A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO identified the private sector's key principles for strategically and effectively managing their human capital to provide federal agencies with information and examples to help them improve their human capital management."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on enrollment in the Department of Defense's (DOD) pilot Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) for military retirees, focusing on: (1) how successful the demonstration has been in enrolling eligible beneficiaries; (2) what influenced retirees to join DOD's pilot HMOs; and (3) what factors accounted for differences in enrollment rates across demonstration sites."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the federal agencies who regulate workplace safety and health, focusing on the: (1) key federal agencies responsible for promoting workplace safety and health, specifically on those that have regulatory and enforcement authority or otherwise significantly assist in the enforcement process; and (2) federal laws and regulations that serve as the basis of enforcement and the types of worker and industries covered by these regulations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how the Department of State has implemented its new responsibilities for U.S. policy regarding U.S. participation in the Universal Postal Union (UPU)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information from state and federal agencies on the number of cramming complaints nationwide, focusing on: (1) determining whether they were seeing an increase or decrease in cramming complaints during 1999; (2) learning whether they were taking additional actions to protect consumers from cramming; and (3) obtaining updated information about their enforcement actions against crammers during 1999."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the effects of proposed legislation--H.R. 1833--on the pay of officers at the U.S. Customs Service. The proposal would amend the 1911 Act governing Customs officers' overtime and premium pay, and it would more closely align Customs differential pay with that of other federal agencies. Should the provision be enacted, Customs officers would be limited to the amount and times for which they would be eligible for night differential pay. In addition, another section of the proposed law would remove premium pay from the calculation of the $30,000 fiscal year overtime and premium pay cap that Customs officers may not exceed. GAO's analysis of Customs data showed that had the provisions of H.R. 1833 been in effect during fiscal year 1999, many officers would have experienced significant pay decreases. Managers and supervisors asked to analyze the proposal had mixed reviews, but those not in favor of the proposal were concerned that less eligibility for night differential pay would lead to low morale and staffing problems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Carlesbad office is developing a computerized project-tracking system for its consultation and habitat conservation planning (HCP) projects. This system, if properly implemented, should improve the office's record keeping and its ability to track the status of projects and help determine why they are in that status. The new system could also improve project management by allowing office managers to determine how long an applicant has been involved in the consultation or HCP process and whether the recommended time frames for completing consultations and the targeted frames for processing HCPs have been exceeded. The Carlsbad office will still have difficulty completing its consultations and HCP projects within recommended or targeted time frames if it is unable to address its staffing problems. An inability to hire new staff and retain existing, experienced staff has made it difficult for the Carlsbad office to meet the demands of its workload. Because the Carlsbad office does not maintain its project files in accordance with federal internal control standards and FWS' guidelines, there has often been confusion between the office and its customers on what was …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system (HACCP) regulations for seafood, the food industry has made some progress in ensuring the safety of seafood. However, several important weaknesses compromise the overall effectiveness of the federal seafood safety system. If left uncorrected, they will continue to undermine the goal of HACCP systems--that is, controlling hazards in the production process before the product reaches the market. More importantly, U.S. consumers may remain at risk of contracting foodborne illness from contaminated domestic and imported seafood products."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed information system general controls over the financial systems that process and account for the financial activities of the District of Columbia's Highway Trust Fund. GAO identified serious computer security weaknesses that place District information at risk of deliberate or inadvertent misuse. These general control problems affected the District's ability to (1) prevent or detect unauthorized changes to sensitive data and (2) control electronic and physical access to confidential information. The District's lack of a comprehensive computer management program was the primary reason for its information system control problems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was enacted to ensure that members of actors', directors', and writers' unions were paid residuals when films were reused in television and video. GAO's analysis of motion picture industry data found that, in the three years leading up to the 1998 legislation, at most, about 2 percent of the $1.7 billion in residuals owed went unpaid. The unpaid residuals accrued when production companies did not require distributors to pay residuals upon reuse of the film. In reviewing films made under contract with an actors' union between 1996 and 1998, GAO found 771 films for which residuals had not been paid or obligations assumed. About 87 percent of these films were low-budget productions costing less than $2 million. Because these low-budget films typically generate little in the way of earnings on which residuals are based, the amount of lost residuals is relatively small. Although there has been little impact on the motion picture industry so far, the legislation could affect the profitability of low-budget films. The payment of previously unpaid residuals could increase the production and distribution costs of low-budget films, thereby …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the authority to regulate aftermarket crash parts, the agency has not developed safety standards for them because it has not determined that any aftermarket crash parts contain safety-related defects. NHTSA has more limited authority to regulate the use of recycled air bags. NHTSA could elect to develop safety standards for occupant restraint systems under the used vehicle provision of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. NHTSA has not developed such standards because it has not identified significant problems with occupant restraint systems that could be addressed by state motor vehicle inspection programs. The limitations of NHTSA's complaint system may hamper NHTSA's ability to detect safety-related trends through broad key-word searches of its complaint database and make it unlikely that NHTSA can identify all unsafe parts. In addition, the ability to recall unsafe aftermarket crash parts is limited because some parts are not stamped with the manufacturer's name and there is no trail leading from the manufacturer to the ultimate user of the part. Two studies on the safety of recycled airbags concluded that they can be a potentially …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The military exchanges operate retail stores similar to department stores in more than 1,500 locations worldwide. The exchanges stock merchandise from many sources, including name-brand companies, brokers and importers, and overseas firms. Reports of worker rights abuses, such as child labor and forced overtime, and antilabor practices have led human rights groups and the press to scrutinize working conditions in overseas factories. GAO found that the military exchanges are not as proactive as private sector companies in determining working conditions at the overseas factories that manufacture their private label merchandise. Moreover, the exchanges have not sought to verify that overseas factories comply with labor laws and regulations. A single industrywide standard for working conditions at overseas factories was not considered practical by the 10 retailers GAO contacted. However, these retailers have taken the following three steps to ensure that goods are not produced by child or forced labor: (1) developing workplace codes of conduct that reflect their expectations of suppliers; (2) disseminating information on fair and safe labor conditions and educating their employees, suppliers, and factory workers on them; and (3) using their own employees or …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations that states, localities, and private companies must comply with under the existing federal approach to environmental protection. This approach has been widely criticized for being costly, inflexible, and ineffective in addressing some of the nation's most pressing environmental problems. The states have used several methods to obtain EPA approval for innovative approaches to environmental protection. Among the primary approaches cited by the state environmental officials GAO interviewed are EPA's Project XL and the Joint EPA/State Agreement to Pursue Regulatory Innovation. Officials in most states told GAO that they faced significant challenges in submitting proposals to EPA, including resistance from within the state environmental agency and a lack of adequate resources to pursue innovative approaches. EPA recognizes that it needs to do more to encourage innovative environmental approaches by states and other entities. As a result, EPA has (1) issued a broad-based draft strategy entitled "Innovating for Better Environmental Results" and (2) adopted the recommendations of an internal task force, which advocated the consideration of innovative alternatives as new regulations are developed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 60 years, the federal government has sought to improve the condition and reduce the cost of rental housing for poor Americans. In fiscal year 1999, 5.2 million low-income households received $28.7 billion in federal housing assistance through more than a dozen programs. Despite this assistance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 9 million other very-low-income households still have serious unmet housing needs. The most widespread problem facing these households is a lack of affordable housing; many pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent. The housing provided under the six active federal programs varies by such characteristics as age, building type, unit size, location, and services. GAO estimates that, for units with the same number of bedrooms in the same general location, these production programs cost more than housing vouchers. Across the six active programs, the federal government and tenants pay most of the programs' total costs. Except for one program, the federal government pays the largest percentage of the average total per-unit costs. GAO's work raises several housing policy issues, including the relative costs and benefits …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The relationship between the Department of Education and state-designated guaranty agencies that run the largest federal student loan program is changing in order to achieve program and cost efficiencies and improve delivery of student financial aid. These state or private not-for-profit agencies guarantee payment if students fail to repay loans obtained through the Federal Family Education Loan programs. The 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act authorize the Secretary of Education to enter into "voluntary flexible agreements" (VFA) with individual guaranty agencies. These agreements allow a guaranty agency to waive or modify some of the federal requirements that apply to other guaranty agencies. GAO found that the process for developing the agreements did not fully meet the needs of the guaranty agencies and other program participants. The process frustrated guaranty agency officials GAO talked to, especially those who ultimately chose not to apply for a VFA and those who were not granted a VFA. Agency officials said that Education's communication about the VFA development process was poor and that Education was unable to meet its own timetable. The VFAs generally complied with most of the legislative …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Management Service's (FMS) overall security control environment continues to be ineffective in identifying, deterring, and responding to computer control weaknesses promptly. Consequently, billions of dollars of payments and collections are at significant risk of loss or fraud, sensitive data are at risk of inappropriate disclosure, and critical computer-based operations are vulnerable to serious disruptions. During its fiscal year 2000 audit, GAO found new general computer control weaknesses in the entity-wide security management program, access controls, and system software. GAO also identified new weaknesses in the authorization and completeness controls over one key FMS financial application. GAO's follow-up on the status of FMS's corrective actions to address weaknesses discussed in its fiscal year 1999 report found that, as of September 30, 2000, FMS had corrected or mitigated the risks associated with 35 of the 61 computer control weaknesses discussed in that report. To assist FMS management in addressing its computer control weaknesses, GAO made four overall recommendations in this public report."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The changing security environment and the increasing globalization of the U.S. economy have significantly increased the need for federal employees with foreign language skills. GAO reviewed in detail the operations of the following four agencies: the Army, the State Department, the Department of Commerce's Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These four agencies reported shortages of translators and interpreters as well as diplomats and intelligence specialists with critical foreign language skills. Agency officials said that these shortfalls have harmed agency operations and hindered U.S. military, law enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism, and diplomatic efforts. The four agencies use various workforce strategies to meet their foreign language needs, including staff development, such as language training and pay incentives; employee recruitment; contractors; or information technology, such as networked computers and databases. One of the four agencies is trying to resolve its foreign language shortages by focusing on human capital management and workforce planning, as suggested by GAO. The FBI has begun an action plan that links its foreign language program to the Bureau's strategic objectives and program goals. However, the Army, the State Department, and …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families With Dependent Children program with a block grant to states that provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF strongly emphasizes work and job replacement and sets a five-year lifetime limit on federally funded TANF assistance to adults. To meet information needs for welfare reform, information systems must be able to share data across various programs, including TANF, Medicaid, job training, child care, and vocational rehabilitation. However, previous GAO studies found major gaps in states' information systems. Most of the local TANF administrators in 15 states surveyed by GAO reported that their current systems provide half or less of the information needed to manage individual cases, plan appropriate services for the caseload, and monitor overall program performance. The administrators are missing information because some of the systems used do not share data on these recipients, which constrains the ability of case managers to arrange and monitor the delivery of services. Five states--New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin--are modernizing their information systems to take advantage of recent technological advances. These …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials believe that some aliens are using the benefit application process to carry out illegal activities, such as crimes of violence, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. The extent of immigration benefit fraud is unknown, but INS officials and others believe that this problem will increase as smugglers and other criminal enterprises use fraud to bring illegal aliens, including criminals, into the United States. INS investigative units in both the service centers and the district offices investigate possible benefit fraud on the basis of information they receive from staff who process benefit applications, other INS units, the public, and law enforcement agencies. Providing immigration benefits in a timely manner may conflict with the goal of preserving the integrity of the legal immigration system. Although INS recognizes the need to balance these competing goals, it has not always succeeded. INS has several performance measures in place to gauge the results of its benefit fraud enforcement activities. However, INS has not established outcome-based performance measures to assess the results of fraud activities. Additionally, INS has not established goals or measurement criteria for the service center …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Dangerous accumulations of brush, small trees, and other vegetation on federal lands, particularly in the western United States, have helped fuel devastating wildfires in recent years. Although a single focal point is critical for directing firefighting efforts by federal, state, and local governments, GAO found a lack of clearly defined leadership at the federal level. Authority and responsibility remain fragmented among the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the states. Implementation of a performance accountability network also remains fragmented. As a result, GAO could not determine if the $796 million earmarked for hazardous fuels reduction in 2001 and 2002 has been targeted to communities and areas at highest risk. The five federal land management agencies--the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Forest Service--have yet to begin the research needed to identify and prioritize vulnerable communities near high-risk federal lands. Moreover, the agencies are not collecting the data needed to determine if changes are needed to expedite the project-planning process. They also are not collecting data needed to measure the effectiveness …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) abates hundreds of thousands of small business tax assessments annually because either the business or IRS made an error in calculating the taxes. Preventing these errors would eliminate the need for abatements and save IRS time and money. IRS officials said that abatement data could help them provide services to small business. The officials said that such data might help them find ways to prevent errors that result in abated tax assessments. IRS has some data on tax abatements for small business. IRS' master files contain information on taxpayers' accounts, including abatements. IRS also has paper documents on each abatement transaction. In 1999, IRS developed a data file on all abatements that it extracts and updates from the master files quarterly. However, GAO found many problems with IRS' electronic abatement data. GAO identified several steps that IRS could take to improve existing data on such tax abatements and to obtain additional data on the volume, nature, and burden of tax abatements for small businesses. However, IRS needs to weigh the potential costs and benefits. If IRS begins obtaining data step-by-step, insights …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Congress and federal agencies are increasingly turning to performance-based contracting methods to enhance the delivery of government services. Share-in-Savings (SIS) contracting--in which the contractor assumes more risk by investing upfront costs but also receives a share in any savings generated by its efforts--is one performance-based technique that Congress is trying to promote. We were asked to examine its use by industry in terms of whether there were any key conditions that needed to be in place to make this technique successful. In conducting our review, we found that the form of SIS used in a commercial contract varied by contract. Some contracts employed a basic SIS approach, in which a contractor's total compensation was paid entirely through sharing a portion of a client's savings or increased revenues. And some employed a tailored approached in which contractors were paid for at least some portion of their time and materials costs, even if savings or increased revenues were not realized. We performed a detailed analysis on four specific contracts to identify conditions that fostered success."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Presented is GAO's performance and accountability report for fiscal 2002. In the spirit of the Government Performance and Results Act, this annual report informs the Congress and the American people about what we have achieved on their behalf. Importantly, GAO received a clean opinion from independent auditors on our financial statements for the 16th consecutive year. The financial information and the data measuring GAO's performance contained in this report are complete and reliable."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The rapid pace of technological change, with its potential to transform the way the government delivers services, makes information technology (IT) human capital a critical issue for federal agencies.GAO has identified strategic human capital management as a high risk area for the federal government, and the demand for skilled IT workers is expected to increase over the long term. Given that competition for workers affects the federal government as it does any other employer, effective training of staff is essential to developing and retaining a qualified workforce. Some private-sector companies are recognized for their effective and innovative training programs form the IT workforce, which could provide models and examples for federal agencies. To help federal agencies better design and implement such training programs, GAO was asked to examine private-sector practices for training both IT and non-IT professionals (e.g., business managers and other staff needing training in IT) that could be used as a basis for addressing federal efforts."