A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Academy of Sciences March 1998 report on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plans to monitor particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), focusing on: (1) EPA's actions in response to the Academy's concerns with the planned PM2.5 monitoring program; and (2) the challenges that state and local agencies face in establishing and operating the PM2.5 monitoring program, as well as EPA's response to these challenges."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the changes in airfares and service quality since deregulation, focusing on the: (1) changes in airfares and service quality at airports serving Charleston and other communities in South Carolina; and (2) differences in airfares charged to business and leisure passengers travelling to and from Charleston."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its ongoing examination of the safety and efficacy of the anthrax vaccine, focusing on the: (1) need for a six-shot regimen and annual booster shots; (2) long- and short-term safety of the vaccine; (3) efficacy of the vaccine; (4) extent to which problems the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found in the vaccine production facility in Michigan could compromise the safety, efficacy, and quality of the vaccine; and (5) effects of the anthrax vaccine on children, pregnant women or lactating women."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision to allow the use of personal computer-based aviation training devices (PCATD), focusing on: (1) the process and information FAA used in deciding to approve the use of personal computer devices for 10 hours of instrument training; and (2) what is known about the training effectiveness of these devices and their long-term impact on a pilot's ability to fly safely."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the average and median amount of all homestead exemptions claimed by debtors in the Northern District of Texas and the Southern District of Florida, focusing on: (1) information on debtors' use of the homestead exemption in these two districts; and (2) data on the number of personal chapter 7 bankruptcy cases closed in calendar year 1998 in the remaining five districts in Texas and Florida."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implications of H.R. 853 on the congressional budget process, focusing on: (1) the importance of the long-term perspective; (2) the long-term and insurance commitments in the budget; and (3) how this relates to the need for control, accountability, and transparency."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety's administration of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), focusing on: (1) whether CMP's conversion to a private corporation and the Corporation's subsequent firearms sales were conducted in accordance with the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act; (2) the types and value of federal support provided to the Corporation; and (3) the types and number of firearms the Army transferred to the Corporation and was storing for potential transfer."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the crime technology assistance provided by the Department of Defense (DOD) to state and local law enforcement agencies during fiscal years (FY) 1996 through 1998, focusing on: (1) grants or other types of direct federal funding; (2) access to support services and systems, such as counterdrug or other intelligence centers; and (3) in-kind transfers of equipment or other assets."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) the Navy's 1997 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) assessment; (2) the role and funding influence of the Navy's recently established Antisubmarine Warfare Requirements Division; and (3) whether the assessment is supported by rigorous analysis of ASW shortfalls and capabilities and establishes priorities among ASW programs, as directed by congressional conferees on the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reduce the infrastructure that supports initial pilot training, focusing on: (1) DOD's prior efforts to reduce aircraft training infrastructure; (2) plans for expanding pilot training capacity; and (3) the likelihood of further consolidations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) implementation of its Total Asset Visibility (TAV) initiative, focusing on: (1) the difficulty in determining the status of the initiative's implementation; (2) planning weaknesses that affect the initiative's implementation; and (3) strategies for addressing those weaknesses."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Army's study of its master plan for implementing its Workload Performance System, focusing on the: (1) Army's progress in developing and implementing the workload performance system; and (2) extent to which the Army's April 1999 report to the House Committee on National Security addresses an overall master plan for implementing the system, including the system's future applications and funding requirements."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) training program and the changes that are needed to address those problems, focusing on: (1) DOE's current process for setting its training budget; (2) opportunities to reduce the costs associated with DOE's training program; and (3) DOE's draft plan for training its employees in the future."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) new rule on installing reflectors on the sides and rear of semitrailers and trailers. GAO noted that: (1) the new rule requires motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce to install retroreflective tape or reflex reflectors on the sides and rear of semitrailers and trailers that were manufactured prior to December 1, 1993, and meet certain size and weight requirements; and (2) FHwA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Navy's compliance with the reporting requirements stated in section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, focusing on whether the Navy: (1) lists and maintains at least two Iowa class battleships on the Naval Vessel Register that are in good material condition and capable of providing adequate fire support for an amphibious assault; (2) retains the existing logistical support necessary to keep at least two Iowa class battleships in active service, including technical manuals, repair and replacement parts, and ordnance; and (3) keeps the two battleships on the register until the Secretary of the Navy certifies that the Navy has within the fleet an operational surface fire support capability that equals or exceeds the fire support capability that the Iowa class battleships would be able to provide for the Marine Corps amphibious assaults and operations ashore."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of the Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) foreign aid program, focusing on: (1) the types of technical assistance OTA advisors have provided to Russia and Romania; (2) oversight by OTA of advisors' activities; (3) advisor qualifications, program cost, fund transfers between the Agency for International Development and the Treasury; and (4) the location of the Treasury's senior advisors to its program."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the: (1) economic analyses done by the General Services Administration (GSA) for leases and new construction it proposed for fiscal years (FY) 1994 through 1999; and (2) results of analyses comparing leasing with construction and lease-purchase alternatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Public Buildings Service's (PBS) System for Tracking and Administering Real Property (STAR), focusing on: (1) the functions STAR performs; (2) whether users were having problems using STAR; (3) the steps PBS had taken or is taking to address any user problems; and (4) the actions PBS had taken or plans to take to ensure that STAR data are accurate, reliable, and consistent."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) new rule on Medicaid Program's state allotments for payment of Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals for fiscal year (FY) 1999. GAO noted that: (1) the Social Security Act provides for the Medicaid program to pay all or part of the Medicare Part B premiums for beneficiaries belonging to two specific eligibility groups of low-income Medicare beneficiaries, referred to as qualifying individuals; (2) this notice announces the federal FY 1999 allotments that are available for state agencies to pay Medicare Part B premiums for these two eligibility groups; and (3) HCFA complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) provided a listing of its open recommendations to help solve problems in areas it has designated as high risk; (2) provided references to the source and date of the recommendations and the status of agency actions to implement GAO's suggestions; and (3) identified any legislative recommendations that could further assist in fully addressing these high-risk problems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Supportive Housing Program, focusing on the: (1) characteristics of Supportive Housing Program applicants; (2) types of programs and services for homeless people that this program supports; (3) importance of Supportive Housing Program grants to applicants' programs for the homeless; and (4) various funding sources, in addition to Supportive Housing Program grants, that applicants rely on for their programs and services for homeless people."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the total expenditures for the investigations conducted by independent counsels Robert B. Fiske, Jr., and Kenneth W. Starr."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Medicare Choice program, focusing on: (1) the extent to which managed care organizations' (MCO) member literature provides beneficiaries with accurate and useful plan information; and (2) whether the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) review process ensures that beneficiaries can rely on MCOs' member literature to make informed enrollment decisions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicare's managed care beneficiary appeals process, focusing on: (1) the appeals process available to beneficiaries when managed care plans deny care or payment for services; (2) beneficiaries' use of the appeals process and the extent to which they are informed of their appeal rights; and (3) the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) oversight of this process."