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Highway Infrastructure: FHWA Has Acted to Disclose the Limitations of Its Environmental Review Analysis (open access)

Highway Infrastructure: FHWA Has Acted to Disclose the Limitations of Its Environmental Review Analysis

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Environmental reviews of complex federally funded highway construction projects may take years. The Congress has an interest in identifying and, if necessary, addressing the reasons to expedite highway projects. To better understand these reasons, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) surveyed its 55 division offices to determine why the environmental review of certain highway projects took more than 5 years. The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure requested that we determine (1) the reasonableness of FHWA's survey methodology and offer suggestions for improvement, if appropriate, and (2) the feasibility of resurveying the same projects to gain an additional understanding about why environmental reviews took more than 5 years. To carry out this work, we interviewed FHWA officials about how they selected projects, surveyed their division offices, and analyzed the responses they obtained. In addition, we applied the lessons learned from FHWA's original approach to assess the feasibility of resurveying the same projects."
Date: January 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Responses to Posthearing Questions Related to GAO's Testimony on the U.S. Government's Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2002 (open access)

Responses to Posthearing Questions Related to GAO's Testimony on the U.S. Government's Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2002

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On April 8, 2003, GAO testified before the House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management at a hearing on our report on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2002. This letter responds to questions related to our testimony from the Subcommittee's Chairman and the Ranking Minority Member and to subsequent questions from the Vice Chairman that the Chairman asked us to answer for the record."
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
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
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
Livestock Agriculture: Increased EPA Oversight Will Improve Environmental Program for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (open access)

Livestock Agriculture: Increased EPA Oversight Will Improve Environmental Program for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress is concerned that waste from animal feeding operations continues to threaten water quality. In light of this concern, GAO was asked to review the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) administration of its regulatory program for animal feeding operations and to determine the potential challenges states and EPA may face when they begin to implement the revisions to this program. GAO surveyed all EPA regional offices and four states with large numbers of animal feeding operations that may be subject to EPA regulations."
Date: January 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
World Bank Group: Important Steps Taken on Internal Control but Additional Assessments Should Be Made (open access)

World Bank Group: Important Steps Taken on Internal Control but Additional Assessments Should Be Made

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Congress passed Public Law 106-429 because it was concerned about the sufficiency of external audits of the financial operations of the World Bank Group, a set of multilateral development banks. This law provides that GAO report on the sufficiency of such audits of each Bank Group entity. GAO addressed (1) the extent that the external auditor was providing assurance on internal control over financial reporting, operations, and compliance with key provisions of bank charters and policies in conjunction with financial statement audits and (2) the role the Bank Group's audit committee plays in providing oversight of external financial statement audits and internal control."
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Proposed Revisions to OMB Circular A-76 (open access)

Proposed Revisions to OMB Circular A-76

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report contains GAO's assessment of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) efforts to revise OMB Circular A-76, which prescribes policies and procedures agencies must use when considering the transfer of commercial activities between the public and private sectors. The proposed revision was issued for public comment on November 19, 2002. GAO found the proposed revision consistent in many ways with the sourcing principles and recommendations adopted by the Commercial Activities Panel. There are several areas, however, where the proposed revisions to the Circular are not consistent with the principles or recommendations of the Commercial Activities Panel. Specifically, these include the absence of a link between sourcing policy and agency missions, unnecessarily complicated source selection procedures, certain unrealistic time frames, and insufficient guidance on calculating savings."
Date: January 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications Equipment in the Homes of Volunteers (open access)

Defense Management: Installation of Telecommunications Equipment in the Homes of Volunteers

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 required that GAO review the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of the authority to install telephone lines and any necessary telecommunications equipment in the homes of persons who provide voluntary services for the military. These volunteers, in addition to their other social service activities, provide a link between military units and the families of servicemembers deployed away from home. The legislation required us to submit the results of our review within 2 years after the department issued implementing regulations. The department issued its regulation in March 2002. This report discusses (1) the extent of the military services' use of the authority and (2) the internal controls that have been established to ensure equipment is used only for authorized purposes."
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Funds: Fiscal Year 2001 Expenditures by Selected Organizations Involved in Health-Related Activities (open access)

Federal Funds: Fiscal Year 2001 Expenditures by Selected Organizations Involved in Health-Related Activities

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a Congressional request that we provide information on expenditures of federal funds by several organizations and their affiliates--the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Population Council, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, Advocates for Youth, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)--all of which are involved in health-related activities. Specifically, we identified (1) fiscal year 2001 expenditures of federal funds that supported the domestic health-related activities of the organizations, the federal agencies that provided the funds, and the congressional committees with jurisdiction over legislation authorizing or appropriating the federal funds, and (2) fiscal year 2001 expenditures of federal funds that supported the international health-related activities of the organizations, the federal agencies that provided the funds, and the congressional committees with jurisdiction over legislation authorizing or appropriating the federal funds. This information updates our November 13, 2001, report that provided expenditure information for fiscal years 1999 and 2000."
Date: May 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Group Purchasing Organizations: Use of Contracting Processes and Strategies to Award Contracts for Medical-Surgical Products (open access)

Group Purchasing Organizations: Use of Contracting Processes and Strategies to Award Contracts for Medical-Surgical Products

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Hospitals have increasingly relied on purchasing intermediaries--GPOs--to keep the cost of medical-surgical products in check. By pooling purchases for their hospital customers, GPOs'in awarding contracts to medical-surgical product manufacturers--may negotiate lower prices for these products. Some manufacturers contend that GPOs are slow to select products to place on contract and establish high administrative fees that make it difficult for some firms to obtain a GPO contract. The manufacturers also express concern that certain contracting strategies to obtain better prices have the potential to limit competition when practiced by GPOs with a large share of the market. GAO was asked to examine certain GPO business practices. It focused on seven large GPOs serving hospitals nationwide regarding (1) their processes to select manufacturers' products for their hospital customers and the level of administrative fees they receive from manufacturers, (2) their use of contracting strategies to obtain favorable prices from manufacturers, and (3) recent initiatives taken to respond to concerns about GPO business practices."
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Budget: Opportunities for Oversight and Improved Use of Taxpayer Funds (open access)

Federal Budget: Opportunities for Oversight and Improved Use of Taxpayer Funds

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "No government should waste its taxpayers' money, whether we are operating during a period of budget surpluses or deficits. Further, it is important for everyone to recognize that fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement are not victimless activities. Resources are not unlimited, and when they are diverted for inappropriate, illegal, inefficient, or ineffective purposes, both taxpayers and legitimate program beneficiaries are cheated. Both the Administration and the Congress have an obligation to safeguard benefits for those that deserve them and avoid abuse of taxpayer funds by preventing such diversions. Beyond preventing obvious abuse, government also has an obligation to modernize its priorities, practices, and processes so that it can meet the demands and needs of today's changing world. More broadly, the federal government must reexamine the entire range of policies and programs--entitlements, discretionary, and tax incentives--in the context of the 21st century."
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Nonproliferation: U.S. and International Assistance Efforts to Control Sealed Radioactive Sources Need Strengthening (open access)

Nuclear Nonproliferation: U.S. and International Assistance Efforts to Control Sealed Radioactive Sources Need Strengthening

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Sealed radioactive sources, radioactive material encapsulated in stainless steel or other metal, are used worldwide in medicine, industry, and research. These sealed sources pose a threat to national security because terrorists could use them to make "dirty bombs." GAO was asked to determine (1) the number of sealed sources worldwide and how many have been reported lost, stolen, or abandoned; (2) the controls, both legislative and regulatory, used by countries that possess sealed sources; and (3) the assistance provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) and other U.S. federal agencies to strengthen other countries' control over sealed sources and the extent to which these efforts are believed to be effectively implemented."
Date: May 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security in Balancing its Border Security and Trade Facilitation Missions (open access)

Homeland Security: Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security in Balancing its Border Security and Trade Facilitation Missions

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Balancing our nation's security and commercial needs is a longstanding issue that is especially important in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that changed the nation's security environment. Addressing this challenge now falls principally to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Border and Transportation Security directorate. Within this directorate, responsibility has been assigned primarily to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP). BCBP consists of the inspections component of the former U.S. Customs Service; the Border Patrol and Inspections component of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, and a former component of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Achieving the balance between security and commercial needs is greatly affected by BCBP's commercial and border and immigration control workload. Regarding commercial workload, in fiscal year 2002, the former U.S. Customs Services processed 24.9 million trade import entries valued at over $1.1 trillion and collected $23.8 billion in duties and fees; it also processed about 6 million cargo containers arriving at U.S. sea ports. While the cargo workload has stabilized somewhat as a result of the recent global …
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO: Transformation Challenges, and Opportunities (open access)

GAO: Transformation Challenges, and Opportunities

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress sought GAO's views on GAO's accomplishments, challenges, and opportunities for its oversight hearing. It also sought GAO's views on its latest human capital proposal, which has been introduced in the Senate as S. 1522."
Date: September 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Regulatory Takings: Agency Compliance with Executive Order on Government Actions Affecting Private Property Use (open access)

Regulatory Takings: Agency Compliance with Executive Order on Government Actions Affecting Private Property Use

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year federal agencies issue numerous proposed or final rules or take other regulatory actions that may potentially affect the use of private property. Some of these actions may result in the property owner being owed just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. In 1988 the President issued Executive Order 12630 on property rights to ensure that government actions affecting the use of private property are undertaken on a well-reasoned basis with due regard for the potential financial impacts imposed on the government. This testimony is based on our recent report on the compliance of the Department of Justice and four agencies--the Department of Agriculture, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Interior--with the executive order. (Regulatory Takings: Implementation of Executive Order on Government Actions Affecting Private Property Use, GAO-03-1015, Sept.19,2003). Specifically, GAO examined the extent to which (1)Justice has updated its guidelines for the order to reflect changes in case law and issued supplemental guidelines for the four agencies, (2) the four agencies have complied with the specific provisions of the executive order, and (3) just compensation awards have been assessed …
Date: October 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Great Lakes: A Coordinated Strategic Plan and Monitoring System Are Needed to Achieve Restoration Goals (open access)

Great Lakes: A Coordinated Strategic Plan and Monitoring System Are Needed to Achieve Restoration Goals

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The five Great Lakes, which comprise the largest system of freshwater in the world, are threatened on many environmental fronts. To address the extent of progress made in restoring the Great Lakes Basin, which includes the lakes and surrounding area, GAO (1) identified the federal and state environmental programs operating in the basin and the funding devoted to them, (2) evaluated the restoration strategies used and how they are coordinated, and (3) assessed overall environmental progress made in the basin restoration effort."
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO'S Proposed Human Capital Legislation: Views of the Employee Advisory Council (open access)

GAO'S Proposed Human Capital Legislation: Views of the Employee Advisory Council

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Comptroller General formed the Employee Advisory Council (EAC) about 4 years ago to be fully representative of the GAO population and advise him on issues pertaining to both management and employees. The members of the EAC represent a variety of employee groups and almost all employees outside of the senior executive service (more than 3,000 of GAO's 3,200 employees or 94 percent). The EAC operates as an umbrella organization that incorporates representatives of GAO's long-standing employee organizations including groups representing the disabled, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, gays and lesbians, veterans, and women, as well as employees in various pay bands, attorneys, and administrative and professional staff. As established in our charter, the Employee Advisory Council serves as an advisory body to the Comptroller General and other senior executives by: seeking and conveying the views and concerns of the individual employee groups it represents while being sensitive to the mutual interests of all employees, regardless of their grade, band, or classification group; proposing solutions to concerns raised by employees, as appropriate; providing input by assessing and commenting on GAO policies, procedures, plans, and practices; and, communicating issues and concerns …
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO: Additional Human Capital Flexibilities Are Needed (open access)

GAO: Additional Human Capital Flexibilities Are Needed

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, House Committee on Government Reform seeks GAO's views on its latest human capital proposal that is slated to be introduced as a bill entitled the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2003."
Date: July 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Target Security Inspections of Cargo Containers (open access)

Homeland Security: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Target Security Inspections of Cargo Containers

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the attacks of September 11, 2001, concerns intensified that terrorists would attempt to smuggle a weapon of mass destruction into the United States. One possible method for terrorists to smuggle such a weapon is to use one of the 7 million cargo containers that arrive at our nation's seaports each year. The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for addressing the potential threat posed by the movement of oceangoing cargo containers. Since CBP cannot inspect all arriving cargo containers, it uses a targeting strategy, which includes an automated targeting system. This system targets some containers for inspection based on a perceived level of risk. In this testimony, GAO provides preliminary findings on its assessment of (1) whether CBP's development of its targeting strategy is consistent with recognized key risk management and computer modeling practices and (2) how well the targeting strategy has been implemented at selected seaports around the country."
Date: December 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Overstay Tracking Is a Key Component of a Layered Defense (open access)

Homeland Security: Overstay Tracking Is a Key Component of a Layered Defense

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, millions of visitors, foreign students, and immigrants come to the United States. Visitors may enter on a legal temporary basis--that is, with an authorized period of admission that expires on a specific date--either (1) with temporary visas (generally for tourism,business,or work) or, in some cases (2) as tourists or business visitors who are allowed to enter without visas. (The latter group includes Canadians and qualified visitors from 27 countries who enter under the visa waiver program.) The majority of visitors who are tracked depart on time, but others overstay. Four of the 9/11 hijackers who entered the United States with legal visas overstayed their authorized periods of admission. This has heightened attention to issues such as (1) the extent of overstaying, (2) weaknesses in our current overstay tracking system, and (3) how the tracking system weaknesses and the level of overstaying might affect domestic security."
Date: October 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Tax Administration: IRS Is Implementing the National Research Program as Planned (open access)

Tax Administration: IRS Is Implementing the National Research Program as Planned

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needs up-to-date information on voluntary compliance in order to assess and improve its programs. IRS's last detailed study of voluntary compliance was done in the late 1980s, so the compliance information IRS is using today is not current. IRS is now carrying out the National Research Program (NRP), through which IRS auditors are reviewing about 47,000 randomly selected tax year 2001 individual tax returns. In June 2002, GAO reported that NRP was necessary, that its design was sound, and that it appeared to meet IRS's goals of acquiring useful compliance data while minimizing burden on taxpayers with returns in the sample. GAO was asked to review IRS's implementation of NRP. GAO reviewed IRS's method of gathering internal and third-party data (casebuilding) and IRS's process of reviewing casebuilding materials to determine if audits are necessary (classification) and assessed IRS's plans to ensure consistent data collection while minimizing burden on taxpayers."
Date: June 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
D.C. Child and Family Services: Key Issues Affecting the Management of Its Foster Care Cases (open access)

D.C. Child and Family Services: Key Issues Affecting the Management of Its Foster Care Cases

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The District of Columbia (D.C.) Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is responsible for protecting children at risk of abuse and neglect and ensuring that critical services are provided for them and their families. GAO was asked to discuss the extent to which CFSA has (1) met the requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 and other selected performance criteria, (2) adopted and implemented child protection and foster care placement policies, and (3) enhanced its working relationship with the D.C. Family Court. To address these questions, GAO analyzed data in the District's automated child welfare information system, known as FACES; reviewed laws, regulations, and reports; examined case files; and interviewed officials."
Date: May 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GAO'S Proposed Human Capital Legislation: Views of the Employee Advisory Council (open access)

GAO'S Proposed Human Capital Legislation: Views of the Employee Advisory Council

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses how the Comptroller General formed the Employee Advisory Council (EAC) about 4 years ago to be fully representative of the GAO population and to advise him on issues pertaining to both management and employees. The members of the EAC represent a variety of employee groups and almost all employees outside of the senior executive service (more than 3,000 of GAO's 3,200 employees or 94 percent). The EAC operates as an umbrella organization that incorporates representatives of GAO's long-standing employee organizations including groups representing the disabled, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, gays and lesbians, veterans, and women, as well as employees in various pay bands, attorneys, and administrative and professional staff."
Date: September 16, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
[Minutes: Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group, December 16, 2003] (open access)

[Minutes: Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group, December 16, 2003]

BRAC 2005 Intelligence Joint Cross-Service Group Meeting Minutes of December 16, 2003. The document is redacted and includes a draft Memorandum For The Secretary of Defense regarding the protection of classified information in BRAC 2005.
Date: December 16, 2003
Creator: United States. Department of Defense.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library