Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, for fiscal years 2002, 2001 and 2000. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviews the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Former Member of Congress for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America, for fiscal years 2002, 2001, and 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corportation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted principles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Climate change has implications for the vast land and water resources managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (FS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Park Service (NPS). These resources generally occur within four ecosystem types: coasts and oceans, forests, fresh waters, and grasslands and shrublands. GAO obtained experts' views on (1) the effects of climate change on federal resources and (2) the challenges managers face in addressing climate change effects on these resources. GAO held a workshop with the National Academies in which 54 scientists, economists, and federal resource managers participated, and conducted 4 case studies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Inc., for fiscal years 2002, 2001, and 2000. 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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Disabled American Veterans, for fiscal years 2002, and 2001. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. for fiscal year 2001. GAO did not review the auditors' working papers, and therefore did not render an opinion."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The America COMPETES Act gave the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), within the Department of Commerce, the authority, through 2010, to obtain the temporary services of up to 200 experts or consultants per year, but did not specify how the agency should acquire these services. NIST has used this authority to award personal services contracts to obtain the services of individuals. The act requires GAO to report on whether additional safeguards would be needed if NIST's authority were to be made permanent. To meet that requirement, GAO determined (1) the extent to which NIST has used its authority; (2) how effective the authority has been in helping NIST meet its need for experts; and (3) the extent to which NIST has provided appropriate safeguards over its use, and what additional safeguards are needed. GAO reviewed statutes, regulations, federal guidance, and NIST's contracts. In addition, GAO interviewed officials at NIST, Commerce, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of The Foundation of the Federal Bar Association, for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO found no instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Financial Management Service's (FMS) controls over safeguarding of assets and documenting disbursements and reconciliation of reports as well as the results of previously suggested improvements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been challenged in modernizing its thousands of business systems. Since 1995, GAO has designated the department's business systems modernization efforts as high risk. One key to effectively modernizing DOD's systems environment and satisfying relevant legislative requirements is ensuring that business system investments comply with an enterprisewide strategic blueprint, commonly called an enterprise architecture. For DOD's business systems modernization, it is developing and using a federated Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA), which is a coherent family of parent and subsidiary architectures. GAO was requested to determine whether key Department of the Navy business systems modernization programs comply with DOD's federated BEA. To determine this, GAO examined the BEA compliance assessments, certifications, and approvals for selected Navy programs against relevant guidance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, National Memorial Inc., for fiscal year 2001. GAO's review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 requires that any budget request for construction of a new class of major combatant vessels will be for one with an integrated nuclear power system, unless the Secretary of Defense submits notification to Congress that it is not in the national interest to do so. The Navy's Next Generation Cruiser--CG(X)--is subject to this legislation. In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Navy's analysis of options for CG(X), including cost estimates related to building nuclear and conventional cruisers. GAO examined (1) the design concepts included in the CG(X) Analysis of Alternatives, (2) how each ship design concept addresses threats that cause capability gaps for maritime air and missile defense, and (3) how the Navy's methodology and assumptions affect its estimates of the relative costs for conventional and nuclear cruisers. To accomplish this, GAO analyzed CG(X) program documents, interviewed Navy and Department of Defense officials, and assessed the effect of alternative methodologies and assumptions on cost estimates. This letter is an unclassified summary of the classified report."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the expansion of Medicare beneficiaries' access to prescription drugs, focusing on the: (1) federal drug price discounts available to federal and nonfederal purchasers and the size of those discounts; and (2) potential effects that extending such discounts to nonfederal purchasers may have on outpatient drug prices paid by federal and nonfederal purchasers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During its review of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Command's fiscal year 2001 budget request, GAO found that many information technology systems were being procured and fielded in relatively large quantities--sometimes exceeding 50 percent of the total--during low-rate initial production and before completion of operational testing. The primary purpose of low-rate initial production is to produce enough units for operational testing and evaluation and to establish production capabilities to prepare for full-rate production. Commercial and Department of Defense (DOD) best practices have shown that completing a system's testing before producing significant quantities substantially lowers the risk of costly fixes and retrofits. For major weapons systems, statutory provisions limit the quantities of systems produced during low-rate initial production to the minimum quantity necessary. These statutory provisions also require justification for quantities exceeding 10 percent of total production. Although these provisions do not apply to non-major systems, DOD and Navy acquisition regulations encourage these programs to make use of the low-rate initial production concept. This report reviews (1) information systems being procured and fielded for SPAWAR in large numbers before operational testing, (2) what effects …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) new rule on health insurance premium conversion. GAO noted that: (1) the interim rule enables federal employees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums with pre-tax dollars, as provided by statutory law; and (2) OPM complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress passed the D.C. Family Court Act of 2001 to reform court practices and establish procedures to improve interactions between the District of Columbia's Family Court, of D.C. Superior Court, and social service agencies in the District. The act directed the Mayor to prepare a plan to integrate the computer systems of District agencies with those of the Court. The fiscal year 2002 D.C. Appropriations Act authorized $200,000 for integrating the computer systems and $500,000 for social workers to implement family court reform. The act also required the Mayor to prepare a plan for these funds and mandated that the plan be issued on July 8, 2002. The Mayor's plan provides such useful information as (1) an outline of the District's current health and human services information technology environment and its information needs and limitations regarding the Family Court, (2) planned and possible short- and long-term initiatives to integrate the District's computer systems with those of the Family Court, (3) five technological integration priorities, and (4) how the $200,000 in appropriated funds will be spent. However, the District has not yet completed essential analyses, such as …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), approved the drug Mifeprex for use in terminating early term pregnancy. FDA approved the drug under a provision of its Subpart H regulations, allowing it to restrict the drug's distribution to assure its safe use. Critics have questioned aspects of the Mifeprex approval process, including the reliance on historically-controlled clinical trials that compare a drug's effects on a condition to the known course of the condition rather than to another drug or placebo. Critics argued that Mifeprex does not fit within the scope of Subpart H, which applies to drugs that treat serious or life-threatening illnesses. Concerns have also been raised about FDA's oversight of the drug since approval, including the agency's response to deaths in U.S. women who had taken the drug. In this report GAO (1) describes FDA's approval of Mifeprex, including the evidence considered and the restrictions placed on its distribution; (2) compares the Mifeprex approval process to the approval processes for other Subpart H restricted drugs; and (3) compares FDA's postmarket oversight of …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Gold Star Wives of America, Incorporated, for fiscal year 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statement of the corporation was presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards."