A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the potential threat to the public's health from antimicrobial resistant bacteria, focusing on: (1) what is known about the public health burden--in terms of illnesses, deaths and treatment costs--due to antimicrobial resistance; (2) potential future burden, given what is known about the development of resistance in microbes and usage of antimicrobials; and (3) federal efforts to gather and provide information about resistance."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported on the results of the financial-related audit, conducted by KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) Schedules of Expenditures and Budgetary Resources for the year ended September 30, 1998."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on antibiotic resistance issues that may stem from the use of antibiotics in agriculture, focusing on the: (1) use of antibiotics in agriculture and the implications of that use for human health; (2) federal roles and responsibilities for overseeing the use of antibiotics in agriculture; and (3) issues surrounding the debate over whether to further regulate or restrict the use of antibiotics in agriculture."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the labelling requirements for fresh produce, focusing on: (1) the potential costs associated with the compliance and enforcement of a mandatory country-of-origin labelling requirement at the retail level for fresh produce; (2) the potential trade issues associated with such a requirement; (3) the potential impact of such a requirement on the ability of the federal government and the public to respond to outbreaks of illness caused by contaminated fresh produce; and (4) consumers' views of country-of-origin labelling."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Department of the Interior's High-Level Implementation Plan for improving its management of the Indian trust funds and resources under its control, focusing on whether the Interior has reasonable assurance that: (1) the High-Level Plan provides an effective solution for addressing its long-standing problems; and (2) its acquisition of a new asset and land records management service will cost effectively satisfy trust management needs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on families no longer receiving welfare, focusing on: (1) the extent to which states have reported information on the condition of families who have left welfare in the following key areas: (a) economic status; (b) family composition; and (c) family and child well-being; (2) generalizable state studies on what is known about the status of former welfare families in the key areas; and (3) federal and state efforts to improve the usefulness of the data obtained through these state efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on year 2000 costs and funding at 41 federal agencies and organizations, focusing on the: (1) agency-reported year 2000 costs through fiscal year (FY) 1998 and the agency processes used to track these costs; (2) reported status of FY 1999 obligations for year 2000 activities; (3) estimated year 2000 costs for FY 1999 and the planned uses of emergency funds; and (4) estimated year 2000 costs for FY 2000."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on airport-related noise, focusing on the: (1) types of projects that are eligible for federally authorized funding to reduce airport-related noise or mitigate its effects; (2) differences in the major methods for measuring the impact of airport-related noise; (3) Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) noise standards for civil subsonic turbojets and the reasons some of those aircraft are not required to comply with these or earlier standards; and (4) status of FAA's Land Use Planning Initiative and the major issues the initiative has raised about how best to address airport-related noise."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed efforts to reduce the threat of biological weapons proliferation from the former Soviet Union, focusing on: (1) the potential threats that the former Soviet biological weapons institutes could pose to the United States; (2) current and future U.S. efforts to address these threats; and (3) risks associated with the expanded U.S. effort and executive branch plans to mitigate them."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Postal Service's Breast Cancer Research Stamp, focusing on: (1) how the Service went about identifying and allocating the costs it incurred in developing and marketing the Breast Cancer Research Semipostal (BCRS) and the issues associated with effectiveness; (2) the statutory authorities and constraints associated with the Service's issuance of semipostals, in general, as a means of fund-raising; and (3) the appropriateness of using the BCRS as a means of fund-raising."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO updated its 1994 report federally funded programs that provide or support education or child care for children under age 5, focusing on: (1) what portion of the budget authority for these programs was used for education and care for children under age 5 and how many children in this age group participated in the programs; (2) what types of children these programs target and what services are provided to these children; and (3) what information is needed to assess whether the current array of federal programs is duplicative and what issues should be considered to improve overall efficiency of early childhood education and care programs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory management activities, focusing on the: (1) reliability of using DOD's database systems to determine whether activity codes are authorized to obtain excess DOD property; and (2) adequacy of oversight of the management and use of excess DOD property provided to selected universities and a Florida Army National Guard unit where ownership of the property remains with DOD."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) performance goals and measures, focusing on: (1) the extent to which EPA's fiscal year (FY) 2000 performance goals and measures focus on end outcomes, intermediate outcomes, or outputs; (2) any challenges the agency faces in developing additional performance goals and measures that focus on end outcomes; and (3) the initiatives the agency is taking to address any identified challenges."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the process for phasing out single-hull oil vessels and replacing them with double-hull vessels, focusing on: (1) how the Coast Guard implemented the Oil Pollution Act's phase-out requirements for U.S.-built single-hull vessels larger than 5,000 gross tons; (2) the extent to which owners have received extensions or waivers that extend the phase-out deadlines for their single-hull vessels; and (3) the extent to which owners are replacing or planning to replace or convert their single-hull vessels, and what effect their plans would have on the ability to provide sufficient oil-carrying shipping capacity in the future."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the implementation of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) New Starts program's evaluation process and fiscal year (FY) 2001 funding proposals, focusing on the: (1) refinements made to FTA's evaluation and rating process since 1999; (2) means by which New Starts projects were selected for FTA's FY 2001 New Starts report and budget request; and (3) impact of FTA's recommendations on its New Starts commitment authority."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) oversight of the amounts of overpayments home health agencies (HHA) owe Medicare, focusing on: (1) whether HCFA quickly identifies and collects overpayments from closed HHAs; (2) the accuracy of the overpayment amounts HCFA reported for closed Texas HHAs; and (3) whether HCFA can effectively record and track overpayments due from closed agencies."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the behavior of gasoline prices in California, focusing on: (1) the extent to which retail gasoline prices spike more frequently and higher in California than they do in the rest of the United States; (2) why gasoline prices in California rise faster than they fall in response to increases and decreases in the wholesale price of gasoline; and (3) the factors that account for differences in the retail prices of gasoline between San Francisco and Los Angeles."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) Paducah plant cleanup plan, focusing on: (1) the planned activities, cost, and schedule DOE has for cleaning up the site; (2) the challenges that exist in accomplishing the current cleanup plan; and (3) whether the cleanup plan includes all areas at the site requiring cleanup."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project's status and potential uncertainties with regard to: (1) successfully treating mixed waste; (2) meeting the project's deadlines; and (3) minimizing increases in the contract price."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) oversight of lenders participating in its Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance programs for single-family homes, focusing on: (1) how HUD ensures that lenders granted direct endorsement authority by FHA are qualified to receive such authority; (2) the extent to which HUD focuses on high-risk lenders in monitoring the lenders participating in FHA's mortgage insurance programs; and (3) the extent to which HUD holding lenders are accountable for poor performance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on Russian compliance with space station safety requirements, focusing on whether: (1) the Russian-built Zarya and the Service Module comply with safety requirements; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has approved any waivers of safety requirements; and (3) NASA was due any compensation from the Zarya contractor for items that did not meet safety requirements or had performance problems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Restructuring and Reform Act's personnel flexibility provisions, focusing on: (1) IRS' implementation of these provisions; and (2) any tax administration concerns that may have arisen in relation to implementation."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Russian government has taxed assistance provided by programs that were designed to fund former Soviet weapons scientists, focusing on two programs: (1) the Department of Energy's (DOE) Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention; and (2) International Science and Technology Center in Moscow."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Solar radiation is absorbed by the earth and is subsequently reemitted. The buildup of carbon dioxide and certain other gases in the earth's atmosphere traps some of that radiation. This is known as the greenhouse effect and is believed to contribute to a warming of the earth's climate. Concerns are growing that, in addition to carbon dioxide and other conventional greenhouse gases, certain air pollutants may affect the climate. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent of agreement among scientists regarding the effect on the climate of three air pollutants--black carbon (soot), ground-level ozone, and sulfate aerosols--and (2) seven countries' efforts to control these pollutants, trends in these substances in these countries over the past 2 decades, and estimates for the next decade. GAO was also asked to summarize the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution. The seven countries include four that are economically developed--Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States--and three that are developing--China, India, and Mexico. These countries were chosen because they have large economies with a high potential to emit these pollutants. The two federal agencies asked to comment …