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(open access)

Hourly Fees Paid by Various Federal Agencies to Private Attorneys for Legal Services

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on hourly fees paid by the federal government to private attorneys for legal services in fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001. Relevant legal services include federal employee defense, litigative consultation, intellectual property consultation, and asset forfeiture-related services. For these types of services, GAO obtained information on hourly fees paid to private attorneys by the Department of Justice, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. GAO found that the hourly fees paid to private attorneys ranged from $125 to $357, depending on the agency and the type of legal service."

Date: July 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Efforts to Assist Weapons Scientists in Russia's Nuclear Cities Face Challenges

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "TThe United States and Russia began an ambitious nonproliferation program, the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), to create sustainable job opportunities for weapons scientists in Russia's closed nuclear cities and to help Russia accelerate the downsizing of its nuclear weapons complex in in 1998. The program, however, poses a daunting challenge. The nuclear cities are geographically and economically isolated, access is restricted for security reasons, and weapons scientists are not accustomed to working for commercial businesses. Thus, Western businesses are reluctant to invest in the nuclear cities. This report reviews (1) the costs to implement NCI, including the amount of program funds spent in the United States and Russia, as well as planned expenditures; (2) the impact of NCI projects; and (3) the status of the European Nuclear Cities Initiative. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE's Efforts to Secure Nuclear Material and Employ Weapons Scientists in Russia, by Gary L. Jones, Director Natural Resources and Environment, before the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Senate Committee on Armed Services. GAO-01-726T, May 15 (10 pages)."

Date: May 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Grant Financial System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (Supersedes GAO-01-238G)

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-01-238G, Grant Financial System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, January 2001. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996 requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management systems requirements. The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) seeks to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems to support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems. This checklist reflects JFMIP's first functional requirements document issued for grant financial systems to assist (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring agency grant financial systems and (2) managers and auditors in reviewing their grant financial systems to determine if they substantially comply with FFMIA. This checklist is not required to be used in assessing grant financial systems. Rather, it is provided as a tool for use by experienced staff and is one in a series of documents GAO has issued to help agencies improve or maintain effective operations."

Date: September 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Military Personnel: Longer Time Between Moves Related to Higher Satisfaction and Retention

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About one-third of all military service members make permanent change of station (PCS) moves each year. These moves, which may involve the members' dependents and household goods, are a considerable cost to both the government and individual service members. Not all relocation and moving costs are covered by the government. Reimbursements are based on what property a member was authorized to move and weight allowances that vary by grade and dependents. GAO found that the average duration time between PCS moves was about two years. Personnel who were unmarried and without dependents had the least time between PCS moves. Among the services, the Marine Corps had the shortest average time between PCS moves. Among enlisted personnel, those in the combat occupations had the shortest time between moves; for officers, those who were in the intelligence and tactical operations areas had the shortest average tours. GAO found that the duration of PCS tours was related to satisfaction. Those with shorter time spent between moves were less likely to be satisfied and were more likely to have a spouse who favored the member leaving the military. The most …

Date: August 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

SEC's Report Provides Useful Information On Mutual Fund Fees And Recommends Improved Fee Disclosure

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence (1) discusses the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) report on mutual fund fee disclosures and (2) reviews SEC's response to GAO's recommendations on improving fee disclosure. The results of SEC staff's comprehensive analyses and other findings generally corroborate the findings of GAO's report and provide considerable additional information on the trend in mutual fund fees. The SEC staff's report also contains several recommendations to the agency's Commissioners, and the Commission has already approved recommendations on after-tax return disclosure and fund governance. In response to GAO's recommendation that mutual fund investors' quarterly account statements disclose the specific dollar amount of fees they paid, SEC staff recommends that investors receive additional fee information in funds' annual and semiannual reports. The SEC staff's proposal would provide investors with more information on fees in a form that allows comparison among funds. However, it will not provide information specific to each investor, nor will it be provided in the most frequent and relevant source--the quarterly statement. Therefore, it may be less likely to increase investor awareness and spur additional price competition among mutual funds to the same degree as GAO's recommendation …

Date: May 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Information Security: Weak Controls Place Interior's Financial and Other Data at Risk

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews information system general controls over the financial systems maintained by the Department of the Interior at its National Business Center (NBC) in Denver, Colorado. GAO found that although the Denver center has made progress in correcting previously cited computer security weaknesses, additional weaknesses affect the Denver center's information system control environment. These weaknesses affect the center's ability to prevent and detect unauthorized changes to financial information, control electronic access to sensitive personnel information, and restrict physical access to sensitive computing areas. The Denver center did not adequately limit access granted to authorized users, control all aspects of the system software controls, or secure access to its network. Also, the Denver center had not fully established a comprehensive program to routinely monitor access to its computer facilities and data and to identify and investigate unusual or suspicious access patterns that could indicate unauthorized access. The primary reason for these weaknesses was that the Denver center had not yet fully developed and implemented a comprehensive entitywide program to manage computer security."

Date: July 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Internal Revenue Service: 2001 Tax Filing Season, Systems Modernization, and Security of Electronic Filing

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) the status of the 2001 tax filing season, (2) the status of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) business systems modernization effort, and (3) the security of IRS' electronic filing system. GAO found that although the 2001 filing season appears to be running smoothly, some matters require further attention. For example, IRS has had problems with the personal identification number assigned to electronic filers. Although data indicate that taxpayers are having an easier time reaching IRS to ask questions, concerns persist about the productivity of its telephone assistors. With respect to business systems modernization, GAO has long held that IRS needs to establish fundamental modernization management controls before it begins to build and implement modernized systems. IRS has made some progress in this area, but it is still not where it needs to be. GAO is concerned that IRS is allowing its system acquisition projects to get ahead of its capabilities for managing them. Lastly, GAO's review of IRS' electronic filing systems last year showed that IRS had ineffective controls to ensure the security of those systems and electronically-transmitted taxpayer data. IRS moved promptly to …

Date: April 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Military Housing: DOD Needs to Address Long-Standing Requirements Determination Problems

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) family housing program. GAO discusses (1) whether DOD has implemented a standard process for determining the required military housing based on housing available in the private sector and (2) how an increase in the housing allowance is likely to affect the need for housing on military installations over the long term. Despite calls from Congress, GAO, and DOD's Inspector General, DOD has not introduced a standard process for determining military housing requirements. DOD and the services have worked to develop the framework for the process, but technical concerns, such as standards for affordable housing and commuting distance, have stalled its adoption. Increasing the housing allowance underscores the urgent need for a consistent process to determine military housing requirements because it is expected to increase demand for civilian housing and lessen the demand for military housing. From a policy standpoint, increasing the allowance better positions DOD to rely on the private sector first for housing because it removes the financial disincentive to living in civilian housing. From a management standpoint, considerable evidence suggests that it is less expensive to …

Date: August 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Special Minimum Wage Program: Centers Offer Employment and Support Services to Workers With Disabilities, But Labor Should Improve Oversight

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To prevent the curtailment of employment opportunities for disabled persons, the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to pay individuals less than the minimum wage if they have a physical or mental disability that impairs their earning or productive capacity. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers the special minimum wage program. More than 5,600 employers nationwide pay special wages to workers with disabilities; about 84 percent are work centers established to provide employment opportunities and support services to individuals with disabilities. Businesses comprise about 9 percent of these employers; the remaining 7 percent are hospitals or other residential care facilities and schools. Seventy-four percent of the workers paid special minimum wages by work centers have mental retardation or another developmental disability as their primary impairment, and 46 percent have multiple disabilities. From the data received by employers on the productivity of their disabled workers, it is estimated that 70 percent of the workers are less than half as productive as workers without disabilities performing the same jobs. Labor has not effectively managed the special minimum wage program to ensure that disabled workers …

Date: August 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Electronic Warfare: Comprehensive Strategy Needed for Suppressing Enemy Air Defenses

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To suppress enemy air defenses, U.S. armed forces use specialized aircraft designed to neutralize, destroy, or temporarily degrade enemy air defense systems through either physical attack or electronic warfare. Concerns have been raised that the Air Force's decision to retire EF-111 and F-4G suppression aircraft, combined with a growing threat from increasingly sophisticated enemy air defenses, has created a gap between the services' suppression capabilities and their needs. GAO (1) examined the steps that the military has taken since 1996 to improve its ability to suppress enemy air defenses and (2) evaluated the services' plans to eliminate any gap between their suppression capabilities and needs. GAO found that the services have improved their suppression capabilities, such as increasing the size of their fleets of F-16CJ and EA-6B suppression aircraft, improving the electronic warfare and missile systems on these aircraft, studying cost-effective alternatives for suppression in the future, and reviewing electronic warfare programs to determine if these programs are adequately managed, prioritized, and funded. However, GAO also found that current suppression capabilities are not adequate and that no comprehensive, cross-service strategy exists for achieving the suppression mission."

Date: January 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

General Services Administration: Status of Achieving Key Outcomes and Addressing Major Management Challenges

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the General Services Administration's (GSA) performance report for fiscal year 2000 and its performance plan for fiscal year 2002 to assess GSA's progress in achieving key outcomes important to its mission. GAO found that some goals were met or exceeded and others were not met. For fiscal year 2002, GSA set up a strategy to better meet these goals. Overall, GSA's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 plan were more informative and useful than its report and plan from last year."

Date: August 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Mass Transit: Many Management Successes at WMATA, but Capital Planning Could Be Enhanced

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) public transit system has experienced problems with the safety and reliability of its transit services, including equipment breakdowns, delays in scheduled service, unprecedented crowding on trains, and some accidents and tunnel fires. At the same time, WMATA's ridership is at an all time high and WMATA managers expect the number of passengers to double during the next 25 years. This report reviews (1) the challenges WMATA faces in operating and maintaining its Metrorail system; (2) efforts WMATA has made to establish and monitor safety and security within its transit system; and (3) the extent to which WMATA follows established best practices in planning, selecting, and budgeting for its capital investments. GAO found that WMATA is addressing significant challenges brought about by the agency's aging equipment and infrastructure and its ever-increasing ridership. WMATA has established programs to identify, evaluate, and minimize safety and security risks throughout its rail and bus systems. WMATA has also adopted several best capital practices used by leading public and private sector organizations, but it could benefit by establishing a more formal, disciplined …

Date: July 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Financial Privacy: Too Soon to Assess the Privacy Provisions in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on (1) the efficacy and adequacy of remedies provided by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 in addressing attempts to obtain financial information by false pretenses and (2) suggestions for additional legislation or regulatory action to address threats to the privacy of financial information, from financial institutions. As of March 2001, federal regulatory and enforcement agencies had not taken any enforcement actions or prosecuted any cases under Subtitle B. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice are still in the process of taking steps to ensure that the financial institutions that they regulate have reasonable controls to protect against fraudulent access to financial information. Although all of the federal regulators and privacy experts whom GAO contacted agreed that more time and experience are needed to determine if Subtitle B remedies adequately address fraudulent access to financial information, FTC staff and privacy experts suggested legislative changes to Subtitle B. GAO did not evaluate the potential impact or practicality of these suggestions because it found no consensus on these ideas."

Date: May 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Nuclear Regulation: NRC's Assurances of Decommissioning Funding During Utility Restructuring Could Be Improved

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In most of the requests approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to transfer licenses to own or operate nuclear power plants, the financial arrangements have sought to ensure that adequate funds will be available to decommission those plants. However, when new owners proposed to continue relying on periodic deposits to external sinking funds, NRC's reviews were not always rigorous enough to ensure that decommissioning funds would be adequate. Varying cleanup standards and proposed new decommissioning methods introduce additional uncertainty about the future costs of decommissioning nuclear power plants. Changes to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's financial reporting standard will require, for the first time, owners of facilities that require significant end-of-life cleanup expenditures--such as nuclear power plants--to consistently report estimated decommissioning costs as liabilities in their financial statements. However, the new accounting standard is not intended to, and will not, establish a legal requirement that these licensees set aside adequate funding for decommissioning costs."

Date: December 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Report

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Coast Guard: Actions Needed to Mitigate Deepwater Project Risks

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Coast Guard is in the final stages of planning the largest procurement project in its history--the Deepwater Capability Replacement Project. This project will likely cost over $10 billion or more and take 20 years or more to complete. The Coast Guard has already spent about $116 million on the project's design and is asking for $338 million this year to begin the acquisition phase. This testimony discusses the major risks associated with the project. GAO found four major areas in which the project is vulnerable. They are (1) planning the project around annual funding levels far above what the administration has told the Coast Guard it can expect to receive, (2) keeping costs under control in the contract's later years, (3) ensuring that procedures and personnel are in place for managing and overseeing the contractor once the contract is awarded, and (4) minimizing potential problems with developing unproven technology. GAO also identified the following key areas that will need to be addressed. The Coast Guard needs (1) effective human capital practices, (2) a systems integrator to establish a management organization and systems necessary to manage the major …

Date: May 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Information and Technology Management: Achieving Sustained and Focused Governmentwide Leadership

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The rapid pace of technological change and innovation has offered unprecedented opportunities for both the government and commercial sectors to use information technology (IT) to improve performance, reduce costs, and enhance service. A range of issues have emerged about how to best manage and integrate complex information technologies and management processes so that they are aligned with mission goals, strategies, and objectives. Although IT can help the government provide services more efficiently and at lower costs, many challenges must be overcome to increase the government's ability to use the information resources at its disposal effectively, securely, and with the best service to the American people. A central focal point such as a federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) can help ensure that attention to IT issues is sustained and increase the likelihood that progress is charted and achieved. Although GAO's research has found that there is no one right way to establish a CIO position, critical success factors GAO found in leading organizations, such as aligning the position for value creation, are extremely important considerations. Finally, the experiences of statewide CIOs offer a rich set of experiences to draw …

Date: April 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Information Security: Weaknesses Place Commerce Data and Operations at Serious Risk

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses information security controls over computer systems at the Department of Commerce. Dramatic increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, are revolutionizing the way the government, the nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. However, this widespread interconnectivity also poses significant risks to the nation's computer systems and to the critical operations and infrastructures they support. This testimony provides information on the effectiveness of Commerce's (1) logical access controls and other information system controls over its computerized data, (2) incident detection and response capabilities, and (3) information security management program and related procedures."

Date: August 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Financial Management: Internal Control Weaknesses Leave Department of Education Vulnerable to Improper Payments

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses internal control weaknesses in the Department of Education's payment process. GAO identified internal control weaknesses that sharply increase Education's vulnerability to improper payments. GAO classified the weaknesses into the following four broad categories: (1) poor segregation of duties, (2) lack of supervisory review, (3) inadequate audit trails, and (4) inadequate computer systems' application controls. GAO found that some individuals at Education can control the entire payment process for some transactions. As a result, individuals could be using agency funds for personal expenses. GAO also found that Education has serious deficiencies in its process for reviewing and approving purchases made with government credit cards. During fiscal year 2000, Education employees made more than $8 million in purchases using their government purchase cards. Without proper review and approval of these expenditures, improper use of the government charge cards may go undetected. Regarding audit trails, Education lacks adequate control over changes made to sensitive information for certain types of payments, including contracting and third party drafts. Finally, weaknesses in Education's information systems controls increases the risk of unauthorized access or disruption in services and make Education's sensitive grant …

Date: April 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library

(open access)

Customs and INS: Random Inspection Programs Can Be Strengthened

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the U.S. Customs Service's Compliance Measurement Examination (COMPEX) and Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) Inspections Traveler Examination (INTEX). These programs, which help Customs and INS assess the nature and extent of enforcement risks at ports of entry, compare violations found during targeted inspections with violations found during random inspections. GAO found that both Customs and INS inspectors did not always adhere to guidance on sample selection and did not always conduct inspections with the minimum level of thoroughness required. As a result, statistical data generated by the programs may not reliably reflect the extent to which travelers who seek entry into the U.S. are in violation of customs or immigration laws. GAO also found that the COMPEX and INTEX programs both draw from the same population of international travelers; have similar purposes and goals; and often use Customs and INS inspectors who work side by side, particularly at land border ports of entry. Customs and INS might realize efficiencies if the two programs were combined."

Date: December 3, 2001

Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.

Object Type: Text

System: The UNT Digital Library