A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) spending on service contracts approaches $100 billion annually, but recent legislation directs DOD to manage its services procurement more effectively. Leading companies transformed management practices and achieved major savings after they analyzed spending patterns and coordinated procurement. This report evaluates DOD's implementation of the legislation in light of congressional interest in promoting the use of best commercial practices for acquiring services."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Drug effectiveness and adverse events can vary between children and adults and among racial and ethnic groups. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is authorized under the pediatric exclusivity provision to grant drug sponsors 6 months of additional exclusive marketing rights for conducting clinical drug studies in children. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act of 2002 (BPCA) expanded this provision to require FDA to take into account the adequacy of minority representation in pediatric exclusivity studies. BPCA also directed GAO to evaluate the representation of minorities in such studies. GAO examined the extent to which minority children are represented, whether drugs that treat diseases disproportionately affecting minority groups are studied under the provision, and FDA's monitoring of the representation of minority children in the studies. GAO reviewed related FDA documents, FDA requests for pediatric studies and final study results, and interviewed FDA officials and other experts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy combined spend tens of millions of dollars to operate preparatory schools that provide an alternative avenue for about 700 students annually to gain admission to the service academies. Service academy officials screen all applicants to identify those who they believe could succeed at the academies but who would benefit from more preparation. The Department of Defense (DOD) pays the full cost of providing this preparation. GAO was asked to review the three service academy preparatory schools, and this report specifically assesses (1) the adequacy of their current mission statements, (2) the effectiveness of these schools in accomplishing their missions, and (3) the effectiveness of DOD oversight of these schools."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently implemented a Medicare ambulance fee schedule in which providers are paid a base payment per trip plus a mileage payment. An adjustment is made to the mileage rate for rural trips to account for higher costs. CMS has stated that this rural adjustment may not sufficiently target providers serving sparsely populated rural areas. The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA) directed GAO to examine rural ambulance costs. GAO identified factors that affect ambulance costs per trip, examined how these factors varied across geographic areas, and analyzed whether Medicare payments account for geographic cost differences. GAO used survey data on ambulance providers and Medicare claims data."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop an enterprise architecture and a transition plan that meets certain requirements. The act also directed DOD to have a process for controlling its system investments. As required by the act, GAO assessed DOD's actions to comply with the act's requirements and recently issued a report to congressional defense committees. This report provides further details of GAO's assessment results regarding (1) the extent to which DOD's actions complied with the requirements of the act and (2) DOD's plans for further development and implementation of its architecture."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to establish a program to strengthen management of the pre-entry, entry, status, and exit of foreign nationals who travel to the United States. The goals of the program, known as the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT), are to facilitate legitimate trade and travel, enhance national security, and adhere to U.S. privacy laws and policies. By congressional mandate, DHS is to develop and submit for approval an expenditure plan for US-VISIT that satisfies certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, whether the plan satisfies these conditions and to provide observations about the plan and DHS's management of the program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, more attention has been focused on the importance of identifying people who use false identity information or documents to obtain a driver license. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers states a service to verify social security numbers (SSNs) collected during the driver licensing process. This report examines states' use of SSA's verification service, factors that may affect the usefulness of the service, and other tools states use or need to verify identity."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The largest accounting firms, known as the "Big 4," currently audit over 78 percent of U.S. public companies and 99 percent of public company annual sales. To address concerns raised by this concentration and as mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, on July 30, 2003, GAO issued a report entitled Public Accounting Firms: Mandated Study on Consolidation and Competition, GAO-03-864. As part of that study, GAO surveyed a random sample of 250 public companies from the Fortune 1000 list; preliminary findings were included in the July report. This supplemental report details more comprehensively the 159 responses we received through August 11, 2003, focusing on (1) the relationship of their company with their auditor of record in terms of satisfaction, tenure relationship, and services provided; (2) the effects of consolidation on audit fees, quality, and independence; and (3) the potential implications of consolidation for competition and auditor choice."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, focused attention on the need to improve public diplomacy efforts to cultivate a better public opinion of the United States abroad. However, recent opinion research indicates that many foreign publics, especially in countries with significant Muslim populations, view the United States unfavorably. GAO examined changes in the State Department's (State) public diplomacy efforts since September 11, whether State has an overall strategy for its public diplomacy programs, how it measures their effectiveness, and challenges it faces in implementing these programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year federal agencies issue numerous proposed or final rules or take other regulatory actions that may potentially affect the use of private property. Some of these actions may result in the property owner being owed just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. In 1988 the President issued Executive Order 12630 on property rights to ensure that government actions affecting the use of private property are undertaken on a well-reasoned basis with due regard for the potential financial impacts imposed on the government. GAO was asked to provide information on the compliance of the Department of Justice and four agencies--the Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior--with the executive order. Specifically, GAO examined the extent to which (1) Justice has updated its guidelines for the order to reflect changes in case law and issued supplemental guidelines for the four agencies, (2) the four agencies have complied with the specific provisions of the executive order, and (3) just compensation awards have been assessed against the four agencies in recent years. We provided the agencies with a draft …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The multibillion dollar Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund) provides most of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Trust Fund relies on revenue from 10 taxes, including passenger ticket, fuel, and cargo taxes. Concerns about the financial outlook of the Trust Fund have emerged recently given the downturn in passenger air travel, requests from the airlines to suspend some of the Trust Fund taxes, and the need to reauthorize FAA's major programs in 2003. GAO was asked to determine (1) the projected financial outlook of the Trust Fund and (2) how a 1- year suspension of various taxes accruing to the Trust Fund (i.e., a tax holiday), would affect its financial status. We were asked to assess five potential tax holidays that would have begun on April 1, 2003, and ended on April 1, 2004. GAO used a model developed by FAA that made financial projections for the Trust Fund using expenditure assumptions that were based on (1) the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's May 2, 2003, and the House Subcommittee on Aviation's May 15, 2003, reauthorization proposals authorizing over …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Earned Income Credit (EIC), a tax credit available to the working poor, has experienced high rates of noncompliance. Unlike many benefit programs, EIC recipients generally receive payments without advance, formal determinations of eligibility; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) checks some taxpayers' eligibility later. IRS estimated that tax year 1999 EIC overclaim rates, the most recent data available, to be between 27 and 32 percent of dollars claimed or between $8.5 billion and $9.9 billion. To address overclaims, IRS plans to test a new certification program. Because IRS's plans have garnered much attention, Congress asked us to (1) describe the design and basis for the EIC qualifying child certification program, (2) describe the current status of the program, including significant changes, and (3) assess whether the program is adequately developed to prevent unreasonable burden on EIC taxpayers and improve compliance so that the test should proceed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The ability to produce the data needed to efficiently and effectively manage the day-to-day operations of the federal government and provide accountability to taxpayers has been a long-standing challenge to most federal agencies. To help address this challenge, the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with (1) federal financial management systems requirements, (2) federal accounting standards, and (3) the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger (SGL). FFMIA also requires GAO to report annually on the implementation of the act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Distance education--offering courses by Internet, video, or other forms outside the classroom--is a fast growing part of postsecondary education. GAO was asked to review the state of distance education at Minority Serving Institutions, which are schools that serve high percentages of minority students, including Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians. Under Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act, these schools are eligible for grants that can be used for expanding their technology, including distance education. GAO's review focused on (1) the use of distance education at Minority Serving Institutions, (2) key factors influencing these schools' decisions about whether or not to offer distance education, and (3) steps the Department of Education could take, if any, to improve monitoring efforts of technological progress under Titles III and V programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Consumers of insurance depend on state regulators to ensure that insurance companies are behaving fairly and in accordance with the law. This report evaluates the states' use of market analysis (information gathering to determine issues and identify companies that may need attention) and on-site examinations in market regulation and the progress the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has made in creating more uniformity in the regulation of market conduct."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "While prescription drugs have become an increasingly important part of health care for the elderly, more than one-quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries have no prescription drug coverage. Over the past decade, private companies and not-for-profit organizations have sponsored prescription drug discount cards that offer discounts from the prices the elderly would otherwise have to pay for their prescriptions. These cards are typically administered by pharmacy benefit managers (PBM). Pharmaceutical manufacturers also sponsor and administer their own discount cards. The Administration has been interested in endorsing specific drug cards for Medicare beneficiaries to make the discounts more widely available. Legislative proposals in the Senate and House of Representatives have included drug cards as a means to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. GAO was asked to examine how existing drug discount cards work and the prices available to card holders. Specifically, GAO evaluated the extent to which PBM-administered drug discount cards offer savings off non-card prices at 40 pharmacies in California, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C., and the differences between PBM-administered cards and cards sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Information technology can greatly facilitate the public's ability to comment on proposed rules that affect them. The E-Government Act of 2002 made the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responsible for overseeing electronic government initiatives. We examined the extent to which agency-specific Web sites and the new governmentwide Regulations.gov Web site permit the public to electronically (1) identify proposed rules that are open for comment, (2) comment on proposed rules, and (3) access regulatory supporting materials (e.g., economic analyses) and the comments of others."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The continuing use of H-1B visas, which allow employers to fill specialty occupations with highly skilled foreign workers, has been a contentious issue between U.S. workers and employers during the recent economic downturn. The H- 1B program is of particular concern to these groups because employment has substantially decreased within information technology occupations, for which employers often requested H-1B workers. In light of these concerns, GAO sought to determine (1) what major occupational categories H- 1B beneficiaries were approved to fill and what is known about H-1B petition approvals and U.S. citizen employment from 2000-2002; (2) what factors affect employers' decisions about the employment of H-1B workers and U.S. workers; and (3) what is known about H-1B workers' entries, departures, and changes in visa status."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, the federal government has introduced new ways to streamline the acquisition process. One of those vehicles is the simplified acquisition procedures test program, which removes some of the procedural requirements for buying commercial goods and services. Using the test program, federal procurement officials can make purchases faster than they have in the past for procurements not exceeding $5 million. Congress mandated that GAO determine the extent to which federal executive agencies--at a minimum, the Department of Defense (DOD)--have taken advantage of the test program and any benefits realized. One way to measure use is to examine test program data from the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS). It is the central repository of contracting information. In addition to examining FPDS data, GAO looked at data from DOD's data system."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Export credit agencies (ECA) are responsible for providing billions of dollars worth of support for large-scale industrial projects annually, but until recently most ECAs did not formally review the environmental impacts of these projects. The United States, whose Export-Import Bank began using environmental guidelines in 1995, pushed for negotiations on common ECA environmental guidelines at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD negotiations halted in 2001 because the United States believed that the results, called the Common Approaches, were insufficient. The remaining OECD members then pledged to voluntarily implement the Common Approaches. In response to congressional interest in ECA environmental guidelines, GAO assessed (1) the level of convergence among OECD members and the prospects for further advancement and (2) what impacts such guidelines may have on U.S. exports."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Totalization agreements foster international commerce, protect benefits for persons who have worked in foreign countries, and eliminate dual social security taxes that employers and their employees pay when they operate and reside in countries with parallel social security systems. Because Mexicans are believed to represent a large share of the millions of unauthorized workers present in the United States, a totalization agreement with Mexico has raised concerns that they would become newly eligible for social security benefits. To shed light on the possible impacts, GAO was asked to (1) describe the Social Security Administration's (SSA) processes for developing the agreement with Mexico, (2) explain how the agreement might affect the payment of benefits to Mexican citizens, and (3) assess the cost estimate for such an agreement."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Passenger screening is critical to the security of our nation's aviation system, particularly in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is tasked with securing all modes of transportation, including the screening of airline passengers. TSA has met numerous requirements in this regard, such as deploying more than 50,000 federal screeners at over 440 commercial airports nationwide. To determine whether TSA's passenger screening program is achieving its intended results, GAO is conducting an ongoing evaluation of TSA's efforts to (1) ensure that passenger screeners are effectively trained and supervised, (2) measure screener performance in detecting threat objects, and (3) implement and evaluate the contract screening pilot program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Law enforcement agencies' efforts to investigate the events of September 11th increased awareness that federal agencies collect and maintain personal information on individuals such as name, social security number, and date of birth that could be useful to law enforcement. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is one of the country's primary custodians of personal information. Although the Privacy Act protects much of this information, generally, federal agencies can disclose information to law enforcement. However, determining when the need for disclosure takes priority over an individual's privacy is not clear. GAO was asked to describe (1) SSA's disclosure policy for law enforcement and how it compares with the Privacy Act and those of other federal agencies, (2) SSA's experience sharing information with law enforcement, and (3) law enforcement's experience obtaining information under SSA's policy."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Home Loan Bank System's (FHLBank System) traditional approach to providing community and housing finance through 12 regional FHLBanks faces continual challenges due to consolidation in the financial services industry and the emergence of mortgage lenders with nationwide operations. In addition, the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), the System's financial regulator, is analyzing the benefits and costs of potential changes to the System's membership rules that would make it easier for financial institutions to join multiple FHLBank districts (referred to as multidistrict membership). To provide information that would be helpful in assessing the potential safety and soundness implications of these developments, GAO was asked among other items to (1) determine whether key differences exist in the terms--such as interest rates and collateral requirements--that FHLBanks make on loans, also known as advances, to member financial institutions such as banks and thrifts and (2) discuss FHFB's oversight of the FHLBanks and safety and soundness data reporting requirements."