Regulatory Initiatives of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (open access)

Regulatory Initiatives of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Efforts by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to promote sound and uniform regulatory processes across the states are being put to the test as pressure builds from both the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and competitive forces for more efficient and streamlined insurance regulatory processes. One factor affecting the ultimate success of these efforts is the level of confidence state regulators will have in their counterparts' willingness and ability to adequately obtain, assess, and validate information provided by industry applicants in making regulatory decisions. Each state will be required to rely on the actions of regulators in other states to a greater degree than ever before. Whether regulators ultimately achieve uniformity in some areas or even attain reciprocity, continuing weaknesses in some states' regulatory framework can undermine the system. NAIC and state regulators believe that the development of more uniform and streamlined methods for obtaining licensing approval on individuals, products, and insurance companies in multiple states can enhance the ability of insurers to compete with other financial service entities while at the same time maintaining or improving the quality of insurance regulation. Both the timely completion and degree …
Date: July 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Related to the Scope and Complexity of the Federal Tax System (open access)

Information Related to the Scope and Complexity of the Federal Tax System

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommended in 1997 that IRS simplify the tax law. The Commission reported a connection between the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code and the difficulty of administering it and taxpayer frustration with the tax system. It reported that such complexity can lead to inadvertent noncompliance, increase costs to taxpayers, and complicate tax collection. The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to report to Congress on the overall state of the federal tax system and on proposals to simplify it. This report provides information to help the Joint Committee with its study. Specifically, GAO provides information on (1) the scope and size of the code, the number of Congressionally-mandated studies of the tax system, and the amount of tax guidance and regulations issued by IRS; (2) the number and scope of IRS forms, schedules, publications, and worksheets; (3) the number of tax returns filed and people claimed on these returns, by various characteristics for selected years; and (4) the number of assistance provided to taxpayers by IRS, return preparers, and computerized software …
Date: April 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.N. Peacekeeping: GAO's Access to Records on Executive Branch Decision-making (open access)

U.N. Peacekeeping: GAO's Access to Records on Executive Branch Decision-making

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence provides information on GAO's efforts to obtain access to executive branch records needed to complete its study of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping operations. GAO's experience in trying to obtain these records has impaired its ability to conduct meaningful oversight work for Congress that is timely, independent, objective, fact-based, accurate, and complete. Specifically (1) unreasonable delays in obtaining access to the executive branch records have prevented GAO from sending a timely report to Congress, (2) GAO does not have reasonable assurance that it has had independent access to all executive branch records that may have a material bearing on its study, and (3) denying GAO access to records has impaired its ability to conduct a complete and accurate assessment of U.N peacekeeping operations."
Date: March 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Update on State and Local Revenue Loss From Internet Sales (open access)

Update on State and Local Revenue Loss From Internet Sales

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined the Bureau of the Census' estimates of e-commerce in 1999 to determine whether GAO should revise the results of its 2000 report on sales tax issues from e-commerce (GAO/GGD/OCE-00-165). This report uses private-sector forecasts of Internet and total remote sales as the basis for several scenarios illustrating the impact of such sales on state and local sales and use tax revenues. The scenarios show that considerable uncertainty exists about the size of the impacts and how various assumptions about sales, compliance, and other factors contribute to that uncertainty. Census' new e-commerce estimates do not provide a basis for revising the results GAO found in its 2000 report. Census' definition of e-commerce is broader than Internet sales. Because of the way firms provide information on their e-commerce sales to Census, Internet sales cannot be separated from the broader e-commerce sales at a level of detail that allows GAO to compare Census' results with the Internet sales estimates used in its 2000 report."
Date: November 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Suggested Changes to Form WH-226, Application for Authority to Employ Workers With Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages (open access)

Suggested Changes to Form WH-226, Application for Authority to Employ Workers With Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Fair Labor Standards Act allows disabled individuals to be paid at special minimum wage rates that are lower than the federal minimum wage. This correspondence examines form WH-226, "Application for Authority to Employ Workers with Disabilities at Special Minimum Wages." This form provides the Department of Labor with data on employers and workers covered under the Act. However, GAO found that Labor may not be collecting accurate information on the number of (1) employers because information in one of the items on form WH-226, is incomplete and may be confusing to employers and (2) disabled workers employed under the Act because the time periods specified in two of the items on the form are inconsistent and the instructions may be confusing to employers. Labor could eliminate this confusion by providing clearer instructions for filling out the form as well as eliminating confusing and contradictory language."
Date: April 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telecommuting: Overview of Challenges Facing Federal Agencies (open access)

Telecommuting: Overview of Challenges Facing Federal Agencies

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Telecommuting refers to work that is done at an employee's home or at a job site other than a traditional business office. Perhaps the biggest challenge to establishing and expanding telecommuting programs in both the public and private sectors is management's concerns about the types of positions and employees suitable for telecommuting, protecting proprietary and sensitive data, and establishing cost-effective telecommuting programs. Some federal and state laws and regulations, including those governing taxes, workplace safety, workforce recordkeeping, and liability for home workplace injuries, are also potential obstacles to telecommuting. Overall, the application of state tax laws to telecommuting arrangements, as well as other laws and regulations enacted before the transition to a more technological and information based economy, is evolving and their ultimate impact remains unclear."
Date: September 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Long-Term Budget Issues: Moving From Balancing the Budget to Balancing Fiscal Risk (open access)

Long-Term Budget Issues: Moving From Balancing the Budget to Balancing Fiscal Risk

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In this statement, the Comptroller General discusses the fiscal policy challenges facing Congress and the nation. The focus of tax administration and budgeting are shifting because of current and projected budget surpluses. The Comptroller General speaks of the need for fiscal responsibility when using surplus projections to design tax and spending policies. These projections are based on a set of assumptions that may or may not hold. They are not a precise prediction of a future and should be used as a reference point when making policy decisions. Although the projected surpluses can provide an opportunity to respond to pent-up demands for additional spending or tax cuts, Congress must balance those demands with the nation's long-term economic health."
Date: February 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Services Regulators: Better Information Sharing Could Reduce Fraud (open access)

Financial Services Regulators: Better Information Sharing Could Reduce Fraud

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The sharing of regulatory and criminal history data among financial services regulators can reduce fraudulent activities. GAO recently reported on several instances in which unscrupulous brokers moved from one financial industry to another. This testimony focuses on (1) systems used by financial regulators for tracking regulatory history data, (2) regulatory history data needed to help prevent rogue migration and limit fraud, (3) criminal history data needs among financial regulators, and (4) challenges and considerations for implementing an information-sharing system among financial regulators."
Date: March 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Space Shuttle Safety: Update on NASA's Progress in Revitalizing the Shuttle Workforce and Making Safety Upgrades (open access)

Space Shuttle Safety: Update on NASA's Progress in Revitalizing the Shuttle Workforce and Making Safety Upgrades

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In August 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space shuttle program was at a critical juncture. Its workforce had declined significantly since 1995, its flight rate was to double to support the assembly of the International Space Station, and costly safety upgrades were planned to enhance the space shuttle's operation until at least 2012. Workforce reductions were jeopardizing NASA's ability to safely support the shuttle's planned flight rate. Recognizing the need to revitalize the shuttle's workforce, NASA ended its downsizing plans for the shuttle program and began to develop and equip the shuttle fleet with various safety and supportability upgrades. NASA is making progress in revitalizing the shuttle program's workforce. NASA's current budget request projects an increase of more than 200 full-time equivalent staff through fiscal year 2002. NASA has also focused more attention on human capital management in its annual performance plan. However, considerable challenges still lie ahead. Because many of the additional staff are new hires, they will need considerable training and will need to be integrated into the shuttle program. Also, NASA still needs to fully staff areas critical to shuttle safety; deal …
Date: September 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Compact of Free Association: Negotiations Should Address Aid Effectiveness and Accountability and Migrants' Impact on U.S. Areas (open access)

Compact of Free Association: Negotiations Should Address Aid Effectiveness and Accountability and Migrants' Impact on U.S. Areas

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands provides direct U.S. economic assistance and extends U.S. domestic programs and federal services to these two Pacific Island nations. The Compact also allows for migration from Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to the United States and establishes U.S. defense rights and obligations in the region. The Compact's economic assistance provisions were scheduled to expire in late 2001. However, the provisions will remain in effect for two more months while the United States and the two Pacific Island nations renegotiate them. Congress must renegotiate and reauthorize the expiring provisions by late 2003 for economic assistance to continue uninterrupted. The $1.6 billion provided under the Compact through 1998 has had little impact on economic development in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands and was subject to limited accountability. U.S. oversight was limited by interagency disagreements between the Departments of Interior and State, a lack of resources devoted to Compact oversight, and Interior's belief that Compact provisions restricted its ability to require accountability and withhold funds. Because of the lack …
Date: December 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Export-Import Bank: Views on Inspector General Oversight (open access)

U.S. Export-Import Bank: Views on Inspector General Oversight

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has supported the creation of independent inspector general (IG) offices in appropriate federal departments, agencies, and entities through the Inspector General Act of 1978. Under the act, the Export-Import Bank is not required to have IG offices but must report its annual audit and investigative activity to both the Office of Management and Budget and Congress. IG oversight of the Export-Import Bank could be established in several ways. First, the IG Act could be amended to establish an IG appointed either by the President or by the Export-Import Bank Chairman. Also, an already existing IG office could provide independent audits and investigations of the bank. Finally, a memorandum of understanding, which acts as a contract for outside IG services and would not require an amendment to the IG Act, could be created. In the final analysis, the placement of IGs in specific agencies is a policy decision to be decided by Congress."
Date: September 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
System: The UNT Digital Library