Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses prisoner releases and reintegration programs and provides some perspectives on the particular challenges posed by the District of Columbia offenders. Nationally, the total inmate population in federal and state prisons increased almost fourfold during the last two decades. Consistent with the trend of larger prison populations, the number of inmates who complete their sentences and return to communities has also risen significantly in recent years, surpassing the half-million mark in 1998. After being released, many individuals--about 40 percent historically--later return to prison for new offenses or parole violations. The Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) most recent nationwide survey of prison inmates showed that 40 percent of federal inmates and 55 percent of state inmates in prison in 1997 had served prior sentences. BJS data showed that D.C. offenders, in particular, had more extensive criminal histories than the national averages. For example, 98.3 percent of all adult probationers in D.C. had prior convictions, almost twice the national average of 50 percent. BJS' 1997 survey also showed that the bulk of inmates in prison were drug abusers. The National Institute of Justice noted that 69 percent of …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) enforcement of workplace immigration laws."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the: (1) Department of the Interior's efforts to acquire the Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS); (2) results of GAO's evaluation and recommendations to Interior to address its findings; (3) status of TAAMS; and (4) challenges still confronting Interior's implementation of this important system."

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 …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses management challenges and program risks that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) faces in maintaining a skilled workforce, controlling costs, and providing effective oversight for important projects. NASA is taking on a major transformation aimed at eliminating stovepipes; becoming more integrated and results oriented; and reducing risks while working more economically, efficiently, and effectively. Successfully addressing each of four challenges will be critical for NASA in making sure that it is equipped to achieve its vision for the future. The first--strengthening human capital--will require a concerted and sustained effort by NASA's leadership to commit to change; ensure an appropriate mix of employees to meet future business needs; implement effective approaches for acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; develop and retain talent; and create a results-oriented culture. The remaining challenges facing NASA--controlling International Space Station costs; implementing a faster, better, cheaper approach to space exploration; and correcting weaknesses in contract management--are equally important. Without better oversight and management over its most important programs and acquisitions, NASA's transformation stands to lose credibility and support among its partners in industry, the international community, and academia as well as …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) progress in implementing key information technology initiatives critical to its ability to effectively serve the public, focusing on SSA's efforts to: (1) achieve year 2000 readiness; (2) implement the Intelligent Workstation/Local Area Network (IWS/LAN); and (3) develop its Reengineered Disability System (RDS)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the nation's largest cash assistance program for the poor, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program SSI provided $33 billion in benefits to 6.8 million aged, blind, and disabled persons last year. In 2001, the outstanding SSI debt and newly detected overpayments totaled $4.7 billion. To deter and detect overpayments, the agency obtained legislative authority to use additional tools to verify recipients financial eligibility for benefits, enhanced its processes for monitoring and holding staff accountable for completing assigned SSI workloads, and improved its use of automation to strengthen its overpayment detection capabilities. However, because a number of initiatives are still in the planning or early implementation stages, it is too soon to assess their ultimate impact on SSI payment accuracy. In addition to improving its overpayment deterrence and detection capabilities, SSA has made recovery of overpaid benefits a high priority."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Energy's (DOE) progress toward the external regulation of nuclear and worker safety at its facilities, focusing on: (1) DOE's changing positions on the desirability of external regulation for its facilities; (2) the disagreement between DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the potential costs and value added of external regulation; and (3) the uncertainties for the future of external regulation in DOE."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its work on the anthrax vaccine, focusing on: (1) the extent to which data support the need for six initial shots and an annual booster of the anthrax vaccine; (2) the relative merits and weaknesses of a passive surveillance system in determining adverse events; (3) the available data on differences in adverse reaction rates between men and women receiving the anthrax vaccine; and (4) the disadvantages of the vaccine and the status of federal efforts to develop an improved anthrax vaccine."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed financial management issues at the Department of Defense (DOD)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the progress made by states and localities as they develop new financing, service-delivery, and accountability strategies for child welfare programs, focusing on: (1) the financial and service-delivery changes states and localities have made in their managed care initiatives; (2) how they are measuring the initiatives' outcomes; and (3) what is known about the effect of these changes on children and families."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses three issues on selected U.S. Customs Service programs and operations. First, concerning the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), a more capable import processing system designed to replace Customs' current aging and error-prone system, GAO concluded that Customs' plan constituted a reasonable first step on a complex, long-term modernization program. Pursuant to its obligation to review ACE expenditures, GAO plans to continue monitoring Customs' ongoing modernization efforts. Second, GAO found that Customs' Office of Regulations and Rulings headquarters did not issue the majority of its rulings in a timely manner. Finally, GAO found that if proposed legislation on Customs officers' night pay had been in effect during fiscal year 1999, the officers would have received about $6 million in night differential pay. Furthermore, across the five ports GAO reviewed, the impact on officers' pay varied widely because of the differences in shift patterns."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the high-risk program areas and management challenges at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For many years, management and oversight weaknesses have made its programs vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The current administration has placed improving HUD's management among its highest priorities and wants to remove the high-risk designation from all HUD programs by 2005. Human capital management is the most pressing management challenge facing HUD. HUD has begun the initial stages of workforce planning; it has completed its resource estimation and allocation process, which estimates the staff needed to handle the current workload in each office, and a detailed analysis of potential staff losses due to retirement. However, the Department does not have a comprehensive workforce plan. Effective acquisition management is of increasing importance because, as HUD downsized its staff, it relied more and more on outside contractors to accomplish its mission. HUD has made progress in the past few years improving its acquisition management practices, but it faces the challenge of ensuring that, where it relies on contractors to perform its mission, it will hold these contractors accountable for …

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."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) is an important element of the U.S.' strategy to protect the nation's infrastructures from hostile attacks, especially computer-based attacks. This testimony discusses the key findings of a GAO report on NIPC's progress in developing national capabilities for analyzing cyber threats and vulnerability data and issuing warnings, enhancing its capabilities for responding to cyber attacks, and establishing information-sharing relationships with governments and private-sector entities. GAO found that progress in developing the analysis, warning, and information-sharing capabilities has been mixed. NIPC began various critical infrastructure protection efforts that have laid the foundation for future governmentwide efforts. NIPC has also provided valuable support and coordination related to investigating and otherwise responding to attacks on computers. However, the analytical and information-sharing capabilities that are needed to protect the nation's critical infrastructures have not yet been achieved, and NIPC has developed only limited warning capabilities. An underlying contributor to the slow progress is that the NIPC's roles and responsibilities have not been fully defined and are not consistently interpreted by other entities involved in the government's broader critical infrastructure protection strategy. This report summarized an April report …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there have been 181 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking of nuclear materials between 1993 and December 31, 2001. Nuclear materials can be smuggled across a country's border through a variety of means: they can be hidden in a car, train, or ship, carried in personal luggage through an airport; or walked across an unprotected border. U.S. efforts to help other countries combat nuclear smuggling are divided among six federal agencies--the Departments of Energy (DOE); State; and Defense (DOD); the U.S. Customs Service; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and the U.S. Coast Guard. From fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 2001, the six agencies spent about $86 million to help 30 countries, mostly in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, combat the threat of smuggling nuclear and other materials that could be used in weapons of mass destruction. Assistance provided by six agencies includes installing radiation detection equipment, helping countries improve their ability to control the export of goods and technologies that could be used to develop nuclear weapons, and providing other equipment and training to improve …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the (1) federal government's role in ensuring a sound public infrastructure and (2) estimates of future investment requirements developed by seven federal agencies: the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. GAO found that the federal government exerts an important influence on infrastructure investment and development. The seven agencies GAO reviewed each estimate billions of dollars for future investment in infrastructure. The estimates focused on investment in the areas of water resources, hydropower, water supply, wastewater treatment, airports, highways, mass transit, and public buildings. Although these estimates encompass major areas of public infrastructure, they cannot be easily compared or simply "added up" to produce a national estimate of infrastructure investment needs. GAO did not independently verify the seven agencies' investment estimates, but it did rely on past reviews of these data by GAO and others that examined the soundness and completeness of the methodology and data used to develop the estimates. This testimony summarized the July 2001 report (GAO-01-835) and the February 2000 report (RCED/AIMD-00-35)."

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 "Strategic human capital management is critical to maximizing government's performance and ensuring its accountability for the benefit of the American people. The early years of the 21st century are proving to be a period of profound transition being driven by several key trends, including global interdependence; diverse, diffuse, and asymmetrical security threats; rapidly evolving science and technology; dramatic shifts in age and composition of the population; important quality of life issues; the changing nature of the economy; and evolving governmental structures and concepts. GAO designated strategic human capital management as a governmentwide high-risk area because of a long-standing lack of a consistent strategic approach to marshaling, managing, and maintaining the human capital needed for government to deliver on its promises. Three broad human capital reform opportunities are instrumental to agency transformation efforts: aligning individual and organizational performance, implementing results-oriented pay reform, and sustaining agency transformation efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the results of GAO's review of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) rulemaking process and ways to improve its efficiency. GAO found that the time FAA took to formally initiate a rule in response to a congressional mandate or a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation varied widely. Between fiscal year 1995 and fiscal year 2000, FAA initiated most such rules within two years, but some rules were initiated many years later. During the entire six-year period GAO reviewed FAA's median time for the final rule phase--about 15 months--was comparable to that of four other federal regulatory agencies. Over a shorter, more recent period, FAA took longer to complete this phase. In 1998, FAA developed reforms to address problems the pace of rulemaking, including the timing of management's involvement, the administration of the process, and human capital management issues. However, the reforms have yet to shorten the rulemaking process because they have not been fully or effectively implemented. Shifting priorities, some brought about by external events and some by internal circumstances, have continued to delay the pace of rulemaking. In addition, difficult policy issues have sometimes remained …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Title III of the proposed Homeland Security Act of 2002 would transfer responsibility for certain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear research and development programs and activities to the new department. The proposed Department of Homeland Security would develop national policy for, and coordination of, the federal government's civilian research and development efforts to counter chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. Although the new department could improve coordination of existing research and development programs, the proposed transfer of control and priority setting for research from the organizations where the research would be conducted could be disruptive. Transferring control over these programs, including priority setting, to the new department has the potential to disrupt some programs that are critical to basic public health. The President's proposal is not clear on how both the homeland security and the biomedical research objectives would be accomplished. However, if an agency's mission fits with homeland security, its transfer to the new department is appropriate."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Oversight of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) generally comes from two select committees of Congress and the CIA's Inspector General. GAO has broad authority to evaluate CIA programs. In reality, however, GAO faces both legal and practical limitations on its ability to review these programs. For example, it has no access to some CIA "unvouchered" accounts and cannot compel its access to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence information. In addition, as a practical matter, GAO is limited by the CIA's level of cooperation, which has varied through the years. GAO has not actively audited the CIA since the early 1960s, when it discontinued such work because CIA was not providing it with enough access to information to allow GAO to do its job. The issue has arisen since then from time to time as GAO's work has required some level of access to CIA programs and information. However, given a lack of requests from Congress for GAO to do specific work at the CIA and its limited resources, GAO made a decision not to pursue the issue further. Today, GAO's dealings with the CIA are mostly limited to information …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The research and development environment has changed dramatically during lst several decades. The government is no longer in the driver's seat, but it still needs access to research and technology advances. At the same time, its effort to compete for access must be balanced against a range of commercial, economic, legal, and other interests. The vehicles discussed in this testimony (the Bayh-Dole Act and Department of Defense "other transaction" authority) are among the tools that the government can use to attract new players to the research and development arena and to maintain access to advances. However, effective use of these tools requires good training and a greater exercise of reasoned discretion among program officials and contracting officers. The Defense Department has taken a very good first step in developing appropriate guidance. However, the next steps are more critical: providing the training and assurances that the guidance will be appropriately implemented."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The government faces a unique opportunity to create an organization that is extremely effective in protecting the nation's borders and citizens against terrorism. There is likely to be considerable benefit over time from restructuring some of the homeland security functions, including reducing risk and improving the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of consolidated agencies and programs. Sorting out those programs and agencies that would most benefit from consolidation versus those in which dual missions must be balanced in order to achieve a more effective fit in the proposed Department of Homeland Security is a difficult but critical task. Moreover, the magnitude of the challenges that the new department faces will clearly require substantial time and effort, and it will take institutional continuity and additional resources to be fully effective. In the short term, issues to be resolved include the harmonization of communication systems, information technology systems, human capital systems, the physical location of people and other assets, and other factors. Given the magnitude of this task, not everything can be achieved at once, and a deliberate phasing of some operations will be necessary. The new department will need to …