Recent GAO reports

From the Government Accountability Office (GAO):

DEFINED BENEFIT PENSIONS: Survey Results of the Nation's Largest Private Defined Benefit Plan Sponsors, GAO-09-291 (pdf, 65pp/3.8MB), March 30, 2009

GAO surveyed 94 of the nation's largest defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors for (1) changes to pension and benefit offerings, including to defined contribution (DC) plans and health offerings, over the last 10 years, and (2) possible future changes to pensions and how they might be influenced by changes in pension law and other factors. There were 44 responses. GAO noted a significant shift from DB plans to DC plans. DB plans have declined from about 92,000 in 1990 to under 29,000 today, and 28 percent of plans reported in the survey were under a plan freeze.


CLIMATE CHANGE: Observations on Federal Efforts to Adapt to a Changing Climate, GAO-09-534T (pdf, 14pp/184kB), March 25, 2009

GAO has been working with the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming on adaption. This testimony summarizes (1) actions that federal, state, local, and international authorities are taking to adapt to a changing climate, (2) the challenges that federal, state, and local officials face in their efforts to adapt, and (3) relevant actions that Congress and federal agencies can take.


URBAN PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS: Congestion Relief Initiative Holds Promise; Some Improvements Needed in Selection Process, GAO-09-154 (pdf, 99pp/928kB), March 25, 2009

In 2007 the Dept. of Transportation (DOT) awarded $848 million to five cities (Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle) under the Urban Partnership Agreements (UPA, Urban Partnerships) to relieve congestion. The UPA initiative encouraged the use of the 4 Ts: tolling (congestion pricing), transit, technology, and telecommuting. This report addresses (1) how well DOT communicated UPA selection criteria, (2) whether it had discretion to allocate grant funds to UPA recipients and consider congestion pricing as a priority selection factor, and (3) how it is ensuring that UPA award conditions are met and results are assessed.


U.S. POSTAL SERVICE: Escalating Financial Problems Require Major Cost Reductions to Limit Losses, GAO-09-475T (pdf, 20pp/264kB), March 25, 2009

The financial problems of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have been widely covered in the media. In this testimony, GAO reports on USPS's deteriorating finances, with such stats as accelerating declines in mail volume (11 billion pieces) and losses ($2 billion) in the first five months of FY 2009. GAO focuses on (1) USPS's financial condition and outlook and (2) its options and actions to remain financially viable in the short and long term.

Congestion pricing

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a study on congestion pricing, which aims to reduce traffic congestion by charging drivers more for using a highway at times or places with heavy traffic and less in opposite circumstances. Congestion pricing is different from tolls and other highway user fees because the charges vary with the amount of traffic. The report presents several policy options for Congress, but "(b)ecause the federal government owns or operates very few highways itself, federal policy must rely on encouraging state and local government to expand the use of congestion pricing."

A table in the study lists congestion-pricing projects in the U.S., both operating and under study. The Appendix details case studies of four different types of congestion pricing: cordon pricing, priced facilities, priced lanes, and high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes:

• Central London congestion-charging zone (cordon pricing)
• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's bridges and tunnels (priced facilities)
• State Route 91, Orange County, CA (priced lanes) and
• I-394 in Minneapolis, MN (HOT lanes)

Using Pricing to Reduce Traffic Congestion (pdf, 39pp/2 MB), March 2009

Recent GAO reports

From the Government Accountability Office (GAO):

Retirement

DEFINED BENEFIT PENSIONS: Plan Freezes Affect Millions of Participants and May Pose Retirement Income Challenges, GAO-08-817 (pdf, 62pp/1.2MB), July 21, 2008

In private defined benefit (DB) plans, freezes limit some or all future pension accruals. GAO reports on the implications of freezes for sponsors, participants, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Among its conclusions:

While plan freezes are not as irrevocable as plan terminations, they are indicative of the system’s continued erosion. Yet freezes are just one of the many developments now affecting the DB system. The broad ranging Pension Protection Act of 2006, changes in accounting rules, rising retiree health care costs and health care costs generally, a weak economy, and falling interest rates all represent challenges that DB plan sponsors may need to confront.

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION PLANS: Current Structure and Funded Status, GAO-08-983T (pdf, 28pp/492kB), July 10, 2008

GAO found, in part:

Most state and local government pension plans have enough invested resources set aside to fund the benefits they are scheduled to pay over the next several decades....pension benefits are generally not at risk in the near term because current assets and new contributions may be sufficient to pay benefits for several years. Still, many governments have often contributed less than the amount needed to improve or maintain funded ratios. Low contributions raise concerns about the future funded status.

Transportation

Surface Transportation Programs: Proposals Highlight Key Issues and Challenges in Restructuring the Programs, GAO-08-843R (pdf, 28pp/944kB), July 29, 2008

To examine the needs of the surface transportation system, Congress established the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (Policy Commission) and the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission (Finance Commission). The Policy Commission issued its final report in Jan. 2008. The Financing Commission issued an interim report (pdf, 40pp/1.45MB) in Feb. 2008 and is expected to issue its final report in Nov. GAO used the Policy Commission's final report as a point of reference in this study.

GAO reviewed seven restructuring proposals from stakeholders and identified five common themes:

• defining a federal role in freight and goods movement
• linking transportation policy and funding to environment and energy sectors
• promoting better management of existing assets, e.g., existing infrastructure
• incorporating performance and accountability to ensure commensurate public benefits
• using multiple funding sources for long-term sustainability of programs

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Improvements Are Needed to More Fully Assess Predicted Impacts of New Starts Projects, GAO-08-844 (pdf, 67pp/936kB), July 25, 2008

Through New Starts, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recommends new fixed guideway transit projects. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) requires GAO to annually review the New Starts process. Here GAO discusses (1) the extent to which justification criteria capture total project benefits, (2) FTA's challenges in improving the New Starts program, and (3) options for evaluating New Starts projects.


TRAFFIC SAFETY PROGRAMS: Progress, States' Challenges, and Issues for Reauthorization, GAO-08-990T (pdf, 35pp/444kB), July 16, 2008

SAFETEA-LU authorized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to award traffic safety grants to states and implement a high visibility enforcement (HVE) program. SAFETEA-LU expires in 2009, and this report addresses NHTSA's oversight of its programs, the programs' effectiveness, and Congress's reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU.


TRAFFIC SAFETY: NHTSA's Improved Oversight Could Identify Opportunities to Strengthen Management and Safety in Some States, GAO-08-788 (pdf, 53pp/668kB), July 14, 2008

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for overseeing state highway traffic safety programs. This study discusses NHTSA's State and Community Highway Safety Grant program (23 USC § 402, commonly referred to as the Section 402 program), which requires each state to have a highway safety program. GAO made site visits to 8 states--AZ, ID, ME, MN, NV, TX, WV, and WI--to assess NHTSA's oversight and states' use of Section 402 grants.

Superferry oversight

Act 2, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, 2nd Special Session, permits the Superferry to operate pending an environmental impact statement. Part IV of the act established a temporary inter-island ferry oversight task force and requires monthly reports, commencing Dec. 31, 2007 . The task force's agendas, minutes, and reports can be viewed on its website.

Recent GAO reports

From the Government Accountability Office (GAO):

HIGHWAY PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: More Rigorous Up-front Analysis Could Better Secure Potential Benefits and Protect the Public Interest, GAO-08-44 (pdf, 96pp/1.24 MB), Feb. 8, 2008

Highway public-private partnerships show promise as a viable alternative, where appropriate, to help meet growing and costly transportation demands. The public sector can acquire new infrastructure or extract value from existing infrastructure while potentially sharing with the private sector the risks associated with designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining public infrastructure. However, highway public-private partnerships are not a panacea for meeting all transportation system demands, nor are they without potentially substantial costs and risks to the public--both financial and nonfinancial--and trade-offs must be made.....There is no "free" money in highway public-private partnerships.

HEAD START: A More Comprehensive Risk Management Strategy and Data Improvements Could Further Strengthen Program Oversight, GAO-08-221 (pdf, 41pp/632kB), Feb. 12, 2008

This report focuses on the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) oversight of the Head Start program in which 1,600 local organizations receive $7 billion in grants from ACF. GAO recommends that ACF establish better criteria to spot underperforming grantees, to improve the reliability of its data, and to reduce improper payments.


HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: HHS Is Pursuing Efforts to Advance Nationwide Implementation, but Has Not Yet Completed a National Strategy, GAO-08-499T (pdf, 17pp/228kB), Feb. 14, 2008

In 2004 Pres. Bush established the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) with HHS. The key areas of national health IT activities are electronic health records, standardization, networking and information exchange, and health information privacy and security.


STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE: Options to Improve the Cost-Effectiveness of Filling the Reserve, GAO-08-521T (pdf, 15pp/216kB), Feb. 26, 2008

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was established in 1975. The SPR currently has almost 700 million barrels of crude oil, about 56 days of oil imports, in Texas and Louisiana. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, P.L. 109-58 (pdf, 551pp.), authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the SPR to 1 billion barrels by 2018. GAO recommends that DOE consider flexible, cost-effective ways when making fill decisions.

Funding transportation infrastructure

On October 25, Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution presented Congressional testimony on the funding of surface transportation infrastructure, "Not So Fast: Key Policy Considerations for Surface Transportation Investment Needs" (pdf, 11pp/64kB). His basic premise was that "we are a metropolitan nation," and "Unfortunately, our nation's transportation policy does not recognize the primacy of metropolitan areas..." Puentes saw three critical problems:

• Spending is not targeted to achieve certain outcomes
• There is little attention to reducing demand for spending
• The system is not priced correctly

In his testimony, Puentes referred to a publication of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT), 2006 Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions and Performance (html) (pdf, 436pp/7.5MB). From the report's Introduction:

This document is intended to provide decision makers with an objective appraisal of the physical conditions, operational performance, and financing mechanisms of highways, bridges, and transit systems based both on the current state of these systems and on the projected future state of these systems under a set of alternative future investment scenarios.

Relevant to this subject area are two commissions connected to DOT: the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.

Recent GAO reports

INTERNET ACCESS TAX MORATORIUM: Revenue Impacts Will Vary by State GAO-07-896T (pdf, 28pp/624kB), May 23, 2007

In 1998, Congress passed the Internet Tax Freedom Act (P.L. 105-277, Title XI, 112 Stat. 2681-719 et seq.), temporarily barring taxes by state and local governments on Internet access. GAO testified, "Because it is difficult to know what states would have done to tax Internet access services if no moratorium had existed, the total revenue implications of the moratorium are unclear." Bills have been introduced in Congress this year to make the moratorium permanent.

PEDIATRIC DRUG RESEARCH: The Study and Labeling of Drugs for Pediatric Use under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act GAO-07-898T (pdf, 18pp/296kB), May 22, 2007

According to GAO, two-thirds of drugs prescribed for children have not been studied for pediatric use. Under the 2002 Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA), if manufacturers of drugs that are still on-patent (have marketing exclusivity) conduct pediatric studies at the requst of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA may extend the exclusivity period (no equivalent generic drugs to be marketed) for 6 months. GAO presents testimony on the drug studies conducted under BPCA for on-patent and off-patent drugs, and the impact of BPCA on the labeling of pediatric drugs.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Preliminary Analysis of Changes to and Trends in FTA's New Starts and Small Starts Programs GAO-07-812T (pdf, 30pp/496kB), May 10, 2007

In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law. It authorized the New Starts program in which the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recommends funding for new fixed-guideway transit projects. New Starts spawned a separate program called Small Starts for smaller transit projects. GAO discusses changes in New Starts and future trends for New Starts and Small Starts.

TEACHER QUALITY: Approaches, Implementation, and Evaluation of Key Federal Efforts GAO-07-861T (pdf, 17pp/224kB), May 17, 2007

Title II of both the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) provided funds for professional development and recruitment. This testimony discusses activities under the two acts, how the Dept. of Education (Education) supports these activities, and how funds are being used.