Reports News from the GAO http://www.gao.gov/press.html 2008-05-08T14:57:33+01:00 FeedCreator 1.7.2-ppt 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08263.pdf?source=ra

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relied on service acquisitions to meet its expansive mission. In fiscal year 2006, DHS spent $12.7 billion to procure services. To improve service acquisition outcomes, federal procurement law establishes a preference for a performance-based approach, which focuses on developing measurable outcomes rather than prescribing how contractors should perform services. GAO was asked to (1) evaluate ...

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08578.pdf?source=ra

Interagency contracting--using another agency's contracts or contracting services--can provide agencies with opportunities to streamline the procurement process and achieve savings. However, GAO designated the management of interagency contracting a high-risk area in 2005 due, in part, to a lack of reliable data on its use and of clarity regarding contract management responsibilities. In 2002, the Department of State (State) issued the ...

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08737t.pdf?source=ra

In Process

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08758t.pdf?source=ra

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for overseeing direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs, which includes a range of media, such as television, magazines, and the Internet. If FDA identifies a violation of laws or regulations in a DTC advertising material, the agency may issue a regulatory letter asking the drug company to take specific actions. In 2002, GAO reported on delays in FDA's issuance of regulatory ...

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08762t.pdf?source=ra

To address the challenges that the nation faces, it will be important for federal agencies to change their cultures and create the institutional capacity to become high-performing organizations. This includes recruiting and retaining a federal workforce able to create, sustain, and thrive in organizations that are flatter, results-oriented, and externally focused. In 2001, GAO identified strategic human capital management as a governmentwide ...

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08763t.pdf?source=ra

In Process

2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-08T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08765t.pdf?source=ra

In Process

2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08486.pdf?source=ra

Since 2001, Labor has spent nearly $900 million on three workforce employment and training grant initiatives: High Growth Job Training Initiative (High Growth), Community-Based Job Training Initiative (Community Based), and the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED). GAO was asked to examine (1) the intent of the grant initiatives and the extent to which Labor will be able to assess their effects, (2) the extent to ...

2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08596.pdf?source=ra

With a workforce of about 35,000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) provides engineering services for civil works and military programs in the United States and overseas. Recently, the Corps' focus has shifted to also support contingency operations, such as responding to natural disasters. To meet its mission and emerging priorities, the Corps must have effective human capital planning processes to ensure that it can maintain ...

2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-07T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08706t.pdf?source=ra

Collaboration between the federal government and the aviation industry has led to reductions in aviation emissions, but growing air traffic has partially offset these reductions. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), together with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and others, is working to increase the efficiency, safety, and capacity of the national airspace system ...

2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08504.pdf?source=ra

Disputes between policyholders and insurers after the 2005 hurricanes highlight the challenges of determining the cause and extent of damages when properties are subject to both high winds and flooding. Additionally, insurers want to reduce their exposure in high-risk areas, and state wind insurance programs have grown significantly. H.R. 3121, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, would create a combined federal insurance ...

2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08729t.pdf?source=ra

In 1996, the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, now within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) began operating a voluntary pilot program, recently named the E-Verify program, to provide participating employers with a means for electronically verifying employees' work eligibility. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to require all employers to electronically verify ...

2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08735r.pdf?source=ra

According to U.S. embassy officials in Islamabad and unclassified U.S. intelligence documents, since 2002, al Qaeda and the Taliban have used Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the border region to attack Pakistani, Afghan, U.S. and coalition troops; plan and train for attacks against U.S. interests; destabilize Pakistan; and spread radical Islamist ideologies that threaten U.S. interests. Since October 2001, the ...

2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-06T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08767t.pdf?source=ra

For more than a decade, GAO has reported that Medicare has paid higher than market rates for medical equipment and supplies provided to beneficiaries under Medicare Part B. Since 1989, Medicare has used fee schedules primarily based on historical charges to set payment amounts. But this approach lacks flexibility to keep pace with market changes and increases costs to the federal government and Medicare's 44 million elderly and disabled ...

2008-05-05T00:00:00+01:00 2008-05-05T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08566.pdf?source=ra

Dissatisfaction with the federal tax system has led to a debate about U.S. tax reform, including proposals for a national consumption tax. One type of proposed consumption tax is a value-added tax (VAT), widely used around the world. A VAT is levied on the difference between a business's sales and its purchases of goods and services. Typically, a business calculates the tax due on its sales, subtracts a credit for taxes paid on its purchases, ...