Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) are complex, long-standing, and deeply rooted throughout its business operations. DOD's financial management deficiencies represent the single largest obstacle to achieving an unqualified opinion on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements. So far, none of the military services or major DOD components have passed the test of an independent financial audit because of pervasive weaknesses in financial management systems, operations, and controls. These problems go back decades, and earlier attempts at reform have been unsuccessful. DOD continues to rely on a far-flung, complex network of finance, logistics, personnel, acquisition, and other management information systems for financial data to support day-to-day management and decision-making. This network has evolved into an overly complex and error-prone operation with (1) little standardization across DOD components, (2) multiple systems performing the same tasks, (3) the same data stored in multiple systems, (4) manual data entry into multiple systems, and (5) a large number of data translations and interfaces, which combine to exacerbate problems with data integrity. Many of the elements that are crucial to financial management reform and business process transformation--particularly those that rely …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the year 2000 readiness of state-administered federal programs, focusing on: (1) the reported year 2000 readiness of 10 key state-administered federal human services programs; and (2) federal activities to assess states' readiness for these 10 programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed its review of the independent auditors' reports on the Department of Education's financial statements covering fiscal year (FY) 1998, focusing on: (1) weaknesses in the financial reporting process; (2) inadequate reconciliations of financial accounting records; and (3) inadequate controls over information systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the security of the nation's air transportation system, focusing on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to implement and improve security in two key areas: (1) air traffic control computer systems; and (2) airport passenger screening checkpoints."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed federal efforts to combat terrorism, focusing on the: (1) need to link threats to strategies and resources in federal efforts to combat terrorism; (2) need to improve federal and state intergovernmental coordination and program issues; and (3) findings of a report from the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction--better known as the Gilmore Panel."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996 ensures that agency financial management systems routinely provide reliable and timely financial information on the investment of resources, reduced costs and programs oversight. Although many agencies are receiving unqualified opinions on their financial statements, auditor determinations of FFMIA compliance are lagging. To achieve the financial management improvements envisioned by the Chief Financial Officers Act, FFMIA, and more recently, the President's Management Agenda, agencies need to modernize their financial systems to generate reliable, useful, and timely financial information throughout the year and at year-end."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over 65 percent of American households currently subscribe to cable television service. There has been increasing concern that cable television rates have been rising aster than the rate of inflation for the last few years. As required, on a yearly basis, FCC prepares a report on cable rates in areas that face and those that do not face effective competition--a term defined by statute. For information used in this report, FCC maintains information on the competitive status of cable franchises and annually surveys a sample of cable franchises. GAO examined (1) the reliability of information that cable companies provided to FCC in its annual survey regarding cost factors underlying cable rate increases and (2) FCC's process for updating and revising cable franchise classifications as to whether they face effective competition."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has been at the forefront of federal agencies in using the OMB Circular A-76 process. In 1995, DOD made it a priority to reduce operating costs and free funds for other needs. DOD has also augmented the A-76 program with what it terms strategic sourcing--a broader array of reinvention and reengineering options that may not necessarily involve A-76 competitions. The number of positions--at one point 229,000--that DOD planned to study and the time frames for the studies have varied. Current plans are to study about 183,000 positions between fiscal years 1997 and 2007. Changes in the inventory of commercial activities and the current administration's sourcing initiatives could change the number of positions studied in the future. However, GAO has not evaluated the extent to which these changes might occur. DOD's A-76 program has faced several challenges that may provide valuable lessons learned for other federal agencies. These lessons include the following: (1) studies took longer than initially projected, (2) costs and resources required for the studies were underestimated, (3) selecting and grouping functions to compete can be difficult, and (4) determining and maintaining …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Telecommuting refers to work that is done at an employee's home or at a job site other than a traditional business office. Perhaps the biggest challenge to establishing and expanding telecommuting programs in both the public and private sectors is management's concerns about the types of positions and employees suitable for telecommuting, protecting proprietary and sensitive data, and establishing cost-effective telecommuting programs. Some federal and state laws and regulations, including those governing taxes, workplace safety, workforce recordkeeping, and liability for home workplace injuries, are also potential obstacles to telecommuting. Overall, the application of state tax laws to telecommuting arrangements, as well as other laws and regulations enacted before the transition to a more technological and information based economy, is evolving and their ultimate impact remains unclear."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In this statement, the Comptroller General discusses the fiscal policy challenges facing Congress and the nation. The focus of tax administration and budgeting are shifting because of current and projected budget surpluses. The Comptroller General speaks of the need for fiscal responsibility when using surplus projections to design tax and spending policies. These projections are based on a set of assumptions that may or may not hold. They are not a precise prediction of a future and should be used as a reference point when making policy decisions. Although the projected surpluses can provide an opportunity to respond to pent-up demands for additional spending or tax cuts, Congress must balance those demands with the nation's long-term economic health."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on federal courts and the differences that exist in ordering fines and restitution, focusing on: (1) the percentages of those offenders who were ordered to pay fines and restitution in fiscal year (FY) 1997 and those who were not; (2) differences across judicial circuits and districts in the percentages of those offenders who were ordered to pay fines or restitution and those who were not; and (3) officials' opinions about possible reasons for these differences."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the American Battle Monuments Commission's (ABMC) financial statements audits, focusing on: (1) the legislative initiatives that were designed to improve financial management across the federal government; (2) the history of ABMC's financial accountability, focusing specifically on the World War II memorial fund; and (3) the results of GAO's most recent financial audits."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has spent billions of dollars attempting to reduce the consumption of petroleum in the transportation sector for over 25 years. Throughout the period, the government has tried tax incentives, mandates to use vehicles that run on alternative fuels, and laws designed to enhance fuel efficiency. More recently, the federal government conducted a $1.2 billion partnership between industry and government, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicle, to develop a highly fuel-efficient car. The administration has proposed a new initiative, known as FreedomCAR, focused on developing hydrogen fuel cells that will provide the technology necessary to create cars and trucks that do not require petroleum and have no polluting emissions--without sacrificing safety or convenience. FreedomCAR will operate as a cooperative research effort between the Department of Energy and General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, and the Ford Motor Company. The FreedomCAR initiative should make sure that it (1) performs research that private industry would not do on its own, (2) specifies a clear and measurable goal, (3) devises a strategy to directly address that goal, and (4) considers whether consumers will buy the products resulting from the research …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Many people are homeless for only a short time and get back on their feet with minimal assistance, but others are chronically homeless and need intensive and ongoing assistance. Fifty federal programs exist to help the homeless with housing. Sixteen of these are targeted exclusively to the homeless, and the others are mainstream programs. Targeted programs were funded at $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2001. GAO found that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been unable to ensure that adequate coordination occurs among the programs without creating undue administrative burdens for the states and communities. Steps have been taken to improve the coordination of homeless assistance programs within communities and to reduce some of the administrative burdens caused by separate programs. Although low-income populations face barriers to obtaining services provided by mainstream programs, these barriers are compounded by homelessness. In addition, the underlying structure and operations of federal mainstream programs do not ensure that the special needs of homeless people are met. Consolidating HUD's McKinney-Vento programs could help reduce the administrative burden. However, to end chronic homelessness in 10 years, federal agencies must strive to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 seek to minimize pervasive information security weaknesses that place federal operations at significant risk of disruption, tampering, fraud, and inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information. Increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, pose significant risks to computer systems and to the critical operations and infrastructures they support, such as telecommunications, power distribution, public health, national defense, law enforcement, and emergency services. Although federal agencies have taken steps to redesign and strengthen their information security programs, federal systems are not being adequately protected from computer-based threats, even though these systems process, store, and transmit enormous amounts of sensitive data and are indispensable to many federal agency operations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The sharing of regulatory and criminal history data among financial services regulators can reduce fraudulent activities. GAO recently reported on several instances in which unscrupulous brokers moved from one financial industry to another. This testimony focuses on (1) systems used by financial regulators for tracking regulatory history data, (2) regulatory history data needed to help prevent rogue migration and limit fraud, (3) criminal history data needs among financial regulators, and (4) challenges and considerations for implementing an information-sharing system among financial regulators."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the federal government's role in helping pay for Medicaid, focusing on how: (1) the current financing scheme works; and (2) it compromises the agreement for federal/state sharing of Medicaid financing."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony describes China's development of rule of law practices related to the commitments China made to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which it joined in November 2001. When China joined the WTO, it agreed that its legal measures would be consistent with its WTO obligations. GAO found 60 commitments that specifically obligate China to enact, repeal, or modify trade-related laws or regulations. In addition, China has made a substantial number of other WTO commitments related to the rule of law in transparency, judicial review, uniform enforcement of laws, and nondiscriminatory treatment. Chinese government officials described how their efforts for reform go beyond China's WTO commitments and include broad reforms of laws and regulations at the national and provincial levels, as well as reforms of judicial and administrative procedures. However, Chinese officials acknowledged the challenges they face in completing the necessary reforms and identified the need for outside training assistance. According to GAO's survey, U.S. businesses in China consider rule of law-related WTO commitments to be important, especially the consistent application of laws, regulations, and practices in China, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. However, a majority of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the computer security aspects of critical infrastructure protection, focusing on federal agency performance in addressing computer security issues."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In August 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) space shuttle program was at a critical juncture. Its workforce had declined significantly since 1995, its flight rate was to double to support the assembly of the International Space Station, and costly safety upgrades were planned to enhance the space shuttle's operation until at least 2012. Workforce reductions were jeopardizing NASA's ability to safely support the shuttle's planned flight rate. Recognizing the need to revitalize the shuttle's workforce, NASA ended its downsizing plans for the shuttle program and began to develop and equip the shuttle fleet with various safety and supportability upgrades. NASA is making progress in revitalizing the shuttle program's workforce. NASA's current budget request projects an increase of more than 200 full-time equivalent staff through fiscal year 2002. NASA has also focused more attention on human capital management in its annual performance plan. However, considerable challenges still lie ahead. Because many of the additional staff are new hires, they will need considerable training and will need to be integrated into the shuttle program. Also, NASA still needs to fully staff areas critical to shuttle safety; deal …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Defense Security Service's (DSS) personnel security investigation program, focusing on: (1) how decisions to grant or deny security clearances to Department of Defense (DOD) employees and contractors are made; (2) key findings from GAO's October 1999 report; and (3) DOD's actions on GAO's recommendations."

Testimony 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 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 samples …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the effectiveness of the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) efforts to prevent fraud by third-party billing companies that submit claims to Medicare on behalf of providers."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its investigation of the Behavioral Medical Systems' (BMS) Medicare billing practices, focusing on: (1) BMS and how it conducted business; (2) its improper billing of Medicare; and (3) GAO's belief that BMS violated the U.S. Code."