has remained relatively stable. To supplement its in-house workforce, DOD relies heavily on contractor personnel. If it does not maintain an adequate workforce, DOD places its billion-dollar acquisitions at an increased risk of … more
Date: April 28, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Addressing Significant Vulnerabilities in the Department of State's Passport Issuance Process

Description: Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A genuine U.S. passport is a vital document, permitting its owner to travel freely into and out of the United States, prove U.S. citizenship, obtain further identification documents, and set up bank accounts, among other things. Since May 2005, we have issued several reports identifying significant fraud vulnerabilities in the passport issuance process. This report (1) describes our recent work on passpo… more
Date: April 13, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Afghanistan: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has provided approximately $38.6 billion in reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan and has over 35,000 troops in the country as of February 2009. Some progress has occurred in areas such as economic growth, infrastructure development, and training of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), but the overall security situation in Afghanistan has not improved after more than 7 years … more
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Afghanistan: U.S.- and Internationally-Funded Roads (GAO-09-626SP), an E-supplement to GAO-09-473SP

Description: Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is an E-supplement to GAO-09-473SP. In its Afghanistan National Development Strategy, the Afghan Government, in conjunction with international donors, established the goal of completing a fully upgraded regional highway network by the end of 2008. The construction of the regional highways was a top road reconstruction priority of the Afghan government and interational donors, as these roads w… more
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Army Health Care: Progress Made in Staffing and Monitoring Units that Provide Outpatient Case Management, but Additional Steps Needed

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2007, a series of Washington Post articles disclosed problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, particularly with the management of servicemembers receiving outpatient care. In response, the Army established Warrior Transition Units (WTU) for servicemembers requiring complex case management. Each servicemember in a WTU is assigned to a Triad of Care--a primary care manager, a nurse case ma… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Auto Industry: Summary of Government Efforts and Automakers' Restructuring to Date

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The turmoil in financial markets and the economic downturn has brought significant financial stress to the auto manufacturing industry. The economic reach of the auto industry in the United States is broad, affecting autoworkers, auto suppliers, stock and bondholders, dealers, and certain states. To help stabilize the U.S. auto industry and avoid disruptions that could pose systemic risk to the nation's… more
Date: April 23, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Aviation Safety: Potential Strategies to Address Air Ambulance Safety Concerns

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Air ambulance transport is widely regarded as improving the chances of survival for trauma victims and other critical patients. However, recent increases in the number of air ambulance accidents have led to greater industry scrutiny by government agencies, the public, the media, and the industry itself. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and others have called on the Federal Aviation Administrati… more
Date: April 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Biomonitoring: EPA Needs to Coordinate Its Research Strategy and Clarify Its Authority to Obtain Biomonitoring Data

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Biomonitoring, which measures chemicals in people's tissues or body fluids, has shown that the U.S. population is widely exposed to chemicals used in everyday products. Some of these have the potential to cause cancer or birth defects. Moreover, children may be more vulnerable to harm from these chemicals than adults. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized under the Toxic Substances Con… more
Date: April 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Bureau of Public Debt: Areas for Improvement in Information Security Controls

Description: Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the financial statements of the U.S. government, we audited and reported on the Schedules of Federal Debt Managed by the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. As part of these audits, we performed a review of the general and application information security controls over key BPD financial systems. As … more
Date: April 28, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Coast Guard: Update on Deepwater Program Management, Cost, and Acquisition Workforce

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Deepwater Program is intended to recapitalize the Coast Guard's fleet and includes efforts to build or modernize five classes each of ships and aircraft, and procure other key capabilities. In 2002, the Coast Guard contracted with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) to manage the acquisition as systems integrator. After the program experienced a series of failures, the Coast Guard announced in April 200… more
Date: April 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Commercial Aviation: Airline Industry Contraction Due to Volatile Fuel Prices and Falling Demand Affects Airports, Passengers, and Federal Government Revenues

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. passenger airline industry is vital to the U.S. economy. Airlines directly generate billions of dollars in revenues each year and catalyze economic growth. Interest in the airlines' ability to weather volatile fuel prices and the economic recession led to congressional requests for a GAO review. GAO examined how (1) the financial condition of the U.S. passenger airline industry has changed, the… more
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Contingency Contracting: DOD, State, and USAID Are Taking Actions to Track Contracts and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Departments of Defense (DOD) and State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors to support troops and civilian personnel and carry out reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. While recognizing the benefits of using contactors, GAO and others have noted the risks and challenges associated with relying on contractors. To help increase c… more
Date: April 1, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Crop Insurance: Opportunities Exist to Reduce the Costs of Administering the Program

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers the federal crop insurance program with private insurance companies, which, in turn, work with insurance agencies that sell crop insurance. In 2008, according to USDA, the program cost $6.5 billion, including about $2.0 billion in allowances to insurance companies to cover their administrative and operating (A&O) expenses, such as salaries and sales … more
Date: April 29, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Acquisitions: Actions Needed to Ensure Value for Service Contracts

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2008, the Department of Defense (DOD) obligated over $200 billion on contracts for services, which accounted for more than half of its total contract obligations. Given the serious budget pressures facing the nation, it is critical that DOD obtain value when buying these services. Yet DOD does not always use sound practices when acquiring services, and the department lacks sufficient people wit… more
Date: April 23, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Acquisitions: Charting a Course for Lasting Reform

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has designated the Department of Defense's (DOD) management of its major weapon acquisitions as a high-risk area; however DOD's problems delivering weapon systems on time, at the estimated cost, in the planned amounts, and with the promised performance go back decades. Congress and DOD have continually explored ways to improve acquisition outcomes, yet problems persist. The committee asked GAO… more
Date: April 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Acquisitions: Measuring the Value of DOD's Weapon Programs Requires Starting with Realistic Baselines

Description: Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "n 2008, the cumulative cost growth in the Department of Defense's portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs was $296 billion and the average delay in delivering promised capabilities to the warfighter was 22 months. These poor outcomes mean that other critical defense and national priorities may go unfunded and that warfighters may go without the equipment they need to counter the changing threats th… more
Date: April 1, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Management: DOD Needs to Improve Program Management, Policy, and Testing to Enhance Ability to Field Operationally Useful Non-lethal Weapons

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Nonlethal weapons (NLW) provide an alternative when lethal force is undesirable. The Department of Defense (DOD) defines NLW as those that are explicitly designed and primarily employed to incapacitate personnel or materiel, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property and the environment. DOD created the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program in 1996 to have ce… more
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Designated Federal Entities: Survey of Governance Practices and the Inspector General Role

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For entities that rely on others for funding, effective governance, accountability, and internal control are keys to maintaining trust and credibility. In recent years, corporate governance and accountability have received increased scrutiny and emphasis in the nonprofit, federal government, and public company sectors. Governance and accountability problems have also been identified at designated federa… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Feasibility of Requiring Financial Assurances for the Recall or Destruction of Unsafe Consumer Products

Description: Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that it had obtained the voluntary recall of 563 unsafe or potentially unsafe products by the companies that manufactured, imported, distributed, or sold the products--the largest number for the agency in the past 10 years. In the prior year, CPSC announced 472 recalls--which was also an increase from the previous year and included some hig… more
Date: April 22, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Contractors: Better Performance Information Needed to Support Agency Contract Award Decisions

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2007, federal agencies worked with over 160,000 contractors, obligating over $456 billion, to help accomplish federal missions. This reliance on contractors makes it critical that agencies have the information necessary to properly evaluate a contractor's prior history of performance and better inform agencies' contract award decisions. While actions have been taken to improve the sharing… more
Date: April 23, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Enrollee Cost Sharing for Selected Specialty Prescription Drugs

Description: Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent increases in prescription drug costs have been fueled in part by the high and rising cost of specialty prescription drugs. Specialty prescription drugs are typically used to treat chronic or life-threatening conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer, for which few other treatment options exist. The drugs typically have few competitors or generic alternatives and may require frequent dosage… more
Date: April 30, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Rulemaking: Improvements Needed to Monitoring and Evaluation of Rules Development as Well as to the Transparency of OMB Regulatory Reviews

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Regulation is one of the principal tools that the government uses to implement public policy. As part of the rulemaking process federal agencies must comply with an increasing number of procedural and analytical requirements. GAO was asked to examine how broadly applicable rulemaking requirements cumulatively have affected (1) agencies' rulemaking processes, in particular including effects of requiremen… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Financial Audit: Material Weaknesses in Internal Control Continue to Impact Preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements of the U.S. Government

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since GAO's first audit of the fiscal year 1997 consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), material weaknesses in internal control and other limitations on the scope of our work have prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the accrual basis CFS. Certain of those material weaknesses relate to inadequate systems, controls, and procedures to properly prepare the CFS. The purpose of… more
Date: April 21, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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