Memorandum of meeting with officials at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews AFB, Maryland, that included a briefing and tour of the facilities and provided an overview of the hospital's mission and quality of service.

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1992, GAO has published long-term fiscal simulations of what might happen to federal deficits and debt levels under varying policy assumptions. GAO developed its long-term model in response to a bipartisan request from Members of Congress who were concerned about the long-term effects of fiscal policy. In 1992 GAO said: "The federal budget is structurally unbalanced. This will do increasing damage to the economy and is unsustainable in the long term. Regardless of the approach chosen, prompt and meaningful action is essential. The longer it is delayed, the more painful it will be." These words are as relevant today as when GAO first published them. GAO updates its simulations three times a year as new estimates become available from the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook (January), Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports (early spring), and CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (late summer)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We evaluated fiscal year 2002 activity affecting distributions to the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF)."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is required to annually prepare and submit audited financial statements of the U.S. government to the President and the Congress. We are required to audit these consolidated financial statements (CFS) and report on the results of our work. In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the fiscal year 2004 CFS, we evaluated the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) financial reporting procedures and related internal control over the process for compiling the CFS, including the management representation letter provided us by Treasury and OMB. Written representation letters from management, required by U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, ordinarily confirm oral representations given to the auditor, indicate and document the continuing appropriateness of those representations, and reduce the possibility of a misunderstanding between management and the auditor. The purpose of this report is to communicate our observations on the Department of State's (DOS) fiscal year 2004 management representation letter. Our objective is to help ensure that future management representation letters submitted by DOS are sufficient to help support Treasury and OMB's …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the lending activity of the National Credit Union Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), focusing on: (1) CLF's lending during October through December 1999; and (2) credit union borrowing from the discount window and the comparison between credit unions' cost of borrowing from CLF to the cost of alternative sources of liquidity."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the extent to which retail gasoline prices in Oregon spiked from January through August 1999 and the factors that accounted for the spikes."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The collection, maintenance, and use of location-based (geospatial) information are essential to federal agencies carrying out their missions. Geographic information systems (GIS) are critical elements used in the areas of homeland security, healthcare, natural resources conservation, and countless other applications. GAO was asked to review the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the efficient sharing of geospatial assets, including through Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversight. GAO's report on this matter, Geospatial Information: Better Coordination Needed to Identify and Reduce Duplicative Investments (GAO-04-703), is being released today. GAO's testimony focuses on the extent to which the federal government is coordinating the sharing of geospatial assets, including through oversight measures in place at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in order to identify and reduce redundancies in geospatial data and systems."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the variation in Medicare home health use across states. Using home health claims for the first 6 months of 2001 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, GAO compiled statistics on home health users, home health visits, home health episodes, and the percentage of home health users with multiple episodes for each state. A home health episode, the basis for Medicare payment under the prospective payment system, is up to a 60-day period of care during which any number of visits may be provided."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11, 2001, triggered a national re-examination of the security of thousands of industrial facilities that use or store hazardous chemicals in quantities that could potentially put large numbers of Americans at risk of serious injury or death in the event of a terrorist-caused chemical release. GAO was asked to examine (1) available information on the threats and risks from terrorism faced by U.S. chemical facilities; (2) federal requirements for security preparedness and safety at facilities; (3) actions taken by federal agencies to assess the vulnerability of the industry; and (4) voluntary actions the chemical industry has taken to address security preparedness, and the challenges it faces in protecting its assets and operations. GAO issued a report on this work in March 2003 (GAO-03-439)."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Every year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not collect tens of billions of dollars in delinquent taxes. In 2004, Congress authorized IRS to use private collection agencies (PCA) to help collect some of these debts. To ensure that taxpayers are treated properly and that the program achieves the desired results, IRS contracted with a consulting company to perform a survey of right party contacts--those individuals who confirmed their identity and tax debt to PCAs over the telephone. The consulting company reported overall taxpayer satisfaction ratings from 94 to 96 percent for contacts made from November 2006 through February 2007. At the request of the Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means, GAO attempted to obtain, for the period September 2006 through February 2007, the number of tax debt cases IRS referred to PCAs, right party contacts who were offered the taxpayer survey, and right party contacts who took the survey. GAO was also asked to report any other key observations related to the PCA program and taxpayer survey. To perform this work, GAO collected information and interviewed officials from IRS, the consulting group that administered the survey, …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In March 2002, GAO testified on the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial management problems and key elements necessary for successful reform. Although the underlying conditions remain fundamentally unchanged, within the past 2 years DOD has begun a number of initiatives intended to address previously reported problems and transform its business operations. The Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, asked GAO to provide a current status report on DOD's progress to date and suggestions for improvement. Specifically, GAO was asked to provide (1) an overview of the impact of financial and related business weaknesses on DOD operations, (2) the underlying causes of DOD business transformation challenges, and (3) the status of DOD reform efforts. In addition, GAO reiterates the key elements to successful reform: (1) an integrated business transformation strategy, (2) sustained leadership and resource control, (3) clear lines of responsibility and accountability, (4) results-oriented performance, (5) appropriate incentives and consequences, (6) an enterprise architecture to guide reform efforts, and (7) effective monitoring and oversight. GAO also offers two suggestions for legislative consideration which are intended to improve the likelihood of meaningful, broad-based financial …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received the largest budget increase in the history of the agency. The increased funding was designed to better position SEC to address serious issues identified in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and to better enable SEC to address numerous operational and human capital management challenges discussed in the GAO report entitled SEC Operations: Increased Workload Creates Challenges (GAO-02-302). To help ensure that SEC spends its budgetary resources in an efficient and effective manner, GAO was asked to review the SEC's efforts to address the issues raised in the 2002 report and to report on how SEC intends to utilize its new budgetary resources. GAO's final report on these matters is expected to be completed this Fall. This testimony provides requested information on the status of SEC's current spending plan and preliminary observations on SEC's strategic and human capital planning efforts."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the lessons learned from the 1999 outbreak of West Nile Virus in New York City and surrounding areas."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is required to annually prepare and submit audited financial statements of the U.S. government to the President and the Congress. We are required to audit these consolidated financial statements (CFS) and report on the results of our work. In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the fiscal year 2004 CFS, we evaluated the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) financial reporting procedures and related internal control over the process for compiling the CFS, including the management representation letter provided us by Treasury and OMB. Written representation letters from management, required by U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, ordinarily confirm oral representations given to the auditor, indicate and document the continuing appropriateness of those representations, and reduce the possibility of a misunderstanding between management and the auditor. The purpose of this report is to communicate our observations on the Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) fiscal year 2004 management representation letter. Our objective is to help ensure that future management representation letters submitted by HHS are sufficient to help support …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information concerning Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), its near failure, and its subsequent recapitalization in September 1998."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The structure of the budget process can help ensure that budget decision makers are presented with the information and choices for timely and informed decisionmaking. GAO's long-term budget simulations show that, absent substantive entitlement reform and/or dramatic changes in tax and spending policies, we will face large, escalating, and persistent deficits. A budget process incorporating new metrics and mechanisms that better signal the long-term commitments and promises made by the government will help concentrate decision makers' efforts on long-term sustainability."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To accomplish its mission of protecting federal facilities, the Federal Protective Services (FPS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), currently has a budget of about $1 billion, about 1,200 full-time employees, and about 15,000 contract security guards. This testimony is based on completed and ongoing work for this Subcommittee and discusses: (1) challenges FPS faces in protecting federal facilities and (2) how FPS's actions address these challenges. To perform this work, GAO visited FPS's 11 regions, analyzed FPS data, and interviewed FPS officials, guards, and contractors. GAO also conducted covert testing at 10 judgmentally selected level IV facilities in four cities. Because of the sensitivity of some of the information, GAO cannot identify the specific locations of incidents discussed. A level IV facility has over 450 employees and a high volume of public contact."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To protect the nation from terrorist attacks, homeland security stakeholders must more effectively work together to strengthen the process by which critical information can be shared, analyzed, integrated and disseminated to help prevent or minimize terrorist activities. The success of a homeland security strategy relies on the ability of all levels of government and the private sector to communicate and cooperate effectively with one another. Activities that are hampered by organizational fragmentation, technological impediments, or ineffective collaboration blunt the nation's collective efforts to prevent or minimize terrorist acts. The challenges facing the homeland security community require a commitment to focus on transformational strategies, including strengthening the risk management framework, refining the strategic and policy guidance structure to emphasize collaboration and integration among all relevant stakeholders, and bolstering the fundamental management foundation integral to effective public sector performance and accountability. Implementation of these strategies along with effective oversight will be necessary to institutionalize and integrate a long-term approach to sustainable and affordable homeland security."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We evaluated fiscal year 2002 activity affecting distributors to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF)."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is required to annually prepare and submit audited financial statements of the U.S. government to the President and the Congress. We are required to audit these consolidated financial statements (CFS) and report on the results of our work. In connection with fulfilling our requirement to audit the fiscal year 2004 CFS, we evaluated the Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) financial reporting procedures and related internal control over the process for compiling the CFS, including the management representation letter provided us by Treasury and OMB. Written representation letters from management, required by U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards, ordinarily confirm oral representations given to the auditor, indicate and document the continuing appropriateness of those representations, and reduce the possibility of a misunderstanding between management and the auditor. The purpose of this report is to communicate our observations on the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation's (FCSIC) 2003 management representation letter. Our objective is to help ensure that future management representation letters submitted by FCSIC are sufficient to help support Treasury and OMB's …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) naturalization application processing, focusing on: (1) the disposition of naturalization cases from the Chicago District Office that were lost at the Nebraska Service Center in 1997 or 1998; and (2) determining if INS employee performance appraisals included a dimension pertaining to the courteousness with which staff provide service to customers."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has increased its efforts to plan for and respond to national emergencies, including acts of terrorism and natural disasters. Additionally, in August 2004, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security announced that military and VA medical facilities were potential terrorist targets. In light of military casualties from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and continued threats of terrorist incidents, Congress asked us to review VA's medical support role in emergency preparedness. Specifically, we agreed to provide information on the following questions: (1) What is VA's role in providing medical support within the U.S. to military personnel in wartime and during national emergencies? (2) What actions has VA taken to improve its internal emergency preparedness to ensure that it is ready to maintain continuity of operations and provision of medical services to veterans? (3) What is VA's role in participating in emergency medical response measures with other federal, state, and local agencies?"

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In testimony in October 2002 and in a report issued in April 2003 we raised concerns about the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) accountability for computers and computer-related equipment bought with government purchase cards. Our review identified a large volume of computers and computer-related purchases for which HUD did not have adequate supporting documentation. In addition, HUD acknowledged that items bought with purchase cards were not being consistently entered in its asset management system thereby increasing its vulnerability to loss or theft. Given these findings, and the approximately $59 million HUD reported it has spent on computers and computer-related equipment and services over the last 3 fiscal years, Congress asked of us to further assess HUD's accountability for these vulnerable assets. Specifically, it was requested that we determine whether HUD had established an effective system of internal control for maintaining accountability over its computer equipment. Our review covered HUD's systems and controls in place during fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the non-profit and non-partisan Federal City Council's (FCC) proposal to use the current site of the Washington Convention Center for the National Museum of American Music (NMAM). The FCC proposal which is now in the conceptual stage anticipates that NMAM will be located at the existing Convention Center site and that it will be part of a major mixed-use complex that includes retail, entertainment, and performance venues. The total estimated cost for FCC's mixed-use proposal is $1.1 billion, with $172.5 million attributed to the music museum. The proposal estimates that the District would receive annual land rent of $13 million, equivalent to a seven-percent return on the estimated land value of $183 million. FCC spent $300,000 in federal appropriations on the project management services provided by the Smithsonian Institution. The District of Columbia has not yet considered any proposals for the use of the Convention Center site. The Mayor has established a task force to study the possible uses for the site, and it is developing a process to both solicit and evaluate independently generated proposals for the site."