GAO

Government Response Presents a "Disturbing Picture," Senators Say

August 3, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., and Senator Hillary Clinton, D-NY, Friday announced that the Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate how a man believed to be infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) was able to slip past government officials and reenter the United States even when health officials knew of his medical condition.    » read more »

August 6, 2007 -- (SEATTLE, WA) -- The release of a Government Accountability Office report showing that the Department of Defense cannot account for more than 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to the Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 is another in a long list of signs pointing toward the need for accountability and a new direction in Iraq. With the security situation deteriorating and billions of dollars being poured into the war, the time for change is now.

Senator Patty Murray, a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said:    » read more »

System Established to Trace Animal Origins in the Case of Disease Outbreak Could Fail if Problems Are Not Addressed

August 2, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report requested by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and released today found weaknesses in USDA’s plan to implement a national animal identification system.    » read more »

July 27, 2007 -- For many years, GAO has reported that weaknesses in information security are a widespread problem with potentially devastating consequences--such as intrusions by malicious users, compromised networks, and the theft of personally identifiable information--and has identified information security as a governmentwide high-risk issue.    » read more »

Improvements Needed to the Small Starts Application Process

June 28, 2007 -- On Thursday, June 28, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at K-Town: How Mismanagement Has Derailed DOD’s Largest Single Facility Construction Project.”

The hearing will review the preliminary findings of a Government Accountability Office investigation into the construction of the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, a hotel and retail facility being built on the grounds of the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.    » read more »

UCS Calls For Stronger Protections for Federal Scientists

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2007) -- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a report supporting recent criticisms that federal agency media policies hinder government scientists from publicizing their research results relating to critical public health and environmental issues. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said the report's findings suggest agency policies for communicating scientific results need significant clarification and improvement.    » read more »