GAO Releases This Week

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is often called the investigative arm of Congress. This week they investigated a variety of issues, such as green affordable housing, leveraged buyouts of U.S. companies by private equity funds, and the FDA's role in food labeling . If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Department of Defense: A Departmentwide Framework to Identify and Report Gaps in the Defense Supplier Base Is Needed. GAO-09-5, October 7.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-5
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d095high.pdf
  
• FDA Advisory Committees: Process for Recruiting Members and Evaluating Potential Conflicts of Interest. GAO-08-640, September 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-640
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08640high.pdf
• Food Labeling: FDA Needs to Better Leverage Resources, Improve Oversight, and Effectively Use Available Data to Help Consumers Select Healthy Foods. GAO-08-597, September 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-597
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08597high.pdf
• Green Affordable Housing: HUD Has Made Progress in Promoting Green Building, but Expanding Efforts Could Help Reduce Energy Costs and Benefit Tenants. GAO-09-46, October 7.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-46
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0946high.pdf
• Highway Safety: Foresight Issues Challenge DOT's Efforts to Assess and Respond to New Technology-Based Trends. GAO-09-56, October 3.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-56
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0956high.pdf
• Information Technology: Management Improvements Needed on the Department of Homeland Security's Next Generation Information Sharing System. GAO-09-40, October 8.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-40
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0940high.pdf
• Private Equity: Recent Growth in Leveraged Buyouts Exposed Risks That Warrant Continued Attention. GAO-08-885, September 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-885
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08885high.pdf
• Sovereign Wealth Funds: Publicly Available Data on Sizes and Investments for Some Funds Are Limited. GAO-08-946, September 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-946
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08946high.pdf
• Veterans' Disability Benefits: Better Accountability and Access Would Improve the Benefits Delivery at Discharge Program. GAO-08-901, September 9.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-901
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08901high.pdf