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.

GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) planned development of an alternate high pressure fuel turbopump for the Space Shuttle's main engines, focusing on whether NASA has adequately analyzed cost, performance, and expected program benefits in comparison to other alternatives before resuming its development of the alternate pump. GAO found that: (1) the current engine pump is safe and reliable if existing safety controls are effectively implemented; (2) NASA supports continued development of the alternate pump because of safety concerns about some aspects of the current pump's design; (3) NASA has not analyzed the costs and benefits of modifying the existing fuel pump because a major upgrade will require an expensive full certification test; (4) NASA has not determined what contribution the alternative fuel pump will make to the Shuttle's reliability in conjunction with other engine safety improvements; (5) the alternate fuel pump will require extensive testing and possible redesign as problems occur; (6) NASA did not analyze the costs and benefits of modifying the existing fuel pump and other alternatives before resuming development of the alternate pump; and (7) NASA expects that the alternate pump will reduce operating costs by decreasing inspections and maintenance, but it has not estimated the expected savings.

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.

This letter discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) cyber and information assurance budget for fiscal year 2012 and future years defense spending. The objectives of this review were to (1) assess the extent to which DOD has prepared an overarching budget estimate for full-spectrum cyberspace operations across the department; and (2) identify the challenges DOD has faced in providing such estimates. The President has identified the cyber threat as one of the most serious national security challenges that the nation faces. In February 2011 the Deputy Secretary of Defense said that more than 100 foreign intelligence agencies have tried to breach DOD computer networks, and that one was successful in breaching networks containing classified information. To aid its efforts in countering cyberspace threats, DOD established the U.S. Cyber Command in 2010 and is currently undertaking departmentwide efforts to defend against cyber threats. DOD has defined some key cyber-related terms. Cyberspace operations is defined as the employment of cyber capabilities where the primary purpose is to achieve military objectives or effects in or through cyberspace. Such operations include computer network operations and activities to operate and defend the global information grid. U.S. Cyber Command defines full-spectrum cyber operations as the employment of the full range of cyberspace operations to support combatant command operational requirements and the defense of DOD information networks. This includes efforts such as computer network defense, computer network attack, and computer network exploitation. Computer network defense is defined as actions taken to protect, monitor, analyze, detect, and respond to unauthorized activity within DOD information systems and computer networks. Computer network attack is defined as actions taken to disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy information resident in computers and computer networks, or the computers and networks themselves. Computer network exploitation is defined as enabling operations and intelligence collection capabilities conducted through the use of computer networks to gather data from target or adversary automated information systems or networks. Information assurance is defined as measures that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation. This includes providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.

For decades, the public has been concerned that lost or stolen dogs and cats could be used in research. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for the licensing and oversight of dealers who provide animals for research. Random source Class B dealers--who generally obtain dogs and cats for research from individuals, pounds, and other dealers--have been the focus of this concern. GAO was asked to determine (1) the number of random source Class B dealers, (2) the extent to which APHIS conducts inspections of these dealers and verifies their records, and (3) the costs associated with APHIS's oversight of these dealers compared to other types of dealers. GAO reviewed the Animal Welfare Act (AWA); APHIS regulations and guidance; inspection reports; agency data, such as "traceback" data used to verify dogs and cats are not lost or stolen; and interviewed and reviewed documents from agency officials and other stakeholders.

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 reviewed the operations of the Public Health Service's (PHS) Commissioned Corps, focusing on: (1) whether there continues to be a need for a commissioned corps with military-like pay, allowances, and benefits; and (2) potential costs if federal civilian employees performed the Corps' functions. GAO found that: (1) the Corps' original mission of providing medical care to ill and injured merchant seamen has evolved to include medical care for Native Americans and federal prison inmates and health sciences research; (2) Corps functions are essentially civilian and some civilian PHS employees also perform them; (3) new PHS employees have the option of serving in the Corps or in a civilian capacity; (4) the Corps assumed its military characteristics when it temporarily served with the armed forces during World Wars I and II, but the Department of Defense (DOD) has no specific plans on how to use the Corps during future emergency mobilizations; (5) Corps members assume military ranks and receive virtually the same compensation as the armed services, including retirement benefits; (6) in general, Corps members are not subject to the service requirements that DOD considers as justifying military compensation, or to the Uniform Code of Military Justice; (7) the Corps believes its existence is necessary to provide a mobile cadre of professionals who can be assigned on short notice to any locale and often under hazardous or harsh conditions; (8) PHS and other agencies often use civilian employees to respond quickly to emergencies; and (9) civilian employees would cost about $130 million less per year than Corps members to perform similar duties once the transition is complete.

Pursuant to congressional request, GAO reviewed the accuracy of general circulation models (GCM) in forecasting global warming trends, focusing on the: (1) factors limiting the accuracy of GCM estimates of future climatic changes; and (2) federal expenditures for GCM for fiscal years (FY) 1992 through 1994. GAO found that: (1) although GCM have improved their ability to predict future climatic changes over the last decade, their estimates are still limited by their incomplete or inaccurate representations of climate-affecting processes and by insufficient computer power; (2) scientists do not fully understand how the climate system responds to potentially important physical, chemical, and biological processes; (3) the lack of computer power requires scientists to use simplified assumptions and structures that increase the uncertainty of the models' predictions; (4) scientists are conducting research to overcome the limitations of the computer models; and (5) five federal agencies spent about $122.6 million for various global modeling projects, which represented about 3 percent of the global change research program's budget for FY 1992 through 1994.

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 reviewed the Army's 1990 Return of Forces to Germany (REFORGER) strategic deployment exercise, focusing on the: (1) extent to which the Army scaled the exercise down; (2) advantages and limitations of using computer simulations in comparison with large-scale ground maneuvers; (3) future plans for using simulations; and (4) potential savings that could result from increased reliance on simulations for training. GAO found that: (1) although the Army reduced the overall number of U.S. troops participating in REFORGER 1990 by about 56,000 from the 1988 exercise, it did not significantly reduce the number of troops deployed from the United States; (2) computer simulation training in REFORGER 1990 emphasized battle planning, staff procedures, and command and control, made more efficient use of training time, provided realistic training for higher echelon leaders, and lessened adverse environmental and political impacts; (3) weaknesses in the computer simulation training included insufficient pre-exercise training for support personnel, poor representation of intelligence, unrealistic logistics and resupply operations, and insufficient preparation and testing of the computer's database; (4) simulation improvements could correct some weaknesses identified in REFORGER 1990; (5) although the Army planned to expand the use of computer simulation training for future large-scale exercises, future REFORGER exercises could vary in their use of simulations; (6) it was unable to determine the extent of cost savings from computer simulation use due to the high initial costs to develop, field, and support the systems and uneven comparisons with traditional exercises; (7) studies by other audit organizations indicated that the Army failed to follow proper acquisition procedures or use proper funding sources to acquire some computer simulations; and (8) the Department of Defense recognized the need for greater coordination, policy guidance, and oversight of the use of computer simulations, and initiated some corrective actions.

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.

In response to a congressional request, GAO discussed the transportation factors associated with four alternatives for relocating plutonium processing operations from the Rocky Flats, Colorado, plant to other Department of Energy (DOE) locations, focusing on: (1) Sandia National Laboratory's consideration of human error in estimating risks; (2) testing of DOE transportation containers; (3) continued radiological risks to Rocky Flats workers; (4) possible relocation sites; (5) origins of waste and scrap materials; (6) the adequacy of the DOE transportation fleet; and (7) the use of Nuclear Regulatory Commission data in estimating the economic consequences of a transportation accident. GAO found that: (1) Sandia did not consider potential human error in estimating the risks associated with shipping the plutonium because a staff member believed that it would not affect the risk calculations; (2) contractor personnel at the Rocky Flats plant had not adequately tested the durability of the container used for transporting oxides, since they believed that container inspection procedures would detect any problems; (3) radiological risks to workers at Rocky Flats would continue because relocation alternatives would not eliminate all operations involving plutonium at the plant; (4) although DOE considered relocating plutonium operations to an Idaho site, the site did not have plutonium processing capabilities; (5) Rocky Flats would continue to generate waste and scrap material from its existing operations, while materials pretreatment processes associated with moving some operations elsewhere would generate additional scrap materials; (6) increased material shipments to alternative locations could require five additional safety vehicles and personnel; and (7) Sandia used data pertaining to the four alternatives GAO reviewed to calculate the economic consequences of a transportation accident.

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.

GAO provided a supplement to its report on medical malpractice insurance.GAO identified New York's actions to address its medical malpractice insurance problems. GAO found that: (1) the insurance crisis in the 1970's was due to availability, while in the 1980's the crisis shifted to one of affordability; (2) although insurance rates continue to climb for hospitals and physicians, they are highest for high-risk specialties; (3) rates are higher in New York City than in other parts of the state; (4) claims against New York physicians were higher than the national average; (5) New York enacted legislation to address the problem that included creating pretrial screening panels for malpractice suits, reducing the statute of limitations for reporting malpractice claims from 3 to 2-1/2 years, requiring an itemized list of malpractice actions, increasing malpractice prevention programs, and requiring the reporting and investigation of hospital-based malpractice incidents; and (6) current and future malpractice problems relate to the length of time to resolve claims, cost of liabiity insurance, physician actions to reduce or prevent claims, availability of insurance, the number of claims filed, the size of claims settlements, and legal expenses. GAO also found that: (1) most of the groups surveyed supported additional state actions to strengthen physician licensing and relicensing; and (2) few of the groups surveyed believed the federal government should assume a role in addressing medical malpractice insurance problems.

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 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.

GAO provided a supplement to its report on the April 1989 explosion aboard the U.S.S. Iowa, focusing on the Sandia National Laboratory's independent review of the Navy's technical analysis of the explosion. GAO found that: (1) Sandia could neither confirm nor disprove the Navy's conclusion that a deliberate act caused the explosion, nor could it could prove or disprove the Navy's contention that foreign material on the rotating band of the projectile was evidence of an improvised explosive device; (2) although the Navy concluded that impact and compression of the bag charges were not contributing factors in the explosion, it could have been a factor, since a significant overram occurred; (3) due to the lack of evidence and other physical factors, it may be difficult to ever fully resolve the many unknowns and develop a clear and unambiguous explanation of the events that occurred; and (4) there was no explicit evidence that the hypothetical chemical ignition device was present in the center gun room.

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 reviewed the employment projection process that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses to project future employment levels and analyze the effects of major determining factors on the BLS projections of 1995 employment levels. GAO found that BLS uses a system of five interlinked economic models to project: (1) the size of the labor force; (2) the level of aggregate economic activity; (3) the demand for goods and services by industry; and (4) the demand for labor by industry and by occupation. The BLS process is based on basic economic principles that show changes in the level and distribution of aggregate demand and new technologies as the primary determinants of changing levels in individual industries and occupations. GAO identified five major determinants of the projections: (1) the projected level of gross national product (GNP); (2) demand distribution; (3) productivity; (4) input-output relationships among industries; and (5) staffing patterns. GAO used two sets of computer simulations to illustrate the relative effects of these determinants. These simulations showed that the projected level of GNP has had a relatively greater effect on projected employment levels than any other determinant and that the relative importance of the other determinants varied substantially from one industry to another and from one occupation to another. GAO found that it was these factors that actually affected how the projected growth in employment varies among industries and occupations.

Pervasive and sustained computer-based attacks pose a potentially devastating impact to systems and operations and the critical infrastructures they support. Addressing these threats depends on effective partnerships between the government and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure. Federal policy, including the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan, calls for a partnership model that includes public and private councils to coordinate policy and information sharing and analysis centers to gather and disseminate information on threats to physical and cyber-related infrastructure. GAO was asked to determine (1) private sector stakeholders' expectations for cyber-related, public-private partnerships and to what extent these expectations are being met and (2) public sector stakeholders' expectations for cyber-related, public-private partnerships and to what extent these expectations are being met. To do this, GAO conducted surveys and interviews of public and private sector officials and analyzed relevant policies and other documents.

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.