Benefits associated with telework programs include continuity of operations and reduced employee absences, based on GAO's literature review and the experiences of six selected agencies. The benefits most frequently cited by the selected agencies--the Department of Transportation (DOT), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), General Services Administra

The Air Force established eight objectives for its Food Transformation Initiative, but it has not fully developed metrics or an evaluation plan for assessing the initiative's results. When GAO began its review, the Air Force had developed metrics for three of the eight objectives. The Air Force subsequently identified metrics for four additional objectives, but it did not have a robust evaluation

A variety of stakeholders, such as boards of trustees and external consultants and managers, are involved in guiding plan investments. Plan officials generally expressed a commitment to policies or principles cited by many experts as key to sound governance, such as enhancing the knowledge and skills of plan fiduciaries and increasing organizational transparency. State and local plans reported gr

Army and Marine Corps support forces undergo significant combat skills training, but additional actions could help clarify CENTCOM's training requirements, ensure the services fully incorporate those requirements into their training requirements, and improve the consistency of training that is being conducted. CENTCOM has issued a list of training tasks to be completed, in addition to the service

In summary, we found that ETA's research center lacks independent authority for research, has limitations with regard to transparency and accountability processes, has not routinely involved stakeholders in developing its research agenda, and has been slow to evaluate the programs and activities carried out under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). (1) ETA is currently in the process of r

From fiscal years 1999 through 2009, all 15 USDA agencies and 12 staff offices were charged more than $372 million in Greenbook charges--less than 1/1000 of a percent of USDA's funding for the period. Greenbook charges and programs have increased substantially--from about $5.4 million for 5 programs in 1999 to an estimated $61.2 million for 30 programs in 2009. Because charges for most programs a

Because the number of air marshals is less than the number of daily flights, FAMS's operational approach is to assign air marshals to selected flights it deems high risk--such as the nonstop, long-distance flights targeted on September 11, 2001. In assigning air marshals, FAMS seeks to maximize coverage of flights in 10 targeted high-risk categories, which are based on consideration of threats, v

From our previous work on federal financial assistance to large firms and municipalities, we have identified three fundamental principles that can serve as a framework for considering future assistance. These principles are (1) identifying and defining the problem, (2) determining the national interests and setting clear goals and objectives that address the problem, and (3) protecting the govern

From our previous work on federal financial assistance to large firms and municipalities, we have identified three fundamental principles that can serve as a framework for considering future assistance. These principles are (1) identifying and defining the problem, (2) determining the national interests and setting clear goals and objectives that address the problem, and (3) protecting the govern

While the number of complaints filed with CMS and the time needed to resolve them has diminished as the Part D program has matured, complaints data indicate that ongoing challenges pose problems for some beneficiaries. From May 1, 2006, through October 31, 2007, about 630,000 complaints were filed; most complaints were related to problems in processing beneficiaries' enrollment and disenrollment