Government Accountability Office

This book focuses on obtaining more detailed information about bilingual voting assistance from selected jurisdictions across the country. The book's objectives were to determine: the ways that selected jurisdictions covered under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act have provided bilingual voting assistance as of the November 2006 general election and any subsequent elections through June 2007, and the challenges they reportedly faced in providing such assistance; the perceived usefulness of this bilingual voting assistance, and the extent to which the selected jurisdictions evaluated the usefulness of such assistance to language minority voters. This is an excerpted and indexed edition.

Commuter rail agencies provide mobility to millions of people across the country, often using Amtrak infrastructure and services. Given these interactions, an abrupt Amtrak cessation could have a significant impact on commuter rail operations. Amtrak's chronic financial problems and recent budget proposals make such cessation possibility. This book was asked to examine:(1) The extent to which commuter rail agencies rely on Amtrak for access to infrastructure and services,(2) Issues that commuter rail agencies would face if Amtrak abruptly ceased to provide them with services and infrastructure access, and(3) The options available to commuter rail agencies should Amtrak abruptly cease to provide those services and infrastructure access.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (referred to hereafter as the Reform Act) included provisions to better inform individuals who file for personal bankruptcy about their options for reaffirming debt--whereby filers may voluntarily agree to pay certain creditors in an effort to retain assets, such as an automobile. Reaffirmation agreements between debtors and creditors are required, by law, to formally disclose to debtors the terms of the agreement, such as the amount of debt reaffirmed. Some requirements differ for credit unions, such as an exemption for reporting debtor financial information when the debtor's attorney signs the agreement. This book discusses (1) the extent to which required Reform Act disclosures and other information have been incorporated into reaffirmation agreements, (2) the types of debts reaffirmed and the percent this debt comprised of debtors' overall debt burden, and (3) how reaffirmed and original interest rates compare.

This book examines (1) concentration in the market for public company audits, (2) the potential for smaller accounting firms' growth to ease market concentration, and (3) proposals that have been offered by others for easing concentration and the barriers facing smaller firms in expanding their market shares.

This book reviews what FTAs have been pursued under TPA and why Overall, what is the economic significance of these agreements to the United States? What is the nature of the consultation process for Congress and how well has it worked in practice? What is the nature of the consultation process for private sector trade advisory committees and other stakeholders, and how well has it worked in practise?

This book identifies over 5,500 HPSAs designated throughout the United States as of September 2005; multiple federal programs relied on these designations to allocate resources or provide benefits. We estimated that slightly more than half of the HPSAs were designated for geographic areas or population groups, and these geographic and population-group HPSAs were located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Facility HPSAs, which accounted for slightly less than half of the total number of HPSAs, were also located in every state and the District of Columbia. In fiscal year 2005, more than 30 federal programs-including programs administered by HRSA, CMS, and federal agencies outside of HHS-relied on HPSA designations and, in some cases, HPSA scores, to allocate resources or provide benefits. These included NHSC programs that award scholarships or educational loan repayment to students and health professionals in exchange for a commitment to practice in HPSAs for at least 2 years. Other programs relying on HPSA designations to allocate resources or provide benefits included programs that pay physicians bonus payments for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in geographic HPSAs and programs that waive certain requirements for foreign physicians if they agree to practice in HPSAs or other underserved areas of the United States. The use of the HPSA designation by numerous federal programs to allocate resources or provide benefits is an incentive for obtaining and retaining a HPSA designation.

While billions have been provided to rebuild Iraq's oil and electricity sectors, Iraq's future needs are significant and sources of funding uncertain. For fiscal years 2003 through 2006, the United States made available about $7.4 billion and spent about $5.1 billion to rebuild the oil and electricity sectors. The United States spent an additional $3.8 billion in Iraqi funds on the two sectors, primarily on oil and electricity sector contracts administered by U. S. agencies. However, according to various estimates and officials, Iraq will need billions of additional dollars to rebuild, maintain, and secure Iraq's oil and electricity sectors. The Ministry of Electricity estimates that about $27 billion will be needed to meet the sector's future rebuilding requirements; a comparable estimate has not been developed by the Ministry of Oil. Since the majority (about 70 percent) of U. S. funds has been spent, the Iraqi government and the international donor community represent important sources of potential funding. However, prospects of such funding are uncertain. First, the Oil and Electricity Ministries have encountered difficulties spending capital improvement budgets because of weaknesses in budgeting, procurement, and financial management. As of November 2006, the Ministry of Oil had spent less than 3 percent of its $3.5 billion 2006 capital budget to improve Iraq's oil facilities. Second, Iraq has not made full use of potential international contributions and it is unclear what additional financial commitments, if any, will be provided to Iraq's oil and electricity sectors as part of a new international compact (agreement), according to U. S. officials. As of March 2007, donors had committed $580 million in grants for the electricity sector and had offered loans for oil and electricity projects; however, Iraq has not accessed these loans in part due to concerns about its high debt burden.