Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In April 2002, GAO testified on the major challenges facing the District of Columbia Public School system faces in modernizing and renovating the District's schools (see GAO-02-628T). The school system, with the assistance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has made considerable progress in making emergency repairs during the past few years. However, the school system now faces the more complex task of modernizing--either through renovation or through new construction--virtually every public school in the District of Columbia. As a result, the school system must adopt a modernization program that will cost significantly more and take longer to accomplish than originally projected. In addition, the school system faces the challenge of ensuring that sufficient funds are budgeted for asbestos management activities."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the small group health insurance market to identify the number of licensed carriers, the largest carriers, and their market share in each state. GAO found that (1) the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, (2) the median market share of the largest carrier was about 33 percent, (3) the five largest carriers, when combined, represented three-quarters or more of the market in 19 of the 34 states reviewed and they represented more than 90 percent in seven states, (4) 25 of 37 states identified Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carrier as the largest carrier offering health insurance in the small group market, and (5) the median market share of all the BCBS carriers in the 34 states supplying information was about 34 percent."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11 imposed new demands on the federal budget, while pent-up demands from years of fighting deficits remain. In the past, GAO has suggested four broad principles for a budget process. That process should (1) provide information on the long-term impact of decisions, both macro--linking fiscal policy to the long-term economic outlook--and micro--providing recognition of the long-term spending implications of government commitments; (2) provide information and focus on important macro trade-offs--e.g., between investment and consumption; (3) provide information to make informed trade-offs between missions and between the different policy tools of government; and (4) be enforceable, provide for control and accountability, and be transparent, using clear, consistent definitions. New rules and goals will be necessary to ensure fiscal discipline and to focus on long term implications of decisions. The federal government still needs a decision-making framework to evaluate choices between today's and future needs. Amending the current Budget Enforcement Act without setting realistic caps and addressing mandatory programs is unlikely to be successful because the original act used limited actions to achieve a balanced budget. A budget process appropriate for the early 21st century needs …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) hazardous waste ombudsman was established as a result of the 1984 amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Recognizing that the ombudsman provides a valuable service to the public, EPA retained the ombudsman function as a matter of policy after its legislative authorization expired in 1988. Over time, EPA expanded the national ombudsman's jurisdiction to include Superfund and other hazardous waste programs, and, by March 1996, EPA had designated ombudsmen in each of its ten regional offices. In November 2001, the agency announced that the national ombudsman would be relocated from the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and would address concerns across the spectrum of EPA programs, not just hazardous waste programs. Although there are no federal requirements or standards specific to the operation of ombudsman offices, several professional organizations have published standards of practice relevant to ombudsmen who deal with public inquiries. If EPA intends to have an ombudsman function consistent with the way the position is typically defined in the ombudsman community, placing the national ombudsman within the OIG does …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As Congress considers reauthorizing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 2003, it does so in the face of a continuing need for the nation to invest in its surface transportation infrastructure at a time when both the federal and state governments are experiencing severe financial constraints. As transportation needs have grown, Congress provided states--in the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 and TEA-21--additional means to make highway investments through alternative financing mechanisms. A number of states are using existing alternative financing tools such as State Infrastructure Banks, Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles bonds, and loans under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act. These tools can provide states with additional options to accelerate projects and leverage federal assistance--they can also provide greater flexibility and more funding techniques. Federal funding of surface transportation investments includes federal-aid highway program grant funding appropriated by Congress out of the Highway Trust Fund, loans and loan guarantees, and bonds that are issued by states that are exempt from federal taxation. Expanding the use of alternative financing mechanisms has the potential to stimulate additional investment and private participation. However, expanding …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia school system, with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), has made considerable progress in fixing roofs, replacing windows, repairing bathrooms, and completing other maintenance work that has been neglected for years. The D.C. school system is now addressing the more complex task of modernizing--either through renovation or through new construction--virtually every public school in the city. In April 1998, the school system entered into an agreement with the Corps for engineering, procurement, and technical assistance. In December 2000, the D.C. Board of Education approved a facility master plan that would modernize 10 schools annually over 10 to 15 years at a cost of $1.3 billion. Historically significant buildings cannot be razed, however, and are costly to redesign. So far, construction costs are running significantly higher than estimated by the facility master plan. The scope of the work has been expanded to recognize community needs for some special facilities. In examining the Washington Gas Light Company's records of quality inspections for the work it managed for the school system, GAO found that 77 percent of all projects lacked evidence of quality inspections. …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony summarizes previous GAO work that identified gaps in information needed to reconcile Individual Indian Moneys (IIM) trust accounts, and the rationale that led GAO to suggest that the Department of the Interior seek alternatives to reconciliation, such as a negotiated agreement. Congress established an Indian trust fund account reconciliation requirement in the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1987 in response to tribal concerns that (1) Interior had not consistently provided them with statements on their account balances, (2) their trust fund accounts had never been reconciled, and (3) Interior planned to contract with a third party for management of trust fund accounts. There are many obstacles that will complicate Interior's ability to document the amount and source of funds deposited to, managed in, and disbursed from their IIM accounts. Interior's July 2002 report enumerates among those obstacles known discrepancies in the balances, at the trust fund level, reported by Treasury and Interior, as well as the potential for (1) errors in the electronic accounting system data, (2) missing paper transaction records, and (3) missing land ownership information and revenue instruments."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Noninstitutional long-term care services are delivered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to veterans in their own homes and other community locations. The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act requires VA to offer long-term care services to eligible veterans, including services provided in noninstitutional settings. More than two years after the act's passage, VA has yet to offer eligible veterans adult day health care, geriatric evaluation, or respite care. Although VA published proposed regulations that would make these services available in noninstitutional settings to eligible veterans, the regulations had not been finalized as of April 17, 2002. To be responsive before its draft regulations were made final, VA issued a policy directive requiring that these three services be available in noninstitutional settings. GAO found, however, that both the services required by the act and VA's other noninstitutional services were unevenly available across the VA system."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The terrorist attacks of September 11 have heightened concerns about the physical security of federal buildings and the need to protect those who work in and visit these facilities. These concerns have been underscored by reports of long-standing vulnerabilities, including weak controls over building access. There are several commercially available security technologies that can be deployed, ranging from turnstiles, to smart cards, to biometric systems. Although many of these technologies can provide highly effective technical controls, the overall security of a federal building will depend on robust risk management processes and implementing the three integral concepts of a holistic security process: protection, detection, and reaction."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Identity theft involves "stealing" another person's personal identifying information, such as their Social Security number, date of birth, or mother's maiden name, and using that information to fraudulently establish credit, run up debt, or take over existing financial accounts. Another pervasive category is the use of fraudulent identity documents by aliens to enter the United States illegally to obtain employment and other benefits. The prevalence of identity theft appears to be growing. Moreover, identity theft is not typically a stand-alone crime; rather identity theft is usually a component of one or more white-collar or financial crimes. According to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials, the use of fraudulent documents by aliens is extensive, with INS inspectors intercepting tens of thousands of fraudulent documents at ports of entry in each of the last few years. These documents were presented by aliens attempting to enter the United States to seek employment or obtain naturalization or permanent residency status. Federal investigations have shown that some aliens use fraudulent documents in connection with more serious illegal activities, such as narcotics trafficking and terrorism. Efforts to combat identity fraud in its many forms …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Department of Energy's (DOE) plan for external regulation of nuclear and worker safety at its facilities. DOE's position remains essentially unchanged since the 1999 congressional hearing, when the department decided not to move forward on external regulation until cost uncertainties and implementation issues were resolved. Past regulatory simulations and ongoing work by DOE and its potential regulators indicate that the external regulation of the science laboratories would not require prohibitively expensive facility upgrades to be licensable. Further, much of the expected "costs" would likely involve bringing facilities into compliance with DOE's own safety standards. DOE's response to the conference report directive is not a detailed implementation plan. Rather, it is a restatement of its previously stated call for further cost and benefit analyses before making a final decision on accepting external regulation."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility in preparing for catastrophic terrorist attacks. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges in addressing these issues. Key aspects of this strategy should include a definition and clarification of the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities. GAO has found fragmentation and overlap among federal assistance programs. More than 40 federal entities have roles in combating terrorism, and past federal efforts have resulted in a lack of accountability, a lack of cohesive effort, and program duplication. As state and local officials have noted, this situation has led to confusion, making it difficult to identify available federal preparedness resources and effectively partner with the federal government. Goals and performance measures should be established to guide the nation's preparedness efforts. For the nation's preparedness programs, however, outcomes have yet to be defined in terms of domestic preparedness. Given the recent and proposed increases in preparedness funding, real and meaningful improvements in preparedness and establishing clear goals and performance measures …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As the nation's largest cash assistance program for the poor, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program SSI provided $33 billion in benefits to 6.8 million aged, blind, and disabled persons last year. In 2001, the outstanding SSI debt and newly detected overpayments totaled $4.7 billion. To deter and detect overpayments, the agency obtained legislative authority to use additional tools to verify recipients financial eligibility for benefits, enhanced its processes for monitoring and holding staff accountable for completing assigned SSI workloads, and improved its use of automation to strengthen its overpayment detection capabilities. However, because a number of initiatives are still in the planning or early implementation stages, it is too soon to assess their ultimate impact on SSI payment accuracy. In addition to improving its overpayment deterrence and detection capabilities, SSA has made recovery of overpaid benefits a high priority."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For years, some minority and women farmers have alleged that the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) discriminates against them, treating them differently from other farmers during the loan approval or foreclosure process. During fiscal years 2000 and 2001, FSA took, on average, four days longer to process loan applications from Hispanic farmers than it did for non-Hispanic farmers: 20 days versus 16 days. The FSA's direct loan approval rate was somewhat lower for Hispanic farmers than for non-Hispanic farmers nationwide: 83 and 90 percent, respectively. USDA's policies for staying foreclosures when discrimination has been alleged depend on the method used to lodge complaints. When an individual's discrimination complaint is accepted by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), FSA's policy is to automatically issue a stay of adverse action, such as foreclosure, until the complaint has been resolved. OCR has made modest progress in the length of time it takes to process discrimination complaints. USDA requires OCR to complete the investigative phase of processing a complaint within 180 days of accepting it. In fiscal year 2000, OCR took an average of 365 days to complete just …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, and the subsequent anthrax incidents, there has been concern about the ability of the federal government to prepare for and coordinate an effective public health response to such events. More than 20 federal departments and agencies carry some responsibility for bioterrorism preparedness and response. Emergency response is further complicated by the need to coordinate actions with agencies at the state and local level, where much of the response activity would occur. The President's proposed Homeland Security Act of 2002 would bring many of the federal entities with public health preparedness and response responsibilities into one department to mobilize and focus assets and resources at all levels of government. The proposed reorganization has the potential to repair the fragmentation in the coordination of public health preparedness and response at the federal, state, and local levels. In addition to improving overall coordination, the transfer of programs from multiple agencies to the new department could reduce overlap among programs and facilitate response in times of disaster. However, there are concerns about the proposed transfer of control from the Department of Health and Human Services …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, the President and Congress have taken aggressive steps to protect the nation, including creating an Office of Homeland Security (OHS); passing new laws, such as the USA Patriot Act and an emergency supplemental spending bill; establishing a new agency to improve transportation security; and working with federal, state, and local governments, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations and other countries to prevent future terrorist acts and to bring those individuals responsible to justice. More recently, Congress and the President have proposed greater consolidation and coordination of various agencies and activities. The President has proposed establishing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has sent draft legislation to Congress. This testimony focuses on two major issues: (1) the need for reorganization and the principles and criteria to help evaluate what agencies and missions should be included in or left out of the new DHS and (2) issues related to the transition, cost, and implementation challenges of the new department."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, the safety and security of the nation's civil aviation system have taken on greater urgency. GAO found that the newly created Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has assumed responsibility for aviation security and has focused on meeting congressionally mandated deadlines for strengthening aviation security. So far, TSA has developed plans and implemented procedures for using federal employees to conduct security screening at more than 400 commercial airports; hired and begun to train nearly 4,000 key security personnel; and undertaken more rigorous background checks of workers with access to secure areas at airports. TSA faces immediate challenges in assuming responsibility for security in other modes of transportation, improving the performance of screeners, and addressing aviation security issues not covered by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act's current-year deadlines. TSA also faces long-term organizational challenges, including strategically managing its workforce, controlling costs, and sharing threat information."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony reviews two case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for the Department of Defense (DOD) to reform its business operations. These two case studies are microcosms of the broad management challenges facing DOD that were highlighted in GAO's June 2002 testimony (See GAO-02-784T). GAO provided views on the underlying or root causes of DOD's long-standing inability to successfully reform its business operations, including a lack of sustained top-level leadership, cultural resistance to change, and military service parochialism. In addition, GAO found seven key elements necessary for successful reform, including approaching DOD's broad array of management challenges using an integrated, enterprisewide approach."

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a raffle ticket may be awarded as a prize in a bingo game.

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether Harris County may prohibit a tow truck from having auxiliary stop and tail lamps in or under the factory-mounted light bar, and related question.

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether a private Texas nonprofit corporation may operate a "charitable sweepstakes fundraising program," and related questions (RQ-0443-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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the term of a justice of the peace may be reduced from four to two years as a result of redistricting(RQ-0447-JC).

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory board's statement of federal financial accounting standards (SFFAS). The statement presents amendments to SFFAS No. 8 and No. 6 and rescinds SFFAS No. 11."