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Aboveground Oil Storage Tanks: Observations on EPA's Economic Analyses of Amendments to the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Oil in aboveground tanks can leak into soil and nearby water, threatening human health and wildlife. To prevent certain oil spills, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in 1973. EPA estimated that, in 2005, about 571,000 facilities were regulated under this rule. When finalizing amendments to the rule in 2002 and 2006 to both stre… more
Date: July 27, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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African American Children In Foster Care: Additional HHS Assistance Needed to Help States Reduce the Proportion in Care

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A significantly greater proportion of African American children are in foster care than children of other races and ethnicities, according to HHS and other research. Given this situation, GAO was asked to analyze the (1) major factors influencing the proportion of African American children in foster care, (2) extent that states and localities have implemented promising strategies, and (3) ways in which … more
Date: July 11, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Alien Detention Standards: Telephone Access Problems Were Pervasive at Detention Facilities; Other Deficiencies Did Not Show a Pattern of Noncompliance

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The total number of aliens detained per year by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased from about 95,000 in fiscal year 2001 to 283,000 in 2006. The care and treatment of these detained aliens is a significant challenge to ICE. GAO was asked to review ICE's implementation of its detention standards for aliens in its custody. GAO reviewed (1) … more
Date: July 6, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Border Security: Long-term Strategy Needed to Keep Pace with Increasing Demand for Visas

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "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 visas may discourage legitimate travel to the United States, potentially costing the … more
Date: July 13, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Border Security: Security of New Passports and Visas Enhanced, but More Needs to Be Done to Prevent Their Fraudulent Use

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Travel documents are often used fraudulently in attempts to enter the United States. The integrity of U.S. passports and visas depends on the combination of well-designed security features and solid issuance and inspection processes. GAO was asked to examine (1) the features of U.S. passports and visas and how information on the features is shared; (2) the integrity of the issuance process for these doc… more
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Business Modernization: NASA Must Consider Agencywide Needs to Reap the Full Benefits of Its Enterprise Management System Modernization Effort

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) contract management as an area of high risk in part because it lacked modern systems to provide accurate and reliable information on contract spending. In April 2000, NASA began a system modernization effort, known as the Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP). When GAO last reported on the status of IEMP … more
Date: July 20, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Contract Management: DOD's Lack of Adherence to Key Contracting Principles on Iraq Oil Contract Put Government Interests at Risk

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) awarded the $2.5 billion Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO I) contract to Kellogg Brown & Root in March 2003 in an effort to reestablish Iraq's oil infrastructure. The contract was also used to ensure adequate fuel supplies inside Iraq. RIO I was a cost-plus-award-fee type contract that provided for payment of the contractor's costs, a fixed fe… more
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Defense Health Care: Under TRICARE, Children's Hospitals Paid More Than Other Hospitals After Accounting for Patient Complexity

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Department of Defense's (DOD) TRICARE health program, hospitals that treat primarily children--designated by DOD as children's hospitals--are paid differently from other types of civilian hospitals through a children's hospital differential payment. Representatives of children's hospitals state that payments for children's hospital services do not fully recognize the higher complexity of child… more
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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DOD Business Transformation: Lack of an Integrated Strategy Puts the Army's Asset Visibility System Investments at Risk

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) established a goal to achieve total asset visibility (TAV) over 30 years ago, but to date it has been unsuccessful. GAO was requested to (1) determine whether the Army has a systems strategy for achieving TAV, (2) determine if the Army's business system investment governance structure is consistent with DOD guidance, and (3) evaluate the Army's effort to correct previousl… more
Date: July 27, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Environmental Protection: EPA-State Enforcement Partnership Has Improved, but EPA's Oversight Needs Further Enhancement

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces the nation's environmental laws through its Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). OECA sets overall enforcement policies and through its 10 regions oversees state agencies authorized to implement environmental programs consistent with federal requirements. GAO was asked to (1) identify trends in federal resources to regions and states f… more
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Advertising: Established Programs Were Largely Used to Address Executive Order Directive to Ensure Small and Minority-Owned Business Participation

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2005, federal spending on advertising exceeded $1 billion. Five agencies--DOD, Treasury, HHS, Interior, and NASA--together made up over 90 percent of this spending from 2001 to 2005. Executive Order 13170, signed in October 2000, directs agencies to take an aggressive role in ensuring substantial participation in federal advertising contracts by businesses in the Small Business Administration's (SBA)… more
Date: July 12, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Family Education Loan Program: Eliminating the Exceptional Performer Designation Would Result in Substantial Savings without Adversely Affecting the Loan Program

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government guarantees loans in the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFELP) so that private lenders that participate in the program will be reimbursed if a borrower defaults, and about $4.6 billion was spent in fiscal year 2006 to repay lenders for defaulted loans. To retain the guarantee on their loans, all FFELP lenders must comply with minimum due diligence requirements for servicing… more
Date: July 26, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Family Education Loan Program: Increased Department of Education Oversight of Lender and School Activities Needed to Help Ensure Program Compliance

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been raised about the Department of Education's (Education) role in overseeing the lenders and schools that participate in the largest of the federal government's student loan programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). GAO was asked to analyze Education's use of its oversight, guidance, and enforcement authorities under FFELP. To do this, GAO reviewed departmental documen… more
Date: July 31, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Federal Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Strengthen Controls to Prevent Improper Payments to Estates and Deceased Individuals

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Farmers receive about $20 billion annually in federal farm program payments, which go to individuals and "entities," including corporations, partnerships, and estates. Under certain conditions, estates may receive payments for the first 2 years after an individual's death. For later years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine that the estate is not being kept open for payments. As re… more
Date: July 9, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Financial Audit: Significant Internal Control Weaknesses Remain in the 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 "For the past 10 years, since GAO's first audit of the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government (CFS), certain material weaknesses in internal control and in selected accounting and financial reporting practices have prevented GAO from expressing an opinion on the CFS. GAO has consistently reported that the U.S. government did not have adequate systems, controls, and procedures to properl… more
Date: July 23, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Hanford Waste Treatment Plant: Department of Energy Needs to Strengthen Controls over Contractor Payments and Project Assets

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In December 2000, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Bechtel National, Inc. (Bechtel) a contract to design and construct the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), one of the largest nuclear waste cleanup projects in the nation. Originally expected to cost $4.3 billion and be completed in 2011, DOE now estimates that WTP will cost over $12.2 billion and be completed in late 2019. Weaknesses in DOE's managemen… more
Date: July 20, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Higher Education: Information Sharing Could Help Institutions Identify and Address Challenges Some Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Students Face

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a group, Asian American and Pacific Islanders represent about 5 percent of the U.S. population and hold about 8 percent of the college degrees. To better understand the educational attainment and average incomes of the subgroups that comprise this population, the Committee asked: 1) What are Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups' educational attainment and household income levels? (2) What ch… more
Date: July 25, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Highway and Transit Investments: Flexible Funding Supports State and Local Transportation Priorities and Multimodal Planning

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 introduced two highway programs--the Surface Transportation Program (STP) and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ)--that may be used on both highway and transit projects and that are referred to as "flexible funding" for the purposes of this report. GAO was asked to examine (1) the degree to which STP and CMAQ funding has b… more
Date: July 26, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Homeland Security: DHS's Actions to Recruit and Retain Staff and Comply with the Vacancies Reform Act

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since its inception in 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has faced numerous human capital challenges related to recruiting, retaining, and managing its workforce of nearly 171,000 employees. As requested, this report analyzes DHS's attrition, efforts to recruit and retain staff, use of external employees, and compliance with certain provisions of the Vacancies Reform Act, which requires ag… more
Date: July 16, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Human Capital: DOD Needs Better Internal Controls and Visibility over Costs for Implementing Its National Security Personnel System

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Given a large-scale organizational change initiative, such as the Department of Defense's (DOD) National Security Personnel System (NSPS), is a substantial commitment that will take years to complete, it is important that DOD and Congress be kept informed of the full cost of implementing NSPS. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative, GAO analyzed the extent… more
Date: July 16, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Human Trafficking: A Strategic Framework Could Help Enhance the Interagency Collaboration Needed to Effectively Combat Trafficking Crimes

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Human trafficking is a transnational crime whose victims include men, women, and children and may involve violations of labor, immigration, antislavery, and other criminal laws. To ensure punishment of traffickers and protection of victims, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), which is subject to reauthorization in 2007. The Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Sec… more
Date: July 26, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Human Trafficking: Monitoring and Evaluation of International Projects Are Limited, but Experts Suggest Improvements

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Human trafficking--a worldwide crime involving the exploitation of men, women, and children for others' financial gain--is a violation of human rights. Victims are often lured or abducted and forced to work in involuntary servitude. Since 2001, the U.S. government has provided about $447 million to combat global human trafficking. As GAO previously reported, estimates of the number of trafficking victim… more
Date: July 26, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Information Management: The National Archives and Records Administration's Fiscal Year 2007 Expenditure Plan

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has been working to acquire the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system. As required by law, the agency submitted its fiscal year 2007 expenditure plan to congressional appropriations committees, seeking the release of $23.4 million for the development of the system. GAO's objectives in reviewing the expenditure plan were to (1) determ… more
Date: July 27, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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Information Security: Despite Reported Progress, Federal Agencies Need to Address Persistent Weaknesses

Description: A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue. Concerned by reports of significant vulnerabilities in federal computer s… more
Date: July 27, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
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