Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Former Members of Congress for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. 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 general 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 Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Incorporated, for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. 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 general accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. 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 "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps for fiscal years 2000 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."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses management shortcomings at the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) in such areas as strategic planning, organizational alignment, strategic human capital, financial management, and information technology. AOC has demonstrated a commitment to change through ongoing management improvements. It is also revisiting its strategic planning efforts, working with a consultant to implement best practices, and implementing a new financial management system. AOC recognizes that change will not come quickly or easily. AOC must ensure that it has the policies, procedures, and people in place to effectively implement the needed changes. GAO believes that AOC must ensure top leadership commitment to change; identify long-term, mission-critical goals through a re-invigorated strategic planning process tied to serving the Congress; develop annual goals and a system for measuring progress; and establish individual accountability and commensurate authority for achieving results."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a congressional request that GAO review allegations that the National Cancer Institute's Special Virus Cancer Program (SVCP) created the AIDS virus. GAO found no evidence to support the allegations that SVCP created the AIDS virus."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the financial statement audit reports for the National Academy of Public Administration for fiscal year 2000. 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 "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Tropical Botanical Garden for fiscal years 2000 and 1999. 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."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2001, the Army had 430,000 individually billed travel card accounts, and about $619 million in related charges. Most Army cardholders properly used their travel cards and promptly paid amounts owed. However, the Army's delinquency rate is higher than any other Department of Defense (DOD) component or executive branch agency. GAO also identified numerous instances of potentially fraudulent and abusive activity related to the travel cards. During fiscal year 2001, at least 200 Army employees wrote three or more nonsufficient funds or "bounced" checks to Bank of America as payment for their travel bills--potentially fraudulent acts. GAO found little evidence of documented disciplinary action against Army personnel who misused the card, or that Army travel program managers or supervisors were even aware that travel cards were being used for personal use. For fiscal year 2001, the Army had significant breakdowns in key internal controls over individually billed travel cards that stemmed from a weak overall environment, flawed policies and procedures, and a lack of adherence to valid policies and procedures. These breakdowns contributed to the significant delinquencies and charge-offs of Army employee account balances and potentially …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Vaccine shortages began to appear in November 2000, when supplies of the tetanus and diptheria booster fell short. By October 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported shortages of five vaccines that protect against eight childhood diseases. In addition to diptheria and tetanus vaccines, vaccines to protect against pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella were in short supply. In July 2002, updated CDC data indicated supplies were returning to normal for most vaccines. However, the shortage of vaccine to protect against invasive pneumococcal disease was expected to continue through at least late 2002. Shortages have prompted federal authorities to recommend deferring some vaccinations and have caused most states to reduce or suspend immunization requirements for school and day care programs so that children who have not received all mandatory immunizations can enroll. States are concerned that failure to be vaccinated at a later date may reduce the share of the population protected and increase the potential for disease to spread; however, data are not currently available to measure these effects. Many factors, including production problems and unanticipated demand for new vaccines, contributed …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States entered into the Compact of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) In 1986. The Compact has provided U.S. assistance to the FSM and the RMI in the form of direct funding as well as federal services and programs. The Compact allows for migration from both countries to the United States and established U.S. defense rights and obligations in the region. Provisions of the Compact that deal with economic assistance were scheduled to expire in 2001; however, they will remain in effect for up to 2 additional years while the affected provisions are renegotiated. Current U.S. proposals to the FSM and the RMI to renew expiring assistance would require Congress to approve $3.4 billion in new authorizations. The proposals would provide decreasing levels of annual grant assistance over a 20-year term. Simultaneously, the proposals would require building up a trust fund for each country with earnings that would replace grants once those grants expire. The U.S. proposals include strengthened accountability measures, though details of some key measures remain unknown. The proposals have addressed many, but …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the results of GAO's review of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) technical assistance and capacity-building programs. Technical assistance programs can be defined as training designed to improve the performance or management of program recipients, such as teaching one-on-one procurement regulations to housing authority staff. Capacity building can be generally defined as funding to strengthen the capacity or capability of program recipients or providers--typically housing or community development organizations--thereby building the institutional knowledge within those organizations. The overall goal of both technical assistance and capacity building is to enhance the delivery of HUD's housing and community development programs. HUD administers 21 technical assistance programs through five program offices. From fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2002, the annual funding for HUD technical assistance ranged between $128 million and $201 million, accounting for less than 1 percent of HUD's overall budget each year. Although the general purpose of HUD's technical assistance is to help program participants carry out HUD program goals, each program office designs technical assistance specifically related to its programs. Recipients could be states and units of local government, public or Indian …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Job Access and Reverse Commute (Job Access) Program, has presented implementation challenges for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). In November 1999, DOT's process for selecting Job Access grantees was inconsistent and the basis for some selections was unclear. In response, DOT took steps to improve its process for selecting grantees by developing a standard format for reviewing proposals and providing more detailed guidance to its reviewers. Grantees reported problems in meeting standard grant requirements for obtaining Job Access funding. Half of the respondents GAO surveyed said that it took too long to satisfy standard FTA grant requirements--on average, about nine months from the time an applicant had been selected for a grant until the time the applicant had satisfied the requirements and received its grant. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century required DOT to evaluate the Job Access program and issue a report by June 2000. However, DOT reportedly has no estimated date for issuing the report. DOT developed a plan and selected an increase in access to employment sites as the sole measure of program success. The use of employment …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The government faces a unique opportunity to create an organization that is extremely effective in protecting the nation's borders and citizens against terrorism. There is likely to be considerable benefit over time from restructuring some of the homeland security functions, including reducing risk and improving the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of consolidated agencies and programs. Sorting out those programs and agencies that would most benefit from consolidation versus those in which dual missions must be balanced in order to achieve a more effective fit in the proposed Department of Homeland Security is a difficult but critical task. Moreover, the magnitude of the challenges that the new department faces will clearly require substantial time and effort, and it will take institutional continuity and additional resources to be fully effective. In the short term, issues to be resolved include the harmonization of communication systems, information technology systems, human capital systems, the physical location of people and other assets, and other factors. Given the magnitude of this task, not everything can be achieved at once, and a deliberate phasing of some operations will be necessary. The new department will need to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the Customs Service's acquisition and deployment of radiation detection equipment and assistance provided by the United States to foreign countries to combat nuclear smuggling. GAO found that observations concerning the acquisition of radiation detection equipment have not changed. The Customs Service's primary radiation detection equipment--radiation pagers--have certain limitations and may be inappropriate for the task. Further, there is still no comprehensive plan in place for installing and using radiation detection equipment at all U.S. border crossings and ports of entry. Regarding U.S. efforts to help other countries combat smuggling, a number of U.S. agencies, including Customs, have provided assistance to foreign countries--mostly in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe. The agencies have provided a range of assistance including radiation detection equipment and training as well as other equipment and training to generally improve countries' ability to interdict nuclear smuggling."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal recognition of an Indian tribe can dramatically affect economic and social conditions for the tribe and the surrounding communities because these tribes are eligible to participate in federal assistance programs. There are currently 562 recognized tribes with a total membership of 1.7 million, and several hundred groups are currently seeking recognition. In fiscal year 2002, Congress appropriated $5 billion for programs and funding, almost exclusively for recognized tribes. Recognition also establishes a formal government-to-government relationship between the United States and a tribe. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which regulated Indian gaming operations, permits a tribe to operate casinos on land in trust if the state in which it lies allows casino-like gaming and if the tribe has entered into a compact with the state regulating its gaming businesses. In 1999, federally recognized tribes reported $10 billion in gaming revenue, surpassing the amounts that the Nevada casinos collected that year. Owing to the rights and benefits that accrue with recognition and the controversy surrounding Indian gaming, the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) regulatory process has been subject to intense scrutiny by groups seeking recognition and other …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A weak overall control environment and breakdowns in key internal controls have left the Army's purchase card program vulnerable to fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases. At five Army major commands and one installation in each of the commands, GAO found that the Army had not established an effective internal control environment. As the use of purchase cards has expanded, Army management has not emphasized internal controls to ensure that individual transactions were for authorized purposes or that they adhered to legal and regulatory requirements. GAO identified a substantial number of purchases for which cardholder and approving officials had not adhered to important internal controls and were not in accordance with valid requirements, policies, and procedures. The weaknesses identified in the control environment and the breakdown in specific internal control activities resulted in potentially fraudulent and other improper transactions not being prevented or properly identified."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The lack of outpatient prescription drug coverage may leave Medicare's most vulnerable beneficiaries with high out-of-pocket costs. Recent estimates suggest that, at any given time, more than a third of Medicare beneficiaries lack prescription drug coverage. The rest have some coverage through various sources--most commonly employer-sponsored health plans. Recent evidence indicates that this coverage is beginning to erode. The short- and long-term cost pressures facing Medicare will require substantial financing and programmatic reforms to put future Medicare on a sustainable footing. In the absence of a drug benefit, many Medicare beneficiaries obtain coverage through health plans, public programs, and the Medigap insurance market. The price, availability, and level of such coverage varies widely, leaving substantial gaps and exposure to high out-of-pocket costs for thousands. Despite pressures to adopt a prescription drug benefit, the rapidly rising cost of current obligations argues for careful deliberation and extreme caution in expanding benefits. GAO's long-term simulations show that the aging of the baby boomers and rising per capita health care spending will, absent meaningful reform, lead to massive fiscal challenges in future years."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum 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 general accounting principles."

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Legal effects of groundwater conservation district election held in Bosque, Comanche, and Erath counties (RQ-0557-JC)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Determination of a bail bondsman's bonding capacity with regard to persons held in his county jail on charges from another county (RQ-0560-JC)

Report from the Women Airforce Service Pilots Chaplain on what the protocol is when a member passes away, along with a list of deceased WASP members from September 2000 to September 2002.