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Is Your Cell Phone's Radiation Level Safe? Don't Call the FCC
By Andrew Schneider - AOL NewsMore than 200 million people in the U.S. talk on cell phones a total of at least 12 hours a month -- some double or triple that amount. Almost everyone admits that cell phones emit radiation when they link to the closest tower. What almost no one can agree on is whether that radiation is harmful to those holding their phones to their ears. Amid this confusion comes a report from health and safety activists that the government's cell phone watchdog -- the Federal Communications Commission -- is putting industry desires before public well-being. Investigators for the Environmental Working ...
Opinion: Government Waste by the Numbers
By John Merline - AOL NewsIn an organization as big and sprawling as the federal government, it's sometimes hard to grasp the magnitude of the waste that goes on. But the Government Accountability Office has released a report that gets at this problem in a unique way. It looks at government programs with an eye to rooting out duplication and overlap. What it finds should be shocking to anyone concerned with how their tax dollars are spent. Here's a sampling, by the numbers: 2,300 That's the number of different investments spread out across the Defense Department, all sharing the goal of business system ...
GAO: Eliminating Overlap in Federal Programs Would Save Billions of Dollars
By Tom Diemer - Politics DailyTwenty federal offices devoted to the problem of homelessness? Forty-four for job training programs? Fifty-six programs dealing with financial literacy? And more than 100 addressing surface transportation issues? Yes, all true. The Government Accountability Office said this week the federal government, in its quest to reduce the deficit, could save tens of billions of dollars by simply merging hundreds of overlapping and duplicative agencies and programs. Some of them could just be eliminated, the GAO said in its new report, "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government ...
DHS, Interior Among 5 of the Worst-Run Federal Programs
By Laura Parker - AOL NewsWASHINGTON -- The Government Accountability Office released its biennial list of the poorest performing government agencies today -- and this year, the Interior Department's management of the nation's oil and gas resources made the list for the first time. This should come as no surprise, given the breathtaking scope of the lapses by the Minerals Management Service that came to light during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The transgressions, catalogued by Interior's inspector general, included gifts, trips and football tickets given to inspectors, who sometimes let oil and gas companies fill in ...
Ban on Gays in Military Cost $193 Million in Five Years
By Christopher Weber - Politics DailyThe Pentagon's ban on gays serving openly in the military dismissed 3,664 service members between 2004 and 2009 at a cost to taxpayers of $193.3 million, according to a new government audit. That's roughly $53,000 per expelled service member during the five year span, according to the Government Accountability Office report released Thursday. The GAO found the bulk of those funds -- $185.6 million -- was spent to recruit and train replacements for those gays and lesbians forced out under the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The rest of the money was administrative ...
Expert: Scanner Training More Intense Outside of US
By Andrew Schneider - AOL NewsThe full-body scanners have either been deployed, or are being seriously considered for use, in Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Nigeria, India, South Africa and most of the European Union. In those countries, the personnel are extensively trained and understand radiation, how the X-ray devices work and what can happen if the calibrations are wrong, according to an international radiation safety expert. Related Stories AOL Investigation: No Proof TSA Scanners Are Safe A Few Facts About TSA's Full-Body Scanners By comparison, ...
Probe: US Arms Sales to Persian Gulf Lack Oversight
By Joseph Schuman - AOL News(Sept. 29) -- The U.S. State and Defense departments have authorized billions of dollars in arms sales to countries in the Persian Gulf without documenting how transferring Patriot missile defense systems, F-16 fighter jets and the like advances the national interest, a government investigation found. The Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, said a State Department licensing program for commercial arms sales and a Defense agency handling government-to-government sales failed to comply with controls aimed at verifying how such weapons deals further ...
Opinion: A Higher Standard for Career Colleges
By not in system - AOL News(Aug. 4) -- Some people can't take yes for an answer. Private-sector colleges and universities are expanding access to higher education, providing a pathway to skills and training for over 2.7 million students every year. Many of these are older working adults returning to school to rejuvenate careers and improve job prospects. Demand for this kind of purposeful, practical education is at an all-time high. So enrollment in one of our colleges or universities practically should promote itself. Instead, as a Government Accountability Office report released this week based on GAO personnel ...
GAO Sting: For-Profit Colleges Use Deceptive Marketing
By Andrea Stone - AOL NewsWASHINGTON (Aug. 3) -- An undercover government probe of for-profit colleges that reap billions in taxpayer money found fraudulent, deceptive or otherwise shady marketing practices in an industry that is coming under increasing congressional scrutiny. In a report to be released at a Senate hearing Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office's investigation of 15 for-profit colleges found: Four colleges encouraged fraudulent practices, and all 15 made deceptive or otherwise questionable statements to the GAO's undercover applicants. Incognito applicants were encouraged by college ...
Direct-to-Consumer DNA Tests Fail to Pass Federal Muster
By Katie Drummond - AOL News(July 23) -- Personalized DNA tests, which claim to detect various inherited ailments and conditions, are inaccurate, misleading and might even be harmful to the consumers who buy them. You can thank an undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office for that condemning conclusion, which will likely spur the Food and Drug Administration to institute tougher regulations of the products. What are direct-to-consumer genetic tests? They've been available online for years and rely on a mailed-in saliva sample to deliver results. Companies like 23andMe and Pathway offer tests ...
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