OPM provides background investigations for suitability determinations and personnel security clearances to agencies governmentwide. OPM's Federal Investigative Services provides goods and services pursuant to various legal authorities that allow agencies to place orders with another agency. OPM provides background investigation services to over 100 executive branch agencies; however, others, including some agencies in the Intelligence Community, have been delegated authority from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, OPM, or both, to conduct their own background...

GAO assists congressional decision makers in their deliberations by furnishing them with analytical information on issues and options. Many diverse methodologies are needed to develop sound and timely answers to the questions the Congress asks. To provide GAO evaluators with basic information about the more commonly used methodologies, GAO's policy guidance includes documents such as methodology transfer papers and technical guides.

According to the Defense Health Board's Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care,13 rising health care costs result from a multitude of factors that are affecting not only DOD but also health care in general. These factors include greater utilization of health care services, increasingly expensive technology and pharmaceuticals, growing numbers of users, and the aging of the retiree population. Additionally, in 2009, the Defense Business Board reported14 that defense health care costs are taking up more of the defense budget, and its health care programs may eventually compete with...

Foreign banks have been cited as important providers of capital to the U.S. economy. According to Federal Reserve data, as of September 30, 2011, 216 foreign banks from 58 countries had banking operations in the United States. They held about $3.4 trillion, or about 22 percent of total U.S. banking assets; about 25.7 percent of total U.S. commercial and industrial loans; about 17.5 percent of total U.S. deposits; and about 14.9 percent of total U.S. loans.

Capital reassures an institution's depositors, creditors, and counterparties that unanticipated losses or decreased earnings will not impair a financial institution's ability to repay its creditors or protect the savings of depositors. In general, capital represents the share of an institution's assets with no obligation for repayment, although this condition varies for less traditional forms of capital such as some hybrid instruments. Because capital generally does not have to be repaid, it can serve as a buffer against declines in asset values without subjecting an institution to default or...

A credit rating is an assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor as an entity or in relation to specific securities or money market instruments.9 SEC first used the term "Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization" in 1975 to describe those rating agencies whose ratings could be relied upon to determine capital charges for different types of debt securities (securities) broker-dealers held.10 Since then, SEC has used the NRSRO designation in a number of regulations, and the term has been embedded in numerous federal and state laws and regulations, investment guidelines, and...

The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to conserve threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, and the ecosystems on which they depend. The act provides for listing species that need protection; designating habitat deemed critical to a listed species' conservation; protecting listed species against certain harms caused by federal and nonfederal actions; conducting 5-year reviews on species' status; and developing recovery plans that contain objective, measurable criteria that, when met, would result in a determination that the species can be removed from the list.

The U.S. government's control over the export of defense and dual-use items is intended to ensure that U.S. interests are protected in accordance with the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the Export Administration Act (EAA). Defense items can include tanks, fighter aircraft, submarines, firearms, satellites, missiles, and training; while dual- use items can include computers, radars, and telecommunication equipment. Jurisdiction over the export of defense and dual-use items is primarily divided between State and Commerce. Generally, unless an exemption applies, exporters submit a license...

DOE is responsible for a diverse set of missions, including nuclear security, energy research, and environmental cleanup. These missions are managed by various organizations within DOE and largely carried out by M&O contractors at DOE sites. NNSA and Science are among the largest (by budget) of these DOE organizations, overseeing important missions at 17 sites.

The FAR requires that contracting officers provide for full and open competition in soliciting proposals and awarding government contracts. However, the FAR also recognizes that full and open competition is not always feasible, and authorizes contracting without full and open competition under certain conditions.