Bøger af Government Accountability Office

This report addresses acquisition strategy, contracting approach, compliance with policy and best practices and recommendations for future acquisition programs.

Eliminating the treat of terrorist attacks continue to be a primary U.S. national security focus. According to the 9/11 Commission, constraining the mobility of terrorists is one of the most effective weapons in fighting terrorism.

Given continuing concerns about financial vulnerabilities in the Foster Care program, you asked us to conduct a review of the program's improper payment estimate and reduction strategies. Specifically, our objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which ACF's estimation methodology generated a reasonably accurate and complete estimate of Foster Care improper payments and (2) determine the extent to which ACF's corrective actions reduced improper payments.

To achieve its primary debt management objective of financing the federal government's borrowing needs at the lowest cost over time, Treasury issues debt through a regular and predictable schedule of auctions across a wide range of securities. Treasury marketable securities consist of bills that mature in a year or less, notes with original maturities of more than 1 to not over 10 years, and bonds with original maturities of more than 10 years.2 Treasury seeks to appeal to a broad range of investors and to provide the market with a high degree of stability in the amount issued of each security, particularly for longer-term securities.3 Financing across the yield curve (that is, issuing short-, medium-, and long-term debt) appeals to the broadest range of investors, mitigates refunding and market rate risks, and provides the market with a pricing mechanism for setting interest rates. These all contribute to overall market liquidity and promotion of efficient capital markets. In a liquid market, trading can be completed at will and the offer and purchase prices differ only slightly. Liquidity is important to Treasury because liquid securities can be auctioned at lower rates and thus minimizes Treasury borrowing costs.

Congestion is geographically concentrated in major metropolitan areas, as close to 80 percent of America's growth and economic development is concentrated in metropolitan areas. Traffic congestion has grown worse in many ways in the past 30 years-trips take longer, congestion affects more of the day and affects more personal trips and freight shipments, and trip travel times are more unreliable. According to AASHTO, travel on the National Highway System has increased fivefold over the past 60 years, from 600 billion miles driven per year to almost 3 trillion in 2009.4 Annual travel is expected to climb to nearly 4.5 trillion miles by 2050, even with aggressive strategies to cut the rate of growth to only 1 percent per year.5

In response to the ongoing threats for federal systems and operations posed by cyber attacks, President Bush established the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative in 2008.

VA provides health care services to various veteran populations- including an aging veteran population and a growing number of younger veterans returning from military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. VA provides these services at 152 VA medical centers (VAMC) and other facilities that are organized into 21 regional VA networks. Each network is responsible for managing and overseeing the VAMCs within it.

The coast guard's legacy vessels are either approaching or have exceeded their designed life expectancies. The Coast Guard is replacing these vessels with a more capable fleet; however, cost and management problems have led to delays in the delivery of new vessels.

Report recommends to the Secretary of Defense ways to reduce concurrency and strengthen the Missile Defense Agency's acquisition prospects.

This report transmits the results of GAO's audit of the U.S. government's fiscal years 2015 and 2014 consolidated financial statements. GAO's audit report is incorporated in the enclosed Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Report of the United States Government prepared by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The federal government reported a unified budget deficit of approximately $439 billion for fiscal year 2015, a decrease of about $45 billion from fiscal year 2014. However, the federal government continues to face an unsustainable long term fiscal path. To operate as effectively and efficiently as possible and to make difficult decisions to address the federal government's fiscal challenges, Congress, the administration, and federal managers must have ready access to reliable and complete financial and performance information-both for individual federal entities and for the federal government as a whole. Our report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements underscores that much work remains to improve federal financial management, and these improvements are urgently needed.

GAO recommendations for enhancing the current strategy for managing and overseeing contracts in contingency areas such as Afghanistan.

Study and Recommendations from GAO to held reduce risk and improve outcomes.

US Agencies' Efforts to Address Islamic Extremism offers a clear context about the dangers of Islamic extremism since the beginning of this century.

Focuses on obtaining information about bilingual voting assistance from selected jurisdictions across the country.

Examines the benefits and costs associated with federal entities' acceptance of cards. This title also examines the effects of other countries' actions to limit interchange fees, and the impact on federal entities of using cards to make purchases.

The Forest Service and Interior agencies have initiated a number of steps to address key operational areas identified as needing improvement to help federal agencies contain wildland fire costs, but the effects on containing costs are unknown, in part because many of these steps are not yet complete. This book offers excerpts of the field.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Enforcement (Enforcement) plays a key role in meeting the agency's responsibility to enforce securities laws and regulations. This book evaluates certain aspects of SEC's inspection program.

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) 7(a) program, initially established in 1953, provides loan guarantees to small businesses that cannot obtain credit in the conventional lending market. This book examines the program's purpose, based on its legislative history, and performance measures.

Shows how the performance-based pay systems of 10 financial regulators are aligned with six key practices for effective performance management systems. This book reviews the actions these agencies have taken to assess and implement comparability in pay and benefits.

In 2006, consumers paid over $36 billion in fees associated with checking and savings accounts, raising questions about consumers' awareness of their accounts' terms and conditions. This book reviews the trends in the types and amounts of checking and deposit account fees since 2000.

Intends to present a cumulative supplement to the published third edition text that includes a variety of relevant decisions from 1 January to 31 December 2007.

Pandemic influenza poses a threat to public health. This title presents an excerpted and indexed version of efforts of individual countries and international organisations to implement a strategy for forestalling (that is, containing, delaying, or minimising the impact of) the onset of a pandemic.

Determines the extent to which federal policies - directly and indirectly - pose incentives and influence individuals' decisions about the age at which they retire. This book pursues the following questions: What incentives do federal policies provide about when to retire? And, what are the retirement patterns.

Offers information on federal funding that DOE receives for electricity-related R&D, including funding by type of fuel; tax expenditures the federal government provides to subsidise electricity production, including expenditures by type of fuel; and other ways the federal government subsidises electricity.

What are Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups' educational attainment and household income levels? What challenges, if any, Asian American and Pacific Islander students face in pursuing and completing their post-secondary education? This book answers these questions.

Examines the extent of grassland conversions to cropland and the cost of farm program payments for these newly converted cropland acres. This book also examines the relative importance of farm program payments versus other factors in producers' decisions to convert grassland to cropland.

Concerns have been raised about the public sector's capacity to meet the rising cost of providing its retirees with promised pension and other post-employment benefits, such as retiree health care. State and local retiree benefits are not subject, for the most part, to federal laws governing private sector retiree benefits.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a national plan in June 2006 for sectors - such as public health, energy and transportation - to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure. This book determines if these plans address key aspects of cyber security, including cyber assets, key vulnerabilities, and recovery plans.

The end of the Cold War has helped criminal organisations expand their activities and gain global reach. Criminal networks are believed to have benefited from the weakening of certain government institutions, more open borders, and the resurgence of ethnic and regional conflicts across the former Soviet Union and many other regions.

Analyses other countries' major efforts to reform entitlement programs, the pressure(s) that led countries to undertake the reforms, how reform proposals were developed, and to what extent enacted reforms built in triggers requiring future actions under certain conditions.