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 natural disasters and defense acquisitions. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Natural Disasters: Public Policy Options for Changing the Federal Role in Natural Catastrophe Insurance. GAO-08-7, November 26.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-7
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d087high.pdf

Correspondence

• Defense Acquisitions: Status of the Expeditionary Fire Support System. GAO-08-331R, December 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-331R

Presentation By The Comptroller General

• "Partnering for Progress--Working Together to Strengthen Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs)," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States and vice-chairman, INTOSAI Finance and Administration Committee; and Dr. Ahmed El-Midaoui, premier president of the Court of Accounts of Morocco and chairman, INTOSAI Capacity Building Committee, before the Joint Venture on Public Financial Management Working Party on Aid Effectiveness, in Paris, France. GAO-08-381CG, December 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08381cg.pdf
  

CRS reports

Despite the holidays a few Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS) managed to make it out. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This week brings us CRS reports on Tanzania, intellectual property, space programs, and much more. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by Secrecy News and OpenCRS:

• China's Space Program: Options for U.S.-China Cooperation
  
• U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress
• Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
• Iraq and Al Qaeda
• Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy
• Entering the Executive Branch of Government: Potential Conflicts of Interest With Previous Employments and Affiliations
• U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 1999-2006
• Overview of Education Issues and Programs in Latin America
• Nuclear Weapons: The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program
• Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?
• North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Latest Developments
• Franking Privilege: Historical Development and Options for Change
• Tanzania: Background and Current Conditions
• Data Mining and Homeland Security: An Overview
• Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy: Issues for Congress
• Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations
• China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues
• Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation
• China/Taiwan: Evolution of the "One China" Policy -- Key Statements from Washington, Beijing, and Taipei
• Aviation Congestion and Delay: System-Wide and New York-Area Issues
• Offender Reentry: Correctional Statistics, Reintegration into the Community, and Recidivism
• Military Airlift: The Joint Cargo Aircraft Program
• Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress
• Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade
• The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.

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 economic sanctions against Cuba, veteran's affairs, higher education tuition, and tax administration and compliance. If you would like to know more about the GAO, check out the library's guide.

Reports

• Air Traffic Control: FAA Reports Progress in System Acquisitions, but Changes in Performance Measurement Could Improve Usefulness of Information. GAO-08-42, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-42
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0842high.pdf
• Budget Issues: Accrual Budgeting Useful in Certain Areas but Does Not Provide Sufficient Information for Reporting on Our Nation's Longer-Term Fiscal Challenge. GAO-08-206, December 20.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-206
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08206high.pdf
  
• A Call For Stewardship: Enhancing the Federal Government's Ability to Address Key Fiscal and Other 21st Century Challenges. GAO-08-93SP, December 2007 http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-93SP
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Internal Control Deficiencies Resulted in Millions of Dollars of Questionable Contract Payments. GAO-08-54, November 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-54
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0854high.pdf
  
• Continuity of Operations: Selected Agencies Tested Various Capabilities during 2006 Governmentwide Exercise. GAO-08-185, November 19.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-185
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08185high.pdf
  
• Department of Veterans Affairs: Actions Needed to Strengthen VA's Foreclosed Property Management Contractor Oversight. GAO-08-60, November 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-60
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0860high.pdf
• Economic Sanctions: Agencies Face Competing Priorities in Enforcing the U.S. Embargo on Cuba. GAO-08-80, November 30.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-80
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0880high.pdf
  
• Force Structure: Better Management Controls Are Needed to Oversee the Army's Modular Force and Expansion Initiatives and Improve Accountability for Results. GAO-08-145, December 14.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-145
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08145high.pdf
• Higher Education: Tuition Continues to Rise, but Patterns Vary by Institution Type, Enrollment, and Educational Expenditures. GAO-08-245, November 28.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-245
• Military Health Care: Cost Data Indicate That TRICARE Reserve Select Premiums Exceeded the Costs of Providing Program Benefits. GAO-08-104, December 21.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-104
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08104high.pdf
  
• Securities and Exchange Commission: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Self-Regulatory Organizations. GAO-08-33, November 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-33
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0833high.pdf
• State Children's Health Insurance Program: Program Structure, Enrollment and Expenditure Experiences, and Outreach Approaches for States That Cover Adults. GAO-08-50, November 26.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-50
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0850high.pdf
  
• Tax Administration: 2007 Filing Season Continues Trend of Improvement, but Opportunities to Reduce Costs and Increase Tax Compliance Should be Evaluated. GAO-08-38, November 15.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-38
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0838high.pdf
• Tax Administration: Costs and Uses of Third-Party Information Returns. GAO-08-266, November 20.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-266
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08266high.pdf
  
• Tax Compliance: Federal Grant and Direct Assistance Recipients Who Abuse the Federal Tax System. GAO-08-31, November 16.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-31
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0831high.pdf
• Veterans' Benefits: Improved Operational Controls and Management Data Would Enhance VBA's Disability Reevaluation Process. GAO-08-75, December 6.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-75
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0875high.pdf
  

Testimony

• Maritime Transportation: Major Oil Spills Occur Infrequently, but Risks Remain, by Susan A. Fleming, director, physical infrastructure issues, before the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. GAO-08-357T, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-357T
  Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08357thigh.pdf

Correspondence

• Plum Island Animal Disease Center: DHS Has Made Significant Progress Implementing Security Recommendations, but Several Recommendations Remain Open. GAO-08-306R, December 17.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-306R
• Postal Service and Mailing Industry Mail-Related Recycling: Accomplishments and Postal Opportunities--Interim Results. GAO-08-348R, December 20.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-348R
• Rebuilding Iraq: International Donor Pledges for Reconstruction Efforts in Iraq. GAO-08-365R, December 18.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-365R
  
• Tax Compliance: Some Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Disaster Assistance Recipients Have Unpaid Federal Taxes. GAO-08-101R, November 16.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-101R
• Telecommunications: Preliminary Information on Media Ownership. GAO-08-330R, December 14.
  http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-330R
  

Presentation By The Comptroller General

• "A Call for Stewardship," by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the National Press Club "Newsmaker" luncheon, in Washington, D.C. GAO-08-371CG, December 17. [text]
  http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08371cg.pdf

President Signs Energy Bill

Today President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), which is designed to improve vehicle fuel economy and help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The energy bill calls for tougher fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles (new cars must average 35 miles a gallon by 2020), an increase in biofuels, and the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Read the White House press release "President Bush Signs H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007."

Want more government energy information? Check out the following sites:

• Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC), U.S. Department of Energy
• Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  
• Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), U.S. Department of Energy
• Energy Security for the 21st Century, the White House
• Renewable and Alternative Fuels, Energy Information Administration
  
• www.fueleconomy.gov, U.S. Department of Energy
  

Read "President Bush Signs Energy Bill" from the Washington Post, "Bush signs bill raising auto fuel efficiency standards" from CNNPolitics.com, and "President Bush Signs Bill Boosting Auto Fuel-Efficiency Standards 40 Percent by 2020" by FOX News.

Still need more information on energy and alternative fuels? Check out the library's guide.

This week from the CRS

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a research agency of Congress and writes reports at Congress's request. These short reports (usually 10-40 pages long) cover recent topics of concern. This week brings us CRS reports on Israel, mortgages, salaries, and much more. While these reports are in the public domain there is no central database available to the public. To get a copy of a CRS report you can request it from your Senator or Representative. This list is compiled from CRS reports discovered by Secrecy News and OpenCRS:

• Federal Land Ownership: Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities
• The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Comparison of House-Passed H.R. 3773, S. 2248 as Reported By the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and S. 2248 as Reported Out of the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Analysis of the Proposed Tax Exclusion for Canceled Mortgage Debt Income
• The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: A Brief Overview of Selected Issues
• Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: The Annapolis Conference
• FY2008 Emergency Supplemental Request for International Affairs
• Medicare Clinical Laboratories Competitive Bidding Demonstration
• How Long Can the Defense Department Finance FY2008 Operations in Advance of Supplemental Appropriations?
• FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations for Global War on Terror Military Operations, International Affairs, and Other Purposes
• Russia's December 2007 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications
• North Korea: Terrorism List Removal?
• Judicial Salary: Current Issues and Options for Congress
• The U.S.-Australia Treaty on Defense Trade Cooperation
• Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa
• China's Currency: Economic Issues and Options for U.S. Trade Policy
• Belarus: Background and U.S. Policy Concerns
• Strategic Airlift Modernization: Analysis of C-5 Modernization and C-17 Acquisition Issues
• Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union
• Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector
  

Interested in historical CRS reports? If you are here at the Boulder campus, check out the LexisNexis Congressional database, which has reports back to 1916.

Not on campus, but still want access to additional reports? The library has a guide linking to various additional sources of CRS reports.