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PURPOSE: To review the process by which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determines which Metropolitan Statistical Areas receive Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant funding. To evaluate UASI funding history for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida area, and the decision not to fund that area for the last two fiscal years. BACKGROUND: The UASI grant program provides financial assistance ...

PURPOSE: To understand the difficulties faced in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and similar grant programs. BACKGROUND: The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) labeled oversight of grants as a “top management challenge” in fiscal year 2015, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s 2012 duplication report found duplication and overlap in DOJ grant programs. ...

PURPOSE: To examine the status and management of the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program across the United States. BACKGROUND: In 2009, President Obama announced a plan to substantially upgrade speeds on existing rail routes and to create new high-speed rail corridors. Congress has appropriated more than $10 billion dollars for high speed rail initiatives to carry out the HSIPR ...

TAKEAWAYS: According to ICE 953,506 aliens with final orders of removal remain in the United States. The Supreme Court’s decision in Zadvydas v. Davis, which limits the length of detention for aliens who cannot be removed in the near future, allows even violent criminal aliens to be put back on U.S. streets if their home country refuses to ...

PURPOSE: To assess the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) plans to protect consumers and safeguard billions in taxpayer dollars. To examine the viability of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program, and other concerns related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). BACKGROUND: Under the PPACA, CMS awarded $2.4 billion in loans to help create ...

PURPOSE: To examine the strategies and policies of the administration’s response to cybersecurity incidents. To review the growing market for threat intelligence, the pros/cons of making attribution after cybersecurity incidents, and the benefits of clarifying international norms of cyber operations. BACKGROUND: Data breaches at the Office of Personnel Management and at private sector companies have ...

TAKEAWAYS: A lack of transparency exists in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) application process for deposit insurance. o   This discretionary process is plagued with unwritten rules and sliding standards, making it next to impossible for an application to be approved. o   The FDIC has only approved three new (de novo) bank applications since 2011. As a result, the U.S. has the lowest number of banks since ...