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Social Security Programs: Scope of SSA's Authority to Deny Benefits to Fugitive Felons and to Release Information About OASI and DI Beneficiaries Who Are Fugitive Felons (open access)

Social Security Programs: Scope of SSA's Authority to Deny Benefits to Fugitive Felons and to Release Information About OASI and DI Beneficiaries Who Are Fugitive Felons

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Fugitive felons are ineligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will, upon request, provide law enforcement agencies with the current addresses and Social Security numbers of fugitive felons who are SSI recipients. The Privacy Act of 1974 generally prohibits federal agencies from disclosing to anyone, including other government agencies, information they have on file on individuals. When the head of a law enforcement agency asks SSA for information on an individual as part of civil or criminal investigations, SSA has the authority under the Privacy Act to disclose this information but is not required to do so. The Social Security Act does not give SSA the authority to determine if individuals are ineligible for Old Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance benefits because they are fugitive felons."
Date: February 27, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bureau of Public Debt: Areas for Improvement in Computer Controls (open access)

Bureau of Public Debt: Areas for Improvement in Computer Controls

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of the Treasury is authorized by Congress to borrow money on the credit of the United States to fund operations of the federal government. Within Treasury, the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD) is responsible for prescribing the debt instruments, limiting and restricting the amount and composition of the debt, paying interest to investors, and accounting for the resulting debt. BPD is also responsible for issuing Treasury securities to trust funds for trust fund receipts not needed for current benefits and expenses. In connection with fulfilling its requirement to audit the U.S. government's fiscal year 2001 financial statements, GAO reviewed the general and application computer controls over key financial systems maintained and operated by BPD. BPD maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt related to financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations as of September 30, 2001. BPD's internal control, which includes the general and application controls over key BPD systems relevant to the Schedule of Federal Debt, provided reasonable assurance that misstatements, losses, or noncompliance material in relation to the Schedule of Federal Debt for …
Date: September 18, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Waste Management: Observations on the Congressionally Approved New Hampshire-Vermont Solid Waste Compact (open access)

Waste Management: Observations on the Congressionally Approved New Hampshire-Vermont Solid Waste Compact

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on (1) the structure and operations of the New Hampshire-Vermont Solid Waste Project; (2) how the project's structure and operations compare to those of other interstate waste management projects; and (3) issues that need to be addressed in the future, as the expiration of the incineration contract approaches and the districts consider their options. In addressing the second question, we were unable to identify any other congressionally approved interstate solid waste compacts. However, we identified 10 interstate compacts for the management of low-level radioactive waste and one solid waste agreement that was not congressionally approved and used them as a basis for comparison."
Date: December 13, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information on Federal Contractors That Are Incorporated Offshore (open access)

Information on Federal Contractors That Are Incorporated Offshore

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Some U.S.-based multinational companies have found that the effective tax rate on income earned from foreign sources can be reduced if they are incorporated in countries that either do not tax corporate income at all or tax the income at a lower rate than the U.S. corporate tax rate. Consequently, some U.S.-based companies incorporate from the outset in these so-called "tax haven" countries. In addition, some companies that were incorporated in the United States have reincorporated in tax haven countries through "corporate inversion transactions." According to the Department of the Treasury, the term "inversion" is used to describe a transaction through which a U.S.-based multinational company restructures its corporate group so that after the transaction the ultimate parent of the corporate group is a foreign corporation. After an inversion transaction, shareholders of the former U.S. parent company hold stock of the newly formed foreign parent, and the operations of the company are unchanged. Treasury also noted that there has been a marked increase recently in the frequency, size, and profile of inversion transactions. Four of the top 100 federal contractors that are publicly traded corporations are incorporated in …
Date: October 1, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Preliminary Information on Proposal for Next-Day Destruction of Records Generated by the National Instant Criminal Background System (NCIS) (open access)

Preliminary Information on Proposal for Next-Day Destruction of Records Generated by the National Instant Criminal Background System (NCIS)

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) has given the go ahead to a gun sale, it is still possible for the FBI to receive information from local law enforcement, the courts, or other sources that would prohibit a purchaser from owning a firearm. In these cases, the licensed dealer must be contacted to verify whether the purchaser received the firearm. If so, the local police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are then notified. In these case, ATF guidance requires an investigation and the retrieval of the firearm in coordination with state or local law enforcement. Retained records that were more than one day old but less than 90 days old were used to initiate more than 100 firearm retrievals in the four-month period beginning July 2001, according to FBI officials. As a result, next-day destruction of NICS records could impair the ability of law enforcement to retrieve firearms from persons who were wrongly approved to purchase them."
Date: March 11, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee Post-Hearing Questions Concerning the Department's Information Technology Management (open access)

Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee Post-Hearing Questions Concerning the Department's Information Technology Management

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) has made progress in improving its overall management of information technology, including centralization of information technology functions, programs, and funding under the department-level chief information officer (CIO). The department has also made progress in developing an enterprise architecture, improving information security, and managing important information systems initiatives being pursued by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). GAO reviewed (1) whether VA's proposed business and enabling functions provide the management tools necessary to start the process for implementing VA's enterprise architecture; (2) how veterans have benefited from the VETSNET Program; (3) what must be done to assure successful implementation of the Federal Health Information Exchange (FHIE); and (4) whether VA can realistically implement HealtheVet-Vista by the end of 2005. GAO found that the Federal CIO's Council's guidance on enterprise architecture advises organizations to develop a set of controls to help them successfully manage the process of creating, changing, and using an enterprise architecture. Although the enterprise business functions and key enabling functions are essential components of the architecture that VA is developing, they cannot be considered a primary …
Date: November 5, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the National Federation of Music Clubs for Fiscal Year 2001 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the National Federation of Music Clubs for Fiscal Year 2001

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Federation of Music Clubs, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: September 20, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocations of Phase II Funds (open access)

Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocations of Phase II Funds

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Farm Bill) required GAO to report annually on how states have used funds received under the Master Settlement Agreement and the Phase II agreement. This letter is the first in a series of reports responding to the 2002 Farm Bill requirement. Specifically, this letter provides information on (1) the amount of funds that have been distributed to each of the participating states under the Phase II agreement and (2) how the states have allocated these funds to tobacco growers, quota owners, and others."
Date: December 3, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., for Fiscal Year 2001 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., for Fiscal Year 2001

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., for fiscal year 2001. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: September 20, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: Department of Defense Regulations Establishing Methods to Calculate Amounts To Be Transferred from Department of Defense Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund (open access)

Financial Management: Department of Defense Regulations Establishing Methods to Calculate Amounts To Be Transferred from Department of Defense Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed regulations issued by the Department of Defense (DOD) to cover transfers from a new fund created by Congress to finance the cost of expanded health care programs' benefits for Medicare-eligible uniformed services retirees and their eligible dependents. These health care programs include pharmacy benefits and coverage of the deductible portion of Medicare benefits. The Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 established the Department of Defense Medicare Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund in the U.S. Treasury. Beginning on October 1, 2002, the fund will finance DOD's liabilities under the uniformed services retiree health programs for Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. The legislation requires that (1) the Secretary of Defense establish by regulation the methods for calculating amounts to be transferred periodically from the fund to applicable appropriations that incur the programs' cost and (2) the Comptroller General report to the Secretary of Defense and to Congress on the adequacy and appropriateness of these regulations within 30 days of receiving them from the Secretary. GAO found that regulations establishing the methods for calculating transfers from the fund to finance eligible health care costs were issued in …
Date: August 30, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Postal Service Actions to Improve Its Financial Reporting (open access)

U.S. Postal Service Actions to Improve Its Financial Reporting

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past 2 years, we have been raising concerns and have made recommendations regarding the lack of sufficient and timely periodic information on the U.S. Postal Service's financial condition and outlook available to the public between publications of its audited year-end financial statements. This report responds to a request that we provide periodic updates on several key areas related to the Service's financial outlook, including improvements in financial and performance reporting. Specifically, this report discusses actions taken by the Service to address our past recommendations to provide sufficient, more timely, and accessible financial reports as well as our assessment of the Service's responses."
Date: November 13, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farm Credit Administration: Safety and Soundness Oversight of the Farm Credit System (open access)

Farm Credit Administration: Safety and Soundness Oversight of the Farm Credit System

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Farm Credit Administration's (FCA) oversight of the safety and soundness of the Farm Credit System (FCS). GAO found that FCA's oversight and supervision appeared to be timely, comprehensive, and effective. FCA required FCS institutions to take appropriate and timely corrective actions to address any identified weaknesses and closely monitored the institutions' compliance. FCA had special supervisory and enforcement procedures in place and used them when it found more serious weaknesses at FCS institutions. In addition, off-site monitoring efforts included timely analyses of relevant qualitative and quantitative information that allowed FCA to identify, monitor, evaluate, and proactively address risks faced by FCS institutions. FCA follows processes designed to ensure the quality and reliability of its safety and soundness examination process through periodic quality assurance reviews and the Inspector General's audits and inspection reports."
Date: February 28, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Answers to Key Questions about Private Pension Plans (open access)

Answers to Key Questions about Private Pension Plans

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This primer on private pensions provides information on the basic features of the private pension plan system and the federal framework that governs how private plans must operate. GAO answers questions about the types of plans that private employers may sponsor, the benefits these plans provide, and the basic requirements that govern how these plans are administered."
Date: September 18, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unauthorized Hair Samples Submitted for Analysis (open access)

Unauthorized Hair Samples Submitted for Analysis

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Interagency Canada Lynx Survey (Protocol) was designed to determine the presence of Canada lynx through deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis of hair samples recovered from scratch pads in forests in the northern United States. Beginning in January 2002, GAO investigated the submission of unauthorized samples to the University of Montana's laboratory as part of the National Survey and investigated whether the biologists involved had communications about their submissions. GAO found were four instances in which unauthorized hair samples, not obtained from the Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests, were submitted for DNA testing as part of the National Survey for those forests. These included one submission on bobcat hair in 1999, and three submissions of lynx hair in September and October 2000. The biologists maintain that they submitted these samples to test the accuracy of the work done by the laboratory, although they knew that the Protocol for the National Survey did not provide for such action. They also said that they did not have the authority to make these submissions and that they were aware that they had alternatives for testing the laboratory other than submitting …
Date: March 6, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit Manual: Exposure Draft (open access)

Financial Audit Manual: Exposure Draft

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Audit Manual (FAM), published in July 2001, provides guidance for financial audits done by the Inspector General community, GAO, and their contractors. The FAM is a key part in enhancing accountability over taxpayer-provided resources. GAO and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) are committed to keeping the FAM current. With this goal in mind, a GAO/PCIE task force prepared an exposure draft to add new sections and to update existing sections of volume II of the FAM."
Date: September 1, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Government Auditing Standards: Amendment No. 3: Independence (Superseded by GAO-03-673G) (open access)

Government Auditing Standards: Amendment No. 3: Independence (Superseded by GAO-03-673G)

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-03-673G, Government Auditing Standards: 2003 Revision, June 2003. GAO presented a guide on revised government auditing standards to audit officials and others interested in government auditing standards. The standards require auditors to (1) not perform management functions or make management decisions and (2) not audit their own work or provide nonaudit services in situations in which the amounts or services involved are significant/material to the subject matter of the audit."
Date: January 1, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally-Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Incorporated, for 2000 and 1999 (open access)

Federally-Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Incorporated, for 2000 and 1999

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Incorporated, for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with general accounting principles."
Date: May 17, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information on the Number of Small Business Set-Asides Issued and Successfully Challenged (open access)

Information on the Number of Small Business Set-Asides Issued and Successfully Challenged

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Small Business Act requires small businesses to have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in the performance of federal government contracts. Congress directed the President to set a governmentwide goal of at least 23 percent of the total dollar value of the federal government's prime contract awards to be awarded to small businesses each fiscal year. The small Business Administration's (SBA) Procurement Center Representatives (PCRs) work with federal agencies and procuring activities by reviewing proposed acquisitions to determine whether they can be set aside for small businesses. GAO found that the number of PCR-recommended small businesses set-asides has declined by almost one-half since fiscal year 1991. Overall, contracting officers accepted 76 percent of the set-aside recommendations. Of the 24 percent rejected, SBA did not pursue 85 percent. Of the 15 percent appealed, 26 percent were successful. SBA officials attributed the decline to several factors, including (1) downsizing the number of PCRs; (2) assigning other duties to PCRs, such as requiring some PCRs to be Commercial Marketing Representatives, further reducing available PCR resources; and (3) fewer set-aside opportunities due to increasing size and individual federal procurements. SBA officials …
Date: November 1, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oversight of the Management of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs: Are the Complaints Justified (open access)

Oversight of the Management of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs: Are the Complaints Justified

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has shown that cross-matching or data sharing can be a valuable management and oversight practice. The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) already has the right to access Social Security Administration's (SSA) data. However, such access is subject to SSA's approval--the Code of Federal Regulations provides that "OWCP may verify the earnings reported by the employee through a variety of means, including by not limited to computer matches with the Office of Personnel Management and inquiries to SSA." Prior GAO work has demonstrated the importance of, and potential savings from, checking applicants' and beneficiaries' initial and continuing eligibility for federal benefits by verifying the economic information they provide with independent, third-party sources."
Date: July 19, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Group Purchasing Organizations: Pilot Study Suggests Large Buying Groups Do Not Always Offer Hospitals Lower Prices (open access)

Group Purchasing Organizations: Pilot Study Suggests Large Buying Groups Do Not Always Offer Hospitals Lower Prices

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses group purchasing organizations (GPO) for medical devices and supplies used in hospitals. By pooling the purchases of their member hospitals, these specialized firms negotiate lower prices from vendors. GAO found that a hospital's use of a GPO contract did not guarantee that the hospital saved money: GPOs' prices were not always lower and were often higher than prices paid by hospitals negotiating directly with vendors. GAO studied price savings with respect to: (1) whether hospitals using GPO contracts received better prices than hospitals that did their own contracting, (2) the size of the hospital, and (3) size of the GPO. This data raises questions about whether GPOs, specially large GPOs, achieve consistent price savings."
Date: April 30, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia: Status of Construction of the Convention Center (open access)

District of Columbia: Status of Construction of the Convention Center

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A new convention center is being constructed in accordance with the Washington Convention Center Authority Act of 1994, which authorizes the Washington Convention Center Authority (WCCA) to construct, maintain, and operate a new convention center while continuing to maintain and operate the existing convention center. GAO reviewed (1) issues related to the Revised Guaranteed Maximum Price agreement (RGMP) set in January 2002; (2) the status of construction and significant construction issues that could delay completion of the project; (3) whether the January 2002 estimated total project cost of $799.5 million has changed, and if so, the causes and nature of the changes; and (4) whether WCCA's funding appears to be sufficient to cover the current estimated total project cost. GAO found that on January 31, 2002, the RGMP was set by the construction manager and WCCA at $590.7 million. As of June 30, 2002, the RGMP has increased by $7 million to $597.7 million. The project construction schedule established by the RGMP includes deadlines for (1) substantial completion of convention-ready areas by March 31, 2002; (2) substantial completion of all remaining areas by June 30, 2003; and (3) …
Date: September 24, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
VA Long-Term Care: Implementation of Certain Millennium Act Provisions Is Incomplete, and Availability of Noninstitutional Services Is Uneven (open access)

VA Long-Term Care: Implementation of Certain Millennium Act Provisions Is Incomplete, and Availability of Noninstitutional Services Is Uneven

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent about $3.1 billion on long-term care in fiscal year 2001, This amount is likely to increase as the veteran population ages. VA provides or pays for long-term care in institutional settings, such as nursing homes, or in veteran's own homes and other community locations. The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act of 1999 required VA to offer long-term care services to eligible veterans, including in noninstitutional settings. More than two years after the act's passage, VA has not completely met the act's requirement that all eligible veterans be offered adult day health care, respite care, and geriatric evaluation. Although VA published draft regulations that would make these three services available, the regulations were not finalized as of March 2002. To respond to the act's requirements before its draft regulations were finalized, VA issued a policy directive making these three services available in noninstitutional settings. At the time of GAO's review, however, access to these services was far from universal. Moreover, the availability of all VA noninstitutional long-term care services, including the newly required services, is uneven across the VA system."
Date: March 29, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nursing Homes: Quality of Care More Related to Staffing than Spending (open access)

Nursing Homes: Quality of Care More Related to Staffing than Spending

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Costs for nursing home care have almost doubled since 1990, from $53 billion to $92 billion in 2000. Much of that spending has been financed with public monies. Under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the federal government financed 39 percent of the nation's nursing home spending in 2000, up from 28 percent in 1990. As federal outlays have grown, Congress has focused attention on the quality of care delivered and the level of staffing in nursing homes. Nursing home expenditures per resident day varied considerably across Ohio, Mississippi, and Washington--the 3 states covered in GAO's survey. Although the total level of spending varied, the average share devoted to resident-care activities, such as nursing care and medical supplies, was relatively stable. The share of spending devoted to buildings and equipment, by comparison, was more variable. Homes in Ohio and Washington that provided more nursing hours per resident day, especially nurses' aide hours, were less likely than homes providing fewer nursing hours to have repeated serious or potentially life-threatening quality problems. However, GAO found no clear relationship between a nursing home's spending per resident day and the number of serious …
Date: June 13, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
International Environment: U.S. Actions to Fulfill Commitments Under Five Key Agreements (open access)

International Environment: U.S. Actions to Fulfill Commitments Under Five Key Agreements

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States is bound by five international environmental agreements related to climate change (Framework Convention), desertification (Desertification Convention), the earth's ozone layer (Montreal Protocol), endangered species (CITES), and North American environmental cooperation (North American Agreement). However, the United States fell short of meeting a commitment or pledge in two areas--providing financial assistance to other nations and timely reporting. Agencies use informal means, such as meetings and informal communications, to track their actions to fulfill commitments under the five agreements. GAO found few studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. actions. These few studies generally concluded that the actions examined had positive effects."
Date: July 24, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library