A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Nonresponse follow-up--in which Census Bureau enumerators go door-to-door to count individuals who have not mailed back their questionnaires--was the most costly and labor intensive of all 2000 Census operations. According to Bureau data, labor, mileage, and administrative costs totaled $1.4 billion, or 22 percent of the $6.5 billion allocated for the 2000 Census. Several practices were critical to the Bureau's timely competition of nonresponse follow-up. The Bureau (1) had an aggressive outreach and promotion campaign, simplified questionnaire, and other efforts to boost the mail response rate and thus reduce the Bureau's nonresponse follow-up workload; (2) used a flexible human capital strategy that enabled it to meet its national recruiting and hiring goals and position enumerators where they were most needed; (3) called on local census offices to identify local enumeration challenges, such as locked apartment buildings and gated communities, and to develop action plans to address them; and (4) applied ambitious interim "stretch" goals that encouraged local census offices to finish 80 percent of their nonresponse follow-up workload within the first four weeks and be completely finished by the end of the eighth week, as opposed …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The estimated $6.5 billion full-cycle cost of the 2000 decennial census is nearly double that of the 1990 census. When the full-cycle cost is divided by the number of American households, the cost per housing unit of the 2000 census was $56 compared to $32 per housing unit for the 1990 census. The primary reasons for the cost increases include the following: (1) in the 1990 census, field data collection cost was $16 per housing unit, while in the 2000 census it was $32 per housing unit; (2) in the 1990 census, technology costs were $5 per housing unit compared to $8 per housing unit for the 2000 census; and (3) the data content and products activity cost $3 per housing unit in 1990 and $5 per housing unit in 2000."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the progress of the nonresponse follow-up operation of the 2000 Census, focusing on the: (1) response rate and its impact on the nonresponse follow-up workload; (2) Bureau of the Census' ability to complete nonresponse follow-up on schedule while maintaining data quality; (3) Bureau's efforts to redeliver questionnaires initially found to be undeliverable; and (4) status of the Bureau's data capture operations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Diesel engine emissions pose health risks, but one major source--heavy-duty diesel vehicles--is critical for our economy. To reduce risks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set stringent emissions standards for diesel engines. In 1998, EPA found that some engine makers were violating standards, so they agreed to build engines that meet 2004 standards early, by October 2002. EPA has set even more stringent standards for 2007. GAO was asked to (1) assess the October 2002 deadline's effects on industry and emissions, and (2) obtain stakeholders' views on the readiness of technology for the 2007 standards and EPA's efforts to ensure this. GAO analyzed information from EPA, 10 large trucking companies, the engine makers subject to the early deadline, and other stakeholders."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) implementation of the Display System Replacement (DSR) project, focusing on: (1) the status of FAA's overall modernization program; (2) FAA's progress in implementing DSR, with particular emphasis on events surrounding Boston's implementation; and (3) opportunities for continued success by FAA in completing its modernization projects."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) Anthrax Vaccine Program. Many questions have been raised about the program since DOD began vaccinating its 2.4 million active duty and reserve members in 1998. A major concern has been the program's effect on the National Guard and Air Force Reserve's retention of trained and experienced personnel. A questionnaire sent to 1,253 randomly selected Guard and Reserve pilots and others revealed that the anthrax immunization was a key reason these individuals left or otherwise changed their military status. Since September 1998, an estimated 25 percent of the pilots and aircrew members of the Guard and Reserve in this population transferred to another unit, left the military, or moved to inactive status."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO helped the Department of Transportation to determine whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund for fiscal year 2001 was supported by the underlying records. In performing the agreed-upon procedures, GAO did its work in accordance with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, which incorporate financial audit and attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Instructor shortages are affecting the quality and quantity of Army truck driver training. Fort Leonard Wood, which trains about 90 percent of truck drivers, is especially affected by the instructor shortage. The result is that student drivers are not fully trained in all aspects of the instruction program when they graduate. If formal schools had enough instructors, they would presumably be able to teach the entire instruction program. The student imbalance between the schools at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Bliss creates an ineffective use of resources. If the annual student load were more equally distributed between the two schools, student graduates from Fort Leonard Wood might receive more complete training. The formal schools are not adhering to the instruction program, which calls for some training with trucks carrying cargo. Furthermore, no training is provided on how to pull equipment. Similarly, students are not being trained to drive under different weather and surface conditions. Because annual check rides and sustainment are not always being performed, unsafe driving habits may go undetected. Although performing and recording check rides and sustainment may be time-consuming, these procedures can save …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on real-time disclosure of foreign automated teller machine (ATM) fees levied by the card-issuing bank, focusing on: (1) alterations to the ATM system that would be needed to support real-time foreign fee disclosure; (2) estimated costs and timeframes associated with implementing real-time foreign fee disclosure; (3) potential competitive impact on ATM industry participants, defined to include various sized banks, ATM networks, ATM owners, and third-party processors; (4) potential impact on consumers; and (5) alternatives to real-time foreign fee disclosure."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000, Congress created general aviation entitlement grants to provide funding up to $150,000 per fiscal year to individual general aviation airports. These grants fund capital improvements and repair projects. GAO was asked to (1) assess the amount of funding airports used, (2) identify the types of projects undertaken, and (3) convey suggestions made by interested parties to improve the grants in preparation for the reauthorization of the legislation in 2003."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the results of GAO's review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) rulemaking process and ways to improve its efficiency. GAO found that the time FAA took to formally initiate a rule in response to a congressional mandate or a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation varied widely. Between fiscal year 1995 and fiscal year 2000, FAA initiated most such rules within two years, but some rules were initiated many years later. During the entire six-year period GAO reviewed FAA's median time for the final rule phase--about 15 months--was comparable to that of four other federal regulatory agencies. Over a shorter, more recent period, FAA took longer to complete this phase. In 1998, FAA developed reforms to address problems the pace of rulemaking, including the timing of management's involvement, the administration of the process, and human capital management issues. However, the reforms have yet to shorten the rulemaking process because they have not been fully or effectively implemented. Shifting priorities, some brought about by external events and some by internal circumstances, have continued to delay the pace of rulemaking. In addition, difficult policy issues have sometimes remained …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's development and acquisition plans for command and control systems that will be part of future digitized battlefield units, focusing on the Army protection plan to determine whether it ensures sufficient assessments to test and develop the defensibility of the digitized battlefield against command and control warfare attacks."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite years of effort to provide debt relief to the world's poorest countries, these countries' debt problems still have not been resolved. In response to this situation, Congress introduced Senate Bill 2210, the Debt Relief Enhancement Act of 2002, to reduce these countries' debt service payments to manageable levels. The act proposes that no qualified country pay more than 10 percent of its revenue on external debt service or no more than 5 percent if the country suffers a public health crisis. GAO found that the act would immediately lower the debt service of countries that qualify for relief. It would cost $2.7 billion for 26 countries over the next 3 years and have no effect on long-term debt sustainability. If applied over a 20-year period, the act's provisions would address the long-term debt sustainability of these countries. However, the cost of the proposal would grow to between $7 billion and $12 billion for those 26 countries. An alternative debt proposal, proposed by the Bush administration, is to convert up to 50 percent of future multilateral concessional loans to grants. This proposal does not address the short-term debt …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the next 5 years, DOD's overall investments are expected to average $150 billion a year to modernize and transition our forces. In addition, DOD must modernize its forces amid competing demands for federal funds, such as health care and homeland security. Therefore, it is critical that DOD manage its acquisitions in the most cost efficient and effective manner possible. DOD's newest acquisition policy emphasizes the use of evolutionary, knowledge-based concepts that have proven to produce more effective and efficient weapon systems outcomes. However, most DOD programs currently do not employ these practices and, as a result, experience cost increases, schedule delays, and poor product quality and reliability. This testimony compares the best practices for developing new products with the experiences of the F/A-22 program."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked for about $185 billion to develop, procure, operate, and maintain its weapon systems. This request represents an increase of 18 percent since 2001 for the total ownership costs of DOD weapon systems. Often, DOD systems need expensive spare parts and support systems after they are fielded to meet required readiness levels. DOD has been increasingly concerned that the high cost of maintaining systems has limited its ability to modernize and invest in new weapons. This report examines the best practices of leading commercial firms to manage a product's total ownership costs and determines if those practices can be applied to DOD."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "More than 17 million working-age individuals have a self-reported disability that limits work. Their unemployment rate is also twice as high as for those without a work disability, according to recent Census data. In the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, the Congress mandated that GAO study and report on existing tax incentives to encourage businesses to employ and accommodate workers with disabilities. This report provides information on (1) the current usage of the tax incentives, (2) the incentives' ability to encourage the hiring and retention of workers with disabilities, and (3) options to enhance awareness and usage of the incentives."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Every criminal justice system faces coordination challenges. However, the unique structure and funding of the D.C. criminal justice system, in which federal and D.C. jurisdictional boundaries and dollars are blended, creates additional challenges. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) has played a useful role in addressing such coordination challenges, especially in areas in which agencies perceived a common interest. However, CJCC's uncertain future could leave D.C. without benefit of an independent entity for coordinating the activities of its unique criminal justice system. Funding CJCC through any participating agency diminishes its stature as an independent entity in the eyes of several CJCC member agencies, reducing their willingness to participate. Without a requirement to report successes and areas of continuing discussion and disagreement to each agency's funding source, CJCC's activities, achievements, and areas of disagreement have generally been known only to its participating agencies. This has created little incentive to coordinate for the common good, and all too often agencies have simply "agreed to disagree" without taking action. Furthermore, without a meaningful role in cataloging multiagency initiatives, CJCC has been unable to ensure that criminal justice initiatives are coordinated among …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The recent emergence of software-defined radio technology offers the potential to address key communications shortfalls and significantly improve military capabilities. The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program was initiated in 1997 to develop and apply this technology and to bring together separate service-led programs into a joint software-defined radio development effort. JTRS radios are intended to interoperate with existing radio systems and provide the war fighter with additional communications capability to access maps and other visual data, communicate via voice and video with other units and levels of command, and obtain information directly from battlefield sensors. As such, the JTRS program is considered a major transformational effort for the military and is expected to enable information superiority, network-centric warfare as well as modernization efforts, such as the Army's Future Combat Systems. Although total program costs have yet to be determined, the Army's effort to acquire and field close to half of the estimated 250,000 JTRS radios that are needed is expected to cost $14.4 billion. Congress asked us to review the JTRS program to determine if there are either management or technical challenges and risks that could jeopardize …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's management problems, focusing on: (1) the status of the Board's organization and operations; (2) the Board's efforts to update and develop plans, policies, and procedures for accomplishing the Board's mission, including those aimed at ensuring the objectivity of its investigative activities; and (3) whether the Board would benefit from the independent oversight of an inspector general."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to reduce children's exposure to pesticides by implementing the requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), focusing on the: (1) approach EPA has developed for making decisions about applying the new safety factor; (2) progress that has been made in considering aggregate exposure and cumulative effects; and (3) progress that has been made in reassessing tolerances for pesticide residues."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Coast Guard's budgets for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, focusing on the: (1) Coast Guard's progress in justifying the Deepwater Replacement Project and addressing GAO's concerns about its affordability; (2) Coast Guard's plans for spending its fiscal year (FY) 1999 emergency funds; and (3) budget strategies the agency may have to consider in the future to address continuing budget constraints."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its work and observations on federal spending to combat terrorism, focusing on: (1) the foreign-origin and domestic terrorism threat; (2) program growth and other issues raised throughout its work on combating terrorism; and (3) steps the executive branch has taken toward improving crosscutting management and coordination and provide some preliminary observations on the 1998 and 1999 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports to Congress on governmentwide spending and budgeting to combat terrorism."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Small communities have long faced challenges in obtaining or retaining the commercial air service they desire. These challenges are increasing as many U.S. airlines try to stem unprecedented financial losses through numerous cost-cutting measures, including reducing or eliminating service in some markets, often small communities. Congress will be considering whether to reauthorize its federal assistance programs for small communities. GAO was asked to describe the kinds of efforts that states and local communities have taken to enhance air service at small communities; federal programs for enhancing air service to small communities; and issues regarding the type and extent of federal assistance to enhance air service to small communities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed information security audits at federal agencies, focusing on: (1) the pervasive weaknesses that continue since the results of a similar analysis 2 years ago; (2) the serious risks that these weaknesses pose; and (3) major common weaknesses that agencies need to address in order to improve their information security programs."