A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spends 90 percent--$13 billion--of its budget on contractors. Yet since 1990, GAO has designated NASA's contract management as a high-risk area--in part because the agency failed to implement a financial management system to provide information needed to make key program decisions. In April 2000, NASA initiated its most recent effort to implement an effective financial management system--the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP). Three years into the program, GAO found NASA risks building a system that will cost more and do less than planned. As a result, the Congress requested reviews of NASA's IFMP enterprise architecture and financial reporting and program cost and schedule controls."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following major failures in corporate financial reporting, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted to protect investors through requirements intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures and to restore investor confidence. The act included reforms intended to strengthen auditor independence and to improve audit quality. Mandatory audit firm rotation (setting a limit on the period of years a public accounting firm may audit a particular company's financial statements) was considered as a reform to enhance auditor independence and audit quality during the congressional hearings that preceded the act, but it was not included in the act. The Congress decided that mandatory audit firm rotation needed further study and required GAO to study the potential effects of requiring rotation of the public accounting firms that audit public companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths and $76 billion in medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from 1995 through 1999. Reducing tobacco-related deaths and the incidence of disease, along with the associated costs, represents a significant public health challenge for the federal government. Most adults who use tobacco started using it between the ages of 10 and 18. According to a Surgeon General's report, if children and adolescents can be prevented from using tobacco products before they become adults, they are likely to remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives. GAO was asked to provide information on federal efforts to prevent and reduce youth smoking. Specifically, this report describes (1) federal programs, research, and activities that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth, (2) the efforts of federal departments and agencies to monitor their programs, and (3) the coordination among federal departments and agencies in efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a cooperative program between the Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. allies for developing and producing next generation fighter aircraft to replace aging inventories. As currently planned, the JSF program is DOD's most expensive aircraft program to date, costing an estimated $200 billion to procure about 2,600 aircraft and related support equipment. Many in DOD consider JSF to be a model for future cooperative programs. To determine the implications of the JSF international program structure, GAO identified JSF program relationships and expected benefits and assessed how DOD is managing cost sharing, technology transfer, and partner expectations for industrial return."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the process of modernizing its financial management operations and supporting information technology systems. This modernization, known as the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP), is intended to provide NASA with an agencywide, integrated approach to performing critical business functions, such as contract management--an area that GAO first designated as high risk in 1990 and continues to do so today. GAO was requested to review various aspects of IFMP, and this report is one in a series on the program. The objective of this review was to determine whether NASA has been acquiring and implementing IFMP in the context of an enterprise architecture."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Annually, over a billion tons of soil erodes from the nation's cropland, and thousands of other acres, including wetlands, are converted to new cropland. Soil erosion reduces the land's productivity and impairs water quality; drained wetlands reduce flood control. Under the 1985 Food Security Act, farmers risk losing federal farm payments if they do not apply conservation practices to reduce erosion or if they drain wetlands. Concerns about soil erosion and wetlands conversions continue, however, as do concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service's implementation of these provisions. GAO reviewed field offices' and headquarters' implementation and enforcement of the 1985 act's conservation compliance provisions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revisions to the New Source Review (NSR) program--a key component of the federal government's plan to limit harmful industrial emissions--have been under scrutiny by the Congress, environmental groups, state and local air quality agencies, the courts, and several industry groups. The revisions more explicitly define when companies can modify their facilities without needing to obtain an NSR permit or install costly pollution controls, as NSR requires. GAO was asked to determine (1) whether EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) assessed the potential impact of the revisions on the ongoing enforcement cases against coal-fired utilities and, if so, what the assessments indicated; and (2) what effect, if any, the revisions might have on public access to information about facility changes and their resulting emissions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began its Integrated Financial Management program (IFMP), its third attempt at modernizing its financial management processes and systems. In April 2003, GAO reported that NASA's acquisition strategy has increased the risk that the agency will implement a system that will cost more and do less than planned. This report is one of a series of reviews of NASA's acquisition and implementation of IFMP, and focuses on the core financial module's ability to provide the information necessary for external financial reporting."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Future demographic trends include a doubling of the nation's retiree population and only modest labor force growth, leading to concerns about retirement income adequacy for future generations. Credible projections of the effects of policy proposals on federal spending and future retirees' income are necessary. Because adequate data is critical to the analysis of retirement income and wealth, GAO was asked to identify data improvements that experts say are a priority for the study of retirement income and wealth, as well as factors limiting efforts to obtain the needed information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 established minimum health and safety standards for professional boxing and provided for limited federal oversight by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. In 2000, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act amended the act to better protect boxers' economic well-being and enhance the integrity of the sport. However, reports of problems continue, including permanent and sometimes fatal injuries, economic exploitation, and corruption. GAO was asked to (1) identify fundamental elements considered important to protect professional boxers and enhance the integrity of the sport; (2) assess the extent to which provisions of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, as amended (the act), cover these elements and determine whether selected state and tribal boxing commissions have documentation indicating compliance with the act's provisions; (3) determine whether selected states and tribes have provisions that cover additional elements; and (4) identify federal actions taken under the act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent news articles in over 30 states describe the difficulty many parents have in accessing mental health services for their children, and some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the services they need. GAO was asked to determine: (1) the number and characteristics of children voluntarily placed in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to receive mental health services, (2) the factors that influence such placements, and (3) promising state and local practices that may reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice placements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A number of countries hostile to the United States and its allies have or will soon have missiles capable of delivering nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. To counter this threat, the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is developing a system to defeat ballistic missiles. MDA expects to spend $50 billion over the next 5 years to develop and field this system. A significant portion of these funds will be invested in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element. To field elements as soon as practicable, MDA has adopted an acquisition strategy whereby capabilities are upgraded as new technologies become available and is implementing it in 2-year blocks. Given the risks inherent to this strategy, GAO was asked to determine when MDA plans to demonstrate the maturity of technologies critical to the performance of GMD's Block 2004 capability and to identify the estimated costs to develop and field the GMD element and any significant risks with the estimate."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "By their nature, determining and paying allowable travel costs pose substantial risk, making effective internal control crucial. Because of this and weaknesses in internal control identified in the GAO review of travel card usage at the Department of Defense, GAO was requested to review the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) travel program. GAO assessed whether HHS's process for monitoring travel charge cards helps minimize delinquencies, write-offs, and unauthorized use. GAO also assessed whether controls over travel voucher processing help ensure proper reimbursements. GAO tested a statistical sample of travel card transactions at each of five HHS component agencies to determine if they were for authorized purposes. GAO also reviewed related travel vouchers to determine if reimbursement amounts were proper."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In an era of limited resources and growing mission demands, many agencies have turned to approaches other than full up-front funding to finance capital. GAO was asked to inventory examples of alternative approaches that agencies have employed to finance the capital used in their operations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On September 14, 2001, President Bush proclaimed that a national emergency existed by reason of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Under section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, the President is allowed to call up to 1 million National Guard and Reserve members to active duty for up to 2 years. GAO was asked to review issues related to the call-up of reservists following September 11, 2001. GAO examined (1) whether the Department of Defense (DOD) followed existing operation plans when mobilizing forces, (2) the extent to which responsible officials had visibility over the mobilization process, and (3) approaches the services have taken to provide predictability to reservists. GAO also determined the extent to which the Ready Reserve forces, which make up over 98 percent of nonretired reservists, were available."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has struggled to implement a fully integrated financial management system. The lack of such a system has affected the agency's ability to control program costs, raising concerns about the management of its most costly programs, including the space shuttle program and the International Space Station. In April 2000 NASA initiated the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP)--its third effort to improve the agencywide management of its resources. Implementation is expected by fiscal year 2006 with an estimated life-cycle cost of nearly $1 billion. This report (1) assesses NASA's methodology for preparing the current life-cycle cost estimate for implementing IFMP, (2) determines whether NASA's current schedule is reasonable, and (3) evaluates NASA's processes for ensuring adequate cost contingencies."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2002, GAO reported on breakdowns in purchasing controls at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Alaskan Region that resulted in improper and wasteful purchases. Many of the weaknesses were associated with the use of government credit cards--referred to as purchase cards--and raised concerns that similar problems might exist FAA-wide. As a result, GAO was asked to determine whether FAA's purchase card controls reasonably ensured that purchases were proper, at a reasonable cost, and for valid government needs. GAO also assessed whether assets bought with purchase cards were being properly safeguarded and recorded."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21St Century funded a series of highway safety programs. These safety programs, administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), increased funding to the states to improve highway safety through activities designed to encourage, among other things, the use of seat belts and child passenger seats and to prevent drinking and driving. The states implement these activities through a "performance-based" approach under which they establish highway safety goals and initiate projects to help reach those goals. NHTSA reviews the goals and provides oversight to the state highway safety programs. GAO was asked to provide trend data on highway safety, determine how much highway safety funding was provided and how the states used the funds, and review NHTSA's oversight of highway safety programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established the HOPE VI program in 1992 to revitalize severely distressed public housing by demolition, rehabilitation, or replacement of sites. In fiscal years 1993-2001, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded approximately $4.5 billion for 165 HOPE VI revitalization grants to public housing authorities (grantees). GAO was asked to examine (1) the types of housing to which the original residents of HOPE VI sites were relocated and the number of original residents that grantees expect to return to the revitalized sites, (2) how the fiscal year 1996 grantees have involved residents in the HOPE VI process, and (3) how the neighborhoods surrounding the 20 sites that received HOPE VI grants in fiscal year 1996 have changed."