Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American Legion for fiscal years 1998 and 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. 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."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The airline industry's losses from the terrorist attacks will total at least $5 billion through December 2001. Even so, carrier-by-carrier losses are likely to vary significantly from the formula-derived allocations of $5 billion. Therefore, some carriers may experience losses higher than their individual formula amount, while others' losses may be lower."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 allows Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. The act requires the Comptroller General to report every six months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved for legal permanent residence status. GAO found that, as of September 30, 2001, the Immigration and Naturalization Service had received 35,946 applications and had approved 5,072 of them. The Executive Office for Immigration Review had 107 applications filed and had approved 87 of them."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on oil and gas activities in the National Wildlife Refuge System. GAO focuses on (1) how many units produced or had oil or gas activities on their lands in 2000, (2) why these activities took place in these units, (3) the number of these units for which the federal government owned the oil and gas mineral rights, (4) resources available to these units to manage oil and gas activities, and (5) the effects of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 on leases for oil and gas activities."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America for fiscal year 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerns have been growing about the supply of health care workers and the future needs of an aging population. Shortages of nurses and nurse aides, the two largest categories of health care workers, are of particular concern. Although the number of pharmacists has grown during the past decade, the increasing demand for pharmacy services is outpacing the growth in supply, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Provider and professional associations have reported high vacancy rates and a decline in new entrants to the laboratory and radiologic fields. However, employment and earnings data for laboratory and radiologic technologists and technicians do not indicate a balance of supply and demand for these workers. Demographic changes, technological advances, and management decisions on how staff and technology are used will affect the future demand for health care workers."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) are establishing a medical surveillance system for the health care needs of military personnel and veterans. The system will collect and analyze information on deployments, environmental health threats, disease monitoring, medical assessments, and medical encounters. GAO has identified weaknesses in DOD's medical surveillance capability and performance during the Gulf War and Operation Joint Endeavor. Investigations into the unexplained illnesses of Gulf War veterans uncovered many deficiencies in DOD's ability to collect, maintain, and transfer accurate data on the movement of troops, potential exposures to health risks, and medical incidents during deployment. DOD has several initiatives under way to improve the reliability of deployment information and to enhance its information technology capabilities, though some initiatives are several years away from full implementation. The VA's ability to serve veterans and provide backup to DOD in times of war will be enhanced as DOD increases its medical surveillance capability."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-01-703G, Strategies to Manage Improper Payments: Learning From Public and Private Sector Organizations (Exposure Draft), May 2001. Improper payments are a significant problem in both government and the private sector. In the private sector, improper payments are generally an internal problem that threatens profitability. In the public sector, improper payments can result in wasteful spending, a higher tax burden, and fewer people receiving services. Despite increased scrutiny, most improper payments associated with federal programs still go undetected. Improper payments are more likely in programs with complex criteria for computing payments, a high volume of transactions, or an emphasis on speedy payments. This report highlights strategic actions taken by study participants to reduce improper payments."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America, Incorporated, for the fiscal year 1999. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., for fiscal year 2000. GAO found that the corporation's resources were insufficient to engage a certified or licensed independent public accountant to perform the audit, as required by law. The corporation is trying to improve its funding."

A staff study issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's physical infrastructure consists of a broad array of systems and facilities, including transportation networks, such as roads, airports, rail, and mass transit; housing; federal buildings including postal facilities; and telecommunications services. In the 21st century, the following trends are likely to influence the nation's need for interconnected infrastructure systems and services: (1) the total population of the United States is expected to increase by nearly 50 million people, or about 17 percent; (2) the number of Americans aged 55 and over is expected to increase by about 60 percent; and (3) the suburbanization of population and employment will continue. The steps that the nation takes to anticipate these trends in infrastructure policy and investments will have a direct effect on America's economy and quality of life. To better understand these connections, GAO sponsored a conference in June 2001 to consider infrastructure issues from a crosscutting perspective. This report discusses the findings and conclusions of that conference."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the American Chemical Society's financial statements for fiscal years 1999 and 1998. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

This report presents two series of studies performed before COP-6 and COP-6bis, in order to provide DG Environment with economic analysis of the issues at stake in international climate negotiations. These analysis used the background information provided by the large scale world energy partial equilibrium model POLES. They were also based on an extensive use of the Marginal Abatement Cost Curves produced by the POLES model through the ASPEN-sd software, specifically designed to produce assessment.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the event of a domestic terrorist attack or other major disasters, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to provide backup medical resources to the military health system and local communities. VA now assists other federal agencies that have lead responsibility for responding to disasters, including terrorism. Its areas of responsibility include disaster simulation exercises and maintaining medical stockpiles. VA's efforts in these areas have enhanced national emergency preparedness by improving medical response procedures and by strengthening the security of federal pharmaceutical stockpiles to ensure rapid response to local authorities. VA also has resources that could play a role in future federal homeland security efforts. Its assets include the bricks, mortar, and human capital components of its health care system; graduate medical education programs; and expertise involving emergency backup and support activities. In managing large-scale medical emergencies arising from terrorist attacks, VA's emergency response capabilities have strengths and weaknesses. Determining how VA can best contribute to homeland security is especially timely given the extraordinary level of federal activity underway to manage large-scale disasters."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the terrorist threat has risen to the top of the national agenda. Preparing for all possible contingencies is impractical, so a risk management approach should be used. This would include a threat assessment to determine which chemical or biological agents are of greatest concern. The federal government has various programs to prepare for and respond to chemical and biological terrorism, including response teams, support laboratories, training and equipment programs, and research efforts. Evaluations of chemical and biological preparedness have identified several problems and their solutions. Congress faces competing demands for spending as it seeks to invest resources to better prepare our nation for chemical and biological terrorism. Given the uncertainty of the chemical and biological threat, Congress may want to initially invest resources in efforts with broad applicability rather than in those that are applicable to a specific type of chemical or biological attack."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The original anthrax vaccine was developed in the 1950s and was first produced on a large scale by Merck. The BioPort Corporation in Michigan is now the sole facility in the United States capable of producing the vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licenses biological products and their production facilities. The manufacturer is required to comply with current good manufacturing practices, which regulate personnel, buildings, equipment, production controls, records, and other aspects of the vaccine manufacturing process. When there is a major change in the manufacturing process, the manufacturer must submit evidence to FDA showing that the change does not have any adverse effects. The manufacturer must also ensure that the quality of the product is maintained. In the case of the anthrax vaccine, the Michigan facility did not notify FDA of several changes to the manufacturing process in the early 1990s, and no specific studies were done to confirm that vaccine quality was not affected. FDA inspections found several deficiencies, many of which were not corrected in a timely manner."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Immigration and Naturalization's (INS) organizational structure has led to recurring management problems, including an inability to balance competing priorities, poor communications, and weaknesses in the development and fielding of critical information technology. Although restructuring may help, INS will still need to assemble the basic building blocks essential to any organization. These building blocks include clearly delineated roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures that effectively balance competing priorities, effective internal and external communication and coordination, and computer systems that provide accurate and timely information. Until these element are in place, it will be difficult to enforce the nation's immigration laws effectively."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor's (DOL) Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and Local Veterans' Employment Representative (LVER) program allow states to hire staff members to serve veterans exclusively. The two programs are mandatory partners in the new one-stop center system created in 1998 by the Workforce Investment Act, which requires that services provided by numerous employment and training programs be made available through one-stop centers. The act also gives states the flexibility to design services tailored to local workforce needs. Although the DVOP and LVER programs must operate within the one-stop system, the act does not govern the programs--and the law that governs them does not provide the same flexibility that the act does. Because Congress sees employment service for veterans as a national responsibility, it established the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) to ensure that veterans, particularly disabled veterans and Vietnam-era veterans, receive priority employment and training opportunities. To make better use of DVOP and LVER staff services, VETS needs the legislative authority to grant each state more flexibility to design how this staff will fit into the one-stop center system. VETS also needs to be able …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "It is essential that the government not only make and guarantee creditworthy loans but also collect the amounts owed. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 was intended to maximize collection of billions of dollars of non-tax delinquent debt owed to the government by requiring agencies to notify the Department of Treasury of debts delinquent more than 180 days for purposes of administrative offset. The act also requires agencies to refer such debts to Treasury for centralized collection action known as cross-servicing. The act authorizes agencies to garnish the wages of delinquent debtors and bars delinquent debtors from receiving federal financial assistance in the form of loans, loan insurance, or loan guarantees until they resolve their delinquencies. This report discusses selected agencies and focuses on (1) difficulties they experienced in identifying and referring eligible debts to Treasury's Financial Management Service or a Treasury designated debt collection center, (2) obstacles to prompt referral of eligible debts, and (3) whether exclusions from referral requirements were consistent with established criteria."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal research and preparedness activities related to bioterrorism center on detecting of such agents; developing new or improved vaccines, antibiotics, and antivirals; and developing performance standards for emergency response equipment. Preparedness activities include: (1) increasing federal, state, and local response capabilities; (2) developing response teams; (3) increasing the availability of medical treatments; (4) participating in and sponsoring exercises; (5) aiding victims; and (6) providing support at special events, such as presidential inaugurations and Olympic games. To coordinate their activities, federal agencies are developing interagency response plans, participating in various interagency work groups, and entering into formal agreements with each other to share resources and capabilities. However, GAO found that coordination of federal terrorism research, preparedness, and response programs is fragmented, raising concerns about the ability of states and localities to respond to a bioterrorist attack. These concerns include poor state and local planning and the lack of hospital participation in training on terrorism and emergency response planning. This report summarized a September 2001 report (GAO-01-915)."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One of the priorities of the U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council is to improve financial performance through better financial management systems. The Bush administration has identified several management reform initiatives, including strategic management of human capital, improving financial performance and expanding e-government. Under the auspices of the Financial Systems Committee and Human Resources Committee of the CFO Council and the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program, an interagency team was established to develop strategies to build the work force capacity for financial system implementation projects."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The JFMIP White Paper, "Parallel Operation of Software: Is It A Desirable Software System Transition Technique?" is intended to assist agencies when developing appropriate risk mitigation strategies when to new financial systems, especially commercial off-the-shelf software where existing business processes must be reengineered to avoid software customization. This White Paper updates selected information contained in the JFMIP Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems, issued in January 1995, regarding to a new system. Because the Framework document is comprehensive, this white paper, as well as others to come, is designed to update and expand upon selected topics that are of critical interest to agencies and oversight communities."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles regarding (1) the XI Assembly of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) from August 20-24, 2001, in Panama City, Panama; (2) data envelopment analysis in performance evaluation; (3) an audit profile of the State Audit Office (SAO) of Finland; and (4) activities within INTOSAI."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Before September 11, insurance coverage for losses from terrorism was a normal feature of insurance contracts. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have changed insurers' perceptions of their risk exposure. Both insurers and reinsurers say that they do not know how much to charge for this coverage, and because they cannot predict future losses, they may exclude terrorism insurance from future contracts unless the federal government provides some guidance to the industry. Several insurance programs in the United States and other countries ensure that insurance will be available to cover risks that the private sector has been unable or unwilling to cover, including losses from catastrophic events and terrorism. For government insurance programs, the question of long-term cost and program funding needs to be addressed before any program is established. Some federal insurance programs have a statutory intent to provide subsidized coverage, while others are intended to be self-funding. Regardless of statutory intent, if federal insurance is underpriced relative to its long-run costs and the federal government pays the difference, a government subsidy results."