GAO

August 12, 2008 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Most corporations doing business in the United States pay no federal income tax to the federal government according to a new GAO (Government Accountability Office) study [PDF] requested by U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D) and Carl Levin (D-MI).

The report says that two thirds of both American companies and foreign companies doing business in the United States end up avoiding all income tax obligations to the federal government despite corporate sales totaling $2.5 trillion.    » read more »

Contractors Allegedly Violated Small-Business Laws

August 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Following release of a Congressional Budget Office report today showing the massive expenditures and an over-reliance on private contractors in Iraq under the Bush Administration and the revelation of a report by the Small Business Administration Inspector General showing Blackwater was awarded millions of dollars in federal contracts designated for small businesses, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on Congress to act on her legislation to reform the contracting system and put in place needed accountability measures and urged the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to launch an investigation into the impact of Blackwater’s violation.    » read more »

August 5, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and senior Committee Member John Warner, R-Va., today announced the release of a report [PDF] by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) detailing annual Iraqi oil revenues and Iraqi government contributions to security and reconstruction efforts in the country. This report was requested by the Senators in a March 6th letter to the Comptroller General.    » read more »

July 17, 2008 -- At the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, the United States and more than 180 world leaders pledged to halve the total number of undernourished people worldwide from the 1990 level---a commitment that they reaffirmed in 2000 when they established the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which included a target to halve the proportion or the percentage of the world's population that is undernourished by 2015.    » read more »

Air Traffic Control: GAO Report

July 18, 2008 -- In fiscal year 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to spend over $2 billion on information technology (IT) investments--many of which support FAA's air traffic control modernization. To more effectively manage such investments, in 2005 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) required agencies to use earned value management (EVM). EVM is a project management approach that, if implemented appropriately, provides objective reports of project status, produces early warning signs of impending schedule delays and cost overruns, and provides unbiased estimates of a program's total costs.    » read more »

Hurricane Katrina: GAO Study Results

July 17, 2008 -- New Orleans faces many challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina including the challenge of reestablishing the health care system and hospitals within the system. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005, and the subsequent flooding caused by the failure of the New Orleans levee systems, resulted in the sudden closure, damage, or disruption in services at many of the New Orleans hospitals.    » read more »

06/09/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sens. John Kerry, Bob Menendez, Byron Dorgan, and Frank Lautenberg today introduced legislation that will prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) from using appropriated funds for propaganda and will require the DoD Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to deliver reports to Congress within 90 days.    » read more »

May 27, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the following statement today in reaction to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that reveals gaps in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program designed to strengthen port security:

Container ship: Photo by Patrick Boury (CC)    » read more »

May 14, 2008 -- Kansas Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson is voicing his concern with the Air Force’s decision to outsource American military tankers to French-based Airbus.

“There are simply too many questions related to economic impact, national security, construction costs, mission capabilities and above all, the integrity of the Air Force’s selection process, to allow this decision to go unchallenged,” Parkinson said. “The Air Force’s decision to send a $35 billion contract - the second largest in U.S. history - and 19,000 jobs to Europe is not only bad for American workers, but a threat to our long-term national security.”    » read more »

Members of Senate Labor Panel Question Labor Secretary Chao Today

May 7, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), and Patty Murray (D-WA) today revealed the findings of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report they commissioned which showed that after seven years of providing nearly $300 million in earmarks, the Department of Labor (DoL) did not properly monitor funded activities, to assess whether the grant objectives were being met or properly evaluate them to determine whether the funded activities were effective.    » read more »

8 May 2008 -- Experts appearing before a congressional panel have voiced concerns about U.S. policies toward Pakistan and Afghanistan. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill on testimony before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee by former State Department and military officials.

Taliban flags on Pakistan side of the border with Afghanistan: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)    » read more »

Initial observations preview full report due out soon

May 6, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) today helped unveil new findings from the independent Government Accountability Office showing the failure of $5.56 billion in U.S. taxpayer money since 9/11 intended to help defeat al Qaeda (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08735r.pdf).    » read more »

April 10, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate all accidental electrocution-related deaths or injuries of military and contract personnel in Iraq as well as any other military installation where such an incident has occurred.

Senator Casey made the request in response to the death of Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth, from Shaler, Pennsylvania, who was electrocuted while taking a shower in his living quarters in Baghdad.

“This is a troubling and serious problem that must be investigated and resolved to eliminate this avoidable danger,” Casey said.    » read more »

Underscores Need for Comprehensive Investigation; Senators Call for Expedited Completion of Current GAO Investigation

April 2, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Jim Webb (D-VA) today faulted U.S. Army leadership for its failure to comply with federal standards relating to contracts awarded for body armor. According to a report released today, the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General “has no assurance” that 13 of the 28 Army body armor contracts—valued at $5.2 billion—“met the required standards.”

Soldiers examine a hole in Iraqi body armor: Photo by John Rohan (CC)    » read more »

March 28, 2008 -- College students face challenges obtaining health insurance--they may not have access to insurance through an employer, and as they get older, they may lose dependent coverage obtained through a parent's plan. Federal law ensures continued access to health insurance for some, but not all, such students. Without health insurance, college students may be unable to pay for their health care, and the cost of this care may be passed on to federal and state payers, such as Medicaid. College students may have access to student insurance plans offered by their colleges.    » read more »