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 refund anticipation loans, alien detention standards, IRAs, and nuclear weapons. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Individual Retirement Accounts: Government Actions Could Encourage More Employers to Offer IRAs to Employees. GAO-08-590, June 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-590
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08590high.pdf
• Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Needs to Establish a Cost and Schedule Baseline for Manufacturing a Critical Nuclear Weapon Component. GAO-08-593, May 23.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-593
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08593high.pdf
• September 11: HHS Needs to Develop a Plan That Incorporates Lessons from the Responder Health Programs. GAO-08-610, May 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-610
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08610high.pdf
• U.S. Postal Service: Mail-Related Recycling Initiatives and Possible Opportunities for Improvement. GAO-08-599, June 3.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-599
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08599high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Management: Assessment of the Reorganization of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. GAO-08-830R, May 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-830R
• Department of Energy: Implementation and Use of Other Transactions Authority Provided in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. GAO-08-798R, June 6.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-798R
• Management Report: Improvements Needed in IRS's Internal Controls. GAO-08-368R, June 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-368R
• Oil and Gas Royalties: Litigation over Royalty Relief Could Cost the Federal Government Billions of Dollars. GAO-08-792R, June 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-792R
• Refund Anticipation Loans. GAO-08-800R, June 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-800R

Testimony

• Alien Detention Standards: Observations on the Adherence to ICE's Medical Standards in Detention Facilities, by Richard M. Stana, director, homeland security and justice, before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, House Committee on the Judiciary. GAO-08-869T, June 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-869T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08869thigh.pdf
• Combating Terrorism: Guidance for State Department's Antiterrorism Assistance Program Is Limited and State Does Not Systematically Assess Outcomes, by Charles M. Johnson, Jr., director, international affairs and trade, before the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-08-875T, June 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-875T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08875thigh.pdf
• Defense Acquisitions: Better Weapon Program Outcomes Require Discipline, Accountability, and Fundamental Changes in the Acquisition Environment, by Katherine V. Schinasi, managing director, acquisition and sourcing management, before the Senate Committee on Armed Services. GAO-08-782T, June 3.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-782T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08782thigh.pdf
• Federal Disability Programs: Coordination Could Facilitate Better Data Collection to Assess the Status of People with Disabilities, by Daniel Bertoni, director, education, workforce, and income security, before the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-08-872T, June 4.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-872T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08872thigh.pdf
  
• Fiscal Year 2007 U.S. Government Financial Statements: Sustained Improvement in Financial Management Is Crucial to Improving Accountability and Addressing the Long-Term Fiscal Challenge, by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-08-847T, June 5.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-847T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08847thigh.pdf

Misstatements in the Lead Up to the War in Iraq

The Senate Intelligence Committee released its second report on White House misstatements on prewar Iraq intelligence and inappropriate intelligence activities by a Pentagon policy office. Eventually the reports will make it into the Congressional Serial Set. Beneath the covers of this blandly titled series lurk fascinating documents that illustrate U.S. history and policy. Examples include evidence taken at an investigation into the Sand Creek Massacre (Serial Set Vol. No. 1277), Hayden's preliminary report on the exploration of Montana region, including Yellowstone (Serial Set Vol. No. 1520), and other historic treasures.

To explore the riches of the Serial Set, check out the guide to Congress where you'll find a variety of sources with digitized versions of the serial set. Some of free, others are restricted to the CU-Boulder community.

US Unemployment Rises

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that unemployment rose from 5% to 5.5% during the month of May. According to a press release, "employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services, while health care continued to add jobs." About 7.7 million of the employed held more than one job, about the same rate as in previous months.

For additional information, check the guides pages for Labor Statistics and Labor and Employment.

Top Brass at the Air Force Resign

The Washington Post reported that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had accepted the resignations of two of the Air Force's top leaders: Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the service's chief of staff, Gen. Michael Moseley. Things haven't gone well at the Air Force lately. A bomber wing flew over the US with nuclear-tipped missiles and the Air Force mistakenly shipped secret nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan and didn't notice that they were missing for at least 18 months. Last but not least the service has had problems with corruption in at least one of its recent contracts.

Want to learn more about the U.S. military? Check the Government Publications Guide to Military Information. Among other things, you'll find a link to Air Force Fact Sheets on aircraft and weapons systems.

Downwind from Rocky Flats

A federal judged ordered Dow Chemical and Rockwell International, former contractors at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility, to pay 926 million dollars to current and former neighbors due east of the plant. The money was to compensate them for radioactive pollution of their land. The federal government is expected to pick up the tab on behalf of the contractors. The former Rocky Flats plant assembled plutonium "triggers"--small bombs that set off a much larger nuclear device.

Learn about the 1969 Mother's Day fire at the plant. The University of Colorado's Center for Environmental Journalism has an online exhibit with details including pictures, video, and copies of relevant documents. Although the fire was contained, it was a close call. If the roof had failed, significant amounts of radioactive material would have been blown towards Denver.

To learn more about Rocky Flats, check out Government Publications' Rocky Flats page.