This is a Comptroller General Presentation delivered to the American Bar Association in Chicago, IL, on August 4, 2012. Major topics of this presentation include: threats confronting U.S. national security interests, fiscal sustainability and debt challenges, annual report on duplication, overlap, and fragmentation, economic recovery and restored growth, shifting roles in government and governance...

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the effect of employer bankruptcy on retiree health benefits, focusing on: (1) selected bankrupt companies' continued provision of health benefits to their retirees; (2) the extent to which legislation has helped protect retiree health benefits; and (3) effects of bankruptcy on active workers and retirees in company health plans when...

In compliance with a legislative requirement, GAO held a joint public hearing with the Security and Exchange Commission, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve System, Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Labor concerning the nature of the high yield bond market and i...