Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its recent reports on the Air Force's Ranch Hand study, which was designed to investigate whether exposure to herbicides in Vietnam led to or would lead to adverse health effects, focusing on: (1) what impact the study has had on veterans' compensation decisions; and (2) how the study disseminated results and data, communicated its limitations, and implemented measures to ensure that it was conducted with scientific independence and appropriate outside scientific oversight."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. asparagus imports increased in the 1990s and now comprise nearly one-half of the asparagus consumed in the United States. Peru is the second largest source of imported asparagus and benefits from duty-free treatment under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA). ATPA is estimated to have displaced between two and eight percent of the value of domestic production from what it would have been without the act. Although the supply of fresh asparagus from imports has increased since ATPA's enactment, consumer demand has been strong, and prices have risen. In addition, an apparent increase in consumer preference for fresh asparagus has contributed to a downward shift in the domestic demand for processed asparagus. Most of the decline in the domestic production of processed asparagus occurred in Michigan and Washington, the two states that produce most canned and frozen asparagus. If ATPA is reauthorized, domestic producers of asparagus and, in particular, asparagus for processing, will likely face continued displacement, but consumers can expect continued benefits from the year-round availability of fresh asparagus. However, some of this displacement will likely occur even if ATPA is not reauthorized and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the challenges that the Coast Guard faces in its fiscal year 2001 and future budget requests, focusing on: (1) the Coast Guard's progress in justifying and managing its Deepwater Capability Replacement Project; and (2) opportunities for improving the Coast Guard's operating efficiencies."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) calendar years 1997 and 1998 accounting reports for the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, which provides assistance to the former Soviet Union, focusing on each report's: (1) compliance with its respective deadline for submission to Congress; and (2) accuracy and completeness."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Computerized control systems perform vital functions across many of our nation's critical infrastructures. For example, in natural gas distribution, they can monitor and control the pressure and flow of gas through pipelines. In October 1997, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection emphasized the increasing vulnerability of control systems to cyber attacks. The House Committee on Government Reform and its Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census asked GAO to report on potential cyber vulnerabilities, focusing on (1) significant cybersecurity risks associated with control systems (2) potential and reported cyber attacks against these systems (3) key challenges to securing control systems and (4) efforts to strengthen the cybersecurity of control systems."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed proposed changes and improvements to the military health system (MHS), focusing on: (1) the various proposals to expand the military health care benefit, especially those for older retirees, including describing the nature of the enhancement, the present or potential challenges in implementing these proposals, and overall cost implications; (2) the broader perspective of the appropriate size and structure of the military health system; and (3) the obstacles that impede improvements in the TRICARE program, particularly in terms of accessing appointments and claims processing."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the service headquarters provide overall policy guidance and negotiate agreements on the treatment of the military's historic properties. However, most decisions on historic properties are made at the installation level. The installations are responsible for identifying and evaluating properties to determine if they are eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as maintaining all properties that are listed on or have been determined eligible for listing on the National Register. The military lacks complete and reliable data on the number of its historic properties. None of the services have a centralized database that comprehensively identifies all of their respective historic properties. Data is not available on the costs to to maintain or repair historic properties. Cost data GAO examined at several installations showed that, overall, the day-to-day maintenance historic properties was similar to maintenance on non-historic properties."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been raised that the economic models used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. International Trade Commission do not account for all the factors that affect cattle prices and producer incomes. GAO reviewed USDA's livestock model to determine whether it incorporates imports, market concentration, marketing agreements, and forward contracts. In reviewing best modeling practices, GAO's expert panel concluded that domestic cattle demand and supply were the fundamental forces driving cattle prices and producer incomes. The panel identified issues necessary to develop a comprehensive modeling system that predicts cattle prices and producer incomes. The panel recommended the collection of better data to quantify several important factors omitted from the model. The panel also wanted to see a more complete characterization of the supply and demand relationships connecting the cattle producer to the final consumer. The panel's emphasis on a more complete characterization of the cattle and beef industry underscores the idea that the demand for cattle is ultimately driven by consumer demand for beef and other demand and supply forces linking cattle producers to feedlots, meatpackers, and retailers."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The President's January 2001 changes in the export control thresholds for high performance computer exports are not adequately justified. Although the President's report recognizes that high performance computing capabilities will become increasingly available to other countries through computer clustering, the report fails to address all military significant uses for computers at the new thresholds and assess the national security impact of such uses. The support for the President's policy proposal for relaxed U.S. computer controls also is not adequate. Although the new policy was based on the conclusion that computer hardware exports can no longer be controlled, the executive branch did not adequately assess alternative control options. GAO identified several implications of the changes to the control thresholds and the proposed change in U.S. computer export control policy related to increased risks for U.S. national security. For example, the inadequacies of the President's justifications demonstrate the need for a comprehensive study of the issues involved. Furthermore, the policy proposal would reduce information that might be useful in detecting patterns of exports to customers engaged in proliferation activities because it would eliminate an annual reporting requirement that provides information …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO followed up on its report on the Air Force's F-22 engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) program, focusing on whether: (1) the Air Force is likely to complete the EMD program without exceeding the cost limitation established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998; and (2) GAO had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on matters covered by this report."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO contracted with Clifton Gunderson LLP to audit the financial statements of the Senate Restaurants Revolving Fund for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. Clifton Gunderson LLP found that (1) the financial statements were fairly presented in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, (2) the fund maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance with selected provisions of the laws and regulations it tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Army's plans to allocate its end strength to meet the force structure requirements of its combat and support forces, focusing on: (1) comparing the Army's 1996 and 1998 reviews to determine if there were changes in the Army's risk of not having sufficient forces to implement the national military strategy; and (2) assessing the Army's potential for mitigating risk by reallocating its existing end strength."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Various approaches have been proposed to increase private and public health care coverage of uninsured persons. The success of these proposals will depend on several key factors. The impact of tax subsidies on promoting private health insurance will depend on whether the subsidies reduce premiums enough to induce uninsured low-income individuals to buy health insurance and on whether these subsidies can be made available at the time the person needs to pay premiums. The effectiveness of public program expansions will depend on states' ability and willingness to use any new flexibility to cover uninsured residents as well as develop effective outreach to enroll the targeted populations. Although crowd-out is a concern with any of the approaches, some degree of public funds going to those currently with private health insurance may be inevitable to provide stable health coverage for some of the 42 million uninsured Americans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) provides the military with computing, telecommunications, and acquisition services on a cost reimbursable basis. In fiscal year 2001, DISA's service reimbursements totaled $2.5 billion. DISA also runs joint warfighting and related mission support command, control, and communications systems funded by direct appropriations, which in fiscal year 2001 were $1 billion. In March 2001, DISA issued a 500 Day Action Plan for Supporting DoD Decision Superiority. The plan contains 140 ongoing or planned actions involving the investment of resources. In developing the plan, DISA appropriately focused on understanding and satisfying customer concerns and needs. DISA did not, however, adequately address other elements of effective plan development, such as ensuring that planned investments were cost-effective. Although the agency did not establish baseline commitments in developing its action plan, DISA has since established some, but not all, baselines and is beginning to monitor progress against these commitments. DISA's 500 Day Action Plan is part of management actions to improve mission performance. These actions address some, but not all, of the institutional management controls that can help an agency effectively adjust to shifts in …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) relies extensively on information technology (IT) to carry out its logistics support mission. This report focuses on DLA's processes for making informed IT investment decisions. Because IT investment management has only recently become an area of management focus and commitment at DLA, the agency's ability to effectively manage IT investments is limited. The first step toward establishing effective investment management is putting in place foundational, project-level control and selection processes. The second step toward effective investment management is to continually assess proposed and ongoing projects as an integrated and competing set of investment options. Accomplishing these two steps requires effective development and implementation of a plan, supported by senior management, which defines and prioritizes investment process improvements. Without a well-defined process improvement plan and controls for implementing it, it is unlikely that the agency will establish a mature investment management capability. As a result, GAO continues to question DLA's ability to make informed and prudent investment decisions in IT."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Railroad Passenger Corporation's (Amtrak) use of Taxpayer Relief Act (TRA) funds, focusing on: (1) how much Amtrak has spent in TRA funds and what types of activities it has funded; (2) whether Amtrak used the funds in accordance with the act; (3) to what extent the Amtrak Reform Council and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have overseen Amtrak's use of TRA funds; and (4) observations on Amtrak's capital needs, its progress toward reaching operational self-sufficiency, and the administration's fiscal year 2001 budget request for Amtrak."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO evaluated the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) financial management activities to determine if they are sufficient to resolve financial management weaknesses identified through annual financial statement audits and other management-type reviews of HCFA's Medicare activities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its review of the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) financial management activities for Medicare, focusing on challenges HCFA faces in establishing an adequate foundation for control and accountability over the Medicare program's financial operations."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO released an exposure draft on its Model of Strategic Human Capital Management, which is intended to help federal agency leaders better manage their organizations' most important asset--their people. The model is designed to help agency leaders effectively use their people, or human capital, and determine how well they integrate human capital considerations into daily decision-making and planning for the program results they seek to achieve. In so doing, the model highlights the importance of a sustained commitment by agency leaders to maximize the value of their agencies' human capital and manage related risks."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Settling 30 years of sometimes acrimonious dispute, the National Park Service completed an exchange of land interests on two vacant parcels of land in Potomac Yard in March 2000. However, the Park Service could have received more than $15 million from the private developer--rather than owing the developer $14 million--if the exchanged interests had been appropriately valued. As a federal agency, the Park Service has a responsibility to protect federal taxpayers' interests when it acquires or conveys land interests. Yet, the Park Service did not do so when it instructed the appraiser to derive a value for development on the Alexandria parcel that was not shown to be reasonably probable, or when it used an appraised value on the Arlington parcel that understated the worth of the Park Service's interests. Consequently, the Park Service gave the developer credit for losses that might not have realistically occurred and did not receive enough credit for allowing the developer to develop the Arlington parcel. However, the transaction is now fully executed--as in similar situations when a government agency pays too much for an item under a contract--it is unlikely …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spends $7 billion annually to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-income households in about 14,000 rental properties nationwide. Yet, many public housing properties have been unsafe and unsanitary for several decades. To identify and correct these problems, HUD began a Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) to evaluate the performance of public housing authorities. Although HUD is still testing and revising PHAS, it has begun to designate certain housing authorities as troubled and to assign them to recovery centers, where they receive technical and other assistance. HUD also created the Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC) database to collect information on funding, compliance, and other problems that fall outside the scope of PHAS. PHAS includes four performance indicators: (1) the physical condition of the properties, (2) the financial condition of the housing authority, (3) the authority's management operations, and (4) residents' satisfaction with their living conditions. HUD develops a score for each indicator and, starting in this fiscal year, plans to use the scores for all four indicators to determine whether housing authorities are troubled. So …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) fiscal year 2000 annual performance plan, focusing on whether CFTC complied with the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government awards $300 billion to state and local governments and nonprofit groups each year. The Single Audit Act promotes sound financial management, including effective internal controls, over these federal awards. Before the act, government relied on audits of individual grants to determine if the money was spent properly. The act replaced these grant audits with a single audit--one audit of an entity as a whole. GAO surveyed the 24 federal agencies subject to the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act and found that they have developed processes and assigned responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Single Audit Act. Agencies reported that they are using single audits to monitor compliance with administrative and programs requirements and to determine the adequacy of recipients' internal controls. One or more offices at 22 of the 24 agencies used single audits to monitor compliance with administrative and program requirements in the Circular A-133 Compliance Statement and to monitor recipients' compliance with internal controls. Eleven agencies reported that they routinely use the Federal Audit Clearinghouse database to identify recipients that incurred questionable costs or programs that have significant findings, to …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following a history of increasing cost estimates to complete F/A-22 development, Congress asked GAO to assess the Air Force's F/A-22 development program annually and determine whether the Air Force is meeting key performance, schedule, and cost goals. On April 23, 2003, a congressional subcommittee requested that the Department of Defense (DOD) provide more detailed information on the business case that supports the estimated quantities and costs for an affordable F/A-22 program. Specifically, GAO (1) identified changes in the F/A-22 program since its inception, (2) reviewed the status of the development activities, and (3) examined the sufficiency of business case information provided for congressional oversight."