To use public funds effectively, the gov¿t. must meet the demands of today's changing world by employing effective mgmt. practices and processes, including the measurement of gov¿t. program performance. Legislators, gov¿t. officials, and the public want to know whether gov¿t. programs are achieving their goals and what their costs are. To make those evaluations, reliable cost information is required and fed. standards have been issued for the cost accounting that is needed to prepare that information. This Cost Guide has been developed in order to establish a consistent methodology that is based on best practices and that can be used across the fed. gov¿t. for developing, managing, and evaluating capital program cost estimates. Illustrations.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office is responsible for, among other things, assisting the Congress in its oversight of the federal government, including agencies' stewardship of public funds. To use public funds effectively, the government must meet the demands of today's changing world by employing effective management practices and processes, including the measurement of government program performance. In addition, legislators, government officials, and the public want to know whether government programs are achieving their goals and what their costs are. To make those evaluations, reliable cost information is required and federal standards have been issued for the cost accounting that is needed to prepare that information. We developed the Cost Guide in order to establish a consistent methodology that is based on best practices and that can be used across the federal government for developing, managing, and evaluating capital program cost estimates.

This guidance document provides a practical, technical and user-friendly guidance on measuring and reducing compliance costs of regulation in OECD countries.

'TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 574: Guidance for Cost Estimation and Management for Highway Projects During Planning, Programming, and Preconstruction explores approaches to cost estimation and management designed to overcome the root causes of cost escalation and to support the development of consistent and accurate project estimates through all phases of the development process, from long-range planning, through priority programming, and through project design. NCHRP Web-Only Document 98 details the steps followed by the research team in the development of NCHRP Report 574"--Publisher's description.

Provides career practitioners and educators with detailed information concerning the history, processes, and use of assessment in career counseling and development services. Includes reviews of many types of assessments used in practice.

Since its inception, the Transportation Security Admin. (TSA) has focused much of its efforts on aviation security, and has developed and implemented a variety of programs and procedures to secure commercial aviation. More recently, TSA has taken actions to secure the nation's surface transportation modes. TSA funding for aviation security has totaled about $26 billion since FY 2004, and for surface transportation security activities, about $175 million since FY 2005. This testimony focuses on TSA¿s efforts to secure the commercial aviation system -- through passenger screening, air cargo, and watch-list matching programs -- and the nation's surface transportation modes. It also addresses challenges remaining in these areas. Ill.