A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the 1920s, the Army's Ceremonial Rifle Program has lent obsolete or condemned rifles to veterans' organizations for funerals and other ceremonies. The M-1 is the only rifle currently authorized for this purpose. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 authorized the Secretary of the Army to conditionally loan or donate M-1 rifles and required that GAO review and report on the Secretary's exercise of authority under the amended law. The Army issued an interim change to its regulation governing the Ceremonial Rifle Program that partially addresses the Secretary's authority under the law. This interim change addresses (1) the number of rifles that may be provided and (2) the security, safety, and accountability over provided rifles. From the time the law was amended in October 1999 through March 2001, the Army reported providing 232 organizations with 2,054 rifles and had 937 open requests for 8,395 rifles. The Army estimates that it has provided more than 300,000 rifles under the Ceremonial Rifle Program since the program's inception."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed several aspects of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Rocky Flats Environmental Technology site cleanup and closure plan. Specifically, GAO reviewed (1) the status and cost of the Rocky Flats closure project, (2) the likelihood that the site will be closed by 2006, and (3) the management actions needed, if any, to improve the likelihood of the project's success. GAO found that in the more than five years that it has been the major contractor at the Rocky Flats site, Kaiser-Hill has made significant progress toward cleaning up the site, but the majority of the work--and the most complicated--remains to be done. Because of the project's difficulty, DOE entered into a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract with Kaiser-Hill. If completed on time, the project will cost about $7.5 billion from the signing of the first cleanup contract with Kaiser-Hill in July 1995 through the 2006 closure date, and about $1.4 billion more thereafter, for such activities as site monitoring and maintenance and for contractor employees' retirement benefits. These overall costs will increase if additional work is required or the 2006 target date is not achieved. Kaiser-Hill and DOE …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund has maintained an economic value of at least two percent of the Fund's insurance-in-force, as required by law. GAO's and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) analysis show that the Fund had an economic value of $15.8 billion (3.20 percent) and $16.6 billion (3.66 percent), respectively. Given the economic value of the Fund and the state of the economy at the end of fiscal year 1999, a two-percent capital ratio appears sufficient to withstand moderately severe economic downturns that could lead to worse-than-expected loan performance. However, under more severe economic conditions, the economic value of two percent of insurance-in-force would not be adequate. Because of the uncertainty and professional judgment associated with this type of economic analysis, GAO cautions against relying on one estimate or even a group of estimates to determine the adequacy of the Fund's reserves over the longer term. HUD could exercise several options under current legislative authority to reduce the capital ratio for the Fund. It is difficult, however, to reliably measure the impact of policy changes on the Fund's capital ratio and Federal Housing …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) created the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program in fiscal year 1992. This program formalized a long-standing policy of giving its multi-program national laboratories discretion to conduct self-initiated, independent research and development (R&D). Since then, DOE's multi-program national laboratories have spent more than $2 billion on LDRD projects. DOE's three largest multi-program national laboratories account for nearly three-quarters of laboratory-wide LDRD spending. All LDRD projects GAO reviewed at the five laboratories met DOE's guidelines for selection. In addition, each of the five laboratories created the internal controls necessary to reasonably ensure compliance with DOE's guidelines. Each laboratory issues annual LDRD reports that contain performance indicators, such as the numbers of patents obtained, publications, copyrights, awards, and relevance of the research to DOE's missions. The reports present performance information in various formats, making it difficult to focus on the most relevant performance information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "If the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) were to lose its legislative protections today, its high level of debt and corresponding high financing costs would be a competitive challenge. This competitive challenge would be even greater if it were at the same time attempting to recover costs of deferred assets through rates. Despite having reduced its debt and deferred assets over the past three years, TVA still compares unfavorably to its likely competitors in these areas. In addition, TVA is revising its goals for reducing debt and deferred assets downward significantly. Whether or not the deferred assets will contribute to stranded costs that are recoverable from customers depends on the specific requirements of any legislation that might remove TVA's legislative protections and TVA's ability to retain its current competitive advantages in a restructured environment. In addition, the longer that TVA has to prepare for competition, the longer it will have to reduce debt and recover the costs of its deferred assets and position itself more competitively. Ultimately, TVA's ability to be competitive will depend on the future market price of power, which cannot be predicted with any …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO examined the performance measures that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) uses to assess the nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and health referral services provided to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. GAO found that FNS has an outcome-based measure for one of the three nutrition services--breastfeeding promotion and support. However, the measure, breastfeeding initiation rate, examines only one of several important aspects of the service's possible impact on WIC participants. In addition, several obstacles have hindered FNS' efforts to develop and implement outcome-based measures for nutrition education and health referral services for the WIC program. These include difficulties in identifying measures that would allow the agency to appropriately link a particular service's activity to a desired outcome and resource constraints affecting FNS' ability to collect data needed to implement a proposed measure."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Internal control weaknesses in the Department of Education's payment processes make the department vulnerable to improper payments. GAO focused on three types of disbursements made from May 1998 through September 2000--grants and loans totaling $181.4 billion, third party drafts totaling $55 million, and government purchase card transactions totaling $22 million. In the grant and loan area, edit checks and other key controls were missing from Education's payment system. For example, Education's student aid application processing system lacked an automated edit check that would identify students who were much older than expected. Several internal control weaknesses made the third party draft payment process susceptible to improper payments. GAO found 268 instances involving $8.9 million in which Education employees circumvented a system control designed to avoid duplicate payments. While analyzing Education's use of government purchase cards, GAO also found several internal control weaknesses, including serious deficiencies in the department's process for reviewing and approving purchase card transactions. More than one-third of the 903 purchase cardholders' monthly statements reviewed lacked proper review and approval for payment. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see Financial Management: Poor Internal …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The transition to quieter aircraft required by the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 was expected to benefit communities, airports, and airlines. In turn, the transition was expected to reduce community opposition to airport operations and expansion and to reduce the demand for funds provided for noise abatement through federal grants and user charges. The results expected from the transition to quieter aircraft were partially realized. The transition occurred as planned and considerably reduced the population exposed to noise levels incompatible with residential living. Nevertheless, noise concerns remain a barrier to airport expansion, and the demand for federally authorized support for noise abatement efforts has continued. GAO identified two key issues for review by the aviation community. First, even though fewer people are exposed to aircraft noise, according to a survey in 1999-2000, more than half of the noise complaints came from people living in areas exposed to noise levels that FAA considers compatible with residential living. Second, if people are allowed to move to areas close to an airport, they may later find themselves exposed to noise levels that FAA considers incompatible with residential …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Pentagon considers defenses to counter attacks from ballistic missiles, both long-range strategic and shorter-range theater missiles, to be critical to U.S. national security. The Air Force is developing a new satellite system, called Space-Based Infrared System-low (SBIRS-low) to expand the military's infrared satellite capabilities for supporting ballistic missile defenses. GAO reviewed the Defense Department's (DOD) efforts to acquire SBIRS-low. Specifically, GAO (1) evaluated the cost, schedule, and performance risks of the current acquisition schedule; (2) evaluated the program's technical risks; and (3) determined whether DOD has assessed alternative approaches to SBIRS-low. GAO found that the Air Force's current SBIRS-low acquisition schedule is of high risk of not delivering the system on time or at cost or with expected performance. SBIRS-low has high technical risks because some critical satellite technologies have been judged immature for the current stage of the program. DOD acquisition policy and procedures require that the cost and mission effectiveness of space systems be assessed relative to alternative terrestrial systems. However, the Air Force has not analyzed or identified terrestrial alternatives to the SBIRS-low system because, according to Air Force Space Command officials, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report lists 48 reporting requirements enacted by Congress on the District of Columbia (DC) government. The District of Columbia Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 and the Supplemental Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 contain 24 of these requirements. The other 24 originate from prior appropriation acts for DC or from other federal statutes. Of the 48 requirements, 23 provide information on financial management of DC funds and programs. The remaining 25 report on the status of various DC programs or operations. The responsibility for responding to most of these reporting requirements is dispersed among the Mayor, the DC Council, and the DC Chief Financial Officer."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal years 1977 through 2000, the federal government paid about $370 million to support former presidents and their families. As of June 2001, the offices of the five living former presidents ranged in size from 3,300 to 5,900 square feet. The General Services Administration (GSA) is authorized to provide each former president with suitable office space appropriately furnished and equipped at a location specified by the former president. The law does not, however, provide any guidance on the appropriate amount of space that is to be provided. For fiscal year 2000, GSA's rent charged to former President Bush was $144,000, former President Carter $89,283, former President Ford $105,099, and former President Reagan $256,671. Former President Clinton's office was not finished until late August 2001. His annual rent payment to GSA for fiscal year 2002 is estimated to be about $354,000. The federal government is paying the entire lease cost for all of the former presidents' offices, according to GSA officials. The rental rates GSA has paid for former presidents' offices are generally comparable to rents paid for similar properties in the same areas. The Carter …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In September 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau told Congress that it had at least $305 million in budget savings out of its $4.5 billion fiscal year 2000 no-year appropriations for the 2000 decennial census. Of the $4.5 billion appropriated to the U.S. Census Bureau in fiscal year 2000, lower-than-expected expenditures and obligations resulted in available balances of at least $415 million. A lower-than-expected support staff workload reduced salary and benefit costs by about $348 million. Enumerator workload is largely determined by the initial mail response rate for returned census questionnaires. The initial mail response of 64 percent meant that Census enumerators did not have to visit more than three million American households. However, the available balances from the higher mail response rate and the lower support staff workload were partially offset by about $100 million of higher salary and benefit costs for enumerators, including a higher workload for unanticipated recounts. According to Bureau data, enumerator productivity did not significantly affect budget variances for the 2000 decennial census. The Bureau reported the national average time to visit a household and complete a census questionnaire was about the …

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and its European allies are using smaller militaries, disbursing more development assistance, and increasing their reliance on multilateral organizations to provide for European security. Despite reductions in force levels and budgets, U.S. and European military forces have been actively engaged in peacekeeping and other security-enhancing activities in the region. The United States and its European allies have contributed to stability in the Balkans through various military and financial means. The Balkans operations have highlighted numerous shortfalls in the military capabilities of European allies, but competing budgetary priorities may limit their ability to remedy them before the end of the decade. Defense expenditures are expected to remain relatively flat in constant 2000 dollars over the next four to five years for most European allies, placing major defense initiatives sponsored by NATO and the European Union in jeopardy."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Defense's 1999 broad-based survey of active duty personnel to help shed light on why servicemembers in critical occupational areas might be leaving the military. From comparing the responses of retention-critical personnel against other enlisted personnel, GAO concludes that personnel in retention-critical occupations are not being "pushed out" of the military by their experiences at a greater rate than other enlisted personnel. Rather, to the extent they possess marketable skills, it is more likely they are being "pulled out" of the military by more attractive civilian opportunities. Comparing retention-critical personnel against other enlisted personnel, GAO found that the expectations and experiences of personnel serving in retention-critical occupations were often similar to those of other enlisted personnel. Personnel in retention-critical occupations were generally as satisfied with military life as were other enlisted personnel and each group's career intentions were similar. Nearly half of both retention-critical and other enlisted personnel were satisfied with the military way of life. Perceptions of civilian life for those serving in retention-critical occupations were mixed. Overall, most enlisted personnel had a positive perception about work-related opportunities and the …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal research and preparedness activities related to bioterrorism center on detection; the development of vaccines, antibiotics, and antivirals; and the development of 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 to combat terrorism, federal departments and agencies are developing interagency response plans, participating in various interagency work groups, and entering into formal agreements with other agencies to share resources and capabilities. However, 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 insufficient state and local planning and a lack of hospital participation in training on terrorism and emergency response planning."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) promotes transportation safety through accident investigations, special studies, and recommendations intended to prevent accidents. Separate reviews at NTSB by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC) and GAO found significant shortcomings in the design and operation of NTSB's internal controls during 1999 and 2000. These deficiencies indicated insufficient or ineffective management attention to establishing and maintaining an effective system of internal control over financial management operations. The resulting weaknesses exposed the agency to waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Some basic controls were not always clearly and consistently incorporated into NTSB policies and procedures, and, in some cases, the written policies were ambiguous and contributed to possible improper transactions. Furthermore, NTSB's payment review and approval process--the last and best opportunity to detect and address inadequate documentation and other policy violations prior to payment--was often ineffective. Separate reviews of different aspects of NTSB's 1999 and 2000 financial activities and related internal controls, done by PwC at NTSB's request, documented various internal control weaknesses, including problems with the completeness and clarity of policies, the recording and review of transactions, and the tracking and reporting its use of funds."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of GAO audits of expenditures reported by six offices of independent counsel for fiscal year 2001. In its audits, GAO found (1) the statements of expenditures presented for the offices of independent counsel David M. Barrett, Carol Elder Bruce, Ralph I. Lancaster, Daniel S. Pearson, Robert W. Ray, and Donald C. Smaltz, and special counsel John C. Danforth, respectively are presented fairly in conformity with the basis of accounting described in note 1 of each counsel's statement, which is principally the cash basis, a comprehensive basis of accounting other than U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) no material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations; and (3) no reportable noncompliance with laws and regulations GAO tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "One in eight Americans are entitled to unclaimed and abandoned assets, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. These unclaimed and abandoned assets include savings and checking accounts, securities, paychecks, insurance settlements, and utility and rental deposits. Most of this money is unclaimed because the owner moved and simply forgot about the account, changed his or her name, or died. After a period of dormancy, the funds are turned over to state unclaimed property offices. To protect investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a rule in 1997 requiring transfer agents to search for lost security holders, maintain written procedures for searching for lost security holders, and annually report to SEC on the accounts of lost security holders. However, the rule excluded the broker-dealers that are involved in the buying and selling of securities and that hold the vast majority of owners' assets. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2000 that would have expanded the SEC rule to cover broker-dealers. GAO surveyed broker-dealer and transfer agents survey respondents and found that the number of lost accounts was about two percent of total accounts. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made progress in implementing the Freedom to E-File Act and has partially met the act's initial deadlines for providing agricultural producers with access to forms via the Internet and submitting required reports on initial e-file activities and plans to Congress. However, implementing full e-filing capabilities for all its farm service customers by the deadlines set by the act poses a far more complex and difficult challenge. Critical to the success of any such initiative is the necessary authority and responsibility to manage it across different departmental entities. Yet no single official has been so designated. Also, a comprehensive implementation plan--one that addresses both the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), the Freedom to E-File Act requirements, and Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) implementation guidelines--is critical to help USDA achieve a more consistent approach in its entire e-government transformation."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) is improving security of 192 metric tons of weapons-usable nuclear material in Russia by installing modern security systems that detect, delay, and respond to attempts to steal nuclear material. These systems, while not as stringent as those installed in the United States, are designed to reduce the risk of nuclear material theft at Russian sites. While Russia and the United States have worked cooperatively to reduce the risk of theft in Russia, Russian officials' concerns about divulging national security information continue to impede DOE's efforts to install systems for several hundred metric tons of nuclear material at sensitive Russian sites. Continued progress in reducing the risk of nuclear material theft in Russia hinges on DOE's ability to gain access to Russia's sensitive sites and reach agreement with the Ministry of Atomic Energy to reduce the number of sites and buildings where nuclear material is located. DOE currently does not have a means to periodically monitor the systems to ensure that they are operating properly on a continued basis. Such as mechanism would provide DOE officials with increased confidence that the security …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the Treasury Department's debt management strategies in a period of budget surplus. As the level of debt held by the public has decreased, the Treasury has had to rethink its strategies for best achieving its three goals--having enough cash on hand, minimizing cost over time, and promoting efficient markets. The Treasury has used existing and new debt managing tools in response to the challenges posed by declining debt. In calendar year 2000, the Treasury began two new programs designed to improve market liquidity: regularly reopening existing debt issues rather than creating new issues, and conducting buybacks of about $30 billion in longer-term bonds before they matured, thereby enabling the Treasury to issue more new securities. In addition, higher issuance levels of short-term bills were made possible by eliminating longer-term notes. Capital markets have been adjusting to the reduced supply of Treasury securities. For example, capital market participants have begun using financial instruments other than Treasury securities as pricing tools for transactions. If projected budget surpluses materialize, the current combination of debt auction schedules, issue sizes, and maturities will be unsustainable over the next …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO commented on the federal government's ability to assess the goals of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program using national, state, and local data. These data address the goals to differing degrees. National data, which includes data collected in national surveys and information that all states report to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), include extensive information on TANF's two goals of providing assistance to needy families and ending dependency on government benefits but have limited information on promoting family formation. The data pertain to such issues as changes in TANF workloads, recipients' participation in work activities, employment status and earnings, and family well-being. Although there are national data on the incidence of out-of-wedlock births and marriage among TANF recipients and other low-income families, these data include only very recently available information on states' strategies to prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies or promote family formation. Studies of welfare reform at the state and local levels contain the same kind of information as national data, but they also include information about areas very recently covered by national data. Much of these data come from waiver …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In a May 2000 report on the performance of the Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), GAO found that the number of pipeline accidents rose four percent annually from 1989 to 1998--from 190 in 1989 to 280 in 1998. GAO also found that OPS did not implement 22 statutory requirements and 39 recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board. Since GAO's May report, OPS has fully implemented six of the 22 statutory requirements. However, 11 other requirements--including some that are significant and long-standing--have not been fully implemented. The agency does not plan to report on abandoned underwater pipeline facilities--a remaining open requirement--because it believes that insufficient data exists to conduct the study. The Safety Board is encouraged by OPS' recent efforts to improve its responsiveness, but the Board remains concerned about the amount of time OPS has taken to implement recommendations. OPS has the lowest rate of any transportation agency in implementing the Board's recommendations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "By the mid 1990s, most of the District of Columbia's public schools were more than 50 years old and in poor condition. Deferred maintenance had led to a host of safety problems, from fire code violations to leaky roofs. GAO found that the D.C. school system mismanaged a contract with the Washington Gas Light Company. GAO found the use of the gas contract to obtain school renovation services, including painting, carpeting, plumbing, and electrical work, was outside the scope of the contract. In addition, in carrying out the renovation work, the D.C. school system failed to adhere to controls and procedures intended to (1) ensure that the District obtained the best price and services and (2) maintain a proper relationship between the contractors and the D.C. government. These problems raise serious doubts about whether the District obtained fair and reasonable prices on the renovations and whether the school system should continue the gas utility contract."