A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, we are responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission. We audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2003, and 2002. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were reliable, (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) Commission management complied with applicable laws and regulations. The American Battle Monuments Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, administers, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil. The Commission is also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining 4 nonfederal memorials with funds provided by those memorials' sponsors."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, GAO is responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission (the Commission). GAO audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, and 2005. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were presented fairly, and (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations. Also, GAO tested Commission management's compliance with selected laws and regulations. The Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, administers, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil. The Commission was also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining six nonfederal memorials with funds provided by those …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Waterborne pathogens can contaminate water and sand at beaches and threaten human health. Under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed limits on pathogens that states use to assess beach water quality. EPA can also provide grants to states to develop water quality monitoring and public notification programs. GAO was asked to assess (1) the extent to which EPA implemented the BEACH Act including how it allocated grants to the states, (2) the monitoring and notification programs developed by Great Lakes states, and (3) the effect of the BEACH Act on water quality monitoring and contamination at Great Lakes beaches."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent legislative and regulatory changes have addressed the relationship between auditor-provided tax services and auditor independence. At this time, the federal regulatory community is exploring further changes. To contribute to the discussion surrounding these changes, GAO's objectives were to determine (1) according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, how many Fortune 500 companies obtained tax shelter services from their auditor; (2) according to IRS data, in how many Fortune 500 companies did the auditor provide the services to individual company officers or directors; and (3) whether selected Fortune 500 case study companies changed how they obtain tax services from their auditor in recent years. For the first two objectives, GAO used IRS and Standard and Poor's data after finding they were sufficiently reliable for our work. GAO counted a company, officer, or director as obtaining a tax shelter service from the company's external auditor when an auditor that IRS identified as promoting a tax shelter also audited the company in at least one year that the shelter was in effect. For the third objective, independent of any IRS information, GAO selected case studies on the basis …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Iraq's ministries were decimated following years of neglect and centralized control under the former regime. Developing competent and loyal Iraqi ministries is critical to stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq. The President received $140 million in fiscal year 2007 funds and requested an additional $255 million in fiscal year 2008 to develop the capacity of the Iraq's ministries. This report assesses (1) the nature and extent of U.S. efforts to develop the capacity of the Iraqi ministries, (2) the key challenges to these efforts, and (3) the extent to which the U.S. government has an overall integrated strategy for these efforts. For this effort, GAO reviewed U.S. project contracts and reports and interviewed officials from the Departments of State (State), Defense (DOD), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Baghdad and Washington, D.C."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1990, Congress established an investor visa category, referred to as EB-5, whereby immigrants are granted conditional residence and after 2 years, permanent residence status in the United States if they invest in a commercial enterprise that will benefit the U.S. economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs. The Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-156) mandates that GAO provide certain information regarding the EB-5 employment category. In response to the mandate, this report provides information on immigrant participation, including the number of participants, their countries of origin, and the number who sought U.S. citizenship. Also, this report includes information about the types of business established and where they were established."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On May 13, 2005, the Secretary of Defense submitted proposed base realignment and closure (BRAC) actions to an independent commission for its review. The Commission must submit its recommendations to the President by September 8, 2005, for his acceptance or rejection in their entirety. Congress has final action to accept or reject these recommendations in their entirety later this year. The law requires that GAO issue a report on the Department of Defense's (DOD) recommendations and selection process by July 1, 2005. GAO's objectives were to (1) determine the extent to which DOD's proposals achieved its stated BRAC goals, (2) analyze whether the process for developing recommendations was logical and reasoned, and (3) identify issues with the recommendations that may warrant further attention. Time constraints limited GAO's ability to examine implementation details of most of the individual recommended actions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1988, radioactive contamination was found in the drinking water wells of residences near the federal government's uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. In response, the Department of Energy (DOE) began a cleanup program. In 2000, GAO reported that DOE faced significant challenges in cleaning up the site and that it was doubtful that the cleanup would be completed as scheduled by 2010 and within the $1.3 billion cost projection. GAO was asked to determine (1) the amount of money DOE has spent on the site, the purposes for which it was spent, and the estimated total costs for the site; (2) the status of DOE cleanup efforts; and (3) the challenges GAO previously identified that continue to be issues for DOE."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion since April 2003 to support rebuilding efforts in Iraq. This complex undertaking, which is occurring in an unstable security environment and under significant time constraints, is being carried out largely through contracts with private-sector companies. As of September 2003, agencies had obligated nearly $3.7 billion on 100 contracts or task orders under existing contracts. Given widespread congressional interest in ensuring that reconstruction contracts are awarded properly and administered effectively, GAO reviewed 25 contract actions that represented about 97 percent of the obligated funds. GAO determined whether agencies had complied with competition requirements in awarding new contracts and issuing task orders and evaluated agencies' initial efforts in carrying out contract administration tasks."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (the Commission) was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to serve as an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding agency whose mission is to investigate and report on the status of civil rights in the United States. Since its inception, the Commission has conducted hearings and issued reports highlighting critical, controversial civil rights issues, including racial segregation, impediments to voting rights, and affirmative action. To carry out its fact-finding and reporting mission, the Commission is required to submit at least one report annually to the President and Congress on federal civil rights enforcement efforts, among other requirements. Because the Commission has no enforcement power, the key means for achieving its mission lies in its credibility as an independent and impartial fact-finding and reporting organization. To complement this national fact-finding and reporting effort, separate state advisory committees were also authorized in 1957 to advise the Commission and serve as its "eyes and ears" on state and local civil rights issues. State advisory committees are composed of volunteers appointed by the Commission in every state who conduct public hearings on state and local …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to Hurricane Katrina, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) were responsible for 94 percent of the federal funds awarded for relief efforts via contracting as of May 2006. This report, which GAO conducted under the Comptroller General's Authority, describes (1) the amounts that small businesses received from prime contracts with these agencies, (2) the extent of subcontracting, (3) and the extent to which Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) received Department of Transportation funds for Katrina-related projects. In conducting this study, GAO analyzed agency contract data, reviewed federal acquisition regulations, and interviewed agency procurement officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1996, we have periodically reported on Forest Service financial management problems that we, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of the Inspector General, and other independent auditors have identified. We have designated the Forest Service financial management as a high-risk area since 1999. Because of these longstanding financial management deficiencies, the House Committee on Resource's Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health asked GAO to report on the Forest Service's progress in correcting its financial management problems and on remaining challenges and actions underway to address those challenges."

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was established in 1969 and began operations in 1971 as a development agency to promote and assist U.S. business investment in developing nations. Today, OPIC is a U.S. government agency that provides project financing, investment insurance, and other services for U.S. businesses in over 150 developing nations and emerging economies. To date, OPIC has funded, guaranteed, or insured over $180 billion in investments.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective management of the government's day-to-day operations has been hampered by a lack of necessary data. The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 calls for the modernization of federal financial management systems, including the systematic measurement of performance; the development of cost information; and the integration of program, budget, and financial information. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) encourages agencies to have systems that generate timely, accurate, and useful information with which to make informed decisions and to ensure accountability on an ongoing basis. Auditors for 19 of the 24 CFO Act agencies reported that their agencies' financial management systems did not comply substantially with FFMIA requirements, compared to 21 agencies reported as not being substantially compliant for 1999. The auditors for five CFO Act agencies reported no instances in which the agencies' systems did not substantially comply with FFMIA. These auditors, however, did not definitively state whether the agencies' financial management systems substantially complied with FFMIA. FFMIA requires agencies to prepare remediation plans to overcome financial management systems problems. These plans have improved over the fiscal year 1998 plans; however, further …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with 36 U.S.C. 2103, GAO is responsible for conducting audits of the agencywide financial statements of the American Battle Monuments Commission (the Commission). GAO audited the financial statements of the Commission for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, and 2004. The audits were done to determine whether, in all material respects, (1) the Commission's financial statements were reliable, and (2) Commission management maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations. Also, GAO tested Commission management's compliance with selected laws and regulations. The Commission was created in 1923 to commemorate the sacrifices and achievements of U.S. Armed Forces where they have served overseas since April 6, 1917, and at locations within the United States as directed by Congress. The Commission designs, administers, operates, and maintains 24 American military cemeteries on foreign soil and 25 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, 22 of which are on foreign soil. The Commission was also responsible for designing and constructing the national World War II Memorial on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., and for maintaining six nonfederal memorials with funds provided by those …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare fee schedule payments for durable medical equipment (DME) that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates as class III devices, those that pose the greatest potential risk, increased by 215 percent from 2001 through 2004. From 2004 through 2006, and for 2008, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) provided for a payment update for class III DME equal to the increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). For 2007, MMA requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine the payment update. MMA also requires that other DME receive a 0 percent update from 2004 through 2008. MMA directed GAO to report on an appropriate payment update for 2007 and 2008 for class III DME. In this report, GAO (1) examined whether class III devices have unique premarketing costs and (2) determined how the fee schedule rate-setting methodology accounts for the premarketing costs of such devices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the American Battle Monuments Commission for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. GAO found that (1) the consolidating financial statements for fiscal year 2000 and comparative consolidated totals for fiscal year 1999 are presented fairly in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) although internal controls should be improved, the Commission had effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations as of September 30, 2000; and (3) there are no reportable instances of noncompliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations GAO tested. However, GAO noticed three deficiencies in internal controls over information technology systems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has hundreds of millions of dollars of funded work that its working capital fund activities did not complete before the end of the fiscal year. Reducing the amount of workload carryover at fiscal year-end is a key factor in the effective management of Department of Defense (DOD) resources and in minimizing the "banking" of funds for work to be performed in subsequent years. GAO was asked to analyze SPAWAR's carryover balances. GAO assessed the accuracy of the budgeted amounts, the accuracy of the reported actual carryover balance, and the reliability of underlying financial data on which reported actual carryover is based."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for coordinating and ensuring the evaluation of DOT research programs to promote the efficient use of departmental research funds, which in fiscal year 2002 totaled over $1 billion. RSPA is also responsible for conducting multimodal research that cuts across different modes of transportation. The House Committee on Appropriations directed GAO to examine RSPA's coordination and evaluation of research within DOT and the status of its own multimodal research."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report, part of GAO's performance and accountability series, discusses the major management challenges and program risks facing the Department of the Treasury. The primary challenges facing Treasury include (1) modernizing the Internal Revenue Service's tax administration systems; (2) improving Customs Service's regulation of commercial trade; (3) achieving sound financial management; (4) improving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms' performance measures; and (5) improving the management of Treasury's asset forfeiture program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the federal crop insurance program in partnership with insurance companies who share in the risk of loss or gain. In 2002, American Growers Insurance Company (American Growers), at the time, the largest participant in the program, was placed under regulatory control by the state of Nebraska. To ensure that policyholders were protected and that farmers' claims were paid, RMA agreed to fund the dissolution of American Growers. To date, RMA has spent about $40 million. GAO was asked to determine (1) what factors led to the failure of American Growers, (2) whether RMA procedures were adequate to monitor companies' financial condition, and (3) how effectively and efficiently RMA handled the dissolution of American Growers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch. GAO provides Congress with the best information available to help members make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO meets Congress' information needs by (1) evaluating how government programs and policies are working, (2) auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively, (3) investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities, and (4) issuing legal decisions and opinions. Most GAO work is done at the request of committees or members, but some reports are self-initiated or done in response to congressional mandates included in public laws or committee reports. GAO's annual index is a two-volume set. The first volume--Abstracts of Reports and Testimony: Fiscal Year 2000--contains summaries of 878 publicly released reports and testimony listed alphabetically by division or staff office. Classified reports, correspondence, and legal publications are not included. The second volume--Indexes for Reports and Testimony: Fiscal Year 2000--contains several indexes to help you locate reports and testimony by issue category, subject matter, title, or GAO witness. The annual index is also available in electronic …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is the Corps' number-one priority ground system acquisition program and accounts for 25.5 percent of the Corps' total acquisition budget for fiscal years 2006 through 2011. It will replace the current amphibious assault craft and is intended to provide significant increases in mobility, lethality, and reliability. We reviewed the program under the Comptroller General's authority to examine (1) the cost, schedule, and performance of the EFV program during system development and demonstration; (2) factors that have contributed to this performance; and (3) future risks the program faces as it approaches production."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The emergence of webcasting as a means of transmitting audio and video content over the Internet has led to concerns about copyright protection and the payment of royalties to those who own the recording copyrights. Arriving at an acceptable rate for calculating royalties has been particularly challenging. Under the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002, small commercial webcasters reached an agreement with copyright owners that included the option of paying royalties for the period of October 28, 1998, to December 31, 2004, on the basis of a percentage of their revenues, expenses, a combination of both, or a minimum fee rather than paying the royalty rates set by the Librarian of Congress. During debate on the act, copyright owners raised concerns that small webcasters might have arrangements with other parties, such as advertisers, that could produce revenues or expenses that might not be included in their royalty calculations. In this context, the Congress mandated that GAO, in consultation with the Register of Copyrights, prepare a report on the (1) economic arrangements between small webcasters and third parties and (2) effect of those arrangements on the royalties …