Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-650G, Acquisition/Financial Systems Interface Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, June 2004. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are described in detail in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) guidance and in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP). JFMIP intends for its requirements series to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems that support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Senate Special Committee on Aging requested a compilation of GAO's calendar years 2001 and 2002 products pertaining to older Americans and their families."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control modernization (ATC) efforts are designed to enhance the safety, capacity, and efficiency of the national airspace system through the acquisition of a vast network of radar, navigation, communications, and information processing systems, as well as new air traffic control facilities. Since 1981, when these efforts began, FAA's ATC modernization projects have consistently experienced cost, schedule, and performance problems that GAO and others have attributed to systemic management issues. As a result, FAA's cost estimates have grown and planned improvements have been delayed. Initially FAA estimated that its ATC modernization efforts would cost $12 billion and could be completed over 10 years. Now, two decades and $35 billion later, FAA expects to need another $16 billion through 2007 to complete key projects, for a total cost of $51 billion. This testimony (1) provides an overview of the systemic management issues that GAO and others have identified in FAA's ATC modernization efforts over time, (2) discusses key actions that FAA and others have taken to address these issues, and (3) identifies the challenges that lie ahead for FAA."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since Congress enacted the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21 Century (AIR-21) 3 years ago, much has changed. At that time, the focus was on reducing congestion and flight delays. Today, flights are being canceled for lack of business, two major air carriers are in bankruptcy, and attention has shifted from increasing the capacity of the national airspace system to enhancing aviation security. Furthermore, as the federal budget deficit has increased, competition for federal resources has intensified, and the costs of airport capital development are growing, especially with the new requirements for security. Nonetheless, analysts expect the demand for air traffic services to rebound. Until that time, the unexpected slump in air traffic creates a window of opportunity to improve the safety and efficiency of the national airport system."

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."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We evaluated fiscal year 2002 activity affecting distributors to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We evaluated fiscal year 2002 activity affecting distributions to the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF)."

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, solely to assist the Department of Labor in ascertaining whether the net federal unemployment tax (FUTA) revenue distributed to the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, is supported by the underlying records. As agreed with the Inspector General, we evaluated fiscal year 2003 activity affecting distributions to the UTF."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We evaluated fiscal year 2002 activity affecting distributions to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Transportation requested that GAO perform procedures to assist the IG's office in ascertaining whether the net excise tax revenue distributed to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, is supported by the underlying records. GAO evaluated fiscal year 2003 activity affecting distributions to the HTF."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Marshal Service was created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789. U.S. Marshals were placed in each federal judicial district and were given broad authority to support the federal courts and to carry out all lawful orders issued by judges, Congress, and the President. Early duties of U.S. Marshals included taking the census, distributing presidential proclamations, protecting the borders, and making arrests. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, some responsibilities of U.S. Marshals were transferred to newly created federal agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today, the primary responsibilities of U.S. Marshals include protecting federal judges and witnesses, transporting federal prisoners, apprehending federal fugitives, and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. We obtained information on the (1) U.S. Marshals' appointment process and, for comparison, the processes used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) to select senior field supervisors; (2) experience, education and diversity of U.S. Marshalls and senior field supervisors at the ATF, DEA, and IRS-CI; (3) authority of the Director …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We are reviewing the Army's plans for deploying and sustaining Stryker brigades. We plan to complete our review and report the results in June 2003. In the meantime, the Army will be conducting an operational evaluation of the first Stryker brigade from late April through May 2003 as required by law. The purpose of this letter is to bring attention to issues concerning the adequacy of the Army's proposed operational evaluation plan. The operational evaluation is intended to facilitate an understanding of the initial brigade's overall capabilities. The evaluation was first directed by the conference report accompanying the 2001 defense authorization act. Subsequently, Congress included the requirement in Section 113 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2002, which provides that (1) the Secretary of the Army is to evaluate the brigade's execution of combat missions across the full spectrum of potential threats and operational scenarios, (2) the Department of Defense's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) must approve the Army's operational evaluation plan before the evaluation may be conducted, and (3) the Secretary of Defense is to certify to Congress that the results of …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Leading public organizations here and abroud have found that strategic human capital management must be the centerpiece of any serious change management initiative and effort to transform the culture of government agancies. GAO is not immune to these challenges facing the federal government. Over the past 3 years, however, we have made considerable progress toward addressing a number of our major human capital challenges through various initiatives. While many of the initiatives were administrative in nature, the additional flexibilities that the Congress authorized in Public Law 106-303 have helped to ensure that we have the right staff, with the right skills, in the right locations to better meet the needs of the Congress and the American people."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-87G, Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs, November 2003. The federal government of the United States--the largest and most complex organization in the world--expended approximately $15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. To that end, federal agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that (1) the goals and objectives of the purchase card program are met and (2) safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. Recent congressional testimony and Inspector General and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. Without effective internal control, management has little assurance that fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are being prevented or, if occurring, are being promptly detected with appropriate corrective actions taken. A key element of internal control is monitoring that assesses the quality of performance over time and ensures that the findings …

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-03-678G, Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs, May 2003. The federal government of the United States--the largest and most complex organization in the world--expended approximately $15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. To that end, federal agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that (1) the goals and objectives of the purchase card program are met and (2) safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. Recent congressional testimony and inspector general and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. Without effective internal control, management has little assurance that fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are being prevented or, if occurring, are being promptly detected with appropriate corrective actions taken. A key element of internal control is monitoring that assesses the quality of performance over time and ensures that the findings of audits and …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the airline industry incurred significant losses resulting from the temporary shutdown of the nation's airspace and passengers' apprehensions about flying following the attacks. The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (the Act) provided, among other things, $5 billion in emergency assistance to compensate air carriers for their direct and incremental losses stemming from the attacks. The Act also authorized the Department of Transportation (DOT) to reimburse air carriers for increases in their insurance premiums. On September 28, 2001, we completed the first phase of the work Congress requested, concluding that there was a reasonable basis to assume that the airlines' financial losses related to September 11 would exceed the $5 billion made available in the Act. Since then and pursuant to the second part of the request, we monitored DOT's progress in administering the disaster relief and insurance reimbursement programs and provided periodic status updates to Congress."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A fundamental principle of aviation safety is the need to maintain adequate separation between aircraft and to ensure that aircraft maintain a safe distance from terrain, obstructions, and airspace that is not designated for routine air travel. Air traffic controllers employ separation rules and procedures that define safe separation in the air and on the ground.1 An operational error occurs when the separation rules and procedures are not followed due to equipment or human error. Data maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicate that a very small number of operational errors occur in any given year--on average about three operational errors per day occurred in fiscal year 2002. However, some of these occurrences can pose safety risks by directing aircraft onto converging courses and, potentially, midair collisions. Congress asked us to provide information on FAA's data on operational errors and whether this data can be used to identify types of air traffic control facilities with greater safety risks. Specifically, we were asked to (1) determine what is known about the reliability and validity of the data that FAA maintains on operational errors and (2) identify whether comparisons …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "It has been 2 years since the attacks of September 11,2001, exposed vulnerabilities in the nation's aviation system. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent on a wide range of initiatives designed to enhance the security of commercial aviation. However, vulnerabilities in aviation security continue to exist. As a result, questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of established initiatives in protecting commercial aircraft from threat objects, and whether additional measures are needed to further enhance security. Accordingly, GAO was asked to describe the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) efforts to (1) measure the effectiveness of its aviation security initiatives, particularly its passenger screening program; (2) implement a risk management approach to prioritize efforts and focus resources; and (3) address key challenges to further enhance aviation security."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Commercial aviation has been a long-standing target for terrorists. Since the tragic attacts of September 11, 2001, substantial changes have been made to enhance security--including the creation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the federalization of the passenger screener workforce. However, despite these changes, vulnerabilities in aviation security continue to exist. Accordingly, GAO was asked to describe TSA's efforts to (1) measure the effectiveness of its aviation security initiatives, (2) strengthen its passenger screening program, and (3) address additional challenges in further enhancing aviation security."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 2 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the security of our nation's civil aviation system has assumed renewed urgency, and efforts to strengthen aviation security have received a great deal of congressional attention. On November 19, 2001, the Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) and defined its primary responsibility as ensuring security in aviation as well as in other modes of transportation. The Homeland Security Act, passed on November 25, 2002, transferred TSA to the new Department of Homeland Security, which assumed overall responsibility for aviation security. GAO was asked to describe the progress that has been made since September 11 to strengthen aviation security, the potential vulnerabilities that remain, and the longer-term management and organizational challenges to sustaining enhanced aviation security."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication supersedes GAO-02-762G, Benefit System Requirements: Checklist for Reviewing Systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act, September 2002. The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires, among other things, that agencies implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal financial management system requirements. These requirements are detailed in the Federal Financial Management System Requirements series issued by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) and in the guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Circular A-127, Financial Management Systems, and the January 4, 2001, Revised Implementation Guidance for the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA) of 1996. JFMIP intends for the requirements to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems to support program and financial managers, and to describe specific requirements of financial management systems. We are issuing this checklist, which reflects JFMIP's Benefit System (JFMIP-SR-01-01, September 2001), to assist (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their benefit systems and (2) managers and auditors in reviewing their benefit systems to determine if they substantially comply …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the next 5 years, DOD's overall investments are expected to average $150 billion a year to modernize and transition our forces. In addition, DOD must modernize its forces amid competing demands for federal funds, such as health care and homeland security. Therefore, it is critical that DOD manage its acquisitions in the most cost efficient and effective manner possible. DOD's newest acquisition policy emphasizes the use of evolutionary, knowledge-based concepts that have proven to produce more effective and efficient weapon systems outcomes. However, most DOD programs currently do not employ these practices and, as a result, experience cost increases, schedule delays, and poor product quality and reliability. This testimony compares the best practices for developing new products with the experiences of the F/A-22 program."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "When the President created the Department of Homeland Security, he included U.S. agriculture and food industries in the list of critical infrastructures needing protection. The Secretaries of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services have publicly declared that the U.S. food supply is susceptible to deliberate contamination. GAO was asked to provide an overview of the potential vulnerabilities of the food supply and agriculture sector to deliberate contamination and to summarize four recent GAO reports that identified problems with federal oversight that could leave the nation's agriculture and food supply vulnerable to deliberate contamination."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provides about 45 percent of all electric power consumed in the Pacific Northwest--Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The power that BPA markets and distributes is generated in large part at hydroelectric projects including dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System. BPA also owns and operates about 75 percent of the region's services. Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, BPA is responsible for ensuring an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the Pacific Northwest. To do so, BPA balances the needs of its customers against the highly variable water resources available for generating electricity. In maintaining this balance, BPA sometimes buys and sells or otherwise exchanges power with utilities with entities within and outside the Pacific Northwest. In addition to providing power, BPA is required under the 1980 act, various other laws, treaties and court cases, to "protect, mitigate, and enhance" fish and wildlife resources. Recently, BPA has witnessed a substantial deterioration in its financial condition. For example, BPA's cash reserves of $811 million at the end of fiscal year 2000 had fallen $188 million …