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Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Excise Taxes (open access)

Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures: Airport and Airway Trust Fund Excise Taxes

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We have performed the procedures contained in the enclosure to this report, which we agreed to perform and with which the Inspector General (IG) concurred, solely to assist it in ascertaining whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, is supported by the underlying records. As agreed, we evaluated fiscal year 2003 activity affecting distributions to the AATF."
Date: November 20, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Local TV Act: Progress Made, but Timeliness and Cost Accounting Issues Need to be Addressed (open access)

Local TV Act: Progress Made, but Timeliness and Cost Accounting Issues Need to be Addressed

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The LOCAL TV Act required that GAO perform an annual audit of the (1) administration of the provisions of the Act, and (2) financial position of each applicant who receives a loan guarantee under the Act, including the nature, amount, and purpose of investments made by the applicant. In fiscal year 2002, the LOCAL TV Program was funded; however, because it was not fully implemented in that year, there were no loan guarantee applicants for GAO to audit. Therefore, this report primarily addresses whether program administration during fiscal year 2002 satisfied the provisions of the Act."
Date: October 31, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
September 11: Overview of Federal Disaster Assistance to the New York City Area (open access)

September 11: Overview of Federal Disaster Assistance to the New York City Area

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government has been a key participant in the efforts to provide aid to the New York City area to help it respond to and recover from the September 11 terrorist attacks. The President pledged, and the Congress subsequently authorized, about $20 billion in federal aid. This federal aid was provided primarily through four sources: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Liberty Zone tax benefits--a set of tax benefits targeted to lower Manhattan. These sources provided 96 percent, or $19.63 billion, of the committed federal aid to the New York City area. It has been over 2 years since the attacks occurred, and many efforts have been undertaken to aid the New York City area to cope with the disaster and its many impacts. GAO was asked to describe how much and what type of federal assistance was provided to the New York City area through these four sources and how the federal government's response to this disaster differed from previous disasters. We provided a draft of this report to …
Date: October 31, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Maritime Administration: Weaknesses Identified in Management of the Title XI Loan Guarantee Program (open access)

Maritime Administration: Weaknesses Identified in Management of the Title XI Loan Guarantee Program

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as amended, is intended to help promote growth and modernization of the U.S. merchant marine and U.S. shipyards by enabling owners of eligible vessels and shipyards to obtain financing at attractive terms. The program has committed to guarantee more than $5.6 billion in ship construction and shipyard modernization costs since 1993, but it has experienced several large-scale defaults over the past few years. Because of concerns about the scale of recent defaults, GAO was asked to (1) determine whether MARAD complied with key program requirements, (2) describe how MARAD's practices for managing financial risk compare to those of selected private-sector maritime lenders, and (3) assess MARAD's implementation of credit reform."
Date: June 30, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Farmer Mac: Some Progress Made, but Greater Attention to Risk Management, Mission, and Corporate Governance Is Needed (open access)

Farmer Mac: Some Progress Made, but Greater Attention to Risk Management, Mission, and Corporate Governance Is Needed

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the late 1990s, GAO found that the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac), a federal government-sponsored enterprise, had significant assets in nonmission investments and analyzed its long-term viability. Recently, Congress asked GAO to report on Farmer Mac's (1) financial condition, (2) mission, (3) corporate governance, and (4) oversight provided by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA)."
Date: October 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Retiree Health Benefits: Enrollment Low in Federal Employee Health Plans under DOD Demonstration (open access)

Military Retiree Health Benefits: Enrollment Low in Federal Employee Health Plans under DOD Demonstration

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Prior to 2001, military retirees who turned age 65 and became eligible for Medicare lost most of their Department of Defense (DOD) health benefits. The DOD-Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) demonstration was one of several demonstrations established to examine alternatives for addressing retirees' lack of Medicare supplemental coverage. The demonstration was mandated by the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (NDAA 1999), which also required GAO to evaluate the demonstration. GAO assessed enrollment in the demonstration and the premiums set by demonstration plans. To do this, GAO, in collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and DOD, conducted a survey of enrollees and eligible nonenrollees. GAO also examined DOD enrollment data, Medicare and OPM claims data, and OPM premiums data."
Date: June 6, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Law Enforcement: Better Performance Measures Needed to Assess Results of Justice's Office of Science and Technology (open access)

Law Enforcement: Better Performance Measures Needed to Assess Results of Justice's Office of Science and Technology

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The mission of the Office of Science & Technology (OST), within the Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is to improve the safety and effectiveness of technology used by federal, state, and local law enforcement and other public safety agencies. Through NIJ, OST funds programs in forensic sciences, crime prevention, and standards and testing. To support these programs, Congress increased funding for OST from $13.2 million in 1995 to $204.2 million in 2003 (in constant 2002 dollars). GAO reviewed (1) the growth in OST's budgetary resources and the changes in OST's program responsibilities, (2) the types of products OST delivers and the methods used for delivering them; and (3) how well OST's efforts to measure the success of its programs in achieving intended results meet applicable requirements."
Date: November 14, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pediatric Drug Research: Food and Drug Administration Should More Efficiently Monitor Inclusion of Minority Children (open access)

Pediatric Drug Research: Food and Drug Administration Should More Efficiently Monitor Inclusion of Minority Children

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Drug effectiveness and adverse events can vary between children and adults and among racial and ethnic groups. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is authorized under the pediatric exclusivity provision to grant drug sponsors 6 months of additional exclusive marketing rights for conducting clinical drug studies in children. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act of 2002 (BPCA) expanded this provision to require FDA to take into account the adequacy of minority representation in pediatric exclusivity studies. BPCA also directed GAO to evaluate the representation of minorities in such studies. GAO examined the extent to which minority children are represented, whether drugs that treat diseases disproportionately affecting minority groups are studied under the provision, and FDA's monitoring of the representation of minority children in the studies. GAO reviewed related FDA documents, FDA requests for pediatric studies and final study results, and interviewed FDA officials and other experts."
Date: September 26, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocations of Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003 Master Settlement Agreement Payments (open access)

Tobacco Settlement: States' Allocations of Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003 Master Settlement Agreement Payments

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) requires four of the nation's largest tobacco companies to make annual payments to states in perpetuity as reimbursement for past health care costs related to tobacco use. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 requires GAO to report annually on the amount of MSA payments states receive and how they allocate these payments for the years 2002 through 2006. This report provides information on (1) the amount of MSA payments that the 46 states party to the MSA received for fiscal year 2002 and the amount these states expect to receive during fiscal year 2003; (2) states' allocations of MSA funds to various program categories for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 and changes in these allocations from prior years; and (3) changes in states' decision-making frameworks for MSA funds since fiscal year 2001. To conduct this study, GAO sent a survey to budget officials in the 46 states party to the MSA. GAO did not independently verify the accuracy of the information provided by the state budget offices."
Date: February 28, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security Reform: Analysis of Reform Models Developed by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security (open access)

Social Security Reform: Analysis of Reform Models Developed by the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Social Security is an important social insurance program affecting virtually every American family. It represents a foundation of the nation's retirement income system and provides millions of Americans with disability insurance and survivors' benefits. Over the long term, as the baby boom generation retires, Social Security's financing shortfall presents a major solvency and sustainability challenge. Numerous reform proposals have been put forward in recent years, and in December 2001 a commission appointed by the President presented three possible reform models. Senator Breaux, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, asked GAO to use its analytic framework to evaluate the Commission's models. This framework consists of three criteria: (1) the extent to which a proposal achieves sustainable solvency and how it would affect the economy and the federal budget; (2) the balance struck between the twin goals of income adequacy and individual equity; and (3) how readily such changes could be implemented, administered, and explained to the public."
Date: January 15, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Public Accounting Firms: Required Study on the Potential Effects of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation (open access)

Public Accounting Firms: Required Study on the Potential Effects of Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following major failures in corporate financial reporting, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted to protect investors through requirements intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures and to restore investor confidence. The act included reforms intended to strengthen auditor independence and to improve audit quality. Mandatory audit firm rotation (setting a limit on the period of years a public accounting firm may audit a particular company's financial statements) was considered as a reform to enhance auditor independence and audit quality during the congressional hearings that preceded the act, but it was not included in the act. The Congress decided that mandatory audit firm rotation needed further study and required GAO to study the potential effects of requiring rotation of the public accounting firms that audit public companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Date: November 21, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Navy Working Capital Fund: Backlog of Funded Work at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Was Consistently Understated (open access)

Navy Working Capital Fund: Backlog of Funded Work at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Was Consistently Understated

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has hundreds of millions of dollars of funded work that its working capital fund activities did not complete before the end of the fiscal year. Reducing the amount of workload carryover at fiscal year-end is a key factor in the effective management of Department of Defense (DOD) resources and in minimizing the "banking" of funds for work to be performed in subsequent years. GAO was asked to analyze SPAWAR's carryover balances. GAO assessed the accuracy of the budgeted amounts, the accuracy of the reported actual carryover balance, and the reliability of underlying financial data on which reported actual carryover is based."
Date: July 1, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
File-Sharing Programs: Users of Peer-to-Peer Networks Can Readily Access Child Pornography (open access)

File-Sharing Programs: Users of Peer-to-Peer Networks Can Readily Access Child Pornography

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The availability of child pornography has dramatically increased in recent years as it has migrated from printed material to the World Wide Web, becoming accessible through Web sites, chatrooms, newsgroups, and now the increasingly popular peer-to-peer file sharing programs. These programs enable direct communication between users, allowing users to access each other's files and share digital music, images, and video. GAO was requested to determine the ease of access to child pornography on peer-to-peer networks; the risk of inadvertent exposure of juvenile users of peer-to-peer networks to pornography, including child pornography; and the extent of federal law enforcement resources available for combating child pornography on peer-to-peer networks. Today's testimony is based on GAO's report on the results of that work (GAO- 03-351), Because child pornography cannot be accessed legally other than by law enforcement agencies, GAO worked with the Customs Cyber-Smuggling Center in performing searches: Customs downloaded and analyzed image files, and GAO performed analyses based on keywords and file names only."
Date: September 9, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transportation Security: Federal Action Needed to Help Address Security Challenges (open access)

Transportation Security: Federal Action Needed to Help Address Security Challenges

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The economic well being of the U.S. is dependent on the expeditious flow of people and goods through the transportation system. The attacks on September 11, 2001, illustrate the threats and vulnerabilities of the transportation system. Prior to September 11, the Department of Transportation (DOT) had primary responsibility for the security of the transportation system. In the wake of September 11, Congress created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within DOT and gave it primary responsibility for the security of all modes of transportation. TSA was recently transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). GAO was asked to examine the challenges in securing the transportation system and the federal role and actions in transportation security."
Date: June 30, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge (open access)

Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Women and children refugees, who comprise 80 percent of the estimated 12 million refugees worldwide, are among the world's most vulnerable populations. They are subject to gender-based violence, including physical harm, rape, and unequal access to humanitarian assistance. GAO was asked to (1) assess efforts by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect refugees, especially with regard to women and girls; (2) determine what steps U.N. and international organizations have taken to prevent sexual exploitation of refugee women by humanitarian workers; and (3) describe U.S. government efforts to support adequate protection for vulnerable populations."
Date: May 23, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Education: DOD Needs to Align Academy Preparatory Schools' Mission Statements with Overall Guidance and Establish Performance Goals (open access)

Military Education: DOD Needs to Align Academy Preparatory Schools' Mission Statements with Overall Guidance and Establish Performance Goals

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy combined spend tens of millions of dollars to operate preparatory schools that provide an alternative avenue for about 700 students annually to gain admission to the service academies. Service academy officials screen all applicants to identify those who they believe could succeed at the academies but who would benefit from more preparation. The Department of Defense (DOD) pays the full cost of providing this preparation. GAO was asked to review the three service academy preparatory schools, and this report specifically assesses (1) the adequacy of their current mission statements, (2) the effectiveness of these schools in accomplishing their missions, and (3) the effectiveness of DOD oversight of these schools."
Date: September 10, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Equal Employment Opportunity: SSA Region X's Changes to Its EEO Process Illustrate Need for Agencywide Procedures (open access)

Equal Employment Opportunity: SSA Region X's Changes to Its EEO Process Illustrate Need for Agencywide Procedures

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Employees at the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Region X--which covers Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington--expressed concern about the Region's equal employment opportunity (EEO) process for employment discrimination complaints. GAO was asked to (1) provide information for fiscal years 1997 through 2001 on the composition of the Region X workforce and for personnel actions such as promotions, awards, and adverse actions by EEO group; (2) describe the EEO complaint process in Region X and any changes to it; (3) assess whether the Region's process is consistent with federal regulations and related guidance; and (4) assess the familiarity with the EEO process of the Region's employees and their attitude toward it."
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transportation Research: Actions Needed to Improve Coordination and Evaluation of Research (open access)

Transportation Research: Actions Needed to Improve Coordination and Evaluation of Research

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for coordinating and ensuring the evaluation of DOT research programs to promote the efficient use of departmental research funds, which in fiscal year 2002 totaled over $1 billion. RSPA is also responsible for conducting multimodal research that cuts across different modes of transportation. The House Committee on Appropriations directed GAO to examine RSPA's coordination and evaluation of research within DOT and the status of its own multimodal research."
Date: May 1, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Student Financial Aid: Monitoring Aid Greater Than Federally Defined Need Could Help Address Student Loan Indebtedness (open access)

Student Financial Aid: Monitoring Aid Greater Than Federally Defined Need Could Help Address Student Loan Indebtedness

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over half of the $80.4 billion in financial aid provided to college students in the 2000-01 school year came from the federal government in the form of grants and loans provided under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA). To help finance their education, students and families may have received other funds from states, private groups or lenders, and/or the schools themselves. We initiated this study to, among other things, determine how often federal financial aid recipients received aid that was greater than their federally defined need and what cost or other implications might result from changing HEA to limit such aid."
Date: April 30, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Small Business: The National Veterans Business Development Corporation's Progress in Providing Small Business Assistance to Veterans (open access)

Small Business: The National Veterans Business Development Corporation's Progress in Providing Small Business Assistance to Veterans

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 (Act) created the National Veterans Business Development Corporation (The Veterans Corporation) to address perceived gaps in providing small business and entrepreneurship assistance to veterans. The Act requires GAO to review The Veterans Corporation. GAO described The Veterans Corporation's (1) efforts to provide small business assistance to veterans, including service-disabled veterans; (2) use of and controls over federal funds in providing these services; and (3) efforts to become financially self- sufficient."
Date: April 30, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Audit: Bureau of the Public Debt's Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002 Schedules of Federal Debt (open access)

Financial Audit: Bureau of the Public Debt's Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002 Schedules of Federal Debt

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the Bureau of Public Debt's schedule of Federal Debt for fiscal years 2003 and 2002. GAO found that (1) the Schedules of Federal Debt were presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles; (2) the Bureau had effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations related to the Schedule of Federal Debt for fiscal year 2003; and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance in fiscal year 2003 with a selected provision of a law GAO tested."
Date: November 7, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: Navy Actions Needed to Optimize Ship Crew Size and Reduce Total Ownership Costs (open access)

Military Personnel: Navy Actions Needed to Optimize Ship Crew Size and Reduce Total Ownership Costs

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The cost of a ship's crew is the single largest incurred over the ship's life cycle. One way to lower personnel costs, and thus the cost of ownership, is to use people only when it is cost-effective--a determination made with a systems engineering approach called human systems integration. GAO was asked to evaluate the Navy's progress in optimizing the crew size in four ships being developed and acquired: the DD(X) destroyer, T-AKE cargo ship, JCC(X) command ship, and LHA(R) amphibious assault ship. GAO assessed (1) the Navy's use of human systems integration principles and goals for reducing crew size, and (2) the factors that may impede the Navy's use of those principles."
Date: June 9, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Security: Effective Patch Management is Critical to Mitigating Software Vulnerabilities (open access)

Information Security: Effective Patch Management is Critical to Mitigating Software Vulnerabilities

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Attacks on computer systems--in government and the private sector--are increasing at an alarming rate, placing both federal and private-sector operations and assets at considerable risk. By exploiting software vulnerabilities, hackers can cause significant damage. While patches, or software fixes, for these vulnerabilities are often well publicized and available, they are frequently not quickly or correctly applied. The federal government recently awarded a contract for a government-wide patch notification service designed to provide agencies with information to support effective patching. Forty-one agencies now subscribe to this service. At the request of the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census, GAO reviewed (1) two recent software vulnerabilities and related responses; (2) effective patch management practices, related federal efforts, and other available tools; and (3) additional steps that can be taken to better protect sensitive information systems from software vulnerabilities."
Date: September 10, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highway Infrastructure: Perceptions of Stakeholders on Approaches to Reduce Highway Project Completion Time (open access)

Highway Infrastructure: Perceptions of Stakeholders on Approaches to Reduce Highway Project Completion Time

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Constructing, improving, and repairing roads is fundamental to meeting the nation's mobility needs. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) supplies most of the money (about $20 billion in fiscal year 2003), and state departments of transportation are primarily responsible for completing projects. Many federal and state agencies (called resource agencies) help ensure that environmental and other concerns are considered. These and other organizations have recognized that the time it takes to complete complex federally funded highway projects is too long--in some cases nearly 20 years. GAO was asked to report the views of knowledgeable officials on the most promising approaches for reducing completion time for federally funded highway projects. GAO obtained the views of 33 officials from federal, state, and private organizations with interests in federally funded roads."
Date: April 9, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library