A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) requires four of the nation's largest tobacco companies to make annual payments to states in perpetuity as reimbursement for past health care costs related to tobacco use. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 requires GAO to report annually on the amount of MSA payments states receive and how they allocate these payments for the years 2002 through 2006. This report provides information on (1) the amount of MSA payments that the 46 states party to the MSA received for fiscal year 2002 and the amount these states expect to receive during fiscal year 2003; (2) states' allocations of MSA funds to various program categories for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 and changes in these allocations from prior years; and (3) changes in states' decision-making frameworks for MSA funds since fiscal year 2001. To conduct this study, GAO sent a survey to budget officials in the 46 states party to the MSA. GAO did not independently verify the accuracy of the information provided by the state budget offices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) supplies the nation's military services and certain civilian agencies with critical resources needed to accomplish their worldwide missions. During fiscal year 2001, DLA contracts totaled $14.8 billion--$1.2 billion of which was for clothing and textiles. The House Committee on Armed Services directed GAO to determine whether DLA is properly implementing applicable statutory and regulatory guidance for "best value" purchases--those that in the federal government's view provide the greatest overall benefits, not just the lowest price. GAO was also asked to obtain DLA officials' views on the domestic supplier base for key clothing and textile items."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The explosive growth of computer interconnectivity is transforming the workings of our nation, its government, and its critical infrastructures. But with the enormous benefits of this interconnectivity comes a threat: both physical and cyber assets are potentially vulnerable to computer-based attack. In response, Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD 63, May 1998) called for a range of actions to improve the nation's ability to detect and respond to serious infrastructure attacks. For specific agencies under the Committee on Energy and Commerce's jurisdiction and for private-sector organizations for which these agencies have responsibilities, GAO was asked, among other things, to assess their progress and challenges in undertaking critical infrastructure protection (CIP) activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Created in 1933 to insure bank deposits and promote sound banking practices, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the nation's financial system. In 1989, legislation to reform the federal deposit insurance system created three funds to be administered by FDIC: the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund, which protect bank and savings deposits, and the FSLIC Resolution Fund, created to close out the business of the former Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. GAO is responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance about whether FDIC's financial statements for the funds are presented fairly, whether it maintains effective internal controls, and whether FDIC has complied with selected laws and regulations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) readiness assessment system was designed to assess the ability of units and joint forces to fight and meet the demands of the national security strategy. In 1998, GAO concluded that the readiness reports provided to Congress were vague and ineffective as oversight tools. Since that time, Congress added reporting requirements to enhance its oversight of military readiness. Therefore, the Chairman asked GAO to examine (1) the progress DOD made in resolving issues raised in the 1998 GAO report on both the unit-level readiness reporting system and the lack of specificity in DOD's Quarterly Readiness Reports to the Congress, (2) the extent to which DOD has complied with legislative reporting requirements enacted since 1997, and (3) DOD's plans to improve readiness reporting."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As a separately organized agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) administers the Stockpile Life Extension Program, whose purpose is to extend, through refurbishment, the operational lives of the weapons in the nuclear stockpile. NNSA encountered significant management problems with its first refurbishment. NNSA has begun three additional life extensions. This study was undertaken to determine the extent to which budgetary, cost accounting, and other management issues that contributed to problems with the first refurbishment have been adequately addressed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About $3.3 billion in funds were allocated to states in fiscal year 2003 for Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker employment and training programs under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. The formulas used to distribute these funds are generally the same as those used to distribute funds under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982, although WIA target populations and program goals differ from those of JTPA. In anticipation of the reauthorization of WIA, we assessed current and proposed formulas for allocating funds to states for these programs and identify potential alternative allocation formulas. We identified various issues with the current funding formulas in our April 2003 report. For this review, we focused on three questions: (1) Are there alternative formula factors that are better aligned with current programs and are based on reliable and more current data? (2) How might changes to the current formulas affect the distribution of WIA funds among the states? (3) What are the implications of proposed program and formula changes in the House's WIA reauthorization bill (H.R. 1261) for state allocations and what are some alternatives to these …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "By the year 2006, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) projects it will lose a significant portion of its mission-critical workforce to retirement. VBA has hired over 2,000 new employees to begin to fill this expected gap. GAO was asked to review: (1) the attrition rate at VBA, particularly for new employees who examine veterans' claims, and the agency's methods for calculating attrition; and (2) the adequacy of VBA's analysis of attrition data, including the reasons for attrition. To answer these questions, GAO analyzed attrition data from VBA's Office of Human Resources, calculated attrition rates for VBA and other federal agencies using a governmentwide database on federal employment, and interviewed VBA officials about their efforts to measure attrition and determine why new employees leave."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 95-million acre National Wildlife Refuge System contains federal lands devoted to the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and plant resources. While the federal government owns the surface lands in the system, in many cases private parties own the subsurface mineral rights and have the legal authority to explore for and extract oil and gas. GAO was asked to determine the extent of oil and gas activity on refuges, identify the environmental effects, and assess the Fish and Wildlife Service's management and oversight of oil and gas activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is in charge of addressing cleanup at the more than 9,000 U.S. properties that were formerly owned or controlled by the Department of Defense (DOD) and have been identified as potentially eligible for environmental cleanup. The Corps has determined that more than 4,000 of these properties have no hazards that require further Corps study or cleanup action. However, in recent years, hazards have surfaced at some of these properties, leading state and federal regulators to question whether the Corps has properly assessed and cleaned up these properties. In this context, Congress asked us to (1) analyze federal coordination requirements that apply to the cleanup of these properties, (2) assess recent DOD and Corps efforts to improve coordination, and (3) identify any issues regulators may have about coordination with the Corps."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) spends more than $17 billion annually for military schools that offer nearly 30,000 military training courses to almost 3 million military personnel and DOD civilians. DOD is transforming its forces, including the way it trains, to favor more rapid and responsive deployment. DOD's training transformation strategy emphasizes the use of advanced distributed learning (ADL) programs, such as Internet-based training, as critical to achieving its training and overarching transformation goals. ADL is instruction that does not require an instructor's presence; can use more than one media; and emphasizes the use of reusable content, networks, and learning management systems. Because of ADL's importance to DOD's transformation efforts and pursuant to GAO's basic legislative responsibilities, we initiated this review to create a baseline document that describes the status of DOD's ADL programs. GAO reviewed these programs to determine (1) DOD's expectations for the programs; (2) the implementation status of those programs; and (3) major challenges affecting program implementation. GAO did not assess the programs' effectiveness at this time because most are in the early stages of implementation."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerned about the increasing proportion of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's (PBGC) operational and administrative budget that is outside the annual administrative expense limitation, the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging asked GAO to review PBGC's (1) application of the limitations set forth in its appropriations in developing its budget estimates and (2) methodology for allocating and reporting its operational and administrative expenses falling under the statutory limitation."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the public from harmful emissions, transportation planners in areas with poor air must show that their plans will not make it worse. Every time they update their transportation improvement program (TIP) and their 20-year plan--every 2 and 3 years respectively--federal laws and regulations require that they ensure the emissions from their plans will not exceed the mobile source emissions budget. This is known as "demonstrating conformity." Areas that fail to do so generally cannot spend federal funds on new projects until they resolve the problem. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works asked GAO to determine (1) how many areas have failed, why, and what corrective actions they took, and (2) what issues transportation planners had with the conformity process and what solutions are possible."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although noise has long been a problem around airports, the anticipated growth in demand for air travel has also raised questions about the effect of airport operations on air quality. Aviation-related emissions of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to the formation of ozone, have been of particular concern to many airport operators. A federal study at 19 airports estimated that, by 2010, aircraft emissions have the potential to significantly contribute to air pollution in the areas around these airports. GAO agreed to review efforts in the United States and other countries to reduce emissions at airports and the effect of improvements in aircraft and engine design on emissions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "New resources for education come at a time when states are struggling to address budget shortfalls. Two provisions in Title I--maintenance of effort (MOE) and supplement not supplant (SNS)--are designed to limit the extent to which federal funds could be used to replace state and local resources. To assess the quality of oversight of these provisions, GAO determined (1) how 6 states--Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and Massachusetts--conducted oversight of the MOE and SNS provisions and what factors affected their ability to do so; (2) what efforts were made by the U.S. Department of Education to enforce MOE and SNS; and (3) in the 6 states, what changes have occurred in the federal share of education funding from school year 1999-2000 to 2000-2001."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past decade, Americans have come to rely increasingly on mobile phones to meet their business and personal needs. However, because of the nature of radio transmission and other constraints, consumers are not always able to complete calls or to hear their calls clearly. As reliance on mobile phones has increased, state officials, consumer groups, the media, and others have raised concerns about the extent of call quality problems. With regard to call quality, GAO agreed to describe the regulatory framework; determine the extent to which consumers are experiencing problems; and discuss actions for improving call quality suggested by interested parties."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has historically been unable to accurately account for and record its disbursements. In March 2002, the DOD Comptroller cited metrics that showed dramatic reductions in payment recording errors (57 percent between October 2000 and October 2001), backlogs of commercial payments (41 percent between April and October 2001), and travel card payment delinquencies (34 percent for those individually billed and 86 percent for those centrally billed between January and December 2001). As a result, the Congress asked us to determine whether the cited reductions were (1) calculated using consistent definitions and methodologies, (2) properly supported, and (3) effective indicators of short-term financial management progress."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, we are responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission. We audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2002, and 2001. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were reliable, (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) Commission management complied with applicable laws and regulations. The American Battle Monuments Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, administers, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil. The Commission is also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining 3 nonfederal memorials with funds provided by those memorials' sponsors."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is responsible for providing over 48,000 children with a safe place to learn. In response to concerns that data in its old information system did not accurately reflect the condition of facilities, BIA acquired a new system, called the Facilities Management Information System (FMIS). GAO was asked to determine whether FMIS addresses the old system's weaknesses and meets BIA's management needs, whether BIA has finished validating the accuracy of data entered into FMIS from the old system, and how well the quality control measures are working for ensuring the accuracy of new data being entered into the system from individual schools."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) long-standing financial management and business systems modernization problems result in a lack of information needed to make sound decisions, hinder the efficiency of operations, and leave the department vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse. Such problems led us in 1995 to put financial management and business systems modernization at DOD on our list of high risk areas in the federal government, a designation that continues today. GAO was asked to (1) provide information on the number and cost of DOD's current business systems and (2) determine if DOD is effectively managing and overseeing selected accounting system investments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Customs Service is conducting a multiyear, multibillion dollar project, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), a new trade processing system that is planned to support effective and efficient movement of goods into the United States. By congressional mandate, Customs' expenditure plans for ACE must meet certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO. This study addresses whether Customs' latest plan satisfies these conditions and provides observations about the plan and Customs' efforts to implement GAO's open recommendations for improving ACE management."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2003, the Congress authorized pilot programs to help the Department of Defense (DOD) laboratories and test centers explore innovative business partnerships and human capital strategies. Congressional concerns about DOD's implementation of the pilot programs have been growing. The Congress mandated that GAO review pilot program implementation. GAO (1) identified the pilot initiatives proposed and their current status, (2) examined factors that affected implementation, and (3) assessed implementation challenges the 2003 pilot program faces."

This report discusses the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which assists the President in carrying out his budgetary duties. Its primary function is to oversee the development and implementation of the federal budget.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) civilian employees play key roles in such areas as defense policy, intelligence, finance, acquisitions, and weapon systems maintenance. Although downsized 38 percent between fiscal years 1989 and 2002, this workforce has taken on greater roles as a result of DOD's restructuring and transformation. Responding to congressional concerns about the quality and quantity of, and the strategic planning for the civilian workforce, GAO determined the following for DOD, the military services, and selected defense agencies: (1) the extent of top-level leadership involvement in civilian strategic planning; (2) whether elements in civilian strategic plans are aligned to the overall mission, focused on results, and based on current and future civilian workforce data; and (3) whether civilian and military personnel strategic plans or sourcing initiatives were integrated."