Social Security
Costs Associated with the Administration's Efforts to Promote Program Reforms Gao ID: GAO-07-621R August 10, 2007Congress requested that GAO identify the official Social Security reform public speaking events and other promotion initiatives involving administration officials, and their costs to the federal government, since January 2005. As you know, the Social Security Board of Trustees is projecting in its 2007 report that as early as 2017 Social Security benefit payments will exceed tax revenues. After that time, the gap between costs and tax revenues grows continuously, and unless action is taken to close this gap, it is currently estimated that the Social Security trust funds will be depleted by 2041. In his 2005 State of the Union Address, the President emphasized the need to reform Social Security, and he announced his intention to work with the Congress to achieve reforms. On March 2, 2005, the Secretary of the Treasury announced the "60 Stops in 60 Days" tour in which the President and other administration officials would speak to the public about the need for reform in a series of town hall meetings across the country in an attempt to gain popular support for program reforms. Congress asked us to include events such as those associated with the "60 Stops in 60 Days" tour and initiatives such as the Social Security Information Center (SSIC) established at the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to provide a focal point for the administration's Social Security reform activities. To answer Congress's question about the list of public speaking events and other promotion initiatives, we relied upon information supplied by the Social Security Administration (SSA), Treasury, and the Executive Office of the President (EOP), including information posted to Treasury's and the White House's Web sites. To answer Congress's question about the cost of the public speaking events and other promotion initiatives, we focused our work on the activities of SSA, Treasury, and EOP, which accounted for approximately 75 percent of the public speaking events.
GAO identified 228 public speaking events to promote the Social Security reform initiative, of which there were 40 presidential events, 7 vice presidential events, and 122 events with officials from EOP, SSA, or Treasury. We primarily focused on these 169 events (almost 75 percent of the 228 public speaking events) and are reporting cost information we obtained for these events. We also identified many other promotion initiatives, including radio addresses and interviews and the establishment of a Treasury Web site. The direct and incremental costs for the 169 events and other initiatives were a reported $2,588,367 for staging, travel, and other direct costs. The largest portion was for reported reimbursements to EOP from Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Labor for staging costs totaling $1,651,460, while reported travel costs included $437,887 for the use of Air Force One and Air Force Two, $369,838 for EOP officials' travel, and $66,794 for travel by Treasury and SSA officials. EOP reported $62,388 in other direct costs to support its public speaking events. Treasury reported an additional $222,608 in other initiative costs to establish and operate its SSIC and Strengthening Social Security Web site, bringing the total reported costs to $2,810,975. In addition to reporting the scope limitation imposed by EOP which prevents us from providing reasonable assurance that the costs reported to us are complete and fully supported, we are reporting a deficiency we found in how Treasury handled its interagency agreements with EOP. Treasury did not have supporting documentation for amounts it reimbursed EOP under the interagency agreements to pay for staging costs associated with Social Security reform events. We are making a recommendation to Treasury that it strengthen its guidance on obtaining, reviewing, and retaining supporting documentation for reimbursements under interagency agreements.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-07-621R, Social Security: Costs Associated with the Administration's Efforts to Promote Program Reforms
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United States Government Accountability Office: Washington, DC 20548:
August 10, 2007:
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman:
Chairman:
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
House of Representatives:
Subject: Social Security: Costs Associated with the Administration's
Efforts to Promote Program Reforms:
Dear Mr. Chairman:
You requested that we identify the official Social Security reform
public speaking events and other promotion initiatives involving
administration officials, and their costs to the federal government,
since January 2005. As you know, the Social Security[Footnote 1] Board
of Trustees is projecting in its 2007 report that as early as 2017
Social Security benefit payments will exceed tax revenues. After that
time, the gap between costs and tax revenues grows continuously, and
unless action is taken to close this gap, it is currently estimated
that the Social Security trust funds will be depleted by 2041. In his
2005 State of the Union Address, the President emphasized the need to
reform Social Security, and he announced his intention to work with the
Congress to achieve reforms. On March 2, 2005, the Secretary of the
Treasury announced the "60 Stops in 60 Days" tour[Footnote 2] in which
the President and other administration officials would speak to the
public about the need for reform in a series of town hall meetings
across the country in an attempt to gain popular support for program
reforms. Your request asked us to include events such as those
associated with the "60 Stops in 60 Days" tour and initiatives such as
the Social Security Information Center (SSIC) established at the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to provide a focal point for the
administration's Social Security reform activities.
To answer your question about the list of public speaking events and
other promotion initiatives, we relied upon information supplied by the
Social Security Administration (SSA), Treasury, and the Executive
Office of the President (EOP), including information posted to
Treasury's and the White House's Web sites.[Footnote 3] To answer your
question about the cost of the public speaking events and other
promotion initiatives, we focused our work on the activities of SSA,
Treasury, and EOP, which accounted for approximately 75 percent of the
public speaking events. In addition to data obtained from SSA,
Treasury, and EOP, we received information pertaining to EOP activities
from the United States Air Force (Air Force), and the Departments of
Labor (Labor) and Health and Human Services (HHS). We specifically
asked the Air Force to provide cost data related to the President's and
Vice President's use of Air Force One and Air Force Two in traveling to
promote Social Security reform. We asked Labor and HHS to confirm the
costs reported by EOP as being reimbursed by Labor and HHS through
interagency agreements supporting the President's and Vice President's
public speaking events. As agreed with your office, we did not ask the
agencies that participated in a minimal number of public speaking
events to verify their events or to provide us with costs related to
those agencies' speaking events. Also, we did not determine Secret
Service and other security costs or the salaries of the government
officials, such as the President and Vice President, who participated
in the Social Security reform events within the context of performing
their larger duties, which we view as fixed costs.[Footnote 4] We
obtained and reviewed interagency agreement data from EOP, Treasury,
Labor, and HHS supporting presidential and vice presidential public
speaking events; travel data related to public speaking events from
SSA, Treasury, EOP, and the Air Force; and activity and cost data
related to other promotion initiatives from Treasury.
Except for the records access limitation discussed below, we performed
our work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards from June 2005 through June 2007 in Washington, D.C., and are
reporting the information obtained from Treasury, SSA, EOP, the Air
Force, Labor, and HHS. Although we cannot provide reasonable assurance
that the costs are complete and fully supported, we found that the data
provided by these agencies were sufficiently reliable to substantially
meet our objectives.
While EOP provided certain cost information, it withheld from us the
detailed source records showing how the funds transferred pursuant to
the interagency agreements with Treasury, HHS, and Labor were spent as
well as the travel documentation we requested. EOP provided some
summary and other cost data on April 25, 2007, which was after the
scheduled end of field work and about 3 weeks into the 30-day agency
comment period in which the agencies involved in this review had the
opportunity to comment on a draft of this report. The information EOP
provided was in response to our written request for the information
first made in August 2006. EOP stated that much of the requested
information contained personal information for EOP personnel (such as
Social Security Numbers, personal contact information, and credit card
numbers). EOP also stated that some of the information could pose
security concerns (such as travel patterns, identities of vendors used,
and names used for arranging White House-related travel and supplies).
We disagree with EOP's decision to withhold this information from GAO,
but decided to report this limitation on our work without initiating
the process to enforce our right of access to EOP financial and related
information under 31 U.S.C. § 716(a) because of the disproportionate
amount of time and resources needed to pursue this matter and the
limited amount of funds involved. Under the circumstances, we decided
that it was appropriate to report EOP's decision to withhold basic
financial and related information and have the Congress decide whether
to pursue this matter further as part of its own oversight and
investigative agenda. A full description of our scope and methodology,
including the limitation on our work, can be found in enclosure I.
Results in Brief:
We identified 228 public speaking events to promote the Social Security
reform initiative, of which there were 40 presidential events, 7 vice
presidential events, and 122 events with officials from EOP, SSA, or
Treasury. As agreed with your office, we primarily focused on these 169
events (almost 75 percent of the 228 public speaking events) and are
reporting cost information we obtained for these events. We also
identified many other promotion initiatives, including radio addresses
and interviews and the establishment of a Treasury Web site.
The direct and incremental costs for the 169 events and other
initiatives were a reported $2,588,367 for staging, travel, and other
direct costs. The largest portion was for reported reimbursements to
EOP from Treasury, HHS, and Labor for staging costs totaling
$1,651,460, while reported travel costs included $437,887 for the use
of Air Force One and Air Force Two, $369,838 for EOP officials' travel,
and $66,794 for travel by Treasury and SSA officials. EOP reported
$62,388 in other direct costs to support its public speaking events.
Treasury reported an additional $222,608 in other initiative costs to
establish and operate its SSIC and Strengthening Social Security Web
site, bringing the total reported costs to $2,810,975.
In addition to reporting the scope limitation imposed by EOP which
prevents us from providing reasonable assurance that the costs reported
to us are complete and fully supported, we are reporting a deficiency
we found in how Treasury handled its interagency agreements with EOP.
Treasury did not have supporting documentation for amounts it
reimbursed EOP under the interagency agreements to pay for staging
costs associated with Social Security reform events. We are making a
recommendation to Treasury that it strengthen its guidance on
obtaining, reviewing, and retaining supporting documentation for
reimbursements under interagency agreements.
We requested comments on a draft of this report from the Director,
Office of Administration, EOP; the Secretary of the Treasury; the
Commissioner of Social Security; and the Secretary of Defense. EOP did
not provide comments but did provide certain data we requested, which
was incorporated into the report as appropriate. Treasury provided oral
comments in which it agreed with our facts but would not say whether it
agreed or disagreed with our recommendation. Instead, Treasury said it
would review its procedures with respect to the processing of
interagency agreements. We received written comments from SSA in which
it requested that we modify our report to emphasize its role in
educating the public about solvency issues rather than promoting any
particular plan to achieve solvency. We did not incorporate any changes
based upon this comment as GAO does not believe such a distinction is
warranted. SSA also provided minor technical corrections, which were
incorporated into the report as appropriate. The Department of Defense
stated that it agreed with the facts contained in the report.
Background:
Social Security provides protection against the loss of earnings due to
retirement, death, or disability. According to the 2007 Social Security
Board of Trustees Report (Trustees Report), there were 49 million
beneficiaries at the end of 2006. Total benefits paid during 2006
amounted to $546 billion. The Trustees Report goes on to state that
under current law, the cost of Social Security will soon begin to
increase faster than the program's income, because of the aging baby
boom generation, expected low fertility, and increasing life
expectancy. The Board of Trustees projected a long-range (75 year)
funding shortfall in the Social Security Trust Funds of $4.7 trillion
in present value, absent program reforms. For the infinite future, the
Board projects a funding shortfall of $13.6 trillion in present value
dollars.
In 2005, the President began promoting Social Security reform,
including hundreds of public speaking events by administration
officials across the country to educate the public about the Social
Security solvency issues and gain popular support for his plan to
reform Social Security. A large part of the costs of this initiative
were paid by Treasury, HHS, and Labor through reimbursements to EOP,
under interagency agreements covering event staging costs for many of
the President's and Vice President's public speaking events around the
country. Interagency agreements like those entered into by Treasury and
EOP are permitted by the Economy Act,[Footnote 5] which allows one
department or agency to use the materials, supplies, facilities, and
personnel of another. Under this authority, the agency requesting the
goods or services (the ordering agency, or Treasury in this case)
agrees to reimburse the agency providing the goods or services (the
performing agency, or EOP in this case) the actual costs incurred by
the performing agency, including both direct and indirect costs. The
ordering agency is accountable to the Congress for expenses it incurs
against appropriations made to it, and the performing agency is
accountable for the proper use of the ordering agency's funds.
Social Security Reform Public Speaking Events and Other Promotion
Initiatives:
On the basis of information obtained from Treasury, SSA, and EOP,
including information obtained from their Web sites, we identified 228
public speaking events conducted by eight agencies.[Footnote 6] Table 1
summarizes the 228 identified public speaking events attended by agency
and EOP officials. These events were primarily town hall meetings
conducted across the country before various groups. Enclosure II
provides the date and location of each event and the name of the
administration official who was a primary speaker.
Table 1: Number and Percentage of Social Security Reform Agenda Public
Speaking Events by Agency:
Agency: Social Security Administration;
Number of events: 73;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 32.0%.
Agency: Executive Office of the President;
Number of events: 57;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 25.0%.
Agency: Department of the Treasury;
Number of events: 39;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 17.1%.
Agency: Department of Labor;
Number of events: 16;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 7.0%.
Agency: Small Business Administration;
Number of events: 16;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 7.0%.
Agency: Department of Commerce;
Number of events: 13;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 5.7%.
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services;
Number of events: 8;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 3.5%.
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development;
Number of events: 6;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 2.7%.
Total: 228; 100.0%.
Number of events: 228;
Percentage of all disclosed events: 100.0%.
Source: GAO analysis of Treasury, SSA, and EOP data.
[End of table]
In addition to these 228 public speaking events, the President, Vice
President, and agency officials also conducted radio addresses,
television and radio interviews, and Internet question-and-answer
sessions to promote Social Security reform. As part of these other
promotion initiatives, Treasury established and staffed the Social
Security Information Center (SSIC) in February 2005, which administered
the Strengthening Social Security Web site and coordinated many of the
activities to promote reform, including identifying administration
officials who were available to speak at reform events and posting
summaries of the events to the Web site. According to Treasury
officials, SSIC was shut down at the end of August 2005, and its staff
was assigned to other duties within Treasury.[Footnote 7] Enclosure III
lists the other promotion initiatives we identified, including the date
and type of initiative and the key administration officials involved.
Identified Costs of Promoting Social Security Reform:
As agreed with your office, our review focused on EOP, Treasury, and
SSA, as officials from these agencies participated in 169, or almost 75
percent, of the 228 Social Security reform public speaking events. Of
these 169 events, 40 featured the President, 7 featured the Vice
President, and 122 featured officials from EOP, SSA, or Treasury. As
shown in table 2, the direct and incremental costs to the U.S.
government reported to us totaled $2,810,975, of which $2,588,367 was
reported as expenses related to the public speaking events.
Reimbursements to EOP from Treasury, HHS, and Labor for event staging
costs totaled $1,651,460. Travel costs were the next largest category
totaling a reported $874,519, including $437,887 reported by the Air
Force for the use of Air Force One and Air Force Two to transport the
President and Vice President to and from the Social Security reform
events. EOP reported an additional $369,838 in travel costs, with SSA
and Treasury reporting a combined $66,794 in travel costs. EOP also
reported $62,388 in other direct costs to support its public speaking
events. Finally, Treasury reported $222,608 in costs to establish and
operate its SSIC and Web site. The costs are discussed in greater
detail below, including limitations on the data. Also, as discussed
previously, the costs we identified do not include Secret Service and
other security costs or the salaries of administration officials
participating in the events within the context of performing their
larger duties, which we view as fixed costs. Finally, SSA and Treasury
officials told us that when officials from their agencies were invited
to speak at events hosted by private sector organizations, the agencies
only paid for travel expenses.
Table 2: Reported Social Security Reform Costs:
Cost category: EOP event staging costs reimbursed through interagency
agreements with Treasury, HHS, and Labor;
Amount (in dollars): $1,651,460.
Cost category: Air Force One and Air Force Two costs for; presidential
and vice presidential travel[A];
Amount (in dollars): 437,887.
Cost category: EOP travel costs;
Amount (in dollars): 369,838.
Cost category: SSA travel costs;
Amount (in dollars): 45,898.
Cost category: Treasury travel costs;
Amount (in dollars): 20,896.
Cost category: EOP other direct costs;
Amount (in dollars): 62,388.
Cost category: Subtotal: reported public speaking event costs;
Amount (in dollars): 2,588,367.
Cost category: Treasury's Social Security Information Center (SSIC) and
Strengthening Social Security Web site costs;
Amount (in dollars): 222,608.
Cost Category: Total;
Amount (in dollars): $2,810,975.
Sources: SSA, Treasury, EOP, Labor, HSS, and the Air Force.
[A] Reported fiscal year 2005 fuel costs, which accounted for nearly 90
percent of the Air Force's total reported costs, were $6,462 per flight
hour for the VC-25 (the Boeing 747 used to transport the President to
most of the Social Security reform events) and $1,325 per flight hour
for the C-32A (the Boeing 757 that was primarily used to transport the
Vice President).
[End of table]
Costs Related to EOP Participation. We have identified staging, travel,
and other direct costs for the public speaking events with EOP
participation. The staging costs were reimbursed to EOP by Treasury,
HHS, and Labor pursuant to interagency agreements. Air Force incurred
direct travel costs for the use of Air Force One and Air Force Two in
transporting the President and Vice President to and from their public
speaking events. In addition to the amounts reported by the Air Force,
EOP reported its own travel costs. Finally, EOP reported having other
direct costs to support its public speaking events.
We determined that EOP had interagency agreements with Treasury, HHS,
and Labor. In accordance with the agreements, these agencies agreed to
reimburse EOP for staging costs associated with 36 events in which the
President or Vice President participated. The agreements authorized a
transfer of funds to EOP of up to $1,871,625. Respectively, Treasury,
HHS, and Labor disbursed $703,177, $440,688, and $507,595 for a total
of $1,651,460 to EOP for these events. Enclosure IV provides additional
details on the costs reimbursed through these interagency agreements.
In order to confirm the interagency agreement cost data submitted by
EOP, we asked Treasury, Labor, and HHS to report on the amounts
transferred by those agencies. However, we could not determine whether
the transferred funds were actually used to pay for the costs of
staging the events as stated in the agreements.[Footnote 8]
Although we requested detailed source records (i.e., invoices,
receipts, etc.) that would show what was purchased with these
transferred funds, EOP withheld this documentation and Treasury
officials said they did not receive supporting documentation from EOP
and, therefore, could not provide the information. EOP stated in its
April 25, 2007, letter that "much of the underlying data (such as the
requested receipts, invoices, and travel vouchers) contains personal
information for Executive Office of the President personnel (such as
social security numbers, personal contact information, and credit card
numbers), as well as certain information that could represent security
concerns (such as travel patterns, the identities of vendors used, and
names/pseudonyms used for arranging White House-related travel and
supplies)," and, therefore, it would not provide the source documents.
We disagree with EOP's decision to withhold this information and
believe that it is inconsistent with current law. GAO has a statutory
right of access to this information[Footnote 9] and our work often
involves reviewing information that is sensitive or classified and we
have procedures for handling and protecting such information. However,
given the nature of this request and the amounts involved, GAO decided
not to pursue this records access issue.
Further, because Treasury was party to the interagency agreements, we
expected that Treasury would possess or have immediate access to such
documentation as a normal course of doing business. The Economy Act,
under which Treasury entered into the agreements to reimburse EOP for
its staging costs, requires that the reimbursement be based upon the
actual cost of goods or services provided.[Footnote 10] When coupled
with Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-123, Management's
Responsibility for Internal Control, and our Standards for Internal
Control in the Federal Government,[Footnote 11] which require that all
transactions be clearly documented and that documentation be properly
maintained and managed and readily available for examination,[Footnote
12] we believe it would be prudent for Treasury to receive, review, and
retain supporting documentation that would allow Treasury officials to
ensure that the goods or services were received and that payments are
properly certified in accordance with Treasury's own guidance.[Footnote
13] Additional Treasury guidance, such as the Treasury Financial
Management Service's Federal Intragovernmental Transactions Accounting
Policy Guide,[Footnote 14] states that each agency is responsible for
documenting and supporting the information recorded in its accounting
records related to intragovernmental transactions. Without the
availability of adequate documentation, Treasury lacks reasonable
assurance of its compliance with the Economy Act and that its
appropriations are used for purposes authorized by law.
Reported travel costs associated with EOP's participation totaled
$807,725, including $437,887 reported by the Air Force for direct,
incremental mission costs incurred to fly the President and Vice
President aboard Air Force One and Air Force Two. The Air Force
reported that it flew 39 missions in support of the Social Security
reform initiative. Mission costs included fuel, travel expenses of Air
Force personnel, and miscellaneous mission expenses. As discussed
previously, this figure does not include security costs or the salaries
of the flight crews, as these were not incremental costs. Separately,
EOP reported that its personnel incurred $369,838 in direct travel
costs relating to 46 of the 57 EOP events. Finally, EOP reported
$62,388 in other direct costs. We were unable to review the travel
authorizations and travel vouchers for EOP's travel and the receipts
for the miscellaneous costs because EOP withheld certain information,
as described above. We also cannot provide reasonable assurance based
on the information provided by EOP that its reported travel costs are
complete since EOP stated for 7 events that we had identified that its
records reflected no events and expenses on those particular
days.[Footnote 15] However, we identified these events from either
Treasury or White House Web sites and, for most of these events, have
transcripts or other support showing that the events did occur.
Costs Related to SSA Participation. For the 73 public speaking events
in which an SSA official was a primary speaker, we identified $45,898
in travel costs.[Footnote 16] According to an SSA official, SSA had no
other costs related to the administration's promotion of Social
Security reform. We reviewed all associated travel vouchers for proper
approvals and to ensure the vouchers agreed with the reported amounts,
and selected a statistical sample[Footnote 17] of these vouchers to
test travel authorizations and supporting documentation for proper
approvals and support for claimed amounts. We found that these costs
were adequately supported.
Costs Related to Treasury Participation. For the 39 public speaking
events and other initiatives in which a Treasury official was a primary
speaker, we identified $20,896 in travel costs.[Footnote 18] We
reviewed the associated travel authorizations and travel vouchers for
proper approvals and support for claimed amounts, and found that these
costs were adequately supported. Treasury officials indicated that
Treasury also had costs associated with its SSIC and Web site totaling
$222,608. These costs included the salaries of personnel[Footnote 19]
dedicated to the SSIC and information technology costs.
Conclusions and Recommendation for Executive Action:
We identified hundreds of events geared toward educating the public
about Social Security solvency issues and reform ideas as well as
associated costs reported by Treasury, SSA, EOP, Labor, HHS, and the
Air Force totaling about $2.8 million. We could not test the validity
of some of those costs because EOP withheld certain key information and
Treasury did not have supporting documentation for amounts it
reimbursed EOP under the interagency agreements. We are, therefore,
unable to provide reasonable assurance that the costs reported to us
are complete and fully supported. While we continue to assert that we
have a right to the supporting documentation denied us by EOP, we have
decided to report the limitation without initiating the process to
enforce our right to these documents because of the disproportionate
amount of time and resources needed to pursue this matter and the
limited amount of the funds involved.
To strengthen Treasury's oversight of its interagency agreements, GAO
recommends that the Secretary of the Treasury direct the Chief
Financial Officer of the department to strengthen the department's
guidance to clarify that sufficient documentation to support
reimbursements made through interagency agreements is to be obtained,
reviewed, and retained.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
EOP did not provide comments but did provide certain data related to
our August 2006 request. The information contained therein was
incorporated into the report.
In oral comments, Treasury agreed with the facts contained in this
report but did not say whether it agreed or disagreed with GAO's
recommendation. Rather, Treasury stated that it would review its
procedures with respect to the processing of interagency agreements.
In written comments on a draft of this report, which are reprinted in
enclosure V, SSA stated that it strongly believes that the body of the
report should be modified to indicate the involvement of SSA's
representatives and the funds spent on those activities were to provide
solvency education to the public rather than to promote any particular
plan to achieve solvency. GAO does not believe such a distinction is
warranted. Solvency issues are integral to any discussion of
modifications to Social Security and the events identified in the
report were, among other things, used to promote the President's reform
agenda as evidenced by their inclusion on Treasury's Strengthening
Social Security Web site. SSA's comments also included minor technical
corrections, which were incorporated into the report as appropriate.
The Department of Defense orally commented that the agency agreed with
the facts contained in the report.
As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days
from its date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the
appropriate House and Senate committees; the Director of
Administration, EOP; the Secretary of the Treasury; the Commissioner of
Social Security; the Secretary of Defense; the Secretary of Labor; the
Secretary of Health and Human Services; and other interested parties.
Copies will be made available to others upon request. In addition, this
report will also be available at no charge on GAO's Web site at
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
This report was prepared under the direction of Jeffrey C. Steinhoff,
Managing Director, Financial Management and Assurance, who may be
reached at:
(202) 512-2600 or at steinhoffj@gao.gov if you or your staff have any
questions regarding it. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional
Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this
report. Major contributors to this report include Phillip W. McIntyre,
Assistant Director; Michelle L. Smith; and Edward F. Tanaka.
Signed by:
Sincerely yours,
David M. Walker:
Comptroller General:
of the United States:
[End of section]
Enclosure I:
Scope and Methodology:
To address your inquiry, we first identified the universe of public
speaking events and other initiatives reported on the Department of the
Treasury's (Treasury) Web site dedicated to the President's Social
Security reform agenda,
[hyperlink,www.strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov], the general Treasury
Web site, [hyperlink, www.treas.gov], and the White House Web site,
[hyperlink, www.whitehouse.gov], and collected basic event data from
these Web sites. Because the Social Security Administration (SSA),
Treasury, and the Executive Office of the President (EOP) accounted for
approximately 75 percent of all identified events,[Footnote 20] we
requested financial records and other documentation for the events
attended by officials from SSA, Treasury, and EOP.[Footnote 21] We
requested additional information concerning EOP activities from the
United States Air Force (Air Force) regarding the use of Air Force One
and Air Force Two, and asked the Departments of Labor (Labor) and
Health and Human Services (HHS) to report on interagency agreement
costs those agencies reimbursed to EOP for many of the President's and
Vice President's speaking events. We received information from SSA,
Treasury, EOP, Air Force, Labor, and HHS. We also conducted interviews
with officials from SSA, Treasury, and the Air Force. We did not ask
the agencies that participated in a minimal number of speaking
engagements (like Labor and HHS) to report their events or to provide
us with costs related to those agencies' speaking events. We also did
not determine the costs of the Secret Service, other security, and the
salaries of government officials who participated in the Social
Security reform events within the context of performing their larger
duties. Except as discussed below, salaries were considered fixed costs
because they would have been incurred whether or not the officials
participated in the Social Security reform events.
We reviewed information and documentation from SSA, Treasury, and EOP,
which we used to compile the lists of public speaking events and other
reform initiatives. See enclosures II and III, respectively. EOP was
unable to fully verify the completeness and accuracy of our list of EOP
public speaking events. It stated in its April 2007 submittal that it
did not have records for some of the events we identified. For the
events that EOP could not verify, we are including the ones we
identified from data contained on either the White House or Treasury
Web sites. For most of these events, we have transcripts or other
support showing that these events did occur.
For the staging costs reimbursed to EOP through interagency agreements,
we compared amounts reported by EOP with those reported by Treasury,
Labor, and HHS. We reviewed Treasury's interagency agreements with EOP
for Treasury approvals but could not test for adequate support because
Treasury did not have support and EOP did not provide the requested
support. EOP's decision to withhold the requested documentation
hindered our ability to provide reasonable assurance that the reported
costs are complete and fully supported. Although we did not perform
detailed tests at Labor and HHS because any results from those tests
would not have fully eliminated the records access limitation, we did
ask Labor and HHS to report on the amounts transferred to EOP under the
interagency agreements.
We reviewed SSA and Treasury travel authorizations and vouchers for
proper approvals and support for claimed amounts. For SSA travel, we
reviewed 100 percent of the travel vouchers for proper approvals and to
ensure the vouchers supported the reported amounts. We also selected a
statistical sample of 15 SSA travel vouchers totaling $11,510 from a
population of 60 vouchers totaling $45,898[Footnote 22] to test for
proper travel authorizations and adequate support (i.e., hotel bills,
airline tickets, etc.) We found no exceptions during testing.[Footnote
23] For Treasury travel, we reviewed 100 percent of the trips for
proper approvals and for adequate support.
In addition to SSA and Treasury travel cost data, we received
information from the Air Force and EOP pertaining to EOP travel. The
Air Force calculated and provided mission cost data for presidential
and vice presidential events in which Air Force One and Air Force Two
were used. To assess the reasonableness of the data, we applied
analytic procedures and interviewed an Air Force official. For the
travel and other miscellaneous costs reported by EOP, we could not
perform tests because EOP withheld the requested records.
Finally, our review of Treasury costs related to the Social Security
Information Center (SSIC) and Web site was limited to analytic
procedures focusing on the salaries of Treasury employees dedicated to
the SSIC, which constituted the majority of the SSIC costs. The salary
expenses associated with the assignments to the SSIC were considered
direct and incremental because newly hired employees were initially
assigned full-time to the SSIC.
Except for the limitation related to EOP's withholding of detailed
source records which affected our ability to provide reasonable
assurance that the reported costs are complete and fully supported, we
performed our work in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards from June 2005 through June 2007 in Washington, D.C.
This report reflects the information we were able to obtain from
Treasury, SSA, EOP, the Air Force, Labor, and HHS. Through our review
of supporting documentation, interviews, and analytical procedures, we
found that the data provided by Treasury, SSA, EOP, the Air Force,
Labor, and HHS were sufficiently reliable to substantially meet our
objectives and therefore could be reported with disclosed limitations
about the completeness of the costs and adequacy of the supporting
documentation. While EOP provided certain cost information, it withheld
from us the detailed source records showing how the funds transferred
pursuant to the interagency agreements with Treasury, HHS, and Labor
were spent as well as the travel documentation we requested. EOP
provided some summary and other cost data on April 25, 2007, which was
after the scheduled end of field work and about 3 weeks into the 30-day
agency comment period in which the agencies involved in this review had
the opportunity to comment on a draft of this report. The information
EOP provided was in response to our written request for information
first made in August 2006. We could not confirm whether the transferred
funds were actually used to pay for costs of staging the events as
stated in the agreements but we are reporting the interagency agreement
reimbursements because Treasury, Labor, and HHS reported to us that
they had reimbursed EOP for costs associated with Social Security
reform events. Further, we are including EOP reported amounts for
travel and miscellaneous costs although we were unable to review the
supporting documentation.
We decided to report the limitation on our work without initiating the
process to enforce our right of access to EOP financial and related
information under 31 U.S.C. § 716(a) because of the disproportionate
amount of time and resources needed to pursue this matter and the
limited amount of the funds involved. Under the circumstances, we
decided that it was appropriate to report that EOP withheld basic
financial and related information and have the Congress decide whether
to pursue this matter further as part of its own oversight and
investigative agenda.
We requested comments on a draft of this report from the Director,
Office of Administration at EOP; the Secretary of the Treasury; the
Commissioner of Social Security; and the Secretary of Defense.
[End of section]
Enclosure II:
228 Identified Social Security Reform Public Speaking Events:
Date: 1/11/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 1/13/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/3/2005; Fargo, N.Dak.;
Location of event: Great Falls, Mont.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/4/2005;
Location of event: Omaha, Nebr.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/4/2005;
Location of event: Little Rock, Ark.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/4/2005;
Location of event: Tampa, Fla.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/8/2005;
Location of event: Detroit, Mich.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/9/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 2/10/2005;
Location of event: Blue Bell, Pa.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/10/2005;
Location of event: Raleigh, N.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/16/2005;
Location of event: Portsmouth, N.H.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/18/2005;
Location of event: New York, N.Y.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 2/18/2005;
Location of event: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.;
Administration official: Mark J. Warshawsky;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 2/19/2005;
Location of event: Tucson, Ariz.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/21/2005;
Location of event: Atlanta, Ga.;
Administration official: Andrew Biggs;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/22/2005;
Location of event: Philadelphia, Pa.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/23/2005;
Location of event: Cincinnati, Ohio;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/23/2005;
Location of event: Sharonville, Ohio;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/24/2005;
Location of event: Tampa, Fla.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 2/24/2005;
Location of event: Houston, Tex.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 2/25/2005;
Location of event: Jacksonville, Fla.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/3/2005;
Location of event: Fayetteville, Ark.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/4/2005;
Location of event: Notre Dame, Ind.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/4/2005;
Location of event: Westfield, N.J.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/4/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/4/2005;
Location of event: Allendale, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/4/2005;
Location of event: Muskegon, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/5/2005;
Location of event: Cadillac, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/5/2005;
Location of event: Manistee, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/5/2005;
Location of event: Ludington, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/7/2005;
Location of event: Westminster, Md.;
Administration official: Keith Hennessey;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/8/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/8/2005;
Location of event: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/8/2005;
Location of event: Boca Raton, Fla.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/8/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/9/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/9/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/9/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Location of event: Albuquerque, N.Mex.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Location of event: Albuquerque, N.Mex.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Location of event: Montgomery, Ala.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Location of event: Louisville, Ky.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/11/2005;
Location of event: San Antonio, Tex.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/11/2005;
Location of event: Memphis, Tenn.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/11/2005;
Location of event: Shreveport, La.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/11/2005;
Location of event: London, England;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 3/11/2005;
Location of event: Orlando, Fla.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/12/2005;
Location of event: Philadelphia, Pa.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/15/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: Mark J. Warshawsky;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/15/2005;
Location of event: Charlotte, N.C.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/16/2005;
Location of event: Hickory, N.C.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/16/2005;
Location of event: Gastonia, N.C.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/18/2005;
Location of event: Pensacola, Fla.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/18/2005;
Location of event: Orlando, Fla.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/18/2005;
Location of event: Orlando, Fla.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Columbia, S.C.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Tucson, Ariz.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Pasadena, Calif.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Bakersfield, Calif.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Denver, Colo.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Lakewood, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Lakewood, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Castle Rock, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Grand View, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Atlanta, Ga.;
Administration official: Timothy S. Bitsberger;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Green Bay, Wis.;
Administration official: William H. Lash, III;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Edgefield, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: Aiken, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/21/2005;
Location of event: North Augusta, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Aurora, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Denver, Colo.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Reno, Nev.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Albuquerque, N.Mex.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Albuquerque, N.Mex.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Memphis, Tenn.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: San Dimas, Calif.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Los Angeles, Calif.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Abbeville, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Greenwood, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/22/2005;
Location of event: Oxford, Miss.;
Administration official: Timothy S. Bitsberger;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Location of event: Atlanta, Ga.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Location of event: Seneca, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Location of event: Anderson, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Location of event: Easley, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Battle Creek, Mich.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Pittsburgh, Pa.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Stanton, Del.;
Administration official: Jo Anne B. Barnhart;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Wilmington, Del.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Kennett Square, Pa.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Little Rock, Ark.;
Administration official: Carlos M. Gutierrez;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: St. Louis, Mo.;
Administration official: Carlos M. Gutierrez;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Springfield, Mo.;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Ozark, Mo.;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Mo.;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Mo.;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Clinton, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: Saluda, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/24/2005;
Location of event: McCormick, S.C.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/25/2005;
Location of event: Billings, Mont.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/28/2005;
Location of event: Portland, Ore.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/28/2005;
Location of event: Noblesville, Ind.;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/29/2005;
Location of event: Bellevue, Wash.;
Administration official: Robert S. Nichols;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/29/2005;
Location of event: Manhattan, Kans.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/29/2005;
Location of event: Topeka, Kans.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Bozeman, Mont.;
Administration official: John W. Snow; Agency:
Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Colusa, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Willows, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Redding, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Red Bluff, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Woodstock, Ga.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Charlotte, N.C.;
Administration official: Keith Hennessey;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Portland, Maine;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Flagstaff, Ariz.;
Administration official: Steven J. Law;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Location of event: Flagstaff, Ariz.;
Administration official: Steven J. Law;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Chico, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Magalia, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Yuba City, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Woodland, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Bismarck, N.Dak.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Bismarck, N.Dak.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: West Palm Beach, Fla.;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Delray Beach, Fla.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Pittsburgh, Pa.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Baton Rouge, La.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Roswell, Ga.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Peachtree City, Ga.;
Administration official: James J. Courtney, Jr.;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/31/2005;
Location of event: Las Vegas, Nev.;
Administration official: Steven J. Law;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: Miami, Fla.;
Administration official: Carlos M. Gutierrez;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: Jupiter, Fla.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: Newark, Del.;
Administration official: Jo Anne B. Barnhart;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: Lake Charles, La.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: Las Vegas, Nev.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/1/2005;
Location of event: San Antonio, Tex.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/2/2005;
Location of event: Fairfield, Conn.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/2/2005;
Location of event: Baltimore, Md.;
Administration official: Noam Neusner;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/3/2005;
Location of event: Darien, Conn.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Dallas, Tex.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Manchester, N.H.;
Administration official: Steven J. Law;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Fairfax, Va.;
Administration official: Jo Anne B. Barnhart;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Waterbury, Conn.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/4/2005;
Location of event: Dumont, N.J.;
Administration official: Joshua B. Bolten;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/5/2005;
Location of event: Parkersburg, W.Va.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/5/2005;
Location of event: Parkersburg, W.Va.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/5/2005;
Location of event: Philadelphia, Pa.;
Administration official: Melanie R. Sabelhaus;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/6/2005;
Location of event: Richmond, Va.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/6/2005;
Location of event: Orlando, Fla.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/7/2005;
Location of event: Cleveland, Ohio;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 4/11/2005;
Location of event: Cincinnati, Ohio;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/11/2005;
Location of event: Philadelphia, Pa.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/11/2005;
Location of event: Aiken, S.C.;
Administration official: Arnold Havens;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/11/2005;
Location of event: Aiken, S.C.;
Administration official: Arnold Havens;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/12/2005;
Location of event: Flagstaff, Ariz.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 4/12/2005;
Location of event: Atlanta, Ga.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/12/2005;
Location of event: Flagstaff, Ariz.;
Administration official: Eric Stewart;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 4/13/2005;
Location of event: Chicago, Ill.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/13/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/13/2005;
Location of event: Providence, R.I.;
Administration official: Dominic "Dan" Iannicola, Jr.;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/14/2005;
Location of event: Cartersville, Ga.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/14/2005;
Location of event: Rome, Ga.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/14/2005;
Location of event: Smyrna, Ga.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/14/2005;
Location of event: Columbus, Ga.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/15/2005;
Location of event: Kirtland, Ohio;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/15/2005;
Location of event: Pemberton, N.J.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/16/2005;
Location of event: Decatur, Ga.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/18/2005;
Location of event: Columbia, S.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/18/2005;
Location of event: Charlotte, N.C.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/18/2005;
Location of event: Aurora, Colo.;
Administration official: Steven J. Law;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/18/2005;
Location of event: Baltimore, Md.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/18/2005;
Location of event: Yonkers, N.Y.;
Administration official: Thomas M. Sullivan;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/19/2005;
Location of event: St. Petersburg, Fla.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/19/2005;
Location of event: Denver, Colo.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/20/2005;
Location of event: New York, N.Y.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/20/2005;
Location of event: Seattle, Wash.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/21/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/22/2005;
Location of event: Louisville, Ky.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/22/2005;
Location of event: Las Cruces, N.Mex.;
Administration official: Carlos M. Gutierrez;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 4/22/2005;
Location of event: Albuquerque, N.Mex.;
Administration official: Carlos M. Gutierrez;
Agency: Department of Commerce.
Date: 4/23/2005;
Location of event: Houston, Tex.;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 4/25/2005;
Location of event: Mandeville, La.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/25/2005;
Location of event: Lancaster County, Pa.;
Administration official: Brian Reardon;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/26/2005;
Location of event: Galveston, Tex.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/26/2005;
Location of event: Philadelphia, Pa.;
Administration official: Mark J. Warshawsky;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/27/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/27/2005;
Location of event: St. Louis, Mo.;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 4/27/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/27/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/28/2005;
Location of event: Kansas City, Mo.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/28/2005;
Location of event: New York, N.Y.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/28/2005;
Location of event: Fort Washington, Md.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Location of event: Falls Church, Va.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Location of event: Bowling Green, Ky.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Location of event: Dallas, Tex.;
Administration official: Michael O. Leavitt;
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Location of event: Hartford, Conn.;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Location of event: Hartford, Conn.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 4/30/2005;
Location of event: New York, N.Y.;
Administration official: Alphonso R. Jackson;
Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Date: 5/2/2005;
Location of event: Smyrna, Ga.;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/3/2005;
Location of event: Canton, Miss.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/3/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/4/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/4/2005;
Location of event: New Orleans, La.;
Administration official: Elaine L. Chao;
Agency: Department of Labor.
Date: 5/7/2005;
Location of event: Los Angeles, Calif.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 5/9/2005;
Location of event: Hartford, Conn.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/11/2005;
Location of event: Orlando, Fla.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 5/12/2005;
Location of event: Davis, Calif.;
Administration official: Anna Escobedo Cabral;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/13/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/16/2005;
Location of event: Lakewood, Va.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 5/19/2005;
Location of event: Milwaukee, Wis.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/20/2005;
Location of event: San Diego, Calif.;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 5/23/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/24/2005;
Location of event: Greece, N.Y.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/1/2005;
Location of event: Orange, Va.;
Administration official: Jo Anne B. Barnhart;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/2/2005;
Location of event: Hopkinsville, Ky.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/2/2005;
Location of event: Glen Allen, Va.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/6/2005;
Location of event: New York, N.Y.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/8/2005;
Location of event: Washington, D.C.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/14/2005;
Location of event: University Park, Pa.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/18/2005;
Location of event: Ann Arbor, Mich.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/18/2005;
Location of event: St. Petersburg, Fla.;
Administration official: Michel N. Korbey;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/21/2005;
Location of event: Boston, Mass.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/23/2005;
Location of event: Silver Spring, Md.;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/27/2005;
Location of event: Clifton Park, N.Y.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/27/2005;
Location of event: Trumbull, Conn.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 6/29/2005;
Location of event: Kearney, Neb.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/30/2005;
Location of event: Medford, Ore.;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 7/6/2005;
Location of event: Omaha, Neb.;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Sources: Department of the Treasury, Social Security Administration,
and the Executive Office of the President.
[End of table]
Enclosure III:
Other Social Security Reform Promotion Initiatives:
Date: 12/11/2004;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 1/11/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: Charles P. Blahous;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 1/15/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/3/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 2/5/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/12/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/26/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/3/2005;
Type of initiative: Various media interviews;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/7/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: Charles P. Blahous;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/8/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Joshua B. Bolten;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/10/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Karl Rove;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 2/14/2005 - 8/31/2006;
Type of initiative: Social Security Information Center;
Administration official: Treasury Staff;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/12/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/16/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Nicolle Devenish;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/18/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Daniel J. Bartlett;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Type of initiative: Social Security Trustees meeting;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Type of initiative: Social Security Trustees report speech;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 3/23/2005;
Type of initiative: 23 Radio interviews;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 3/30/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/5/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: Charles P. Blahous;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/6/2005;
Type of initiative: Social Security Radio Day;
Administration official: Multiple officials;
Agency: Various.
Date: 4/7/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Richard B. Cheney;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/13/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Hector V. Barreto;
Agency: Small Business Administration.
Date: 4/15/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/26/2005;
Type of initiative: Teach Children to Save Day;
Administration official: 23 officials;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 4/29/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: Catherine J. Martin;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 4/30/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio address;
Administration official: George W. Bush;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 5/2/2005;
Type of initiative: Anniversary of President's commission;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/9/2005;
Type of initiative: Various media interviews;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 5/19/2005;
Type of initiative: Social Security Economic Roundtable;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 5/19/2005;
Type of initiative: Newspaper article;
Administration official: John W. Snow;
Agency: Department of the Treasury.
Date: 6/2/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Catherine J. Martin;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/6/2005;
Type of initiative: Various media interviews;
Administration official: James B. Lockhart, III;
Agency: Social Security Administration.
Date: 6/8/2005;
Type of initiative: Internet questions;
Administration official: Charles P. Blahous;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Date: 6/14/2005;
Type of initiative: Radio interview;
Administration official: Allan B. Hubbard;
Agency: Executive Office of the President.
Sources: Department of the Treasury, Social Security Administration,
and the Executive Office of the President.
[End of table]
Enclosure IV:
EOP Events Covered by Interagency Agreements and the Amounts Reimbursed
by Agency:
Event location: Washington, D.C.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 1/11/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: $56,404.83;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
$0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: $0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: $56,404.83.
Event location: Washington, D.C.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 1/13/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 10,625.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 10,625.00.
Event location: Great Falls, Mont.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/3/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
19,613.18;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 84,974.97;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 104,588.15.
Event location: Fargo, N.Dak.; President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP):
POTUS; Event date: 2/3/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 77,621.20;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 3,464.07;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 81,085.27.
Event location: Omaha, Neb.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/4/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 79,536.86;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 79,536.86.
Event location: Little Rock, Ark.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/4/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
40,475.47;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 4,047.55;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 44,523.02.
Event location: Tampa, Fla.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/4/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 16,295.44;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 56,672.04;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 72,967.48.
Event location: Blue Bell, Pa.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/10/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 46,707.91;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
23,353.96;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 70,061.87.
Event location: Raleigh, N.C.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/10/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 22,588.27;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 22,588.27.
Event location: Portsmouth, N.H.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 2/16/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 25,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
15,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 15,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 55,000.00.
Event location: Westfield, N.J.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/4/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 65,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
5,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 70,000.00.
Event location: Notre Dame, Ind.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/4/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
25,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 15,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 40,000.00.
Event location: Montgomery, Ala.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/10/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 21,207.54;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
26,250.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 24,742.13;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 72,199.67.
Event location: Louisville, Ky.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/10/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 22,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
18,750.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 18,750.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 60,000.00.
Event location: Memphis, Tenn.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/11/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 22,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
2,991.32;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 3,250.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 28,741.32.
Event location: Shreveport, La.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/11/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 22,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
33,750.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 33,750.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 90,000.00.
Event location: Pensacola, Fla.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/18/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 17,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
20,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 17,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 55,000.00.
Event location: Orlando, Fla.[A];
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/18/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 17,300.69;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
14,829.16;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 17,300.69;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 49,430.54.
Event location: Tucson, Ariz.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/21/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 14,161.93;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
14,161.93;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 14,161.93;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 42,485.79.
Event location: Denver, Colo.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/21/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 20,851.85;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
20,755.75;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 20,851.84;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 62,459.44.
Event location: Bakersfield, Calif.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 3/21/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 29,334.23;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 29,334.23.
Event location: Albuquerque, N.Mex.[A];
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/22/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 13,400.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
13,400.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 13,200.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 40,000.00.
Event location: Reno, Nev.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 3/22/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 17,958.83;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 17,958.83.
Event location: Battle Creek, Mich.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 3/24/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
23,809.61;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 23,809.61.
Event location: Pittsburgh, Pa.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 3/24/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
27,817.27;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 27,817.27.
Event location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 3/30/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 19,290.96;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
19,290.96;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 19,290.96;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 57,872.88.
Event location: Parkersburg, W.Va.[A];
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 4/5/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 13,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
13,000.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 13,500.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 40,000.00.
Event location: Kirtland, Ohio;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 4/15/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 10,632.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
11,813.50;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 10,632.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 33,077.50.
Event location: Pemberton, N.J.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 4/15/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 28,116.67;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 28,116.67.
Event location: Columbia, S.C.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 4/18/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 532.89;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
532.89;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 532.89;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 1,598.67.
Event location: Galveston, Tex.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 4/26/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 844.50;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
844.50;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 844.50;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 2,533.50.
Event location: Falls Church, Va.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 4/29/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 14,495.85;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
14,495.85;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 14,495.85;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 43,487.55.
Event location: Smyrna, Ga.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): VP;
Event date: 5/2/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 29,499.65;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 0.00;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 29,499.65.
Event location: Canton, Miss.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 5/3/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 19,036.22;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
18,170.98;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 18,170.98;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 55,378.18.
Event location: Rochester, N.Y.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 5/24/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 2,020.13;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
1,960.72;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 1,960.72;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 5,941.57.
Event location: Hopkinsville, Ky.;
President (POTUS)/Vice President (VP): POTUS;
Event date: 6/2/2005;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: 16,094.38;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
15,621.02;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: 15,621.02;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: 47,336.42.
Total:
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of the Treasury: $703,176.50;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Health and Human Services:
$440,688.07;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Department of Labor: $507,595.47;
Reimbursed amount (dollars): Total: $1,651,460.04.
[A] For each of these entries, there were two presidential events.
Sources: Executive Office of the President, Departments of the
Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services.
[End of table]
Enclosure V:
Comments from the Social Security Administration:
Social Security:
The Commissioner:
May 02,2007:
Mr. Robert E. Martin:
Director, Financial Management and Assurance: U.S. Government
Accountability Office:
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Mr. Martin:
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the draft
report, "Social Security: Costs Associated with the Administration's
Efforts to Promote Program Reforms" (GAO-07-621).
If you have any questions, please contact Candace Skurnik, Director,
Audit Management and Liaison Staff, at (410) 965-4636.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Michael J. Astrue:
Social Security Administration: Baltimore, Md. 21235-0001:
Enclosure:
Comments On The Government Accountability Office (Gao) Draft Report,
"Social Security: Costs Associated With The Administration's Efforts To
Promote Program Reforms" (GAO-07-621R):
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the draft
report. We appreciate the professionalism of your audit team during the
course of this audit.
We pointed out at the entrance conference, in our written responses to
GAO's requests for information, and again at the exit conference, that
the Social Security Administration (SSA) strongly believes that the
body of the report should clearly indicate that the role of SSA's
representatives at the events constituted public education on the
factors impacting the long-range solvency of the Social Security system
and the range of options to address solvency. The funds spent on these
activities were to promote solvency education and provide factual
information, rather than to promote any particular plan to achieve
solvency. Agency participation focused on the many factors affecting
the solvency of the trust funds--including the rapid growth in the
number of retirees, increasing life expectancy and lower birth rates,
and the range of solutions to achieve sustainable solvency--including
increasing taxes, slowing the growth of benefits and/or increasing the
rate of return on investments.
Further, many of these events were congressional town hall meetings
where SSA's participation was specifically requested by the sponsoring
member of Congress. These included events sponsored by both Republicans
and Democrats.
We believe that the report will be misleading if this information is
not included in the body of the report. We request that the information
be added to the section, "Costs Related to Social Security
Administration Participation," beginning on page 12 of the draft report.
Other Comments:
Page 1, sentences 2 and 3”change "revenues" to "tax revenues." These
sentences should be revised to read, "As you know, the ...will exceed
tax revenues. After that time, the gap between costs and tax
revenues..."
Pages 5-6, under BACKGROUND, sentence 2, should be changed to two
sentences that read, "According to the 2006 Social ...48 million
beneficiaries at the end of 2005. Total benefits paid during 2005
amounted to $521 billion." Also, change last sentence of same
paragraph, making two sentences which read, "The Board of Trustees
projected a long-range (75-year) funding shortfall in the Social
Security trust funds of $4.6 trillion in present value, absent program
reforms. For the infinite future, the Board projects a funding
shortfall of about $13 trillion in present value."
{End of Section}
Footnotes:
[1] Officially, Social Security is called the Old-Age, Survivors, and
Disability Insurance program.
[2] This is the name given to the administration's plan to schedule at
least 60 events across the country over a 60-day period to promote
Social Security reform.
[3] [hyperlink, http://www.strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov],[hyperlink,
http://www.treas.gov], and [hyperlink, http://www.whitehouse.gov]
[4] Fixed costs are those costs which would have been incurred whether
or not the officials participated in the Social Security reform events.
[5] 31 U.S.C. §§ 1535-1536.
[6] HHS identified 2 other events for which it stated it reimbursed
$59,749.47 to EOP for costs associated with Social Security reform
events, which are not included in the report totals. We could not
obtain corroborating evidence that there were Social Security reform
events in Cleveland, Ohio on January 27, 2005, and in Maple Grove,
Minnesota on June 17, 2005.
[7] The Strengthening Social Security Web site was still available at
[hyperlink, www.strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov] as of July 25, 2007.
[8] As discussed in enc. 1, because Labor and HHS were not asked to
report the costs associated with events with their agency officials
based upon our decision to review the agencies with significant numbers
of public speaking events and the fact that any additional information
we might have obtained from Labor and HHS would not fully remove the
records access limitation imposed by EOP, we only asked that Labor and
HHS confirm the amounts reported by EOP.
[9] 31 U.S.C. § 716(a).
[10] 31 U.S.C. § 1535(b).
[11] GAO, Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government,
GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1 (Washington, D.C.: November 1999).
[12] See also chapter 2 of title VII of GAO's Policy and Procedures
Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies, which provides guidance on
agencies' responsibilities with regard to reimbursements between
agencies.
[13] Department of the Treasury, Procurement Services Division,
Customer's Guide To Processing Payable Interagency Agreements (IAA)
(January 2006), p. 9.
[14] Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service, Federal
Intragovernmental Transactions Accounting Policy Guide (Washington,
D.C. August 2006).
[15] The EOP events with no reported expenses include the President's
events on May 4 and 13, and June 8, 14, and 23, 2005; Noam Neusner's
April 2, 2005 event; and Keith B. Hennessey's March 7, 2005, event. The
reported expenses do include travel expenses for 8 events that EOP
reported it could not tie to the specific Social Security reform events
we identified based upon its review of travel expense files. Those
events include Joshua B. Bolten's April 4, 2005, event, Allan B.
Hubbard's events on March 24 and 28, 2005, Keith B. Hennessey's March
30, 2005, event, and Brian Reardon's April 25, 2005, event.
[16] SSA did not report costs for local travel.
[17] Refer to enc. 1, Scope and Methodology, for details related to the
statistical sample.
[18] Identified Treasury travel expenses included $3,063 for travel to
"Teach Children to Save Day" events, which are listed in enclosure III.
While not the primary focus of these events, Social Security reform was
discussed. Many of the initiatives were conducted in Washington, D.C.,
or in conjunction with other events and therefore did not likely have
significant additional travel expenses. Treasury did not report costs
for local travel.
[19] The salary expenses associated with the assignments to the SSIC
were considered direct and incremental because newly hired employees
were initially assigned full-time to the SSIC.
[20] The remaining events were attended by officials from five other
agencies including the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human
Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development, and Labor (Labor), and
the Small Business Administration.
[21] In our request for EOP information and documentation, we asked EOP
to report nontravel and nonstaging expenses if they amounted to more
than $2,500.
[22] These vouchers represent 73 of the events attended by SSA
officials in support of the Social Security reform initiative.
[23] We are 95-percent confident that the error rate associated with
sampling error inherent in statistical sampling is less than or equal
to 1 percent, plus or minus 5 percent.
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