2,176 Matching Results

Results open in a new window/tab.

Drug Prices Paid by DOD and VA Are, on Average, Lower Than Those Certified to HCFA as Best Price (open access)

Drug Prices Paid by DOD and VA Are, on Average, Lower Than Those Certified to HCFA as Best Price

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report compares the drug prices paid by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the prices paid by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). On average, for the sample of drug prices analyzed by GAO, HCFA's prices were higher than those of either DOD or VA."
Date: October 31, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the National Safety Council for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the National Safety Council for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Safety Council for fiscal years 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance with the requirements of the law, and the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
HCFA Extended Its Contract With Accounting Firm Implicated in Major Fraud (open access)

HCFA Extended Its Contract With Accounting Firm Implicated in Major Fraud

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been raised about the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) decision to extend a contract with an accounting firm that has been implicated in major fraud. KPMG's contract with HCFA included annual options to extend performance that could be exercised at HCFA's will. Although information on the fraud investigation was available to HCFA staff at various levels, the information was not used to make reasoned contracting decisions. If HCFA had considered the information and documented its decision to extend KPMG's contract, it could have minimized concerns over the appropriateness of its decision."
Date: October 31, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Reports for the National Federation of Music Clubs for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Reports for the National Federation of Music Clubs for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Federation of Music Clubs for fiscal years 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance with the requirements of the law, and the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Paralyzed Veterans of America for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Paralyzed Veterans of America for Fiscal Years 1999 and 1998

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the Paralyzed Veterans of America's for fiscal years 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance with the requirements of the law, and the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for 1998 and 1997 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Report for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for 1998 and 1997

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for 1998 and 1997. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance with the requirements of the law, and the audit report included the auditor's opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Biennial Budgeting: Three States' Experiences (open access)

Biennial Budgeting: Three States' Experiences

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Members of Congress periodically have expressed interest in converting the federal budget process from an annual to a biennial cycle. Congress believes that the time spent on these activities has come at the expense of congressional oversight and authorization responsibilities. To better understand states' experiences with the biennial budget cycle, GAO studied three states: Arizona, Ohio, and Connecticut. GAO found that the states' reasons for changing their budget cycles varied. For example, Arizona adopted a biennial cycle to increase legislative oversight and reduce time spent on the budget. Connecticut adopted it as part of a fiscal reform effort. To execute a biennial budget successfully, the states' experiences suggest that the legislative and executive branches must agree on how the off-year budget process will work. Different approaches to managing the off-year budget have been developed by states, including establishing formal guidelines for off-year budget changes and relying on leadership control. Efforts to increase legislative oversight in the off-year by converting to a biennial budget process may be difficult. Ohio and Connecticut officials said they that have not increased legislative oversight in the off-year, and Arizona officials said …
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Property Management Systems Requirements (open access)

Property Management Systems Requirements

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a functional requirements document for property management systems. This document is intended for financial analysts, systems accountants, systems developers, property managers, program managers, and others who design, develop, implement, operate, and maintain or audit financial management systems."
Date: October 1, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
District of Columbia: Receiver's Plan to Return Control of Mental Health Commission Is Evolving (open access)

District of Columbia: Receiver's Plan to Return Control of Mental Health Commission Is Evolving

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The failure by the District of Columbia's Commission on Mental Health Services to provide community-based mental health services, as required by a 1974 court ruling, prompted a judge to appoint a receiver to carry out the court's order. Control of mental health services is scheduled to be returned to the Commission in April 2001. Although the transitional receiver is developing a plan to enhance the Commission's ability to comply with the court ruling, many challenges must be overcome. For example, the District must change its hospital-based system of care to one that considers the needs of the individual within a framework of a community-based provider responsible for all aspects of mental health and supportive services needs. Many interested mental health providers and patient care advocacy groups believe that a solid foundation is being laid for community-based mental health services. However, success will depend on the Commission's ability to improve management processes and coordinate with other agencies that provide care to the mentally ill."
Date: October 30, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: District of Columbia Highway Trust Fund's Fiscal Year 1999 and 1998 Financial Statements (open access)

Financial Audit: District of Columbia Highway Trust Fund's Fiscal Year 1999 and 1998 Financial Statements

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the financial statements of the District of Columbia's Highway Trust Fund for fiscal years 1999 and 1998. GAO found that the District did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting related to its Highway Trust Fund as of September 30, 1999. Material weaknesses affected accounting for expenditures and computer system general controls."
Date: October 31, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student Loans: Direct Loan Default Rates (open access)

Student Loans: Direct Loan Default Rates

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report focuses on the default rate for student loans. Two major federal student loan programs, the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), together provided student borrowers with about 9 million loans totaling about $42.9 billion in fiscal year 1999. The most recent student loan default rate statistics for schools showed that, overall, the direct and guaranteed student loan programs had similar default rates: at 6.6 percent for FDLP and 6.7 percent for FFELP. The two programs had similar default rates when the comparisons focused on the type of school. FDLP has two types of loans, consolidated and nonconsolidated. Generally, borrowers with consolidated loans who used the standard payment plan had a lower default rate than did borrowers with nonconsolidated loans. However, when income contingent repayment plans were used, borrowers with consolidated loans had a higher default rate than did those with nonconsolidated loans. The Department of Education uses various procedures to ensure that loans are properly serviced and collected, including independent monitoring and external assessments of monitoring results."
Date: October 17, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Suspicious Banking Activities: Possible Money Laundering by U.S. Corporations Formed for Russian Entities (open access)

Suspicious Banking Activities: Possible Money Laundering by U.S. Corporations Formed for Russian Entities

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses possible money laundering by U.S. corporations formed by Russian entities. It is easy for foreign entities to hide their identities while forming shell corporations that can be used for money laundering. GAO investigated the following two Delaware corporations that are suspected of money laundering: Euro-American Corporate Services, Inc. and International Business Creations. Suspicious banking activity involved correspondent bank accounts and wire transfers of funds from Eastern European banks through U.S. banks to other Eastern European banks. Two U.S. banks, Citibank of New York and Commercial Bank of San Francisco, violated their customer policies by failing to close the accounts of clients who did not comply with the bank's requirement to appear at the bank in person within 30 days of opening an account. These banks facilitated the transfer of about $1 billion from Eastern Europe, through U.S. banks, and back to Eastern Europe by corporations formed for Russian brokers. It is possible that these transfers were used to launder money. GAO referred the matter to appropriate law enforcement authorities."
Date: October 31, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Managing for Results: Emerging Benefits From Selected Agencies' Use of Performance Agreements (open access)

Managing for Results: Emerging Benefits From Selected Agencies' Use of Performance Agreements

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Veterans Health Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the Office of Student Financial Assistance have begun to use results- oriented performance agreements to align agency expectations with organizational goals. Each agency developed and implemented agreements that reflected their specific organizational priorities, structures, and cultures. GAO identified the following five common emerging benefits: (1) better alignment of results-oriented goals with daily operations, (2) collaboration across organizational boundaries, (3) opportunities to use performance information to improve federal programs, (4) results-oriented basis for individual accountability, and (5) continuity of program goals during leadership transitions. The three agencies' experiences show that effective implementation of performance agreements can encourage communication about progress towards agency goals. Their experiences also indicate that performance information should be provided to executives and managers in a timely fashion and in a useful format."
Date: October 30, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Assistance: U.S. Russia Fund Is Following Its Investment Selection Process and Criteria (open access)

Foreign Assistance: U.S. Russia Fund Is Following Its Investment Selection Process and Criteria

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report summarizes GAO's findings on the United States Russia Fund and its investment selection process and criteria. The United States established enterprise funds to support private sector development in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as they move from centrally planned to market-oriented economies. Enterprise funds are private, nonprofit U.S. corporations that are supposed to make loans to, or invest in, small, medium, and large businesses in which other financial institutions are reluctant to invest. The Fund is authorized to receive $440 million through the Agency for International Development. As of March 2000, the Fund had invested $114.4 million in 30 projects through its direct investment program which provides loans and equity capital to businesses in Russia. GAO found that the Fund followed its review process and criteria for selecting direct investments."
Date: October 2, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Future Years Defense Program: Risks in Operation and Maintenance and Procurement Programs (open access)

Future Years Defense Program: Risks in Operation and Maintenance and Procurement Programs

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report summarizes GAO's findings on the Department of Defense's (DOD) Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). Although total funding in the 2001 FYDP is about $16 billion more than in the 2000 FYDP, DOD may not be able to implement its operation and maintenance and procurement programs as planned. GAO identified several areas in which costs may be understated or savings overstated, increasing the risk that in the next FYDP the military will have to shift more funds to these accounts from other accounts. DOD's efforts to reduce its infrastructure costs may not yield the savings that it planned to use to fund modernization and readiness needs. Because the military services and the defense organizations have already adjusted their current budgets and future years funding projects to reflect these expected savings, they will likely experience funding shortfalls unless other adjustments are made or additional ends are provided."
Date: October 5, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Worker Protection: Better Coordination Can Improve Safety at Hazardous Material Facilities (open access)

Worker Protection: Better Coordination Can Improve Safety at Hazardous Material Facilities

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Work places that produce, use, store, or dispose of hazardous materials are considered to be among the most dangerous in the nation. Workers at these facilities face the potential for injury, chronic illness, or death, which can be caused simply by exposure to certain materials. Several agencies play a role in protecting workplace safety and health. This report discusses coordination of efforts by federal agencies to make the work place safer. GAO found that the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; and the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board play distinct roles in federal efforts to protect the safety and health of workers at hazardous materials work places. However, these agencies' functions partially overlap in several areas. These overlaps cause them to place duplicate requirements on employers. Although there is a good effort on the part of the agencies, more coordination is needed to eliminate the overlaps."
Date: October 26, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Drug Control: Challenges in Implementing Plan Colombia (open access)

Drug Control: Challenges in Implementing Plan Colombia

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has been providing assistance to Colombia since the early 1970s to help the Colombian National Police and other law enforcement agencies, the military, and civilian agencies reduce illegal drug production and trafficking. Recognizing that illegal drug activities are a serious problem, the Colombian government announced a counternarcotics plan known as Plan Colombia. This testimony reviews the U.S. counternarcotics efforts in Colombia. Although U.S.-provided assistance has enhanced Colombian counternarcotics capabilities, its usefulness has sometimes been limited because of long-standing problems in planning and implementation. For example, little progress has been made in launching a plan to have Colombia's National Police assume a larger role in managing the aerial eradication program, which requires costly U.S. contractor assistance. The governments of the United States and Colombia face continuing and new financial and management challenges in implementing Plan Colombia. The costs and activities needed to implement the plan are unknown at this time, and it will take years before any significant reduction in the drug trade is seen. Colombia must resolve problems with its political and economic stability and improve its management of counternarcotics funding in order to successfully …
Date: October 12, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Information: EPA Needs Better Information to Manage Risks and Measure Results (open access)

Environmental Information: EPA Needs Better Information to Manage Risks and Measure Results

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs comprehensive and accurate data to manage its programs more effectively. In reports going back to 1988, GAO has identified many long-standing problems in the agency's efforts to collect and use environmental data. This report summarizes GAO's findings on: (1) EPA's need to set risk-based priorities for its programs, and (2) develop outcome-oriented measures of its programs' results. EPA's ability to assess risks and establish risk-based priorities has been hampered by data quality problems, including critical data gaps, databases that do not operate compatibly with one another, and persistent concerns about the accuracy of the data in many of EPA's data systems. To ensure future success in developing outcome measures, however, EPA will need to make a long-term commitment to overcome major challenges to obtaining the data needed to show the results of environmental programs."
Date: October 3, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Infrastructure: Challenges Associated With Building and Maintaining Runways (open access)

Aviation Infrastructure: Challenges Associated With Building and Maintaining Runways

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses challenges associated with building new runways and with ensuring that existing runways are properly maintained. Recent flight delays and cancellations as well as significant media attention have heightened public concern about the need to increase the capacity of the National Airspace System. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 24 of the nation's 50 busiest commercial service airports have proposed, planned, or begun construction on new runways and runway extensions at an estimated cost of $6.5 billion. Airports and FAA face challenges in building new runways and in determining at what point runway pavement conditions warrant repair in order for existing runways to be maintained in the most cost-effective manner. The federal government and the aviation industry are involved in several efforts to balance airports' growth with environmental concerns and to address runway maintenance in a cost-effective way. Additional actions would help minimize some delays associated with adding capacity and problems with preserving existing capacity."
Date: October 5, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Illegal Aliens: INS Participation in Antigang Task Forces in Los Angeles (open access)

Illegal Aliens: INS Participation in Antigang Task Forces in Los Angeles

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Justice policy encourages cooperation among law enforcement agencies at all levels. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) participated in two such task forces, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Violent Gang Task Force. These task forces have come under public and legal scrutiny for possible misconduct by law enforcement officers. Several convictions were overturned because evidence was tampered with or LAPD officers physically abused suspects. Media reports fueled concerns that LAPD and INS secretly worked together to illegally deport Latino immigrants. GAO concludes that INS was neither involved in nor observed any misconduct while working on these task forces. Interviews with INS officers, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, and immigrants rights groups did not reveal any misconduct involving INS agents. GAO did note, however, that documentation in some arrest files was missing or incomplete and that funding set aside for use in the OCDETF program was improperly used for non-OCDETF activities."
Date: October 26, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: Billions in Improper Payments Continue to Require Attention (open access)

Financial Management: Billions in Improper Payments Continue to Require Attention

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the steward of taxpayer dollars, the federal government is accountable for how its agencies and grantees spend funds. It is also responsible for safeguardingagainst improper payments, which include payments that should not have been madeor were made for incorrect amounts irrespective of whether the agency had effective controls in place. Reported estimates of improper payments total billions ofdollars annually. With billions of dollars at risk, agencies need to vigilantly safeguard those resources entrusted to them and assign a high priority to reducing fraud, waste, and abuse. In their fiscal year 1999 financial statement, 12federal agencies reported improper payments totalling $20.7 billion. A first step for some agencies will be to assess programs at risk and develope ways to identify, estimate, and report the nature and extent of improper payments annually. Without this fundamental knowledge, agencies will not be fully informed about the magnitude, trends, and types of payment errors occurring within their programs. Furthermore, most agencies will not be able to make informed cost-benefit decisions about strengthening their internal controls to minimize future improper payments or effectively develop goals and strategies to reduce them. In …
Date: October 27, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Protection Agency: Use of Precautionary Assumptions in Health Risk Assessments and Benefits Estimates (open access)

Environmental Protection Agency: Use of Precautionary Assumptions in Health Risk Assessments and Benefits Estimates

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Some of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations set standards that limit environmental contaminants to levels that are determined, in large part, on the basis of the health risks they pose. When EPA assesses the health risks of contaminants, however, the agency is faced with uncertainties and gaps in scientific knowledge and data. This report summarizes GAO's findings on whether EPA's benefits estimates for major environmental regulations that establish health-based standards reflect precautionary assumptions about health risks. Three key factors influence EPA's use of precautionary assumptions in assessing health risks. First, EPA is influenced by its mission to protect human health and safeguard the natural environment. Second, EPA is influenced by the nature and extent of relevant data. Finally, EPA is influenced by the nature of the health risk being evaluated."
Date: October 16, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foreign Assistance: USAID Compliance With Family Planning Restrictions (open access)

Foreign Assistance: USAID Compliance With Family Planning Restrictions

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has provided international family planning assistance through the Agency for International Development (AID) since the mid-1960s. U.S. law prohibits the use of international family planning funds for abortions and requires that all family planning programs supported by AID be voluntary. This report discusses: (1) how much family planning assistance AID provided in fiscal years 1996-1999 and plans to provide in fiscal year 2000, and (2) what procedures have been established to ensure that funds are not being used for prohibited activities. GAO found that AID provided $432 million in assistance in fiscal year 1996 and $385 million in each of fiscal years 1997-1999. AID has established multiple procedures to ensure that family planning funds are not used for prohibited activities, including specifying the restrictions in grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements."
Date: October 2, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Challenge of Data Sharing: Results of a GAO-Sponsored Symposium on Benefit and Loan Programs (open access)

The Challenge of Data Sharing: Results of a GAO-Sponsored Symposium on Benefit and Loan Programs

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Data sharing among federal agencies that run federal benefit and loan programs is important for determining the eligibility of applicants and beneficiaries. A GAO symposium on data sharing highlighted various issues facing federal agencies in their efforts to prevent abuse of federal programs. Symposium speakers focused on the number of program dollars saved by interagency data exchanges. Agencies using computer matching have detected undisclosed income and welfare recipients who receive benefits from more than one state. Improved technologies offer agencies the opportunity to expand their data sharing efforts. Such technologies include computer systems that can communicate directly with other systems and computer networks that can obtain information directly from financial institutions. Symposium speakers agreed that applicants' privacy should be protected when personal information is shared among agencies, but they disagreed about the extent to which data sharing threatens it. Privacy laws and security-related technology provide individuals with some protection against the possible misuse of personal information, but symposium participants differed on whether these protections are adequate."
Date: October 20, 2000
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library