The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

and Public Safety Act of 2005requires all full-power televisionstations to cease analogbroadcasting by February 17, 2009.Following this digital televisiontransition, consumers who receiveover-the-air television signals onanalog sets will need to take actionto be able to view digitalbroadcasts. The act also requiresthe National Telecommunicationsand Information Administration(NTIA) to create a program thatsubsidizes consumers' purchases ofdigital-to-analog converter boxes.This requested report examinesprogress made (1) by federalentities and others in facilitatingthe transition, (2) in educatingconsumers on the transition, and(3) in implementing the converterbox subsidy program. GAOreviewed legal, agency, andindustry documents; interviewedpublic, private, and otherstakeholders; and convened anexpert panel focused on consumeroutreach.

Two risk behaviors related to fatal traffic crashes are failure to use safety belts and driving while impaired by alcohol. High-visibility enforce. (HVE) campaigns that combine enforce. of a traffic safety law with media to inform the public about the campaign are effective in reducing these behaviors. In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: authorized funding of an HVE program, including safety belt and impaired-driving campaigns. The Nat. Highway Traffic Safety Admin. (NHTSA) provides enforce. activities for the campaigns. This report addresses: the extent to which NHTSA has implemented the HVE program; and the impact of the campaigns and challenges that exist in conducting the campaigns. Illus.

The FCC¿s Low-Income Program, administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co. and supported by the Universal Service Fund, provides low-income households with discounts on installation costs for new telephone service and monthly charges for basic telephone service. This report examined: (1) how program participation and support payments have changed over the last 5 years (2005-2009), and factors that may have affected participation; (2) the extent to which goals and measures are used to manage the program; and (3) the extent to which mechanisms are in place to evaluate program risks and monitor controls over compliance with program rules. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. A print on demand report.

The standard incandescent light bulb, which still works mainly as Thomas Edison invented it, converts more than 90% of the consumed electricity into heat. Given the availability of newer lighting technologies that convert a greater percentage of electricity into useful light, there is potential to decrease the amount of energy used for lighting in both commercial and residential applications. Although technologies such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have emerged in the past few decades and will help achieve the goal of increased energy efficiency, solid-state lighting (SSL) stands to play a large role in dramatically decreasing U.S. energy consumption for lighting. This report summarizes the current status of SSL technologies and products-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs)-and evaluates barriers to their improved cost and performance. Assessment of Advanced Solid State Lighting also discusses factors involved in achieving widespread deployment and consumer acceptance of SSL products. These factors include the perceived quality of light emitted by SSL devices, ease of use and the useful lifetime of these devices, issues of initial high cost, and possible benefits of reduced energy consumption.

On 17 February 2009, federal law requires all full-power television stations in the United States to cease analogue broadcasting, enabling the government to reclaim valuable spectrum that the broadcasters currently use for analogue broadcasts. This change, often referred to as the digital television (DTV) transition, requires action by broadcasters and consumers to ensure broadcast television signals are still available and viewable. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) created a program to subsidise consumers' purchases of digital-to-analogue converter boxes. After the transition, households with analogue sets that rely on over-the-air broadcast signals must take action or they will lose television service, but some households might not be aware of this potential disruption.