Newly revised in 2011. Contains the auditing standards promulgated by the Comptroller General of the United States. Known as the Yellow Book. Includes the professional standards and guidance, commonly referred to as generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS), which provide a framework for conducting high quality government audits and attestation engagements with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence. These standards are for use by auditors of government entities and entities that receive government awards and audit organizations performing GAGAS audits and attestation engagements.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

The LDA, as amended by HLOGA, requires lobbyists to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House and file quarterly reports disclosing their lobbying activity. Lobbyists are required to file their registrations and reports electronically with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House through a single entry point (as opposed to separately with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House as was done prior to HLOGA). Registrations and reports must be publicly available in downloadable, searchable databases from the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. No specific requirements exist for lobbyists to generate or maintain documentation in support of the information disclosed in the reports they file. However, guidance issued by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House recommends that lobbyists retain copies of their filings and supporting documentation for at least 6 years after they file their reports.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the total value, composition, and distribution of development assistance provided to developing countries between 1980 and 1988, focusing on the level of U.S. and Japanese assistance. GAO found that: (1) the U.S. share of official development assistance increased from 16.3 percent to 18.3 percent between 1980 and 1988; (2) Japan increased its global official assistance from 10.4 percent to 15 percent; (3) Sub-Saharan Africa received 35 percent of the global official development assistance, while Asia received 33 percent; (4) developing countries' dependence on donor resource flows increased, but the distribution of assistance remained largely independent of countries' relative development resource needs; (5) donor nations tended to favor particular recipient countries, but directed their official assistance to differing sectors; and (6) the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries concentrated on providing general program support, while Soviet Union assistance favored infrastructure development and mineral exploration and extraction.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the construction of Florida's Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Specifically, GAO reported on the design process, federal and state efforts to ensure that the bridge is being built to specifications, and a group of technical concerns about the bridge. GAO found that Florida followed its consultant engineer contracting procedures, although it did not audit the accounting systems of 10 of the bridge designer's 11 subconsultants prior to awarding the contract. Post-award audits by the state of two of the largest subconsultant contracts found that their accounting systems did not adequately identify and segregate costs. This prompted the state to question over $11,000 in design costs. Florida also found in its post-award audit that a subconsultant realized a 122-percent profit from the contract when the state had projected that it would realize only a 12 percent profit. GAO found that federal and state agencies have made significant efforts to ensure that the bridge is being built to specifications. Regarding technical concerns, GAO found that: (1) the concrete was a quality concrete which would be subject to the normal deterioration process; (2) the weak soil composition of the area was adequately strengthened by the addition of extra foundation piles; and (3) the trestle design was approved as meeting ship impact and other specifications.

The anthrax attacks of 2001 and a radiation leak after the recent natural disaster in Japan highlighted concerns that the United States is vulnerable to threats from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents, which can cause widespread illness and death. Medical countermeasures--such as drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic devices--can prevent or treat the health effects of exposure, but few are currently available for many of these CBRN agents. GAO was asked to testify on the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) CBRN medical countermeasure development and acquisition activities. This statement focuses on (1) how HHS determines needed CBRN medical countermeasures and priorities for development and acquisition and (2) selected challenges to medical countermeasure development and acquisition. This statement of preliminary findings is based on ongoing work. To do this work, GAO examined relevant laws and presidential directives, analyzed federal agency documents and reports from advisory boards and expert groups, and interviewed officials from HHS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the processes for developing and acquiring CBRN medical countermeasures and the challenges related to those efforts. GAO shared the information in this statement with HHS. HHS provided technical comments, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.

Conflict over the use of our nation's natural resources, along with increased ecological problems, has led land managers to seek cooperative means to resolve natural resource conflicts and problems. Collaborative resource management is one such approach that communities began using in the 1980s and 1990s. A 2004 Executive Order on Co-operative Conservation encourages such efforts. This book deals with: (1) experts' views on collaborative resource management, (2) how selected collaborative efforts have addressed conflicts and improved resources, and (3) challenges that agencies face as they participate in such efforts and how the Cooperative Conservation initiative has addressed them. This is an edited and indexed version.