A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO updated its previous report on the Department of Defense's (DOD) overpayments to contractors and subsequent refunds to the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS), focusing on: (1) DOD's efforts to identify and recover overpayments made through fiscal year (FY) 1998; and (2) whether 13 contractors were retaining overpayments and how quickly overpayments were refunded."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO the reviewed the reasonableness of the: (1) Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) estimates of budgetary savings from the sale of its single-family loans; and (2) model HUD used to estimate savings from the sale of multifamily loans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the preservation of electronic records, focusing on the: (1) challenges that confront the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and federal agencies as a result of their increased reliance on electronic media; (2) status of selected agencies' and NARA's implementation of electronic records management (ERM); and (3) ERM policies and procedures of selected other governments (state and foreign)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the impact of crime and corruption on the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, focusing on: (1) how organized crime and public sector corruption have affected implementation of the agreement in Bosnia; (2) what the international community has done to improve Bosnia's law enforcement and judicial system and reduce corruption; and (3) how international assistance resources are being safeguarded and whether such assistance is being used by Bosnia in place of domestic revenues lost due to crime and corruption."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to protect U.S. forces stationed overseas from terrorist attacks, focusing on: (1) the extent to which DOD has made improvements to its antiterrorism/force protection program overseas; (2) changes in DOD's process for assessing and reporting vulnerability at overseas installations; and (3) the adequacy of antiterrorism/force protection funding and staff."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the the Department of Defense's (DOD) initiatives to change export and procurement policies and procedures that relate to the transfer or sale of defense articles and services that may have national security implications."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation's (FCIC) new rule on crop insurance policies. GAO noted that: (1) the new rule would implement the changes to the crop insurance policies mandated by the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000; and (2) FCIC complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) management and oversight of the administrative funds associated with the Wildlife Restoration Program and, to a lesser extent, with the Sport Fish Restoration Program."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the improper trafficking of food stamp benefits, focusing on: (1) federal efforts to identify storeowners who engage in trafficking; (2) the amount of penalties assessed and collected against these storeowners; and (3) the extent to which states with statewide electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems are identifying and disqualifying recipients who engage in trafficking."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the effects of recent Medicare payment reforms, focusing on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) payment reforms affecting home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), and the health plans in Medicare's managed care program, known as Medicare Choice."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Park Service's (NPS) structural fire safety efforts, focusing on: (1) whether the parks were meeting their structural fire safety responsibilities; (2) if the parks were not meeting their responsibilities, why not; and (3) what efforts were underway to address any identified problems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) program information system, focusing on: (1) whether the system meets the information needs of SBA field and headquarters staff; and (2) what plans, if any, does SBA have for improving the existing system."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of State's progress in addressing the challenges it faces in its efforts to achieve a more secure, efficient, and effective network of operations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the budget process established by the Budget Enforcement Act, which will expire in fiscal year 2002. Because the goal of achieving zero deficits has been achieved, the focus of the budget process has shifted to to the allocation of surpluses among debt reduction, spending increases, and tax cuts. The budget process should be designed to avoid what has been described as the year-end "train wreck." A year-end "train wreck" results from a failure to reach agreement--or at least a compromise acceptable to all parties--earlier in the year. Although it is possible that early agreement on some broad parameters could facilitate a smoother process, it is not clear that such an agreement will always prevent gridlock--it may just come earlier. Two ideas that have been proposed to avert the year-end disruption caused by an inability to reach agreement on funding the government include joint budget resolutions and biennial budgeting. In discussing alternatives for improving the budget process, there is a broad consensus among observers and budget analysts that the spending constraints established by the act are necessary even with the advent of actual and projected surpluses. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress authorized the Pilot Mentor Protege Program to boost the participation of small disadvantaged businesses as subcontractors and suppliers under Department of Defense (DOD) contracts. The program provides incentives for major defense contractors (mentors) to assist small disadvantaged businesses (proteges) in strengthening their ability to compete for work. However, DOD has been criticized for not establishing compelling evidence about the program's overall effectiveness. This report reviews (1) the relationship between the results of the Mentor-Protege Program and the statutory goal of awarding five percent of the total dollar amount contracted by DOD and subcontracted by DOD prime contractors to small disadvantaged businesses; (2) whether the Mentor-Protege Program enhanced the business competitiveness, financial independence, and business development of protege firms; and (3) whether program funds had been used as an effective incentive for mentor firms to participate in the program. GAO found that DOD lacks data integral to assessing the success of the Mentor-Protege Program. DOD lacks enough information to determine the relationship between the program and the goal of awarding five percent of the total dollar amount contracted to small disadvantaged businesses. Although DOD has consistently …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Floods have been, and continue to be, the most destructive natural hazard in terms of economic loss to the nation, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From fiscal years 1969 through 2000, the National Flood Insurance Program--a major federal effort to provide flood disaster assistance paid about $10 billion in insurance claims, primarily from premiums collected from program policy holders. This testimony discusses (1) the financial results of the program's operations since fiscal year 1993, (2) the actuarial soundness of the program, and (3) the impact of repetitive losses and FEMA's strategies for reducing those losses."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 127a, title 10 of the United States Code provides the Department of Defense (DOD) with two options for funding nontraining deployments and operations when Congress has not provided funds in advance. These options involve waiving reimbursements for support services and transferring amounts from other DOD accounts. Section 127a prescribes specific procedures to be followed by DOD when these funding options are used; requires DOD to notify Congress of and report on certain new contingency operations; and states that the Comptroller General of the United States shall from time to time, and when requested by a Committee of Congress, conduct a review to determine whether DOD is complying with the statutory requirements and limitations. GAO found that DOD has complied with the requirements contained in section 127a. Since the current notification and reporting requirements of section 127a were enacted in 1996, DOD has provided congressional notification for four operations, involving Bosnia, Kosovo, hurricane relief in Central America, and East Timor. DOD has rarely used the funding options provided in section 127a. It used the section 127a funding option allowing waiver of reimbursement for units providing support once, for …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 6,900 Home Health Agencies (HHAs) that serve Medicare beneficiaries must meet federal requirements, known as conditions of participation (COP), to ensure that they have the appropriate staff, are following the plan of care specified by a physician, maintain medical records to document the care provided, and periodically reassess each patient's condition. Although nationwide surveys done at HHAs since 1998 have identified a small proportion of agencies with serious deficiencies, the extent of the problem may be understated, and dangerous situations affecting home health patients may occur more often than documented. Shortcomings in the survey process and inconsistencies in state surveys make it difficult to assess the quality of care delivered and may mask potential problems. The ability to lodge complaints about an HHA and have them resolved promptly is important to protecting patient health and safety. HHA oversight by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been too limited to identify the problems GAO found in the survey process. CMS does not review state compliance with requirements for conducting HHA surveys, such as whether HHAs with COP-level deficiencies are surveyed annually rather than …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures billions of dollars in multifamily housing mortgage loans to help construct, rehabilitate, purchase, and refinance apartments and health care facilities. However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lacks assurances that the lenders approved for the Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) program always meet all of HUD's qualifications. HUD's guidance requires prospective lenders to submit documents showing that they are financially sound, have a satisfactory lending record, and have qualified underwriters. GAO found that HUD did not always comply with, or effectively implement, controls and procedures for reviewing and monitoring MAP lenders' underwriting of loans. Before issuing a loan, field staff are required to conduct and document reviews of lenders' mortgage insurance applications and associated loan exhibits to ensure compliance with HUD underwriting requirements. However, staff did not always properly document their reviews. HUD has held some lenders accountable for specific violations of program requirements but is unable to systematically identify lenders that exhibit patterns of noncompliance. To hold lenders accountable for specific violations or for patterns of noncompliance, HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing can suspend or terminate …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has shown that cross-matching or data sharing can be a valuable management and oversight practice. The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) already has the right to access Social Security Administration's (SSA) data. However, such access is subject to SSA's approval--the Code of Federal Regulations provides that "OWCP may verify the earnings reported by the employee through a variety of means, including by not limited to computer matches with the Office of Personnel Management and inquiries to SSA." Prior GAO work has demonstrated the importance of, and potential savings from, checking applicants' and beneficiaries' initial and continuing eligibility for federal benefits by verifying the economic information they provide with independent, third-party sources."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Compliance agreements between the Department of Energy (DOE) and its regulators specify cleanup activities and milestones that DOE has agreed to achieve. The 70 compliance agreements at DOE sites vary, but can be divided into three main types. These are: (1) agreements specifically required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to address cleanup of federal sites on EPA's national priorities list or by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 to address the management of mixed radioactive and hazardous waste at DOE facilities; (2) court-ordered agreements resulting from lawsuits initiated primarily by states; and (3) other agreements, including state administrative orders enforcing state hazardous waste management laws. DOE reported completing about 80 percent of its milestones by the time originally scheduled in the agreements. The cost of complying with these agreements is not specifically identified in the DOE budget submitted to Congress. Individual DOE sites develop annual compliance cost estimates as part of their budget requests. However, DOE headquarters officials adjust those individual site estimates to reflect national priorities and to reconcile various competing demands. Compliance agreements are site-specific and are not …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Missing among the Department of Defense's (DOD) portfolio of systems is a capability to track stationary and moving enemy vehicles on land or at sea in any type of weather, day or night, from space. To meet this need, DOD and the intelligence community are collaborating on the ambitious Space-Based Radar (SBR) program. By leveraging the newest generation of radar technologies, the SBR concept promises to deliver high-quality data to a wide array of users. DOD intends to start product development in 2006 and to field SBR satellites as quickly as possible so that warfighters, the intelligence community, and national decision makers can gain a better understanding of what adversaries are doing in specific locations around the world. GAO reviewed the SBR program to assess DOD's progress in attaining the knowledge it needs by 2006 in terms of customer needs (or requirements) and resources."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in March 2003, it faced the daunting task of bringing together 22 diverse agencies. This transformation poses significant management and leadership challenges, including integrating a myriad of redundant financial management systems and addressing the existing weaknesses in the inherited components, as well as newly identified weaknesses. This review was performed to (1) identify the financial management systems' weaknesses DHS inherited from the 22 component agencies, (2) assess DHS's progress in addressing those weaknesses, (3) identify plans DHS has to integrate its financial management systems, and (4) review whether the planned systems DHS is developing will meet the requirements of relevant financial management improvement laws."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its contingency operations since the early 1990s, the Department of Defense (DOD) has relied extensively on logistics support contractors to provide many of the supplies and services needed by deployed U.S. forces. As requested, GAO assessed DOD's planning in its use of logistics support contracts in contingency operations; determined whether DOD has had contract oversight processes that are adequate to ensure that quality services were provided in an economical and efficient manner; and assessed the extent to which DOD provided trained personnel qualified to oversee its contractors. GAO focused its efforts on four logistics support contracts chosen because of their size and chosen to represent more than one military service--the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) and Balkans Support Contract, the Navy's Construction Capabilities Augmentation Program, and the Air Force's Contract Augmentation Program."